5 star Amazon review for 'The Trespass'

The Trespass - This is an excellent book full stop, let alone for a first novel. Scott Hunter has a fantastically vivid way of describing scenes and creating a really strong sense of atmosphere. This is particularly so during the many gripping moments during the second half of the book, as Dracup's international chase begins in earnest.. easily better than anything from Dan Brown. His words are so perfectly chosen, yet I suspect it comes naturally once he gets into full flow. I don't read many books, but I couldn't put this one down once the early intrigue had been established. And the final chapters in this truly dramatic book create such a sense of tension and drama that I can already imagine the film! ***** H Hopkins

Available in Kindle or Print format

The Kindle King

Discover new writers!

A quick post to let you all know that my interview with the excellent #kindleauthors can be found here. Interview.  #kindleauthors is run by David Wisehart, an author himself, and provides a service for the reading millions to discover new authors. Check it out!

Short story

My short story 'The Last Train' is still available this holiday weekend, absolutely free.

Let me know what you think!

Sacrifice

The reluctant terrorist

I recently read Le Carre's 'A Most Wanted Man' (a great read) and it got me thinking about the whole terrorism thing, about those caught up in it from both sides - the perpetrators and those tasked with tracking them down. Who are the innocent and who are the guilty? Maybe it's not always as clear cut as we think.

I wanted to explore a situation that expresses that idea, so I put pen to paper and came up with 'The Last Train'. It's a short story about a young man far from home, struggling with the enormity of what he's been asked to do. It's free, and you can read it at www.scott-hunter.net/pdf/The_Last_Train_by_Scott_Hunter.pdf

If you enjoy it, please RT- if you didn't, let me know why and retweet anyway!

The ultimate sacrifice

This is Easter weekend, recalling a time when another young man was similarly faced with a desperate choice; Jesus' sacrifice is remembered by thousands of christians across the globe as perhaps the ultimate selfless act. Why did he do it? What was it all for? How can it possibly be relevant to us today? I have a lot of information about that if anyone wants to drop me a line.

Have a wonderful Easter - and enjoy your reading!

Do authors need advice?

Or “should I use an author advisory service?”

This is a question I’ve been asked quite a few times. Well, like all decisions, you’ve got
to weigh up the pros and cons. Of course, the benefits of using a service like this are very much dependent on your experience as an author.

I started writing seriously in 1996 after winning the Sunday Times Short Story
competition. If you want to have a quick look at my winning entry, here it is in pdf format.

http://www.scott-hunter.net/pdf/sstory.pdf

Kate Saunders, the newspaper’s literary editor at the time, asked me if I had considered
writing a novel. The answer was along the lines of, hmm - maybe. But it got me thinking
that a novel might be a fun thing to do (that shows you how naïve I was. . .). And so I
embarked upon a painful journey, writing a novel set in 367AD during the latter days of
the Roman Empire’s occupation of Britain. . .

I made every mistake in the book ('scuse the pun). Here are some of them, in no particular order:

• Changing viewpoint in a scene, randomly and confusingly
• Overwriting
• Choosing the wrong character as the protagonist
• Over egging the plot
• Resorting to the supernatural (don’t ask)
• Being pleased that I’d written 70,000 words and
• Being sure that everyone would love it, including Kate Saunders (she didn’t)

I could go on, but it’s hurting too much to remember the trauma. As you can probably guess it wasn’t long before I was forced to admit that writing a novel is slightly more challenging than writing a short story. I finally conceded that I needed help.

But where was this help to come from?

Enter Hilary Johnson.

I found an advert for her services and emailed for a chat. She was great; she understood.
She offered a full critique service which would point out my failings, and better still, make sound recommendations for fixing the problems. And she was true to her word. I soon received a comprehensive report from one of her experienced team showing me exactly where I had gone wrong, and, more importantly, also pointing out where I’d hit the mark and written some good stuff along the way. Yes, some of it was OK (!)

Of course there was a fee for Hilary’s services, but the lessons I learned more than compensated. And, critically, they are lessons learned for life that I was able to apply in future novels. Hilary’s website will tell you that she is a scout for a leading literary agent, and I can vouch for that. I was massively excited that Hilary felt able to recommend my novel to the agency and even more excited when I learned that the agent in question was seriously considering my work. As it turned out he passed by a whisper, but I nevertheless was hugely uplifted to know that an agent of his calibre had spent a week over the decision making process and that he had very nearly taken me on.

You can reach Hilary at http://www.hilaryjohnson.com/ and do send her my regards.

