Author: Goylake Publishing

Categories
Sam Smith Mystery Series

Sam Smith Mystery Series Characters #2

Dr Alan Storey

Dr Alan Storey provides the relationship strand to the Sam Smith Mystery Series. Alan is a psychologist who practices Humanistic principles, that is a belief in the positive attributes of happiness, contentment, ecstasy, kindness, caring, sharing and generosity. In his early forties, Alan is a widower with a teenage daughter, Alis. As well as the romantic element, Alan also provides psychological insight, when required, to the various people Sam encounters. Although there is a ‘whodunit’ element to the series, the books focus more on people’s behaviours and reasons for their acts.

shutterstock_91895072_kindlephoto-20869481

When Sam first meets Alan she is still raw and vulnerable after a difficult upbringing with her alcoholic mother and four years of violence with her abusive ex-husband. Therefore the early books in the series explore Sam’s attitudes to relationships as she tries to trust a man who she is wary of, but who is deeply in love with her.

Categories
Sam Smith Mystery Series

Sam Smith Mystery Series Characters #1

As all readers and writers know, stories develop from characters. So, over the coming weeks and months I thought I’d share my characters’ background information with you beginning with the lady herself, my narrator, Sam.

shutterstock_123387985_kindlephoto-235933713
Sam was born on the 1 April 1983. She has no memory of her father or any idea who he might be. Her mother’s husband was killed in the Falklands war and the dates of conception and birth make it highly unlikely that he was Sam’s father, despite her mother’s insistence that he was. At other times, Sam’s mother would claim that Sam’s father was an American soldier based in Britain. Despite exhaustive investigations, Sam can find no evidence for this claim.

Sam’s earliest memory of her mother is of a woman slouched in a chair with an empty gin bottle in her hand. Sam’s mother was an alcoholic and from the time she could walk Sam became her carer and the ‘woman of the house’. Caring for her mother disrupted Sam’s education and she dropped out of Secondary school. Instead of a formal education, Sam would spend all her free time at the local library and educate herself through books.

Sam was in her early twenties when her mother died. At that point she went to night school and trained as a secretary-typist. She joined an agency and obtained steady employment. Then she met a journalist, Dan Hackett. Handsome and charismatic, Dan charmed Sam into a swift marriage and a week into that marriage she discovered that he too was an alcoholic and violent. Despite many black eyes, a broken jaw and a fractured skull, Sam stayed in the marriage for four years. The turning point arrived when Sam suspected Dan of having an affair. She went to a private detective who was too busy to help, but he guided Sam through the basics and she completed the case herself. Impressed with her level of skill and determination, the private detective hired Sam as a secretary-assistant. Unfortunately for Sam, he also fell in love with her, and with his wife and three children in the background, Sam thought it was best to leave.

And so she started again. Free from Dan, she returned to secretarial work and built up her savings. Missing the buzz of detective work, she put her savings into her own enquiry agency. After five years of struggle, Sam’s agency is just about making a profit.

Independent, still coming to terms with her past, but determined to look forward to a brighter future, Sam’s story continues, with Sam’s Song , Love and Bullets, The Big Chill and Ripper.

Categories
Hannah's Diary Sam Smith Mystery Series

Sam’s Song Free

This has taken a while, mainly due to contractual reasons, but I am pleased to say that the ebook version of Sam’s Song is now available FREE from all leading Internet outlets. Please click on a link at the foot this post. If you want to enter Sam’s world, here is your chance to do it. And if you do enter her world, I hope you enjoy the book.

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

iBooks

Barnes and Noble

Smashwords

Kobo

cover-8

Categories
Hannah's Diary

Love and Bullets Audio Book

Exciting times…production on Love and Bullets, the second Sam Smith Mystery Series audio book, is about to start. Once again, Suzan Lynn Lorraine will narrate the book and we aim to release it in mid-October. Suzan did an outstanding job on Sam’s Song so I’m delighted that she has agreed to narrate Love and Bullets. You can listen to a sample from Sam’s Song by following this link and if you only want to own one copy of the book I urge you to own the audio book version because the narration really is of the highest quality. Audio Book Link

samssongaudiobbookcover_hiresjpg

Categories
Hannah's Diary

More Outlets

I am pleased to say that in association with Smashwords my books are now available at Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple and many other outlets. Here is a link to Smashwords and an interview taken from their website.

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hannahhowe

shutterstock_151668872_kindlephoto-417945581

Interview with Hannah Howe

What’s the story behind your latest book?
My latest novel, Ripper, Book Four in the Sam Smith Mystery Series, was inspired by my research into Jack the Ripper. My Jack is different to the original Ripper, though he does share some characteristics, particularly in the choice of his victims, who are prostitutes.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
I offered a manuscript to a ‘major publisher’. They liked the book, but wanted £5,000 to publish it. I thought if that is the way the game works, then I’d be better off following the independent route. So I approached Goylake Publishing, an independent publisher, who take care of my publishing requirements while I write the books.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
My books have just been added to the Smashwords roster. Ask me that question in a year’s time!
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
The creative process. I love the creative process and the freedom to explore issues that matter to me. My books help me to understand these issues and, I hope, enlighten and entertain the reader as well. And it is also very satisfying when someone connects with your literary world and writes lovely words about your books.
What is your writing process?
The basic idea comes first, and that idea always stems from a character. Then I research the subject before developing the main characters in the story. From there I storyboard the novel on sheets of A3 paper before sitting down to write.
What do your fans mean to you?
I prefer ‘readers’ to ‘fans’ – fans are for pop stars and movie stars, not impoverished authors! It’s wonderful when people show an interest in your books and I’m grateful for every reader. My readers are very important to me.
What are you working on next?
I usually work on a number of books at once. For example, while I was promoting Sam’s Song I was editing Love and Bullets, writing The Big Chill and researching Ripper. Because these books are a series I find it a tremendous advantage to work on several books at the same time. Another example – the Ripper murders in Ripper are mentioned in Love and Bullets and The Big Chill before they take centre stage in Ripper itself. At the moment I’m writing Book Five in the series while putting together ideas for Book Six.
Who are your favorite authors?
I like private detective stories, so authors like Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Robert B Parker and Marcia Muller appeal to me. I also like Victorian authors like George Eliot and pre and post World War Two authors like Vera Caspary, Francis Durbridge and Mary Stewart.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
My family and my writing.
When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
When I’m not writing I’m reading or spending time with my family. These are my favourite pursuits and I’m more than content with that.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
I search beyond the obvious. Today, books are a product, a way for the money men to make a quick dollar. So I go beyond the books the leading retailers thrust at us and explore the works of the ‘smaller’ authors. These authors often write for the love of the story, so their books are far more rewarding to read.
Describe your desk
A computer, pens, notepads and lots of books!
What is your advice for aspiring writers?
Be true to yourself and write about subjects that are personal to you.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
Aged twelve, I remember reading Macbeth and, although I didn’t understand it, being drawn towards it. I guess I’ve been trying to make sense of words and stories ever since.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Yes, a school play set in medieval times. Looking back, I now realise that that play set me on the path to becoming a writer – it opened the door to my imagination. And when you’ve opened that door you have to walk through it and follow your muse. For me, writing is as essential as food and wine.