All 6 Ghostwriter Mysteries Up For Grabs + News On The 7th!

A young girl wakes up to find her entire family has vanished. Many years later Phoebe decides to tell her life story, and enlists the help of a ghostwriter.

Enter Roxy Parker…

The last time we met Ghostwriter Roxy, in A Note Before Dying, she'd fallen in love and settled into a quiet country life. 

Or had she? 

In Book 7 of the best-selling series, Roxy returns to Sydney, minus the love interest but with an adorable pooch by her side. She's home to write the life story of the aforementioned 'Forgotten Phoebe'—and, knowing our Roxy, uncover what really happened to Phoebe's missing family. 

But it's not the only reason she's back. Roxy has a very important announcement to make, and it's going to put a few noses—and at least one mother—out of joint!

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

As you can see, I've been busy concocting the next fun, fast-paced adventure for my Ghostwriter Roxy Parker, and to celebrate—and you know how much I love to celebrate—I'm giving YOU a chance to win ALL SIX!

For more on how to win, see below. It's very easy to enter, and writing book seven is coming easily, too. 

As many of you know, it's been a few years between Ghostwriter books and I know some of you have missed Roxy and her fab, fast-talking friends. I've missed them all, too, and have been having a blast reuniting with the cast, getting under Roxy's mother's nose (it's like a blood sport!), and throwing them all into the middle of my most perplexing mystery yet.

I'll be giving more info on the mystery in later emails, as well as a title and cover reveal, so be sure to stay in touch. And keep reading to be in the running.

HOW TO WIN THE WHOLE SERIES

To score a full set of Ghostwriter Mystery eBooks, all you have to do is tell me what you miss most about Roxy Parker. Is it her witty one-liners? Her motley mates? Or her uncanny knack for sniffing out crime?

Or maybe it's something else entirely?

I'd love to hear from you! Just jot me a quick email reply—just a few words is fine—and you'll be in the running!* Entries close in just one week and I'll announce the lucky winner in my very next email, so be sure to look out for it. 

Best of luck everybody and happy reading!

xo Christina

x

*Ts&Cs: You have one week to enter the competition. The best entries may be quoted in a future email. The winning entry and their name will be decided by the author and will be quoted in a future email. Ebook prizes only. You have four weeks to claim your prize. No further correspondence will be entered into. Thx :-)

Funny ha-ahhh!! Win 12+ Humorous Mysteries (including mine)

Love a good laugh while immersed in a mystery? Here's another chance to win FREE eBooks & paperbacks! 

I don't know about you, but I find some mystery novels a little, er, droll. I mean, sure, tension has to be built, somebody's gotta die, but that doesn't mean we can't have a bit of fun along the way, right? (It IS fiction, after all!) That's why I always try to inject some humour in my crime novels, especially my Ghostwriter Mysteries which feature a cast of cheeky, wise-cracking characters who love a baffling whodunnit.

It's also why I've teamed up with the lovely Amy at AuthorsXP to give you all another chance to win eBooks and bonus paperbacks, including my second Ghostwriter, A Plot to Die For, which, like all the books in the giveaway, includes a good, healthy dose of humour.

Want to tickle your funny bone? Read on…

Win up to 12+ Humor eBooks + Bonus Paperbacks!

(2) Grand Prize "Gift Baskets" of ALL eBooks!
(12+) Winners of Individual eBooks (randomly selected titles)

So, how do you win?

No, you don't have to send in your funniest jokes. All you have to do is click on the image above or at AuthorsXP.com and then follow the prompts. For more on A Plot to Die For and my latest mystery After the Ferry, read on, otherwise good luck and happy (funny!) reading, everyone.

xo Christina

Pack your Gucci sunglasses for another fun whodunnit…

When Roxy accepts the exotic ghostwriting gig she expects little more than a good story and a touch of sunstroke. What she gets is her hotelier client buried in the sand, her head protruding ghoulishly for the crabs to devour, and an ensemble cast of cocktail-sipping characters who are all hiding something behind their Gucci sunglasses. In this modern homage to a Christie classic, Roxy must solve the mystery of her client's murder while stuck on an island with the prime suspects. Along the way, the amateur sleuth encounters machete-wielding locals, shifty fellow guests, and an island paradise where the ghosts of past mistakes still linger behind every coconut.  With a cracking pace and plenty of humour, this baffling mystery will have you scratching your head until the final, Hercule Poirot-style conclusion. If the 'Big Reveal' doesn't leave you gasping into your gin and tonic, it just might make you reconsider your next island holiday. Funnier and more contemporary than your typical 'cozy', A PLOT TO DIE FOR is the second, stand-alone mystery for ghostwriter Roxy Parker. WIN IT HERE

One woman, two parallel lives, a murderer in waiting…

It's the 1990s, pre-mobile phones, and a young backpacker must make an exhilarating, terrifying choice—will she jump ship with an intriguing stranger? Or stay cocooned on the ferry with her friends and miss what could be the greatest love of her life? One choice leads to true love. One choice leads to murder. Which way does she go? In this fast-paced, psychological thriller, we follow Millie Malone across two parallel lives. In one life she remains onboard with her mates—two Sydney lads with shaky motives, and an old school friend with a crush of her own—and in the other she jumps. One life sees Millie married in the country, the other sees her married to her career, but both 'Millies' are harbouring a secret that could blow their worlds apart. THIRTEEN YEARS AFTER THE FERRY… and Millie's two lives are colliding. Both women have vanished from their respective worlds—one is back in Greece, facing her demons; the other has been murdered. But which one is which? From the best-selling author comes a cracking, stand-alone romantic suspense. BUY IT HERE

Ghosts, True Love & the KGB—Your Best Travel Stories

To celebrate my new travel mystery After the Ferry, I asked you to share your own gripping travel stories. Here are the four best entries who've just won a copy of the book!

