tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88688836266728973642024-03-15T09:04:36.570-07:00Midlist WriterThe travels and musings of a prolific author who has yet to make it big.Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.comBlogger915125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-26278821146469469062024-03-06T02:38:00.000-08:002024-03-06T02:47:56.944-08:00Writing Update!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYjY36RmWhwTi7FKp6wQmfLhJ68BbEFWGrlTKArHGZ52m3bxMH-wnSJSh6R86yMRkTUqHSAZC3psEpmNxndW8Vssl1VgGBzIYszKSpR9RG5NN5PX-NCwzXy5APxf2LXlMoRLRXnrib_ihryO_8zyL7s_WQBcLEnDpmRAOBJSmN2n3TXOm_VcEGihF2Zmt/s550/20240223_110215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYjY36RmWhwTi7FKp6wQmfLhJ68BbEFWGrlTKArHGZ52m3bxMH-wnSJSh6R86yMRkTUqHSAZC3psEpmNxndW8Vssl1VgGBzIYszKSpR9RG5NN5PX-NCwzXy5APxf2LXlMoRLRXnrib_ihryO_8zyL7s_WQBcLEnDpmRAOBJSmN2n3TXOm_VcEGihF2Zmt/s16000/20240223_110215.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p>Hello everyone!</p><p>I just got back from southern Egypt, where I was researching Book Six in my <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081FFXTPJ/" target="_blank">Masked Man of Cairo</a></i> series, called <i>The Case of the Disappearing Dervish</i>. Moustafa has to go back home to the Sudan in order to solve a mystery, and of course Sir Augustus and Faisal come along. It will be out later this year.</p><p>I'm also launching a parallel series starring Cordelia, who doesn't get as much page time as she deserves in the main series. Tentatively called <i>Cordelia's Cairo Casebook</i>, it starts with <i>Cordelia Cracks the Case</i>. That's in production and will be out in a couple of months.</p><p>I'll soon be diving back into the <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLKWR6CN" target="_blank">The Berlin Murders</a></i> with book three, <i>A Summertime Murder in Berlin</i>. Katherine and friends get tangled up in some pretty nasty business! I'm also (slowly) working on the <i>Tech Scavengers</i> science fiction series.<br /></p><p>You can watch the progress of all these projects on the sidebar to the right. You can also follow along by subscribing to <a href="https://blogspot.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=602ff1f86dc26d80299b780e7&id=978bb08c34" target="_blank">my monthly newsletter</a>.</p><p>If you want to see more photos of my travels, check out my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/writersean/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>! <br /></p><p><br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-55369845499300169412024-01-11T00:20:00.000-08:002024-01-11T00:20:08.989-08:00My Travel Year: A Look Back and a Look Forward<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_cLBjatlpYoRk3vIfHNhZzQa0tV60aHnYS7qhapvaaCEkP0LXxFeKdPKF2ivSWSIPZdwPE5n_bNY9ZmeMvnNPDO6yPLwjt13KkPGvcU09MKctyKyKrCFDj3_TKOLh9Uw_xofRH7-sAwBGY0gWqD8B82U_F_aFagHp4PiPPNnM6pX-74ofR9NSedVz40C/s550/20231029_122434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_cLBjatlpYoRk3vIfHNhZzQa0tV60aHnYS7qhapvaaCEkP0LXxFeKdPKF2ivSWSIPZdwPE5n_bNY9ZmeMvnNPDO6yPLwjt13KkPGvcU09MKctyKyKrCFDj3_TKOLh9Uw_xofRH7-sAwBGY0gWqD8B82U_F_aFagHp4PiPPNnM6pX-74ofR9NSedVz40C/s16000/20231029_122434.jpg" /></a></div> <p></p><p>My 2023 was a busy one for travel, with lots of trips to familiar and not-so-familiar spots.</p><p>I went twice to Tangier, my favorite North African city, to show my nephew around. We did some day trips to Asilah and Tetouan and some short hikes. Now he loves Morocco as much as I do! I also went to Egypt for research and my usual Oxford summer stay.</p><p>The big trip, however, was living for almost three months in Victoria, British Columbia. I'm Canadian but moved out of the country when I was eight and this was the first time I'd gone back for a significant period. While the town itself was only OK (little culture, too many junkies) the surrounding nature was fantastic. The temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest has to be seen to be believed. I never knew there were that many shades of green!</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdB9HSPE1SnityTJ03ufK213ngrizhzK6i1rRAED2Dz6xUZtkE92o15OD34gFhw4wPktMFvFXBQXaliKCd25jBphcQuU1uGCTvrVVrBInF0yHbOkqUO4R_WQT5M67xMQZbl81to15417_n5hPam1gDyUcFQXfc4_oRl6b_Jt076tZJUCmI_3hKk3X2fqwE/s550/20231027_100339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdB9HSPE1SnityTJ03ufK213ngrizhzK6i1rRAED2Dz6xUZtkE92o15OD34gFhw4wPktMFvFXBQXaliKCd25jBphcQuU1uGCTvrVVrBInF0yHbOkqUO4R_WQT5M67xMQZbl81to15417_n5hPam1gDyUcFQXfc4_oRl6b_Jt076tZJUCmI_3hKk3X2fqwE/s16000/20231027_100339.jpg" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> </p><p>So what's on the agenda for 2024? Next week I'm off to Egypt again to write Book Six of <i>The Masked Man of Cairo</i> series. <i>The Case of the Disappearing Dervish</i> sees Moustafa having to go back to his village in Nubia to find a lost relative. Sir Augustus and Faisal come along to help. Much of my trip I'll be studying the Nubian villages along the border. Sadly, I can't get into the Sudan given the current situation. I hope it improves soon. The Sudanese people have endured way too much war in recent decades.</p><p>There will also be a return trip to Canada, Morocco, Oxford, and maybe a new country. It's been a while since I've gone to a country I've never visited before. My wife and I are thinking Hungary. I've heard Budapest is beautiful. Have any of you been there?</p><p>I'll post occasionally here on the blog, but for travel photos the best place to follow me is on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/writersean/" target="_blank">my Instagram account</a>. I also include travel articles in my <a href="https://dl.bookfunnel.com/s2h60a7yec" target="_blank">newsletter</a>. You get two free ebooks just for signing up!</p><p>Hope you have a great travel year! What do you have planned?</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhWKdSvdl5gLdgi6V0awnl-C8Eb8VjCMbctv0_TqLX2O9wiKX6TZsz9SGz18LFuUkTOOIH0UGP8KKHo37LWgrOOys25YwMbMbzpcI523_dN3EVcx4u8eo61uUn3A52sYWPL1K7JEjc6QSHWwUiKdRLFD5rQ9QTKNKFXtZHRCZfDXdB6La_T0NUyadktfel/s550/20230925_164647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhWKdSvdl5gLdgi6V0awnl-C8Eb8VjCMbctv0_TqLX2O9wiKX6TZsz9SGz18LFuUkTOOIH0UGP8KKHo37LWgrOOys25YwMbMbzpcI523_dN3EVcx4u8eo61uUn3A52sYWPL1K7JEjc6QSHWwUiKdRLFD5rQ9QTKNKFXtZHRCZfDXdB6La_T0NUyadktfel/s16000/20230925_164647.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-37412814341440821022024-01-06T02:45:00.000-08:002024-01-06T02:47:22.919-08:00My Writing Year: A Look Back and a Look Forward<p>The year 2023 was a busy writing year as usual for me. I got a lot of ghostwriting assignments that kept me at the keyboard from New Year's through Christmas. Because of that, I only got two of my own books out, the first two books of <i>The Berlin Murders</i>. <i><a href="https://books2read.com/u/4EExRl" target="_blank">A Winter Murder in Berlin</a></i> introduces a new series in which a German-American visits Germany in 1929 during the wild Weimar Era and gets caught up in a murder. <i><a href="https://books2read.com/u/3RPPBv" target="_blank">A Springtime Murder in Berlin</a></i> sees her on the case again solving a second mystery.</p><p>So far the series is doing well. I'm writing a book for each season, with an epilogue that happens in 1945. It's been a lot of fun to write, with lighter moments and a dark thread through it all. You can't really write about that era and avoid the darkness!