I created a video for my book Enter The Devil. It turned out pretty good, I'll give it another go and maybe add a voice over or music to the next one. This has been made for a Facebook reel therefore it doesn't format to Blogger dimensions.

 

 Five days to go and Skeletons In The Closet will be live on pre-order. 

 

 

 

Nine days to go before Ebook pre-orders open.

Final small niggly edits almost completed.

Final cover design completed.

Happy days. 😄

 

 

 Jack

 What's in a name? So many authors use the name Jack for their protagonist. 

I can name a few: Jack Reacher, Jack Ryan, Jack Taylor, Jack Lisbon, Jack Paige. I bet you could add to this list.

I don't read a lot of books with female leads but I have noticed in general: Alice, Anne, Dawn, Jenny are popular as well as Elizabeth, Lisa or Lucy. You could probably add to these as well.

 Watch this space and be ready for the introduction of: ex-detectives Jack Smith and Alice Saunders as they battle against a human trafficking ring in outback South Australia.

 I have a website you'll find it here 

On my website you can sign up to receive my newsletter and get a monthly update on whats happening and where I am at with my books. Also the occasional giveaway.

Straya Outback Publishing is my imprint name. This is the publishing name of all my print books and Ebooks. 

I'm also on Facebook if you'd like to follow me, R. Bownds - Author.

Or Instagram at R. Bownds - Author. 

Hoping to see you all soon. 😊

Skeletons In The Closet

 On June the 1st 2025 my next book and second in The Mara Mysteries series will be released as an Ebook on Amazon pre-order. Actual release date for when your order will hit your Kindle account is June 17th 2025 the same day paperback versions will be available.

I wrote this book some time ago and dare I say, originally it was going to be the first in the series but when I wrote Enter The Devil I realised the latter was better suited as an introduction to the fictional town of Mara, the surrounding area and the many colourful Australian characters that populate the stories.

Skeletons In The Closet brings back your favourites, Detective Mark Bannon, Sergeant Michael Ryan, Joe Cooke, Condamine Baxter, Detective Inspector Ian Gerske, Detective Sergeant Clifford Riley and not to forget Constable Richard Parry. Also it introduces characters who were only mentioned in Enter The Devil, such as Mrs. Irene Murray, Kathleen Yang and Sam Brown.

• Am I excited about the upcoming release: Yes. 
• Am I nervous about whether it'll live up to expectations: Yes.
• Am I ready: One more read through to catch any lingering little niggly errors and I'm as ready as I'll ever be. 

 If you haven't already read Enter The Devil you can pick up a copy on Amazon here or read it through Amazon Kindle Direct a sort of online Ebook library run through Amazon where you can borrow the book and return it at your leisure.

THREE BODIES. THREE SUSPECTS. ONE TOWN HIDING DEADLY SECRETS.

In the scorched heart of the Australian outback, a corpse dangles from a gnarled eucalyptus, in the vast Mara Forestry. For newly-minted Sergeant Michael Ryan, this discovery isn’t just his first murder case—it’s a baptism by blood.

Desperate and overwhelmed, Ryan calls the Mildura police station, who send the only man capable of solving such brutality. Detective Mark ‘The Devil’ Bannon. Once Melbourne Homicide Squad's most brilliant investigator. Now disgraced and exiled to the most northern Victorian jurisdiction.

But one body quickly becomes three. Three victims. Three suspects. The trail of evidence leads to Blackpond. Where dust devils dance through empty streets and locals view outsiders through narrowed eyes, and the police are never welcome.

Here, generations of families have guarded their secrets as fiercely as they’ve endured the harsh landscape. Against mounting pressure and dwindling time, Ryan and Bannon must navigate a maze of silence and hostility. The townsfolk have formed an impenetrable wall that even Bannon’s notorious interrogation tactics can’t break through. What are the people of Blackpond hiding? And why would they protect a murderer in their midst?

It’s not long before a Blackpond resident disappears under suspicious circumstances, only for his body to be found floating in a sinkhole.

With each passing hour, the killer’s shadow looms larger over Blackpond. Can Sergeant Ryan and Detective Bannon break through the wall of silence before the body count rises again?

Two years after his misconduct inquiry and transfer to Mildura, Detective Bannon is off the desk and back into what he does best. Solving difficult homicide cases, hunting down the killers, summoning his split personality, ‘The Devil’, and sending them to hell.

This is the first book in the Mara Mysteries Series.

This book is written in Australian English. It contains Australian slang, Australian Idioms, Australian wit and humour.

Available in Ebook and Paper back Click on the image to go to Amazon to purchase or read the sample. Also available on Kindle Unlimited.

 

 Welcome to my blog. 

Here you will find my ravings of life, poems, snippets of pieces I have written over the years. Upcoming novels I am working on and in all life itself.

Happy days!