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

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Dangerous Destiny - Cover Reveal

The wait is almost over. Dangerous Destiny is with my editor and I'm hoping to get it published before too many moons have passed.

This book is part of a new suffragette mystery series and I've set it in Dundee, Scotland, in 1908. The story involves three women, a seasoned suffragette, a working-class girl escaping her abusive father, and a young girl breaking free from her controlling family. They join forces to find a killer who is targeting suffragettes. So, the book is a mix of murder mystery and rites of passage as the two younger girls choose a different destiny for themselves.

Well, what do you think? Do you like it? I'm quite chuffed with it. I think my cover creator has done a good job and now all I need is for my editor to complete her work and get the manuscript back to me. Then it will be all systems go.

Watch this space!

Chris Longmuir

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Happy New Year to One and All

To all my friends, family, readers and followers I want to send you all my best wishes for 2019. I hope you enjoy happiness, health and wealth, as well as success in everything you do.





But for me, it's time to take stock because that’s another year gone. They seem to whiz past so quickly now. I’m dashed if I know where the time has gone and what I’ve done with it.

As I recall I made some resolutions last New Year. So how did I do?

Well, I suppose you could say the first one was a bit mixed because I did publish Death of a Doxy this past year, but it was in March and not January which is what I had resolved to do. So, half marks for that. Full marks for publishing the book but a half mark deducted for not getting it out on time.

The second resolution was kept because I did plan the next book in the Dundee Crime Series. However, I lost my mojo about 20,000 words in because another idea pushed its way to the front of my mind and I started to work on a completely different book which was burning to be born. So, no top marks there either.

The third one was to write faster. I’m afraid that resolution was a dismal failure. It never got off the ground. Maybe it’s just as well because I’m a bit of a perfectionist and I know I wouldn’t be pleased with a rushed job.

So, it’s time to make some resolutions for 2019

Resolution 1 – Work hard writing the new book and publish it in 2019. This one is the first book of a completely new mystery series. The series will be labelled the Suffragette Mysteries and is set earlier in the century in 1908 but, although the book is progressing well, it doesn’t actually have a title yet. I’m sure inspiration will strike before I write "The End".

Resolution 2 – Return to my partly written book 4 in the Dundee Crime Series and finish it. Is it too much to hope for that I will be able to publish this one in 2019 as well?

Resolution 3 – Try my best to write faster, set goals and brush up my work ethic. However, I must not let that get in the way of the quality of the finished book. That wouldn’t be fair to my readers.

And, once again, I won’t make a resolution to market and promote better because, as you already know, that goes against the grain. Once again I will think myself lucky if my lovely readers spread the word, provided they enjoy reading my books. After all, a writer is nothing without readers.

So, I'll raise a glass to you and wish you a Happy New Year.

Chris Longmuir

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Amazon Author page

SUFFRAGETTE

High on my list of films to see is Suffragette, a movie that has been lauded and criticised for its depiction of women’s struggle to obtain the vote in the late eighteenth and early twentieth century. It is set in a period just before the First World War and focuses on the militant activities of the WSPU (Women’s Social and Political Union) in Britain.

Britain at this time was a class ridden society, and although some members of the WSPU were working class women, the majority came from the middle and upper classes, particularly those who followed Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel.

Sylvia Pankhurst

Emmeline’s daughter, Sylvia Pankhurst who, unlike her mother and sisters, had a strong attachment to the Labour party, and was particularly close to Keir Hardie was the one who brought the suffragette struggle to the working classes. She disagreed with Christabel’s tactic of turning the WSPU towards upper and middle-class women, and due to her disagreements about the way the WSPU was conducting the struggle for votes, she broke away from them and set up the East London Federation of Suffragettes (ELFS). This organisation was more democratic with a greater focus on working women and even included men.

It must be remembered that the WSPU were not the only organisation fighting for women’s suffrage. The Women’s Freedom League (WFL), was also a militant organisation, but their militancy was non-violent. The WFL was formulated in 1907 by WSPU members who had become disenchanted with the WSPU due to the autocratic leadership of the Pankhursts, and the violent path on which they were embarking.

The film has attracted criticism and has been accused of having racist overtones, but it has to be remembered that in order to have a degree of accuracy, the historical attitudes of the time have to be replicated to provide a degree of authenticity. And Britain was a racial and class-ridden society at this time in history. Much of the criticism revolves round the wearing of tee-shirts with the slogan “I’d rather be a rebel than a slave” which is actually a direct quote from a speech Emmeline Pankhurst gave in 1913. And Emmeline’s politics did veer to the hard right by this time, although earlier in her life she’d had socialist leanings. It is possible this slogan will not have the same adverse effect in Britain as it does in America, where slavery is a large part of their history. We could argue all day as to whether the producers of the film should have been more sensitive to this aspect, or whether they were right to portray historical accuracy, and at the end I doubt if there would be agreement. On the other hand, perhaps I am being cynical in thinking this is a publicity stunt which had the desired effect of stirring up controversy.

I have no view on whether the producers were right or wrong, all I know is I want to see the film.

Chris Longmuir

NB: My historical crime novel set in 1919 features Dundee’s first policewoman who was a suffragette prior to the start of the First World War.

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

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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

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