Cristelle Comby's Blog

I know my last book was published in July 2022, and I haven’t shared many updates since. If you’re on the newsletter, you already have an idea of what I’ve been up to. But for everyone else, I wanted to take a moment to reassure you—I’m still here, and I’m still writing.

As you may have seen on the upcoming page, I’m working on a new fantasy series. I had hoped to release it this year, but unfortunately, it will have to be postponed.

For one, it’s a huge project—a three-part epic fantasy that’s taking far longer to write than I anticipated. There’s an immense amount of worldbuilding, battle strategies to map out, and well… actual maps to draw! From the start, I knew this would be my most ambitious undertaking yet, and I made the decision not to publish anything until all three books were complete—giving me the freedom to go back and make small edits if needed.

I began working on this series while wrapping up the Vale Investigation books, and so far, two out of the three novels are finished. The third, however, has been stuck in outline form since mid-2023.

That year brought some major life changes. In the autumn, I had to leave the company I’d worked at for over twenty years. Relocating to a new city and adjusting to an entirely different environment took its toll, and it also reduced the amount of time I had for writing. On top of that, I’ve been battling health issues over the past year, leaving me drained of energy and struggling to focus on creative work.

Things are slowly settling into a more stable rhythm, and as 2025 unfolds, I feel the time is right to dive back in. And who knows—if the muse is willing, there might just be something new for you to sink your teeth into in 2026.

Much love,
Cristelle

Hi guys,

I’m part of this great book bonanza, so if you want some awesome books FOR FREE to read this summer, click the image below. There’s also a contest with a $50 prize.

It’s book-release day for the fifth novel in my Vale Investigation urban fantasy series.

Time Again picks up right where book 4 left off—with PI Bellamy Vale brokenhearted over his girlfriend’s death and deals with the aftermath of that and reveals quite a bit about our hero and the true origin of his powers. It also includes a lot of mythology taken straight from Ancient Greece, including Titans and a visit to the (floating) Fortunate Isles.

This will be the last Vale Investigation book for a while. I’m not officially discontinuing the series and might publish another book one day if inspiration strikes, but I felt like this was the right place to “end” things. It’s been a fun journey while it lasted—and it lasted six years—but I felt ready for something new.

Speaking of… there may just be a new fantasy series in the works. It is currently being written and no release date is known at this point.

Please join the newsletter if you want to hear about it before anyone else.

Take Care
<3 Cristelle

Hi all,

Today’s a special day and the new Vale Investigation book, Ghost Ship, is available worldwide in eBook and Paperback format.

This is the fourth book in the thrilling Vale Investigation dark urban fantasy series. If you like edge-of-your-seat action, otherworldly beasts, and gritty detectives, then you’ll love this mysterious noir tale.

A dark sorcerer. Trapped souls at sea. Can a detective with mystical skills survive the tsunami of evil that is about to be unleashed on his city?

PI Bellamy Vale is determined to save Cold City from supernatural peril. So with news of a Chilean businessman’s child disappearing out of his own home, Vale won’t rest until he solves the case. But a sinister presence at the luxury apartment sets off his psychic sense, and the private eye fears something is grievously amiss.

Teaming up with his nemesis on the force and his ex-girlfriend, Vale learns from a powerful witch that the boy is trapped on a ship run by enslaved souls. But with a bloodthirsty lizard creature threatening to permanently end his search, Vale’s fury could release a skill he didn’t know he had.

Will he rescue the missing kid before these deadly spirits destroy everything in their path?

Buy Now

I hope you are all doing well and staying safe in these troubled times.

I am happy to announce the release today of my latest novel, ALONE TOGETHER. This is a stand-alone story about two plane-crash survivors who end up stranded on a desert island in Scandinavia. They are as different as they come and don’t even speak the same language, but if they want to survive they will have to find ways to work as a team.

The book is available as a paperback and eBook on Amazon.

The post New Book: Alone Together appeared first on Cristelle-Comby.com.

I’m happy to report that I have a new book coming out this Autumn. Red Lies is a spy thriller mostly set in 1986 Sweden.
The book will be available on Amazon September 5, 2020. As always you’ll have a choice of eBook or Paperback. And of course, signed copies on my website store.

The backbone of this story has been at the back of my mind for many years now, but I’d never had the time to sit down and write it. I finally got around to doing that, this spring, when Covid19 surprisingly hit us and I stopped having to go to my day job for two months (I worked from home, and only 50%). I thought: ‘bonus free time’ — let’s get this story out.

