Tartan Hearts signing in Arta, Glasgow and the upcoming Aye Write Glasgow book festival.

Hi everyone. I attended the Tartan Hearts signing in Arta, Glasgow, yesterday. I was in good company and got to meet fellow Clydebank author, DP Sloan, creator of the Go To Sleep series. Here are some pictures from yesterdays signing.

On Sunday 13th March, I will be in attendance with James Oswald, Denise Mina, Brooke Magnanti and Leye Adenle at the Aye Write Glasgow book festival. We will be reading at Noir at the Bar. Tickets are £10 and available from ayewrite.com 

Hope everyone is well and I will catch up with you all soon. 

Beyond Evidence launch

Hi everyone. I am sure you are aware that the launch event was a huge success and I just wanted to share some photographs with you.

I would like to thank Olida Publishing for organizing the event and I would especially like to thank Denzil Meyrick for his role as the fabulous host. 

Keep an eye out for updates on the newest book, Chasing the Traveller.  

The things that can happen in a year, or in this case fourteen months...

Well, it has been a long time since I posted on my blog and I can tell you that a lot has happened within that time. Where should I begin?


My mum (whom I drag along to almost every event I attend) and I attended Gordon Brown's launch of Meltdown back in November 2014 and I learned that he is a DJ on Pulse Community Radio, which I now listen to often.

My lovely mum with author GJ Brown

I have attended a good few events in the last year and met some wonderful authors along the way. I met the queen of crime herself, Kimberley Chambers who was a delight to listen to at the launch of her latest book, The Wronged.

Myself with the fantastically talented Kimberley Chambers

I attended the launch of Matt Bendoris's book, DM for Murder and met some fantastic authors.

Matt Bendoris kindly signed a copy of DM for Murder for me.

I attended the Theresa Talbot launch of Penance.

Waiting to meet Theresa Talbot

The kind words and signed copy from Theresa Talbot

And... I finally got to see my first book on the shelf at Waterstones. Yes, I know it has been on the shelves in there before, however this time it is through a real publishing deal and as you can see from the picture, it is on a table entitled, 'The best in Scottish crime fiction.' Honored doesn't come close.

Beyond Evidence sits proudly , alongside some amazing and talented authors on the 'Best in Scottish crime fiction' on the table in Waterstones in Sauchiehall Street.

My book launch is coming up on Thursday 12th November at 6:30pm in Waterstones in Argyle Street in Glasgow and I would love it if you came along and supported me and Olida publishing.
I will be in discussion with none other than the lovely and very talented Denzil Meyrick, who will be asking me some questions, followed by questions from the audience. There will be tea, coffee, wine and a signing by myself and Mr Meyrick afterwards.

Denzil Meyrick

Emma L Clapperton

As always I am still writing and currently working on Chasing the Traveller. I will post a blurb to the book later but for now, I am concentrating on the launch.

You can contact me on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/AuthorEmmaLClapperton or my twitter @EmmaLClapperton.

Thank you for your continued support.

It's all happening!

Hi everyone, I know I haven't posted anything for a while. So I thought I'd give you an update. So, here goes...

I have been and still am working hard on the re-edits of Beyond Evidence, getting it ready for its re-release next year. Don't worry, the story will not change, there are just some changes to be made. It has been nice to re-visit the characters in this book, it has cast my mind back to when I first decided to write the book. I had no idea that I would come this far. I have received some wonderful feedback and comments about the Patrick and Jodie story line and I had no idea that people liked their characters so much.
I have had some wonderful feedback on Henderson Manor too and I am thrilled that the books have been successful. During the free download promo of Beyond Evidence, it reached number 1 in thrillers. I was delighted, to say the least.

Beyond Evidence reached number 1 in free thriller downloads this summer. 

Is there more to come from this series? We shall see.

