Good reads, or not …

A small selection ...
A small selection …

Like any other writer, I owe it to my readers to be a reader myself. In recent months, I’ve read some diverse titles, from the excellent fact-based, ‘Hash, by Wensley Clarkson  to the highly-publicised, though not so good, ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus’, by John Gray.  I decided that, today I would catch up with reviews for my Goodreads page.

Apart from the two aforementioned books, I’ve also read ‘Mortal Causes’, by Ian Rankin, ‘Trace Your Roots’, by Maureen Vincent-Northam, and ‘Gangs of Britain’, by Wesley Clarkson.

‘Hash’ provided me with a wonderful insight into the drugs trade, which was very useful for my crime novel, ‘Beyond The Law’. In the same way, ‘Trace Your Roots’ was an ideal book to get my head around the topic of genealogy, for my new romance, ‘Amsterdam Calling’, which is coming along very nicely, thank you.

If you’d like to see my opinion of any of the books I’ve read over the last few months, please click on the appropriate title on my Goodreads link in the column to the right.

Apart from working on my own book, I’m presently reading, ‘Until I Find You’, by John Irving. I’m well over halfway with the story. On the subject of reading, this evening I’ll be continuing with my new discipline; reading the blogs that I follow. Until next time, readers keep reading, and writers, keep reading and writing. 

Fifty Shades of … Hey!

All together now ... on my author's pages
All together now … on my author’s pages

I don’t have the total figures yet, but from 1st – 20th January 2014, my crime thriller, ‘Beyond The Law’ sold 50 copies. I was pleased to see several sales of the romance, ‘10 Days in Panama’, and delighted to see a variety of sales of my poetry anthologies.

Okay, I’m not about to organise a book-signing anytime soon, but that doesn’t bother me. In the first place, you don’t do book-signings for eBooks, and secondly, it would take up time I could otherwise use for writing. Having said that; I’m now investigating the idea of producing my novels in paperback.

The latest draft of ‘Amsterdam Calling’ is going well. It’s another romance, but it’s also an introduction to places of interest, in the city of the same name. There is a lot more to Amsterdam than ‘legalised’ substance smoking, and a well-known sex industry.

To whom would my next story appeal? Anyone who enjoys a modern romance is the first answer that comes to mind. I also believe it will appeal to all those people who say, ‘Amsterdam … I must go there sometime,’ and it will strike a chord with those who have actually been there. If you’ve visited the city, I’m sure it will bring back pleasant memories.

I’ll have to go now, because I’m aiming to publish in June, which means at least another draft, but probably two. In the meantime, if you haven’t checked out my first two novels, you can do so, at my author’s page on: Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com. If preferred, you can read the first five chapters of either of my novels; here on my blog, or at my website:

http://www.tom-benson.co.uk/