Mark Edwards's Blog, page 9

Mark Edwards’s fifth solo psychological thriller will be published by Thomas & Mercer in September 2016. Entitled The Devil’s Work, this book takes Mark’s familiar theme – of terrifying things happening to ordinary people – and places it in an office environment. Mark is putting the finishing touches to the novel now.

In The Devil’s Work, Sophie Greenwood, a thirty-four year old stay-at-home mum, returns to work after a four year break, landing her dream job at a children’s publishing company. But soon Sophie wonders if one of her colleagues is out to get her. After her best friend in the office is brutally attacked, Sophie becomes increasingly convinced that there are sinister goings-on behind the scenes of the company – and that she and her family are in terrible danger.

The Devil’s Work will be available as a Kindle ebook, in paperback and audiobook. It will be available on Amazon sites worldwide this September. To keep up to date with release dates, you might want to join Mark’s newsletter.

Mark Edwards

Mark Edwards is this week celebrating reaching the milestone of selling one million books.

In a blog post on this site, Mark writes, “When my wife bought me a Kindle for my 40th birthday  I had no idea that it would lead to the rebirth of my abandoned writing career. I certainly had no inkling that I would be sitting here, almost exactly five years later, having sold one million books.”

The one million total includes approximately 250,000 books co-written with Louise Voss, and is made up of a mix of traditionally-published books and self-published titles. The biggest individual seller is The Magpies, which has shifted 350,000 copies alone. Follow You Home, published in June 2015, is currently in second place having already sold 175,000 copies.

Mark spent most of his twenties and early thirties trying to ‘make it’ as an author, acquiring an agent but unable to get a deal. In 2011, he and Louise self-published Killing Cupid and Catch Your Death, topping the UK Kindle chart. This led to a deal with HarperCollins and a number of deals around the world, including Germany, South Korea and Brazil.

In 2013, following a difficult period, Mark self-published The Magpies. It was a No.1 bestseller in the UK and led to a deal with Thomas & Mercer. Since then, Because She Loves Me was also a No.1 UK bestseller and Follow You Home recently reached the top three on Amazon in the United States.

The success of these books has, according to Mark, “allowed me to become a full-time author, supporting my family and doing what I’ve always wanted to do: earning a living by spending my time making up stories.”

To celebrate reaching this milestone, Mark is giving away a complete set of signed books to one member of his Readers Club. Full details here.

Read Mark’s full blog post here.

Mark’s next book is The Blissfully Dead, co-written with Louise Voss, which is published worldwide on 29 September.

To celebrate selling his millionth book, Mark is giving away a complete set of paperbacks to one lucky reader.

All ten books will be signed by Mark. The set includes the forthcoming DI Lennon novel, The Blissfully Dead, along with all of Mark’s previous titles. The competition is open worldwide and is open exclusively to recipients of Mark’s email newsletter.

If you are already on Mark’s email list, or the Voss & Edwards list, you will automatically receive an email on Friday September 11th with details of how to enter the draw.

To join the list before then, click here and fill out your details. If you’re not sure if you’ve already signed up, you can check by completing the form and you will be told if you’re already a member.

Here’s the full list of books included in the draw:

The Blissfully Dead

Follow You Home

From the Cradle

Because She Loves Me

What You Wish For

Forward Slash

The Magpies

All Fall Down

Killing Cupid

Catch Your Death

Read Mark’s blog post about selling his millionth book

When my wife, Sara, bought me a Kindle for my 40th birthday back in 2010, I had no idea that it would lead to the rebirth of my abandoned writing career. I certainly had no inkling that I would be sitting here, almost exactly five years later, having sold one million books. But that’s what has happened. Last week, on Thursday 3rd September 2015, somebody somewhere bought the millionth copy of one of my novels – including around 250,000 copies of books co-written with Louise Voss.

It’s been a long, bumpy road – a road full of potholes, with bandits lurking around every corner. There have been several points when I thought my dream of being a full-time writer was over. The years in the wilderness, the early days of self-publishing when every sale took a Herculean effort, the crushing disappointment that followed the euphoria of the deal with HarperCollins. But if it had been easy, it wouldn’t feel half as sweet now.

You can read about all the twists and turns in my journey here, but the turning point came when I self-published The Magpies in 2013. It went on to become my biggest-selling book (350,000 copies so far) and led to a deal with Thomas & Mercer, part of Amazon Publishing. Most importantly, it allowed me to become a full-time author, supporting my family and doing what I’ve always wanted to do: earning a living by spending my time making up stories.

Another highlight was when my latest solo novel, Follow You Home, reached the top three on Amazon.com, the first time I’ve had a bestseller in the US. I’ve been thrilled by the reaction to this novel from readers and have had emails about it from people all over the world, from Oklahoma to China, via Israel and South Africa.