As well as working on the re-edits, I am also writing Chasing the Traveller, which is my third novel. The title at the moment, fits the story, however it could change. Watch out for it. I am loving writing this book as it is a completely new path for me, which is scary but so exciting. All I will say is that the book delves into the lives of a travelling community. One traveller in particular decides to flee her violent husband and embarks on a journey where she intends to discover where she comes from. What she finds is not what she hopes for and things take a turn she doesn't expect.


I will be signing with Olida Publishing based in Aberdeen. The company already houses some wonderful authors and I am honoured and privileged to be on board.

Beyond Evidence and Henderson Manor are side by side in Waterstones at Intu Braehead shopping centre.

I will be working from now until January to get Beyond Evidence and Henderson Manor to their best and I will be working to complete the first draft of Chasing the Traveller by January.

I hope you'll all still follow my work and continue to support me in my writing journey.
If you haven't read any of my books, they are available on amazon and kobo. A free sample is available to download - try before you buy.

Happy Saturday everyone.

May is going to be a busy month!

Hi everyone, hope you're all good. I have been working on book three, which most of you will be aware has a working title, 'Chasing the Traveller.' So far the story is flowing well and I am really enjoying writing this one. I am thriving on writing new characters and being out of my comfort zone. The book is set in Scotland again (where else?) and there will be some shocking twists and turns in this book. I loved writing about Patrick and Jodie and Henderson Manor was a good way to end their traumatic story. However, never say never......

Chasing the Traveller is a work in progress and I will continue to work hard and produce another book that hopefully you will enjoy.

May has some exciting events in store for me, I am going to meet the wonderfully talented James Oswald at Dalmuir library for the WDC Booked festival on Wednesday 21st May. I am currently reading his first Inspector McLean novel, Natural Causes and so far I am thoroughly enjoying it.

I have something else on in May which I have to keep under wraps at the moment but I will keep you all updated as soon as I can.

I would also like to mention that Denzil Meyrick's fantastic new novel, The Last Witness, will be out in July. It is the second installment of the DCI Daly crime book, Whisky from Small Glasses. Look out for that one and any events to follow its release.

Books that are on my to read list on kindle at the moment which you may want to check out yourself;

Mel Sherratt - Watching Over You
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Watching-Over-You-Mel-Sherratt-ebook/dp/B00G3NAPL2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399835118&sr=8-1&keywords=mel+sherratt

Rachel Kennedy - I Know You
http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Know-You-Rachel-Kennedy-ebook/dp/B00JA0OPKM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399835148&sr=8-1&keywords=I+KNOW+YOU

Casey Kelleher - Heartless
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heartless-Casey-Kelleher-ebook/dp/B00F0WX7SU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399835180&sr=8-1&keywords=heartless

Johan Theorin - The Asylum
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asylum-Johan-Theorin-ebook/dp/B00A684RW8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399835210&sr=8-1&keywords=the+asylum

Lesley Thomson - A Kind of Vanishing
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kind-Vanishing-Lesley-Thomson-ebook/dp/B006WB2D7E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399835237&sr=8-1&keywords=A+kind+of+vanishing

If you have or are currently reading any of the above books, get in touch and tell me what you think of them. You can find me on Facebook and Twitter. Happy reading everyone.

Henderson Manor's release success

Hi everyone. So, 1st March came and went very quickly and the Facebook launch of Henderson Manor was a big success. I loved every minute of it and everyone who participated made it even better than I imagined. I wanted to thank the authors who donated a signed copy of their books, Mel Sherratt, Denzil Meyrick, Casey Kelleher, Stephen Edger and Michael Malone. Your donations made the day even more fun and I think the winners of those books would agree.
So, Henderson Manor went into amazon's top 100 crime books for the first few weeks after release and is still selling well, now sitting at 20,000 or there about at the moment.
Beyond Evidence and Henderson Manor, for those of you who do not know, are paranormal crime thrillers which are set in Glasgow and full of twists and surprises that you may not expect.

I am now working on book three, which at the moment does not have a title, however I can say that I am dropping the paranormal element for the time being and focusing on fiction. I am loving the new story so far and can tell you it is still set in Glasgow and will have a lot of surprises in store.

