VALERIE Keogh has recently published her first novel ‘That One May Smile’ as the beginning of a crime/romance series.
The story is set in an Irish suburb Foxrock, and follows Sergeant Mike West from Cornwall to Cork on the trail of a tangled case involving identity theft, blackmail, and illegal drugs.
Mike West is a member of the Irish Guard who is called into action when a man disappears before a body is found in the graveyard behind his house. To make matters worse, he must battle an irritating and inappropriate attraction to the vanished man’s wife. Author Valerie, whose real surname is Dickenson, is an NHS nurse who lives in Melksham.
She came up with the idea for her book while walking in the Place Road churchyard. Valerie has an MA in American literature and cites Ngaio Marsh, Georgette Heyer, and Agatha Christie as her main influences.
She said, “I’ve had some really good reviews which is great, and my sales, although I won’t give up the day job just yet, are slow but sure.
“I hope to have the first draft of the sequel finished in about 3 weeks, and then comes the really hard work of going over it again and again!”
Valerie, who has also written under the pen-name Sam East said, “Pen names are the grown-up version of dressing up! I can be whoever I want. It also gives me the freedom to write different novels rather than being stuck with one type and one genre.
“My mother, whose surname is Keogh, was thrilled when I showed her the cover of the novel on my Kindle.”
‘That One May Smile’ by Valerie Keogh has received only five star reviews and is available on the Amazon Kindle store.