Let me take this chance to tell you about Hunter’s Christmas, the new book of short stories containing tales featuring DI Hunter Wilson, DS Jane Renwick and a few new characters too.
I have been writing and telling stories all my life. When I was a child, I was inspired to make up stories for my little sister after our Mum put the light out and told us to go to sleep. Later, I wrote documents, contracts, and courses as part of my job, but my time was well accounted for, so I did not create any fiction.
However, I took early retirement when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and there were times when I suffered severe side effects from my treatment. I could not go out, spend time with friends or indulge in many of my favourite hobbies, but watching daytime television got very old very fast, so I turned to reading. It was the only thing I had the energy to do and could do safely.
I read voraciously, as I always have. I particularly enjoy reading crime fiction and thrillers. I indulged this interest with many novels including those by Peter Robinson, Ian Rankin, Linwood Barclay and Kathy Reichs.
After a while, I began to feel a little better and decided to start reviewing the books I read and I enjoyed doing that. Then, as I began to feel better still, I got restless, but was not still well enough to do very much and I complained to my long-suffering husband about getting bored. It was then he challenged me: ‘If you know so much about what makes a good book, why don’t you write one?’ I did laugh. However, with the challenge set, the inspiration given, and I have been writing police procedural crime thrillers set in Scotland ever since.
This book of short stories, however, affords me the opportunity to explore new characters and different settings. That has been a lot of fun.
When I moves publishers to the stable of SpellBound Books Ltd they challenged me to spread my wings out with my regular comfort zone and I hope you enjoy this departure.
I particularly enjoyed writing Hunter’s Christmas because it allowed me to play with the ideas of Hunter being unable to lead his own investigation. It also gave me the opportunity to think about Christmas characters and how they might upset Hunter’s Christmas plans.
I hope you will enjoy the stories. Please let me know what you think.
The Author
Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.
Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.
Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.