The four million copy bestseller
Mark Edwards writes psychological thrillers about ordinary people who encounter terrifying events. His novels include The Magpies, Follow You Home, Here To Stay and Keep Her Secret.
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There’s been a murder - poor Gingerbread Man; guts ripped out, fluff spatter everywhere - and it doesn’t take a genius to solve it…
A sneak peak of The Darkest Water, out April 16. ‘There was something on the tideline.’
Whet your appetite (deliberate pun which only works spoken aloud!) then pre-order by searching Amazon for the ‘Edwards the darkest water’.
My writing companions: Lana Del Rey, Mia Goth, Sherlock, Peggy. Don’t judge me. The cardboard cut-outs were bought for me as presents 😂
One month to go! Thank you to Tracy Fenton on Goodreads for summing up what it’s about so perfectly:
“The story is set in the Lake District and Calvin Matheson’s dreams of opening a cafe and bakery are slowly turning into a nightmare due to no customers and dwindling finances. When ...his wife tells him to start promoting the cafe on social media with the help of his assistant one of his posts goes viral bringing him overnight success and plenty of new customers.
However, the darker side of social media soon rears it’s ugly head and when Calvin starts getting DM’s from a female stalker claiming to be his greatest fan, suddenly his success puts him and those closest to him in real danger.
Meanwhile, the body of a local man is found buried up to his neck in the sea and Detective Imogen Evans, who has recently moved to the area, is in charge of finding out who this man is, why he was killed and to catch the killer...”
The Darkest Water is out on April 16 as an ebook, paperback and audiobook. To pre-order, just search ‘darkest water Edwards’ on Amazon. You can also ask your local library or bookshop to order it.
For new followers who haven’t seen Peggy yet, here she is in all her fluffy glory!
Working hard at the kitchen table on what will eventually be my 22nd published novel. Today I’m planning an imaginary dinner party for my characters to attend and trying to figure out the menu is making my stomach rumble…
Question: do you enjoy reading about food? If characters are ...sitting down to a meal, do you want to know what they’re eating? Or are you only interested in what else is happening at the table: the conversation, the relationships, etc?
It’s #worldbookday and this is a simple post: six novels that I love. I would say I wish I’d written them but then I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of reading them. I once saw a quote from an author that went something like, ‘I’m a writer but I’m a reader first.” I think of myself ...like that. I write because I want to make people feel the way I do when I lose myself in a book.
The six:
Alex Garland, The Beach - this is a first edition and it has some kind of dirt on the spine that I can’t get off but what a book!
Natsuo Kirino, Out - magnificently dark Japanese crime thriller
Emily St John Mandel, Station Eleven - I have a quote on the UK paperback of this dystopian masterpiece
Mark Z Danielewski, The House of Leaves - best horror novel ever
Stephen King, Misery - not horror but his best work
Donna Tartt, The Secret History - I own five copies, two of them signed, one in DT’s presence. She shook my hand and I had a wobbly fanboy moment.
Have you read any of these? And what are you reading this World Book Day?
Event announcement! I'm appearing in Birmingham on April 20th as part of the brand new Heath Bookshop Literature & Music Festival. I'll be on a panel alongside Jo Callaghan, Rachel McLean and Barbara Copperthwaite. It's a few days after the release of The Darkest Water so all be ...signing books, giving away pens, etc. Tickets here https://the-heath-bookshop.eventcube.io/events/56765/crime-writers-panel/
Also, take a look at the rest of the line up. There are some fantastic authors and artists appearing. The full program is here: https://the-heath-bookshop.eventcube.io/events/56765/crime-writers-panel/
I'm not sure what other events I'll be doing this year. I know I'll be in Shoreham in October, and I am trying to rearrange the Bath event with Claire Douglas. Watch this space for details.
Do I have any aspiring or emerging authors following me? This May, for the first time ever, I’m going to be running an online course for writers. It runs every Wednesday evening in May and there are only 15 places available - so you’ll want to snap this up! Here are the details:
...EVERYTHING BUT THE BOOK
There are many courses that will tell you how to write a novel.
This one will help you understand everything else you’ll need to know, whether you want to be traditionally published or try self-publishing, and will show you how to lay the groundwork for success from day one.
Across 5 live Zoom sessions, established and successful author Mark Edwards will share his wealth of experience and help you learn how to find an audience for your work, avoiding all the most common mistakes.
This course will focus on:
• Starting your author journey: commercial vs literary fiction, defining success and laying the groundwork for it, creating the time and space to write, networking, writer and reader communities.
• Traditional publishing: finding an agent, querying, how publishing works, advances and royalties.
• Self-publishing: the entrepreneurial mindset, being professional, paid advertising, case studies of success.
• Marketing and PR: building a relationship with readers, social media, websites and newsletters, building a brand, measuring success.
• The hard stuff: dealing with rejection, bad reviews, staying motivated, not giving up.
More details here. As I said above, there are only 15 places available. If you’re a writer, this is a rare chance to pick the brains of someone who’s been there, done that and is still doing it. Link in bio or go to Writing West Midlands dot org and click Events and courses - Short courses
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