And this, apart from the ‘making a living’ stuff, is what makes it all worthwhile: the feedback and communication I get from people who enjoy my books. I want to say thank you to anyone who’s ever bought or borrowed one of my books, especially everyone who has contacted me, and with an extra-special thanks to the amazing group of virtual cheerleaders on my and Louise’s Facebook page.

Right now, I am working on my next solo book, which will be published in summer 2016. After that, Louise and I will start work on the third DI Lennon novel. I intend to keep writing until my brain or my body packs up and have ideas for lots for novels, including a possible sequel to one of my most popular books…

To mark the occasion of hitting the million mark, I am giving away a complete set of signed books – that’s ten paperbacks, including the latest book with Louise, The Blissfully Dead. Full details are here.

For those who are interested in such things, here are some facts and figures.

Of the million books sold, around 25% were self-published, 10% via traditional publishing and 65% Amazon Publishing.

Here’s a full list of the books in order of current sales popularity, from highest to lowest:

The Magpies (2013)

Follow You Home (2015)

Because She Loves Me (2014)

Catch Your Death* (2011)

What You Wish For (2014)

From the Cradle* (2014)

Killing Cupid* (2011)

Forward Slash* (2013)

All Fall Down* (2013)

*Co-written with Louise Voss.

Finally, between 98 and 99 per cent of my sales have been on Kindle and they are almost all in English, with a few German sales of The Magpies and From the Cradle in there too. Some of the Voss & Edwards books have also been published in other languages but I don’t have any sales figures for these so they are not included in the total.

Thanks again to all of my readers. Here’s to the next million!

Follow You Home launched on 30 June – and was an instant hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

The fourth psychological thriller by Mark Edwards shot into the UK Amazon Kindle chart and reached #4 on the bestseller list on its first day. A week on it’s still in the top ten and has already attracted over fifty 5 star reviews.

Follow You Home is also a top twenty bestseller in the US. The book entered the Amazon.com Kindle list on its first day and quickly climbed into the top twenty. It’s highest position so far is #15.

The novel sold over 20,000 copies in its first week on sale.

Mark would like to express huge thanks to everyone who has bought it so far and extra special thanks to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review.

Follow You Home tells the story of Daniel and Laura, whose trip around Europe goes terrifyingly wrong following an encounter on a night train. And when they think they are safe they realise the nightmare is just beginning.

Read more about Follow You Home here.

Mark Edwards’ fourth psychological thriller, Follow You Home, is out today. Available as a Kindle book, paperback or audiobook, you can get it from Amazon stores worldwide.

It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a final adventure before settling down. But after a perfect start, an encounter with a young couple on a night train forces Daniel and Laura to cut their dream trip short and flee home.

Back in London, Daniel and Laura vow never to talk about what happened that night. But as they try to fit into their old lives again, they realise they are in terrible danger—and that their nightmare is just beginning…

Watch the video trailer now.

To help spread the word about Follow You Home, Mark will be embarking on a blog tour which starts on June 29 – one day before the book launches – and continues until July 5th. During the tour Mark will be answering probing questions from various bloggers. There will also be a couple of exclusive posts by Mark. Links will be updated on this page as the tour progresses.

Here’s where it’s all happening.

June 29 Off the Shelf

June 30 Liz Loves Books

July 1 Portobello Book Blog

July 2 Little Bookness Lane

July 3 Crimeworm

July 4 Grab This Book

July 5 Espresso Coco

To help spread the word about Follow You Home, Mark will be embarking on a blog tour which starts on June 29 – one day before the book launches – and continues until July 5th. During the tour Mark will be answering probing questions from various bloggers. There will also be a couple of exclusive posts by Mark. Links will be updated on this page as the tour progresses.

Here’s where it’s all happening.

June 29 Off the Shelf

June 30 Liz Loves Books

July 1 Portobello Book Blog

July 2 Little Bookness Lane

July 3 Crimeworm

July 4 Grab This Book

July 5 Espresso Coco

A young couple go on the trip of a lifetime, only for their journey to end in unimaginable terror…

The page-turning psychological thriller from the author of #1 bestsellers The Magpies and Because She Loves Me.

It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a final adventure before settling down. But after a perfect start, an encounter with a young couple on a night train forces Daniel and Laura to cut their dream trip short and flee home.

Back in London, Daniel and Laura vow never to talk about what happened that night. But as they try to fit into their old lives again, they realise they are in terrible danger—and that their nightmare is just beginning…

A young couple go on the trip of a lifetime, only for their journey to end in unimaginable terror…

The page-turning psychological thriller from the author of #1 bestsellers The Magpies and Because She Loves Me.

It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a final adventure before settling down. But after a perfect start, an encounter with a young couple on a night train forces Daniel and Laura to cut their dream trip short and flee home.

Back in London, Daniel and Laura vow never to talk about what happened that night. But as they try to fit into their old lives again, they realise they are in terrible danger—and that their nightmare is just beginning…