M K Turner

Welcome to my world

The Making of Meredith

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Good Morning, from a grey but very muggy Bristol,

I hope you are all coping with whatever life has thrown at you this week. Here in Bristol, UK, we’ve moved from glorious sunshiny days, to just about bearable heatwave (for us), to spectacular thunder storms.  We are currently in a lull and if it wasn’t for the temperature, when you look out of the window, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was November.  That’s the weather dealt with! I’m not going to talk about the pandemic, I think we all hear enough about that, other than to say, whatever your views, I hope you and yours stay safe.

Now to all things Meredith. Love him or hate him, that man gets under your skin, and I was getting so many emails about him that I thought it was time I shared his past, and wrote The Making of Meredith. His chequered past brought in a few comments I can tell you.  Here’s what some of them said:

“When I fished this book, I literally said out loud, “wow.” It was that good. While I have enjoyed every book in the Meredith and Hodge series, I think this one was the best so far, in that it allows us to understand just how Meredith ended up being Meredith. I have always found him to be complex and interesting, now, even more so. With a keener understanding of who he really is…”

“…. It’s a story of how the character Meredith might have come to be, beginning from his early childhood,. The story doesn’t make excuses for Meredith’s behaviour, rather it provides examples of how family, teachers, friends, neighbours, economic and social circumstances shaped who he became. This story is quite believable, although may be somewhat tragic for some readers. While I enjoyed Meredith’s many talents throughout the mysteries, I didn’t admire his behaviour in some instances, The prequel puts his behaviour into context and resolved my misgivings regarding his adult character.”

And even: “I have enjoyed all of the Meredith and Hodge series thus far, so it is nice to get to see what has made Meredith the arrogant bastard that is Meredith. As always well written and thought provoking. Looking forward to more.” 

This one made me smile:  “So, I know why I fell in love with the gorgeous Meredith! Written with total empathy for the character. I wept alongside him for joy and sorrow. Another masterpiece. now to re-read the rest.”

Why am I dedicating this newsletter to Meredith? Because out of the blue this morning I had an email from Audible telling me The Making of Meredith was live.  I think the audio fans here will really enjoy hearing Meredith grow up. Lee Beddow the narrator has done an excellent job taking Meredith from a seven year old through to the man he became. It’s wonderful hearing his voice gradually change as he negotiates his way through adolescence to the Meredith we know and love. Simply click here if you would like to hear a sample.

AND to celebrate this latest arrival the e-book version will be FREE from the 15th August to 19th August, so if you’ve yet to meet the young Meredith click here.

I think that’s enough for now, except of course to say, thank you to all those readers/listeners who have taken the time to leave reviews. They are important. Please remember to leave a review if you have enjoyed a book you’ve read or listened to.  Not only does it give other readers an insight into what’s to come, it also gives the author a huge boost and effects the ratings on Amazon etc. OK, OK, enough of the nagging, here’s a cute kitten to help convince you 😉

Happy reading,

Follow me on BookBub and you may choose a FREE ebook from my list of novels. ( boxed sets excluded)  Simply click here and you’ll be taken to my author page, and will find the follow button on the top right. If you don’t use your own name for BookBub please drop me a line and let me know what it is and I’ll be in touch.

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Drum roll . . . Ta Daaa

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Good morning,

I won’t keep you long, I’m sure you’re busy, BUT it’s here! Not If You Paid Me is live, and available in an Amazon store near you.

The first reviews are in from the Advanced Reader Team, and I can relax. Nothing more I can do except keep my fingers crossed that you lovely lot like it!

It will remain on offer at 0.99 for another week, and then it will go back to full price, as will all the boxed sets which are on offer at half price at the moment to celebrate.

That’s it, grab yourself a bargain, put your feet up with drink of your choice in hand, and relax!

Happy reading

PS: Before I go I should just mention that Lee Beddow is about half way through the narration of The Making of Meredith, and it’s fabulous – It should be out at the end of next month, and even if you don’t usually do Audio, I think you will love it.

Follow me on BookBub and you may choose a FREE ebook from my list of novels. ( boxed sets excluded)  Simply click here and you’ll be taken to my author page, and will find the follow button on the top right. If you don’t use your own name for BookBub please drop me a line and let me know what it is and I’ll be in touch.

