Situation Murder returns

I've re-published a book, and updated it. Situation Murder is a collection of scripts, dating back to 2003 and 04, from the spin-off show to The Sitcom Trials that we staged in Bristol and London a couple of times. It's been available as a Kindle book for over a decade, on my old account that I don't even have access to, so whether it ever sold a copy, I don't know. However I felt it might merit revisiting.

Because I'm still in thrall to the idea of writing crime novels and making my fortune (an idea which has not seen much progress in the last few weeks) I thought I'd tweak the book and see if it would get any traction in a different form. To begin with I just gave it a "crime novel" cover and saw if that would attract any attention. It did, a bit.

This cover, showing Hev on a country lane, was the version I uploaded on Feb 1st. It saw 7 ebook editions downloaded, earning me about 4 quid. There was also a small flurry of page reads, about 100 or so. This generated no money (you need thousands of page reads before it turns into anything). So I changed the cover into the cosier version you see at the top of the blog. I also made another, bigger, change, by writing new text prologues for all five chapters of the book.

Inventing a new character of a psychic detective, currently a character with no name, I've written short 500-700 word dramatic prefaces for each of the script-book sections. This might provide slightly more satisfying reading for the crime book consumer. Though I realise it doesn't fit the demands of the genre and, ultimately, is not going to be what they're looking for, it's an interesting experiment and has at least given the opportunity to squeeze some writing into the house-moving weeks. I will return to writing the proper crime novel soon, I promise.

Since I made the tweaks and changes, I've only had another 50 or so page reads, and sold a couple of copies, which suggests that initial flurry may been been my lot, and this book has had its moment, forever more to be downplayed by the algorithms. I really must study this game properly.

Please give Situation Murder a read - it's free to read on Kindle Unlimited, or 99p to download - and be kind with your reviews.

Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who, Shakespeare & The Bible (no, really), runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries and art centres - email for details, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. View the promo video here. (Also works with the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre).