VAL PENNY

Shana is one of the authors attending Authors Invade Glasgow at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel in Clydebank near Glasgow on 27th June 2026, so I am delighted that she has agreed to share with us today her thoughts on Scotland's largest city and her books set there. Thank you for your time Shana. Thank you for inviting me to your blog today, Val. As you know, Glasgow is not a ‘romantic’ city. It lends itself better to superhero movies and murder mysteries. And yet, when i

I suppose your first book is a bit like your first child, a thing of awe and wonder and you never really understand how you got it into the world. My first novel, which had the working title of Sins of the Fathers. The general idea came from that bible where the idea is repeated several times, but the most memorable to me comes in the Old Testament Book of Numbers verses 14-18 where it says: ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and tr

It is my great pleasure to welcome author Jax Knight to the blog today. Jax, like me, is an attendiing author at Authors Invade Scotland taking place at the Golden Jubilee Hotel, Beardmore Street, Dumbarton, Clydebank on 27th June 2026. Welcome to the blog today, Jax and thank you for your time. Jax Knight, like many of us, has led an interesting life. And now, she puts her experiences living abroad and working as a drama teacher, actor, and police officer (both on and off s

Let me preface this article by staing the obvious! Agents are individuals and their opinion is just one opinion. (Although I appreciate that when you've been on the receiving end of several rejections, it may not feel that way.) Also bear in mind that because they are indiviauals different agents will be attracted by different aspects of your pitch. A visual person might be attracted to a mood board, while others may find a list of tropes or themes helpful. There is an elemen

Some years ago, my family was sent into shock. I was diagnosed with breast cancer, could no longer undertake my job as a university lecturer and was really very ill. I had recently moved across the country and didn't know many people in the area. Now added to that, during chemotherapy and radiotherapy my immune system was compromised so I couldn't get out to meet people either. This was a challenging time not only for me, but for the whole family. Normally my pleasures includ

When I worked in the real world, long before I was an author, I met many people from different backgrounds and each had a name. There was the lady who had married twice - her maiden surname was Robertson as was the surname of both her husbands, so she was Mrs Robertson or Robertson or Robertson. There were the people who made up what I called my dark rainbow, Mrs Brown, Miss Gray, Mr Black, Dr Green and Dr Orange and the fun names, Mrs Bird, Miss Snowball and Dr Bean. Then I

I have now finished the manuscript of the next DI Hunter Thriller. I wanted to treat you all to a short excerpt from near the beginning of the book. Please let me know if you enjoy it. The Extract Chapter one “The festival is here again. I love this time of year. The city is so busy and vibrant,” Hunter smiled at Meera. “Edinburgh is such a beautiful city, isn’t it?” “It is. But what we call The Festival is really several different festivals of the arts. The ori

Inexperienced authors have often asked me if they need beta readers, where to find beta readers or even what beta readers are, so let me try to explain what they are, where to find them and why they are important. Beta readers are those to whom you entrust your manuscript after you have finished with it, but before you send it to your editor for polishing. They are a vital part of your book's journey to publication and must be familiar with your genre, fluent in the language

Most people imagine a writer as a lonely individual hunched over a desk in a dimly lit room with crumpled paper strewn about working on their next novel. However, writing is so much more. It is thought put to page, even if we do it in a blog, a letter to a friend or a journal for our own memo r ies. In most cases, writing is most useful as a tool for thinking and expression as well as creativity. Writing can also be good for us. In what ways? Let's think about that. To impr

Jane Walters is a very busy lady! Not only is she an author whose new book, Bless The Work Of Our Hands just launched last week, but she is also, amongst other things, Chair of the Association of Christian Writers. So it is with many thanks and blessings that I welcome her to the blog today to tell us more about her new work which comprises prayers and reflections for creatives. Thank you for your time today, Jane. Thank you for inviting me to chat with you today, Val. I was

