Audiobook sales soaring

My own Granny Smith Investigates available from Audible

No longer just the greatest invention for bathtub readers, the audiobook is, according to new data, the surprise saviour for solving one of the world’s greatest problems: getting non-readers to read. Sales of audiobooks have doubled in the past five years, according to Nielsen with commuters and men aged 25 to 44 accounting for the bulk of that rise.

Good news indeed as conventional wisdom is that less and less men are reading, but audiobooks seem to dragging men back to the printed page. Audible.com are a great provider of audiobooks - not only do they stock several of my books - why not try Wild Bill Williams by Jack Martin for a slice of western adventure, or for a comedic crime caper try Granny Smith Investigates by G. M. Dobbs. Ok that's my shameless plug out of the way - but do visit Audible as they stock thousands upon thousands of titles, of ever genre and from almost every author you can think of.

Total sales for audiobooks rose 18.2 percent over 2017, with digital downloads making up 82.4 percent of those sales, compared to 76.8 percent in 2015. Physical audio (CDs) dropped to 16.2 percent of total audio sales, from 21.8 percent in 2015.

And the good news for publishers, looking forward, is that much of the audience for digital is young. Almost half of those who say they listen to audiobooks were under 35. And it’s a hungry audience. While only 24 percent of Americans say they listened to at least one audio book in 2017, the average listener in that category consumed 15 books in that same period, mostly on a smartphone. In the UK the average was higher with 24 perecent saying they had listened to two audiobooks in the previous year. You have to figure that the average reader of physical books did not buy 15 books last year, much less read that many.

Find Audible and er (Granny Smith Investigates and Wild Bill Williams) HERE

Q&A session with the creator of Granny Smith

This MARCH a all new Granny Smith adventure will be hitting the digital bookshelves, and in order to celebrate the release of the eagerly awaited fourth book in the Granny Smith series, the first three titles have been reduced to 0.99c on Amazon for the Kindle versions. This offer will continue until 30th March so why not catch up on Granny Smith now. Get yourself in the loop before the publication of, Granny Smith: Murder Plot.

Born in 1965, Gary M. Dobbs (Gary Martin Dobbs) is a British writer and actor. As a writer using the pen name Jack Martin^[1] he is responsible for a string of popular westerns for Robert Hale's Black Horse Western imprint. These include 'Arkansas Smith', 'The Ballad of Delta Rose', and 'The Afterlife of Slim McCord'.
As Gary M. Dobbs he has written the popular series of mysteries featuring the character of Granny Smith - described as Miss Marple on steroids. As an actor Dobbs has appeared (often unaccredited) in many British TV shows, as well as in the films The Reverend^[2] and Risen.^[3] In 2014 Gary wrote the non-fiction historical book, Cardiff and the Valleys in the Great War, published in 2015 by Pen and Sword Books.


Q- So what next for Granny Smith?

A-    Well, of course we have just seen Gerald’s wedding,which changes the Granniverse somewhat.  The next full-length novel will be called Murder Plot and concerns murder and intrigue at the allotments society. It's very nearly ready to go and will see publication at the end of March.

Q-Where did the idea for Granny Smith come from?

A- The back of my brain, likely. I’ve a fondness for classic crime fiction and also the old Ealing comedy movies. I think that the Ealing movies and Agatha Christie, particularly her Miss Marple series are the two biggest influences on the Granny Smith series, but there are other influences that all meld together to form the unique universe of the novels, the Granniverse of you like. I love Tom Sharpe for instance and although my writing maybe more PG Tips than PG Wodehouse I do hope there’s a lot of good humour in the books. M C Beaton’s The Agatha Raisin series are also a major influence. I’m aiming for the sky with Granny Smith, but if I only reach the shithouse roof then at least I tried.

Q – The books usually concern a murder and the subsequent investigation. Does humour have a place amongst such dark themes?

A- The novels would fall loosely into the cozy crime category, so yes there is a murder but this takes place off page and there is very little gore or graphic detail. And of course the characters are all so much larger than life. We know we’re not dealing with a real world murder and all the ramifications resulting from such.  It’s all fantasy as

is our detective the very wonderful Granny Smith. Miss Marple on steroids, indeed. In one of the reviews someone called her, Batman with dentures...I think I like that.

