The hardest part of publishing a novel isn’t the writing or editing, it’s the marketing. What happens to your story once you have it in print or e-book form? If you have a contract with a major publisher, you may have a marketing budget and media activities organized for you. But self-published authors have to do it all themselves.

An on-line presence, including a website, blog, Goodreads and Amazon author pages, Facebook, etc., is essential, but if social media is not your forte, get out there in person. Find groups to talk to, radio and TV stations that will interview you, conventions, fairs and shows to attend. Tread the boards and make sure you get as much coverage as possible from local media.

Book signings can help you gain exposure, though national chains tend to host only the best...

Authors are often asked what inspired them to write a particular book. In the case of A Holiday to Die For, Marion Leigh answers without hesitation: the road trips she made to Namibia a few years ago. The first took her from Cape Town, South Africa, to the southern and central areas of Namibia, and back, for a total distance of 4700 kilometres on a mix of tarred, salt and gravel roads. The second was from Kasane, Botswana, to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, via the Zambezi Region and Etosha National Park.

‘From the moment I experienced the magnificent sights and scenery of Namibia I knew I wanted to integrate them into one of my Petra Minx adventure novels. So after I finished Dead Man’s Legacy, the setting for the third book in the series was never in doubt. The starting point for the plot was something I saw when...

Traditions, like language, evolve over time, and the origins of Valentine’s Day are awash with stories and legends. In the early Christian calendar, there were several saints named Valentinus, not all of whom had their saint’s day on February 14. The one most celebrated in the English-speaking world is St. Valentine of Rome, the patron saint of engaged couples, happy marriages and stranger things like epilepsy and beekeeping.

 

Sometimes, taking a break is the right thing to do. I know it now, having spent the first five months of 2017 desperately trying to finish my third novel (Destination Wedding, a.k.a. April in Africa) while juggling home renovations, family visits and helping to sell a big boat.

By June all was done, and I was too. When I boarded a ship to take me from North America to Europe, I had no desire to write. It wasn’t the dreaded writer’s block – in fact, being on the high seas gave me some great ideas for the fourth Petra Minx adventure if ever I get that far! And I wasn’t sick or unhappy, far from it.

I just needed to take a step back, to stop striving in the way...

Marion Leigh loves to read, but in the weeks leading up to World Book Day on April 23 she was glued to her desk editing the third Petra Minx adventure thriller. Reading, like a lot of other things, had to take a back seat.

Now, as Mystery and Thriller Week draws to a close, Destination Wedding is ready to go to a group of “Beta readers” to get their feedback on everything from holes in the plot to errors of all kinds. Based on their comments, Marion will re-edit the novel prior to publishing. To whet your appetite, here’s the story line:

From the moment RCMP Marine Unit Sergeant Petra Minx arrives in South Africa to join her friend Carlo at his cousin’s wedding, she has no time to relax. She rushes to help two teenage girls whose phones are stolen on their first...

In the run-up to Christmas and New Year this phrase might resonate more than usual if you’re feeling the after-effects of too much partying.

It’s also the title of a narrative poem written by Marion Leigh and illustrated by Manifesto Design. The poem is based on Marion’s favourite Christmas book, The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore.

In Marion’s house, it was traditional to read the Reverend Moore’s poem every Christmas Eve after hanging up stockings for Santa to fill and setting out a plate of mince pies and a glass of milk for him.

Marion’s poem uses the same rollicking rhythm as the original and is simply a bit of fun. Please enjoy it and take it easy this New Year's Eve! 

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Readers tend to think that being an author is a glamorous occupation. Actually it’s a hard solitary job.

If you look up the noun ‘job’ in the Oxford Paperback Thesaurus, the first example of usage says: my job involves a lot of travelling. The second one warns: this job will take three months, and the third states: it’s your job to protect her.

Unless you’re a top-selling author like Stuart Woods who owns a plane and travels frequently, your job as a writer is more likely to involve a lot of time sitting at a desk. Some authors may be able to write anywhere on a laptop, iPad or in a notebook, but Marion Leigh isn’t one of these.

‘I need a quiet stable environment where I can work without interruption or distraction. Occasionally I’ll take a break to get a glass of...