Monthly Archives: July 2017

The Thistlewood Curse – a quick summary

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As regular readers of this blog will know, I have been promoting my latest novel The Thistlewood Curse for some weeks. Here then is a summary of the essential information about the book, as well as links to articles exploring its different aspects:

Blurb from the back of the novel

Can a ghost murder the living?

Lawrence Crane’s powers of astral projection are put to the ultimate test when he and his lifelong friend Detective Laura Buchan investigate a mysterious death on Lundy Island.

Sensing a dark power at work, they attempt to identify a human assassin under the control of supernatural evil.

But can they escape a terrifying, centuries-old curse?

Excerpts

Short extracts to whet the appetite can be read here and here.

Cover

More about the cover design here.

Inspiration

What novels or films inspired The Thistlewood Curse? Click here for more.

Facts behind the novel

Lundy Island, cabbages, castles and more… The historical and geographical facts that stirred my imagination can be found here.

Themes

Human trafficking, witchcraft, religious oppression, grief… What’s The Thistlewood Curse really about? Or is it just a scary story? Click here for more.

Early Reviews

Find out what readers have been saying here.

The Thistlewood Curse is available as a download from Amazon Kindle, or in print, here.

The Thistlewood Curse – early reviews

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The first reviews for The Thistlewood Curse continue to trickle in, and so far they have all been very positive.

THE THISTLEWOOD CURSE Cover (JPG Print version)

For example, one reviewer on Goodreads spoke of “chilling moments”, “an unusual premise” and that although it was “not what I’d usually choose… I was kept guessing to the end”.

There have been also been five star reviews on the US and UK Amazon sites respectively. One stated “Simon Dillon’s streak continues with another cracking book! The author’s storytelling is top notch with the twists, turns and suspense covering the book with glue, that is to say, you can’t put it down.”

Another said “This one will certainly leave you with “novel hangover,” still reeling from the emotional storm that just picked you up and spit you out. It was engaging, captivating, and immersive from the very beginning, and the plot twists were a pleasant surprise.”

I’m also very pleased people are seeing past the murder mystery/horror elements into the deeper stuff. For example, one reviewer commented “The characters are built up and written so well, you feel you know them and connect with them. For that reason, when they go through an ordeal, you go through it with them.” The reviewer went on to state that this was “a book with real depth, personal struggle and a test of faith—in more ways than one.”

To all those that have left reviews for this or any of my other novels, thank you so much. I really appreciate your support.

If you have read and enjoyed The Thistlewood Curse, please, please do leave a review on Amazon. It need not be long. Even just a one-liner saying “I enjoyed it” is fine. All such reviews are a great help to independent self-published authors such as yours truly – not because we require endless affirmation, but because the more reviews are published on Amazon, the more Amazon shows the fruits of our hard work to other customers.

Thank you.

Are my novels one big existential crisis?

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The other day, my wife made an observation about my body of work; namely that virtually all my novels, either peripherally or directly, concern an existential crisis. I thought about this, and have come to the conclusion that she is correct.

Notions of identity, delusion and not being able to trust reality are definitely a running theme in my work, along with other mainstays such as abuse of power, religious oppression and so forth. Here are some examples from the novels I have published thus far (avoiding major spoilers): 

George goes to Neptune – Admittedly the first two novels don’t deal with an existential crisis, but the third in the George Hughes trilogy definitely does. George’s highly unusual battle with his dark side is what inspired me to write this third novel and complete the trilogy.

Uncle Flynn – The question of who is Uncle Flynn runs throughout the entire novel, particularly during the hunt for the hidden treasure. Throughout much of the story, police pursue him and his nephew Max across Dartmoor, for mysterious unknown reasons.

Dr Gribbles and the Beast of Blackthorn Lodge – An identity crisis of sorts lies at the heart of this story, involving Dr Gribbles’s daughter Emily and the Beast itself.

Children of the Folded Valley – Quantum physics and the nature of reality are a theme behind this story, still my most successful novel to date.

The Birds Began to Sing – From the very first chapter, it is clear that Alice’s perceptions of reality should be questioned. The suspense in many of the events that follow hinges on the question of whether or not what Alice is seeing is real or a delusion.

Love vs Honour – Spiritual identity crises form the heart of my attempt at teenage romantic drama.

Most recently, my supernatural thriller cum horror story The Thistlewood Curse pulls the rug out from the reader in a variety of existential crises involving ghosts, astral projection and more. You can download or buy a print copy of The Thistlewood Curse here.

Existential crisis remains a theme in virtually all my (as yet) unpublished novels, and this will no doubt continue to be the case.