Q- Which character from the Granny Smith books would you most compare yourself to?

A-    Gerald, obviously! But no I think there’s a bit of myself in all the characters. I love the way Granny sees political correctness for what it truly is and I hope I share this trait. Also Gerald’s flamboyance, Arthur’s lust for solitude and Twice’s self importance are swirling around in my DNA.

Q- Granny aged ten years from the original draft of the first novel. Why was this?

A-    It’s true when I first wrote Granny Smith she was in her early Sixties, but I always wanted her to be older. I always thought her early Seventies was the correct age for the character but I was worried that it would be too much of a stretch to imagine all the things she does and so I created her as an extremely fit woman in her Sixties – which is not old by modern standards. Of course I soon realised that this was a mistake and that she had to be an older woman – and so I republished the first novel and aged her. That’s the beauty of electronic publishing in that it is so easy to go back and revise a book that’s already been published. I guess I’ll age Granny into her Eighties over maybe ten books.

Q- So you see the series going on for at least ten books?

A-    And more. Granny’s a fun character to play with and I love the way the world looks through her eyes. I’ve become a fan of series characters in cozy crime and especially enjoy the works of Simon Brett, M. C. Beaton and Lesley Cookman and if these guys can continue to come up with ideas for their characters then I’m sure I can for mine.

Q- You have had some success writing westerns as Jack Martin so isn’t cozy crime a big switch?

A-    Not really. My westerns contain a lot of humour. And I see no reason why a writer is expected to stick to one genre. That doesn’t happen in other fields where creators are free to switch genres whenever the fancy or need takes them. Stephen Spielberg doesn’t only make one kind of movie and The Beatles switched genres from track to track. I write the story that takes over my imagination at any given time and the genre is a secondary issue.

Q- So would you write Erotica?

A-    Good God, no. I find it difficult to type one-handed.

Q- Where can people find out more about your writing?

A-    That’s a convenient question – thank you. Well you can follow me on Twitter @garymartindobbs and I keep a Facebook page under the name Gary Martin Dobbs and then there’s my very active blog, The Tainted Archive which you can find at http://tainted-archive.blogspot.co.uk/ . Oh and Granny has her own Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GrannySmithInvestigates/

Q- Finally where you get your ideas?

A-    Well I do a lot of people watching – well one woman really but the police have told me I’ve got to stop. Where do ideas come from? Anywhere and everywhere – from other books, movies, events in newspapers.

Q- Tell the truth: you made these questions up yourself didn’t you?

A-Yep

           

"The story then follows Granny Alice Mary Smith into various stages of the mystery in a humorous but intense way. The book is beautifully written and is a pleasure to read. The Miss Marple references are not only in our mind but the author has made them too, calling Granny Smith as “Miss Marple on steroids”

It is a cozy and wonderful murder mystery, the likes of which, I have not read for a long time. Agatha Christie story lovers must catch this book. It brings back many memories of age old murder mystery classics." Goodreads five star review for Granny Smith Investigates

           

Catch up with Granny

"Cannot stop reading these books just love them so funny and just gets you and pulls you in. Warning once you read 1 you will have to read them all." Amazon Review

Granny Smith Investigates


Granny Smith

A hit on Amazon Kindle

Murder’s never been so much fun.
" I liked the story, entertaining, easy to read."
"laugh out loud funny and Granny Smith is a wonderful invention"
"Granny Smith complete with pipe , what a vision... proves where there is a way she will take try it...enjoyed this book easy reading ."


US
UK


It had been a while since I have read the likes of the character Miss Marple from Agatha Christie works. Now Granny Smith has fulfilled that void in my reading life. Granny Smith is not exactly old to be a Granny by heart but irrespective of that, everyone has been calling her Granny. She is a young at heart woman who has a trait to be curious about everything that is happening around her. So when her friend Sheila gets engaged to Nigel, who is younger than her, Granny Smith gets suspicious. The following murder in the town makes Granny even more curious and on she follows the clues of the murder, much to the chagrin of Detective Inspector Miskins.

