Today my Friday Feature spotlights Janice Frost author of the bestselling Merry & Neil series. There are currently 5 books in this brilliant Police Detective series. First we hear about Janice’s walking hobby and her thoughts on her publisher: Joffe Books and then all about her books. I hope you enjoy reading.
My walking hobby by Janice Frost
I spend a lot of time sitting down writing, and I also love reading, which is another occupation that doesn’t involve moving much, so it’s just as well, that, like my character, Jim Neal in the ‘Secrets’ series, I too, enjoy a good long walk.
Walking’s a great way of throwing off the stresses of everyday life and recharging the batteries. It’s also fun, healthy, and you can do it any time. Best of all, it’s free! All you need to do is get yourself out of the house and start putting one foot in front of the other. This year I’ve challenged myself to walk a thousand miles!
My first walking memories are bound up with family holidays, of walking along sandy beaches, and cliff paths near the seaside towns of St Andrews and Oban. Later, I walked more widely in Scotland, discovering ancient forests, shining lochs, fairy tale castles and, of course, the dreaded midge.
Walking’s a great way to connect with nature. Once, walking in woodland near Aviemore, I was stopped in my tracks by a herd of deer crossing the path in front of me. In Northumberland and the Lake District I’ve often been lucky enough to spot red squirrels, and on the island of Eigg, in the Inner Hebrides, I watched a ewe giving birth to a lamb in the wild, almost missing the ferry back to the mainland in the process. 
Usually though, it’s sheep, sheep, and more sheep. I don’t mind. Sheep are okay.
I like having something to aim for when I set off for a walk. When the boys were young, my husband and I used to bribe them with the promise of a spectacular waterfall or secret caves to explore along the route. But it can be something as simple as a bridge, a particular favourite being High Sweden Bridge in the Scandale valley near Ambleside in the Lake District.
Or a trig point. I love trig points! Here’s a picture of me with the trig point at the summit of Loughrigg Fell in the Lake District. The other one’s at the top of Red Screes. It’s silly how many photos I’ve taken of these things! 
I think my enthusiasm for walking spills over into my novels. In Her Husband’s Secret, the murder victim’s body is discovered in a lime wood. This was inspired by my own experience of walking in the
Lincolnshire Limewoods. But, honestly, I’m not always thinking of murder when I’m exploring the great outdoors.
Sometimes I don’t think about anything at all. That’s another thing I like about walking. I can use it to get away from everything and focus my mind on the plot of my latest book, or I can use it to block out any anxieties about my writing and just be mindful of my body and my surroundings.
I can see similarities between the writing process and walking. A book is written one word at a time, a walk completed one step at a time. In both cases it’s a matter of just keeping on going until you get to THE END
WORKING WITH JOFFE BOOKS
When I was looking for a publisher for my first detective novel, Dead Secret, I was attracted to Joffe Books because of their open submissions policy. I remember how thrilling it was to read my first email from Jasper, saying that he’d like to work with me. Since then, I’ve realised that I wasn’t just lucky to have found a publisher for my work, but to have found this publisher.
Being a newbie, I was worried about everything, from signing a contract to dealing with the edited version of my book. I needn’t have worried. Right from the start, I felt supported and encouraged. Jasper dealt personally with all my questions, no matter how basic. I imagine he must have rolled his eyes a few times!
With Joffe books, you can be confident that the final version of your book will be the very best it can be. The editing process is rigorous, and Jasper and his team work tirelessly to ensure that every detail is right before a book is published. I love that I’m consulted about every decision along the way.
I’ve learned that although you write a book in isolation, it’s a team effort to get it out there. I consider myself very lucky indeed to be part of such a great team, which also includes other Joffe writers and all the wonderful bloggers who do so much to promote out books on Social Media. By Janice Frost
Books by Janice Frost
DS MERRY & DI NEAL SERIES
THE DETECTIVES
DS Ava Merry is a young policewoman, recently promoted to detective sergeant. She is fitness fanatic with a taste for dangerous relationships. DI Jim Neal is single dad who juggles his devotion to his job with caring for his son.
DEAD SECRET
Shocking family secrets come to light when a young woman is murdered
Who killed Amy Hill?
Amy Hill, a nineteen-year-old student, is strangled and her body dumped on open ground in the city. New police partners, D.I. Jim Neal and D.S. Ava Merry are called in to investigate this brutal crime. The last person to see Amy alive was Simon, the son of a family friend, but before he can be properly questioned he disappears.
Detectives Neal and Merry are led on a trail of shocking family secrets and crimes. Can this duo track down the murderer before anyone else dies? Stopping this tragic cycle of violence will put D.S. Merry’s life at risk in a thrilling and heart-stopping finale.
