m/m suspense – A. L. Lester

Guest Interview: Anne Russo

Today we welcome Anne Russo to the blog to answer some questions. Morning Anne! Thank you for dropping by.

Firstly, why are you doing this interview?

Hello! Thank you so much for letting me stop by today! I’m here to talk about my new release, The Dead Don’t Dream, the third book in the Dead Generations series which was released on October 1st.

What started you writing?

I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. I wrote my first short story sometime around the age of eight, and my first novel (though not a good one by any means) around sixteen. I have also written poetry, short stories, and many half-finished books off and on as well. But, the Dead Generations series is the first of what I hope to be many future published works.

Where do you write?

I have a home office that I retreat to, where I let my imagination run wild, and where I can be alone with my thoughts, and my characters, and just have the freedom to let go, and see where that takes me. Ideally, I’d love to retreat to a lake-side cabin deep in the woods. There is something about solitude, and nature that really fuels my creativity.

What do you like to read?

I read almost an equal mix of fiction, and nonfiction, biographies of historical figures being my go-to. I also enjoy most fiction genres: contemporary, historical, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror novels being what I vary between. If they have elements of romance, even better! I prefer stories with queer and/or diverse characters but I’ll read anything that makes me feel and fuels my imagination.

What are the three books you’d take to a desert island? Why would you choose them?

Oh boy, that’s a tough one! I’m going to go with pure entertainment reads since you know, stuck on a desert island and all. I would have to say The Stand – by Stephen King, The Passage – by Justin Cronin, and The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice. All amazing, super engrossing reads, and a great way to pass the time.

Writing is an intrinsically solo occupation. Do you belong to any groups or associations, either online or in the ‘real’ world? How does that work for you?

I do not, besides a few group chats which are enormously helpful, encouraging, and a fabulous support system. I love being part of the writing community, and lending my help where and when I can. It’s great to have a tribe, and while I’m still looking for mine, I’m going to try and be as helpful as I can. I especially love beta reading for other authors, and helping them with brainstorming projects they might be stuck on, it really helps my own work as well.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Besides writing, I love to read, bake and listen to podcasts (I’m especially into ones covering topics like true crime, history/science, and the paranormal.) I’m a huge movie buff and absolutely love classic films, so I’m big into that. I also love spending time outdoors, and in nature when I can. Traveling, and exploring new places is another love of mine. I love visiting local museums, and bookstores when I do. But mostly, I prefer being home with my partner, relaxing, I enjoy being a homebody.

Tell me a little bit about your most recent release. What gave you the idea for it? How long did it take to write? What did you enjoy about writing it? What did you hate?

My newest release, The Dead Don’t Dream is the third book in the Dead Generations series. Dead Generations tells the story of a complicated, and tortured assassin, Ian Abbott, and a idealistic, and brilliant doctor, Adam Morrow, whose chance encounter leads them both on a dangerous path, where they soon learn the connection they share is far deeper than mere attraction.

It’s a dark read, full of many twists, and turns, and while an emotional read, at its heart is a love story that is as equal parts beautiful as it is tragic. I’m immensely proud of it, and how far it’s come. It began as a small nugget of an idea, a few years back and it grew, and grew until I finally had no choice but to sit down and let Ian and Adam tell me their story. I’m so glad they did!

It’s been a crazy, wild ride, and what I’ve enjoyed most was creating a cast of characters, and a love story (however dark it may be at times) that readers seem to truly enjoy! I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of writing these two, and as I plan on writing six books total for this series, I hope that sentiment continues to hold true.

As for what I’ve hated about writing it, not much. Writing is my true love! But there have been a few periods of self-doubt throughout this process, as well as wondering if I made the right decisions with certain plot points, and characters actions. Not to mention struggling from time to time with the one thing every writer dreads, writer’s block. All and all the entire process has been incredible. I wouldn’t change any of it, even the tough times for anything in the world.

The Dead Don’t Dream

Sequel to The Dead Don’t Mourn

After Katherine foils Ian and Adam’s plans, Ian self-destructs, drowning himself in alcohol and murder while Adam fights to stay sane under Katherine’s watchful eye, biding his time as he plots his revenge. Determined to keep them apart for good, Katherine takes her evil schemes one step further, leaving Ian and Adam unable to separate reality from fiction, friend from foe.

