Undercover: Crime Shorts is back on the fabulous global podcast, The Authors Show, where I'm chatting with my lovely host, Linda Thompson, discussing my crime collection of short stories.
With more Twists and Turns than Spaghetti Junction and edge of the cliff suspense and tension...
After a string of arson fires drives migrant farm workers from their homes and threatens Millie’s daughter-in-law, Damien agrees to go undercover to infiltrate the white-supremacist, neo-Nazi militia responsible for the fires and unmask the identity of their leader.
Millie covers his absence by spreading the news that they have separated, while he travels back to Atlantic City. When Damien reappears in California, it’s in the guise of a former cop with neo-Nazi sympathies.
Left alone to run their detective agency while maintaining a brave front, Millie dives into an investigation of a friend of the new mayor of Carmel-by-the Sea, a local resident she suspects of being a Nazi war criminal in hiding.
The action is non-stop as Damien and Millie risk their lives to eradicate the spectre of violence and racism from their community.
I am chatting to my host, the lovely Linda Thompson about writing short stories, my interest and subsequent study of Forensic Science and Criminal Justice - with various online universities in the UK catering for Crime Writers... And I read from Undercover: Crime Shorts which was great fun. We chat about my previous careers in the Civil Service and the International Music Business and so much more.
I read The Ka of Gifford Hillary on the bus all the way to Leighton Buzzard. I'd spoken to Scott on the phone the night before and he was a chapter ahead of me, so I had some catching up to do. Just before I'd left the Leighton Buzzard house, a week ago, Scott and I had found two battered copies of the Dennis Wheatley book in one of the tall bookcases, and as neither of us had read it, we decided to make it a shared experience. Scott, apparently, was a massive Wheatley fan, and I'd never read any of his books before, so I was really looking forward to it.
The delightful Donna Morfett recently interviewed me via Zoom. We had quite a giggle together as we chatted about my writing, favourite and influential authors, as well as my early life working in the Ministry of Defence in Germany, transferring later to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London; oh! and how I married a musician.
We chatted about my life in the international music business, working and living in SE Asia and America, and how my experiences have influenced my crime/mystery writing, women's fiction writing, and so much more.
The Sania stayed docked in St. Peter Port in Guernsey for hours, well, maybe just over an hour - but it was driving me insane with impatience. I leaned over the side and watched people coming and going. Oh, hurry up! How long did it take to get on and off a boat for heavens sake?!
Later:
I stood up, leaning over the rails, no longer feeling sick, just starring as Scott's island took shape. I could see rocks and flower-sprigged cliffs and little white sandy bays...and then , as The Sarnia slowed towards St. Helier, the imposing sight of Fort Regent high on its granite hill, towering into the sky. I practically jumped up and down with excited anticipation. I'd made it! I was in Jersey! Almost...
Candice knew someone was out there; she could feel him. Who was watching her, and why?
Undercover: Crime Shorts by Jane Risdon
I spent a lovely day at The Vyne, which is a 16th century Tudor mansion which has been added to over the years by members of the Chute family. It is now owned by the National Trust and is situated in Sherbourne St John, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG24 9HL. It was built for Lord Sandys, Henry V111's Lord Chamberlain. Various owners of the house have been obliged to take the name Chute in order to benefit from various wills throughout the centuries. Photos on my blog. Jane Risdon
There was a bit of a stir from the cubicles and two of the young nurses appeared and shimmied across.
'We reckon you were the group appearing with Doc Holliday and the Cards, in Dunstable,' the small nurse said, excitedly.
'Yeah, dead sexy you were and we tried to see you afterwards but the bouncers wouldn't let us near...' the darker haired one giggled.
'That was us,' Josh beamed. 'And I'm gutted that you couldn't meet us after the gig. We could have given you - um -our autographs.'
'We can still do autographs,' Zac grinned, 'in exchange for phone numbers.'
To find out more and to hear me reading from another story, Apartment 206c, tune in to my podcast interview on The Authors Show, channel 4. I am chatting to my lovely host, Linda Thompson, about writing Undercover: Crime Shorts, what inspired me to write crime stories and about my life.
A group of archaeology students in northern England scrape at the soil near Hadrian’s Wall, once a barrier that divided Roman Britannia from wild Caledonian tribes. Twenty-year-old Noah makes an intriguing find, but hasn't anticipated becoming the object of desire in a developing love triangle in the isolated academic community at Vindolanda. He is living his best life, but must learn to prioritise in a race against time to solve an astounding ancient riddle, and an artefact theft, as he comes to realise his future career prospects depend on it.
