A Ramsgate author whose debut books for a new crime series were published this year is now in the running for a writers’ award.
Lee Holness, who writes under the pen name of E S Meyer, published Tide of Bones in March and The Quiet Harbour in April.
The series features leading Detective Mara Ellison and is based in locations across the isle.
Both books are now nominated for the Kindle Storyteller award.
Dad-of-four Lee has a seven book series planned and book three Beneath the Chalk is due to be published on May 29.
He has also started a spin off series with Ds Ellison’s sidekick DS Finn Rourke taking the main role. This book, Drift Line, has a story around County Lines and is due to be published on June 5.
The Kindle Storyteller Award is a £20,000 literary prize recognising outstanding writing. It is open to writers publishing in English in any genre, who publish their work through Kindle Direct Publishing during the submission period.
Readers play a significant role in selecting the winner, helped by a panel of judges including various book industry experts.
Previous winners include Pip Landers-Letts and J D Kirk.
Lee, 38, is a fan of crime thrillers and reads authors including Michael Connolly and Karin Slaughter and LJ Ross who inspired him.
The dad-of-four has meticulously planned his stories, saying: “I have mapped out the entire series, the crimes, the suspects, the red herrings, the victims, right down to the investigation and when each clue comes out. I have a workflow document I follow to make sure I don’t slip up.”
Lee sets to work once his children – aged six, four, two and one- are in bed and has been supported throughout the process by his wife Sophie.
The former Ramsgate School student now has to wait as the Kindle award winners are not revealed until September.
The books are stocked at Westgate Galleria and Turner Rowe in Ramsgate.
Find the books on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GRSRCL82
Good Luck
Should get plenty of raw material for crime books in Thanet!