Yes, I’m a night owl—guilty as charged.

The word count for my revised first draft is 58,239, making it a full-length book that will probably have 230-ish pages, including the front and back matter. So it will be a little over three times the size of A First Edition Felony.

According to my super-detailed daily writing habit spreadsheet, I’ve been working on this on and off since I first wrote the opening beat for chapter one way back on the 7th of May 2023. Yes, you read that year correctly; it’s not a typo.

In the spirit of disclosure, I’m that author who has multiple pen names, thus multiple books on the go. As you know, I’ve also written and published A First Edition Felony and A Fatal Steeping during this time, plus two others under a second pen name.

But for me at least, this feels like a monumental milestone.

The wait is over!

The preorder for The Woman in the Lake has now ended, and the ebook is officially available to buy at Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Google Play Books, Kobo, and other good ebook stores.

You can even get it at your local library through overdrive.

A huge thank you to everyone who preordered and supported the book during launch. I’m so excited to finally share James Lalonde’s newest mystery with you.

At the moment, I’m waiting for the paperback proofs to arrive before I put it on sale.

So stay tuned for another update, coming very soon. Fingers crossed.

In the last few weeks, I received The Woman in the Lake, the second book in the Rookie Reporter series back from my proofreader. And, I’m excited to say, its finished… finally.

Honestly, I feel like I’ve been writing this forever.

While my manuscript was being edited during those weeks, I decided to set up a preorder on The Woman in the Lake, making it available to purchase now with a release date of Wednesday, the 18th of March—for readers who like to plan ahead.

I must confess that I’ve been avoiding preorders because I prefer to just release and move on, avoiding the more traditional book launch, that many Traditional Publishers go through.

But I’m trying new things. Enough about me, here’s a bit about the book.

James Lalonde thought being a groomsman at his ex-girlfriend’s wedding would be the most awkward part of his weekend. He was wrong. After the bride’s body is found floating in the château’s lake, he becomes the prime suspect, and awkward becomes deadly. Can James clear his name before the killer strikes again?

Preorder, The Woman in the Lake, Today

While I was writing and editing book two in the Rookie Reporter series, I struggled to come up with a title that followed “The X” pattern. Eventually, I settled on The Woman in the Lake, which encapsulated the plot without spoiling the whodunit.

This created another issue with the title of book one.

With distance from writing and publishing The Candidate, I’ve since realised the title sounds more like a political thriller, which created minor disappointment for some readers.

So I decided to change the title of The Candidate to The Reporter at the Gate.

Since I was changing the ISBNs for the various paperbacks and audiobooks because of the title change, I took the opportunity to create a more immersive reading experience by adding depth to the setting through the eyes of the point-of-view characters, James, Anwar, and David.

Initially, the story was a little bare-bones, a classic beginner’s mistake. I wanted to ensure that book one would be an enjoyable read for years to come, so a second edition made perfect sense.

This new version, The Reporter at the Gate, better reflects the story’s mystery genre while providing readers with a richer, more atmospheric experience from the very first page, but still maintains the tight pacing of the original.

You can find The Reporter at the Gate on my online store, The Poisoned Press Bookshop and on Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and Smashwords. Click here to find the ebook and paperback editions on your favourite book retailer.

Black Friday Sale

I’m excited to announce that I’ve started my Black Friday Sale early.

Starting from today, the sale will include the following titles from my pen name, A. D. Hay priced at 99 cents or 99 pence to buy direct from The Poisoned Press Bookshop or on the ebook retailers website:

• The Locked Room (Buy Direct or Stores)
• Duplicity (Buy Direct or Stores)

The following title from my amateur sleuth mystery pen name, A. D. Hay, will be free from The Poisoned Press Bookshop, or priced at 99 cents on all other ebook retailer platforms:

• Suspicion (Buy Direct or Stores)

And the following title from my cozy mystery pen name, Amelia D. Hay will also be included in this sale and priced at 99 cents or 99 pence::

• A First Edition Felony (Buy Direct or Stores)

The 99 pence sale will be on my online store, The Poisoned Press Bookshop and The Poisoned Teapot Bookshop and on Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, and Smashwords.

