Notes From
The Cave
The blog of Thriller Author, A. D. Hay
featuring an exclusive look at her
behind-the-scenes misadventures.
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.
Starting a Podcast and Writing A New Series | BTS Vlog #2
I’ve finally got back into filming the Behind The Scenes vlog series on my YouTube Channel, Indie Authorpreneur TV. I love filming this series mainly because it’s effortless. It’s the perfect blend of a week in the life of a writer and a video on writing tips. It’s 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.
How to Self Edit a Novel and The Business of Writing | BTS Writing Vlog #1
Have you ever wondered what does a writer does in a week? In this video and blog post, I give you a sneak peek at the Behind the Scenes, a week in the life of a writer. Yes, I share with you my working week, minus all of the boring bits.
A Writer Writes: Writing an Amateur Sleuth Mystery Novella
I’m super excited to announce that I’m writing an amateur sleuth mystery novella. I love reading. Through reading books, I’ve developed interests that have filtered through into the writing of my fiction novels. So, at the end of 2016, I decided to read more books within my genre. In previous years, I adopted the philosophy of reading anything that piques 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 newfound interest led 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 or action-adventure novel trilogy around an archaeologist, which I later named Maximilian Nicholls.
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
Updated on: 24 November 2021Hello, Book 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. ...
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.
2016, A Year in Review
I’m going to keep this blog post short and to the point. I know 2016 was a great year for a lot of people especially politically, but personally, I’ve had the best year ever. This is the beauty of looking back and seeing all of the amazing things that happened over the course of a year. So, let’s take a brief look at my 2016, a year in review.
Novel Location Scouting and Christmas in Poitiers, France
Joyeux Noël, Merry Christmas! I’m currently in the beautiful city of Poitiers, France spending time with my fiancé Roland and his Family. And, I’m excited to announce it’s novel location scouting time! The city of Poitiers is a beautiful city located in the west of France in the region bearing the same name. It has beautiful narrow cobbled streets and beautiful houses all crushed up next to each other. The city centre looks positively medieval. If it weren’t for the small European cars, you would struggle to believe you were in the 21st century.
A Blog Launch: What is Notes From the Cave?
I can’t believe I’ve decided to do this. Nevertheless, I’m excited to announce; I’m adding a third blog on top of all the other things I’m committed to doing as an authorpreneur. For quite some time, I’ve been wrestling with the idea of creating an author website for my fiction books. This would mean having three websites, including a website that I’m no longer using. As I pondered this idea, I couldn’t help thinking, there must be a better way. After much deliberation, I realised that I need to have a separate blog for you, as a reader of my thrillers because a lot of the content on my Authorpreneur Blog and Behind the Scenes blog isn’t relevant for you. The results of this pondering lead me to create this Notes From The Cave Blog. So, what is the ‘Notes From The Cave blog’? And, what can you expect from this blog?
Hello!
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 Murdered Judge. A Dark Secret Silenced.
Rookie reporter James Lalonde is bored. And, he isn’t a journalist. He’s an all-round dogs-body, to editor-in-chief, Rhys Kelly. But, his luck has finally changed. After eavesdropping in on the morning editorial meeting, James learns he has his first-ever story. There’s one catch. If the story gets too complicated, it will be taken away from him and given to another journalist with more experience. Sure it’s a boring interview with the soon to be sworn-in magistrate, Albert Harrington, but it finally gets him out of his six-month slump as an editorial research assistant.
The following day, James turns up to his interview with Albert to discover a trail of blood smeared through Albert’s house, an empty safe, the murder weapon on the floor, but no body. Detective Anwar Khan turns up to the crime scene, puts two and two together, and believes James murdered the controversial magistrate. Can James clear his name and write his first-ever story before his editor takes it away from him?
$2.99
What I’m Writing!
Revised Draft
41,722 of 39,000 Words
I know this is going to sound alarming, but I’ve not been happy with the first book in the James Lalonde Amateur Sleuth series, Missing. My unhappiness has led me to create a third edition with new scenes, improvements to the old ones, and a more satisfying ending. This week, I sent the third edition, which is titled “Suspicion”, off to my editor. I’m so excited because I’m very close to publishing this new first-in-series novella. And, I plan to make this novella available for free to my James Lalonde Insiders reader club. You can become an insider here.
Revised Draft
83,827 of 85,000 Words
Right now, I’m preparing Book Two in the James Lalonde series for a final round of revisions. The next step is to send the story off to my editor. I aim to have this eBook published on all major ebook retailers by the end of September 2022. 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 on all major ebook retailers by the end of mid 2022. 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 the James Lalonde series needs one final round of revisions before I can hand it off to my editor. This longer novel will be published on all major ebook retailers in early 2023. 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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