Still seeking answers to who betrayed them, Ian’s quest for vengeance puts him on a brutal path of destruction, setting off a devastating chain of events that changes everything for the group and leaving him more alone than ever. Broken and losing hope, Adam deals with a vengeful face from the past, one who will stop at nothing to claim Ian for himself. Locked in a battle for survival, Adam must do everything in his power to stay alive.

Their precarious situation takes an even more dangerous turn when Adam runs off and Katherine tasks Ian with bringing him back. It is a journey that will lead both men on a collision course with the ghosts of their shared and twisted past, and ultimately, each other, as they struggle to protect a future worth fighting for.

NOTE: This story contains scenes of torture, violence, death, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and a brief scene of bullying and hate speech. This book ends on a “happy for now” ending with the promise of more to come.

Amazon US : Amazon UK : JMS Books

Find Anne on Social Media.

#SampleSunday… The Quid Pro Quo

I’m jumping on the #SampleSunday hashtag on twitter this week, with an excerpt from The Quid Pro Quo for you…

The Quid Pro Quo is a romantic historical paranormal murder-mystery set in 1920s rural England where nearly everyone is queer and the main couple is m/transm. Think Agatha Christie, but queer! With monsters! It’s the sequel to The Fog of War, but it works as a standalone set in the Border Magic universe.

Simon pressed the heel of his hand down onto the place the pain was radiating from. That usually helped. He sometimes wondered if there was anything still left in there. He should probably get it looked at. X-rayed, they called it, didn’t they? The hospital in Taunton had a machine, he knew.
He sighed. “Look, I didn’t just come up to show off my weaknesses to you.”
Kennett made a harrumphing sound that could have been a laugh.
“I came to ask about two things. Her alibi. And the way she describes what happened at the seance.”
“Look,” Kennett drew a breath and said in a firm voice, “she didn’t do it.”
Simon glared up at him, not quite ready to get up off the bench and fall over into the other man’s arms again. “That’s all very well. But you can’t just say that and then tell me you can’t say why you know!”
Kennett screwed up his face. “I just can’t, Mr Frost. And that’s all there is to it.”
Simon managed to stand. For all Kennett was small, he was intimidating. He scowled furiously up at Simon, face creased with anger. There was no trace of the sardonic wit about him now.
“Was she with you that night?” Simon asked quietly. It seemed unlikely, a girl like Miss Hall-Bridges and Kennett, who was a good twenty years older than her if he was a day and a lowly ex-soldier to boot. But he’d seen stranger relationships.
Kennett choked. “Bloody hell, no!” he said, almost with a shudder. “Absolutely definitely the wrong tree, Detective Frost!” There! He did return Simon’s interest, else Simon was a Dutchman.
Simon took another wobbling step forward and Kennett stepped back. Simon finally felt as if he was getting somewhere. There was something there. Why were they all protecting the woman? It was clear she was the best suspect—on paper, she had reason. But it was also clear that despite the evidence, nobody thought she’d done it. Including Simon.
Not that a lot of other people didn’t have reason to dislike the victim as well by the sound of it. His take-away from speaking to people who knew her painted a picture of the deceased as an entitled, arrogant woman who expected people to jump to her tune. He stopped that train of thought. There was never a reason to kill anyone. Never. Just because most of the people he knew had spent the last few years seeing that as the solution to all their problems didn’t mean it was right.
He drew a breath. “Then point me toward the right tree for goodness sake! If you have evidence that it wasn’t her, you’re morally obliged to let me have it!” he said, finally after a moment of silence.
Kennett shook his head again. “No, Detective Frost. I can’t. It’s not my place.”
Simon eyed him narrowly. He was backed up against the wall of the hallway, calm and not at all intimidated by Simon’s greater height.
“Do you know who killed her?” Simon asked him.
Kennett’s eyes flicked away and back again. He shook his head. “No. I don’t.” He knew something though. He finally sighed and stepped forward, putting him chest to chest with Simon and Simon had no alternative but to step to one side and let him past unless he wanted to make something of it. And he didn’t. He really didn’t. He moved aside.
Simon was left looking after him as he went down the hall to the kitchen, the door propped open against the building heat of the day. He followed him into the room, watching him fill the kettle and put it on, helplessly standing there with his hands fisted in frustration at his sides, hot with irritation in the warmth of the morning and the lit range.
“We’re done here,” Kennett said, sliding the kettle onto the hotplate and turning to face him. “You should leave, before Dr Marks gets home.”
“What, so you can sort out an alibi for Miss Hall-Bridges between you?” Simon said snarkily.
There was quite a long pause and then, from behind him, Dr Marks’ voice, deep and calm and very, very flat said, “No need, Detective Frost. Lucy and I share a bed. She didn’t go anywhere, all night.”
The silence was as absolute as if a shell had gone off and deafened him.
`