On Kobo, the sale will start on the 21st of October 2025.

Or, click on the images to buy the ebook from your favourite ebook retailer.

Essentially, it’s a plot hole free draft. When I introduce something new into the story. I immediately go back and layer it into the previous scenes. For instance, if I introduce a gun as a murder weapon at the midpoint, I go back and foreshadow it at the beginning. I do the same thing when I discover the whodunit. Instead of writing the next scene, I will go back and subtly layer character motivations and clues for the reader to find.

Back to the good news.

At the end of May, just before my birthday, the word count was 99,795 words. So, it’s a novel. Just like, The Locked Room and Duplicity, it’s a character-driven mystery and will be the second book in the Rookie Reporter series which follows James’s first year as a journalist at the Northampton Tribune.

Since that the end of May, I’ve been doing a self-line edit where I’m going through my story and editing out redundant phrasing and rewriting character actions that I tend to overuse. As of today, I’ve reached chapter 50 out of 61 and the word count is now 98,323.

I’m almost done, I’m three chapters into the final act of the story. Yay!

And to celebrate, I finally got around to adding paperbacks and large print editions available on my store.

It’s something I’ve been putting off for far too long. But thanks to BookVault, selling paperbacks has become easier than ever.

A Fatal Steeping is back from my proofreader and has been formatted. And I can’t wait to share this prequel story with you. This story is ONLY available to subscribers of my cozy mystery reader club email list, and no one outside the list will be able to read it because I will not be publishing it in ebook, paperback or audiobook formats on any bookstores.

I have a Secret Pen Name

Yes, I have a new pen name. It’s not too dissimilar from the name I use to publish my James Lalonde and Rookie Reporter stories—Amelia D. Hay.

For those who enjoyed following James Lalonde’s investigations, I’m excited to introduce a new series featuring Emma Warwick (the second ‘w’ is silent). A tech CEO whose life is upended by betrayal, Emma finds herself drawn into solving murders in some of England’s most charming locations. Her analytical mind and attention to detail might have made her successful in the tech world, but these same skills prove unexpectedly useful when investigating murder.

The First-in-series novella is titled, A First Edition Felony, and you can get it from my store or on your favourite ebook retailer. Check out my new website for more information on the book and the series.

My First Ever Omnibus Edition!

So, I finally took the bull by its horns and created my first-ever ebook omnibus edition, which I’ve titled “The James Lalonde Starter Library.” As the name suggests, this ebook contains the prequel stories and the first novellas in the James Lalonde Amateur Sleuth Mystery series and Rookie Reporter Amateur Sleuth Mystery series.

In this edition, you’ll find the following stories:

• The Candidate
• The Locked Room
• The Lawn
• Suspicion

The omnibus edition normally retails for £8.99, but it’s currently on sale for the special launch price of £3.49.

The Candidate Has a New Cover!

My novella, The Candidate,  the first book in the Rookie Reporter Amateur Sleuth Mystery series, has been given a facelift. As I started designing the upcoming second book in the same series, I realised that a new style was in order. I wanted to share this decision with you, my valued readers, as it was made with your reading experience in mind.

There’s a part of me that loves designing covers, and this one was no exception.

The idea behind the design was to keep the covers in the Rookie Reporter series looking the same, less like a Thriller novel and more like an Amateur Sleuth Mystery. For me, the large, chunky font gave the thriller vibes. No changes have been made to the story inside; it’s just the font on the cover that has changed. 

I hope you like the new cover!

Advanced Reader Campaign on BookSprout is Closed

The ARC campaign on BookSprout is now officially closed. Don’t worry if you missed out—I have good news for you. I’m still looking for honest reviews of my prequel novella, The Locked Room, on Amazon and Goodreads. You can get the novella at BookSirens. Just click the button below to find the book on BookSirens.

Here’s a bit about the book:

It’s the opening of Clovervale Hall, an exquisite bed-and-breakfast in England. And James Lalonde has an all-expenses-paid trip. But, there’s one thing he didn’t count on—a killer is on the loose, roaming the halls. Can James solve the murder before the bodies start to pile up?

