The Crime Warp

I’ve not blogged much for a few weeks now, but I've brought together reviews of five good novels and I’m sure you’ll find some, if not all of them excellent choices for you! Preserve the Dead by Brian McGilloway.   DS Lucy Black is back for her third outing in McGilloway’s third series of novels set in Northern Ireland.  Lucy is visiting her father in hospital when a body is seen floating in the nearby river.  The man is fished out and found to be dead.  In fact he’s not just dead, but he’s been embalmed!  However, that’s not Lucy’s only problem.  She’s soon supporting a neighbour’s sister who’s being beaten up by her husband, and if that’s not enough, helping out a young homeless girl.  McGilloway has developed the Lucy Black character well, weaving together grit and determination as well a little human weakness, which all our favourite detectives need.  Great as the third in the series, but could equally well be read as a standalon...

Following a discussion with a fellow attendee at Allan Guthrie and Gordon Ferris's excellent panel on Digital Publishing at "Bloody Scotland" (September 2012), I gathered some useful links on getting started with self-publishing an e-book.  (David Cannoy is an e-reader and e-publishing expert) 1.  Self-publishing – 25 things you need to know by David Cannoy (This is a good general starting point.) 2.  How to self-publish an ebook by David Cannoy This article was originally written in 2010, but the author has updated it as necessary (last update June 2012) 3.  How to build your Kindle e-book for Amazon This is a free, downloadable user guide from Amazon which takes the reader through the process of converting their book into Kindle format.  It includes tips for formatting, creating a cover and then takes the reader through the technical process of uploading to Amazon. 4. Other E-book outlets Amazon sell e-books in Kindle format.  However, t...