Anyway I am so happy that my readers have come back for a second installment in my work and I cannot thank you enough for your continued support. Word of mouth is definitely a great way of promotion so you're all part of my success.

I also wish to thank McMonagles restaurant in Clydebank for their continued support. Best chippy you'll find in Scotland, so if you're ever in Glasgow, pop in to the chippy on the boat and pick up a fish supper or a pizza. You won't be disappointed.

So, if you fancy reading the second installment in the Patrick McLaughlin series, or the first for that matter, here is where you can find them.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Henderson-Manor-Patrick-McLaughlin-Clapperton-ebook/dp/B00ILTV6GY/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1394991611&sr=1-1&keywords=emma+l+clapperton

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Evidence-Emma-L-Clapperton-ebook/dp/B0099789OE/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1S0AGCGN4JBPMQD8TDQZ

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/henderson-manor

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/beyond-evidence

Thank you so much everyone.

Henderson Manor release - it's only ten days away.

Hi everyone, I know it has been a while since I posted on here. I have been very busy getting Henderson Manor ready for release on Saturday 1st March. Are you looking forward to it? I know I am. There will be a Facebook launch of the book and I really hope you can make it. The cover is fantastic and Allen Theobold, my cover designer has done a wonderful job once again. I would love for you to come over to the Facebook launch page and check out the fantastic competitions and book giveaways by some wonderful authors. Please follow the link below and check out what will be happening on the day of the launch, all you have to do is log onto Facebook, click on the event page and watch the competitions unfold. Good luck to those of you who enter.
https://www.facebook.com/events/348733025268200/364944583647044/?ref=notif&notif_t=like

Henderson Manor near completion!

So, Henderson Manor, the second installment in the Patrick McLaughlin series is almost complete. I have some proof readers ready and waiting and it WILL be out by February 28th. I will be doing an online launch of Henderson Manor with competitions and giveaways so be on the look out for some great prizes. 

Henderson Manor is going to be full of twists and surprises so I hope that you will enjoy them. I have worked very hard on this book and I am really going to miss writing it when it is done. I already have a third book trying to burst out of me so as soon as Henderson Manor is out I will be working on that. It doesn't have a name yet and it is not going to be paranormal crime, it will fall into the fiction genre. 

I hope that you all have a lovely Christmas and fantastic New Year. Thank you so much all of you for your support and I genuinely hope that you all have a lovely time over the Christmas break. 

Love Emma x

Author event and more...

Hi everyone. I know it has been a while since I have posted anything. But I just wanted to pop on and say that I had my author event at Clydebank library on Thursday 31st October... quite fitting for a paranormal crime novel event to feature on Halloween. However it went fantastically well and I am so overwhelmed with the response and turn out on the night.

I sincerely enjoyed chatting with those who took the time to come out to see me and I had fun answering their questions. I am now focusing on the completion of Henderson Manor and will perhaps do a cover reveal in the very near future. 

If you visit my Facebook page you will get to see some of the video clips from the evening. I hope that if you attended that you enjoyed it and if you didn't then you enjoy the videos and pictures. 

I will be back soon. 

Emma 

x

Best Crime Books : Book Review: Beyond Evidence by Emma Clapperton

Best Crime Books : Book Review: Beyond Evidence by Emma Clapperton: My Rating: 4/5 Synopsis: In an alley way of the back streets of Glasgow there lies a decomposing corpse of a slain female  ba...

My 'to read' list is longer than my arm.

My to read list is getting longer and needless to say, I love it. I am currently reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Safon and it is by far one of the most intriguing books that I have ever read. I will be rewarding this book with a five star review.

The last book that I read is called Whisky from Small Glasses by D. a Meyrick. Set in a Scottish village called Kinloch, this book follows the journey of DCI Jim Daley's work to solve a grim murder in the small town. It is a great Scottish murder mystery with a lot of twists and turns that I did not expect. I also gave this a five star review and was lucky enough to meet the author himself, who is a witty and kind man. I highly recommend that you read this. 

