Can you share with readers a little bit about your latest book?

My book is a about a big city Reporter called Abigail who returns to her hometown of Friendship to take over her grandmother Rose’s antique shop called Second Hand Rose after she sadly passes away.

Friendship is a beautiful chocolate-box town with virtually no crime, no poverty, friendly people, flourishing economy and Abi relishes the opportunity to start a new life in the town she grew up in with her trusted companion Jake a scruffy but fiercely loyal terrier.

Everything seems perfect to start with, but Abigail’s natural instinct has her digging into the towns past, people and her own shop as she uncovers some mysteries she cannot explain.

It becomes clear this town has a dark secret its townsfolk are eager to hide and the more she unearths the more people begin to disappear or perish in gruesome ways.

Its up to Abi and Jake to try and save the fate of the entire town in a race against time horror / thriller with some surprising twists along the way.

Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?

It started after watching a particular disappointing horror film as I love to be scared and have always enjoyed horror / thriller stories.

This film (which I won’t name) didn’t scare me at all to the extent that I exclaimed to me partner at the end that I could write a more scary story than that.

He thought this was just a flippant comment but it was at the right time for me to take on a new project and ended with what I fully believe is a much scarier story.

What made you decide to sit down and actually start writing this book?

It was more for therapy as in February 2019 my dog Jake passed away and it was a particularly difficult period dealing with anxieties of his passing.

Having this story to write especially with Jake being a main character in the book really helped me though this time and kept my mind busy.

Tell us more about your main character. What inspired you to develop this character?

Abi is a reporter by trade which is important to the book as she needs to have a good instinct for uncovering the truth of the town she starts to investigate.

She is also a very strong, independent person who is not easily intimidated which is important with what she has to deal with as the story develops.

Abi is based on a real person and a friend who is also just as strong and although not a reporter her personality is similar to the person I developed.

Who is your favorite character in your book and why?

Has to be Jake of course and everything I wrote about Jake in the book is everything he did get up to in real life with his little quirks.

I wrote quite a lot about him as I want the reader to really get to know him and hope they can maybe see a bit of their dogs in him.

There are other reasons for his presence in the book that will become apparent to the readers.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I always knew the ending before I even started writing the story so it was fun to try and piece together the rest of the plot so I could eventually write my dramatic finale.

Not sure if this is a typical way of writing, but it definitely worked well for me on this book.

How did you decide how to publish your books?

I never intended to publish this book as this was my first ever story and only did it to surprise my mother for an xmas gift.

My mother enjoyed the book which was good enough for me at the time but a few friends wanted to read it also so I passed it around and got good feedback.

It was at this stage I thought I would send it off to a publisher just to try and get a professional and unbiased opinion more than any real expectations of a contract.

To my surprise, Blossom Spring not only sent back excellent feedback but also offered me one of their contracts so it started there.

How do you market or promote your books and what strategies (e.g. social media, email, blog tours, etc.) have demonstrated the most success for you?

Being a first-time author and having no experience I have been using my own social media sites to try and get the message across which has worked for initial sales for the people I am in contact with.

The publishers have been offering advice and also providing useful contacts like yourselves to get a message across to a wider audience with interviews and blogs.

I have also been printing posters and getting local businesses / libraries / book shops to help promote by putting these in their windows / noticeboards.

It’s early to gauge the impact of the additional promoting, but I am enjoying the experience which is all new to me.

What do you do to get book reviews?

At the moment, my reviews so far have been through the circle of people I know from having conversations with them or through social media which have been very positive.

I am hoping the knock-on effect from the additional promoting will then lead to additional sales and therefore more reviews as I would like to start seeing reviews from outside the people I know, whether it’s good or bad.

Want to learn more about D. E. Fox?

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