Thursday, 12 June 2025

June Writing Update

Hello from Italy! Here's a photo of a lovely old house I came across on the Appian Way. I'm here doing some initial research for an upcoming historical mystery series. I won't say more because it will be a while before I publish anything. I have to finish five-book series The Berlin Murders first!

Speaking of, I'm nearly finished writing book three of that series, A Summertime Murder in Berlin. Also, book seven of my Cairo mystery series, The Case of the Cackling Crocodile is about to head off to the beta readers. If you want to be one, hit me up. 

To keep up with my progress, check the word count meters on the sidebar. You can also subscribe to my monthly newsletter via the left-hand sidebar, and also check out my Facebook page and Instagram feed. Plenty of travel photos on there lately!

Saturday, 24 May 2025

May Writing Update

 

 

Hello again! I've been powering ahead on writing now that I can devote my full time to it.

Early this month I finished book seven of my Cairo mystery series, The Case of the Cackling Crocodile. That's going through edits before heading off to the beta readers. If you want to be one, hit me up.

Now I'm focusing on A Summertime Murder in Berlin, book three of The Berlin Murders. The photo this month dates to the Weimar period like the series, and is of the "Mordauto", literally "murder wagon"! This was one of the first mobile crime labs in history and brought a new scientific approach to crime scene investigation. The Germans were leaders in this field, perhaps because they had such scientific expertise as well as a high murder rate. That's something poor Katherine has certainly learned!

To keep up with my progress, check the word count meters on the sidebar. You can also subscribe to my monthly newsletter via the left-hand sidebar, and also check out my Facebook page and Instagram feed.

Wednesday, 23 April 2025

April Writing Update

 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I quit my ghostwriting job to free up time for my own projects and I've been loving every minute of it. It's sooooo nice to only work on my own stuff!

Mostly I've been working on book seven of my Cairo mystery series, The Case of the Cackling Crocodile. That should be done by the end of the month and then it will go through edits before heading off to the beta readers. If you want to be one, hit me up.

Once that book is in edits, I'll be working on A Summertime Murder in Berlin, book three of The Berlin Murders.

To keep up with my progress, check the word count meters on the sidebar. You can also subscribe to my monthly newsletter via the left-hand sidebar, and also check out my Facebook page and Instagram feed.

Sunday, 30 March 2025

March Writing Update

As I mentioned in my last post, I quit my ghostwriting job to free up time for my own projects. It's been a month now and I've gotten a huge amount done! It feels very liberating working only for myself. You can track my progress on the sidebar.

Mostly I've been working on book seven of my Cairo mystery series, The Case of the Cackling Crocodile. I've also been editing the prequel for my Moroccan Mysteries series and working on a couple of other projects I'll reveal at a later date.

To keep up with me, you can also subscribe to my monthly newsletter via the left-hand sidebar, and also check out my Facebook page and Instagram feed

Enjoy!

Friday, 28 February 2025

Expect Lots More Books From Me In 2025!

 

Hi everyone! Big news!
I just quit my day job and will devote all my writing time to my own books. For the past five years, I've been ghostwriting novels for a New York publisher. The money was good, although the production schedule was grueling. I've decided that this is the point in my life to strike out on my own.
That means you'll be seeing a lot of new books from me from now on. First up will be book 7 of the Cairo series, followed by book 3 of the Berlin series, and then probably Cordelia book 2. Then there will be some more mystery novels and a brand-new science fiction series!
I'm heading into uncertain waters and I could use your help. You're already buying my books and for that I'm deeply grateful. What would also help me is if you left a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Mentioning my books on your page would also be a big boost. If you know a podcaster or blogger who covers the kind of topics I do, I'd love to be introduced.
To keep up to date on what's happening, you might want to join my newsletter and Facebook page. There I give regular updates plus photos of my travels and articles about places I've been.
Thanks for coming along with me on this crazy ride, and I hope you'll like all the books I'll be coming out with in 2025!

Tuesday, 14 January 2025

My Travel Year: A Look Back and a Look Forward

The Duke Humphreys Reading Room, Bodleian Library, Oxford
 

It's been a good year for me as far as travel went, but it was also sort of predictable. I did my usual winter research trip to Egypt, spending time in Cairo before heading upriver to Aswan to research The Case of the Disappearing Dervish. A trip to Bologna followed when I tagged along as my wife attended a conference. Springtime saw me visiting my son in British Columbia, followed by our usual two-month research stay in Oxford. I rounded the year out with a couple of trips to Tangier. I'm reviving the Moroccan Mysteries series, so those were research trips too. I hardly ever travel just for fun, although I have a lot of fun anyway!

No new countries in 2025. Will that change in 2026?

Maybe. 

Italy has the most beautiful churches, prove me wrong

 

This year I have trips planned to: Cairo and the Fayoum, British Columbia, Morocco, Paris, Italy, and of course Oxford.

We may go to Oman late this year thanks to a recommendation from some of my Cairene friends who sing its praises. We shall see. It would be my first new country in a while.

If you want to read more about my travels, I often write about them in my monthly newsletter. You also get two free ebooks in the deal.

What trips do you have planned this year? Tell me in the comments section!

Temple of Sobek, Kom Ombo, near Aswan

 

Sunday, 5 January 2025

My Writing Year: A Look Back and a Look Forward

The year 2024 was a busy one for me. In addition to a heavy workload of ghostwriting, I came out with three books under my own name. 


The first was A Springtime Murder in Berlin, book two of The Berlin Murders. Katherine and her friends are faced with another murder, this time on the set of a movie.


Next I published Cordelia Cracks the Case, the first in Cordelia's Cairo Case Files, a new spinoff series from my Masked Man of Cairo books. A lot of you told me you wanted to see more of Cordelia Russell because the male characters underestimate and overlook her. Hey, it's 1919! So now she's getting her own series of cases.

 

I also kept my most popular series going with Book 6, The Case of the Disappearing Dervish, which sees Moustafa having to return to his village in the Soudan to solve a case implicating his cousin. Sir Augustus and Faisal come along too, of course!

 

So now it's 2025, and later this month I'll be heading to Egypt to write book 7, The Case of the Cackling Crocodile. Our heroes are off to the Fayoum this time, and Cordelia is coming along. I'll also be working on the next Cordelia book.

 


In the summer I plan to release A Summertime Murder in Berlin, followed closely by An Autumn Murder in Berlin, which will round out The Berlin Murders except for an epilogue that I plan to release in 2026.

 

There will be a big change in 2025 as I take fewer ghostwriting assignments and eventually stop before the end of the year. Hopefully that will free up time to come out with some more titles. Stay tuned!


A big thank you to all of you who bought my books in 2024, and a special thank you to all those who reviewed them. As a working writer, that helps a lot!

 

Happy 2025!!!

 


 

Looking for more from Sean McLachlan? He also hangs out on the Civil War Horror blog, where he focuses on Civil War and Wild West history.

You can also find him on his Twitter feed and Facebook page.