"The Girl Who Broke the Rules" penned by Mumsnetter climbing the charts

[Horrormoanal1]

Hi fellow Mumsnetters,
Quite a few of you downloaded my debut thriller, "The Girl Who Wouldn't Die" when it was on a freebie and enjoyed it. Thanks for your support. The book went on to be a kindle paid bestseller & won a Dead Good Reader Award. It's on a freebie again to celebrate the launch of book 2, so do dig in. It's free! This is a just a note to say the second instalment of the series is out and doing well - "The Girl Who Broke the Rules" - so, a huge thanks to those of you who supported George's first adventure. You're brill. xxx

Glad it's doing well! I preordered the second the minute I finished the first (the first is excellent - anyone who hasn't got it yet should go for it!) and will be starting it tonight.

Ace! Thanks, Countess. I wanted to share my book birthday with you guys the other week, but there was all that hacking horribleness going on. Glad it's over. How was your summer? I've had a bonkers time, trying to juggle kids, writing deadlines and a poorly mum. Hope yours was more relaxing.

Loving George 2 so far!

Thanks for asking - have had a lovely summer but not very writing-productive due to kid trouble. I did do a lot of reading in my genre, though, so am feeling all raring to go (if ds can only manage to stay in school long enough for me to get some words down ).

Ah, great to hear you're enjoying it, Countess! Thanks for letting me know. It's getting some amazing reviews from book-bloggers and crime readers, which is very encouraging. I found the Summer hols a real trial, as No. 2 child has been swotting for 11+ exams too, so most of the time I was concerned I was earning minus Mum-points for turning my back on him and writing instead of pretending to understand mock maths tests. The difficulties of being a working mum don't ease up when you work from home. What's your genre again?

Young adult historical - this is me.

I think working from home as a working mum is a different set of problems. I get called to get ds1 from school early most days at the moment, (sometimes have to do in and sort him out then go and get him later). This has been going on since Christmas so if it was a normal job I would have been sacked long ago.
On the other hand, if I don't actually make progress with the book....!

Finished and left review for you!

Hiya. That cover is awesome! I think my daughter would be interested in your story. She loves historical fiction, as do I. I shall put her onto it. Great premise!
Thanks so much for the review of The Girl Who Broke the Rules, too! I'm so glad you enjoyed it as much as the first.
I'm struggling with juggling edits, kids and a very poorly Mum at the moment. I too would be dead in the water without the flexibility of self-employment. It's just those dreaded tax returns. Never mind. If the series continues to do well, I might actually be able to afford an accountant one day!

Thanks - hope she enjoys it.

Best of luck with book 3 (and all the working mum stuff....)

You too! Praying I'll break into the top 100 in the next few days... I'll pass my daughter's undoubted praise on when she's read yours!

Hi - have read both of your books and they are fab!!! Do you have plans/a dare for number 3???

Just finished "The Girl Who Wouldn't Die" and I am already a third of the way through "The Girl Who Broke the Rules". Not sure I can wait until March for the third installment.

It took me a few chapters to really get in to the first one, especially as I don't usually read thrillers or crime fiction, but now I am completely hooked. George is a great character. Highly recommended!

Countess, your novel looks great and I love historical fiction. It is on my to buy list!

And now I have finished "The Girl Who Broke the Rules" and I definitely can't wait until March.

Thanks, AlteredImages
Hope you enjoy it.

I am rooting for George to get into the top 100. When I looked the other day it was at #145 which is AMAZING!

March is a bit long to wait for book 3 though - can't you write any faster?

I enjoyed first book and have just ordered the second. Good luck!

Hi Countess, Liveforthemoment, alteredimages and Radiatorvalves (ace names!),

Thanks so much for telling me how much you've enjoyed/are enjoying the books! I've actually finished "The Girl Who Walked in the Shadows", which is out March 2016. Just doing the early edits, now! It's available to pre-order, if you want to click and forget about it until next spring. It had been meant to come out this November, but my publisher didn't want it to get lost in the Christmas madness, so the date was changed.