AMazon

publisher

everywhere else

Jackson Marsh: Researching and Portraying a Deaf Character in Victorian Fiction

This week we welcome Jackson Marsh to talk about his lead character in the Larkspur Mysteries. Welcome, Jackson! Take it away…

Hi, I’m Jackson Marsh, author of the 11-part Clearwater Mystery series set between the years 1888 and 1890. I am now writing the follow-on series, the Larkspur Mysteries, and one of my main characters is deaf. I’m here to tell you why I chose to write a deaf lead character, what research I did to help create him, and how I write him into the romantic, MM mysteries.

Why Write a Lead Character who is Deaf?

My interest in the deaf world began several years ago when I worked as the composer for a deaf/hearing children’s theatre company. Recently, I was watching ‘The Amazing Race’ and found myself fascinated by the team of Luke Adams and his mother, Marj O’Donnell. Seeing Luke, who is deaf, compete in the race and work his way through triumphs and frustrations is what (and who) gave me the idea to create Joe Tanner, my 19-year-old, deaf-from-birth character in the Larkspur Series. I’ve since written to Luke and thanked him for his inspiration—it was the first time I had ever written fan mail.

Most stories I had read that featured a deaf character had him/her portrayed as a victim. Someone to be helped by others, someone to be pitied, and, particularly in historical fiction, someone who was stupid. My mission was to reverse those misconceptions, and create a young, gay, deaf man who would not only be heroic but would also become educated. Joe’s story starts with an abusive father, takes him to seven years in a workhouse, and on to become one of the Clearwater men at the Larkspur Academy. It is a story of survival through MM love.

What Research was Involved?

For Joe’s initial story, ‘Guardians of the Poor’, I had two main areas to research. Firstly, and easiest, was the history of the Hackney Workhouse in London, and life in workhouses in the late 19^th century. Books, online research, the National Newspaper Archives… I was able to use my usual resources, as well as my memory, as I had visited the actual buildings many years ago when I lived nearby.

Secondly, more challenging but infinitely more practical, was learning sign language. I researched the history of British Sign Language (BSL) as best as I could and used that to inform Joe’s wider world. Joe is a deaf character who speaks, but because he’s never heard words, he can only imitate lip movements, and that’s why people think he is, in Victorian wordage, an imbecile. However, he signs, and so that I could understand what that entails, I took a course in basic BSL. My husband joined me, and now we can communicate in sign if we choose to. It’s great fun talking about people without them knowing what you’re signing. Seriously, though, it gave me a massive insight into how to write Joe’s thought process.

How do I Write a Deaf Character?

It’s not only Joe’s thought process that I needed to consider when writing ‘Guardians of the Poor’ and the books that follow. Joe is the hero in book two of the series, ‘Keepers of the Past’, and as half of the narrative is from his point of view, I had to be in his head for much of the time. Sign language is constructed differently to spoken languages, and if I wrote purely as Joe would have thought and signed, it would be hard to read. For example, his dialogue would be, ‘You me go London when? Before me London rubbish, now, so-so.’ (When are we going to London? I used to hate the place, but now, it’s alright.)

Another consideration was understanding how Joe would have thought. When hearing people think or read, we hear the words in our head, but what if you’ve never heard words? What then? Joe, like many deaf-from-birth people, thinks visually. Again, I had to cheat to a certain extent, because otherwise the text would be impossible to read. It would be a jumble of memories and images that would only make sense to Joe.

More importantly, behaviour was a consideration, and for that, I remembered Luke’s frustrations on The Amazing Race, his, to us, over reactions, his use of body language for emphasis, other people’s reactions, and his heroism through daily adversity. All those trains have informed the character of Joe Tanner.

One day, I’d love to speak, sorry, sign with Luke, and give him a copy of the books, as a thank you for the inspiration. He’s become a bit of a hero of mine, and Joe can be yours if you follow the Larkspur Mystery Series.

The Larkspur Mysteries : The Clearwater Mysteries

Guardians of the Poor: The Larkspur Mysteries Book 1

“The greatest gift one man may give another is his trust.”
Barbary Fleet, 1890.