 Turkish Delight by JLV

"At 42, recently divorced, I met and fell in love with a man from Turkey. He went back to Turkey without saying goodbye. Having never left the USA, I bought a one way ticket to Istanbul, applied for a short-term teaching job, said goodbye to my family and left. I did not tell my lover my plans. After doing my teaching gig, which was a wonderful experience, I tracked down my lover and, two weeks later, we were married. We have been married 10 years now. I was so scared not knowing what to expect in a foreign country and not knowing my lover's feelings. I have never regretted my decision."

 Spy Kids by Mike B.

Three friends and I were, unbeknownst to our parents, traveling through Germany and Austria—in 1967, at the height of the Cold War. We were 16 and 17 years old—riding rented Vespa scooters during the day and camping in remote areas at night. On the 4th night, we were arrested (by non-German-speaking military men; I couldn't understand them). The charge was 'suspicion of espionage.' We found out soon that we had ventured into Communist controlled Czechoslovakia at an unmarked rural border crossing. We were in the custody of the Soviet KGB. . . "

A Near Miss by Nancy Marte

"I travelled to Jamaica by myself after my friend cancelled at the last minute. Met a guy that worked at the resort I was staying at and he invited me to a party with some of his friends. I had the funny weird stomach butterfly feeling so I told him yes as I did not want him to be suspicious of me, then changed rooms at the resort and stayed away from the area he was working. This was in the 1980s. Never regretted this decision." 

Spirited Away by Sammi K

"Went on a Ghost tour on the QEII Long Beach, California with my daughter and granddaughter. When we got to the swimming pool area, they turned off the lights and boy was it really dark.  While we listened to the story, something grabbed me but I couldn't see what. When the lights came back on I didn't see anything. I left the area rather quickly and won't be going back."

Thank you to everyone who took the time to send in their travel stories. I loved hearing your tales of shady travellers, feisty friends, unexpected soul mates and seriously close shaves. I'm sorry I can't give you ALL a lovely prize, but I have chosen FOUR winners instead of three, as promised. So, it's a big CONGRATULATIONS to the subscribers, above, whose stories all captured my imagination. 

You have all just won yourselves a FREE copy of my latest eBook AFTER THE FERRY. I'll be in touch soon with details on how to claim your prize.

Everyone else can grab their own copy by clicking here.

Happy reading, everybody!

xo Christina

Tell Your Wildest Travel Story & WIN New Travel Mystery/Suspense

It happens every single time… 

No sooner have I started telling the true story behind my latest mystery / suspense After The Ferry (see the full story from a past newsletter, below), when the listener invariably rushes in with an extraordinary travel tale of their own. Some stories are sad, some shocking, some sidesplittingly funny, but the ones that grip me the most are the ones that end with words like, "I was so lucky! It could have turned out so different!"

That's what I love about travel—you throw caution to the wind and yourself open to fate. Travel makes you a hostage to destiny. Anything can happen and it often does! At the very least, you meet all kinds of weird and wonderful people and have all manner of wild and wondrous experiences. 

And THAT'S what I want to hear from you! Have you, or someone you know, got a 'near-miss' travel story? A gripping adventure to reveal? A tale of sailing very close to the wind? If so, jot me a few lines today. The best THREE stories that come in over the next week will score a FREE e-copy of my new book. (And just for the record, those of you who have already shared your stories with me, no need to re-send—you're officially in the running!)

But first, the rules…

1. Please keep your stories short and sweet. No more than a few sentences or I won't have the time to read them or the space to repeat them.
2. Please only send gripping tales—something memorable or life-changing that happened to you or someone you were travelling with.
3. Stories must be received within the next seven days to be eligible for the prize. Just reply directly to this blog, leaving a comment below, or sign up to my newsletter and email me that way: calarmer.com.
4. You MUST be willing to share your story and your name (but not your full email address) in my upcoming calarmer.com newsletter. If you don't want your details revealed, best not to apply.
5. Due to the enormous number of entries that I usually receive, no correspondence will be entered into before, during or after this competition (in other words, I won't be able to reply to each story but I will read them, I promise!) 

That's it, folks. I look forward to hearing your near-misses and/or magical, memorable travel moments.

Now, for those who missed my past newsletter (you can sign up at calarmer.com), here's the true story behind my latest psychological mystery. Just scroll down to the blog, below, or click here!

