Introducing Sheila Forsey and her novel "Mending Lace"

Happy September All. I thought it would be a great idea to start the month by introducing a neighbour of mine who has just published her first novel. She lives just down the road from me and on my regular 6.5 k run route.Let me introduce my good neighbour and talented writer Sheila Forsey. Sheila's debut novel, Mending Lace, was just released on Amazon yesterday. And it has already received its first 5 star review.

Mending Lace: A thrilling mystery of family secrets and second chances.

A story of love, loss and redemption, Mending Lace is a wonderfully woven story of people coming to terms with who they are, what they want, and all they have learned along the way. 

I'm sure you're thinking there must be something in the County Wexford water that causes such a clutch of writers to live in close proximity. Carmel Harrington is also located  nearby. Maybe it's the quiet sunny countryside that gets the imagination going or better still the the closeness of Morriscastle's white sandy beach where you can dip your toe in the warm Irish sea or could it be the interesting local characters that you meet in the counties towns and villages. 

Oh forget all that. I'll put you out of your misery - its really the long dark winter nights which run on for nearly six bloody months!! 

Sure what else have you to do but sit writing by the log fire? 

 Bye the bye Murder in Maspalomas is located in the Canary Islands where they enjoy 300 days of sun so escape now to a book that delivers crime with a splash of sunshine.

Byrne’s Books now stock Murder in Maspalomas

Byrne’s Books & Toys are one of Ireland’s leading retailers of books, toys, gifts, arts & crafts and stationery and have shops in Gorey, Enniscorthy and Wexford town. As of this week it now has copies of "Murder in Maspalomas" by Mark Rice. 

Visit their website to find their contact details and store addresses

For Kindle and other soft copies please click here

New Crime Fiction novel rides into Gorey Town

Zozimus-Bookshop in Gorey Co. Wexford

"Murder in Maspalomas" my crime fiction novel is now available in Gorey and in John Wyse Jacksons bookshop, Zozimus, at the back of the Book Cafe at 86 Main Street Gorey. He's placed it on the table covered by new and second hand books. Pop in, grab a coffee and a summer read."Thanks John"

There are over 40,000 books in the shop. Most are uncatalogued and usually sell for under €10. Fiction paperbacks tend to cost under €5.

He also stocks rare first editions, illustrated albums, collectible editions of classic children’s books and other curiosa to be found here. Little of particular Irish interest has yet been added to this list, though it is probably our strongest suit.

The shop website   http://www.zozimusbookshop.com/

Shops Facebook page

Read the book chapter by chapter free on Wattpad

Book hits the shops

“Murder in Maspalomas” in Readers Paradise Bookshop in 19 Selskar Street Wexford Town, Co. Wexford

Today it’s made the front window display and in bookshops in Wexford Town! Tomorrow it will be Enniscorthy.  Gorey and Dublin to follow in the coming days. Soon it’ll be hard to miss!

Of course you can buy it online at any of the sites and links below:

Kindle have it

Amazon.com have it in paperback

Amazon.co.uk have it too! in paperback

Smashwords have it and the formats available are epub, mobi (Kindle),  pdf,  lrf,  pdb, txt , Online Reader , original document.

• OverDrive
• Kobo 
• Barnes & Noble

Do take advantage of the Smashwords coupon offer for July and get reading this murder story for a mere $2.99 using the coupon. To avail of this special offer please enter the coupon code RE39R prior to completing the checkout. Click here to purchase 

Publishing reality

Murder in Maspalomas - out now

The reality of publishing my own novel only hit home when I answered the door to a courier. I opened the labelled box and there it was. A large brown cardboard box of books, my books, 50 of them, each 325 pages long, bar coded, ISBN numbered and in pristine condition. In the coming days I’ll be visiting local towns and their book shops and I believe I can place a few copies in each. Right now I’m learning what self publishing is all about.

“Murder in Maspalomas” is published online now as follows:
Kindle have it

Amazon.com have it in paperback

Amazon.co.uk have it too! in paperback

Smashwords have it and the formats available are epub, mobi (Kindle),  pdf,  lrf,  pdb, txt , Online Reader , original document.

• OverDrive
• Kobo 
• Barnes & Noble

Do take advantage of the Smashwords coupon offer for July and get reading this murder story for a mere $2.99 using the coupon. To avail of this special offer please enter the coupon code RE39R prior to completing the checkout. Click here to purchase

Murder in Maspalomas - now in Barnes & Noble, Kobo,

Murder in Maspalomas, my first crime novel has now been granted a wider distribution and is available in the following stores and websites by just following the links:

• OverDrive

• Kobo 

• Barnes & Noble 

It's also available in iBook format

Take advantage of the coupon offer for July only and buy this entertaining murder mystery story for a mere $2.99 using the coupon. To avail of this special offer please enter the coupon code RE39R prior to completing the checkout. Click here to purchase

Murder in Maspalomas 25% off coupon valid now

A crime novel that starts in Dublin, Ireland but with tension building shifts to the Canary Islands, off the African coast . Matt had a deal go bad and had to get out of the country fast so he took a holiday in the far away Canary Islands gambling that the criminal gang wouldn’t follow for such a small debt. How wrong could he be? 

