Smoke me a kipper. I'll be back for breakfast.

I've been considering this off and on for a little while and now that my domain is up for renewal, it seems like the right time to come to a decision. I've decided not to renew this site name which presumably means it will be no more in a couple of weeks. There are a few reasons for this. The main one is I don't think (unless you're a big name) blogs and sites really have a lot to offer a writer anymore. I started this one about ten years ago which isn't long in the grand scheme of things, but in the world of the internet, I'm practically a dinosaur so it's time to move on. Who knows? I may need a site again in the future. For now, though, my focus will be on my newsletter and setting up a KoFi page in the next few weeks. I've had a lot of fun with this site over the years, but time to update it is short and I don't like doing things half-arsed.

I'll still be online, of course. You can always find me on Twitter @lukewalkerbooks and my newsletter is at https://www.tinyletter.com/LukeWalkerWriter Once I have my KoFi page up and running, I'll obviously share it on Twitter and my newsletter. Feel free to join me at either (or both) places. 

Thank you to everyone who's read my rambling nonsense, bought a book, spread the word or just spent some time here. Hope to see you in other places and on better days.

Luke

First post of the year (cry your pardon)

Time's slipping away from me again. First blog post of the year thanks to my thinking it was still February. Probably hasn't helped that the weather has only just started to improve so it's felt like winter for about a thousand years. In any case, we're crawling back to the light.

I'm in a brief lull with writing - I sent a polished version of another book to my agent yesterday after getting some feedback on it from a couple of writer friends. In all honesty, I think this one may be a tough sell to agents and publishers given that the opening premise of it is a little too close to real life. Problem is that premise leads the way to a big change in the plot. I'll have to see what she says before I think about any major rewrites. Usually at this time, I'd be knocking out a couple of short stories, but my short story head seems to be AWOL at the moment. My focus currently is novels which isn't to say shorts are done, but I think I need a really good idea to get those juices flowing, again. In the meantime, there are another four or five out on submission that I'm waiting to hear about. Given that publishing is a slow beast, that might be tomorrow or it might be in six months. It probably wouldn't hurt me to take a bit of a break while I chew over some ideas for the next book. My day job takes a lot out of me and I don't the the energy I did twenty years ago. Or even ten for that matter.

Speaking of the next book, I'm considering two ideas both of which I really like. The plan is to jot down some points before I go back to the rewrite of my most recent book (the first draft was an absolute bitch to write) and try to balance the art of writing with the business of publishing. Failing that, I'll just write whichever one shouts the loudest.

And in slightly different news, I'm looking at setting up a KoFi page. Very early days mainly because I know next to nothing about how it works, but it might be worth checking out.

Be well, people.

Goodbye to 2021

Well, here we are. We've dragged ourselves towards the end of yet another year which, I think we can all agree, hasn't been much of an improvement on 2020. All we can do is keep going towards better days.

In the writing and publishing world, it's been pretty eventful for me. Signing with an agent after submitting my work for twenty-two years was the big one. I still can't quite believe it took me so long especially as I was genuinely convinced in my early twenties that the first book I sent off would net me a publishing deal. Note: it really didn't. A very long time coming, I'm sure you'll agree. Plenty of days and weeks of wondering what the hell I was doing with my time. Obviously, there are no guarantees of success even with an agent, but it's a good start. I've given my agent another book since the one she signed me for and I'm getting feedback from some writer friends on a third. Fingers crossed at least one of them takes off.

I finished my Lovecraftian action horror series which was a blast. Especially proud of that series as I'd begun work on the third and final book when I heard the publisher of the first two was closing, meaning I had an orphaned book underway and zero chance of anyone else taking the series. I could have binned the series there and then, but with the work underway, I really wanted to see where it went. Glad I kept at it. I don't think there'll be anything along the same lines in my future, so if you want to have some balls to the wall action, violence and terrible language, then this is the series for you.

 

 

 

Along with the Nameless trilogy, I had my most recent horror from Hellbound. Winter Graves is a crime/horror that I now realise sent me on the way to the stuff I'm writing now: horror that mixes more of the real world we all know with something that's come out of the dark. I'm very happy with how Winter Graves turned out - hoping it takes off in the new year.

There were also a few short stories accepted for the first time in a while. As much as I love the short form, the market seems to have shrunk and/or publishers are going for themed tales which is fine, but I rarely write with a theme in mind. Not sure how much time I'll dedicate to the short tale from next year. If an idea really grips me, then of course, I'll write it. We'll have to see how that goes.

Going in 2022, I'm aiming to complete work and edits on stuff for my agent within the next six weeks or so, finish an outline for a new book and write it. It goes without saying I'm also hoping for a publishing deal to land in my lap, but as with so much in the publishing world, that's another case of wait and see. Outside of that, I'll be keeping my head down, limiting my contact with people and pushing on for those better days I mentioned.

All my stuff including the Nameless trilogy and Winter Graves is available via this link.

author.to/LukeWalker

If you're not able to purchase for whatever reason, you could do me the next best thing and either ask your local library to stock my books or simply spread the word on sites like Goodreads. For a writer in my position, word of mouth is invaluable.

Take care of yourselves and each other. Read some good books. Keep going.

Winter Graves - now available

Here it is, people. My new horror from Hellbound is now available in paperback and on Kindle. It's a good one if I do say so myself. Feel free to spread the word, leave a review and all that. Books live and die on their reviews, so any help would be much appreciated.

mybook.to/WinterGraves

Winter Graves cover reveal

Been a fair while since I last blogged. To be honest, there hasn't been a lot of book news other than working on edits for my agent, checking my email and outlining a few new ideas. But now I'm back with an update - it's cover reveal time for my new horror from Hellbound. I'm very happy to share the cover for Winter Graves and to say it'll be published on Tuesday.

While the worst winter to hit Britain for decades paralyses the country, a brutal killer is targeting teenage girls. Beside a lonely stretch of river, Jimmy Marshall witnesses the first murder take place. Powerless to stop it, Jimmy tells himself there was nothing he could have done. But now a second victim has been discovered. And a third. The police suspect Jimmy knows more than he’s saying and the criminal family of one of the girls want answers by any means necessary.

As Jimmy desperately tries to uncover his connection to the violence, the anniversary of another terrible event is rapidly approaching in the howling winds and the blizzards. Born in the snow and the ice, something monstrous connected to Jimmy’s past is reaching a grasping hand into his present.

Caught in a hell twenty years in the making, Jimmy has three days to find an inhuman murderer before the white of a nation’s winter runs red with blood.

The Nameless out now

The third and final part in my Lovecraftian action horror series is now available. Writing these three books has been way too much fun and while it's sad in a way to be done with the tale, I'm very happy to have them out in the world. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them. And don't forget you can still get the first two for a low price. Links below.

mybook.to/TheNameless

mybook.to/TheMirrorOfTheNameless

mybook.to/DayOfTheNewGods 

A new interview

Been a while since I've had an interview to share - got one now, though. The lovely people at https://www.nfreads.com/ have given me the chance to ramble and talk my usual rubbish. You can read it here:

https://www.nfreads.com/interview-with-author-luke-walker/ 

I'll have more to say about the books I'm working on in the next week or two, so watch this space.