It starts with a murder at the Village Fete. Unfortunately for the murder, she happens to be Granny Smith's next door neighbour and when the poor husband of the victim is arrested, Granny Smith leaps on her bike into action. With a surveillance team comprising of long suffering husband and gay son, she is on the case!!
A lovely easy read and a good plot- a real winner :)

Granny's Cooking

Two years ago now I created a character called Granny Smith - I thought of her as a kind of Miss Marple on steroids, and I had the idea of creating a series of light crime thrillers that would be heavy on humor.

Of course Granny Smith’s real name wasn’t Granny but everyone called her Granny. It wasn’t because she was a grandmother, though she was three times over, but rather because as a child she had loved apples, would take one to school for her lunch each and every day. It seemed that wherever she went an apple went with her and so associated with the fruit had she become that eventually some bright spark had nicknamed her Granny Smith after that popular Australian variety of apple. 


Because of the ease of publishing to the Kindle format I used the initial launch in the way that Hollywood often use test screenings, and a few readers pointed out that Granny was a little too young. I'd put her in her early Sixties but the comments about her age struck home and so I took the book down, added ten years on her and republished. She does work better as an older character and those ten years made a big difference.

Two other Granny Smith works have been published - the novel, Granny Smith and the Deadly Frogs and the short story, The Welsh Connection. And I will be working on a new Granny Smith novel just as soon as my workloads lightens up a bit.




Over the last couple of years the books have sold at a small but steady rate but just recently the sales, particularly of the first book have skyrocketed both in the US and UK. The combined sales of each book have gone into three figures this week alone - I don't know why this is. I've done no promotion as such lately, but hey I'm not complaining and I hope the sales continue in this fashion - who knows by the end of the year I may be able to afford a secondhand Ford Fiesta.



Some reviews:


“It’s Miss Marple on steroids.” 

A brutal murder in a small Welsh village leaves the police without a clue. With no motive and no real suspect the investigation soon grinds to a halt. Enter Mary Anne Smith, otherwise known as Granny Smith, the seventy-one years young, pipe smoking, heavy metal loving, chaos causing amateur sleuth with a difference. 

Granny has a talent for mayhem and soon those talents are put to good use as our intrepid pensioner starts the unravel the case, which finds her provoking Chief Inspector Miskin as she comes up against a full scale police investigation, proving that you’re never too old to make a nuisance of yourself and that seventy-one is actually the new twenty-one. 

Murder’s never been so much fun. 

" I liked the story, entertaining, easy to read." 


"laugh out loud funny and Granny Smith is a wonderful invention" 

"Granny Smith complete with pipe , what a vision... proves where there is a way she will take try it...enjoyed this book easy reading ."

"I was brought up on Miss Marple. I loved the idea of an old lady solving cases through sheer nosiness and this is a modern day version.
It starts with a murder at the Village Fete. Unfortunately for the murder, she happens to be Granny Smith's next door neighbour and when the poor husband of the victim is arrested, Granny Smith leaps on her bike into action. With a surveillance team comprising of long suffering husband and gay son, she is on the case!!
A lovely easy read and a good plot- a real winner :)"

Don't forget to put your teeth in.....

This coming Sunday is kinda special - yeah, I know it's Easter and that means chocolate eggs and fluffy bunnies but it also means deadly frogs.

Granny Smith and the Deadly Frogs, the second book in the Granny Smith series will be available for sale on that day. And I'm getting excited now that I've seen the completed eBook - all formatted correctly and checked and re-checked several times by several eyes- let's hope no typos slip through the net.

The first Granny Smith novel, Granny Smith Investigates was a great success and for one day reached as high as number 3 on the Amazon Cozy Crime chart. And I hope the second book will consolidate and build on the success of the first.

When I originally created Granny Smith I placed her in her early Sixties, but after several emails from readers I realised I had made a mistake and that Granny should be older. And so because of the simplicity of recalling an eBook, editing and then putting the updated version on sale I (Kindle owners who have bought the eBook should get the updated version automatically) made her ten years older. And thus when I came to write the second book I realised I had a much better hold on the character, and that my readers had been right she did work better as a much older character.

