vigilante

MacLennan has been one of those stories that started well, then, like a fighter jet in a climb, stalled and, for a while, looked like it would come screaming back to earth. Fortunately, having been trained to deal with such frightening situations (the story stalling, not the jet), I fought the controls, and moments before I blacked out from the G-force, I pulled out of the dive and flew on to continue the mission.

Apart from amending both the strap line and the blurb, the more astute among you will have noticed that I’ve also changed the spelling from McLennan to MacLennan. There is a reason for the specific spelling, and it is revealed within the story.

The first draft is now complete, at 120,000 words, so the easy part is done. I’m certain that when I’ve reread from the beginning, and made copious separate notes, the word count will reduce and increase with each successive edit. Fellow authors familiar with my method and work will know that I don’t set a tight publication deadline, so the ballpark date is late March/early April 2026.

What was the secret weapon that brought me back from the headache of rewriting scenes and switching characters in and out?

Two things brought the story clearly into focus, and both were character-related.

The first was the introduction of Helen, whom the main character meets early in the story. She, in turn, takes an interest in his situation, and by coincidence, she has a contact who regularly deals with such issues as MacLennan’s. I was reminded of when I wrote Crusader, and how Constance captured my imagination when she came on the scene.

Suffice to say, that once again, I’ve employed a blend of fast-paced action and violence, combined with brief periods of a more settled nature. Importantly, as the tale developed, I began to enjoy it more, and for me, that is crucial. If I don’t find pleasure in the writing, the end product won’t work for readers. Fans of my Beyond The Law trilogy and the spin-offs will be pleased to know that a few old (and young) favourites make an appearance.

As I said earlier in this post, the easy part is now done, so over the following three months, I’ll reread the manuscript, edit it, print it, reread it, edit it again, rest it, and continue with that sequence until I feel it’s ready for beta readers to both enjoy and dissect for feedback.

For anyone interested in seeing how MacLennan gets underway, I’ve updated the first chapter here on my blog. As a guide, Chapter 1 – The Invisible Man is 3,200 words, so about the equivalent of a short story.

Yes, Codename: Larkspur is an addition to my Work in Progress list, and another spin-off from my BTL ‘universe’ as Rudders refers to the stories. I aim to produce an introductory chapter soon to offer a flavour of how Helen evolved to become Larkspur.

As always, comments are welcome, and thank you for reading.

A standalone crime thriller produced as a result of the Beyond The Law trilogy.

Yes, we authors can write what we ‘know’, or what we enjoy but at the end of the process, the result must be entertaining. For some authors the task of producing a standalone crime thriller might not sound too daunting, after all, what do you need apart from time (two years in this case), imagination and research where required?

I reread the Beyond The Law trilogy from beginning to end in a week. Yes, I wrote the books, but I still made copious notes. The cast includes friends, allies, enemies and a handful of neutrals, but the body count is important—we can’t have dead people coming back if it isn’t that type of tale.

Dare I say, I enjoyed the trilogy and felt justified in the character I singled out for the spotlight.

Rachel Donoghue rapidly developed from being a vehicle thief to covert operative and had the desire to continue improving her skills. In Codename: Nightshade, Rachel proves that not only has she improved as an operative she has leadership skills to offer.

Of course, besides all of those things, she is first and foremost an effective vigilante.

There is no requirement to have read the Beyond The Law trilogy before reading the new story, but perhaps you will afterwards. The original trilogy is available as a box set, therefore saving you money, and allowing the download of three books in one.