DEAD SECRET is the first in a new series of detective thrillers featuring D.S. Ava Merry and D.I. Jim Neal. Ava Merry is a young policewoman, recently promoted to detective sergeant. She is a fitness fanatic with a taste for dangerous relationships. Jim Neal is a single dad who juggles his devotion to his job with caring for his son.
Set in the fictional Northern city of Stromford, this detective mystery will have you gripped from start to shocking conclusion.
Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada
DARK SECRET
Who killed Gray Mitchell?
Gray Mitchell’s body is found buried under fresh snowfall in the early hours of the morning outside Stromford Cathedral. D.I. Jim Neal and D.S. Ava Merry are called in to investigate. It seems that a number of people had motives to kill him, including Mitchell’s partner.
Then another shocking act of violence occurs, also connected to the cathedral. Detectives Neal and Merry’s investigation reveals an intricate web of secrets connecting the crimes. But there is something the detectives have missed, the dark secret which can break open the case.
In a breathtaking climax, Jim Neal fights for the life of someone very close to him.
DARK SECRET is the second in a new series of detective thrillers featuring D.S. Ava Merry and D.I. Jim Neal. Ava Merry is a young policewoman, recently promoted to detective sergeant. She is fitness fanatic with a taste for dangerous relationships. Jim Neal is single dad who juggles his devotion to his job with caring for his son.
Set in the fictional Northern city of Stromford, this detective mystery will have you gripped from start to shocking conclusion.
Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada
![HER HUSBAND'S SECRET a gripping crime thriller full of twists by [FROST, JANICE]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41bcNUOnCPL.jpg)
IMAGINE YOUR HUSBAND WAS MURDERED. IMAGINE EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT THE PAST WAS A LIE.
Two children sneak out on a freezing winter night, hoping to see a ghost. But instead they witness something far more terrifying. A man dumping a body . . .
DS Ava Merry and DI Jim Neal are called in to investigate this perplexing murder. Eventually the dead man’s wife is identified. But Laura Cameron’s husband turns out to have kept many secrets from her. And when she goes to visit her old friends who live near where the murder happened, Laura enters a dark web of lies as she tries to dig into the past to discover the truth about what happened to her husband.
Who killed her husband how does it tie into the past? In a thrilling climax, everything will be turned upside down in this twisting crime thriller.
Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada
![THEIR FATAL SECRETS a gripping crime mystery full of stunning twists by [FROST, JANICE]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41Osfjt%2BPaL.jpg)
THEIR FATAL SECRETS
THE EAGERLY AWAITED MYSTERY BY BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JANICE FROST
Two students coming home from a drunken night out see something strange in the river. It is a young woman’s body.
Hours later, a second young woman’s body is discovered on another stretch of the same river.
DS Ava Merry and DI Jim Neal are assigned to both investigations. And they’re joined by a new detective, Tom Knight.
Soon a connection is found between the two dead women. A list of “victims” is discovered in one of their flats. Who will be next and what really happened to the women on this sinister list?
In a thrilling conclusion, Jim Neal fights for his life as the two detectives struggle to solve a complex case involving people with secrets that may prove fatal.
Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada
DIRTY SECRETS
Val Marsh gets home to find her husband Russell shot through the head. Russell’s ‘angel investment’ company had made him many enemies. His business was struggling and his family and friends weren’t all on his side. But did any of them really want him dead?
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS ARE EXPLOSIVE SECRETS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO TEAR FAMILIES APART.
Detectives Jim Neal and Ava Merry are called in to investigate a very complex murder.
Another body is found in the woods and the case gets much murkier.
There are some very dirty secrets hidden behind the seemingly happy lives of the families involved.
Then a drug dealer is shot and fatally wounded in London. It seems the murders are connected, but how?
THE TRAIL WILL LEAD THEM INTO A VERY DANGEROUS WORLD INDEED. AND DI JIM NEAL IS FACING A FAMILY CRISIS OF HIS OWN.
Available from Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Australia Amazon Canada
Biography
I am the author of four crime/mystery books featuring Detectives Jim Neal and Ava Merry. My novels are set in the fictitious East Midlands cathedral city of Stromford.
Dead Secret sees Jim and Ava pairing up to investigate the murder of a teenage girl. It is their first major case together and the two soon discover that they have very different personalities. Neal is intellectual and considered, Ava clever and occasionally reckless. Both are passionate about the job they do but have to work hard at being an effective team.
Dead Secret reached #13 in the Amazon Kindle Store and Dark Secret reached #10. Both books spent several weeks in the Top 100. Her Husband’s Secret was published in November 2016 and the fourth book in the series, Their Fatal Secrets in November 2017. A fifth book is underway.
I am originally from West Lothian in Scotland but moved to London in my early twenties. I lived and worked in the East End for ten years before moving to Lincolnshire where I currently live with my husband and two grown-up sons. When not reading or writing, I enjoy walking in the hills absorbing the scenery.
I am delighted to be published by the wonderful Joffe Books.
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