That's the reality of publishing to eBook - it's a different world and in one sense a book is far more alive than it ever was in print, and can continue to develop with input from the readers.The main thrust of Granny will always be digital but there is a deal on the table for print versions of her adventures, and I'm hoping to get these POD books ready by this summer, but I'll likely make it a rule that the print version only becomes available six moths after the eBook sees publication.


The world Granny Smith operates in is very much a reflection of the real world, and whilst I may not have held a mirror up to the real world, I've most certainly held up one of those amusement park bendy, twisty mirrors. All of the characters who seemed to make an impression on readers in the first book are back - Dai Twice is on the case, Gerald is preparing to take a big step forward in his life and Chief Inspector Miskin is fuming away in the corner of the pages. And of course our intrepid amateur sleuth, the geriatric crime-fighter,  Miss Marple on Steroids herself,  is out there ensuring justice is delivered.

I'll be writing more about Granny for the Archive this week - hey, I've got to make a living and also have a Vlog planned - that's a video blog post in which I will tell Archive readers a little of what they can expect from the second Granny Smith novel. So be here or, as they used to say in Granny's day, be square.

Catch you later....

Let's get cozy!!!

"A nice easy read for lazy Sunday afternoons curled up on the sofa in front of a roaring fire with a nice glass or two of wine and chocolates, brilliant."  Amazon


"Granny is a wonderful character, refreshingly different and politically incorrect. I loved that she still smokes in a time when it is frowned upon; that she is an unrepentant hippie and even that she is blind to her son's faults. She is astute and not scared to speak her mind. She is also very human and that is a large part of her charm. I think most of us can identify with her."  Amazon






"Granny Smith -- a pipe-smoking senior citizen who listens to heavy metal and can't keep her nose out of other peoples' affairs. I fell in love with this character within the first couple of pages. The story never drags and the secondary characters, such as Granny's quirky son and submissive husband, are just as lovable as Granny herself. "

Amazon






The first of the Granny Smith adventures!!

“It’s Miss Marple on steroids.”

A brutal murder in a small Welsh village leaves the police without a clue. With no motive and no real suspect the investigation soon grinds to a halt. Enter Mary Anne Smith, otherwise known as Granny Smith, the seventy-one years young, pipe smoking, heavy metal loving, chaos causing amateur sleuth with a difference.

Granny has a talent for mayhem and soon those talents are put to good use as our intrepid pensioner starts the unravel the case, which finds her provoking Chief Inspector Miskin as she comes up against a full scale police investigation, proving that you’re never too old to make a nuisance of yourself and that seventy-one is actually the new twenty-one.

Murder’s never been so much fun.

" I liked the story, entertaining, easy to read."


"laugh out loud funny and Granny Smith is a wonderful invention"

"Granny Smith complete with pipe , what a vision... proves where there is a way she will take try it...enjoyed this book easy reading ." 

Available worlwide from Amazon now

And look out for Granny Smith and the Deadly Frogs - out March 31st

Taster

"A nice easy read for lazy Sunday afternoons curled up on the sofa in front of a roaring fire with a nice glass or two of wine and chocolates, brilliant ." Amazon Review

"Humorous look at generational differences and solving a murder run hand in hand through this tale. Between laughing at the characters and becoming more absorbed in the investigation makes a good read." Amazon Review

"Granny Smith -- a pipe-smoking senior citizen who listens to heavy metal and can't keep her nose out of other peoples' affairs. I fell in love with this character within the first couple of pages. The story never drags and the secondary characters, such as Granny's quirky son and submissive husband, are just as lovable as Granny herself. " Amazon Review

" I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Granny is a wonderful character, refreshingly different and politically incorrect. I loved that she still smokes in a time when it is frowned upon; that she is an unrepentant hippie and even that she is blind to her son's faults. She is astute and not scared to speak her mind. She is also very human and that is a large part of her charm. I think most of us can identify with her." Amazon Review

March 2013 -

Granny Smith and the Deadly Frogs

Granny's first adventure, Granny Smith Investigates is still available - get in on this all new crime series now.

“It’s Miss Marple on steroids.”

A brutal murder in a small Welsh village and the police are stuck without a clue. With no motive and no real suspect the investigation soon grinds to a halt. Enter Mary Alice Smith, otherwise known as Granny Smith, the rock music loving, pipe smoking, chaos causing amateur sleuth with a difference.