Thins I Should Have Said And Done:
“I loved every second I spent reading this book and I never wanted the story to end.
A life that ended in a second and a family split from grief.
Everything can change in a heartbeat but love prevails from the other side.
Highly recommended.”
Find out more by tuning in to The Authors Show to listen to me reading a chapter from Undercover: Crime Shorts, and to hear me discussing how I came to write it, what inspired me, and how my background has given me ideas for stories.
Two girls, one rock musician. 1968 and the world is changing. Trip back and wallow in nostalgia for the music, fashion, food, the venues, the gigs, the musicians and so much more with Only One Woman. Written by those who lived it all.
Violet has a secret that could change the lives of everyone she knows and loves, especially the regulars at the run-down café bar where she works. After losing her parents at a young age, they are the closest thing she has to a family and she feels responsible for them.
Kai is a jaded music producer who has just moved outside of town. Seeking solitude from the stress of his job, he’s looking for seclusion. The only problem is he can’t seem to escape the band members and songwriters who keep showing up at his house.
When Kai wanders into the bar and Violet’s life, he accidently discovers her closely guarded secret. Can Kai help her rediscover her self-confidence or should some secrets remain undiscovered?
A few of the photos taken on my many wanders back when we were able to move around freely.
I hope they lift your spirits and make you feel happy.
Maggie Tideswell is an international bestselling author with a passion for romance. Ghosts just can't seem to leave her alone. She combines things that can't be explained, sweaty bodies, and rumpled beds in a way that will make your toes curl and your hair stand on end.
Hello - we are Renza Rossi and Stella Deacon, and like most girls in the 1960s we kept diaries. Proper written diaries – with daily entries from 1968 through to the end of the decade, chronicling our life, the fashions, the music, the excitement – and our love affairs….Which, is just as well – because although we didn’t know it, and we certainly didn’t know each other, miles apart geographically and with totally different lifestyles, we were both in love with the same boy…How this came about, the ups and downs, the laughter, the tears, the heartbreak, and how it was resolved – all played out to a 1960s background of love and peace and rock’n’roll - is covered in the amalgamation of our diaries – which we’ve put together and called ONLY ONE WOMAN. We very much hope that they’ve whetted your appetite and you’re now longing to read the rest.
I had a blast reading from Only One Woman on Chat and Spin Radio.
I chose a chapter from Renza's Diary of 20th July 1968 and I had 8 minutes in which to read it all and hopefully not sound like an express train chuntering along at speed.
Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine:
This week my review is for Jane Risdon for her collection Undercover: Crime Shorts. About the book Under one cover for the first time a collection of Crime Shorts from Jane Risdon featuring previously unpublished stories which will have you on the edge of your seat. There is an extract from Jane’s forthcoming novel…
Only One Woman is more than a complicated and intense love story, it is a social comment on the late 1960s and features many references to the music, fashions, food and beverages, and the Cold War, the Moon landings of the era.
We nattered about Only One Woman, which is the fab novel I co-wrote with award-winning, best-selling author Christina Jones (writer of Bucolic Frolics), and which is set in the late 1960s UK music scene. A love triangle between two girls, Renza and Stella, and guitarist Scott, of Narnia's Children.
I love to go out and about taking photos. These days I use my phone camera more than a traditional camera. I thought I'd share some photos of places I visited before we went into lockdown. I love seeing the open spaces and I hope you do too.
Tom Williams is my Guest Author: In an attempt to break away from the Napoleonic wars I have been experimenting with writing some stories set in the here and now. (Well, not quite now because I find covid restrictions a bit limiting for my characters, but near enough.) And because I wanted to escape the restrictions put on an author who writes a lot about real historical events I decided to move into the world of fantasy. Hence my Halloween 2019 novella, Dark Magic, a story of supernatural intervention in the world of stage conjuring. People seemed to like it, with its rather tongue-in-cheek take on the horror genre, so I’ve produced my first full-length contemporary novel, Something Wicked.
Dave Sivers is my Guest Crime Author: Tuesday 2 March sees the publication of my novel, Die in the Dark – and, as always, I’m both excited and apprehensive. But mostly excited. It will be my tenth published title, my ninth novel, and book six in my Archer and Baines series.
Hello - we are Renza Rossi and Stella Deacon, and like most girls in the 1960s we kept diaries. Proper written diaries – with daily entries from 1968 through to the end of the decade, chronicling our life, the fashions, the music, the excitement – and our love affairs….