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When it’s all over bar the shouting…

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Hello, and welcome new subscribers,

With the writing, editing and prep of Not If You Paid Me done, I’ve spent the last couple of hours trying to ensure all my reviews are up to date. I’m a “do them in batches” reviewer. There were ten to do, which is more than usual, so I’ll blame that on being distracted by world events. In tracking them down, I discovered over fifty unread books on my kindle – to be fair that does include the six I purchased this week – not sure if they count . . . How do you stop buying books? Answer: You don’t. 😊  So many of them have caught my eye it might be a while before I start writing again! If you want to see what I’ve been reading, pop over to Reviews & Recommendations. Are your reviews up to date?

It’s now only five days to go until Not If You Paid Me is published on the 17th June, and despite the positive response from the advanced readers, this is the time I start to get nervous, all the more reason to get lost in a good book!

Some of you were kind enough to contact me to let me know that the links I put in the last newsletter only went to the UK, so I’ve now got some ‘smart’ links which will take you to the Amazon store in your personal location.  To pre-order at launch price simply click HERE. Want to know how it all began? You can read the first chapter HERE.

As always to celebrate the launch of Not If You Paid Me, I’ve put some other books on special offer. This time I’ve gone with the boxed sets, all of which will all be half price for the next two weeks. I’ve even included the Bearing Witness series. So, if you need to catch up on any of the books in the series now’s the time do it. Simply click on the covers of the sets to see which books are included in the set.

                  

Whatever you’re reading at the moment, I hope you’re enjoying it 😊  That’s it for now.

Happy reading,

Follow me on BookBub and you may choose a FREE ebook from my list of novels. ( boxed sets excluded)  Simply click here and you’ll be taken to my author page, and will find the follow button on the top right. If you don’t use your own name for BookBub please drop me a line and let me know what it is and I’ll be in touch.

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What’s in a name?

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Good Morning from sunny Bristol,

When naming a character, I can spend ages trying to come up with the right name. One that fits the character, one I haven’t used before, one that’s not associated with anyone famous, the list goes on.  Even when I think I’ve sorted it, I often realise that name didn’t suit, so I change it. Take Louie Trump for instance, I didn’t name him, my best friend, Jane, did. We were away for a weekend of pampering and I was talking about Ill Conceived the second in the Meredith & Hodge series. I explained that a rather posh chap would be joining Meredith’s team and I hadn’t got a name for him. I described him and she came up with Louie Trump. This was almost eight years ago, I liked it, and Meredith’s side kick was named. Of course, had she suggested that name today, I would have rejected it, and I’ve had more than a few comments from readers since, but back then . . . who knew?

I think I got it right with John Meredith though. BUT other than a few vague references, his height, the fact he has hair (!) I’ve not really described him, and I’m often asked who I picture when I’m writing. It has been known to vary, but usually it’s the actor Philip Glenister. When I asked the readers on Facebook, I got lots of different answers, and the only similarity? They are of course, all very good looking!

I’ve shared some of the pictures of those suggested here, who do you think looks most like ‘your’ Meredith?

 

In other news: Not If You Paid Me has been sent out to the ARC team, and the first reports are back. They like it. One said, “Not sure why you struggled with this one, it’s a cracker!”  I hope you like it too. It will be available on the 17th June and can be pre-ordered HERE.

That’s it for now, don’t forget to let me know who your Meredith is.

Stay safe & happy reading

 

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It’s a bit like buses . . .

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Good Morning,

I hope everyone is keeping safe and well, coping with lockdown life, and staying sane in what feels like an increasingly insane world. If you are a key worker, THANK YOU! Your efforts are very much appreciated. We are living in strange times, with things going on that in our previous lives ‘we couldn’t make up’.  Although there are many heroes out there, we’re finding that patience and common sense has not been distributed evenly throughout the world’s population. So, all I will say is, please stay safe, this virus is going to be with us for a while yet.

BUT, I’m sure you are all overloaded with CV-19 stuff, so in other news: Once I’d stop watching every news update, and now just dip in once a day for a dose of depression, with no work to go to, and not being able to look after my grandchildren, I started writing ‘properly’. The result, after many months of broken promises, is that the next in the Meredith & Hodge series, Not If You Paid Me, is written, finished, done! Almost.  Now with the editor, it’s then off to the proof reader, a little time for some rewriting etc., and it will be available on 17th June 2020 and is available to pre-order HERE.

