DIVE a totally gripping, breathlessly twisty crime mystery

Product Information

I’ve spent most of my adult life writing creatively in some form, and still, the editing process revealed a lot of things about how I do it – and crucially, why I do it. It went to acquisitions with two other publishers, before it was picked up by Joffe Books for a three-book deal. If you’re lucky you’ll find treasure on the foreshore; if you’re not, you could see a body being dredged from the mud.

My side hustle starting out was pulling pints at the Captain Kidd, next to the Marine Police in Wapping. It’s been one of the highlights of my journey so far to meet authors online and in person – because the authors I’ve met are genuinely lovely people. If you’d like to learn more, I took part in Diary of a Debut Novelist, run by the brilliant Emma Christie. But it all depends on whether Dive sells well enough to justify another story featuring those characters.David Cade is a hardened frogman but his personal involvement in the case lead him to work with Naomi. I’ll drop the second part on Monday 9th January, with a deep dive (ha) exploring the querying process, editing the novel, and working with an editor. I’ve since spoken quietly to other authors about this to prove to myself I wasn’t acting out of turn. An outdoor enthusiast with over twenty years' publishing experience, he’s the author of Vertebrate’s best-selling Peak District Mountain Bikingand White Peak Mountain Bikingguides. This fourth blog examines harsh realities, the difficult and endlessly frustrating process of bringing the book to publication, and why the publishing deal is no longer in force.

There is a lot of technical detail and jargon about the marine police which added an authenticity but went over my head a bit. Then they uncover something that will threaten to blow the case apart — if it doesn’t get them killed first .

It’s true that the cost benefit of staying silent did not outweigh the novel’s inherent value, but of course, that was not the compass my collaborators were using. That mix of science fiction and science fact and fast-paced action just ticked the boxes for me at that time in my life.

It’s information I wish I’d known at the time, and since being forewarned is forearmed, I would like to share my honest experience.Jon works freelance as a reader and editor for TLC, BFI, and independent production companies with a focus on genre-led storytelling.