J.A. Baker's Blog
November 6, 2022
New Publisher
I have a new publisher and have finally got round to writing up a newsletter! If you fancy reading about the latest news about my current novel and my back catalogue, feel free to sign up.
https://jabaker.substack.com/p/new-pu...
https://jabaker.substack.com/p/new-pu...
August 1, 2019
It's All About Balance
The last two weeks have been full of highs and lows with things finally settling into a more manageable state of affairs.
My book, The Woman at Number 19 was released on 18th July and seemed to be doing nicely, sitting just outside the Top 100 Amazon chart while I visited the Crime Writing Festival at Harrogate and caught up with colleagues and friends. A fine old time was had by all and I arrived home to find my little offering had slipped into the Top 100.
Reviews started appearing which were looking more than a little promising. Life was great. It got even better when I discovered a week or so later that it had been longlisted for The Guardian's Not the Booker Prize 2019. To say I was delighted and stunned was an understatement. The Woman at Number 19 is my 7th novel and the first to be nominated for any kind of literary award.
But then the disappointing part. After receiving a flurry of publicity, I got up the next morning to find it had received a number of pretty awful reviews overnight, one even claiming it was the worst book they had ever read.
I let it get under my skin and don't mind admitting that it really upset me, but then a wonderful thing happened; friends, family, colleagues and faithful readers began contacting me, offering their support. Messages and kind words of support came in thick and fast, more positive reviews started to appear, and lo and behold, the dark clouds have parted revealing the sunshine behind.
After quite a few sleepless nights, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped me understand that there are far worse things in life than bad reviews.
If you are one of those who held my hand along the way, offered me loads of reassurance, or even told me to stop being so soft and get a grip, I just want to say, you all rock. I appreciate it more than you will ever know.
Onward and upward!
J.A. Baker
My book, The Woman at Number 19 was released on 18th July and seemed to be doing nicely, sitting just outside the Top 100 Amazon chart while I visited the Crime Writing Festival at Harrogate and caught up with colleagues and friends. A fine old time was had by all and I arrived home to find my little offering had slipped into the Top 100.
Reviews started appearing which were looking more than a little promising. Life was great. It got even better when I discovered a week or so later that it had been longlisted for The Guardian's Not the Booker Prize 2019. To say I was delighted and stunned was an understatement. The Woman at Number 19 is my 7th novel and the first to be nominated for any kind of literary award.
But then the disappointing part. After receiving a flurry of publicity, I got up the next morning to find it had received a number of pretty awful reviews overnight, one even claiming it was the worst book they had ever read.
I let it get under my skin and don't mind admitting that it really upset me, but then a wonderful thing happened; friends, family, colleagues and faithful readers began contacting me, offering their support. Messages and kind words of support came in thick and fast, more positive reviews started to appear, and lo and behold, the dark clouds have parted revealing the sunshine behind.
After quite a few sleepless nights, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped me understand that there are far worse things in life than bad reviews.
If you are one of those who held my hand along the way, offered me loads of reassurance, or even told me to stop being so soft and get a grip, I just want to say, you all rock. I appreciate it more than you will ever know.
Onward and upward!
J.A. Baker
December 31, 2018
New Year, New Books
2018 was another exciting year. I read many spectacular books and had two released - Finding Eva and The Uninvited - while my previous book, The Other Mother released in December 2017, continued to sell quite well and garner interest from many readers.
I'm currently 30,000 words into writing my current novel and have another due for release next year. The Cleansing will be published in April 2019. My aim is have three books released in 2019 as well as compiling a book of short stories that I'm hoping to self publish.
It's been a busy year but I've loved every minute of it - even the bad reviews and pre-release jitters many authors get the week before publication! It all forms part of the steep learning curve that has helped me to grow in confidence and push the boundaries with my writing.
I hope you all have an amazing 2019 and would like to wish each and every one of you a happy and healthy New Year.