AUDIO NEWS:  I’m delighted to say, that Audible has finally caught up with its back log, and both Mistaken Beliefs and Quite by Chance are now live.  Narrator, Lee Beddow, has almost finished Family Matters too, so with a fair wind and fingers crossed, that should be available next month! Nikki Loy is making great progress with Witness for Wendy, and I’ll keep you updated with regards to a release date. You’re going to love it! I still have FREE promo codes for the earlier books, please shout if you fancy trying one.

So, as the title says, it’s a bit like buses. Nothing for ages and then it all arrives at once!

I have also almost caught up with the reviews on the books I’ve read recently, and you can check them out HERE. Please remember how important your reviews are to authors, and when you have a moment, get them up to date. You don’t need to write an essay, just a couple of words will put a smile on an author’s face.

I’m going to have a week or so away from writing (Have you seen the state of my house!) and then I’ll be back at it. I have a vague story line for both Meredith & Hodge and the ladies in the Bearing Witness series, but not quite sure which way to jump at the moment. Hopefully applying some elbow grease to the house will focus the mind!

Stay safe, and happy reading,

Follow me on BookBub and you may choose a FREE ebook from my list of novels. ( boxed sets excluded)  Simply click here and you’ll be taken to my author page, and will find the follow button on the top right. If you don’t use your own name for BookBub please drop me a line and let me know what it is and I’ll be in touch.

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Look after our young people

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As many of you know I have two German Shepherds and a Bichon Frise. The boys are lead reactive and I walk them very early in the morning, around five-thirty, so they can come off the lead and enjoy some freedom. I am very lucky to live across the road from some beautiful woodland, Blaise Castle. Meredith & Hodge readers will recognise the name. If you look very closely, you can just make out my house on the right hand side of the picture.

You may also know that I do most of my plot sorting while out walking the dogs. Believe it or not, even at that time in the morning you meet some very interesting characters. So, tucked away at the back of my mind was a plot where two dog walkers happen across a body.  I don’t know who, or why, just that one of the dog walkers had committed the murder, then doubled back to give himself an alibi by choosing to take that route with a fellow walker. This is now a story which will never be written.

This morning having walked the boys, I came back and collected Molly, (she can’t keep up with them) and off I set again. As I released her from her lead, something caught the corner of my eye. It was still quite dark, not even half-light, so I shone my torch in that direction and saw something seemingly hanging from a tree. It looked like a body but the feet were touching the floor, it was kids playing pranks I told myself. Molly had scooted off, so I went after her, all the while concerned that I should have gone and checked. A few minutes later, I saw a chap we see most mornings on his cycle into work, and I asked him to look with me. The clouds had cleared a little and we knew without getting too close that it was a very real, but very dead, young lady. She was a very smart looking young girl, and I doubt that she was out of her teens.

NOT YET TWENTY!

How is it that someone of that age can be so desperate?

I had to wait very close to her for about twenty minutes, one to direct the emergency services, and two, to warn other arriving dog walkers not to come near. I was helped in this task by my cycle riding friend, who I now know as Andy, and another young man who also takes that route on his walk to work. We didn’t really speak, and all I could think about was her age, her family, and how lost she must have felt. My daughter lost a friend to suicide, same method, a little before Christmas, he was twenty-three. He left behind him many devastated friends and family members, as I’m sure this young lady has.

There is an alarming increase in the number of young people taking their lives. Which is so very wrong, it breaks my heart. Please keep an eye on those young people around you. Be they friends, family or someone you work with. I don’t know what you should look for, nor can I advise you on what to do if you do think something is amiss. But you never know, a kind word or a helping hand may make the difference.

Go and give someone a hug,

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Can you keep a secret?

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Good Morning . . .

.. from a very miserable, wet and blustery Bristol. It’s not all bad news though – I come baring good news!

Not If You Paid Me, the latest in the Meredith & Hodge series, has moved on. Not as quickly as many of us would like, but I promise it is getting there. With so much going on at the moment, something has to give, and unfortunately it seems to be writing – or more to the point, finding time with no interruptions – that is the most difficult thing to do! The photo is of two of my distractions. I promise to do better, I’ve even suggested to my hubby that we should book a holiday to enable me to get on . . .

One Secret Too Many is now available in audio. You can take a peep and listen to a sample in your part of the world here:  US   UK.  I have a new batch of promo codes ready to distribute.  So, please shout if you would like a code, for this or any of the first four in the Meredith & Hodge series, although there are only a few US codes left on the first two.

