The Long Wait is Over Dangerous Destiny has Arrived

These are strange times, and I'm having to adapt to living in isolation in the same way as everyone else. But at least I have my imaginary friends to keep me company. They talk to me and live in my imagination, and then I write them down and share them with you. Sometimes I think my characters are more real to me than other people, although they don't always do what I want them to. And they astonish me by what they say.

So, for the past year, I've been living with my suffragette characters and, with a great deal of trepidation, I've launched them out into the wide world. I wonder how they'll fare there? Will my readers like them as much as I do? Or will they wave them away with a disparaging gesture? Time will tell.

No doubt you've guessed by now that my new historical murder-mystery 'Dangerous Destiny: A Suffragette Mystery' is now available to buy. It's out in paperback and Kindle, and in view of the strange times we live in, I've done something I've never done before. I've made the Kindle version available for Kindle Unlimited, which means that if you subscribe, you can read it for free. Otherwise, it's the same price as the others £3.99 in the UK and whatever that converts to in the US.

Here is a view of the cover, designed by Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics. She does a great job.

The story is a combination of coming of age with a murder-mystery at its heart. It's a story about three suffragettes who come together to try to solve the mystery of who is killing suffragettes in Dundee, Scotland. They are frustrated because the police are doing nothing to investigate the murders, taking the view that suffragettes are a nuisance and society would be better without them.
First we have Kirsty, a naïve young girl with a secret in her past, who is trying to break free from her controlling family. Then we have Ethel, trying to escape her vicious and abusive father. Martha, a seasoned suffragette, takes them under her wing and introduces them to women's suffrage.
Of course, they run into danger before everything is solved. And in the process, we find out whether Kirsty and Ethel will break their family bonds and forge a new destiny for themselves.

You can find the Kindle version by clicking HERE.
And the paperback version by clicking HERE. 
If you are in the US, just change the .co.uk part of the link to .com

There will be no physical launch for this book at Waterstones, and I'll miss meeting all my lovely readers and supporters. So, now I need to get back to my lonely isolation but, hopefully, there will be some imaginary friends waiting for me. I do hope you have some imaginary friends as well and if you don't, I'd be delighted to share mine with you.

Take care.

Chris

Website
Amazon Author page

Devil's Porridge coming soon

Murder Mystery and Munitions

East London, January 1917:

"He pulled her into his arms and kissed her long and hard before he strangled her. With a last glance at the fire, he turned and ran for the door to escape the inevitable explosion."

Sixteen-year-old munitionette, Sally, witnesses the saboteur escaping from the explosion at Silvertown Munitions Factory. When their paths cross again at Gretna Munitions Factory, he knows she can identify him, and that he dare not hesitate to kill again.

The explosion has set off a lethal chain of events, and when policewoman Kirsty Campbell, and MI6 agent Beatrice, join forces to protect Sally, they find themselves following a murderous trail that entangles them with saboteurs, Irish revolutionaries, a German spy, and a plot to assassinate the King.

The body count is rising. The clock is ticking. And the stakes are higher than Kirsty could ever have imagined.

Read the first chapter here.

Chris Longmuir

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

http://chrislongmuir.blogspot.co.uk/

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

10 Curious Facts About WW1

WW1 poster featuring how dachshunds (Weiner dogs) were victimised and regarded as a symbol of Germany. Here we have the British bulldog savaging the German dachshund. Viewed from our own perspective today this seems horrific.

 

During my research for my next Kirsty Campbell, historical crime fiction book, I’m going back a couple of years to 1917, which is bang in the middle of the First World War, known at the time as The Great War. During the course of this research I’ve come across various curious facts, and here are ten of them.

 

1.  Explosions on the battlefield in France could be heard in London.
 
2.  Dachshunds (Weiner dogs) were considered a symbol of Germany and political cartoonists used images of them to ridicule Germany, resulting in the loss of popularity of these dogs, and their possible victimisation by kicking and stoning. 217 dachshunds registered in Britain in 1913 – no dachshunds were registered in 1919.
 