Granny has a talent for mayhem and soon those talents are put to good use as our intrepid pensioner starts the unravel the case, which finds her provoking Chief Inspector Miskin as she comes up against a full scale police investigation, proving that you’re never too old to make a nuisance of yourself and that sixty three is actually the new twenty three.

Murder's never been so much fun.

" I liked the story, entertaining, easy to read."

"laugh out loud funny and Granny Smith is a wonderful invention"

"Granny Smith complete with pipe , what a vision... proves where there is a way she will take try it...enjoyed this book easy reading ." 


And keep checking this site for news on the forthcoming Granny Smith and The Deadly Frogs.

Forget the terrible toads... prepare for the Deadly Frogs

Granny Smith and the Deadly Frogs is now with an editor and will return to me for a final polish, before hitting the virtual shelves this March.

When Granny becomes involved with Green issues it's not too long before blood runs red. It's Miss Marple on steroids as old Mrs "bust-yer-balls" is back sleuthing in another fast paced adventure.


Granny Smith Book 1 still available.

It’s Miss Marple on steroids.”

A brutal murder in a small Welsh village and the police are stuck without a clue. With no motive and no real suspect the investigation soon grinds to a halt. Enter Mary Alice Smith, otherwise known as Granny Smith, the rock music loving, pipe smoking, chaos causing amateur sleuth with a difference.

Granny has a talent for mayhem and soon those talents are put to good use as our intrepid pensioner starts the unravel the case, which finds her provoking Chief Inspector Miskin as she comes up against a full scale police investigation, proving that you’re never too old to make a nuisance of yourself and that sixty three is actually the new twenty three.

Murder's never been so much fun.

" I liked the story, entertaining, easy to read."


"laugh out loud funny and Granny Smith is a wonderful invention"

"Granny Smith complete with pipe , what a vision... proves where there is a way she will take try it...enjoyed this book easy reading ."

The Great End of the World Sale

A BBC news report this morning said that 1 in 10 Brits are concerned that the world will end tomorrow (21st Dec 2012) as seemingly predicted by the Mayans. The prediction that the world will end in 2012 is the most widely-disseminated doomsday tale in human history, thanks to the Internet, Hollywood and an ever-eager press corps.

Recent hurricanes, unrest in the Middle East, solar flares, mystery planets about to collide with us - all "proof" of what the ancient Mayans knew would come to pass on 21 December 2012.

And all around the world people are starting to panic - in Russia the Minister of Emergency Situations had to issue a denial that the world would end, and in America survivalists  - many of whom use the term "prepper" - have been busy preparing for all manner of cataclysm. Authorities in the village of Bugarach in the South of France have barred access to a mountain where some believe a UFO will rescue them this coming Friday. And NASA can't wait for Dec 21st to come and go - The space agency said it has been flooded with calls and emails from people asking about the purported end of the world. And only this morning  Police in China have carried out further arrests of members of a doomsday cult for spreading rumours about the imminent end of the world, state media say.

I've got to admit that if it does end I'll be more than a bit pissed off because it means I'll miss out on seeing Django Unchained - they really should have special advance screenings just in case the world does end. However here at the Archive we are more thoughtful and suggest you buy a copy of Granny Smith Investigates so that you'll get a chance to enjoy the story before the big bang.


Worried about the end of the world? Then lose yourself in the world of Granny Smith geriatric detective-the eBook is available now worldwide via the Amazon kindle store.

“It’s Miss Marple on steroids.”

A brutal murder in a small Welsh village and the police are stuck without a clue. With no motive and no real suspect the investigation soon grinds to a halt. Enter Mary Alice Smith, otherwise known as Granny Smith, the rock music loving, pipe smoking, chaos causing amateur sleuth with a difference.

Granny has a talent for mayhem and soon those talents are put to good use as our intrepid pensioner starts the unravel the case, which finds her provoking Chief Inspector Miskin as she comes up against a full scale police investigation, proving that you’re never too old to make a nuisance of yourself and that sixty three is actually the new twenty three.

Murder's never been so much fun.

" I liked the story, entertaining, easy to read."