If you would like to follow my reading list and would like to talk about any of the books I have read or will be reading soon, then please feel free to get in touch. I will post some links to the books and my goodreads page below. Enjoy. 

My goodreads page;
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/7190035-emma-clapperton

Whisky from Small Glasses by D. a Meyrick
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Whisky-from-Small-Glasses-ebook/dp/B00A05ZF0U/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1371552914&sr=8-1&keywords=whisky+from+small+glasses

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Safon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Shadow-Of-Wind/dp/0753820250/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371552953&sr=8-1&keywords=shadow+of+the+wind

Other authors you may be interested to look at are; Mandasue Heller, Kimberley Chambers, Casey Kelleher, Mel Sherratt, James Herbert, James Patterson, Joseph Eastwood, Heather Reid, 
Denise Mina, Iain Banks, Stephen Leather and Lynda Renham There are many more however I am sure you'll find them all on the goodreads link. 
Here are just some of the books I have either read or still to read. There are many more on my kindle. 

Happy reading. 

Promotions

Hi everyone. Hope you're all well. I have had some great local promotions going on this last two weeks and have a few 'mini' events coming up. A local restaurant in my home town of Clydebank called, McMonagles Boat has been promoting my book Beyond Evidence and it has become quite popular. I am doing a signing there on Wednesday 24th April at 5:30pm and a question and answer session.
I am also appearing at Waterstones in Glasgow for a crime book group meeting where a group of people will be discussing my book and asking me questions.

I have to say I am so looking forward to these little events, they're a great way of building up a base of readers. I hope to hear some constructive feedback from those who have read my book.

Just a quick post, I hope to write a more detailed after the events I have mentioned.

Radio interview for promotion

On Friday 25th January 2013, I was lucky to be interviewed by my local radio station, Your Radio FM. I was so nervous but I needn't have been, John Scott, the DJ, was so calm and kept me calm. My voice was a little shaky at first and I don't think that it helped that I had the beginning stages of a cold, however it could not have gone better if I wanted it too.
John asked all sorts of questions and the answers just fell out of my mouth and in the end I could have stayed there all day.
I am so grateful for a local radio station to have supported a local author and I couldn't be happier with the outcome. And, the DJ bought a copy of the book in the studio!
If you want to hear the clips, I will receive them via email within the next week so I will post them on here and my other pages soon.

Thanks for your support Your Radio. www.yourradiofm.com

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=576801555667844&set=pb.111674975513840.-2207520000.1359210994&type=3&theater

Do you believe?

Emma L Clapperton – Aspiring Author of Beyond Evidence.

