September Newsletter

Picking up from where I left off last month, the manuscript of Last Act is now with my proof editor and therefore on track for publication in October as planned.

As part of the publication process, I have also received draft covers from the designer. You see it here first:

Recognise the location anyone?

On a different topic altogether, one of my children's books, 'The Animals of White Cows Farm, has had a lovely review which you will find on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/just_a_vet_who_loves_to_read?igsh=MTZ1aXR1b3EwZTI2aQ==

A week or so ago, we treated ourselves to a visit to Edinburgh. Our initial reason was to see the Edinburgh Tattoo, but we also fitted in a visit to the Castle, a boat trip on the Firth of Forth, and the Edinburgh Book Festival. If Gary was a bit suspicious that our hotel just happened to be round the corner from a book festival, he didn't say anything. Perhaps because the beer was good!

If you get an opportunity to see the Tattoo, I recommend it. The massed pipe bands were magnificent and the Polish Border Guards unintentionally hilarious - at least to someone with my sense of humour. It was the chime bars that did for me. Given that bagpipes and bands generally were used, inter alia, to strike fear and trembling into the enemy, i had a mental vision of a terrified foe squeaking 'Oh no! They've brought the chime bars! Run for it!'

The drill team from the USA was also impressive, especially as they performed while wearing sunglasses in the gloom of an Edinburgh evening!

All this is, of course, to explain why progress with Book 10 has been a leetle slower than intended. Worry not! I'll catch up in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, here's a taster in the shape of the draft blurb for Final Cut - due to be published Spring 2026

"Norfolk, 2021. A decomposed body turns up in a derelict farmhouse—bound, masked, and posed in front of a camera that hasn’t rolled in years. What begins as a suspected sex crime quickly unravels into something far more disturbing.

Greg Geldard is no stranger to the depravity people inflict on each other—but this case leads him into the darkest recesses of the internet, where violent fantasies blur with reality and where the line between performer and victim vanishes.

As more footage surfaces, each more disturbing than the last, Geldard and his team must confront a horrifying question:

What if the worst part isn’t what’s on the tape—but who’s still watching?

I hope you all enjoy what's left of the summer. See in the Autumn!

All the best

Heather

copyright: Heather Peck 2025