"laugh out loud funny and Granny Smith is a wonderful invention"

"Granny Smith complete with pipe , what a vision... proves where there is a way she will take try it...enjoyed this book easy reading ."

Granny Smith Investigates

Granny Smith -- a pipe-smoking senior citizen who listens to heavy metal and can't keep her nose out of other peoples' affairs. I fell in love with this character within the first couple of pages. The story never drags and the secondary characters, such as Granny's quirky son and submissive husband, are just as lovable as Granny herself. FIVE STAR AMAZON REVIEW

Feeling sore and exhausted by Fifty Shades of Grey?

Granny Smith Investigates is the antidote.

Granny Smith Investigates by G. M. Dobbs

Guaranteed butt-plug free.
“It’s Miss Marple on steroids.”

A brutal murder in a small Welsh village and the police are stuck without a clue. With no motive and no real suspect the investigation soon grinds to a halt. Enter Mary Alice Smith, otherwise known as Granny Smith, the rock music loving, pipe smoking, chaos causing amateur sleuth with a difference.

Granny has a talent for mayhem and soon those talents are put to good use as our intrepid pensioner starts the unravel the case, which finds her provoking Chief Inspector Miskin as she comes up against a full scale police investigation, proving that you’re never too old to make a nuisance of yourself and that sixty three is actually the new twenty three.

Murder's never been so much fun.

" I liked the story, entertaining, easy to read."


"laugh out loud funny and Granny Smith is a wonderful invention"

"Granny Smith complete with pipe , what a vision... proves where there is a way she will take try it...enjoyed this book easy reading ."

Guest Post: Sock Puppet- Eric

Eric the sock puppet

The sock puppet story continues to run, with author Jeremy Dunn collecting together several Tweets author, Stephen Leather made about his own books using a false account.

'I really wish that I was as terrific a storyteller as Stephen Leather. He's way better than Vince Flynn'

'The book I would take with me on a desert island? No brainer. Soft Target by Stephen Leather. http://www.stephenleather.com'

' My favourite writer? Stephen Leather. http://www.stephenleather.com  I love his books. Stephen you rock!'

The above tweets were made from Leather's  @thirdparagraph Twitter account. It is worth visiting Jeremy Dunn's blog HERE to follow the full shameful story. And while you're at it Joe Konrath's claims that sock puppet tactics do no harm prompted a surge of negative comments - follow that story HERE.

However never one to fail to jump on a bandwagon the Archive has created it's own sock puppet - a rather fetching character we call Eric and we have invited him along to say a few words about my not so cozy crime novel, Granny Smith Investigates which is available now for the Kindle and other devices. 

 And so over to you, Eric.

 "Granny Smith Investigates is an absolutely life changing read. It helped me through the trauma of losing my partner in the washing machine. It's got it all - Granny Smith is a tough as nails old woman who kicks ass big time.

Granny Smith Investigates is a true literary masterpiece and a riot of laughs and tears. Go get it folks." Eric, the sock puppet. 

Old Age is a state of mind....

Featured on Indie Book Reviews

Find it HERE

Granny Smith is proving popular with good reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads, and strong sales through the Amazon store.

Check out the adventures of the geriatric crimefighter in the novella, Granny Smith Investigates. The eBook, currently available through Amazon is DRM free and can be downloaded with just one click. A free sample is also available on Amazon. The book will soon be available on other eBook sites such as Smashwords and Barnes and Noble.

Help out this little old lady and join the Granny Smith network.

Get the eBook HERE

Join the Facebook page HERE

Visit the website HERE

“It’s Miss Marple on steroids.”

A brutal murder in a small Welsh village and the police are stuck without a clue. With no motive and no real suspect the investigation soon grinds to a halt. Enter Mary Alice Smith, otherwise known as Granny Smith, the rock music loving, pipe smoking, chaos causing amateur sleuth with a difference.

Granny has a talent for mayhem and soon those talents are put to good use as our intrepid pensioner starts the unravel the case, which finds her provoking Chief Inspector Miskin as she comes up against a full scale police investigation, proving that you’re never too old to make a nuisance of yourself and that sixty three is actually the new twenty three.

Murder's never been so much fun.

