Stalked to a place of no return - with luck

To say that I'm bowled over by sales of STALKERS would be the understatement of all time.

Well over a week ago we had sold 15,000 copies of the ebook, and I've seen with my own eyes that the paperback, which was launched last Valentine's Day, is now a noticeable presence on the shelves in Waterstones, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons (on the 'news cube', no less), as well as in various of the independents.

The book is currently 13th in the Kindle Bestsellers list, 1st in Kindle Suspense, 4th in Kindle Mystery and 4th in Kindle Thrillers.

Obviously this has surpassed my wildest expectations. The reviews are also pouring in, and thus far the majority are very positive. For example, top crime blogger Keith Walters, writing on BOOKS AND WRITERS really seems to have enjoyed it.

I'm not going to quote the whole of his review here, but I can certainly highlight a few choice snippets:

In a time where the daily news events seem to worryingly wash over us, regardless of just how grim some true life horrors seem to be, Finch has still managed, in a similar vein to authors like Stuart MacBride, to come up with something that really is a tough at times but, nevertheless, very rewarding read.

Stalkers is a very dark premise and read but, as a result and of the fast paced narrative, it’ll have you by the throat until you get to the end.

I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Heck when the second book in the series ‘Sacrifice’ is released.

I have to say that writing for Avon Books has been nothing less than a joy. Of course, it always helps when you find yourself on exactly the same page as your editor, but even so this has been a near pain-free experience. No novel can be completed without a certain amount of rewriting and restructuring - that's par for the course - but the whole process at Avon has been pleasant and positive. I've only ever left their offices at HarperCollins in a state of excitement and satisfaction.

So thanks for that, ladies. You folks have been amazing. Thanks also for your sterling efforts on the marketing front. STALKERS isn't all over the place at present by accident.

Just out of interest, a bunch of readers have now asked me if Blacksand Tower, the derelict sea-fort in the mouth of the Thames estuary, where one of the book's most brutal action sequences takes place, is a real location. I must confess that it isn't, but that it is loosely based on Redsand Tower (pictured at the top), a similar structure and part of the TESDU defence network, which was constructed during World War Two, the idea being to engage German bombers navigating towards London along the Thames.

Anyway, on a slightly different matter, there are big moves afoot with regard to DARK HOLLOW, the movie adaptation of Brian Keene's best-selling horror novel, which I wrote with DEVIL'S ROCK director Paul Campion a couple of years ago.

The movie now looks as if it will be a New Zealand/Canadian co-production, with the aim to shoot in Ontario and post-produce in Wellington. Sales agents RAVEN BANNER have been heavily pushing the project at the Berlin Film Market.

More news on these cool developments as I get them. But in the meantime, hope you enjoy this Raven Banner advert, which appeared in Variety Magazine recently - yep, this is the kind of hairy, horny brute you may one day wake up and find hypnotising your wife - if you lived in Dark Hollow of course. (Thanks to Russss for the top piccie).