Advice with plenty of laughs

I can’t leave you without mentioning another inspirational lady, Celia Brayfield. Her book, ‘Bestseller - Secrets of Successful Writing’ is entertainment with a capital E in its own right. I can honestly say it has been my most useful and thumbed resource. 'Bestseller' is a tonic when you feel inspiration has deserted you and the book is a kick up the bum when you’re just feeling plain sorry for yourself (and we authors all feel that way sometimes, huh?)

You can find Celia’s excellent advice here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bestseller-Secrets-Successful-Celia-Brayfield/dp/1857023838

Writing update

Well, here I am with a week in Yorkshire ahead of me and a break from writing. But you guys have no such excuse, so crack on with that novel! If you fancy a curl up with a good book after all that hard work,
 
‘The Trespass’,  my archaeological blockbuster (!) is now available in Kindle format  - at last!

UK:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trespass-Scott-Hunter/dp/0956151000

US:   http://www.amazon.com/The-Trespass-ebook/dp/B004URVAG2/ref=sr_1_cc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302271355&sr=1-1-catcorr

'The Trespass' is currently priced at $3.45. What a deal! Check out the Amazon reviews via the UK page (a huge thanks to all my readers for the five star reviews!) and don’t forget to Twitter your comments about the novel using hashtag #fridayreads, on a friday, natch.

'The Ley Lines of Lushbury', a fantasy adventure for children which was longlisted for the Times/Chicken House Children's novel competition last year is available via Amazon as well:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ley-Lines-Lushbury-Scott-Hunter/dp/144615713X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294500319&sr=1-1

‘Silent Order’ which I mentioned in my last post, is undergoing editing at present for a Kindle Autumn release.

Promise I'll shrink these long and rather ugly URLs next time. Honest.

Have a sunny weekend!

About time too. . .

Okay - I admit I've been a little slack of late. Three months since the last entry is definitely not the way forward. Apologies. First things first; I want to draw your attention to an inspirational indie writer by the name of Catherine Ryan Howard. Her eBook adventures are well worth reading and have provided me with a much needed kick start. Read her story at http://catherineryanhoward.com/

Catherine's blog is a rich source of information for the eWriter, so if you have any doubts or concerns regarding eBook technical issues (formatting etc), or revenue questions, or just want to be totally inspired at what hard work and determination can do, do pay her blog a visit. I for one will be a regular follower from now on.

Now then, my latest novel is all but complete. It's entitled 'Silent Order' and can best be described as a crime novel in an unusual setting - a modern monastery. It's the most severe winter for decades, and Winfield Abbey's dark secret is about to be revealed....Chief Inspector Brendan Moran is called to investigate an extraordinarily brutal murder and discovers that he is up against a clever and evasive antagonist. But can Moran lay his own demons to rest in time to catch the killer? Here's a taster. . .

Moran despatched the skull to the coroner’s office for examination. The cause of death was apparent: the skull was fractured, a cracked indentation zig zagging across the crown like a lightning bolt. Although it looked like a blow from some heavy object, he’d leave it to the path lab to establish likely cause. Still, whoever had moved it from the chapel vault to Horgan’s freshly dug grave must have left traces - at least Moran hoped so. But why the morbid display? Who was the perpetrator trying to scare and why? And the note: 'From liberty, peace'. What was all that about? Moran’s take on that one was straight forward enough: someone had known about the body; that it needed a Christian burial, and now, in this rather flamboyant way, was making a statement that the burial was well overdue. However, the question he most wanted answered was just as puzzling: was the display of the skull the work of Horgan’s killer, or someone else? 

The interrupted funeral service had resumed an hour and a half later. Father Liam Horgan had been left in peace beneath the frozen turf as the light was fading and a fresh batch of snow blew in on the chill afternoon wind. The monks had moved away in small groups, black hoods drawn around frowning faces, each nursing private suspicions and anxieties. Moran read their expressions: what was happening amongst them? Who was responsible? What would the abbot do? Were they safe?

I'll be releasing the novel in eBook format in the autumn. Until then, much time will be spent editing and paring, hacking and tweaking so that it will hit you between the eyes when you read it, as I hope you all will! For the more traditional readers out there I may also release it in printed format, depending on various logistics. But I would say this to fans of paper and physical books - give eBooks a try - you get a much better deal for your money. My archaeological thriller 'The Trespass' is retailing for $2.99 at Barnes and Noble online, at Apple and shortly at Amazon Kindle. You can check it out via

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/24247

The funny thing is that, having discovered the joys of eBook publishing from the other end - the production end rather than the consumer end I mean - and having been previously rather sniffy about 'real' books being superior in every way, I've actually become a bit of an eBook fan on the quiet. Oh no. I guess that means I'll have to go out and buy a Kindle. . .