On the origins of the Granny Smith

 Extract from Granny Smith Investigates

• Publisher: Red Valley Books; 1st Kindle edition edition (24 Jun 2012)
• CERTIFIED DRM FREE
• Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B008EKH9QG
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Of course Granny Smith’s real name wasn’t Granny but everyone called her Granny. It wasn’t because she was a grandmother, though she was three times over, but rather because as a child she had loved apples, would take one to school for her lunch each and every day. It seemed that wherever she went an apple went with her and so associated with the fruit had she become that eventually some bright spark had nicknamed her Granny Smith after that popular Australian variety of apple. 

Granny may have reached the age where her Wild Oats have turned into All-Bran, but there are plenty of tunes that can be played on an old fiddle.

Get the eBook now- Granny Smith Investigates and read the first book in this all new series, but don't forget to take a little nap before Granny returns later this year in Granny Smith and the Deadly Frogs. 

Coming 2013

Granny Smith and the Deadly Frogs

 

Extract - Granny Smith and the Deadly Frogs (C) G. M. Dobbs and Red Valley Books 2012

Granny sighed.

This wasn’t getting them anywhere and they had skirted so far away from the central issue that they were in danger of losing sight of it all together.

‘Capitalism by its very nature exploits the working man,’ Mark brought a fist down on the table to illustrate his point.

‘And the working woman,’ Sue chimed in. ‘It’s not all about men you know.’

‘Right on, sister,’ Mansall punched the air and had to adjust his headband which fell forward over his eyes.

‘I think we should get back to the frogs,’ Granny said and then used the pun she had been itching to use for the last ten minutes: ‘We seem to have hopped away from the point of this meeting.’

Maud liked that and nudged Granny gently in the side as a token of her appreciation.

‘Yes,’ Mark stood and leaned forward, his knuckles on the edge of the table. ‘I used the word man as in mankind. And that includes women too.’

You might also like:

September - The Geriatric Crimefighter

Granny Smith complete with pipe , what a vision... proves where there is a way she will take  it...enjoyed this book easy reading .  Amazon review



Just in time for Summer! Granny Smith seems less like Miss Marple and more like a mash-up of Stephanie Plum & Ma Kettle. Amazon Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Granny is a wonderful character, refreshingly different and politically incorrect. I loved that she still smokes in a time when it is frowned upon; that she is an unrepentant hippie and even that she is blind to her son's faults. She is astute and not scared to speak her mind. She is also very human and that is a large part of her charm. I think most of us can identify with her. Amazon Review

Granny Smith -- a pipe-smoking senior citizen who listens to heavy metal and can't keep her nose out of other peoples' affairs. I fell in love with this character within the first couple of pages. The story never drags and the secondary characters, such as Granny's quirky son and submissive husband, are just as lovable as Granny herself.  Amazon Review


Granny Smith is going down a storm and the first of her adventures can be purchased on Amazon worldwide. Go check it out and see for yourselves - her wild oats may have changed to All Bran but Granny still packs a punch!

UK

US

 

 

 

 And also new from Jack Martin

The civil war had ended, the country was being rebuilt, the railroads extended. Men whose names would go down in history - Goodnight, Chisholm, were driving thousands upon thousands of wild longhorn cattle across treacherous trails. Gold was discovered and scores of whites ran rampant over grounds that had been promised the Indians by the Great White Father, the vast plains once the preserve of the Indians now rumbled to the sound of the iron horse.

A nice look at one of the author’s early books, not published until now. I like his style, makes for smooth reading that keeps me flipping those metaphorical pages until I hit the end of this tale. Check out the full review HERE

Mac Captures Granny

It is a fact without dispute that the British village is one of the most dangerous places a person can live. Many dark secrets are harboured and murder is likely at any moment. If a village fete is in progress you can be certain someone's a goner. , so goes this great review/feature on my novel Granny Smith Investigates over at Mac Captures Crime. Click HERE


Granny Smith Investigates answers the question, "how might Miss Marple turned out had she been born in the 1950s instead of the 1860s." She is referred to as "Miss Marple on steroids" several times in the course of the s generally disregard the proven crime solving record of the amateur sleuth. As in Gary's other writing, he puts great care in crafting his characters, gives them dimension, then puts them in a setting where their personalities fit the story. A second novel is due out later this year and Gary promises a more "densely plotted whodunit" but not at the expense of the characters. I'm particularly interested to see what he does with Gerald, Granny's son. I keep thinking about the character Daffyd in the BBC comedy Little Britain.