</p><p>What the readers didn't see were the other books I've been working on. <i>Cordelia Cracks the Case</i> is now with the beta readers. It's part of my popular series <i>The Masked Man of Cairo</i> and follows the solo adventures of one of the minor characters who deserves more page time. That should come out in March.</p><p>I'm also halfway through a science fiction trilogy called <i>Tech Scavengers</i>, which is about far-future archaeologists trying to restore a galactic civilization after a cataclysmic fall. I'm going to have a rapid release schedule for those so I'm holding off releasing book one until I have the series mostly complete. Look for those late in 2024.</p><p>Coming before then will be <i>The Case of the Disappearing Dervish</i>, Book Six of <i>The Masked Man of Cairo</i>, and <i>A Summertime Murder in Berlin</i>, Book Three of <i>The Berlin Murders</i>. Those will come out in the summer.</p><p>Looks like I'm going to have a busy year!<br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-38918592085958854322024-01-02T02:59:00.000-08:002024-01-02T02:59:25.652-08:00Book Two of The Berlin Murders out now!!!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIwbiNDfmkf2_0SXPzGEU4HiKIF1k_HYvXCwP0iOSkxMR5Z4Q6s0GjM5r7UOltmuNwA7463N7res1U2LvBmVjewEB9Q39xPfZkmx6ZsnpjjubUOklGA1HKgd31ix8cZa7dBupggj_UxqzLZWzaSxTrKi4EL5I7tXRWpPDvpIqnrQm2je9pxw6WLCmgmoE/s831/Springtime%20Berlin550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIwbiNDfmkf2_0SXPzGEU4HiKIF1k_HYvXCwP0iOSkxMR5Z4Q6s0GjM5r7UOltmuNwA7463N7res1U2LvBmVjewEB9Q39xPfZkmx6ZsnpjjubUOklGA1HKgd31ix8cZa7dBupggj_UxqzLZWzaSxTrKi4EL5I7tXRWpPDvpIqnrQm2je9pxw6WLCmgmoE/s16000/Springtime%20Berlin550.jpg" /></a></div> <p></p><p>While my blog was locked down, book two of my historical mystery series <i>The Berlin Murders</i> came out. <i><a href="https://books2read.com/u/3RPPBv" target="_blank">A Springtime Murder in Berlin</a></i> sees Katherine solving another mystery with the help of her friends. A blurb is below.</p><div aria-expanded="true" class="a-expander-content a-expander-partial-collapse-content a-expander-content-expanded" style="padding-bottom: 20px;"> <span class="a-text-bold"><b>A chance at stardom. A murder on the set.</b></span><span><br /><br />Katherine
Schmidt has always dreamed of being an actress. An opportunity arises
when her flamboyant cousin Anton gets her a role as an extra in a major
German motion picture. But those dreams come crashing down when the
leading lady drops dead.<br /><br />Anton is arrested for her murder. His
family disinherited him years before due to his lifestyle and the studio
thinks he’s guilty. Katherine knows she’s the only one who can help.<br /><br />Now she must find out who’s behind the brazen poisoning and clear her cousin’s name—before she becomes the next victim. <br /><br /><br />Katherine and her friends are on the case again in the second installment of </span><span class="a-text-italic"><i>The Berlin Murders</i></span><span>, set in the Weimar era’s decadent Berlin.</span> </div><p>Check out <i><a href="https://books2read.com/u/3RPPBv" target="_blank">A Springtime Murder in Berlin</a></i> today!</p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-44121460232478601532023-12-31T04:58:00.000-08:002023-12-31T04:58:29.300-08:00My blog is back up!<p>You might be wondering what happened to this blog. Well, I've been away from Spain for a while now, passing through the UK and Canada, and Blogger decided I was a hacker and locked me out of my own blog. I couldn't recover it because my initial recovery email is from an account that has since vanished along with the providor, so I was locked out of my blog until I came back to Madrid.</p><p>I'm still trying to fix the problem so I can post from Egypt when I go there in a couple of weeks. Just wanted to give you a head's up that I haven't disappeared!<br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-84632264103339282412023-05-04T01:34:00.000-07:002023-05-04T01:34:07.038-07:00My Latest Historical Mystery is out Now!<p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFPU34-N40Bio6FeDiLlKs2-L1OAMDbm3wPgd6ds7I_0Ag4W3Ll-rMzT1XIsS22noKegStiPLTlFFriZRk6OVdRXooKgoz5H-lXdOS9xDeEynniQWXB4LJgEeGc65xEiZWI_IRgUIQGmRdRP2Z76TNkjTOLcMrloY5_yKHq7wgn7oGe3wwAA2j58ooLQ/s853/Winter%20Murder%20in%20Berlin550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFPU34-N40Bio6FeDiLlKs2-L1OAMDbm3wPgd6ds7I_0Ag4W3Ll-rMzT1XIsS22noKegStiPLTlFFriZRk6OVdRXooKgoz5H-lXdOS9xDeEynniQWXB4LJgEeGc65xEiZWI_IRgUIQGmRdRP2Z76TNkjTOLcMrloY5_yKHq7wgn7oGe3wwAA2j58ooLQ/s16000/Winter%20Murder%20in%20Berlin550.jpg" /></a></i></div><i><br /></i><p></p><p><i>A Winter Murder in Berlin</i>, Book One of <i>The Berlin Murders</i>, is now available. This is a slightly darker take on historical mystery than the <i>Masked Man of Cairo</i> series, although there are lighter bits. A blurb is below.</p><p><i>The voyage of a lifetime turns into a nightmare.</i></p><p><i>When Katherine Schmidt sails for Europe in late 1929, she looks forward to a year of carefree travel thanks to an unexpected inheritance. But when a companion on her steamer is murdered and she becomes a suspect, she needs to find the real killer before the police close in. Now she must delve into Weimar Berlin’s decadent nightlife and radical politics in order to clear her name.</i></p><p><i>Can an innocent young woman from Missouri outwit fascists, communists, and the denizens of Berlin’s notorious shadow world?</i></p><p> </p><p><i>A Winter Murder in Berlin</i> is available at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C45X79VL" target="_blank">Amazon US</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C45X79VL/" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a>, and all the other Amazons. If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can read it for free! Book One is a standalone, but the series will continue with Book Two, coming out this summer.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-31930262658431305882023-03-06T07:27:00.001-08:002023-03-06T07:28:22.671-08:00My Latest Cairo Mystery Novel Now Available in Print!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwJrLdba1f5eQd2DNpsupAJUFTl7OFiZKLyk3847XxQz2vGA081yECuZfW80S6a8V-2GmiqVTMAKXatyjD1ThT3V4ULEjBewHq576KU3epkk921dyJUPG4iQHsOPzCquYijUZTFK-24Tqv-LU_b5YElC7jYiJex_fcb8GOMsX6Higpi3X6KeBw70pfA/s4000/20230301_094126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwJrLdba1f5eQd2DNpsupAJUFTl7OFiZKLyk3847XxQz2vGA081yECuZfW80S6a8V-2GmiqVTMAKXatyjD1ThT3V4ULEjBewHq576KU3epkk921dyJUPG4iQHsOPzCquYijUZTFK-24Tqv-LU_b5YElC7jYiJex_fcb8GOMsX6Higpi3X6KeBw70pfA/w360-h640/20230301_094126.jpg" width="360" /></a></div> <p></p><p>My latest book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dastardly-Djinn-Masked-Cairo-Prequel/dp/B0BW2NL7HG/" target="_blank"><i>The Case of the Dastardly Djinn</i></a>, prequel to the <i>Masked Man of Cairo</i> historical mystery series, is now available in print. While the bulk of my sales are in ebooks, some readers do prefer print so I try to serve these readers as well. You can get in on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dastardly-Djinn-Masked-Cairo-Prequel/dp/B0BW2NL7HG/" target="_blank">Amazon US</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dastardly-Djinn-Masked-Cairo-Prequel/dp/B0BW2NL7HG/" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a>, and all the other Amazons.