Saturday 16 January 2016

Winterlong - cover reveal

I'm so pleased that I can finally unveil the cover for Carter Blake book 3: Winterlong


Another amazing job from the people at Orion. I think this may be my favourite cover yet. The colours and image and tagline really give you a great sense of the book.

Publication date is still a moveable feast this far out, but according to Amazon it's currently 5th May in the UK. You can pre-order in the usual places and it'll be delivered to your letterbox, Kindle or audio device as soon as it comes out.

You can read a sneak preview of chapter one at the back of the Samaritan paperback. It's one of the scenes I've written that I'm most proud of. It functions as an almost self-contained story, but one which I hope will make you want to read more.

If you're a blogger and would like to review Winterlong, you can request an advance copy right now on Netgalley.

Here's the blurb:


It's been five years since Carter Blake parted ways with top-secret government operation Winterlong.

They brokered a deal at the time: he'd keep quiet about what they were doing, and in return he'd be left alone.

But news that one of Blake's old allies, a man who agreed the same deal, is dead means only one thing - something has changed and Winterlong is coming for him.

Emma Faraday, newly appointed head of the secret unit, is determined to tie up loose ends. And Blake is a very loose end. He's been evading them for years, but finally they've picked up his trace. Blake may be the best there is at tracking down people who don't want to be found, but Winterlong taught him everything he knows. If there's anyone who can find him - and kill him - it's them.

It's time for Carter Blake to up his game.

High-stakes action, blistering tension and a deadly game of cat and mouse, Winterlong is the must-read new thriller from Mason Cross.

***

UK pre-order in hardback, trade paperback, ebook or audiobook from:





Tuesday 12 January 2016

Top tens and articles and the continuing coolness of seeing one's book in a shop

Hello, hope 2016 has been treating you nicely so far!

I'm taking a short break from writing Carter Blake book 4 and listening to David Bowie songs to do a quick blog update.

Things have been pretty busy over the past couple of weeks with The Samaritan paperback coming out. Of course, on publication day I made sure to head out to bookshops and supermarkets to see the book on shelves, particularly as part of the Richard & Judy Book Club in WHSmith...
..


I still love seeing my book in a real bookshop. I think some of the Smiths staff may have assumed I was a mystery shopper when I was busily taking pictures of their shelves.

Anyway, to coincide with publication, I've been asked to do some interviews and articles in various places. If you're interested, click on the links to check 'em out:

Susan Lobban interviews me for eReader1 as the featured author for January, grilling me on my inspirations, my typical writing day, how I deal with writers' block, advice for aspiring writers and lots of other things.

A couple of 'Top 10' blogs for two great booksellers - Foyles asked me for my top 10 locations to set an action thriller, while over at the Waterstones blog they have my top 10 thriller heroes and heroines.

Tartan Noir maestro Michael J. Malone kindly hosts me on his MJM Ink blog to give my top 5 tips on being a writer. There are 5, as the title suggests, but if you're in a rush it can all be boiled down to "write stuff", really.

Scottish Book Trust includes Winterlong in its 27 Scottish novels to look forward to in 2016. It's not really a Scottish book if we're being strict, being set in Siberia, Seattle, Kandahar, Minnesota and New York, but I'll gladly accept a place on any list that includes Chris Brookmyre, James Oswald, Irvine Welsh and Helen Fitzgerald.

And that's about it for now. I'm hoping to announce some events soon, but in the meantime, I've updated the buy page on my website to make sure you can get Richard & Judy Book Club selection The Samaritan (I'll never get tired of saying that) and The Killing Season in all formats.

If you've already bought them, a million thank yous, and please tell a friend!