So I fished out the ideas swimming at the back of my head and got to work. I knew I wanted to do a spy story set in the eighties, with Cold War shenanigans in the background. For the longest of times, the action was going to be set in England, but I recently discovered Sweden and fell in love with that gorgeous Scandinavian country (long story short, one of my cousin moved there a few years back, and I went to visit her a couple of times).

Lucky me, I discovered as I plotted the story along that that was a great move because Sweden played a major part in the events that followed Chernobyl (you’ll have to read the book to find out why).

As for 1986? Well, this too wasn’t a random decision. I simply chose it, because I was born in 1986.

When I recalled that it was also the year of the Chernobyl explosion, I figured it would be interesting to see what effect it had on the Russian spying program and this had a great influence on the direction the story took.

Incidentally, I was born a handful of days after the explosion, and my mum told me several stories about what it was like to have to care for a baby, in Switzerland, at that time. Her doctor had advised her to keep vegetables off the menu, and also to ban all dairy products (including milk). Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough breastmilk to feed me, so my dad went on a crusade to find me powder milk, but most drugstores were out of stock.

***

If you want to make sure not to miss the deadline, you can already pre-order the eBook version and it will be delivered to you first thing on Sept. 5.

The post A spy thriller set in 1986 Sweden appeared first on Cristelle-Comby.com.

Friends, the long wait is over!!!

Drumroll, trumpets, marching band…

AVENGING SPIRIT book 3 in my Urban Fantasy/Hard-Boiled Detective series comes out today. As always, you can get it as an eBook or if you’re like me and you like turning pages as a Paperback. Signed copies are also available in the shop. Trouble is stirring in Little Japan, and PI Bellamy Vale may have something to do with it. Are you ready for a noir adventure sprinkled with old Japanese Mythology? This book has it all, a masked vigilante with a sword, a band of misfits forced to pull out a museum heist, and a trip to the Underworld.

BUY NOW

The post Book Release: Avenging Spirit appeared first on Cristelle-Comby.com.

Happy 2020 everyone!!!

Oh what a splendid year this has been.
Two new stories came out (Evil Embers and Season’s Bleeding), I had time to re-do all the covers to my Neve & Egan books and edit the stories within as well. This website saw a major layout upgrade (with the addition of an online shop feature so that you can now buy signed copies).  

Let’s hope 2020 will be just as fun! 

And it sure is off to a great start, with the upcoming release of the third Vale Investigation book: Avenging Spirit, which you can already pre-order.

Happy New Year everyone!

 

He can’t be killed. But that protection doesn’t extend to his friends…

PI Bellamy Vale may have sold his soul to Hell, but his heart’s in the right place. So when a friend reaches out for help to find his missing niece, he readily agrees. But the straightforward case takes a dark turn when he discovers deadly ancient rituals and a mysterious vigilante prowling Little Japan.

Pushing hard to uncover the truth, Vale gets trapped by a supernaturally connected crime boss and faces a choice: steal a powerful rare artifact or say goodbye to his buddy. To disobey will end someone’s life, but giving in could summon an underworld force that not even Lady McDeath’s mighty powers can defeat…

Will Vale put his immortal status on the line and save the world from a fate worse than death?

Pre-order NOW

The post New book coming appeared first on Cristelle-Comby.com.

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I am honored to announce that the first book in the Vale Investigation series “Hostile Takeover” was recognized as a winner of the Independent Press Award in the category of “Urban Fantasy.”

The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. Selected award Winners and Distinguished Favorites are based on overall excellence.

For the 2019 competition, the INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD had entries from across the globe. Worldwide participation included books submitted from cities such as London to Madrid; Dallas to Philadelphia; Calgary to Melbourne, Chicago to San Francisco, and many different countries such as Australia, Africa, Canada, Egypt, India, Japan and Scotland as well as others.

For the full list of the winners go to https://www.independentpressaward.com/2019winners.

The post 2019 Independent Press Award Winner appeared first on Cristelle-Comby.com.

Drumroll… the second book in the Vale Investigation series is out. Like right now! Just one click away! 

It’s available as a paperback, and as an eBook from all Amazon shops. 

The website.

As you may have noticed, the website has been entirely redesigned. It was about time