Friday 14 October 2016

Kindle Bestsellers


The Girl on the Train still sits pretty at the top of the Amazon Kindle charts and appears to be unstoppable at the moment. In second place, and at just 99p, is Girl on a Train, by A J Waines who either writes a brilliantly taut thriller or has poor prose, depending on which recommendation you read. It is interesting how many people have bought Waines book thinking it was the number one bestseller now a movie book, but hey, we’re all easily fooled.

Next in line on the chart is The Stranger in my Home, written by Adele Parks and again only 99p on the Kindle, followed by The Angel Tree and The Accident.

The Accident is a psychological thriller C L Taylor that has attracted 794 five-star reviews on Amazon, which is no mean feat. It tells the story of a mother whose daughter is run over by a bus and she ends up in a coma. As Sue Jackson, our heroine, retraces her daughter’s steps to find out what happened, she uncovers a murky world where no one is to be trusted.

Moving into the more expensive market, though hardly expensive but this is what Amazon is doing, we have Amanda Prowse novel My Husband’s Wife; a number one bestseller and still in the top ten. Following on from that there is The Hope That Kills, which is a rather angry name for a book; and All Fall Down, another gripping psychological thriller.

 

It seems to me that gripping psychological thrillers show no signs of diminishing in their returns, and any budding writer would probably do well to write a gripping psychological thriller rather than a children’s book for instance, which appears to have far less chance of getting out there.

I am currently writing a psychological thriller (whether it is gripping or not we shall have to wait and see) in the name of Sea of Ribbons. This book tells the story of a depressive who wakes in hospital and cannot remember who she is or why she is there. It contains a lot of imagery, which is taken from her dreams, and as the reader you do not know if she is in reality or just in her own imagination. Her search sees her leaving the hospital and trying to find the person who she thought she was in love with, only to discover that he was murdered and she has been framed for it. The culprit is masquerading as a nurse, and is intent to find and kill our amnesiac heroine.

Thrillers, it seems, will never fade as we all enjoy a good scare from time to time. Their popularity continues to be strong, and the willingness to try to replicate that success on the big screen doesn’t seem to be subsiding either.

So, if you are a writer, and you are stuck for a new idea, have a go at writing a thriller. Create a believable and flawed character, who the reader will root for when the chips are down, and then plunge him or her into some life-threatening scenarios. The limit is your own imagination.

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