In my final blog of the year, I provide an update to DI Christie and discuss the year that has been.
I Am Mine is the fifth in the DI Joanne Christie series and a bit of a change to other books I have written. Firstly, it is my first attempt at a locked room mystery, which is something that I have been wanting to do for a long time, before I finally wrote one as a short story. As I’ve stated before, this story was shelved following the decision of the publishers not to proceed with the planned anthology it was to be included in. This allowed me to use it as the basis for this novel and add a few extra threads to the story.
Another thing that is different, and without trying to give too many spoilers away, is that it is not so much a whodunnit, rather than how they done it. What I mean by this, is there is not the usual long list of suspects for you to choose from, although there is an element of trying to work things out as is expected in a crime novel. I’ll leave it at that and hope that you go on to read and enjoy this.
On top of the novel, I have also written a short story that is currently under consideration for publication. I should find out around the end of April if it has been selected and, if not, may submit it elsewhere or just publish it on this website. It’s a bit different to other stories that I have written as, although there is a small element of crime involved, that is not that main essence of the story. I enjoyed writing that one, so really hope I can share it soon.
The final thing to state is that I will be taking a, hopefully, short pause with the Christie series. I may do a blog in the new year about my plans for 2026, however, I have 4 separate writing projects to deal with before I go onto book 6 of the series. The first involves completing a novella that I am currently writing and nearing completion. I then have a novel that was co-authored to edit and publish and another novella to edit and publish. Finally, I plan to write the first of a new series which will be queried rather than self-published initially.
As three out of the four projects are already written/nearing completion, I only have 1 full novel to write before I can reacquaint myself with Christie. I have a couple of ideas what happens next and I did leave the last novel with a bit of a cliffhanger, so I won’t be waiting too long before getting started with it.
I wouldn’t do that to those who are excited to find out what’s to come…
Thanks again for reading my blog. Links to DI Christie number 5, and all my other novels, is contained within the Books tab of this website. If you haven’t already, please consider signing up for notifications when a new blog is posted (subscribe at the bottom of the Home page) and follow me on your social media of choice (see Links tab of this website for more details). Finally, I hope you have a great 2026.
Ross Alexander Writer 