For five days only, you can download my novel The Birds Began to Sing absolutely FREE from Amazon.

The Birds Began to Sing is a mystery novel inspired by the likes of Agatha Christie, Daphne Du Maurier and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with a dash of Susan Hill, the Bronte Sisters and Michael Crichton but hopefully also original in its own right (you decide). It is dedicated to my wife, who loves a gripping, page-turning thriller.

Here is the blurb from the back of The Birds Began to Sing:

When aspiring novelist Alice Darnell enters a competition to write the ending for an unfinished manuscript by late, world famous author Sasha Hawkins, it appears she might have her big break at last.

However, upon arrival at Sasha’s former home – the sinister Blackwood House – Alice is unsettled by peculiar competition rules, mysterious dreams and inexplicable ghostly visions. She begins to question her sanity as she is drawn into a terrifying web of deceit, revenge and murder.

Two reviewers at Barnes and Noble had this to say:

“Mystery, drama, conspiracy theory, and some supernatural intrigue. A real page turner!”

“I really enjoyed this. Really thought it was unique.”

And here are another two reviews from Amazon:

“This was really a great read and I loved the twist. Did not expect it at all.”

“An intriguing story, full of exciting twists and turns.”

Print copies are available to order here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/simon-dillon/the-birds-began-to-sing/paperback/product-21878694.html

This week, fellow author Martin Willoughby has very kindly allowed me to write a guest post promoting my work on his blog. You can check out the article here.

What follows is a shorter, modified version of the post on Martin Willoughby’s blog, giving an overview of recurrent themes in my writing:

Regular readers of this blog know I write for both grown-ups and children in a variety of genres, but what recurrent themes are present in my writing?

Abuse of power and religious oppression are certainly two mainstays. My most successful novel to date, Children of the Folded Valley, is about a man looking back on his childhood growing in a mysterious cult, seemingly in a parallel dimension bordering our own.

These themes are echoed in my most recent novel, Love vs Honour, which on the surface may appear to be a teenage romance, but it takes a number of dark and unexpected turns that I think are just as likely to make the novel appeal to adults. It concerns relationship between teenagers of different fundamentalist faith backgrounds, and their parent appeasing subterfuge as each pretends to convert to the others religion.

George goes to Mars (and its sequel George goes to Titan, along with the upcoming final part of the trilogy, George goes to Neptune) also to a lesser extent deals with oppressive religious systems, and those who set themselves up as gods. The simple premise of the first novel – poverty stricken boy inherits all rights to sell land on the planet Mars – is merely the start of several thrilling adventures that will appeal to all ages.

Abuse of power, and themes of distrust in political powers of all persuasions crop up in another adventure story I wrote entitled Dr Gribbles and the Beast of Blackthorn Lodge. The first chapter features a haunted house, monster and mad scientist, and then novel builds from there.

In a different vein, Uncle Flynn, a treasure hunt adventure, features themes of overcoming fear and the dangers of mollycoddling.

Returning to novels for adults, The Birds Began to Sing is a gripping thriller about a mysterious writing competition that takes many sinister, possibly supernatural turns. Yet again abuse of power is a background theme, although primarily it concerns the power of the written word.

It is worth mentioning a theme that crops up in virtually all my books: rebellion/uprising against corrupt and/or oppressive systems and/or people; whether religious, political or even just school bullies. Sometimes these confrontations take place on a small, personal level (the afore-mentioned bullies in stories like Dr Gribbles and the Beast of Blackthorn Lodge, or perhaps the confrontations of Love vs Honour), or on a larger, more obvious scale (George goes to Mars, Children of the Folded Valley, etc).

Of course, this makes my novels sound terribly heavy and tough, but they aren’t. There is humour too, often quite dark humour, throughout all these stories.

Finally, I should add that many of my novels are set in and round where I live in the South West of England. Since moving here in 2006, I have derived a great deal of inspiration from my surroundings, and certain locations (particularly places on Dartmoor such as Wistman’s Wood) crop up again and again in my work.

All my novels are available on Amazon at a mere 99 pence per download. Print copies are also available from Lulu or, in the case of Love vs Honour, Amazon Create Space.

To celebrate the first anniversary of the release of my most successful novel to date, for five days only, you can download Children of the Folded Valley absolutely FREE from Amazon (see link below):

AMAZON LINK

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

During a journey to visit his estranged sister, James Harper recalls his childhood growing up in a mysterious valley cut off from the outside world, as part of a cult called the Folded Valley Fellowship.

In this seemingly idyllic world, the charismatic Benjamin Smiley claimed to be protecting his followers from an impending nuclear apocalypse.

