I am excited to have Tony with a guest post today ~ thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for organizing.
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Genre: Police Procedural/Crime Thriller
Publication Date: October 7, 2024
Estimated Page Count: 320
Standalone Book #12 in the series
The blurb for book #2 in the DI Bliss series, The Scent of Guilt, begins: ‘A dozen years after leaving Peterborough under a cloud, DI Jimmy Bliss returns to the city and is plunged straight into the heart of a serial murder investigation’. However, as I’ve subsequently discovered, not everybody reads the blurb after reading the first book, they just purchase the second and get stuck in. In one way that’s great, but if they do so they miss out on a vital clue which tells them that twelve years have passed between books. That’s why I get so many online posts and comments and emails asking what happened and why, often because readers think they must have somehow missed out on something.
The truth is much more benign. This gap of a dozen years occurred partially out of my own naivety and excitement at getting my first publishing contract, but also due to the recalcitrance of my publisher. So, please, allow me to explain in more detail why there are twelve years missing from the DI Jimmy Bliss series.
It begins with the first draft of the first book. To start with, I never intended to write a series, so Bad to the Bone was, in my head, a one-off. But also, that first draft was written back in 2005. The storyline date is not ever stated, but if you follow the clues you know the book is set in 2005. The problem began with my naivety at the start of January 2017 when I submitted Bad to the Bone to a publisher specialising in crime books. My hope for this book was that the publisher would give me a few pointers in terms of how to improve it with perhaps an offer of future consideration. Instead, the following month, I was offered a two-book contract.
My second mistake was getting carried away with excitement at being offered a publishing contract and making the newbie error of not reading that contract properly. And when I finally did, I realised that what I was actually contracted for was Bad to the Bone and a follow-up book to mark book #2 in a series. I realised the problem immediately; they had accepted the submitted book as it was, set in 2005, yet here we were in 2017. So when it came to a follow-up I had only two options: either I continued along the same timeline, or I jumped forward and left a dozen years behind in respect of Jimmy Bliss’s career.
My instinct was to change Bad to the Bone so that it took place in 2017 instead of 2005. My publishers, however, denied my request. They said they had already committed to a publication process deadline and had spent money on an editor, so making such substantial changes were out of the question. I pleaded with them, insisting that I would only make changes where relevant, and none that would affect the edit. My pleas fell on deaf ears, leaving me to decide how to proceed. In the end, I didn’t want to set the series in the past, and ended up having what I thought was a pretty good idea to explain away those missing years. Bad to the Bone ended with Bliss in a tricky situation, so I had him leave under a cloud and head back down to London to work for the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, which eventually morphed into the National Crime Agency.
This all happened off the page, so that when Bliss reappeared for his second outing in The Scent of Guilt, he had just returned to Peterborough having taken up his previous role as a DI for the Major Crime Unit. It wasn’t something I wanted to do, but of the two options available to me I felt this one was the best. As a consequence, it had an unexpected positive outcome, in that over the course of the series I have utilised Jimmy’s experiences with SOCA and the NCA to good effect, often resulting in him working with ex-colleagues from those agencies.
Eventually, though, the penny dropped. A bad penny. In the first book, Jimmy Bliss was already into his forties. Off the page he had aged by twelve years, which meant that by book #2 he was in his mid-fifties. I knew I could extend his career beyond his 30-year requirement to the point where compulsory retirement kicked in, but I also realised that I had shortened the series potential.
For a third time, however, good came out of bad. Knowing Jimmy would eventually have to hang up his warrant card, I discussed the dilemma with my police procedure advisor, Graham Bartlett, and between us we devised a whole new career for Bliss which kept him not only working for the police as a civilian, but also doing so alongside his Major Crime team. This led to Bliss in this new book (#12) taking on two roles: an investigator with the Unsolved Cases team, and a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) with his usual colleagues.
I have to say I’m pleased with the outcome, which is Something More to Say. The new roles also immediately inspired book #13, which I’m deep into writing, and at the same time I’m piecing together ideas for #14. A change of direction, provided you bring your readers with you, can act as a breath of fresh air. Suddenly, that missing chunk of Jimmy Bliss’s story doesn’t seem so bad after all, and who knows, it may even inspire a whole new direction: Jimmy Bliss – the NCA years.
Book blurb:
BLISS IS BACK… AND THIS TIME HE’S TWICE THE THREAT.
Jimmy Bliss’s first unsolved case is proving to be a puzzle. Despite an original investigation and subsequent case reviews, the police still do not have a suspect in the 1999 murder of a local authority worker. The only lead Bliss and his three new colleagues have is the recent unearthing of the murder weapon. But when that takes them no further, they realise their only chance of success is to find fresh evidence missed in the original case.
The reinvestigation is starting to look hopeless when in steps a shadowy figure from Jimmy’s past. The man has a favour to ask, and Bliss a debt to repay. With his loyalty put to the test, can he be convinced the request is genuinely for the greater good?
Meanwhile, the violent executions of two young drug runners are the first lethal blows in a war between organised county lines drug gangs. Bliss is asked to act as the Senior Investigating Officer. Working with his Major Crime Unit colleagues, he professes to align himself with one of the gangs to ensure a peaceful end to hostilities. But will they call his bluff and see his act for what it is?
Bliss’s strategy prompts an unexpected reaction in one psychopathic loose cannon, resulting in threats of violence and the spread of fear. And when those threats become actions, will Jimmy and his colleagues be caught in the line of fire…?
Purchase Link – http://tiny.cc/SMtS
Author Bio –
BIO
Tony J Forder is the author of the bestselling DI Bliss crime thriller series. Bad to the Bone, The Scent of Guilt, If Fear Wins, The Reach of Shadows, The Death of Justice, Endless Silent Scream, Slow Slicing, The Autumn Tree, Darker Days to Come, The Lightning Rod, and What Dies Inside Us will be joined in autumn 2024 by Something More to Say. There is also a prequel novella available called Bliss Uncovered.
Tony’s other books include two action-adventure thrillers, Scream Blue Murder and Cold Winter Sun, featuring reluctant hero Mike Lynch. Also, The Huntsmen and The Predators, feature DS Royston Chase, DC Claire Laney, and PCSO Alison May, both police procedural novels set in Wiltshire. In addition, Tony has written two standalone novels: a dark, psychological crime thriller, Degrees of Darkness, and a suspense thriller set in California, Fifteen Coffins.
Tony’s first 8 novels were originally released by a publisher specialising in crime fiction. In 2020, Tony decided to strike out on his own, and subsequently negotiated the return of all publishing rights to himself. Each of those 8 books has subsequently been re-released under his own imprint, Spare Nib Books.
Tony lives with his wife in West Sussex, UK, and is a full-time author. He is currently working on book
#12 in his bestselling Jimmy Bliss series. His first love was music, and he is currently gobbling up as many remastered vinyl albums as he can. Tony has played guitar since his early childhood, and despite selling off his collection at one point he has somehow managed to reacquire a new range and is up to 5 without knowing how.
Links
All of Tony’s links can be found on Linktree: https://linktr.ee/TonyJForder
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