Bit of a lengthy post, this one, a sort of get you all caught up kind of thing, so grab a cuppa, get comfy and lets go.
I re-started this website/blog at the start of 2026 and since then have done very little with it. Which perfectly mirrors my writing career as I've done very little with that as well. CUT AND SHUT was my third novel in the Louise Miller series of crime books which was initially released by Hobeck Books back in 2023 and then once I got the rights back at the end of the year, I republished them all myself in 2025.
You see, the plan there was to relaunch the series as I was able to continue with writing the fourth in the series, 'TIL IT BLEEDS. I'd originally started this back in 2022 as soon as I'd finished writing CUT AND SHUT, but at the time I went through another episode of anxiety and depression, brought on by several outside factors, mainly the need to go back into full time employment to ensure the bills were all covered. Having to put aside the full-time writing career which had started to take off sent me back into the depression and as the fourth book deals with that very same theme, I found it impossible to write.
Towards the end of 2024 though, I'd been dabbling with the manuscript, doing a few changes as the story was coming into my consciousness a little more each day until I couldn't stop thinking about it. I had to write it, I had to get this story onto the page - mainly because book 5 in the series was a book I was really keen to get to writing (the joys and pains of having nine books planned out in advance!).
So I decided to relaunch the first three books myself and took a trip to Ossett to take some photos which I could use for the new covers (the ones you see above and are currently available). These were then released in 2025 with the plan of releasing book 4 later that year.
BUT
On February 14th, 2025 my wife was told she had cancer and needed immediate surgery and treatment (yes; on Valentines Day). All our plans went out the window and for the rest of the year it was pretty much touch and go. Lots of tests and scans and chats with various doctors (all of whom were fantastic), and the surgery was booked for April. I took the month off work to look after her (luckily I work from home anyway), and for a while it was going well. As predicted by the doctors. But then an infection took hold, one serious enough that she spent nearly three weeks in hospital.
Needless to say, my focus was shot to hell. I was, and to some degree still am, a wreck. I would spontaneously break out in tears when I was alone in the house, or driving to the hospital. Even now, if I think back to those days, it brings me to tears. Naturally, all thought of writing went out the window and the planned release of the book in September of 2025 passed by, mostly forgotten.
BUT
She came through it all with great strength and resillience and is doing really well now, and for that I am eternally thankful, however, the book was still calling to be written, as was the next in the series. In fact, the first nine planned books were all wanting their time in the sun. This was early new year, 2026, and with everything that had happened the previous year, I'd had a fundamental shift in my thinking and what I held as priorities. I was done with the usual 9-5, the toiling for others at the expense of what was important to me. I wanted to get back to writing full time, and so put on my office wall the date when I would resign from "work" - September 28, 2027.
That was the date shortly after my pensions would become viable to claim. I figured I could save enough money by then through sales of my books and screenplays to add to that pot and have enough money to cover at least 2 years worth of bills. I'll continue to work the day job till then, and re-launch the Louise Miller books with brand new covers more suited to the genre.
I'm not going to be doing any great teaser campaigns for the new covers, mainly because I'm basically starting from scratch. There's a current readership, the numbers of KDP readers is growing steadily, and the new covers I hope will give this a boost - but as to doing the traditional "here comes a new book cover" thing? Waste of time.
So here they are.
Again, each one uses a photo of Ossett that I took, but each have been enhanced, in ways so much better than the first attempt I did. I am now slowly changing the files and redesigning the spines and back covers. Here's the WIP on the paperback cover for DIRTY LITTLE SECRET - still some work to do on it but it's getting there.
I'll be updating these in Amazon and the other distributors shortly, as well as creating hardback versions for the first time. I'm doing one book at a time with DIRTY due to be launched in March, with SORROW's in April and CUT in May, leaving June ready for book four, 'TIL IT BLEEDS.
Covers have been created for all nine of the books, and these stare down at me from my office wall, giving me the inspiration to write every day, which I've been doing for the last week.
I've also plans to post on my YouTube channel in the coming months, so look out for that. I'll post a clickable link on here at some point, but you can find me by searching for @jonathanpeaceauthor on YouTube. You can also find me on Facebook now, my wife created a new author page for me, mainly so I can actually start doing some promotion - a dirty word to me, and something I hate to do, but know she's right.
That's it for now - I told you it was a big update. Hope you weren't too bored.
All the best - JP
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