Length

Novella, 164 pages

Tropes

nosey reporter, amateur sleuth, locked room, English manor house, stuck together, technology-free B&B, unlikeable victim.

Triggers

mild gore, some foul language

Advanced Readers Wanted!

I’m looking for honest reviews of my prequel novella, The Locked Room, on Amazon and Goodreads. You can get the novella at BookSprout or BookSirens. The ARC campaign closes on the 4th of July, and the due date for reviews is on or after the 15th of July.

Here’s a bit about the book:

It’s the opening of Clovervale Hall, an exquisite bed-and-breakfast in England. And James Lalonde has an all-expenses-paid trip. But, there’s one thing he didn’t count on—a killer is on the loose, roaming the halls. Can James solve the murder before the bodies start to pile up?

Length

Novella, 164 pages

Tropes

nosey reporter, amateur sleuth, locked room, English manor house, stuck together, technology-free B&B, unlikeable victim.

Triggers

mild gore, some foul language

Or

• us$2.99
• £2.49
• €2.99

Also, Duplicity, book two in the James Lalonde Amateur Sleuth Mystery Series, has also been taken off its 99¢ promotion. The new pricing is as follows:

• us$3.99
• £3.49
• €3.99

 The pricing has also been changed on my website shop, but there’s a discount if you sign up for my email list.

Yay!

You can find the ebook in your favourite ebook retailer by clicking this link.

For a limited time only, Duplicity is on sale in all stores and directly through me for 99¢.

Click here to buy direct from me, or find Duplicity in your favourite online ebook retailer. 

While I wait for feedback from my beta reader and between rounds of edits with my line editor and proofreader, I’ve started writing the third book in the James Lalonde Amateur Sleuth Mystery Series. I’m really excited to write this story.

For those of you who are curious, in the third book, I’ll reveal who is behind the Lucy J knight pen name—a minor plot thread in Duplicity. And I bring back a character from Suspicion, much to James’s dismay.

Anyway, I need to get back to writing!

Today, I’m sending The Locked Room off to a beta reader before sending it off to my line editor and proofreader.

I enjoyed writing this story, and I can’t wait to share this novella with you.

Spoiler alert: If you’ve signed up top my mailing list, you’ll get this novella for FREE.

Yay!

You can find the ebook in your favourite ebook retailer by clicking this link. 

The ebook for Suspicion is currently FREE on all major ebook retailer platforms. So, be sure to get your copy so you can read it before Duplicity is released. So, click here to find the ebook in your favourite store.

And it’s currently sitting in the number two position in the top 100 free Crime Action Fiction chart on the Kindle Store.

Yay!

To rejig your memory, the short story will be a locked-room mystery set in a beautiful English Manor House. And, it’s a tie-in story with Duplicity. You won’t have to read Duplicity to appreciate it and vice-versa, but the event in the short story is referenced in Duplicity. This story will be a part of the James Lalonde Universe, and I will make it available to my James Lalonde insider email list when it’s finished, or you can buy it as a stand-alone short story.

So, if you want a free story, make sure you sign up. In the meantime, you’ll get a free copy of The Lawn.

Yay!

 You can find the ebook in your favourite ebook retailer by clicking this link.

Yay!

I’m expecting to receive the proofread edition of Suspicion back from my edition either this evening or tomorrow afternoon. In anticipation of this, I have started uploading the novella to all online ebook retailers.

However, if you read either the first or second edition of Missing and would like to read the re-titled third edition, get it for free by becoming a James Lalonde Insider by using the signup form below.

I’m hoping to be able to publish Duplicity sometime in September but have a preorder up in August. But all of this will depend upon the availability of my editors. So Fingers crossed everything goes well. As you can probably tell I’m excited to be publishing this next amateur sleuth mystery novel. I’ll keep you posted with more updates like this.

This week, I sent the third edition, which is titled “Suspicion”, off to my editor. The story has an extra 5,700 words, which roughly translates to 23 physical pages, so it’s a short novel instead of a novella. But, 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 by entering your first name and email address below.