The lovely and talented Nikki Loy, (pictured) will be narrating the Bearing Witness series.  I was excited when she agreed, and am more so now, as I’ve listened to the first, unedited take on Witness for Wendy. It’s going to be a cracker, and I can’t wait! I interviewed Nikki a while ago, click HERE if you missed it.

That’s it for now, I have three dogs waiting for a walk, so fingers crossed this rain will stop. Then hopefully, this afternoon will be dedicated to writing!

                                                         Happy reading,

Follow me on BookBub and you may choose a FREE ebook from my list of novels. ( boxed sets excluded)  Simply click here and you’ll be taken to my author page, and will find the follow button on the top right. If you don’t use your own name for BookBub please drop me a line and let me know what it is and I’ll be in touch.

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Happy New Year

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Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and my very best wishes for a happy and healthy 2020.

Thank you for all your support over the years, particularly last year, which was a tough one for our family, although I’m delighted to advise that Ellie has been given the all clear and is currently cancer free!

I’m currently nursing a lurgy, so today I will be writing! I think Not If You Paid Me, is going to hold the record for the one that took the longest to complete!

To welcome in the New Year, The Story so Far, Meredith & Hodge 1 -6 has been reduced to 0.99. I know most of you have read them, but thought it worth a mention for new subscribers.

Audio News

The manuscript for One Secret Too Many has been amended for audio, and Meredith & Hodge narrator, Lee Beddow, will be making a start on it tomorrow. Tin Soldiers is now complete, and Amazon are currently reviewing it before release, so hopefully that should be available within the next week or so.

I know many of my readers don’t listen to audio, so I’m planning on running a separate mailing list for that, so those who have no interest in audio don’t get unnecessary emails.  If you would like to keep getting the latest audio news, simply respond to this email and I’ll add you to the list.

I still have a few promo codes for a free download the first three in the Meredith & Hodge series should anyone be interested, and of course will have a fresh batch for the new release of Tin Soldiers.

That’s it for now, I have writing to do… take care & have fun

Happy reading

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When was the last time you had a feel . . . ?

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Good Afternoon, and hello new subscribers,

Many of you will remember that a while back we had a little survey to establish how often you wanted to hear from me. The consensus was once a month. So today a little reminder popped up in my calendar and my heart sank. On the writing front I have nothing much new to say. My life is hectic, but far from exciting, and with the exception of listening to Meredith & Hodge come to life via audio, I’m not being very productive. I’ve got a million ideas (and I am jotting them down), but I can’t for the life of me string a coherent plot together at the moment. I have done bits here and there, but realistically, Not If You Paid Me, the next in the Meredith & Hodge series will be lucky if it reaches a kindle near you by the end of spring next year. Then I realised I should introduce you to the people who are more important to me than writing. I hope you’re sitting comfortably; this will be longer than usual!

This is a photograph of my beautiful daughter, Ellie. It was taken in early November at her 30th birthday celebrations. Her birthday was on the 4th, a Monday, and family and friends had lined up a weekend of celebration, culminating in a family meal on the Monday.  Ellie named the weekend, “Hello thirties, bye bye Boobies”.

Ellie was diagnosed with breast cancer, at the tender age of 29. Her mastectomy was booked for the 15th November, so this was going to be her last chance to let her hair down for a while. I think it’s fair to say she did.

My birthday is late January, and Ellie gave me tickets to the opening night of Lion King, at the Bristol Hippodrome in September. We’d had a girl’s day out to London nine years previously to see it at the Lyceum, and she knew I’d love the opportunity to see it again. It was during our journey to the theatre she told me she’d found a lump, and thought she probably should get it checked out. She did the next week, and the doctor referred her to the hospital.

This was my baby. It wasn’t going to be cancer. So when, some three weeks later, we went to get the results, I was fairly relaxed. Until we were called to see the consultant. I knew bad news was coming when the doctor opened the door and stood back for Ellie to enter, and she stumbled. This wasn’t a consulting room. This was what Ellie and her cousin Lucy called a crying room. Softly decorated with comfortable chairs, and a box of tissues on the coffee table. But she didn’t cry. Not when she was given the news, not even when he said because of her young age it was likely to be a genetic issue, and if that was the case it would mean she needed a bilateral mastectomy. If she could be brave, then so could I, and, dry eyed, we asked a LOT of questions.

