I’m very happy to say I’ve just finished writing my latest novel, Live Cross.

This one is a little different from my works to date — it’s paranormal crime suspense, about an ambitious but rather self-effacing Australian TV reporter, Cass Loukas. She moved to Los Angeles in a bid to make a name for herself.

Cass will do that in a way she could never have predicted. She’s on a ride-along with the LAPD when she and two cops, officers Ethan Hill and Jimmy Vargas, find themselves in the middle of a multiple homicide.

The killer is himself shot dead by Officer Vargas, who saves Cass’s life in doing so.

But death is not enough to slow this killer down.

I’ll be getting this book out to the Advance Reader Team on my subscriber list soon. I’m aiming to have it out in the world in July, but it may be slightly later if production takes a bit longer. Stay tuned for more, or sign up to my mailing list if you’re not on it already – follow the link from the front page of my website.

The phone rings. It’s Mick Jagger on the line. He wants you to join the band.

For one song, for one night only.

Obviously you say yes immediately, but is that the end of it? Can you cut it with the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world?

When Bruce Springsteen got the call in 2012 he was fairly confident he could hold his own.

It’s late in the story, but the life that brought him to this moment is stunningly laid bare in Springsteen’s remarkably well-written autobiography, Born To Run.

For decades I’ve regarded Springsteen as one of the truly great men of rock, because the man has worked so long and hard to give us his all, both onstage and on record. My view hasn’t always been this unerringly positive, but over the decades he has assuredly shown himself to be rock royalty, a cut above the rest. His songs have always been about things that matter to all of us, never just fluff and fairy floss with a catchy beat.

I’m almost ashamed to say I waited until the man was in his 60s to see him perform live with the E Street Band. In that 2014 show he gave more to the audience than any performer I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a few. By the end of it, he could barely walk.

Which is why it’s so extraordinary to learn Springsteen’s greatest fear has always been that he is no more than a poser, a pretender to the everyman throne. Even more incredibly, one of his greatest disappointments is that he feels his greatest works remain to this day misunderstood.

I know what he means, because I completely missed the point of Born In The USA, the song and the album that made him a worldwide megastar in the 1980s. I was a music reviewer at the time, so I should have known better, yet I paid scant attention, dismissing the record as a sellout — a yawping jingoistic nod to the true patriots.

It was, of course, anything but.

I was far from alone in my misinterpretation, although for most the wrongly perceived “hell-yeah” triumphalism was something they loved.

Back then, in pursuit of a pretty girl, I would hit the floor in nightclubs to Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark even as it cemented my view he’d crossed too far into the commercial zone and the accompanying MTV-era video proved the boy sure couldn’t dance.

It might surprise you to learn Springsteen himself once believed he couldn’t sing. Even now he sees himself as a journeyman singer, something he felt he had to overcome through superlative guitar playing and songwriting. He strove to overcome vocal limitation with passionate expression.

I’d say he’s managed to pull that off.

To read all this in the man’s own words was to find myself beside him on the therapist’s couch, a party to the revelation that Bruce really is just like me, complete with fears, anxieties, egocentric follies, darkness and failure aplenty.

There is an honesty in these pages that is surely a result of the years of therapy he actually did receive as he sought to face down his demons.

In the final pages he says he strove to to show the reader his mind. That promise is admirably fulfilled here.

Seek this book. It’s not hard to find.

I bring you news of another indie author book giveaway, this one offering more than 70 books to download across a variety of genres.

All of them are available for no cost when you go to the Indie Author Multi-Genre Giveaway. This all happens via the InstaFreebie portal when you click on the book cover or covers of your choice. The relevant author is offering you a book in return for you joining his or her mailing list.

As is always the case, you can unsubscribe from mailing lists any time you want. The books are still free and yours to keep.

It’s pretty easy — when you click on the link to go to the portal, you’ll find books listed under genre, including science fiction, fantasy, paranormal romance, suspense/thriller, contemporary romance, young adult (YA) and urban fiction.

I have to admit, I’ve never heard of that last genre (perhaps someone can enlighten me).

There is no hidden catch with these giveaways – this is us indie authors trying to find new readers. Feel free to mention the giveaway to anyone you think will be interested. It’s up and running until November 16.

 

 

Fancy a bunch of great science fiction books for free? This week I’m partnering with a group of fellow sci-fi authors and we’re all giving books away. If you’re reading this, you probably already have Sleeping Gods, but do yourself a favour and check out what else is on offer here. Click on the FREE BOOKS graphic (above) to visit our joint promotional site (hosted by author Dean Wilson).

Once you’re there, you just click on the book or books you want (there are no limits). Join the relevant author’s Reader List and you get to download their book for free. As always, you’re free to unsubscribe at any time.

The promotion period officially begins on October 12, but the site went live early, so go for it.

Reading and writing is a symbiotic relationship — we need each other. This is all about us writers finding new readers. It’s a great deal, I’ve already spotted a few books I’ll be nabbing for myself.