I am delighted to have been invited to take part in the tour for Shannon Symonds book, Murder by the Book, run by Jessica Thompson of BitterSweet Book Tours. The author tells me that this cozy mystery is perfect for fans of small town whodunits, quirky book clubs, and scrappy amateur sleuths with heart! So she thinks that if you enjoyed Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club, Agatha Christie’s Murder is Announced or The Secret Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams, you won’t be

I am delighted to have my friend and fellow author Sharon Jackson visit the blog today for a chat about her new book Ash's to Ashes . I thoroughly enjoy Shoron's crime novels, but they are not for the faint hearted as she does not shy away from violence or gory decriptions. I would recommend her books to those who enjoy Chris Carter and Jo Nesbo novels. Thank you for taking time to join me today, Sharon. Tell me all about your new book. Thank you for having me on your blog to

There are some authors whose books you just know you are going to love. For me, Helen Matthews is one such writer and so I am thrilled that she has been willing to share an extract of her new book, If I Were You, which was published by DP Books only a couple of days ago. I'm sure you'll be as excited to read it as I am when you have enjoyed this taster. The Blurb If I Were You – a gripping standalone psychological thriller from Helen Matthews. Dark, emotionally charged a

I genuinely feel that if you have put in all the work required to complete and novel (congratulations) it is a shame if it wastes away in your cupboard or on your computer. Therefore, I happily share the routes to publication with you in the hope it will help gain your book a larger audience. I previously dealt with vanity press, hybrid press and self-publishing. Now let’s look at traditional and independent publishers. When people talk about traditional publish

Let me start at the very beginning. You will often hear people say - everyone has a book in them … This is not true. Others will tell you – I’m going to write a book when I retire … Most of them don’t. This is because writing a book is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes months of creativity, weeks of editing, time to work through the comments of beta readers and the editor and ends with continual marketing. So, if you have completed writing a novel and whatever state it is in

I am always pleased to welcome authors of interesting books to my blog, so it is a special pleasure to welcome back my friend and fellow author Jo Fenton whose crime fiction I have always enjoyed. Thank you for taking time to visit with me today, Jo to discuss your new book, Consequences. Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Val. I’m so excited to be here to tell your readers about Consequences. What inspired you to write your most recent book? Consequences has been

I am pleased to be able to support Kay Parquet and her novel entitled, The Bookshop on Blossom Street, as part of the tour arranged by Jessica Thompson of Bittersweet Tours. It is always an exciting thing to meet new authors and my thanks to Kay for sharing an extract of her book with me. The Blurb Sometimes love shows up between the pages ... and far too many coffee refills. Emma Carter is a curvy, quietly stubborn bookshop owner in the heart of Maplewood who is perfectly

I am pleased to chat with author T.G. Campbell to the blog today to discuss her books and writing. Thank you for featuring me on your blog, Val. It is always a pleasure to discuss my books and writing. T.G. Campbell writes gripping crime mysteries set in nineteenth century London with the case being investiged by the members of The Bow Street Society. The Bow Street Society is a fictional group of amateur detectives, operating in Victorian London. What inspired you to write y

It has been a busy old writing year this year for me. I am beginning to find my feet in the world of Book Signings and enjoyed a successful event in Sheffield, Sugar and Spice run by the talented author C.N. Marie. I was grateful to have the assistance of fellow author A.J. Roberts at that event. I was also thrilled to be included in the line-up at Wonderland run by the Powerhouse who is author Annalee Adams. This event took place in Nottingham and fellow author Mollie Sykes

I am delighted to have been included in the blog tour for Helen Forbes on the publication of her new book Queen of Grime arranged by Lynsey Adams of Reading Between the Lines. Thank you for your time today Helen. Let me share the details of our chat with my readers. What inspired you to write your most recent book? In Deception, an earlier novel of mine, I had a subsidiary character with a crime and trauma scene cleaning business called Queen of Grime. My agent at the time s