</p><p>The first in my Weimar mystery series, <i>A Winter Murder in Berlin</i>, should be out soon. I'm just waiting for the cover artist. Later in the year I'll come out with book two in that series and another Cairo novel. Stay tuned!<br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-38903872578072519722023-01-09T02:11:00.001-08:002023-01-09T02:11:10.306-08:00My Adventure Travel Year, A Look Back and a Look Forward<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGz_FJ3JbBSTSjTkizz55qiLU5oIrLANr1PWPjra6jps01_OFVm3GR1a83SwV2fi9IZxcfjZVjXqeZ-J34Q6KcvlPx8lOzRUswKdNGjGSNSu_mIJX8lp7F_T4AVXSFkRsTy54xlgO3Nco9luoUAYLn4Ey0TdqPOZyBCg1VgL0Con_pisKfoFxhINuBeQ/s978/20230101_115550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGz_FJ3JbBSTSjTkizz55qiLU5oIrLANr1PWPjra6jps01_OFVm3GR1a83SwV2fi9IZxcfjZVjXqeZ-J34Q6KcvlPx8lOzRUswKdNGjGSNSu_mIJX8lp7F_T4AVXSFkRsTy54xlgO3Nco9luoUAYLn4Ey0TdqPOZyBCg1VgL0Con_pisKfoFxhINuBeQ/s16000/20230101_115550.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medieval city gate, Cairo<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>With the threat of Covid dwindling, and my own immune system bolstered by vaccinations and a contracting a mild case, travel picked up for me in 2022. It started with a trip to Essaouira, an old pirate port on Morocco's Atlantic coast. I later returned to Morocco to go to two other ports, Asilah and my old haunt of Tangier. I hadn't been to Tangier for more than three years so it was great to see my Moroccan friends again. <br /></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3-BdW-mYBbr7tz2BGrRHm72oWPaPwohJByHetZPbSOZx4RdWUd9gYbZcmyG7FiLNoESqWA-RUUPnK8PBmsuiuczT4nSr3Kgh6XI5Vt_tQ-E63hS8IDqTPljALBTv4uIscs2PwAr2c0s26A1aRC30-XJFqO_d0MpTAXOxAlD1srpPXrLMojM0ZKtZnw/s550/20220519_093353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3-BdW-mYBbr7tz2BGrRHm72oWPaPwohJByHetZPbSOZx4RdWUd9gYbZcmyG7FiLNoESqWA-RUUPnK8PBmsuiuczT4nSr3Kgh6XI5Vt_tQ-E63hS8IDqTPljALBTv4uIscs2PwAr2c0s26A1aRC30-XJFqO_d0MpTAXOxAlD1srpPXrLMojM0ZKtZnw/s16000/20220519_093353.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Essaouira</td></tr></tbody></table>I also popped over to Berlin in the dead of winter for some book research. Berlin is not at its best in winter--cold, damp, and often foggy--but that's when my character shows up and so I had to method act that part. The first thing I discovered is I wasn't describing the weather as bad as it really was! Still, I enjoyed my trip.</p><p>And of course I went to Egypt. Only one trip this year, sadly, but it was a nice long one that was very fruitful for my book research and filled with good times with all my Egyptian friends.</p><p>So what's on deck for 2023? I'm thinking of going to the old walled Moroccan city of Taroudant south of the Atlas mountains. In the spring I'll revisit Berlin to work on book two of my Berlin series. There will also be a trip to Egypt, although I don't know when I'll slip that in.</p><p>The big news, however, is that I will be spending the last four months of the year in Victoria, British Columbia. Canada's west coast is rich in wildlife, nature, and several enduring First Nations cultures. I'll be exploring all of that.</p><p>To keep up with my travels, you can <a href="https://www.seanmclachlan.net/" target="_blank">subscribe to my monthly newsletter</a> (and get two free books to boot), or follow me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/writersean/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> or <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@writersean" target="_blank">Tiktok</a>.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyPs0kxUa7qdQSGl_9Ry9HKNT-6eUO-26A6WPYQCo0klV5VAGFpITd0qZ70oqNcBEYDz8QOkbgf1oOOh1i81tqOg6UMYB9PmIKntTfrL3hOXoT3HTvxPe-I68_DUETh4IFv7GbusFJ5bnhM1EX-maVU2J4FPUJP6_ZKwah09ONsrF4dVLR15a3s2yKkA/s550/20220526_202824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyPs0kxUa7qdQSGl_9Ry9HKNT-6eUO-26A6WPYQCo0klV5VAGFpITd0qZ70oqNcBEYDz8QOkbgf1oOOh1i81tqOg6UMYB9PmIKntTfrL3hOXoT3HTvxPe-I68_DUETh4IFv7GbusFJ5bnhM1EX-maVU2J4FPUJP6_ZKwah09ONsrF4dVLR15a3s2yKkA/s16000/20220526_202824.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Essaouira</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_Zb9mcBT69hTuVwm5koCyTJ2FFy4EhhU8VCd47MPNVjx5Q6qdFHrOfMPLQ4rREy0yZLle0tXEc3TvQkMdHs_1qw6btS2a-uPGpn6Ye_ai4P3C5Ah8_A9QoAbR-538Y8E0ayZpMkSA7OxK3T4447Vj6AkAm1xo0JrBry-NzHSLRgEEWOCvqODrMQbLw/s550/20221017_183428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_Zb9mcBT69hTuVwm5koCyTJ2FFy4EhhU8VCd47MPNVjx5Q6qdFHrOfMPLQ4rREy0yZLle0tXEc3TvQkMdHs_1qw6btS2a-uPGpn6Ye_ai4P3C5Ah8_A9QoAbR-538Y8E0ayZpMkSA7OxK3T4447Vj6AkAm1xo0JrBry-NzHSLRgEEWOCvqODrMQbLw/s16000/20221017_183428.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asilah</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5DyxgVbS_0-_fcWc76qLj0svVOqSYGj-kqrKpBj4E6XQqqBTcsbKVNKOMnh5NGucORXmPV6_l_gMZrnxoZG0-akm9xlF0F24Jl3ubSYue3JZR6ewJd3Psrobvj5NAkXssLfK-g6f3Eoig-EAZ6jGjbVQQh11YdChtCO_8SXAo3pogtYIt9p-QVZ1xQ/s550/20221021_102818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5DyxgVbS_0-_fcWc76qLj0svVOqSYGj-kqrKpBj4E6XQqqBTcsbKVNKOMnh5NGucORXmPV6_l_gMZrnxoZG0-akm9xlF0F24Jl3ubSYue3JZR6ewJd3Psrobvj5NAkXssLfK-g6f3Eoig-EAZ6jGjbVQQh11YdChtCO_8SXAo3pogtYIt9p-QVZ1xQ/s16000/20221021_102818.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asilah is famous for its street murals<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-75918330164965921432023-01-04T06:03:00.000-08:002023-01-04T06:03:26.758-08:00My Writing Year: A Look Back And A Look Forward<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoal0SyC7-Tgwox7K_zkskGQ6b4kfyes0CPEagzCJfLBNwAlBVjcJdgjcQDyPPErhiH_1PnGtlcza8ev2jxbYBVQRawgenrGbKGGBWkFTTtPHuQ4YvlJDk1uAJy78Z4nyYJAcCHu0d7Rs-dnagBwKR8bj1ID5Ev32gBsTto1h7WzrPPMkjdEufAw5mg/s400/PORTADA%20Dastardly%20Djinn250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoal0SyC7-Tgwox7K_zkskGQ6b4kfyes0CPEagzCJfLBNwAlBVjcJdgjcQDyPPErhiH_1PnGtlcza8ev2jxbYBVQRawgenrGbKGGBWkFTTtPHuQ4YvlJDk1uAJy78Z4nyYJAcCHu0d7Rs-dnagBwKR8bj1ID5Ev32gBsTto1h7WzrPPMkjdEufAw5mg/s320/PORTADA%20Dastardly%20Djinn250.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Happy New Year! I hope your holidays have been fun and relaxing. Now’s the time to look back at the past year and think of ways to improve in the new one.<p></p><p>I had a busy year with a lot of ghostwriting assignments. Luckily, I did get some time to write books under my own name. In May I released <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dastardly-Djinn-Masked-Cairo-Prequel-ebook/dp/B0B152THJY/" target="_blank"><i>The Case of the Dastardly Djinn (A Masked Man of Cairo Prequel)</i></a>.</p><p>I also finished the first book in a new series. Titled <i>A Winter Murder in Berlin</i>, it follows the adventures of Katherine Schmidt, a young German-American woman who decides to visit her parents’ homeland for the first time in 1929, and gets caught up in a murder investigation in which she is the prime suspect! There's lots of intrigue set in Berlin’s decadent nightlife and increasingly brutal politics. It's a bit more serious than <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081FFXTPJ/" target="_blank"><i>The Masked Man of Cairo</i></a> books, but does have its lighter moments. The series is titled <i>The Berlin Murders</i>, and I plan a book for each season (<i>A Springtime Murder in Berlin</i>, etc.), as well as a fifth book following the adventures of one of the younger characters, all grown up and returning to Berlin right after the end of World War Two.