My Latest Cairo Mystery Novel Now Available in Print!

 

 

My latest book, The Case of the Dastardly Djinn, prequel to the Masked Man of Cairo 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 Amazon US, Amazon UK, and all the other Amazons.

The first in my Weimar mystery series, A Winter Murder in Berlin, 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!

My Adventure Travel Year, A Look Back and a Look Forward

Medieval city gate, Cairo

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.

Essaouira

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.

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.

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.

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.

To keep up with my travels, you can subscribe to my monthly newsletter (and get two free books to boot), or follow me on Instagram or Tiktok.

Essaouira

Asilah

Asilah is famous for its street murals

My Writing Year: A Look Back And A Look Forward

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.

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 The Case of the Dastardly Djinn (A Masked Man of Cairo Prequel).

I also finished the first book in a new series. Titled A Winter Murder in Berlin, 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 The Masked Man of Cairo books, but does have its lighter moments. The series is titled The Berlin Murders, and I plan a book for each season (A Springtime Murder in Berlin, 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.

A Winter Murder in Berlin is currently with beta readers. I hope to have it out in February.

I also finished Book One of Tech Scavengers, 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.

So what’s in the cards for 2023? At the moment I’m working on Cordelia Cracks the Case, a short novel featuring a supporting character from The Masked Man of Cairo 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, The Case of the Cackling Crocodile. 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 my newsletter. 

When is my next mystery coming out?

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 The Case of the Dastardly Djinn (A Masked Man of Cairo Prequel).

So what's going on? Have I gotten lazy? Is my ghostwriting career taking up all my time?

Fear not! I have two mysteries in the works. First off, I'm working on Book One of The Berlin Murders. Titled A Winter Murder in Berlin, 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 The Masked Man of Cairo books, but does have its lighter moments.

The next Masked Man of Cairo book will actually be a novella titled Cordelia Cracks the Case. 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!

I hope to have both A Winter Murder in Berlin and Cordelia Cracks the Case 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.

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 sign up for my newsletter and get two free ebooks to tide you over!

A New Website and other News

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 author Sean McLachlan. 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.

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.

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 my website, you also get two of my books, Radio Hope and Tangier Bank Heist, for free! Not a bad deal, eh?

I'm on Tiktok!

If you follow my Facebook page (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.

"Tiktok?" I said. "Isn't that for thirteen-year-old girls?"

Not anymore! Writers have invaded under the hashtag Booktok and are staking a claim to the platform. So now I've started my own Tiktok account, 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!

(Unless you're a thirteen-year-old girl. That would be weird)

The Masked Man of Cairo Gets a Sequel!

 

The next book of my Masked Man of Cairo historic mystery/adventure series is out, and it's a prequel! The Case of the Dastardly Djinn is set in 1917, two years before The Case of the Purloined Pyramid. 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.

 

A homeless boy. A hunted girl.

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.

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. 

This prequel to the Masked Man of Cairo mystery adventure series will thrill new readers and long-time fans alike!

A portion of the proceeds from this book will go to help Egyptian street children.    

Available now in ebook. Print edition coming soon!