Best Wishes
J.A. Baker
I'm currently 30,000 words into writing my current novel and have another due for release next year. The Cleansing will be published in April 2019. My aim is have three books released in 2019 as well as compiling a book of short stories that I'm hoping to self publish.
It's been a busy year but I've loved every minute of it - even the bad reviews and pre-release jitters many authors get the week before publication! It all forms part of the steep learning curve that has helped me to grow in confidence and push the boundaries with my writing.
I hope you all have an amazing 2019 and would like to wish each and every one of you a happy and healthy New Year.
Best Wishes
J.A. Baker
April 1, 2018
Edgy Female Protagonists
There is something both fascinating and deeply unsettling about female characters who harbour dark secrets. I love nothing better than to read about women who initially appear completely in control but are put in difficult circumstances (often of their own doing) and as a story progresses, start to unravel. In my novels, I often use these traits to add a sense of unease.
In Undercurrent, my first novel, Phoebe was a very deep and often dislikeable creature who evoked a range of emotions in readers. I received a huge amount of feedback from people about her character. Many hated her, some pitied her, but at no point did anybody ever tell me she was bland or featureless. She was simply a desperate lady who would do anything to keep her family together. Personally, I loved Phoebe. She helped to form the basis for many of the protagonists in my successive books. She was a multi-dimensional character who whilst being critical of others, was far from perfect herself. A lady with such traits is bound to evoke a fair amount of hatred and she did that by the shed load!
My second novel, Her Dark Retreat, has more than a few female characters, all of whom have secrets that they would rather stay hidden. It’s when these secrets threaten to reveal themselves that everything starts to fall apart.
Audrey and Peggy are mother and daughter and their relationship forms the basis for the underlying theme throughout the whole story. Estranged for many years, Audrey tries to contact her daughter but Peggy is determined to ignore her mother, refusing all of Audrey’s attempts to heal the rift.
Once again, it’s when their secrets start to come to the surface that both women reveal their true colours. Only when characters are put under duress and plunged into a dire and often life-threatening situation will their real, inner emotions bubble up. And that’s when the fun starts...
As a society, we are still often led to believe that women are less dangerous than men; not as violent and that they have a lesser propensity for inflicting harm upon others. Whether or not this is true is debatable but it still makes for fascinating reading (or viewing) when females commit crimes.
I thoroughly enjoy reading and writing stories that really probe into the mindset of deranged female characters who to all intents and purposes, appear normal. These are the people we should fear the most - the ones who are able to go about their daily business while concealing a multitude of dark secrets and mysteries. You can really get your teeth into protagonists like this, throwing lots of dilemmas their way to see how they react. Setting a story in middle class suburbia is great for a writer as it’s often the last place people expect something terrible to happen.
Some of my favourite books have female characters that border on madness. Tideline by Penny Hancock, Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney, The Woman Before Me by Ruth Dugdall, they all contain women who struggle to cling onto their sanity or women who harbour horrible, dark thoughts. These are the sort of characters that give psychological thriller books that certain edge and I will continue to read them for as long as they are out there being written. Long live the sinister, edgy female protagonists!
In Undercurrent, my first novel, Phoebe was a very deep and often dislikeable creature who evoked a range of emotions in readers. I received a huge amount of feedback from people about her character. Many hated her, some pitied her, but at no point did anybody ever tell me she was bland or featureless. She was simply a desperate lady who would do anything to keep her family together. Personally, I loved Phoebe. She helped to form the basis for many of the protagonists in my successive books. She was a multi-dimensional character who whilst being critical of others, was far from perfect herself. A lady with such traits is bound to evoke a fair amount of hatred and she did that by the shed load!
My second novel, Her Dark Retreat, has more than a few female characters, all of whom have secrets that they would rather stay hidden. It’s when these secrets threaten to reveal themselves that everything starts to fall apart.