3.  Chalk was added to bread to provide bulk.
 
4.  British summertime was introduced for the first time, to extend daylight hours.
 
5.  Paper money was introduced. In preparation for the war, the first £1 and 10 shilling notes were issued on 7 May 1914.
 
6.  The speed limit for cars was 20 mph, and no driving test was required.
 
7.  National railways passed into state control on 4 August 1914 – the eve of WW1.

8.  “Treating” someone to a drink was outlawed. It was made a criminal offence to buy someone else a drink under DORA regulations (Defence of the Realm Act).
 

9.  Women started to smoke in public.

 
10.  The novels of Jane Austen were prescribed to shell-shocked soldiers because of their soothing effect.
 

Researching for a novel can be a fascinating business, and I’m always amazed at what turns up. For example, when I was researching the first Kirsty Campbell novel, The Death Game, set in 1919, and I planned for Kirsty to be Dundee’s first policewoman, I was completely caught up by the origins of the Britain’s first women police services because they originated from the suffragette movements. Something an early editor simply refused to believe, but you can’t change history, so I parted company with that editor and the publisher he represented.
 

But for now, it’s time to turn away from all the interesting facts I’m finding out about WW1, and get back to my work in progress or the book will never be finished.

 
Chris Longmuir

 

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

 

 

The Death Game

Form an orderly queue (line if you’re in the US), and no pushing in the back of the room, there’s plenty to go round.

Yes, the long wait is over and The Death Game has arrived. Okay, it’s only the ebook that’s available at the moment. You’ll have to wait until June for the paperback.

I mentioned in my last blog post that this book is different from my others. I’m branching out in a new direction, but I hope my faithful readers will like what I’ve done.

The main character in this book is Kirsty Campbell. Originally from Dundee, she left home ten years before the start of this novel and has been estranged from her family. And a lot has happened since then.

Kirsty was a a suffragette up until the start of the Great War. However, the suffragette movement relinquished their militant stance at the start of the war, and instead became involved in setting up a voluntary women’s police service (I have included a historical end note in The Death Game, to provide information on this). Kirsty Campbell was one of the first recruits.

Kirsty returns to Dundee in 1919, to become the city’s first policewoman, and you can imagine how she is received in the all male Dundee force. The only other policewoman in Scotland is based in Glasgow (historical fact), so there’s no support for her from that quarter.

On her return to Dundee, Kirsty becomes involved in a murder investigation, which her senior officer tries to keep her away from. But Kirsty is made of sterner stuff and is soon up to her eyes in the investigation, which I describe in the book’s blurb as a deadly game of sacrifice and death.

And that’s all I’m going to tell you for the time being. If you want to buy the book, you’ll find it here;

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

But if you want to borrow it, or sneak a peek at someone else’s copy, I don’t mind. I just want you to enjoy it. Oh, and before I go, if you do like it and want to do me a favour, a wee review on Amazon would be greatly appreciated. It doesn’t have to be much, just a couple of lines to say why you liked it, and I’ll be happy.

Chris Longmuir

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

Amazon.com

Countdown to Blast Off

I’m counting down the hours, days and minutes to the launch of my latest book. My finger is hovering over the upload button, and as soon as my cover illustrator sends me the cover, that finger will go into immediate action and push the button. Then my new book will be blasting off into the virtual world of ebooks and ereaders.

This book is different. It’s not one of my contemporary Dundee Crime Series books, nor is it a historical saga like A Salt Splashed Cradle. I hope I’ve got you curious.

This new addition is crime all right. But it’s historical crime. It’s set in Dundee in the year after the Great War, 1919. And the main character is Kirsty Campbell, Dundee’s first policewoman. After I press the button I will tell you a bit more about her.

In the meantime you can have a sneaky peak at the book cover concept supplied by my cover illustrator, the very talented Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics.

Now, join the countdown with me, and hopefully you won’t have to wait too long.

Chris Longmuir

http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Amazon Author Page

Amazon UK

Amazon.com