Standing stones, messages written in symbols, and the language of the deaf. It falls to Lord Clearwater to unlock the mystery of Dalston Blaze and his deaf friend, Joe Tanner, two young men arrested for committing ‘unnatural offences’ at the Hackney workhouse.

Dalston hopes for a prison sentence. It’s the only way to save his life. Instead, he is bailed to the Larkspur Academy on Lord Clearwater’s Cornish estate, where there is only one rule: honesty above all else. For Dalston, this means confronting his past, learning to trust, and admitting his secrets. Joe is the key, but Joe is missing, and his location is locked deep inside a memory seen in sign language, and clouded by eighteen years of workhouse life.

If Dalston remains silent, the immoral workhouse master and his sadistic schoolteacher will continue to inflict pain and suffering on all inmates of the Hackney workhouse. If he tells the truth, he and Joe will die.

The Guardians of the Poor is a combination of mystery, adventure and male romance, set in 1890. It draws on first-hand accounts of workhouse life at the time, and is the first of a new series of mysteries set in the Clearwater world.

The Larkspur Mysteries

Beginning in 1890, The Larkspur Mysteries follow on from The Clearwater Mysteries series of 11 novels. It’s not necessary to have read the Clearwater books before you embark on the Larkspur series. However, if you enjoy mystery, romance, adventure and a mix of historical fact and fiction, then begin the journey with ‘Deviant Desire.’ (Or the non-mystery prequel, ‘Banyak & Fecks.’)

Lord Clearwater has created a unique academy for disadvantaged young men. The Larkspur Academy is, ‘A non-academic institution with the aim to provide deserving men the opportunity to expand talent, horizons and knowledge for the betterment of the underprivileged and general society.’ It’s not a school. There are no lessons, no teachers, no schoolboys and no rules. The series exists in the established Clearwater world of the late 1800’s where homosexuality is a crime everywhere but on Clearwater’s country estate in Cornwall.

The series is ongoing. Each story involves male bonding, bromance, friendship and love. Mystery, adventure and a little comedy play their parts, and every story is inspired by true events from the past.

Buy The Guardians of the Poor

About Jackson

Jackson Marsh was born in 2017 as the pen name for James Collins so I could publish my new gay fiction independently from my other writing work.

I was born on the south coast of England during a blizzard in 1963, but now like to warm thing up with MM romance novels, gay mysteries and some occasional erotica. In 2007 I was awarded an EGPA award for my erotic short stories, and I have won three Best Screenplay awards for my film scripts. I am a diverse writer with thrillers, comedies and horror stories under my James belt, and now romance and mystery under my Jackson belt.

Although I spend most of my time researching and writing, I do have other interests. It’s a strange collection of playing the piano, building classic horror model kits and, when I can, travel. Past interests, which I still follow but no longer pursue so much, include rock climbing, musical theatre and genealogy. That’s probably why my books tend to involve characters who are musicians, writers, mystery-solvers and rock climbers; there’s a bit of me in each one of them.

I live on a Greek island with my husband, and we have been here since 2002.

You can keep up to date with my monthly newsletter and be the first to know about my publications. The isn’t one of those newsletters that simply advertise other people’s books for sale, it’s more personal than that, and you can unsubscribe anytime.

Jackson Marsh Amazon : Jackson Marsh website : Jackson Marsh Facebook

Am Reading

This week, a climate-driven dystopia by Premee Mohamed, a spooky gay romance by Isabelle Adler and a murder mystery with a background gay romance by C. S. Poe.

The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed

Wonderful novella set in a world ravaged by climate breakdown. Millions have died. Those remaining scrape out an existence in the remaining cities, spinning fibre out of reclaimed plastic bags, getting their protein from eggs twice a week, scavenging through what once was in the Back Then, about eighty years ago, as far as I could work out. A percentage of people are infected with Cad, a sort of symbiote that can manipulate its host in a limited sort of way…through fear or excessive caution to improve survival. Our hero is Reid, a young woman who has been contacted by one of the domes, centres where knowledge and tech is supposed to have survived. She’s offered a place at the University. But it’s days travel away. And no-one ever comes back.

I’ve read Premee Mohamed’s Apple Tree Throne and loved both her writing and storytelling. Similarly this…it’s delicate and thoughtful and the worldbuilding and attention to detail is beautiful. Reid’s world is completely believable. The shadow of ours hangs over it–its a howl against what we’ve already done to our descendants as well as a fantastic story. It’s a beautiful dystopia, with hope. Recommend.