Happy reading, everybody.

xo Christina

PRE-ORDER NOW: Sliding doors-style mystery // thriller // suspense

My latest stand-alone mystery is now available and ready for pre-orders. To get your copy delivered straight to your e-reader, just click on the link here. Otherwise, look out for it August 14.

AFTER THE FERRY

by C.A. Larmer

LAUNCH DATE: August 14, 2019!

'After they had pulled my battered body from the dark sand I began to wonder: What if? What if I had never met a handsome stranger on a Greek ferry, or two possessive Sydney lads, or set off on a journey with an old school friend with a chip on one shoulder and a crush of her own?'

It's the mid-1990s, pre-mobile phones, and a young backpacker must make a terrifying choice—will she jump ship with an alluring Greek man she's just met? Or stay safely on the ferry and miss what could be the love of her life?

One woman, two choices, which way does she go?

In this Sliding Doors-style psychological thriller, we follow Millie Malone and her friends across two dfferent lifetimes: in one life she remains in the belly of her friends, and in the other she throws caution to the wind and jumps.

One life leads to true love, the other leads to murder.

This is a story of choices, and how one bad decision could end up being the best decision of your life.

NOW AVAILABLE @ AMAZON  //  $4.99

The Real Story Behind My New Mystery THE FERRY MAN (out soon!)

A young backpacker meets an alluring stranger on a ferry to the Greek island of Santorini. When he gets off miles from her destination, she has to make a terrifying choice. Will she jump ship with him and desert her travelling companions? Or stay safely onboard and miss what might be the love of a lifetime? 

This is the story of one woman, two lives, and the consequences that lead to murder.

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

The year was 1991. I was in my early 20s. A wide-eyed backpacker fresh from Sydney, Australia, with an old school friend beside me and a team of American Lacrosse players we'd met up with somewhere in Europe. We were en route to Santorini, on the deck of a ferry, laughing, flirting, having fun.

Then, in the middle of the eight-hour journey, one of those US players struck up a conversation with a total stranger, another Aussie woman with an alluring smile. He was instantly smitten and before we knew what was happening, he was deserting us all and jumping ship with her on a completely different island.

Now remember: This was BEFORE mobile phones, before instant messaging and GPS. It was back in the days when you still had to book a call from a Greek post office if you wanted to phone home. It was another time and era and so his decision to abandon us for a relative stranger was a brave and potentially risky one. And yet we all laughed and waved him off as if it was just a lark. 

To this day I don't know how it went with that Aussie girl and if he ever caught up with his mates again. But I do know that choice he made has haunted me ever since.

Over the years, I started to wonder, what if?

• What if the man who abandoned his mates had been a woman, a young and vulnerable one? 
• What if the stranger she jumped ship with was a man who turned out to be a monster? 
• And what culpability did WE all have, not pulling our friend back to safety?

Have you ever made a risky travelling decision? If so, you'll relate to this book. It's the one I've been madly typing for the past nine months (but conjuring in my head for almost 30 years). It's a ripper of a tale and I look forward to sharing it with you very soon. 

Unlike anything I have written before, it's a little less 'cozy' and a lot more 'thriller/suspense', with a dash of Gone Girl and a Sliding Doors-style twist. It's now with my editor (love ya work, Annie!) and is due out next month. 

For more on this mystery, a cover-reveal, and your chance to win FREE COPIES, just keep an eye on future newsletters.

Until then, happy (safe!) reading everyone.

xo Christina

The Reason I've Gone Quiet… I've Got Something to Shout About

   

Yes, I know. I've been suspiciously quiet of late. I haven't posted my usual short story. I haven't offered fabulous free book prizes. I haven't asked what you think of Agatha Christie or cozies or covers of the like. Here's why… 

I've got a new book in the works (woo-hoo!)

This one is a thriller like nothing I've ever written before. With echoes of Sliding Doors, a splash of Gone Girl and a good dose of my usual Aussie candour, this new, stand-alone story has kept me tap-tap-tapping away for months, and is almost complete! 

I thank you all so much for your patience and promise you the wait will be worth it. Or at least I hope it will. My most complicated mystery yet, this one is set in three very different places and two completely different timelines. It all starts with a simple scenario:   

A young backpacker meets an alluring stranger on a ferry, enroute to Santorini. When he gets off miles from her destination, she has to make a terrifying choice. Will she jump off with him and desert her travelling companions? Or will she stay safely on the ferry and miss what might be the experience of a lifetime? 

One woman, two choices. Which way does she go? 

What she can not know in her youth and naivety is that one choice will see her finding true love, the other will leave her fighting for her life. 

This is a story of choices, and of surviving their consequences.

Sound enticing? I hope so! And now you know: When writers go quiet it usually means the voices are screaming loudly in their heads and there's a bunch of characters coming to life on a page somewhere.

This book will be ready for a mid-2019 release but I'll be in touch before then with both the title and cover reveals, so stay tuned for that.

Until then, thanks again for your patience. You can catch up on all my other mysteries by heading to my website: calarmer.com or clicking on your favourite book here.

Happy (future!) reading, everyone.

xo Christina