The Temple Scroll

The Temple Series

The Temple Legacy – making #1 in its Amazon.com categories

One of the biggest problems faced by independent authors is achieving visibility in a very busy international marketplace. It’s tough, though I have been happy with the progress made during the past couple of years. Even so, following publication of The Temple Deliverance, the fourth book in the series, I decided to try a little extra promotional push at the start of the summer.

The goal was to raise awareness of my work amongst more readers in both the UK and USA. The particular focus was on the first book in the series, The Temple Legacy, using the BookBub advertising platform for the main thrust of a discount promotion campaign.

The results surpassed my highest hopes. I am really delighted with the outcome. The Temple Legacy made number one in two separate categories at Amazon.com during the promotion.

The Temple Legacy’s achievement as badged on Amazon.com:

This post is written in large part to express my gratitude to all those readers who previously chanced upon my writing and were prepared to invest their time in reading the novels. Thank you, your early commitment provided the encouragement that supported my writing of the full series.

Thank you too, to all those many, many readers who chose to engage with my recent publicity drive; you propelled The Temple Legacy to number one in its categories at Amazon.com, the world’s biggest online bookstore – brilliant.

and

Still savouring the pleasure of seeing The Temple Legacy hit number one spot in its Amazon.com bookshop categories, I chanced upon another Amazon.com nugget that truly delighted me. This is something that might not happen too often – perhaps only with the frequency of lightning striking twice. So I was pleased to snatch the freeze frame shown below.

On one day only, in Amazon.com’s Most Popular Author Rank – Action & Adventure Category, D.C. Macey and the Temple Series were placed at 25, ranked above George R.R. Martin with his Game of Thrones series at 26!

I have been absolutely thrilled at the response to my marketing and publicity push of late June/early July and intend to undertake some further promotional activities soon. In the meantime, I’m very much aware there is more writing to be done. I hope my next work will prove of interest to readers too – more on that later.

Once again, a sincere thank you to all readers, old and new.

With my very best wishes. D.C.

The Temple Deliverance

15th March 2019 / D.C Macey / 0 Comments

I’m delighted to announce that The Temple Deliverance is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Do take a look at this fourth book in The Temple series at your regular Amazon store. You can place a pre-order there now to ensure your copy of The Temple Deliverance is automatically delivered to you on 6th April – the novel’s general release day.

United States: Amazon.com

United Kingdom: Amazon.co.uk

Australia: Amazon.com.au

Canada: Amazon.ca

The Temple Covenant -Pre-order & Publication

24th March 2018 / D.C Macey / 0 Comments

I’m delighted to report that The Temple Covenant, book 3 of The Temple series, is now on pre-order with Amazon and you can access it right now from here. Just follow the link to your home Amazon store:

Amazon.com customers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BNPQFF9

Amazon.co.uk customers: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BNPQFF9

Amazon.au customers: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07BNPQFF9

Amazon.ca customers: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07BNPQFF9

The Temple Covenant will be released on 7th April and I’m looking forward to seeing it go live. Please do have a look now, and remember, when you pre-order The Temple Covenant eBook it will be delivered directly to your reading device on publication day – once ordered there are no further actions required and no fuss.

Over the next few days, I’ll be busy checking over the finishing touches to the print book version and it will be available for order a few days after the Amazon eBook goes live. The Apple iBook and Kobo release will follow in sequence a little after that. Then it’s straight on with book 4, which I’m very excited about and hope to see released towards the end of the year.

I do hope you enjoy The Temple Covenant and thanks to you all for having taken the time to read my previous works. Thanks too, for all the kind messages of support I have received along the way, they are all very much appreciated and truly treasured.

With best wishes,

D.C.

The Temple Covenant

The Temple Scroll

27th September 2016 / D.C Macey / 0 Comments

The Temple Scroll is my second novel and I’m delighted that it’s now available to readers through all the planned channels.

The Temple Scroll

There has been a little delay in announcing the official release while all the channels were harmonised. Happily, everything is now in line and I’m certain the few extra days wait have been worth it.

This second book in The Temple series has been a real pleasure to write. Looking over it now, I’m very happy with the way pacing, action and some scary parts weave together as the narrative flows towards its conclusion.

Now it’s out, I’m particularly looking forward to learning what readers think, and that will be very useful while I’m busy writing the third book, which I’m really excited about too. If you would like to express an opinion or ask a question, please do feel free to send me a message via the contact facility on www.dcmacey.com.

Thanks to you all for your support. Best wishes,

DCM.

Edinburgh Festival 2016

6th August 2016 / D.C Macey / 0 Comments

It’s Festival time again and as usual, there’s Lots to see and do – it’s looking really exciting.

Edinburgh International Book Festival 2016 – Programme

After a hectic few weeks, there’s finally a bit of time to take the foot of the gas and enjoy the festivals. And like every year, there’s so much to take in it’s going to be impossible to see even a fraction of the shows and events that catch the eye.

I’m mainly focusing on two areas this year, the Book Festival and the Festival Fringe – including some comedy and two or three exhibitions that look really interesting.