The House on Druid Lake by Isabelle Adler

This is kind of a cosy mystery and also a Halloween story, which I find counter-intuitive but turns out not to be at all. Oliver’s a bit of a mess–his last relationship was abusive and he’s moved from Florida to Baltimore for a new job and a fresh start. He moves into a flat in an interesting old house, sight unseen except for the photos in the listing on the internet. The very attractive landlord is a bit odd as are the rest of the tenants. It was such a set-up…creaky old house, mysterious tenants…I loved it and immediately began working out what particular kind of entity each person was. The house turns out to be the target of an unscrupulous developer and Oliver and his new landlord have to outwit them. Nym, the landlord, has his own secrets and hang-ups and I found their relationship development satisfying and well-rounded. There are some pleasingly inexplicable little bits…I don’t like my magic systems to be spoon-fed to me and they were little loose threads independent of the main story that gave me things to ponder on once I’d finished. It’s a very happy book and I recommend it. Also, I love the cover!

Madison Square Murders by C. S. Poe

This is the opener of a new series by C. S. Poe. Everett is a desperately unhappy cold case detective who’s marriage is on the rocks, in part because a traumatic brain injury means he has memory issues. He can’t remember small things–he has to write everything down. Big things, he can’t forget.

A body found in the roots of a tree in the eponymous Madison Square Park begins a professional partnership with facial reconstruction artist Ira that soon turns into something more. Ira makes his interest in Everett clear, not realising he’s married. Both the emotional plot and the murder plot are complex and very well drawn. I love Poe’s stories and the way her characters often have disabilities they are living with as best they can. Disabled people live fulfilling lives centred around things other than dealing with their disability; and her writing embraces this. I’m looking forward to the next in the Memento Mori series.

British Accents now and then

One of the things I love about working with Callum Hale on my audiobooks is his ability to throw himself into pretty much any British accent and bring the character to life. To my British ear each of the people I’ve created sound exactly as I’ve envisaged them as he brings them off the page.

I asked him to make Rob, from Inheritance of Shadows ‘less ooh-arr’ and he toned the accent down so to me at least, Rob doesn’t sound so much like a heavy-handed son of the Somerset soil. And I wanted Will Grant in the 1920s London Trilogy to sound more like Lord Peter Wimsey. Callum obliged, perfectly. (These are my two favourite of all my characters, ever, incidentally).

The question I’m always asking myself about my writing though, is how right can I get it? I want the history in my books to be accurate, unless I’m deliberately twisting the universe out of true with magic. I think this is the same question historians have to ask themselves about looking at anything in the past. We are both looking at things through our own rose-tinted spectacles, coloured with our own experiences and social expectations. My characters in these books grew up in Victorian England. What did they really think about the Empire? What did they talk about in the pub? What did they really sound like? How did they really smell? We’re fudging it, the whole lot. Historians and archaeologists because of lack of data. And writers because of lack of data and because we don’t want our main characters to be unsympathetic to modern audiences.

Anyway…during one or other of my late-night sessions randomly browsing the web, I came across this programme about Edwardian accents. A regional English language specialist in Germany during the First World War, a real-life Professor Higgins, suddenly realised he had a huge pool of untapped research material in the German army’s British prisoners of war. In this documentary you can actually listen to their voices.

I was very interested in how the modern specialists in the programme say the regional accents of the past are broader in the recordings than they are now. It’s as if the rising tide of London-speak has swept the broad vowels of the regional accents back from the centre of the country, into the more remote west of England. So although to me, Rob sounds about right, a farm labourer from Somerset who’s self-educated and likes to read, to his contemporaries he’d probably have sounded out of place. You can listen to Callum’s reading of him here, in the first chapter of Inheritance of Shadows.

I think, listening to those long-ago voices in the programme, it’s important to remember these men were prisoners. That’s one of the filters we mustn’t discard. Were they doing this work in the language lab out of the kindness of their hearts? Because they were bored and wanted an occupation? Because they were threatened in to it? Because they were offered extra rations or privileges? Are these their actual accents? Or are they performative, a joke on the professor? They’re immensely touching, whatever their origin and I hope you enjoy it.

You can buy the 1920s London audiobooks at Authors Direct.

Lost in Time, Shadows on the Border, The Hunted and the Hind by A. L. Lester. Narrated by Callum Hale.