P.J. Murphy's Writer Site

Okay, so maybe I’m a little late with this new year update. Or we could say I timed it intentionally to coincide with the Chinese New Year, in an effort towards multi-culturalism. Let’s just say that.

Either way, there are a couple of exciting things I want to update you on planned for 2025. So read on and… be excited!

New Year, New Novel

I’ve decided I’m not going to be a J.K. Rowling and keep going until I get over 50 rejection letters. Actually, the number of agents and publishers working in the satirical fiction genre is quite limited, so I’m not even sure there are 50 people around who could possibly send me a rejection. In any case, I think I’ve learnt enough about the self-publishing industry (see my other posts here) for it to be a good option for this novel.

What does this mean?

Well, it means that I’m now starting the countdown to the release of my fourth novel, Six Steps to Salvation. It will be published in early May, and in the coming weeks, you can expect to see various teasers and reveals, such as the cover art and preorder. Let’s start that here with some more information about what it’s about and a teaser of the back cover blurb.

But before I get to that, I’d like to put out a call for advanced readers. What is an advanced reader? It’s not someone who reads very, very well, but that can’t hurt. No, it’s someone who gets to read an advance copy of the novel, potentially to leave a (hopefully good) review on release. I emphasise the word ‘potentially’ because Amazon is very strict about reviewers getting compensation for leaving a review, so it’s not acceptable for an author to ask for a review in return for getting a free copy of the book.

Why are advanced readers important? From my earlier posts, you’ll have picked up that an issue with self-publishing is that there are no gatekeepers. This is an issue for potential readers, as it makes it very difficult for them to determine what’s good and what’s dross. One of the key ways they do this is to look at reviews. Reviews (good ones, at least) are gold, and it’s especially important to have them in the early days after publication, when there’s really nothing else available to indicate a book’s value.

So please drop me an email using the contact form on this website https://pjmurphywriter.com/contact-me/ if you think this is something you’d like to do. I would be eternally grateful.

Anyway, back to the teaser.

Six Steps to Salvation is a standalone sequel to Troubleshot. It finds Trent Argent (the antagonist of that novel) in financial and spiritual ruin in Geneva (where all the down-and-outs go). It follows the various attempts he makes to redeem himself and get back on top of his game without screwing people over this time.

Here’s the blurb. Note that it’s likely to change substantially before release, but at least it gives you an idea.

Shady businessman Trent Argent becomes a social pariah when his exploitation of charities becomes public. Forced to flee England, he finds himself camping under a bridge in Geneva with a group of unpaid interns. Trent is determined to put his unscrupulous skills to better use, helping the city’s many nonprofits. But when his campmates stumble across the location of a jewel stash, will Trent resist the temptation to return to his selfish old ways?

Troubleshot Kindle edition on sale

As I mentioned, Six Steps to Salvation is a standalone sequel to Troubleshot. It can be read without knowing the characters and events in Troubleshot – but that can’t hurt! The book does contain various references to previous events and characters. So, for those of you who haven’t tried Troubleshot yet, now might be a good time.

From 1st to 7th February, Troubleshot will be available on Kindle from the UK and US Amazon sites for 0.99. Here’s the link https://amzn.eu/d/0tnwXCT

Indie Authors Book Fair

If you don’t have any plans for May Day weekend and are vaguely near the Cambridgeshire area, I invite you to join me in Huntingdon on Saturday 5th May for the Indie Authors Book Fair. It’s the only festival exclusively for indie authors, who are normally crowded out of book fairs by the traditionally published. I’ll have a stall and will be selling my wares.

Even more excitedly, I plan to launch Six Steps to Salvation that weekend. So, if you want a hot-off-the-press signed copy, that will be the place to be.

If that’s not tempting enough for you, I’m also planning to have some goodies to give away. I’m not yet sure what they’ll be, but rest assured, it won’t be a temporary tattoo of my face. (Actually, that doesn’t seem a bad idea, now I come to think of it).

Anyway, you can find out more about the Indie Author Book Fair here https://www.indieauthorbookfair.com/events/the-indie-author-book-festival-book-fair. I hope to see you there!

That’s it for now. A bit of a bumper edition. I hope to post more frequent, shorter updates in the next few months, so I’ll be in touch!