TuesdayTips190

An Exciting New Journey

Hi folks, I'm back! And I have exciting news!
The last Tuesday Tip, #189 Going it (Stand)alone, was something of a tease.
Yup, my latest project is a standalone domestic thriller. Even better, I have decided to throw my (straw) hat into the self-publishing arena for the first time. There will be more on that later and in follow-up posts, where I share my journey and what I've learned along the way.
The Aftermath is a self-contained novel that opens with Seamus Monaghan coming home to find his garden shed on fire … and his wife is inside it.
Over the course of the book we see the build-up to this tragic event, the fallout from the suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire and the aftermath three years later as he tries to rebuild his life with his new, very pregnant, fiancée, Andrea.

I very deliberately decided to make this book different to my Warren Jones police procedural series, because I really wanted to write a domestic thriller. As a reader, I absolutely love stories where nice people in nice houses have horrible things happen to them - you know the type of book I mean, and I have amassed loads of ideas for these types of thrillers.
To do so, I have cut right back on the police procedure - instead of telling the story from the perspective of the detectives, I've focused on those involved in this tragic event.

As a standalone, I've also enjoyed developing a whole new cast of characters.
We have Seamus, whose vibrant but troubled wife, Carole, so shockingly takes her own life.
Then there is Dominic, Seamus' older brother, who has looked out for him since they were orphaned as young children.
Three years on from the fire, Seamus is engaged to Andrea and looking forward to becoming a father twice-over.
Along the way, we gain an insight into Carole and Seamus' marriage and the tragedies that culminated in her unexpected death. We see how the fire threatens to bring secrets into the open that Seamus would rather keep private. And we see how even years on, a dreadful storm brings everything back up and threatens Seamus and Andrea's future.

Dipping my toes in the water of self-publishing
Anyone who has ever published a book knows that it can be a long and frustrating process. I completed The Aftermath after finishing the last Warren Jones, and I did it in secret, without a contract. As I looked for a new publisher, it soon became apparent that even if I signed on the dotted line today, it could be many months before my book was available. So why not cut out that step and take it direct to my readers? The complete draft was finished, so let's just get it done! I have friends who have been very successful publishing their own books, and I love a good project, so what was I waiting for?

The Aftermath is scheduled for publication on October 10th, and is available to preorder now in eBook and paperback from Amazon and a steadily increasing number of other retailers. But there still remains some work to be done.
Over the next few Tuesday Tips, I am going to breakdown the different stages of self-publishing that I have completed and keep you posted on what I still have to do. I'm no expert, and am always willing to learn, so join me in my journey and as always, please feel free to comment here or on social media.


Paul