</p><p><i>A Winter Murder in Berlin</i> is currently with beta readers. I hope to have it out in February.</p><p>I also finished Book One of <i>Tech Scavengers</i>, a new science fiction series set in the far future as humanity and aliens try to pick up the pieces after the collapse of a galactic empire. I plan to write the entire trilogy before releasing them in rapid succession.</p><p>So what’s in the cards for 2023? At the moment I’m working on <i>Cordelia Cracks the Case</i>, a short novel featuring a supporting character from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081FFXTPJ/" target="_blank"><i>The Masked Man of Cairo</i></a> series solving a mystery on her own. I’ll also come out with one or two of the Berlin series, and go back to Egypt to write the next Cairo book, <i>The Case of the Cackling Crocodile</i>. Sir Augustus, Moustafa, and Faisal investigate a murder in the Fayoum, the vast swampland southwest of Cairo. Plenty of stuff to read in 2023. Stay tuned by subscribing to <a href="https://www.seanmclachlan.net/" target="_blank">my newsletter</a>. <br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-85462128238773306932022-11-06T07:33:00.003-08:002022-11-06T07:33:42.838-08:00When is my next mystery coming out?<p>A bunch of people have asked me when my next mystery is coming out. I haven't come out with anything since May when I released <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B152THJY/" target="_blank"><i>The Case of the Dastardly Djinn (A Masked Man of Cairo Prequel)</i></a>.</p><p>So what's going on? Have I gotten lazy? Is my ghostwriting career taking up all my time?</p><p>Fear not! I have two mysteries in the works. First off, I'm working on Book One of <i>The Berlin Murders</i>. Titled <i>A Winter Murder in Berlin</i>, it follows the adventures of Katherine Schmidt, a young German-American woman who decides to visit her parents' homeland for the first time in 1929, and gets caught up in a murder investigation in which she is the prime suspect! There's lots of intrigue set in Berlin's decadent nightlife and increasingly brutal politics. It's a bit more serious than <i>The Masked Man of Cairo</i> books, but does have its lighter moments.</p><p>The next <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081FFXTPJ" target="_blank"><i>Masked Man of Cairo</i></a> book will actually be a novella titled <i>Cordelia Cracks the Case</i>. A character who did not make a very good first impression, Cordelia has been coming more and more into her own in recent books and it's time she got the spotlight. After that, it will be back to another adventure focusing on our three regular heroes. They might be going to Sudan for that one, and so will I!</p><p>I hope to have both <i>A Winter Murder in Berlin </i>and <i>Cordelia Cracks the Case </i>out by the end of February. I'm nearly done with Katherine's adventures, and will wrap it up with a research trip to Berlin later this month. Then I'll set to work on Cordelia when I'm in Cairo in December.</p><p>You can keep track of the progress of all my books by checking out the word count meters on the right-hand column of this blog. You can also <a href="https://dl.bookfunnel.com/s2h60a7yec" target="_blank">sign up for my newsletter</a> and get two free ebooks to tide you over! <br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-49748837176362317492022-08-03T10:19:00.002-07:002022-08-03T10:19:00.180-07:00A New Website and other News<p>I've got a new website! It's been a while since I had one, so I hired designer Stuart Grant to design a website for <a href="https://www.seanmclachlan.net/" target="_blank">author Sean McLachlan</a>. I think it looks pretty good. It's still being tweaked, though, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to add them in the comments section.</p><p>In other news, I'm back in Oxford for my usual summer research in the Bodleian Library. This year I'm doing research for my upcoming Weimar historical mystery series, as well as some reading on the Sudan in anticipation of a trip there in the winter. Fingers crossed on that one.</p><p>On the 16th of this month I'll be releasing the next issue of Sean's Travels and Tales, my monthly newsletter that comes out on the 16th of every month. If you sign up via <a href="https://www.seanmclachlan.net/" target="_blank">my website</a>, you also get two of my books, <i>Radio Hope</i> and <i>Tangier Bank Heist</i>, for free! Not a bad deal, eh?<br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-55510873622809517032022-06-10T08:52:00.000-07:002022-06-10T08:52:30.894-07:00I'm on Tiktok!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_riD6yS9tKLle1Wpi5KGJBjaC6Y1JypFMTh7Dtg1uZyvMkPh0oQK20UiHw-KPGuD65K6nhZ-3SsSoqVK-yCELY5AOG-BxcLGmVhyIK_rluCI_Yr8cCzlxgCRtAx5BYap2CFBdVG30foQYNcGZa9Z_cBLc8EoBGRY_h7NY0iTjBdZHnGhvGkMMbE2ew/s750/share_img.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_riD6yS9tKLle1Wpi5KGJBjaC6Y1JypFMTh7Dtg1uZyvMkPh0oQK20UiHw-KPGuD65K6nhZ-3SsSoqVK-yCELY5AOG-BxcLGmVhyIK_rluCI_Yr8cCzlxgCRtAx5BYap2CFBdVG30foQYNcGZa9Z_cBLc8EoBGRY_h7NY0iTjBdZHnGhvGkMMbE2ew/s320/share_img.png" width="320" /></a></div>If you follow <a href="https://www.facebook.com/writersean" target="_blank">my Facebook page</a> (you do, don't you?) you'll know I recently attended the 20booksto50k conference for indie writers here in Madrid. It was heaps of fun and I learned a ton. One of the things I picked up was that Tiktok is getting hot for writers right now.<p></p><p>"Tiktok?" I said. "Isn't that for thirteen-year-old girls?"</p><p>Not anymore! Writers have invaded under the hashtag Booktok and are staking a claim to the platform. So now I've started <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@writersean" target="_blank">my own Tiktok account</a>, where I'm posting short videos of my writing retreats in North Africa and samples of some of the vintage paperbacks and magazines in my collection. Feel free to follow me over there!</p><p>(Unless you're a thirteen-year-old girl. That would be weird)<br /></p><p><br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-50034236704827800812022-05-12T05:11:00.000-07:002022-05-12T05:11:02.461-07:00The Masked Man of Cairo Gets a Sequel!<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVtxGe8U0rshgTN4jiGF2lzQrigQ2wbjH_fQONJzoae3MRdW3nTEFRKXO6-vz2DBHBfKkcg_1raxLiHef6X68VbRM-w63YUFCClJTVuEZ2T88388gK2OmENqwH6D-pWOLrAnhWgFSmknSjcwJBxhrh2M4KyUoU3VUVDH_bkve0SG7gwaklZNXQIL8Tw/s880/PORTADA%20Dastardly%20Djinn550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVtxGe8U0rshgTN4jiGF2lzQrigQ2wbjH_fQONJzoae3MRdW3nTEFRKXO6-vz2DBHBfKkcg_1raxLiHef6X68VbRM-w63YUFCClJTVuEZ2T88388gK2OmENqwH6D-pWOLrAnhWgFSmknSjcwJBxhrh2M4KyUoU3VUVDH_bkve0SG7gwaklZNXQIL8Tw/s16000/PORTADA%20Dastardly%20Djinn550.jpg" /></a></div> <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">The next book of my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081FFXTPJ/" target="_blank"><i>Masked Man of Cairo</i></a> historic mystery/adventure series is out, and it's a prequel! <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B152THJY/" target="_blank"><i>The Case of the Dastardly Djinn</i></a> is set in 1917, two years before <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0814M1CBS/" target="_blank"><i>The Case of the Purloined Pyramid</i></a>. Faisal has to solve a mystery without the help of Sir Augustus and Moustafa, but he doesn't have to face danger alone. A blurb is below.