Which, is just as well – because although we didn’t know it, and we certainly didn’t know each other, miles apart geographically and with totally different lifestyles, we were both in love with the same boy…
How this came about, the ups and downs, the laughter, the tears, the heartbreak, and how it was resolved – all played out to a 1960s background of love and peace and rock’n’roll - is covered in the amalgamation of our diaries – which we’ve put together and called ONLY ONE WOMAN.
We very much hope that they’ve whetted your appetite and you’re now longing to read the rest…
Meantime take a look around.
We are in Paperback from Waterstones, and Amazon and available for Kindle and Kindle for PC.
With love,
Renza and Stella XXX
In December 2019 I entered into discussions with an International Literary Agent interested in representing me internationally. I hadn't even considered getting an agent, but having been approached and after doing my homework, I was prepared to give the idea consideration. One year later, after lots of discussions, I am happy to announce that on December 10th, 2020 I signed an agreement with Langtons International Literary Agency based in New York, USA. I am now represented by their founder, Linda Langton.
A bride is sent off into the unknown to marry a stranger on All Hallows Eve, October 31, 1749. What she finds on her arrival is enough to make her skin crawl.
Limping footsteps, blood-curdling screams, smoking torches, and a house on a cliff... A man she only sees in the dark, his breathing labored behind a mask.
“A betrothal is as good as the wedding vows. You cannot leave.”
“Am I your prisoner?” "You shall stay here until you bear me a child. Then you can stay or go, the choice shall be mine!"
Thanks so much for your company over the last year and for your kind and wonderful comments and posts about my writing and photos. I am glad to have stolen some sunshine to share with you all during such a horrid year.
Robbie Cheadle has published nine books for children and one poetry book. She has branched into writing for adults and young adults and, in order to clearly separate her children's books from her adult books, is writing for older readers under the name Roberta Eaton Cheadle.
Undercover: Crime Shorts is on the global author network, The Authors Show, once more, and I am chatting to my lovely host, Linda, about murder, crime, and the inspiration for my stories in my crime collection.
Check this out. The fab Sally Cronin has included Undercover: Crime Shorts in her list of books to buy as gifts this Christmas. Thrilled to be amongst such fab authors, including Sally. Thanks so very much, I am dead chuffed.
Jane is chatting with her host Linda, on the global internet show for authors, The Authors Show, about writing Only One Woman with lifelong friend and author, Christina Jones, the inspiration for their collaboration, and more. She reads from Renza's diary - June 1968 - when Renza visits Carnaby Street for the first time and sees the coolest people up close.
The next edition of The Writers and Readers' Magazine is on sale from 6th December 2020, packed full of short stories, articles, poems, prose, and the latest installment of my regular series, In the Mix. Jane Risdon
Undercover: Crime Shorts - With more twists and turns than Spaghetti Junction and with edge-of-the-cliff tension - it is a quick read for those short on time and who enjoy reading a short story with a beginning, middle, and satisfying end.
For me, White Stones was to be a one-off story. One full of mystery, a little romance, a woman haunted by a piece of music and an element of time-slipping. When the book reached its final paragraph, the main characters had had their stories told. ... but...
In my new book, Networking for writers, I talk about ways to grow your readership and author network. Marketing your own work can seem very daunting, but that can be turned around to make marketing something you look forward to. It doesn’t have to eat into precious writing time, or push you into procrastination because you aren’t sure which direction to take next.
Undercover: Crime Shorts with more twists and turns than Spaghetti Junction. Crime stories for those with little time for a novel.
Two girls, one musician and an epic love story during the grooviest decade of the 20th century. Only One Woman: Music, fashion, romance and the Cold War.
19 5* reviews including:
5* C. Plunkett: Fast-paced, page-turner of murder, mystery short stories. Reviewed in the United Kingdom Fast-paced, well written, page-turner that had me so engrossed my train journey flew by. The author clearly has done a lot of research, these short stories all felt very authentic and each had me gripped and on the edge of my seat wondering how they would play out. It’s been a long time since I read anything quite so intriguing and twisty. It certainly got my heart beating faster and I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great murder, mystery.
If you can remember the Sixties you weren't there, is what they say. Christina Jones and I remember only too well, and we were there. read about the adventures of renza, Stella and Scott, in Only One Woman. Get the Sixties Vibe.