1970's VIBE

What is a Cozy Crime?

Recently in conversation I referred to my new  novel, Granny Smith Investigates  as a cozy crime and I received more than one blank expression. Someone asked me to define a cozy crime - well my understanding of what makes a cozy is that the crime is usually without explicit sex of violence, where the emphasis is often  on whodunnit - the quintessential cozy crime writer, I stated, is Agatha Christie.




The cozy mystery, also called the traditional mystery, is a specific genre light on sex and gore whose focus is on "whodunnit"


The Cozy lends itself well to light comedy as the novels of Simon Brett and M C Beaton display to such good use. And across the pond writers like Janet Evanovich seem to owe much to the cozies.



I suppose the biggest influence on my Granny Smith character is of course Agatha Christie who invented the blueprint for the elderly crime-fighter with Miss Marple, but also M C Beaton who produces the excellent Agatha Raisin novels. Someone likened my Granny Smith character to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum and yet I'd never read any of Janet Evanovich's books. I have now though, thanks to the comment made about my character. I'm glad I did and the  Stephanie Plum books are great fun.


So is Granny Smith a cozy crime? Well in a sense yes, but the emphasis is more on character than whodunit. I enjoyed creating those characters and felt them live and breath as I wrote their story. Mind you the second Granny Smith novel, due late 2012 which I'm currently working on will have more of a densely plotted whodunit, but it is the characters that interest me rather than the puzzle. I hope that by drawing the characters in rich detail and allowing them to develop in a fluid way across the narrative, then readers will feel closer to them. Granny's son Gerald is a perfect example and as I wrote Granny Smith Investigates he grew in a way I hadn't originally intended. Still I like him more this way.

 I guess Granny doesn't fit easily into the cozy subgenre, because I'm not that well read in the genre, and that it is broad humour that drives the book. Mind you, I'm reading more and more cozies now and so I'm starting to understand the genre boundaries - all the better to hop over them.

There is a great article, written by Vickey Britton, that defines the genre HERE. It's well worth a look, not only does it look at many of the key titles in the genre but also supplies curious readers with a list of writers who typify the very best of the genre.


"A cozy mystery is one written in the tradition of Agatha Christie. It usually takes place in a closely-knit setting with a limited group of suspects. A small town or English village where people are well-acquainted is a common setting for the cozy. An amateur detective is usually responsible for solving the crime. The cozy is light-hearted in tone rather than heavy. The murder often takes place offstage, as opposed to the hard-boiled mystery which contains a professional police officer, graphic violence and a sense of gritty reality. "

Vickie Britton

Another article worth checking out is the Goodreads guide to cozy mysteries.

Retirement is...

August 1st

Old age is no place for sissies.

"I liked the story, entertaining, easy to read. I sort of half guessed who it was 3/4 through but had to keep reading to find how it all worked out.

As 60 is the new 40 I think Granny Smith should be 70-75. Indeed I've always visualised myself as Miss Marples on Steroids or possibly gin and valium when I get much, much older!!

I enjoyed the book and it's a definite 'recommend for this one'. I'm sure there will be more in pipeline?" D M Harrison Amazon review

Catch up on Granny Smith now.

It's Miss Marple on steroids!









It's an un-cozy crime and although her wild oats may have long turned to All Bran, Granny still knows how to misbehave with the best of them.

“It’s Miss Marple on steroids.”

A brutal murder in a small Welsh village and the police are stuck without a clue. With no motive and no real suspect the investigation soon grinds to a halt. Enter Mary Alice Smith, otherwise known as Granny Smith, the rock music loving, pipe smoking, chaos causing amateur sleuth with a difference.

Granny has a talent for mayhem and soon those talents are put to good use as our intrepid pensioner starts the unravel the case, which finds her provoking Chief Inspector Miskin as she comes up against a full scale police investigation, proving that you’re never too old to make a nuisance of yourself and that sixty three is actually the new twenty three.

Murder's never been so much fun.

CLICK HERE