</p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>A homeless boy. A hunted girl.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">Cairo, 1917. In a city plagued by poverty and war, ten-year-old Faisal begs and steals to survive, hiding at night from the things that prowl after dark. The nimblest and most clever of the street boys, he’s terrified of the unseen spirits he’s convinced haunt the ancient city.</p><p style="text-align: left;">But when he discovers a girl his age left homeless by a terrible tragedy, Faisal decides to do what no one ever did for him—help. With no shelter and facing the many dangers of Cairo’s darkened streets, Faisal’s loyalties are tested when together they uncover a criminal ring more sinister than his worst superstitions. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This prequel to the Masked Man of Cairo mystery adventure series will thrill new readers and long-time fans alike!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>A portion of the proceeds from this book will go to help Egyptian street children.</i> </p><p style="text-align: left;">Available now in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B152THJY/" target="_blank">ebook</a>. Print edition coming soon!<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-63550460007263034682022-03-26T10:51:00.000-07:002022-03-26T10:51:12.594-07:00Radio Hope is now Free!<p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKscngjsM4hvfhQ4jXqI2lMADTuDoufsffS6yu-yv9gvMAquogsanII9Z1QN3nCEbD9oZRlElmhPLGEJANeRE_BoO1xb_ct1ntuHuQZItPCMGgxFQmoSq-mrs1IngyQO1Hds7VXyV5r_43w-X4FYcWR0-8e-iIXuPpqrtQ1QQ1FoR5IYTHSnO5hmq1w/s825/PORTADARadio%20HopeNew.550jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKscngjsM4hvfhQ4jXqI2lMADTuDoufsffS6yu-yv9gvMAquogsanII9Z1QN3nCEbD9oZRlElmhPLGEJANeRE_BoO1xb_ct1ntuHuQZItPCMGgxFQmoSq-mrs1IngyQO1Hds7VXyV5r_43w-X4FYcWR0-8e-iIXuPpqrtQ1QQ1FoR5IYTHSnO5hmq1w/s16000/PORTADARadio%20HopeNew.550jpg.jpg" /></a></i></div><p></p><p><i>Radio Hope</i>, the first volume in my <i>Toxic World</i> post-apocalyptic series, is now free on all platforms. That's right. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Radio-Hope-Toxic-World-Book-ebook/dp/B00I5HHTVS" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/radio-hope-sean-mclachlan/1140745393?ean=2940166323385" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/radio-hope" target="_blank">Kobo</a>, and all other vendors have it listed as free. So if you like gritty, realistic science fiction, give it a try! A blurb is below.</p><p><i>In a world shattered by war, pollution and disease. . .</i></p><p><i>A gunslinging mother longs to find a safe refuge for her son.</i></p><p><i>A frustrated revolutionary delivers water to villagers living on a toxic waste dump.</i></p><p><i>The assistant mayor of humanity's last city hopes he will never have to take command.</i></p><p><i>One thing gives them the promise of a better future--Radio Hope, a mysterious station that broadcasts vital information about surviving in a blighted world. But when a mad prophet and his army of fanatics march out of the wildlands on a crusade to purify the land with blood and fire, all three will find their lives intertwining, and changing forever.</i><br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-38905479848225711312022-01-17T09:53:00.001-08:002022-01-17T09:53:09.478-08:00My Travel Year: A Look Back and a Look Forward<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6mqofJxHwT9u3VmMYMmrMsTICko9WGAPJb1r2mz_f6bqzmOX1Z5YqbQnyu02oyuCZO3Ex8_LCdRctJw_w65cL_-VerMzcQvq4Skyb5iD3QsFcwKut_FW7SngSk1n2I8xYZq6jtwRPpXWM6X8nj4GLZTKPfCFJbeFURORQFUFaGSZbch4lAHTFkuBgwA=s733" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6mqofJxHwT9u3VmMYMmrMsTICko9WGAPJb1r2mz_f6bqzmOX1Z5YqbQnyu02oyuCZO3Ex8_LCdRctJw_w65cL_-VerMzcQvq4Skyb5iD3QsFcwKut_FW7SngSk1n2I8xYZq6jtwRPpXWM6X8nj4GLZTKPfCFJbeFURORQFUFaGSZbch4lAHTFkuBgwA=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cat and cat, Cairo<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>This past year wasn't the best for travel, as you all know. Despite all the restrictions, I did manage to make it to Egypt twice. I have a private flat where I can safely stay in the center of Cairo, and the travel restrictions are light to get into the country. You just need to show a negative PCR test and proof of vaccination.</p><p>The main destinations for these trips have been the northern parts of the country, taking in the early medieval monasteries at Wadi Natrun, the famous port of Alexandria, and the battlefield at El Alamein. I also briefly went south to Asyut to arrange a donation for someone to the Lilian Trasher orphanage, which briefly appeared in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089NX1VZD/" target="_blank"><i>The Case of the Karnak Killer</i></a>. <br /></p><p>I also went to Oxford for my usual summer working vacation. English beer, country walks, and work in a medieval library. Not a bad life!</p><p>The South African variant put the spanner in the works of a couple of planned trips. I wanted to go to Berlin to research my Weimar mystery series, but they were going into partial shutdown so I cancelled those plans. I also had to cancel a trip to Essaouira in Morocco. The country decided to close its borders again to avoid the latest wave. I haven't been back to Morocco since this whole thing began and I'm missing it!</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIT8NgFPISS_OzSJN0940LeCazjJzmGIKmteKc3CalTsmpibMjJv_4V0Z7JZV0X1IVyJXMmFED2f9Xs-MZnt0qvKtJSH-nnLH7RX7n55APsLKov5uOYa2tpmv-SkTg98OwTUjt7AtH9gr29_BMAKLETNCOUNRKnB7gh_u2MLlS40FIkaki3LSxy8ZoUQ=s733" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIT8NgFPISS_OzSJN0940LeCazjJzmGIKmteKc3CalTsmpibMjJv_4V0Z7JZV0X1IVyJXMmFED2f9Xs-MZnt0qvKtJSH-nnLH7RX7n55APsLKov5uOYa2tpmv-SkTg98OwTUjt7AtH9gr29_BMAKLETNCOUNRKnB7gh_u2MLlS40FIkaki3LSxy8ZoUQ=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tomb of a Mamluk ruler, Cairo<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p>As I write this I'm recovering from a mild case of covid. Did I get it on one of my trips? Nope, I got it while supposedly staying safe at home in Madrid. Oh well! <br /></p><p>Here's hoping 2022 will be better than 2021. If the latest variant subsides, and isn't replaced with another one, then I will go to Berlin and Essaouira this year. I also will be returning to Egypt sometime in the first half of the year. No set plans yet. I'm adopting a wait and see attitude.</p><p>If you want to hear more about my travels, you might enjoy <a href="https://blogspot.