Notes From
The Cave
The blog of Thriller Author, A. D. Hay
featuring an exclusive look at her
behind-the-scenes misadventures.
What You Can Expect From Me in 2019
It’s going to be a busy year of writing for me, and a busy year of reading for you. I do realise that it’s the end of February and I’ve finally written up a blog post highlighting my writing plans for 2019. So, what can you expect from me in 2019?
A Very Chatty Thriller Novel Book Haul
So, way back at the end of April, I decided I wanted to start filming a regular thriller novel book haul on my YouTube Channel every month. I aimed to share them here on this blog, because I’m a bit of a bibliophile and a game nerd, as you can see by the wall of bookshelves behind me in the video. In my defence, the books and games aren’t all mine. My husband, Roland also has a bit of a book problem – he’s a book nerd and a game nerd. Actually, he came with the games and some of them are super cool, but I digress.
A Writer Travels: A Weekend in Strasbourg France
For some reason, this Strasbourg Vlog is another follow me around style video blog that I’ve forgotten to share with you on the behind the scenes blog. Oops, sorry. The month of December was packed with travelling adventures for Roland and me.
The Babylon Idol by Scott Mariani | A Spoiler Free Book Review
I’m back, and I’m doing another retrospective book review. Yes, classic me. At some point, I need to start taking notes as I read books. Because that’s the sensible thing to do. This new level of organisation would also mean that I don’t have to go back a re-read a book so I can write a review. However, my inner bibliophile doesn’t see an actual problem with this. In this blog post, I discuss why I loved The Babylon Idol by Scott Mariani and my biggest pet peeve in thriller novels.
Missing, Chapter One (A James Lalonde Crime Thriller)
I’ve been considering sharing the opening scenes of my thriller novels and novella for quite some time. And, I’ve finally overcome those nerves and pressed publish. So, here is an earlier draft of the opening scene of my thriller novella, Missing.
25 Writing Facts About Me
I’ve wanted to do a ‘facts about me’ video for quite sometime but I couldn’t find one that suited my channel. I realise there are book related and general facts tags out there but I wanted something writing related. So, I created 25 writing facts about me.
A Writer Travels: The USA and Europe in One Month
The month of December was all about travelling adventures for Roland and I. We only spent a few days in London. We’ve travelled to San Francisco, Munich, Strasbourg, Paris, Poitiers, then back to Paris for New Year. A lot of these travel destination where for work-related purposes and due to the location independence of my businesses, I tagged along with Roland and worked as we travelled.
The Cleaner by Mark Dawson | A Spoiler Free Book Review
This is another one of those classic cases where I’ve read a book and thought, I must review this book for my Thriller Novel Nerd Blog. Alas, several months later, I’m now getting around to writing the review for The Cleaner by Mark Dawson. The reason I wanted to write this review was twofold. First, I loved it. The book was unexpected deep, sad, and emotional. Second, the book was written by a successful self-published author. It’s my intention to review both sides of the publishing world, traditional and self-published or indie authors. Well, the best of both worlds.
The Atlantis Plague | A Spoiler Free Book Review
t seems that old habits just won’t die. I finished reading The Atlantis Plague by A. G. Riddle on 10 July 2017. And, I’m glad to announce that I’ve finally got around to writing a review for it. This time I did manage to write down a few notes before I went on to read the next book in my current reading list. As always, I’ve tried to keep this book as spoiler free as possible because, let’s face it, most people hate spoilers. I must confess I do love a good spoiler for several reasons; the first being, I hate surprises. And the second, it adds a little suspense for me. Enough of that, let’s get started with the review.
A Writer Reads: Top 8 Thriller Novels From My Summer Reading List
In this blog post, I will share with you a curated list of cross-genre thriller novels that I have purchased on one my many books hauls from my local bookshop. I plan to read these top 8 thriller novels over the summer season, that is already upon us.