Kit Domino – a fab author and blogger, invited me to post a guest article on her, ‘Kit Domino’s World – Kit’s Library,’ and here it is. I – we both – hope you enjoy it. Let her know, she’d appreciate the feed-back and so would I. I’ve written about my experiences recording various Podcasts and internet video and radio […]
China's life hangs in the balance when she stumbles across something so terrible she wonders if she is living inside one of her own novels.
Shrinking Violet, to be published with Solstice Publishing, is her first venture into YA Paranormal. Visit Trish Morgan on amazon to find her books.
Scott loves Renza but he also loves Stella. The lead guitarist must choose, for their can be Only One Woman...
Undercover: Crime Shorts is airing on theauthorsshow.com again. All day today it is on a loop and you can pop in and listen to me nattering about writing the short stories which are included in my first collection of short stories.
Winkworth Arboretum and West Green House and Gardens are National Trust properties and if you are not a member you can pay an entrance fee. The Savill Garden is part of the Crown Estate and has an entrance fee for non members, payable at the entrance. I really hope you enjoy my wanders and will come back again. I featured […]
trip back to 1968 with Only One Woman, more music, fashion and love than you can handle. Plus more...listen to Jane read from Renza's diary detailing her first visit to Carnaby Street in June 1968.
Fast-paced, well written, page turner that had me so engrossed my train journey flew by. The author clearly has done a lot of research, these short stories all felt very authentic and each had me gripped and on the edge of my seat wondering how they would play out. It’s been a long time since I read anything quite so intriguing and twisty. It certainly got my heart beating faster and I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great murder, mystery. Reader, C. Plunkett
Chatting on The Authors Show about Undercover: Crime Shorts by Jane Risdon. Listen to Jane read a chapter from Apartment 206c aznd discover the inspiration behind her storie
Buried Treasure by Gilli Allan...
Jane thinks he sees her as shallow and ill-educated. Theo thinks she sees him as a snob, stuffy and out of touch.
Within the ancient precincts of the university the first encounter between the conference planner and the academic is accidental and unpromising. Just as well there’s no reason for them ever to meet again. But behind the armour they’ve each constructed from old scars, they’ve more in common than divides them. Both have an archaeological puzzle they are driven to solve. As their stories intertwine, their quest to uncover the past unearths more than expected.
Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine:
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Cafe and Bookstore Update with reviews for authors on the shelves. The first author today is Terry Tyler with a review for her most recent release Megacity (Operation Galton Book 3) About the book The UK’s new megacities: contented citizens relieved of the burden of home ownership,…
Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine:
Welcome to the Friday edition of the Cafe and Bookstore with recent reviews for authors on the shelves. The first author today is James J. Cudney with a review for Legally Blind Luck (book 7 the Braxton Campus Mysteries) About the book Surprising new family members. A hidden talisman. Deadly curses. Horrific murder. Months…
Going down the steep cobbled streets is horrid, Mum makes me walk behind her as she's embarrassed at the way the old women lean out of the windows shouting and laughing at my fashions. I'm only wearing what everyone in England wears; minis, midis, maxi dresses and hipster trousers. Nothing radical.
Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine:
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord. A week of sunny weather which we have enjoyed very much, so sorry that some places in the world are still experiencing the extreme heat and bush fire risk as well as on the other side of the coin..…
Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine:
Delighted to share the news of Allan Hudson’s latest release earlier in August which will join his other books on the shelves of the Cafe. Vigilantes: A Drake Alexander Adventure About the book The master vintner at Chateau Lambert Estates, Jean-Paul Chouinard, stares up the rise at the family cemetery, where the darling of…
Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine:
Recently I ran a series Public Relations for Authors which focused on how we are perceived by those who view our profile photographs, biographies and presence on social media. This included guest posts on other writer’s blogs. Here is an opportunity to not only promote your own blog or books, but those of someone…
Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine:
Another Book Marketing sound bite and this time marketing your book or blog on Facebook. Sally Cronin – Smorgasbord Blog Magazine · Smorgasbord Cafe And Bookstore – Sally Cronin • Book Marketing on Facebook ? Thanks for dropping in today and next time a look at Twitter and LinkedIn.. followed up with some cons…
Undercover: Crime Shorts and me
Only One Woman written by two friends
Only One Woman
Only One Woman
Signing with Langtons International Literary Agency
Undercover: Crime Shorts in paperback & eBook
Graham Bonnet Rainbow, Alcatraz, MSB and Blackmore etc
Guest Author August 2019
https://wnbnetworkwest.com/channel/6
Only One Woman
Caroline Munro with Madame Movara's Tales of Terror
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