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=602ff1f86dc26d80299b780e7&id=978bb08c34" target="_blank">my newsletter</a>. <br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZQ2QBXpALIbSOzvcdWXO9nd5mRFcnK4BpNZ13Dhf0rM-NxVqJ0IZZbDlHrq9xiAT1js6KwwL6iF0azqzuPvoizdV3gwgvhfqXs6I41WdxUkCzuzyOkXZRGgmqhX4qs1Q84W6lBzUY3R9qYdRY8WcQyRpnDpyPxSGLivbz9Ngys6g0eNl6xmuhZDxvOQ=s550" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZQ2QBXpALIbSOzvcdWXO9nd5mRFcnK4BpNZ13Dhf0rM-NxVqJ0IZZbDlHrq9xiAT1js6KwwL6iF0azqzuPvoizdV3gwgvhfqXs6I41WdxUkCzuzyOkXZRGgmqhX4qs1Q84W6lBzUY3R9qYdRY8WcQyRpnDpyPxSGLivbz9Ngys6g0eNl6xmuhZDxvOQ=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Commonwealth cemetery, El Alamein<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4fNRwRpQAX2_nH5JgbBxpSy0FKe0GkmvW3PEoZyNMQquuWLlV0Rn4SwaZt_OgqBKs3TKHwOsy_3rS3kIWKYhjJtzqDuvgf6dbdxihqfiM4kixqsgoLqqboehHR86--GSGvfdOgSgtLbRroiO-9yQVU9A8UwCRQo4LtrErUF8HGd1CNnQqz3b4GeRmkg=s733" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="733" data-original-width="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4fNRwRpQAX2_nH5JgbBxpSy0FKe0GkmvW3PEoZyNMQquuWLlV0Rn4SwaZt_OgqBKs3TKHwOsy_3rS3kIWKYhjJtzqDuvgf6dbdxihqfiM4kixqsgoLqqboehHR86--GSGvfdOgSgtLbRroiO-9yQVU9A8UwCRQo4LtrErUF8HGd1CNnQqz3b4GeRmkg=s16000" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fancy turn-of-the-century buildings like this are a common sight in Alexandria<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-85091515487602355402022-01-03T07:35:00.001-08:002022-01-03T07:39:58.273-08:00My Writing Year: A Look Back And A Look Forward<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFhH0_5F9D4FBC0SoL9ZAwkaqfv4UROkI4jz-KKAphdtdpRngwUVId_dW8TXmoxQGjAGb7ESkRcp6_0kNn5lSWkWmJpMJJHrIX1fwaZDksJoS7wGzUjDMt2cx2-2eMnzfSZkOs9BJQoW0SmGSORo5buZjUalS9a99xaZjA5SA6XvHM9X9qqS-5v4Oztg=s400" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFhH0_5F9D4FBC0SoL9ZAwkaqfv4UROkI4jz-KKAphdtdpRngwUVId_dW8TXmoxQGjAGb7ESkRcp6_0kNn5lSWkWmJpMJJHrIX1fwaZDksJoS7wGzUjDMt2cx2-2eMnzfSZkOs9BJQoW0SmGSORo5buZjUalS9a99xaZjA5SA6XvHM9X9qqS-5v4Oztg=s320" width="200" /></a></div>This past year has been an interesting one for me, being both productive and unproductive.<p></p><p>How so? Well, I wrote the least amount I ever have under my own name in a long time, coming out with just two books in 2021. This is due to getting a lot of ghostwriting work. While remunerative, it kept me from doing as much as I would have liked under my own byline.</p><p>I still wrote a lot. Although I once again missed my goal of writing a million words in a year, I did get well past 900,000 and made the most money I ever have in this career or my previous one, so that was nice.<br /></p><p>I did come out with two books under my own name. The first was <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TMBN33K/" target="_blank"><i>Flight to Fez</i></a>, the third book in my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PWYQ4LH/" target="_blank"><i>Interzone Mystery</i></a> series. The second was <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09D8JWPFW/" target="_blank"><i>The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian</i></a>, book five in my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081FFXTPJ/" target="_blank"><i>The Masked Man of Cairo</i></a> historical mystery series. So a good year for mysteries!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjw2HTKAjSkaATmyvCiattlNzmjr0xW9wvIb8Qh4JigF_adJR9ckC-h1jwslqhuIMz3RqDiOVxrxBzotmxJYTOD9DDyxY1nVWEIibU22nBpA43AB2dWBKv6VkEh3D9BnXzwi7SoSAA2iEZe2Qz2Yv2VmPbuckq7eRIBkLikvXBjuPQr1NZiyEj_MJaOWg=s400" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjw2HTKAjSkaATmyvCiattlNzmjr0xW9wvIb8Qh4JigF_adJR9ckC-h1jwslqhuIMz3RqDiOVxrxBzotmxJYTOD9DDyxY1nVWEIibU22nBpA43AB2dWBKv6VkEh3D9BnXzwi7SoSAA2iEZe2Qz2Yv2VmPbuckq7eRIBkLikvXBjuPQr1NZiyEj_MJaOWg=s320" width="200" /></a><br /></div><p></p><p>What's coming up in 2022? My ghostwriting work is still going strong, and I have managed to get on a saner publishing schedule that will allow me to build up my own career a bit more. My new year's resolution is to write 1,000 words a day of my own stuff. A trio of short prequel novels for <i>The Masked Man of Cairo</i> series are in the works, as are two new series. These are <i>Tech Scavengers</i>, a space opera series, and an as-yet-untitled mystery series set in Weimar Berlin. I'd also like to squeeze in book 5 of <i>Toxic World</i>, titled <i>Election Day</i>. If you have any preferences about what you'd like to read next, tell me in the comments section!</p><p>You can follow my progress with the word count bars to the right and also by signing up to my <a href="https://blogspot.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=602ff1f86dc26d80299b780e7&id=978bb08c34" target="_blank">newsletter</a>.</p><p>It's going to be a fun year!<br /></p><p><br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-62219815050148439592021-12-27T08:04:00.001-08:002021-12-27T08:04:52.037-08:00Faisal is Growing!<p>Everyone's favorite street urchin has been slowly growing up through the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081FFXTPJ/" target="_blank"><i>Masked Man of Cairo</i></a> historical mystery series. Now he's growing in a different way. As I mentioned in a <a href="https://midlistwriter.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-coup-interrupted-my-writing-and-other.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>, my plans for book 6 were put on hold thanks to a coup in the Sudan, so I'm working on a set of prequel novellas about each character before they met.</p><p><i>The Case of the Dastardly Djinn</i>, in which a younger Faisal has to solve a case without the help of Moustafa or Sir Augustus, was supposed to be a 30,000 word novella, but now it looks like it will be a short novel coming in at about 40,000 words. I figured that since the average <i>Masked Man of Cairo</i> book comes out to about 90,000 words and each of the three characters gets an equal share, that 30,000 words would do. Now I realize that since they are in lots of the chapters starring one of the other characters, that their page time is much greater.</p><p>Live and learn!</p><p><i>The Case of the Dastardly Djinn </i>will come out some time in the first quarter of 2022.<br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-23970779368579784182021-12-12T01:50:00.002-08:002021-12-12T01:50:46.137-08:00A Free Book, A New Look, and New Markets for the Toxic World Series!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6GG5bOQe3tfy0Des5Q-P2lzRatc46ZhOU2kjs4vd6jqGBSN2sNAN6T9ZFvEQH5R8WvYY4KxyAKS4f8IiEN93O_-nnaXqREYZ9ohTQFoiTaXNKmmDyu_IjfH-AC-Bk8I_SXicsvKLzG1mTicA2hGYybPZg5rpDRHqMP3iLKM3i4CeY-tlFBRuf4FJp7w=s825" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6GG5bOQe3tfy0Des5Q-P2lzRatc46ZhOU2kjs4vd6jqGBSN2sNAN6T9ZFvEQH5R8WvYY4KxyAKS4f8IiEN93O_-nnaXqREYZ9ohTQFoiTaXNKmmDyu_IjfH-AC-Bk8I_SXicsvKLzG1mTicA2hGYybPZg5rpDRHqMP3iLKM3i4CeY-tlFBRuf4FJp7w=w266-h400" width="266" /></a></div><p>As you can see from the photo, my cover designer has switched out the cover for <a href="https://books2read.com/u/4NyZK8" target="_blank"><i>Radio Hope</i></a>, Book One of my post-apocalyptic <i>Toxic World</i> series. The old cover was a bit flat and this one has more pop. I hope you like it.</p><p>I've also taken the series out of Kindle Select and published it wide. You can now find the series on Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Scribd, and many other outlets. Click on the title to find a list of links for <a href="https://books2read.com/u/4NyZK8"><i>Radio Hope</i></a>. Hitting on your favorite store will take you to that title and the rest of the series.</p><p>Also, I'm giving away <a href="https://books2read.com/u/3LyGeD" target="_blank"><i>The Scavenger</i></a>, a novella set in the Toxic World, for free on all those venues. Click on the link to grab your copy today!