 The paranormal is one of those things that either you believe in, you don’t or you are open minded. I was open minded to begin with, that was until I lost my Grampa to a heart attack in June 2002. After that, I wanted to delve more into the world of spirits, life after death and all the other stuff that comes with it. I totally believe that when you die, you don’t just die but you move on to a higher plane, another level. I suppose I believe this because I am terrified of death itself. The thought of your heart suddenly stopping or your brain haemorrhaging absolutely chills me to the core. Surely you can’t just die, your soul, your personality, your mind. Surely all of your lives work and achievements can’t just disappear with you when you go, if so...what is the point? I attended regular spiritual meetings that raised funds for cancer charities a few years after my Grampa passed away. The mediums were amazing, to say the least. Not only could they tell me about my Grampa and his life, they could tell me things that I had only ever told my partner (Chris) and this is what stretched my mind into thinking that we are not the only life level out there. You may read this and think “Yeah, she’s a nut!” or you may read this and think “I absolutely get you!” but whatever you think, it’s your mind and your opinion and I will never disrespect that. In the last ten years I have thought about the afterlife and wondered what it must be like... Is it just a bunch of souls floating around the sky using memory to project the images of past life, like faces of those who have also passed or a simple pavement to walk along? I work in childcare and one child asked me “How do we get to heaven?” and when I said I didn’t know, his reply was “Maybe we can use the clouds as ladders and climb up.” I liked the sound of this, not because I am religious but because it sounded like a peaceful and happy place to be when your soul makes the transition from human to... whatever it is afterwards. I suppose I will never know until I experience it for myself. Some people I have spoken to are a mix of opinions but I have a very close friend Maxine, who lost her brother to the war in Iraq and she has been told that she has psychic abilities however she is too afraid to learn how to use them. The reason I mention her brother is because she senses that he is with her most of the time. But not only him, she sensed the spirit of a little girl who died when she was a little girl herself. She does not see the spirit now but she does sense the spirit of a girl named Victoria who follows her mum around a lot of the time. When she spoke to her parents about it and described the little girl, it turns out that the friend of her parents had lost a child matching her description. Maxine was a little freaked out by this but has learned to live with it. I had never truly experienced the presence of a spirit until I participated in an over night stay in Edinburgh Vaults in Scotland – an old historical haunting to raise money for PTSD for ex servicemen and soldier’s of today. It was called Niddry Wynd and I have to say that it has been one of the best experiences to date. There were around 30 or 40 people involved and we had a psychic medium and a paranormal investigator and a parapsychologist so that every angle (logical explanations as well as paranormal explanations) could be covered while we investigated the Wynd. I took part in a Ouija board and I was extremely shocked when I experienced shortness of breath and hot sweats... after I challenged the evil spirit of a paedophile to try and see if he could take on someone who would stand up to him. I was pleased of the experience but I did hold my hands up and say “OK” when the medium told me to stop winding him up. Things have happened to me at home that I will admit could be explained rationally, like light bulbs shooting out of the ceiling onto tiled flooring but not smashing, a sudden smell of Old Spice when I leave a room in my flat (Chris does not wear Old Spice), my cats suddenly sitting up and intently watching the hallway of my home... Yeah, I suppose the bulb could have been loose or the scent could be a desire of my imagination and the cats could see a tiny fly that only a cat’s eye would see. But it comforts me to think that it’s my Grampa and I hope that he is here keeping an eye on all of us. It would just be disappointing if I was proven wrong. I hope that day never comes. I try to see a medium whenever I can and I love to read anything paranormal, especially James Herbert, the best selling British Horror Novelist. And now, I love to write about it too. I hope that if your are sceptical, you could give it a chance, just once... you may be pleasantly (or unpleasantly) surprised. I am now a strong believer in the paranormal and life after death but believe me, I am in no hurry to experience it for myself.

Here's a little something for new writers...

I found this website and thought it looked very interesting.
http://www.newwritersuk.co.uk

Pitching or self publishing???

What do you think is the right route for you? 
I myself, have decided to pitch first of all and having begun the process have already received my first rejection letter. I have not been disheartened by this as there are thousands of agents and publishers out there. However, the great British author Mandasue Heller told me that due to the recession publishers are not taking on new authors...
So what about us? The new authors who dream of publication? 
Well, that is where print on demand and self publication comes in handy. I know of a lot of writers out there who have chosen this route and it has been successful for them. 
Margaret Sarah Bechtel, a dear Facebook writing group friend has had two books published by Amazon.com and Createspace. Both her books are selling online now. 
Also, a woman who couldn't get her book published chose self publication and is now #3 on the best seller list, I am unsure of her name. 
So I now invite you to share your thoughts here, pitch or self publication?

Just starting out with your writing? Here is something that has helped me...

Jurgen Wolff - my bible. It has helped me in so many ways, for example it allowed me to explore my characters and develop them. I had no idea how evil my character of Ross Turner would turn out to be if it hadn't been for this book and website. Go on, it can't hurt...http://yourwritingcoach.com/

Do you enjoy reading about the paranormal? Then you will love this author.

James Herbert, my favorite male author. His work is outstanding and gives me goosebumps when I read it. The Ghosts of Sleath was my favorite, so why don't you have a look, after all he is the second best seller of horror and paranormal...next to Stephen King. http://www.james-herbert.co.uk/sleath.htm