Over the last two months we have had to visit the hospital numerous times each week for MRIs, biopsies, meetings with surgeons and plastic surgeons, meetings with the consultant to get the various results, and a morning of pre-op assessments. The operation was scheduled for the 15th November and Ellie had a final meeting with the surgeon the day before. The results from the MRI guided biopsy taken the previous week hadn’t come back and the operation the next day had been cancelled . . . And that’s when my baby cried.

Ellie had spent almost two months mentally preparing herself for this operation. A significant part of her anatomy was going to be removed, and as a self-employed dog trainer and walker, she’d stopped taking new clients, cancelled her puppy classes for the foreseeable, and found alternative walkers for her regulars. She’d also arranged for her own lovely dog, Riddle, to go into boarding for a few days. Having bought her first little flat the year before, she had no savings to speak of, and now she would have no income coming in for even longer. But what caused her the most distress was the fact that the cancer was not going anywhere the next day.

The operation has now been scheduled for the 29th November, so please keep you fingers crossed that nothing happens to delay it this time. I’m proud to say she has bounced back, and has been overwhelmed by the support and understanding she has received from her friends and clients, and more than a little embarrassed that one of her clients set up a gofundme page to help her out while she recovers. I think it’s really sweet, as Riddle has written it.

I asked Ellie if I could write this and I could feel her rolling her eyes. She’s not one for seeking attention, but she does want everyone to check themselves. So here’s her original post written about a month after her diagnosis:

“I’ve been debating whether or not to post about this for various reasons but here goes. Last month I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and in a few weeks, 11 days after my 30th birthday I’ll be having a mastectomy and after that radiotherapy. At the moment it looks like I will be able to avoid chemo but every time I go to the hospital the news seems to get worse so who knows!
Obviously I am absolutely gutted, I am already completely emotionally exhausted by having to be at the hospital virtually every day, but the point is, I AM GOING TO BE ALIVE!
And the reason for that is that as soon as I thought something wasn’t right I went to the doctor and it’s been caught early enough that it’s not spreading to my other organs yet. If I had left it, well, it doesn’t bear thinking about.
So please everyone, if you want to do something for me for my birthday please just go check your boobs and your balls and go for your smear tests on time etc., because it absolutely CAN happen to you! Get checked, catch it early and get it cured!
Funny hospital stories to follow…might start a blog…or write a book…gonna have a lot of time on my hands! 🙈
PS: thank you so much for all the support/cards/flowers from my family and friends all over the country/world. So much love xx”

On a cheerier note, the other reason my life is hectic are these beauties. Edie and Frankie. My beautiful grandchildren, and I’m happy for them to take up my time any time they like.

In other news, The Wrong Shoes audio should be live within the month . . . I still have a few free audio promo codes for Misplaced Loyalty and Ill Conceived, drop me line letting me know if you would like UK or US codes if you would like to give them a listen. More on that in the next newsletter. I’ve taken up enough of your time.

 

Happy reading and listening,

Go and check your bits!

 Follow me on BookBub and you may choose a FREE ebook from my list of novels. ( boxed sets excluded)  Simply click here and you’ll be taken to my author page, and will find the follow button on the top right. If you don’t use your own name for BookBub please drop me a line and let me know what it is and I’ll be in touch.

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I won’t keep you . . .

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Good Morning,

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend, and welcome new subscribers.

A Quick note to announce that Ill Conceived is now available in Audio format. I have free download codes for both the UK and the US available, please shout if you would like one. These are limited, and I will send out as requests come in, so don’t delay if you would like one.  I’m not sure why ACX/Amazon are so restrictive and apologise to readers/listeners elsewhere.  I understand you may have to sign up to join audible to use them, BUT you may cancel this at anytime, so please don’t be put off. I have been given a further allocation of free codes for Misplaced Loyalty if anyone is interested.

If you would like a sneak preview the most popular links are below.

For those of you in the US you can take a peep HERE  Those in the UK HERE If you are in France click HERE and finally Germany HERE

In other news THANK YOU if you followed me on BookBub (see below) I did contact quite a few who were also on my mailing list, unfortunately there were several names on BookBub that didn’t show up on my list. If you were one of them please shout.

That’s it, I’ll leave you to enjoy the remainder of your weekend. Hope you’re having a good one.

Happy reading,

Follow me on BookBub and you may choose a FREE ebook from my list of novels. ( boxed sets excluded)  Simply click here and you’ll be taken to my author page, and will find the follow button on the top right. If you don’t use your own name for BookBub please drop me a line and let me know what it is and I’ll be in touch.

 

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