<br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-66123495434430551222021-11-14T12:05:00.000-08:002021-11-14T12:05:39.069-08:00A Coup Interrupted My Writing (and other news)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYj0y1HgjiHT_j9nToR3OExrnWbhYM39XT24d8MKfxn967IuZ7dLof5PXR283jae0BsJxlm0xc0fEUsFAlZEJElNEQh3xUmSgtn_b4s07awB96TVrC4mnsPYmpy0rY3JHNgUeDzURxy93/s444/20211113_110641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYj0y1HgjiHT_j9nToR3OExrnWbhYM39XT24d8MKfxn967IuZ7dLof5PXR283jae0BsJxlm0xc0fEUsFAlZEJElNEQh3xUmSgtn_b4s07awB96TVrC4mnsPYmpy0rY3JHNgUeDzURxy93/w225-h400/20211113_110641.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>Well, this hasn't happened before.<p></p><p>I was planning a trip to research my next book, and now I can't go because there's been a coup.</p><p>I wantd Book Six in my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081FFXTPJ/" target="_blank"><i>Masked Man of Cairo</i></a> series to be <i>The Case of the Disappearing Dervish</i>. This would have seen Moustafa returning to his village in the Sudan to solve a mystery, with Sir Augustus and Faisal coming along to help.</p><p>Sadly, last month while I was in Alexandria and planning a trip to Khartoum in December, the military in the Sudan overthrew the transitional council set up after the fall of dictator Omar al-Bashir and have arrested the civilian prime minister. Now the army is shooting peaceful protestors in the streets.</p><p>It's a horrible situation and I feel bad for the Sudanese people. When I plan to visit a new country, I often think of the people I will meet there, future friends I don't know yet. Now those friends are in serious danger and their economy is collapsing. I hope Sudan gets through this crisis and gets the democratic government it has so long deserved.<br /></p><p>In happier news, the print edition of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09L9T1KWT/" target="_blank"><i>The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian: The Masked Man of Cairo Book 5</i></a> has just been released. You can get it on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09L9T1KWT/" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09L9T1KWT/" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a>, and all the other Amazon outlets as well as several other online vendors.</p><p>I'm working on several projects right now, including a ghostwritten series for a client, a trio of prequel novellas for the Cairo series detailing the adventures of all three protagonists before they met, a science fiction series, and another historical mystery series.<br /></p><p>If you want to keep up to date with my travels and writing projects, <a href="https://blogspot.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=602ff1f86dc26d80299b780e7&id=978bb08c34" target="_blank">subscribe to my newsletter</a>. An issue comes out once every other month and contains a travel article, updates on my work, and a coupon for a free or discounted ebook. Issue 17 comes out later this week!<br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-10401833547148835452021-09-11T08:31:00.001-07:002021-09-11T08:31:20.333-07:00Now Available: The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian!<p> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTWvxwfnzn7Shu4g2u0HzYxVJfKg-xquGGeaKQYTZKpdW3i2k3YXi37Gqao7P59vI31-YaZUunN4-IyeOIRal93HbMuYrwizi2Jad8OVN8qZ4NsCnh6WoF92NOjCDyYueyCrOgD9sBsU_/s400/PORTADA+Alexandrian250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTWvxwfnzn7Shu4g2u0HzYxVJfKg-xquGGeaKQYTZKpdW3i2k3YXi37Gqao7P59vI31-YaZUunN4-IyeOIRal93HbMuYrwizi2Jad8OVN8qZ4NsCnh6WoF92NOjCDyYueyCrOgD9sBsU_/s320/PORTADA+Alexandrian250.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Book Five of my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081FFXTPJ/" target="_blank"><i>Masked Man of Cairo</i></a> historical mystery series is now available. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09D8JWPFW/" target="_blank"><i>The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian</i></a> takes our heroes to Egypt's fabled port.<p></p><p>So what's Book Six going to be? We'll see. I'm thinking of heading either to the isolated Coptic monasteries of Wadi Natrun or heading south all the way to the Sudan. I'll keep you posted.<br /></p><p><i>A mysterious murder. A lost pharaoh.<br />Sir Augustus Wall came to Egypt
to escape his old life, but when a comrade from the trenches is found
murdered in a Cairo hotel, Augustus realizes his past has finally caught
up.<br />Now he must discover the reason for the baffling murder, leading
him and his friends Moustafa and Faisal on a dangerous hunt for the
most sought-after treasure in Egypt.<br />The long-awaited fifth book in the Masked Man of Cairo series sees the trio on their greatest adventure yet!</i></p><br />Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-10242206763809044332021-08-22T07:55:00.002-07:002021-08-22T07:55:55.307-07:00Book Five of The Masked Man of Cairo Available for Preorder!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvp1_M3oT3i8IsqZdZlGEuJcY8VXc1Rx9SIShuCrbj2rSQ6UiymZSuTWx0zOcauO1wMeIjrFZ__DIPtczACPmjjpaFhRbRdnS25EVKMGfPi7E5KMUlFlGNaY-9q9ul6bHAXetx1YK6M9o/s400/PORTADA+Alexandrian250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvp1_M3oT3i8IsqZdZlGEuJcY8VXc1Rx9SIShuCrbj2rSQ6UiymZSuTWx0zOcauO1wMeIjrFZ__DIPtczACPmjjpaFhRbRdnS25EVKMGfPi7E5KMUlFlGNaY-9q9ul6bHAXetx1YK6M9o/s320/PORTADA+Alexandrian250.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Book Five of my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081FFXTPJ/" target="_blank"><i>Masked Man of Cairo</i></a> historical mystery series is now available for preorder and will be released September 10. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09D8JWPFW/" target="_blank"><i>The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian</i></a> was written in Cairo and Alexandria and edited in Madrid and Oxford. Only the first two locations show up in the book, though. A blurb is below.<p></p><p><br /></p><p><i>A mysterious murder. A lost pharaoh.<br />Sir Augustus Wall came to Egypt
to escape his old life, but when a comrade from the trenches is found
murdered in a Cairo hotel, Augustus realizes his past has finally caught
up.<br />Now he must discover the reason for the baffling murder, leading
him and his friends Moustafa and Faisal on a dangerous hunt for the
most sought-after treasure in Egypt.<br />The long-awaited fifth book in the Masked Man of Cairo series sees the trio on their greatest adventure yet!</i></p><p> </p><p>I'm back in Cairo later this year and will be working on the further adventures of Sir Augustus, Moustafa, and Faisal. <br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-90228068171804895962021-06-16T08:12:00.004-07:002021-06-16T08:12:52.736-07:00My next Cairo book is finished and in edits! <p>I've finally finished <i>The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian (Masked Man of Cairo Book 5)</i>. I started it nearly a year ago after visiting Alexandria, but with various distractions including lockdown and a pile of ghostwriting assignments, I only managed to finish it yesterday. Now I'm busy editing it and consulting with my cover designer. Then it will go to my wonderful beta reading team before going up on preorder in July for an August release date.</p><p>Thanks to everyone who has been bugging me about when they can read the further adventures of Sir Augustus, Moustafa, and Faisal. You don't have long to wait!