But the valley concealed a terrifying secret.

A secret that would change Smiley’s followers forever.

Children of the Folded Valley is a gripping and dramatic mystery with a “light” science fiction edge.

The novel has been very well reviewed. Here is a sample of the many raves:

“I don’t usually leave reviews but I felt so strongly about encouraging people to read this fantastic book. It had me captured from start to finish. At one stage in the book I actually thought it was a true story.” – Paul, Amazon.

“The use of re-written religious doctrine to control, govern and frighten is particularly chilling… Full marks to Simon Dillon for this creative and highly readable novel.” – Around Robin, Amazon.

“I was captivated… I didn’t want to put it down and just kept trying to find time to squeeze in a chapter… It just gets better and better as you read it and you find yourself needing to know what happened.” – Hannah, Goodreads.

“Creepy and unnerving. Kept me gripped the whole way through.” – Lucyboo, Amazon.

“I couldn’t put it down.” – Bukky, Amazon.

“Really well written, well thought through, compassionate… Full of empathy.” – Over, Amazon.

“So well written, you could believe it was a memoir.” – Shelley, Amazon.

“A perturbing and very original story… The ending is magnificent.” – Joan, Goodreads.

Print copies can be ordered here (but unlike the download are sadly not free): http://www.lulu.com/shop/simon-dillon/children-of-the-folded-valley/paperback/product-21812308.html

It is interesting how many famous authors that were largely known for one type of writing were upset about that fact, and wanted to be known for their other works too. For example, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle became infuriated with the success of Sherlock Holmes to the point that he killed him off, sending him plunging to his apparent doom alongside arch nemesis Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls. Public outcry led to Holmes’ resurrection, but nevertheless Doyle often wanted his other works – including adventure stories such as The Lost World – to be better known.

In a similar way, certain actors sometimes resent their most successful roles, thinking they overshadow their wider body of work. Alec Guinness ended up detesting the success of Star Wars, to the point that he once told a fan that he would only sign an autograph if he promised to never, ever watch Star Wars again.

I have some sympathy with such people, only because as an author I have written for both children and adults in a wide variety of genres. My most successful novel to date by far is Children of the Folded Valley, but I don’t just want to be known for that. I confess that I sometimes look at the huge amount of reviews for that book compared with the relatively small amount for my other novels and think: why don’t people give my other stories a try?

Of course, such thoughts are nonsense. An author should be grateful for any success or novel they pen that strikes a chord with the reader. It is better to be a one-trick pony than a no-trick pony. Nevertheless, I am always hopeful that readers will upgrade me to multiple-trick pony.

Naming books is a notoriously tricky business. How do you come up with something catchy, appropriate and memorable? Often it can feel harder than writing the novel itself.

I recently finished the second draft of my most recent novel, a supernatural thriller/horror. However, it took me ages to come up with a title. Part of the problem was the genre itself having so many oft-used title words: ghost, haunting, spectre, spirit and so on. I did have one or two very good titles, but they were too spoiler-ish to use. In the end I opted for The Irresistible Summons. At least it has some mystery (ie what is this summons, and why is it irresistible?).

George goes to Mars was a more straightforward title, and obviously leant itself well to sequels (George goes to Titan, and the upcoming George goes to Neptune). However, it has been put to me that these titles don’t do the books justice. Some claim they don’t contain enough mystery or menace, and that they suggest a story aimed at much younger children. In truth there is a lot of mystery and menace in the George Hughes adventures, and they are not aimed at very small children, but rather at the Harry Potter/Alex Rider age range and up. Perhaps one day I will change the titles, although I do rather like the way George goes to Mars rolls off the tongue.

On another note, my recent novel Love vs Honour was originally simply called Honour, but when I discovered there was another novel with that name (which there wasn’t ten years ago when I wrote it), and that a film had also been made of said novel, I changed the title to Love vs Honour, which I think works much better for all kinds of reasons, as will be evident for those who read the book. It can be ordered from Amazon on Kindle (see link below):

AMAZON LINK

Here is the blurb from the back of Love vs Honour:

Two Religions. Two Deceptions. One Love.

When Johnny meets and falls in love with Sabina, their bond proves stronger than a teenage holiday fling.

Fearing the disapproval of their strict Christian and Islamic families, they undertake an elaborate deception to continue seeing one another. Johnny pretends to convert to Islam whilst Sabina pretends to covert to Christianity to appease their parents. 

But how long can this deception last before it unravels?

Print copies of Love vs Honour can also be ordered from Amazon Create Space:

CREATE SPACE LINK