I’ve already organised tickets for some Book Festival events. There are several writers who I think are going to give really interesting talks. The Book Festival always has such a good atmosphere that I’ll be dropping in to visit on other occasions too, just to wander about and soak it all in – maybe take in one or two extra events in the process. I’ll look forward to passing on some observations as the Book Festival plays through.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016 – Programme

It’s a similar approach for the Fringe Festival. With so many shows on offer, it’s almost a fulltime job just to study the programme. Edinburgh is such a big event that just about every well-known comedian and performer turns up to do a gig at some point. So I’ve booked up a couple of shows that we know we’ll enjoy. Then plan to follow the performance reviews as they’re published to see what’s catching attention – to pick out something extra to see. Finally, we’ll mix in a bit of pot luck, just drop in and take what’s on offer.

Should be lots of fun. I highly recommend the whole experience. If you haven’t been before just try it. Follow the links to check out the programmes. There really is plenty of choice with lots to suit every conceivable taste.

Checking Out the River Wye

11th July 2016 / D.C Macey / 0 Comments

River Wye at Hay-on-Wye

Another research trip recently found me tracing the course of the river Wye. For part of its length, the river marks the border between England and Wales, so it’s loaded with historical resonance. The tranquil scenes today belie events of times past.

I made this trip to do some final checks before the Temple Scroll goes live. Just as well I did. I came across a small but material change in the appearance of one scene – sorted it with an appropriate tweak once I got home.

Clearly, if something in the physical world changes after publication, that’s beyond anyone’s control, but it’s good to make sure things are as they should be at the outset.

I started at Hay-on-Wye. As a writer, it seemed an appropriate place to start. For this part of the trip, I think I had got my scheduling about right. The Hay Festival had finished a couple of weeks previously and the influx of summer visitors were yet to arrive in any great numbers. So it was perfect for wandering around and taking in the town.

Hay-on-Wye, quiet street

From Hay I moved downstream, taking in a range of locations. I spent a bit of time in Hereford, which gave me time for a visit to the Cider Museum, it’s the natural place to find a cider museum – Hereford’s the home of Bulmer’s Cider. Then, before crossing the river and continuing my journey south, I paid a visit to Hereford Cathedral, a building that has always impressed me – more about this on another occasion.

Hereford Cathedral

Once out of Hereford, I followed the Wye all the way downstream to Chepstow, where it joins the River Severn. I’m avoiding adding too much detail at this point since I don’t want to give anything away and spoil the story.

Chepstow Castle

Check out the riverbanks; the grey brown mud highlights the tidal range here, which is enormous. Of course, the Wye’s feeding into the Severn estuary, which is reputed to have the second highest tidal range in the world – way over forty feet. It’s very impressive.

Sufficient to say, things were as I had last seen them and after a day of nosing about, I happily moved on.

It was at Bristol where I found the item that necessitated an adjustment to the script. It was just a little thing, a minor difference in my understanding of the traffic routing – but it influenced how events played out in the Temple Scroll so I was pleased to catch the snag. And hats off to Bristol, they have managed to do a great job of revitalising the old docks. It’s a really vibrant place and a pleasure to visit day or night. Thanks too, to the guys at the London Camera Exchange in Baldwin Street – they sorted out my camera problem with the minimum fuss and maximum efficiency.

Then it was on to Bristol Airport, and home.

Research Trip to Inchcolm Island

9th June 2016 / D.C Macey / 0 Comments

RESEARCH TRIP TO INCHCOLM ISLAND

Inchcolm Abbey, looking west across the island.

My recent research trip to Inchcolm Island in the Firth of Forth caught the best weather of the season so far. A great day, it confirmed what I needed to know and threw up an unexpected mystery too.

Inchcolm is a fabulous little island, with loads of interesting things to see. Being pretty well protected from modern development means its history is well preserved. There’s a bit of everything from ancient burials to wartime gun emplacements. Of course, there’s the local wildlife too.

It’s where I’ve set the opening chapter of The Temple Scroll – the second book in The Temple series. So I thought I’d better revisit to make sure things are as they were when I started the book. I was happy to find it’s the same haven of tranquillity that I encountered last time around – history and nature unsullied. Inchcolm offers the perfect starting point for this thriller, the island’s ordered calm a clear counterpoint to the rough ride and dangers that lie ahead for the characters. Satisfied that my facts were as they should be, I relaxed and soaked up the peaceful atmosphere of Inchcolm Island. While I was disappointed not to see any puffins this time around, there’s no doubt this place really does belong to nature.

Inchcolm Abbey from the sea.

Then something caught my attention – I spotted the gnomes. All sitting quite happily on their own little islet, chatting to the gulls – and I’m sure one gnome did actually have a fishing line. I loved them, so incongruous. How did they get there? How do they manage to keep their place during stormy weather? It’s all a mystery.

The Inchcolm Gnomes

On the ferry back to South Queensferry I decided I had to know more about these island gnomes. Who is in charge? Why are they there? Are they trapped or are they escapees? The gnomes had seeded some story thoughts in a genre as far removed from The Temple series as it’s possible to get! I started making notes, simply because the gnomes wouldn’t leave me. However, once they had taken me as far as the Costa del Gnome, I knew it was time to fight back. I had to put the notebook down and abandon ship, it was definitely time to stop!

On another cheery note about the denizens of Inchcolm, I couldn’t help but notice some of the seals are exploiting modern technology. I spotted this gang hanging out on a nice comfy navigation buoy, catching a few rays between dips – good for them, looks like they own it now.

Inchcolm Seals – taking a break.

Our trip wrapped with the passage beneath the Forth Bridge, which is as stunning a climax as you could want. A perfect ending and with the bridge’s own story in mind, it offers a great transition from the nature and history of the islands back into our industrial world.