Dear All,

As I’ve mentioned before, one of the things I love about the Internet is the writing community it can foster for those of us who live in remote areas or small towns where there aren’t as many opportunities to meet with other artists and writers.

A few years ago a friend of mine introduced me to a new author she’d discovered by sending me (excitement, excitement!) a signed book. (That friend was Jen Brubacher—and if you read my last post, you’ll see a theme to her gifts. Books, books, glorious books—and I couldn’t be more grateful!) The signed book a few years back was Cut Short by Leigh Russell. I liked it, and I think what happened is that I wrote a short e-mail to Leigh telling her just that.

Long story short, we’ve kept in touch (a bit anyway) and I’m excited to announce, especially if you followed my previous recommendations (here and here) and sought out her novels yourself, that her latest Geraldine Steel book is out: Death Bed.

She shared these words with me recently, so that I could share them with you:

I wrote somewhere that I fell into writing like Alice down the rabbit hole. That analogy seems increasingly apt. Alice truly enters a different world in Wonderland – and isn’t that the joy and the magic of fiction?

The comparison seems to be following me around. I continue to pursue a back-to-front writing career, as though working through a Looking Glass.

Many writers start with short stories before tackling a full-length novel, then sign an agent who finds a publisher to produce hardbacks followed by paperbacks. All of that happened to me in reverse. I found a publisher before signing an agent, was offered my first three book deal after writing only one manuscript, and now that my books have all become bestsellers in paperback, my publisher has produced the first hardback of the latest book in the series, Death Bed.

As if to put the finishing touch to this writing career in reverse, while I was signing the limited edition hardback copies of my book last week, my publisher asked me if I would consider writing a short story. It’s a real challenge to an author accustomed to writing novels.

My advice to aspiring writers is to work hard, be brave and be lucky, so good luck if you are going through the submission process at the moment. ~Leigh Russell

An encouraging author is Leigh! If you haven’t already checked out her books, you should get on it.

And if you want a bit more of a serious bio on her, your wish is my command. 😉

Leigh Russell writes the bestselling Geraldine Steel series of crime novels. Among other accolades, her books have been shortlisted for a CWA Dagger Award, in the Top 50 Bestsellers list on amazon kindle, Number 1 Bestseller around the world for Female Detectives, in the Top 10 Best Crime Books on Crime Time, and a Great Crime Sleuth on Lovereading. Her books, in order, are: Cut Short, Road Closed, Dead End, and Death Bed. For more information about her, or her novels, visit her website:
http://www.leighrussell.co.uk

p.s. Did you drool over the gorgeous chair she’s sitting in for that photo? I’d be beaming, too.