You may think the title refers to the latest book by Noelle Holten, Dead Secret, who is the featured author on my Between the Lines segment later in this blog. Or you could be wondering if I mean My Mother’s Secret, my latest book. You’d be wrong on both counts.
The ‘secret’ I’m referring to is that I now have a title AND a cover for my latest book which is due for publication in August. The trouble is, I can’t reveal anything yet until my publisher, Bookouture release it which will hopefully be in the next couple of weeks. All I can say at the moment is that I love both the title and the cover, and I hope you will too. When I’m allowed to share, you will be the first to know.
Actually, I’ve been hard at work on the line edit over the past week, so the lousy Bank Holiday Monday weather didn’t affect me much – I quite like the sound of the rain/hail hammering down on the Velux windows of my attic writing room as it happens – but I hope it didn’t spoil your enjoyment too much and that you were able to meet up outdoors with friends and/or family.
Back to the line edit; I always do a first pass accepting or rejecting minor changes suggested by my editor, Ruth before going back over it to tackle slightly bigger things like adding a chapter or deleting several paragraphs that I really love but that add nothing to the story! I’m on track for delivering it back to her next Friday and all looking good so far, you’ll be pleased to hear.
Just a quick reminder of the Mother’s Day ebook deals that are currently running in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – the reduced prices end on the 10th May so only a couple of days remaining to take advantage of 99p in the UK – different prices for different regions but the best bargain is probably the US at 99c.
I also heard this week that the audiobook of My Mother’s Secret has been selling particularly well if you prefer listening to your books!
And while on the subject of My Mother’s Secret, thanks so much for entering the competition to win the mug and playing cards. I’ve read all your comments and will be responding over the weekend if they said anything more than just the answer to the question, which was:
In which month does Mother’s Day fall in the UK?
You all answered correctly, but there can only be one winner, randomly selected the old-fashioned way by putting names in a hat (or in this case a colander). So, the winner is – Carol Gamble! Congratulations, Carol – we’ll email you for you to reply with your address. By the way, apologies if there are any teeth marks on the cardboard box.
As you can see from this photograph, Wilfie has a penchant for biting cardboard boxes. Just to reassure you, he doesn’t swallow the cardboard, he rips it off and scatters it around confetti-style!
So, it’s time for my second featured author on Between the Lines. Noelle Holten works as the PR and social media manager at Bookouture – unsurprisingly, one of her hobbies is reading, but she now also writes the crime thrillers she devours. I’ll leave you with Noelle….
On the first Friday of every month, I’ll be introducing you to fellow authors in Between the Lines.
Q & A session with Noelle Holten
Posted on May 7th 2021
1. What was your first job after leaving full-time education?
I spent a lot of years in Uni – 3 Hons BA’s, a Diploma in Probation Studies and an MA in Criminology (if it wasn’t so expensive, I’d still be a student now ) but my first job following that was as a Probation Officer (I’d worked my way through Uni as a FT manager at a Grocery store – a job I started in highschool PT and then worked my way up from cashier to Front-End Manager/Payroll)
After 8 years as a Probation Officer, I secured a promotion to Senior Probation Officer where I stayed until 2017 when I was offered a job as PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture.
2. Who was your first crush – real life or famous?
I do remember my first real life crush but I think I’ll go for someone famous. I used to watch the A-Team with my siblings and have to admit, I quite fancied Lieutenant Templeton Arthur Peck, played by Dirk Benedict – also know as Face.
3. What was your first piece of creative writing outside of school/college/uni?
My debut novel – Dead Inside. Unless you count pre sentence reports for Court … I mean, I sometimes had to be creative… seriously though, other than my debut, the only thing I was writing was my blog reviews for CrimeBookJunkie.
4. Do you have a favourite tipple, alcoholic or otherwise?
Coffee and gin – not together. Though I wouldn’t say no to trying a coffee gin I love a cappuccino and when out and about, this is what I’d go for over a regular coffee. As for gin – I love some of the flavoured ones, as long as they are not too sickly sweet!
5. Are you a cat or dog person?
Before Buster, I would have easily answered – I am a cat person. But Buster changed my views on dogs. I don’t like small, yappy dogs (#mybad) though. Labradors, German Shepherds, St Bernards, huskies etc – are the ones I like…BIG dogs
6. What is your favourite TV show or series from the past twelve months?
I absolutely fell in love with A Discovery of Witches and have binged the series three or four times now. I also love Line of Duty but I’m waiting to watch the whole series at once so try to avoid spoilers on social media. I binge watch, mainly late evening/ weekends and it is mainly series.
7. Do you have a favourite holiday destination or special memorable holiday?
I just like escaping to the country – small, cosy places – fresh air, wood burning stove (for cooler months) or a nice garden for summer. Most of my actual holiday time is spent going to crime fiction festivals and I’ve never been to places like Spain etc – though as I turn 50 this year – a beach holiday would be nice!
8. Do you like to read in the same genre as you write?
Yes! I am obsessed! I do read outside of my writing genre – as I read every book I publicise for Bookouture – but my chosen reading genre is definitely crime!
9. How do you deal with negative reviews?
When I first started getting reviews, I did get upset when they were harsh or mean. But now, after two years I just accept that not everyone will like my books and that’s fine. I do read all my reviews on netgalley and amazon. I stay away from Goodreads as I personally find it can be a very toxic environment – and I don’t need to read how reviewer (a) despised my book so much they threw it in the bin…
10. Cast your mind back to when you were thirteen and complete the following sentence:
When I grow up I want to be… I knew exactly what I wanted to be at 13 – a doctor! Specifically, a brain surgeon. Sadly my physics grades said otherwise. I also wanted to be a lawyer – but after realising I would have to study ALL law and not just criminal law, I shelved that and focused on working somewhere in the criminal justice system. It wasn’t until I finished my MA in Criminology that I realised Probation was my calling!
A big thank you to Noelle Holten for being my second author to feature on Between the Lines. I’ll have to ask her what she thought of the final episode of Line of Duty series 6… I have two words for it – ‘definately underwhelming!’
I wish her every success with her new novel, Dead Secret.
Julia x
Dead Secret
Psychopaths can take root in the unlikeliest soil…
DC Maggie Jamieson crosses paths once again with Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood when a domestic violence survivor stumbles into her new refuge, unable to speak, desperate for help.
Then another case hits Maggie’s desk. A young man has been murdered, and a curious constellation of black dots has been inked onto his cheek.
That’s when DCI Hastings goes missing and Maggie uncovers a shocking connection that turns the case on its head.
Every family may hide secrets, but not every family buries them…
Leave a Reply