Audrey and Peggy are mother and daughter and their relationship forms the basis for the underlying theme throughout the whole story. Estranged for many years, Audrey tries to contact her daughter but Peggy is determined to ignore her mother, refusing all of Audrey’s attempts to heal the rift.
Once again, it’s when their secrets start to come to the surface that both women reveal their true colours. Only when characters are put under duress and plunged into a dire and often life-threatening situation will their real, inner emotions bubble up. And that’s when the fun starts...
As a society, we are still often led to believe that women are less dangerous than men; not as violent and that they have a lesser propensity for inflicting harm upon others. Whether or not this is true is debatable but it still makes for fascinating reading (or viewing) when females commit crimes.
I thoroughly enjoy reading and writing stories that really probe into the mindset of deranged female characters who to all intents and purposes, appear normal. These are the people we should fear the most - the ones who are able to go about their daily business while concealing a multitude of dark secrets and mysteries. You can really get your teeth into protagonists like this, throwing lots of dilemmas their way to see how they react. Setting a story in middle class suburbia is great for a writer as it’s often the last place people expect something terrible to happen.
Some of my favourite books have female characters that border on madness. Tideline by Penny Hancock, Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney, The Woman Before Me by Ruth Dugdall, they all contain women who struggle to cling onto their sanity or women who harbour horrible, dark thoughts. These are the sort of characters that give psychological thriller books that certain edge and I will continue to read them for as long as they are out there being written. Long live the sinister, edgy female protagonists!
October 27, 2017
Bit of Breathing Space
Well, my second novel, Her Dark Retreat has been released and I am now back on with my writing, although not for long as I have another book due out pretty soon.
The Other Mother will be released on December 5th and another whirlwind of activity will ensue. I recently saw the cover and was blown away by it. It encapsulates the very essence of what the book is about, and I have to admit, I can't stop looking at it!
The tiny bit of time in between books will allow me to put my efforts into my fourth book which will be released sometime next year and although I'm not about to sit back and relax, I can at least have a bit of a breather and put all my energy (what little I actually have!) into this next, still untitled, novel.
The Other Mother will be released on December 5th and another whirlwind of activity will ensue. I recently saw the cover and was blown away by it. It encapsulates the very essence of what the book is about, and I have to admit, I can't stop looking at it!
The tiny bit of time in between books will allow me to put my efforts into my fourth book which will be released sometime next year and although I'm not about to sit back and relax, I can at least have a bit of a breather and put all my energy (what little I actually have!) into this next, still untitled, novel.
October 7, 2017
Imminent Release of Her Dark Retreat
Well, since this is my first blog, I ask that you a) bear with me while I do my best be coherent b) forgive me for any mistakes I make.
In exactly ten days my next book, Her Dark Retreat, will be released and I don't mind admitting I am more than a little terrified. It's been seven months since my debut novel, Undercurrent was released and although I'm a little more knowledgeable about how the world of publishing works, the whole thing still scares the life out of me. Don't get me wrong, I have moments of mild excitement and consider myself extremely fortunate to be published by a supportive and rapidly expanding publisher (Bloodhound Books) but the release of a new book is a daunting experience even for established authors.
Her Dark Retreat will be released on October 17th and I hope anybody who takes the time to read it, enjoys my second book and perhaps even leaves a comment or visits my website at www.jabakerauthor.com
In exactly ten days my next book, Her Dark Retreat, will be released and I don't mind admitting I am more than a little terrified. It's been seven months since my debut novel, Undercurrent was released and although I'm a little more knowledgeable about how the world of publishing works, the whole thing still scares the life out of me. Don't get me wrong, I have moments of mild excitement and consider myself extremely fortunate to be published by a supportive and rapidly expanding publisher (Bloodhound Books) but the release of a new book is a daunting experience even for established authors.
Her Dark Retreat will be released on October 17th and I hope anybody who takes the time to read it, enjoys my second book and perhaps even leaves a comment or visits my website at www.jabakerauthor.com
