What d'you call a group of psych thriller authors? Answers on a postcard, please!

Hello!

Well, I am very happy to report that I handed the structural edit of Book 10 in on Monday, bang on deadline.

I have spent the last month refining character arcs, polishing prose and ironing out continuity issues. Basically, taking on board my editor Natasha's suggestions and making the book the best it can be.

I was so pleased (and relieved) when Natasha said that structurally the book was in really good shape and was a fantastic read.

Best of all, though, were her comments about my antagonist:

'Wow! What a villain! He is SO chilling and creepy. You've written the perfect baddie!'

If you thought Miles in The Baby was horrible, you ain't seen nothing yet!

I still have line and copy edits ahead, and the book will go on NetGalley in September. Release day is Friday 7 November which seems a long way away now, but as weeks have a habit of whizzing by I'm sure it'll be here before we know it!

Here's my desk set-up for the editing phase, if you're interested. Two screens, so I can see Natasha's in-line comments on one, and the other to work on. The New Oxford Spelling Dictionary and the Dictionary for Writers & Editors. Natasha's notes. My notebook, with my own scribbled notes. A big drink of water. No cats - they were lolling around the house a bit hot and bothered at the time.

So what's next? I get the line edit back on 14 July, so I shall spend until then plotting Book 11 in earnest. I already have a rough outline, but this is where I’ll start shaping it into something twisty, tense and hopefully impossible to put down. Wish me luck!

I may have been busy with the edits, but that didn't stop me escaping my writing cave for a couple of amazing events.

First up was the fabulous Redwings Book Festival in Norfolk, when Adrian and I spoke about writing thrillers as husband and wife. Do we steal each other’s ideas or do we have a no-talking-about-work rule? Do we discuss plot twists together? Have we ever thought about writing a book together… or would that be a step too far?!

The event organiser (and rom-com author) Nicola Knight was a great host, even if it did feel like we were having very public marriage guidance counselling at times!

Here are some photos of the day:

This time last week we were in London for the Self Publishing Show Live.

It's the fifth time we've been part of the volunteer crew helping both behind the scenes and front-of-house to make sure the event - the biggest conference for self-published authors in Europe - goes without a hitch.

It was the perfect excuse to catch up with so many writing buddies, not least our fellow psych thriller authors AJ Campbell, Maria Frankland, Daniel Hurst, Jack Stainton, Aaron Quinn and AJ Carter.

So what do you call a group of psych thriller authors? A confession? A motive? A murder...?

See if you can spot some familiar faces:

In other news, the audiobook of When She Finds You, my first thriller (and still one of my darkest), is celebrating its fifth birthday.

To celebrate, my audiobook publisher RB Media is offering a whopping 75% off the audiobook — but only until Saturday 12 July.

It’s narrated by the super-talented Danielle Cohen. Danielle and I have worked together on and off for years and I’ll finally get to meet her in person in Harrogate in a couple of weeks' time.

You can check out the audiobook deal here. It's a proper bargain, even if I do say so myself!

Speaking of Harrogate, if you're heading to the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival from 17 to 20 July, please come and say hello!

I am completely thrilled to have been invited to take part in the festival, the world’s longest-running and most prestigious celebration of crime writing.

I'll be hosting a table at the Friday night author dinner on 18 July. Good food, wine, and a murder mystery written by the brilliant Mick 'Slow Horses' Herron - what's not to love?!

Everyone at my table will be given a signed copy of The Baby to take home. Just don't use it as a murder weapon!

You can find out more and book a ticket here.

And finally, I hit a bit of a milestone the other day. Since joining Bookouture, my psychological thrillers have racked up more than ten million pages read on Kindle Unlimited. TEN. MILLION. And that's just the Bookouture books. I thought I'd check my five self-published thrillers and was blown away to realise that since When She Finds You was published in 2019, they have racked up another forty-six million pages read.

That's fifty-six million page reads in total, which is just insane!

HUGE thanks to each and every one of you who’s read, borrowed, or recommended my books — it means the world.

This got me thinking... which of my books have you read? Do you have a favourite? The Baby still holds the top spot for me, though The Husband Before You is snapping at its heels. And the new one was a joy to write. I'm hoping you're going to love it.

Anyway, I can't top that, so I reckon I'd best quit while I'm ahead.

Have a great few weeks, stay cool in the sun and I'll be in touch soon with news of Harrogate and an update on all things books.

Happy reading,

Amanda