I'm so glad all my efforts are paying off in that people are enjoying the series. It's take me ten years to get to this point, so very satisfying, despite the knackeredness and penury! If you haven't already and you get a minute, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave a little review on Amazon, as it's one big algorithm and reviews get the book noticed. The Girl Who Broke the Rules has slid a little in the rankings now - they do go up and down, which drives me bonkers. So, do spread the word! I hope she'll be back near the top 100 by next week...

I've bought yours for my daughter, Countess!
Big Smiley.

OK, will leave amazon reviews now. Already preordered the third.

I am really impressed by anyone able to write at all, and secondly to be able to write consistently enough to produce a novel, let alone three. In awe of you both, Countess and Horrormoanal.

I am supposed to be reading Suite Francaise now but am instead rereading "The Girl Who Wouldn't Die". It is actually a cracking beginning, not sure why it took me a few chapters to take to it the first time.

I really love your characters. I wish I had been more like George when I was in my early twenties. I also love the settings, especially as many are very familiar to me.

Do you mind if I PM you about something Horrormoanal?

Hi alteredimages,
Glad you enjoyed the book and it was good to chat to you! Thanks for leaving reviews on Amazon. I really appreciate it and those help immensely. The Girls are side by side in the Suspense chart this morning, so it's great to know that people are discovering the series! Your support is fantastic.

Ok just bought all 3 based on the recommendations on here. Fingers crossed I like them because whilst I love thrillers and suspense I. Not a lover of Stig Larsson. Gulp.

Thanks for taking a chance on the novels, Isthiscorrect. They're reminiscent of Stieg Larsson's books, simply because there's a strong, young heroine in the lead role and there's a European element, in that the action flits between London, Amsterdam and Heidelberg. That said, the writing's very different - they're in no way copycat stories, despite the way my publisher has chosen to market them. See what you think and let me know, won't you? :)

Oh dear. I'm banned from buying books for a while. And now I'm eyeing the "buy" button on Amazon. Oops.

I loved them, and don't particularly see them as similar to Stieg Larsson's. I too was initially put off by the comparison. FWIW I found George, the lead character in 'The Girl Who' books much more interesting and believable than Lisbeth Salander.

This might be personal bias, but for me it also has a massive advantage over Stieg Larsson's books in that they are not translated from another language. If I have even a cursory knowledge of the original language I can 'hear' the original text in the translation and it does my head in, like listening to a song with the volume turned right down.

Go for it Mimsy, they are worth it. I have the same problem.

Hey, alteredimages,
This is really lovely to hear! At first, I was delighted to be compared to the Stieg Larsson books, as Salander inspired me to write my own strong female lead. But two books into a series, you want your writing to stand up to scrutiny on its own merits. So, I'm really pleased to hear you thought that. Cheers! "The Girl Who Wouldn't Die" has gone up to the princely sum of £1.49 now, but "The Girl Who Broke the Rules" is still only 99p and is still dipping in and out of the top 200. I'm in "Woman" magazine on the 13th October, so hopefully that will give it a little boost. Ah, the trials and tribulations of chart-watching (plus, I'm getting a divorce, so I'm praying the series does well for purely practical purposes)! Thanks for your support, everyone! Really appreciate it. x

How's it going Horrormoanal? Hope the books are still doing well. I wish the third book would hurry up a bit!

Sorry to hear about your divorce, it must be hard juggling that and finishing off the series. Still, onwards and upwards, eh?

Hi alteredimages,
I'm awaiting my editorial notes for book 3, so taking this time to deal with all the life laundry I've been ignoring for the last nine months. The books are doing pretty well, two months after launch of, "The Girl Who Broke the Rules". George is holding her own in the Suspense, Mystery & Thriller top 100s on Amazon. The next big step is negotiating a new deal, now that the third book has been delivered. Self-employment, as a lot of you will know, is a stressful, unpredictable affair... I might be writing a psychological thriller next, taking a short break from The Girl Who series. I'll keep you posted.
Hope you're well too! x