A Writer Writes: Writing a Cross Genre Novella
I’m super excited to announce that I’m writing a conspiracy thriller novella. I love reading. It’s through reading books that I’ve developed interests that have filtered through into the writing of my fiction novels. At the end of 2016, I decided to make a commitment to start reading more books within my genre. In previous years, I adopted the philosophy of reading anything that peaks my interest, and to a certain extent, I still do. But, as I finished reading The Brass Hall by Kevin Tumlinson I became interested in the archaeological elements in this book. This new found interest lead me to search Amazon for the next book in the series, The Coelho Medallion. After finishing reading the second book, I started to develop an idea of writing a conspiracy thriller novel trilogy around a female archaeologist which I’ve later named Elizabeth James.
The Coelho Medallion | A Spoiler Free Review
As I look back on my GoodReads account, it has been almost two months since I finished reading the Coelho Medallion and, I can still remember the story of this debut thriller novel by Sci-Fi Author Kevin Tumlinson. I have to admit sometimes it is a bit of a struggle to remember a story eight weeks later. So, it’s either a sign of old age or a sign of a great story. In this case, it’s a great story.
A Writer Travels: Life Lessons Learned While Travelling
Hello, Thriller Novel Lovers! It's been way too long since my last update. Why have I been so quiet? I've been busy working on exciting projects as well as travelling to Australia and France, but I'll get to my travel adventures later. Exciting...
The Key | A Spoiler Free Book Review
I’ve been thinking about posting book reviews on the Behind the Scenes blog for quite some time now. I thought I’d get the ball rolling after I just finished, The Key by Simon Toyne. After finishing Sanctus, I found myself desperately searching the internet for books two and three. And, that’s how I feel after finishing The key.
Travel Vlog | Follow Me Around Paris
This year I wanted to do something different with my blog. I wanted to give you a quick and honest look at the behind the scenes of the life of an author. As an author who lives in London, I have Europe practically on my doorstep. I do spend quite a few days every year travelling around Europe and the USA. And, this is what inspired me to start this Follow me around series on my new YouTube channel, Indie Authorpreneur TV. The first Travel Vlog in the series is, Follow me around Futuroscope. In this second episode, I’d love to invite you to follow me around Paris.
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My Books
A Body is on the Lawn, and a Killer is on the Loose
When Will Thatcher, doesn’t show up for work, James Lalonde is forced to attend an afternoon tea with Alistair Carmichael in his place. The lovely autumn afternoon tea comes to an abrupt end when a body turns up on the lawn of the Carmichael Estate with strange markings on his neck.
But, something is missing, a priceless painting is off the wall. However, it’s no ordinary painting, it’s a Van Gogh purchased in an auction a few months ago. After discovering fresh tracks, most likely left by the murderer James realises the murder is still in the estate.
Can James figure out who the thief and murderer are before he or Alistair is next?
A killer is on the loose, Excalibur is missing, and his career is on the line…
James, the chief editor of a small newspaper, returns home to discover that his girlfriend, Valentine has unexpectedly left. Later that morning, he fails to reallocate her story. To avoid blank space in the paper, James decides to write the story on the local museum’s latest acquisition, Excalibur. But, there’s one thing he didn’t count on… Excalibur is Missing, and his girlfriend has been kidnapped.
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What I’m Writing!
Revised Draft
58,069 of 60,000 Words
Right now, I’m preparing Book Two in the James Lalonde series (title coming soon), for a final round of revisions. The next step is to send the story off to my editor. I aim to have the ebook available in Kindle Unlimited by the end of December 2020. And, I will be making this novel available for free to my James Lalonde Insiders reader club. You can become an insider here.
Publishing Updates
First Draft
0 of 60,000 Words
I’ve decided to add an extra book between the second book and the start of the byline series, where James arrives in New York. Book Three will be set in a 24 hour period in London. This novel will be available in ebook in Kindle Unlimited by the end of April 2021. And, the paperback editions soon after. I will be making this novel available for free to my James Lalonde Insiders reader club. You can become an insider here.
Revised Draft
112,960 of 99,000 Words
Book Four in the James Lalonde series needs one final round of revisions before I can hand it off to my editor. This longer novel will be available in ebook in Kindle Unlimited by the end of September 2021. And, the paperback editions soon after. I will be making this novel available for free to my James Lalonde Insiders reader club. You can become an insider here.
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