For just one month from today until 28th July 2017 this 54,300 word crime novel is available at 25% off the list price in Smashwords of $3.99 so you can buy it today for $2.99.

To avail of this special offer please enter the coupon code RE39R prior to completing the checkout. Click here to purchase

Smashwords publish this book in the following formats: epub  mobi (Kindle)  pdf  lrf  pdb txt  Online Reader

Murder in Maspalomas is released

Hot off the press!!

For a Kindle copy click here

This story of an ordinary guy that gets dragged into the world of crime and menace shows just how easy it is to slip into that parallel world which co-exists with our own and which we are normally completely oblivious to.

Ahead of schedule, this new crime murder mystery novel "Murder in Maspalomas" is now available to buy at the following sites (click on sites) and in the following formats:

Kindle have it

Amazon.com have it in paperback

Amazon.co.uk have it too! in paperback

Smashwords have it and the formats available are epub, mobi (Kindle),  pdf,  lrf,  pdb, txt , Online Reader , original document

All that's missing is an audio book and that's in the pipeline as we speak!

Remember that in Kindle and Smashwords you can "look inside" the book and read the first few chapters. I will be publishing extracts on this site over the coming days and weeks to give you a flavour of the writing.

Review Comments so far:

Murder in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria - 7 days to book launch

This crime novel starts in Dublin but swiftly moves to the sun drenched island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands,autonomous community of Spain located on the Atlantic Ocean, 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of Morocco. 

In fact most of the books action occurs in Maspalomas where the drugs gang have 3 days in which to find their quarry and recover the money. 

Tension mounts as the hours and days tick by and no one is found. Will they find Matt and will he cough up the cash or will he end up being the "murder in Maspalomas"? The clock is ticking......

7 Days to the book launch on Friday 30th June 2017.......

Maspalomas ancient lighthouse

Flowers growing wild in the town 

Bungalow Complex 

Maspalomas Dunes that roll up to the beach

7 Days to the book launch on Friday 30th June 2017.......

Mark Rice interviewed

What books are on your summer reading list this year?
 Mark Rice John Connolly's "A song of Shadows" is one that I'm currently reading. A bit dark but I'll stick with it.
How do you deal with writer’s block?

Mark Rice Writer's block is an issue for all writers and in my case I only write when I have something to write about. I'd rather not put pen to paper if I have no decent story to tell. If I encounter writers block during a story I'll go for a run and I can guarantee you I'll return with ideas. I then grab a piece of paper and scribble them down before I forget them!

What’s the best thing about being a writer?
 Mark Rice It's early days to my writing career but so far the best thing about writing is the ability to capture life's incidences, big or small, that I see as interesting and to record it for ever in a short story or novel. Then to have readers respond with praise is a bonus I always enjoy and am grateful for.

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
 Mark Rice Becoming a writer is a precarious career choice so start with writing as a hobby and only take the leap full time when you have another source of income or savings. To start with I'd recommend you set up a free Blog site and post regularly. Then when you want to self publish use Create Space.com which will take you, for free, from a word doc manuscript to a published book, bar coded, ISBN no. and distributed in all formats on Amazon and Kindle. Don't forget that Amazon is only 50% of the world's book sales so publish on Smashwords too as it distributes to the rest of the world. Of course promote your book on Goodreads.com!

What are you currently working on?
 Mark Rice My first novel "Murder on Maspalomas" is out on 30th June 2017 so I am finalising the marketing of this book. I have another murder story to tell and I will get my teeth back into that one in the coming days. I'll let you guys know when it's due for release.

How do you get inspired to write?
Mark Rice Life inspires me, unknowingly. I watch the world go by and just notice things that others see but dismiss. I write it so I don't lose it forever.

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?
Mark Rice I was sitting at the airport and waiting for my wife to return with a coffee and I began to write what was going on around me. The diary I kept of our holiday in Maspalomas in the Canary Islands formed the basis of my book "Murder in Maspalomas" with my vivid imagination adding the murderous happenings and creating the characters involved.

Thanks for reading this piece and I hope you will feel inspired to write a blog, a story,  a book or a poem as I truly believe we each are unique and have many stories to tell. Tell yours today.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Murder in Maspalomas – 10 days to go

This Irish crime murder mystery novel starts in a wet and cold Dublin, Ireland in February. It picks up on events that changed Matts life in the previous December when he’d make the mistake of getting involved in a business deal with an old childhood pal.

Matt was just an ordinary guy, slogging along through life working contracts 9 – 5. Declan his old pal was a diametrically  opposite personality who lived life in the quick lane, liked the quick buck and had a gambling habit. Really if Matt had done the right thing I wouldn’t have a story to tell. But Matt, despite knowing Declan as he did still gave in and got involved in a deal that led to murder in the Canary Islands.

Money, the root of all evil, you better believe it!

It’s 10 days to the release date and I’m pretty excited about the book. You’ll find it on Amazon and Smashwords who also feed into Apple books and Barnes &Nobles book stores.  Click here to read and buy my earlier books.

Murder in Maspalomas

New fiction crime murder mystery book due out on 30th June 2017 on Amazon and Smashwords and in all formats.