Jen Black's Blog

SOME THINGS NEVER TURN OUT THE WAY YOU PLAN…

DI Jess Carter is used to blending in. In Hexham’sbustling market town she can slip through the crowds unnoticed — exactly howshe likes it. She’s finally living the life she dreamed of, and nothing couldmake her happier…

Until the night a brutal murder shatters the calm.

Thrown into the unfamiliar world of ceilidh bands, Jessleans on Rory and her small team to navigate rivalries, jealousies, and thefierce competition between two groups desperate to secure a coveted wedding gig— and the recording contract that comes with it. Jess suspects the temptationhas proved too much for someone, and emotions have spiralled into violence.

But when a second body is found in the aftermath of thewedding, Jess realises the killer isn’t finished — and the truth is far moretangled than she imagined.

Suspense, romance, and sharp humour collide in this fast‑pacedmystery.

 Been working hard in between bouts of sitting in the sun with a glass of wine to hand over the last month but now  the weather has turned cold again,  witness the near frost cover on the garden this morning. So far none of my plants have succumbed, thank goodness.  

The working hard bit concerns a mature, character-driven Regency Novel Homecoming but the bulk of it is done now at first draft stage so it could ready for the summer reading holiday scene. No promises! 

We've had the snowdrops, the primroses, the daffodils now is the time for wild garlic. The woods around here are full of it, to the point it seems to be choking out the bluebells which seem weak this year. Certainly no carpet of blue as yet. Only a few small, stubby little heads poking up through the white and green.

Saw the finale of The Capture last night and now looking for a fourth season. What twisty minds some authors have, but full marks to Ben Chanan, the creator, writer and executive producer for the series. It was an entertaining series that kept me second guessing all the way through.

My reports from KDP are odd. Google says KDP is "experiencing intermittent functionality
issues " - to me that means faults - the KDP platform is operational but authors have
reported books getting stuck in the review/draft phases.

There's also delayed reporting which is my major concern.

Google reports faults and complaints across the whole KDP platform. I know one or two of
their data centres have suffered bomb damage during the raids on Saudi and Bahrain and I can understand that would cause problems.

They may not be operating 100% but at least I am not losing money - except for royalties
which I may not have earned anyway. Who knows without reports?

 Kindle Direct Publishing has suffered severe disruption over the last few days. 

Google reports that Iranian drones caused significant structural damage to Amazon data centres in the United Arab Republic and Bahrain. Two data centres suffered direct hits which led to fire and water damage and power outages. Since the USA and Israel attacked Iran, Iran retaliated by targeting the data centres because they supported enemy military and intelligence activities.

KDP clients experienced error rates and static reports. Amazon warns that recovery would be prolonged and certainly I have noticed problems for the last three days. There may be signs of recovery this morning, but I'm not holding my breath.

I am wondering if I should not consider Israel the biggest terrorist group in the world. They don't seem to care how many civilians they kill. 

Found the blackthorn tree in flower last week. Such a pity the skies were grey because blue sky and sunshine would have made this photo so much more impressive!

The garden was just starting to sprout new shoots and splashes of colour with daffodils and crocus and after two splendid sunny days in which we sat out and enjoyed a glass of wine, a night hit where the temperature dropped down to minus 2 degrees C.

(Which I suppose is about 28 F though nobody in the world (but the USA!) still uses Fahrenheit.)  Today all the new buds are hanging their heads, wilted and  white with frost. They are not used to such cold conditions here in our temperate maritime climate characterized by mild winters, cool-to-warm summers, and high, consistent rainfall due to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream. the UK rarely experiences extreme temperatures, with average winter temperatures around 0–5°C and summer averages of 15–20°C. Which is I suppose is why a surprise cold snap is always a shock!

Here's hoping the plants recover. 

 WHEN MUSIC TURNS DEADLY,EVERY BEAT COUNTS.

DI Jess Carter loves theanonymity of Hexham’s market town — a place where she can slip through thecrowds unseen and finally enjoy the life she’s built.

But when a musician is murdered,Jess is dragged into the competitive world of ceilidh bands, where rivalriesrun deep and the prize of a high‑profile wedding gig — and a recording contract— has pushed tempers to breaking point.

With two bands desperate tooutplay each other, Jess leans on Rory and her small team to untangle secrets,jealousies, and long‑buried grudges.

And when a second body is foundafter the wedding celebrations, Jess realises the killer isn’t finished — andthe truth is far more dangerous than she imagined.

A gripping mystery laced withwarmth, wit, and Northumbrian charm.

MY NEW BOOK IS COMPLETE AND WILL BE OUT BY THE END OF FEBRUARY! 

More adventures with Jess and Rory  - and with a low price for the first week after publication!

I typed the last words earlier this week and spent yesterday uploading it to KDP. So far all is looking good

 My little foray into posting an ad featuring more than one title didn't go to well.

At the beginning of February I added two titles and posted the ad. I only saw clicks on one title, not both. In  a few short days - nine, to be precise, I watched the clicks rise into the 90's but not one click proceeded to a sale. Meanwhile I had spent almost thirty dollars. This did not look good. If I had been selling copies I might have continued, but as it was, I ended the ad. 

I must admit to wondering if the algorithm is set up to make money for Amazon rather than me! 

Has anyone else tried this new way of doing an ad? I'm wondering if I mishandled it or something bit I have to say I am not going to keep spending on clicks if no one buys. What's the point?

Ever wondered about the future of advertising your books online?

I've just discovered it is possible to do one Amazon Ad and have more than one title on that ad.

I read that the future will be significantly influenced by AI. Well, I sort of expected that. Protecting consumer data is also crucial. Wasn't that critical when they were teaching AI to write books, though, was it? so I'm not entirely convinced on that one.

Already AD Agencies are touting for business among authors. "let us do your advertising..." 

Pretty soon they'll be writing the books for the (possibly top-line) authors and reaping the royalties before someone reads the book and says "this wasn't as good as the last one - are you sure s/he really wrote it?" Because  *they* could write any sort of rubbish, stick a famous authors name on it and what re-dress does the author have? Or the reader who paid good money for something that is basically a fraud? There probably isn't a law that covers it ... yet.

*anyone who wanted to and had the IT knowledge to do it, really.

 Friday Night Murder came out in July 2024. My first venture into the crime scene. I think it fits under the label of police procedural since it features Jess Carter leaving the Met and moving north to Hexham as Detective Inspector. On her very first day it snows, she's late for work and hears someone make a disparaging remark about a new Inspector who leaves the top force in the country  - what is wrong with her? Oh, and a dead body of a young girl is found in the snow....

Writing it was fun and the change of scene interesting. Research involved all sorts of investigations into signs of death, post mortems, weapons, all of which should puzzle anyone who ever checks the files on my computer. Also quite different to my usual research into fabrics and styles of the Regency, not to mention hair styles, types of carriages and distances between towns and cities and travelling between them. Travel was no easy matter in 1811 and I can see why most folk stayed at home all their lives.

I am now in the throes of final editing of Saturday Morning Murder which also features Jess Carter and Rory Harrison. Maybe it will be published on KDP by the end of February 25. I certainly hope so. I'm ready to move onto something else. Will there be a Sunday Night Murder? Possibly. It seems a shame to leave all that research unused! 

  New Year is the time for Book Lists.

Books we should have read in the past year, and books we should look out for in the coming year.

I have to confess I almost never find anything on those lists that I have read or will likely read. I don't know who puts these lists together but I suspect it may be  people who a) work in the wide book world b) wish to promote certain books that suit their taste but not that of anyone else. I am pretty sure it won't be put together on the highest number of book sales. It may well be put together on how much a publisher is willing to pay to have it listed but that's my cynical side showing through.

Does anyone find strange things happening in the IT world? My heart has skipped several times over this holiday period when going to a site I use almost daily I found it has changed it's format. Sometimes it has stayed in the new format and sometimes it has reverted to its normal form after a day or two. Either way it is distressing  (not to a life threatening degree!) - perhaps I should have said annoying, which is more true to my feeling at the time - because then I have to spend time figuring out what has changed and how to deal with it. If the site deals with statistics then it is doubly annoying because years of figures can be lost. 

I've found that changing the title of an e-book on KDP means loss of sales reportage, reads, everything  prior to the date the change was made.  Had I known that I would have taken precautions, might not have made the change at all. Perhaps I ought to have realised it would happen. But I didn't, so I thought I would warn others.