Woodbine and Ivy - Research

The fourth and probably final book in The Katherine Wheel Series is underway. It will be called Woodbine and Ivy and I'm hoping to publish it next year, 2018. I'm deeply engrossed in researching the second World War for this book as it will explore what happens to the children of Cassandra and Douglas, Jem and Katy.
These are the gems that arrived in the post today. Some women get excited over clothes - me? Books!

The Rose Trail #FREE!

#FREE! This Easter weekend -The Rose Trail - 

a spine tingling timeslip ghost story

#FREE for the Easter weekend, The Rose Trail has already clocked up 

some great 5* reviews. A gripping tale of a tormented ghost seeking 

revenge, this story will make your spine tingle. Fay, a reluctant psychic,

is dragged into a romantic triangle where brother is set against brother 

during the English Civil War and the woman they both love cannot find

peace. 

Can Fay resolve this desperate tangle? She must somehow release her 

new friend, Persephone, from the terrifying events that haunt her 

Elizabethan Manor house, but only when her husband is away....

THE ROSE TRAIL 

click above to go straight to your Amazon page

"5*s It’s dark, haunting and riveting and moves a a good steady place with the occasional revelation that shocks the reader."

"5*s A combination of love, tragedies, friendships, past and present, lashings of historical aspects, religious bias, controlling natures all combined with the supernatural give this novel a wonderful page-turning quality."

"5*s An engrossing and truly original read! Fay and Persephone are possessed by two long-dead characters from a turbulent time in England's history, whose short, tragic lives were entwined almost four centuries ago. The Rose trail took me on a gripping, complex journey and didn't release its hold until the very last page."

Grab your #FREE copy today! 

The Rose Trail - first responses: #amwriting

Switching genres has proved more challenging than I anticipated. The Rose Trail is a very different book to my others, especially The Katherine Wheel Series. The cover is starkly different for a start. I wanted it to be black to signal the darker nature of the book with its paranormal theme. Perhaps I subconsciously wanted to issue a warning to readers who might quail at the ghostly scenes. In view of its slow start perhaps that's worked too well!
However the following two reviews have given me heart. I hope to develop a series from this book, with Fay and Percy solving more ethereal mysteries in the future so having this feedback motivates me to carry on with that ambition. First I have to write Woodbine and Ivy, the fourth and final book in the Katherine Wheel series and I'm deeply involved in research for that right now, but with these two reviews spurring me on, I hope to hit the ground running with Book Two of 'The Spirit Level' series after that.

5.0 out of 5 starsVivid and real. A huge achievement!

By Sally Spedding on 10 April 2017

Format: Paperback

"An engrossing and truly original read! Fay and Persephone are possessed by three long-dead characters

 from a turbulent time in England's history, whose short, tragic lives were entwined almost four centuries ago.

 The Rose trail took me on a gripping, complex journey and didn't release its hold until the very last page.

 Ambitious and well-researched, it triggered further research on my part into that pivotal period of history. 

Hats off to Alex Martin for teaching me something - rare indeed, in fiction. But this didn't feel like fiction, 

and deserves to be noticed. Also, what a terrific film this would make!"

.0 out of 5 starsI didn't want to leave the characters in peril.

ByL. H. Orthon April 2, 2017

Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase

"Alex Martin's The Rose Trail had me hooked when I read that it was a "time slip" novel. Oooo, say no more, 

I'm buying it. The plot is so unique and kept me up late for many nights reading. I didn't want to leave the 

characters in peril. My favorite was Fay, as she unfolds on the pages of this adventure, showing her vulnerable,

 tragic past, and how she's coped and just got on with it. Fay's funny comments and quips about herself made

 me laugh out loud, and nod my head, saying, "Yes, that is EXACTLY how I feel." I love historical novels and 

Alex Martin weaves plenty of historical scenes into this story. She delves into the realm of haunted houses and

 restless spirits for the modern day characters to deal with, but then she gives you all the back story of how they

 got that way in their own time, in the past. The friendship between Fay and Percy grew throughout the story, 

showing the best side of human nature. It provided balance for the other forces at work. It is not often that a

 book of fiction causes me to look at my own reality differently, but The Rose Trail certainly does that. 

Please tell me that there is a sequel in the works!!"

http://mybook.to/TheRoseTrail