Iain: Hello {{ subscriber.first_name | capitalize() or "friend" }}.  Summer is here and we’ve been both busy writing and trying to enjoy the sunny weather.

Heide: The latest Sam Applewhite novel, Bountyhunter, set in sunny summertime Skegness is due out in 2 weeks on 15^th July. It’s full of seaside fun, including sandcastles, arcades and Punch and Judy —

Iain: And horrible, horrible murders.

Heide: Yes, a bit of that too. There’s a blurb and a link at the bottom of the newsletter.

Iain: We’ve actually been to the seaside ourselves recently.

Heide: Oh, yes, our trip to Scarborough. We went for Chillercon, a horror convention. I decided that I would do something different for this one, and so I volunteered as a “redshirt”.

Iain: And, for the benefit of people who are neither familiar with genre conventions or Star Trek, what’s one of those?

Heide: It means I was one of the stewards that helps to run things. Check out my amazing red shirt, which had a nod to the queen’s jubilee, via the Sex Pistols.

Iain: And whether it was because of your help or in spite of it, it was a really well-run convention.

Heide: Yes, it was extremely enjoyable. I spent some time on the registration desk, where I risked the very real social embarrassment of forgetting the names of people I should know well when they arrived. I also had the super-important job of politely but firmly making people stick to their timings in the event rooms. Best of all though, the red shirt was like an invisibility cloak that meant I could turn up more or less anywhere I liked and pretend I was doing Important Things.

Iain: A superpower!

Heide: Yes!

Iain: So which parts of Chillercon did you enjoy?

Heide: It was wonderful to see so many people after an extended break. Old friends and new people I never met before. Grady Hendrix was an unexpected treat, and so were fellow guests of honour Mike Carey and Mick Garris. Did you enjoy the convention?

Iain: I enjoy any opportunity to meet with writers and readers and discuss stories. If we’re lucky we’re going to guests of Lituanicon, a fantasy and science fiction convention in Lithuania this September. If one doesn’t count popping across the border into the Republic of Ireland it will be my first trip abroad since this whole nasty pandemic business.

Heide: Do the people of Vilinius know what they’re doing inviting us to their beautiful city?

Iain: I’m sure we can inflict some suitable silliness on them!

 

 

Heide: Here's the blurb for the newest Sam Applewhite novel, Bountyhunter:

 

Life is full of impossible questions.

How did Sam Applewhite end up living in a tiny caravan with her dad?

How does local company Synergenesis survive with no customers and a cast of clueless employees?

And why is everyone desperate to get their hands on a stuffed kangaroo toy called Joey Pockets?

In the height of summer, it’s not just holidaymakers who are drawn to the seaside town of Skegness. Desperate thieves and callous killers are searching for a hidden treasure and they don’t care who they hurt in their quest to claim it.

 

The most important question of all is, can Sam get to the bottom of this mystery before those closest to her are put in further danger?

 

Praise for the Sam Applewhite books:

 

“Original, inventive and funny — what more do you want in a crime drama?”

 

“An up-to-date sassy Agatha Christie.”

 

“The characters here are so real that you feel you know them after just a few pages.”

 

“Crazy, laugh out loud mayhem all the way through, and an amazing finale. Can't wait to read the next one in the series.”

 

“Lovable main characters, greedy villains who self-destruct with a vengeance and enough laugh out loud moments to make my day.”

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bountyhunter-Sam-Applewhite-Book-5-ebook/dp/B09XLCBTQC/