<br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-78898507304948579062021-03-12T01:50:00.003-08:002021-03-12T01:50:52.445-08:00Starting A New Science Fiction Series<p>Those of you who pay attention to this rather irregular blog might have noticed a new book listed on the Works in Progress sidebar. The <i>Shattered Stars (Tech Scavengers Book One)</i> is the start of a new science fiction series. It will be a mixture of <i>Firefly</i> and <i>Mad Max</i>, set in a far future where the galaxy has plunged into a new Dark Ages.</p><p>Three hundred years ago, the Galactic Imperium was riven by civil war. Entire planets were nuked, trade routes crumbled and, worst of all, the jump gates that tied the galaxy together stopped working. These products of an ultra-secret government experiment can be found every fifty light years or so, but all have either been destroyed or have broken.</p><p>Now the galaxy is a patchwork of independent planets and petty empires. Many have relapsed into savagery. Others struggle along with only the technology of the twenty-fifth or even the twentieth centuries. The myriad alien races, which once traveled the stars along with their human counterparts, are stuck on their home planets and scattered in tiny numbers across space. Limits on faster than light technology means that even the fastest spaceship can only travel a few light years a day. Everyone from the poorest algae farmer to the most brutal despot dreams of a time when the jump gates will reopen and the galaxy will once again be united.</p><p>This is not the only technology that has been lost. Even the most advanced worlds are at least a couple of centuries behind what humanity once achieved. Tech scavengers make good money working as interstellar archaeologists, digging up old machines and figuring out how to make them work again. Some are employed by rulers or rich merchants, while others are freelance.</p><p>But whoever your patron is, it’s a dangerous job. Because old technology is the new currency, and people will kill for it. </p><p>So when will book one come out? Some time this year. I can't be any more precise than that because I have a heavy load of ghostwriting right now. As I said in a <a href="https://midlistwriter.blogspot.com/2021/01/my-writing-year-look-back-and-look.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>, this year will see new installments in the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081FFXTPJ" target="_blank"><i>Masked Man of Cairo</i></a> series and the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FK815N8" target="_blank"><i>Toxic World</i></a> series as well. You can follow the progress on the sidebar!<br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-14245938709660984032021-01-25T07:30:00.000-08:002021-01-25T07:30:45.589-08:00Flight to Fez Out Now!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkW32UeZSkWZetohghHYzMMOYQIAJSFKCHU9dUEG6REG6N8D5U7PZ2bmDg-mm4VJ7sZyrYgMU3_xs7vkGFTvajzf5pz7jaiJ83MjpW1kwhYlfHrPMuvoseUWP2msoM3_kqBFYnQ0x7flx/s880/PORTADA+Fez550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="550" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBkW32UeZSkWZetohghHYzMMOYQIAJSFKCHU9dUEG6REG6N8D5U7PZ2bmDg-mm4VJ7sZyrYgMU3_xs7vkGFTvajzf5pz7jaiJ83MjpW1kwhYlfHrPMuvoseUWP2msoM3_kqBFYnQ0x7flx/w250-h400/PORTADA+Fez550.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><br />The third and final book in my Interzone Mystery series, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TMBN33K/" target="_blank"><i>Flight to Fez</i></a>, is now out! This time Shorty has to go to the French sector to solve a murder, with a little help gun, his fists, and his lovely gal. A blurb is below.<p></p><p> </p><p><i>Only in Tangier could a literary event turn into a murder scene.<br />I’m
“Shorty” MacAllister, private detective. I’ve investigated all sorts of
crazy cases in this lawless town, tracking down con men and Nazi
fugitives, anarchists and bank robbers, all the while running my own
secret angle.<br />But I never thought that when I went to hear my friend
Jane Bowles read her latest story I’d end with a murdered man in my lap,
and an old war buddy getting pinned with the crime.<br />After that, things got a whole lot more complicated.</i></p><p> </p><p>You can get <i>Flight to Fez</i> on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TMBN33K/" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and anywhere else ebooks are sold.<br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8868883626672897364.post-77815139704474833022021-01-05T04:52:00.001-08:002021-01-05T04:52:05.411-08:00My Writing Year: A Look Back And A Look Forward<p>The year 2020 is gone, and I'm sure none of us are sad to see it go. Hopefully 2021 holds out more promise with vaccines and the chance to live our lives fully once again. Here in Madrid we had worse lockdowns than most, but that didn't affect my writing. In fact it helped, because I had fewer distractions. Nothing like writing to stave off boredom and cabin fever!<br /></p><p>This was a good writing year for me. My ghostwriting career has taken off with a great new client, the return of an old one, and the regulars staying with me. Demand for ebooks has gone up massively this year and because of that I'm getting more work than ever before. The sales on my own books rose as well. It's never been a better time to be an indie writer. </p><p>While my income has risen, my word count is almost the same as 2019. I set myself an annual goal of a million words. I've never made that goal, but having a tough goal makes me work harder. I got 947,000 words written in 2020. Not bad but still well shy of the million mark. I'll make it some year!</p><p>I also reached the milestone of <a href="http://midlistwriter.blogspot.com/2020/12/thoughts-on-writing-50-novels.html" target="_blank">writing my 50th novel</a>. I'm now hard at work on numbers 52 and 53. There's no secret to this. I just keep plugging away every day and the novels pile up. I know a lot of writers who have written far more than I have. <br /></p><p>The increased demands of my ghostwriting career has meant that I haven't gotten as many of my own books out in 2020 as I would have liked. At least I added a fourth book to the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081FFXTPJ" target="_blank"><i>Masked Man of Cairo</i></a> series, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089NX1VZD" target="_blank"><i>The Case of the Karnak Killer</i></a>. I also added a short story collection to the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FK815N8" target="_blank"><i>Toxic World</i></a> series, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Toxic-World-Sean-McLachlan-ebook/dp/B08H5MK4R3/" target="_blank"><i>Tales from the Toxic World</i></a>.</p><p>Both series will see new novels in 2021. I'm also researching a new mystery series set in the Weimar era, and have various other projects in the works. You can check my progress in the right-hand column of this blog and stay in touch via <a href="https://blogspot.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=602ff1f86dc26d80299b780e7&id=978bb08c34">my newsletter</a>.</p><p>I hope you all are staying well through this pandemic. I've gotten off easy, not having lost any loved ones or my job. So many others have it worse. Stay safe and get vaccinated as soon as you can!<br /></p>Sean McLachlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09778503397743759469noreply@blogger.com1