Murder in Edinburgh
- authorvalpenny
- 51 minutes ago
- 2 min read
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 transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’
In my book, I had three sons, Tim Myerscough, Jamie Thomson and Frankie Hope each having to live with the wrongs their fathers had commited. The novel was first published by Crooked Cat Books and later by their imprint, Dark Stroke as Hunter's Chase. I remember still dancing around the living room with excitement. First, that a publisher had accepted my work and then, later, to hold my own novel in my hands. It wasn't quite as thrilling as meeting my first baby, but it was close!
Time goes on and the emphasis of publishers change as do the needs of their authors. So it was I moved to SpellBound Books based in London for an exciting time there. This publisher allowed me to republish my back catalogue and bring out new books including a collection of short stories, Hunter's Christmas and the second of my Jane Renwick Thrillers, AÂ Fighting Chance.
Of course, the whole back catalogue was re-edited and new covers designed so the series had a smart new feel, but the titles were left unchanged and so Hunter's Chase lived on.
Unfortunately, due to the poor health of one of the directors of the company, SpellBound Books closed its doors at the end of last year. It is always sad to see a small business close, particularly in such circumstances.
Enter Joffe Books. I was thrilled to have my back catalogue accepted by Joffe Books and to have new books in the works with them too. How different my experience is with this bigger, more proactive company. It is almost as exciting as seeing my second child for the first time!
Not only has Joffe Books taken a great interest in my novels, but they have re-edited them, retittled them and given them fabulous new covers. What was Hunter's Chase is now Murder in Edinburgh. I hope you like the new cover as much as I do.
Murder in Edinburgh is available to preorder now and will be published on 13th May. Now, I am working with the team at Joffe to bring out the rest of the books in Hunter's story and the new book continuing his tale has a working title of Hunter's Festival. It will be published early in January 2027.
One thing I can tell you, being an author is never dull and as Hunter's journey continues with Joffe, I can guarantee that his journey won't be dull either.
