I'm an author who loves to entertain by writing crime fiction, true crime, and talk about publishing. Subscribe to my newsletter (usually two every month) to keep in the loop, get access to free and discounted deals, and enter my monthly giveaway contest.
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Author Stephen Bentley's September Newsletter
Published 17 days ago • 6 min read
Welcome to the Newsletter
Hello Reader,
Welcome to the newsletter to all readers, old and new. Let's get straight to the monthly giveaway. For those who don't know, this is a monthly giveaway run by author Stephen Bentley. This month there are 2 prizes for one winner and they are a single prize of any one of his published digital (eBooks) books delivered electronically to the winner for free, and a paperback edition of Mercilessshipped to that same winner for free [once Merciless is published].
The December giveaway will be also one winner with an Amazon £50 GBP/$50 USD gift card as the prize plus any one of his published eBooks.
Click the image below to enter.
Special Offer
My chart-topping book about my undercover days is now reduced in price at Amazon. Read it and discover why so many film companies want to turn it into a TV series.
Click the cover to grab that price while it lasts or if you prefer, you can pre-order the Penguin Books edition by clicking the second cover. However, both books are essentially the same.
Book Promos
As usual, click the images/covers to see all the books in the promos. Some are free and some not.
Free Books - Suspense Thrillers
KU Kindle Unlimited True Crime and Crime Fiction
Newsletter Swap
Please click the cover of the book written by an author good enough to swap mentions in their newsletters with me.
FREE in Kindle Unlimited
A police officer is determined to save a missing child. Can she outwit the powerful people behind his abduction before he's gone forever?
Audiobooks
You may wonder why I now promote Spotify over Audible. Part of the answer lies in this Spotify mission statement:
Spotify's mission is to "unlock the potential of human creativity". This involves giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and providing billions of fans with access to a wide range of music and audio content, while also aiming to revolutionize all of audio. Spotify strives to be the world's number one global audio platform, offering a space where different forms of artistic expression, ideas, perspectives, and voices are welcomed.
Put more simply, I earn more in royalties from Spotify than from Audible. The latter's royalty payment structure is shrouded in mystery but more to the point, it pays peanuts to the audiobook creators like me and the narrators.
I have free Spotify codes for you to listen to some of my audiobooks. You can do that by opening a free Spotify account and requesting redemption codes for the following books:
Click the images to see more details.
Please note these codes are for review purposes only but Spotify only permits you to leave a rating so easy peasy if you want to add audiobooks to your device and/or try them out.
They include the first two books written in a pen name and many Stephen Bentley titles.
I also have codes for Spotify for other audiobooks all shown below Just ask me for codes for any books you fancy listening to and then leave a rating on Spotify as well as a review on Amazon and perhaps Google Books.
Click on the images for full details of each audiobook.
Who The F*ck Am I? was Book One in the Steve Regan Undercover Cop Thrillers but was replaced by Duplicity.
Many of you will have read my free book Rogue Agent which is Who The F*ck Am I? in an updated guise.
I still have some Audible free codes but don't shout about it because Audible sucks! I really do believe they rip off subscribers and their audiobook creators. Long Live Spotify!
Crime Reads Article: The Old Man and the Gun is a Happy Memory
Olivia Rutigliano looks at Robert Redford's bank-robbing pseudo-swan-song
Click the image above to read the full piece.
All Stephen Bentley and Pen Names' Books on Pre-order
They include Shadows Over Middleclere, Book One in the new Middleclere Mystery series set in 1960s rural England. It is penned by KJ Cornwall but at one time it was to be an addition to the Stephen Bentley catalogue.
The eBook was released on August 31 at Amazon and scheduled for September 4 at all other retailers. The paperback was published on August 31.
Click the cover to order.
It ended up as a KJ Cornwall book because the primary genre is that of a cosy mystery mimicking the golden age of British detective mysteries. This era is characterised by the popularity of "whodunit" mysteries, often featuring closed settings like country houses and a focus on puzzle-solving.
The closed setting in my book is the fictional and quintessential English village of Middleclere.
Unlike the Jessie Harper and Khan books, there are no paranormal aspects to the book nor the series.
The book seemed a better fit for KJ than Stephen because as I think you will agree, my Stephen Bentley books are primarily no holds-barred thrillers.
However, because it is a good read, I think many of my mystery/thrillers fans will enjoy Shadows Over Middleclere.
The Other Pre-Orders
As a full time writer, these books are in the pipeline and in various stages of development. They are staggered for release from September this year through to March 2026. All pre-orders are now priced at 99 cents/pence.
Merciless, Book 7 and finale to the Matt Deal series. (provisional release date October 30)
Bloodline Vendetta, Book 5 in the Steve Regan Undercover Cop Thrillers.(November 20)
Dark Web, Book 2, L.A. Cyber Noir Mysteries.(December 16)
A Ship Full of Secrets, (KJ Cornwall), Book 6 in the Jessie Harper Paranormal Cozy Mysteries. (January 15 2026)
Still Waters (Yvette Caron), A Domestic Thriller. (January 15 2026)
The Final Betrayal, Book 6 in the Steve Regan Undercover Cop Thrillers. (March 26 2026)
Another Pen Name Revealed
It's time to let you know I have two books on pre-order written in the pen name of Ash Calder.
They are both aimed at the YA market. One is a YA Fantasy titled The Elsewhere Paradox and will be released on February 26 2026.
The other is The Fractured Sky: The Shattered Realms epic fantasy series to be released in May 2026.
I know many of you won't be interested in YA fantasy but some will, and in any event, all of you may know readers who are interested and devour books in this genre so please let them know all about them.
Click the covers for more details.
Words matter. In this world, they can kill.
Words matter. In this world, they can kill.
When a tight-knit group of teenagers wakes up in a town identical to their own, they think it’s just another strange dream—or maybe a weird simulation. But something is deeply off. People smile and nod, say all the right things… but never actually mean them. Unless they do. In this bizarre mirror-world, language is a weapon, and misunderstanding can be fatal. A friendly “Good luck” might curse you. A casual “I’d die for you” could trigger tragedy. Every conversation is a riddle. Every relationship, a minefield. The rules are unclear, the consequences dangerously real—and the only way to survive is to find someone who always speaks the truth… if that’s even possible. As the group navigates lies wrapped in truths and truths cloaked in lies, tensions flare and secrets unravel. Trust becomes the rarest currency—and one wrong word could shatter everything. Perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood, They Both Die at the End, and The Maze Runner, The Elsewhere Paradox is a mind-bending YA fantasy filled with surreal twists, emotional suspense, and a sharp satirical edge about the world we live in—where sometimes the most dangerous thing you can do is tell the truth.
A broken world. A forbidden relic. A boy with no magic—until now.
A broken world. A forbidden relic. A boy with no magic—until now.
Seventeen-year-old scholar Kaelen Veyne never expected greatness. But when he discovers the Celestine Core, an artifact from before the Sundering, he awakens a power that makes him the most hunted person in the skies. Fleeing aboard a rogue skyship with the daring Captain Lyra Dain, Kaelen is thrust into a deadly chase across storm-wracked realms and shadowed forests. The relic could reunite a shattered world… or destroy it forever. One relic. One choice. One chance to save the sky. Perfect for fans of ‘Throne of Glass’ and ‘Six of Crows.’
I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter. If you did, a pre-order or buy one of my books from my catalogue would truly be appreciated. I'm a full time writer, ya' know :)
Former British undercover cop and barrister (trial attorney) turned writer
I'm an author who loves to entertain by writing crime fiction, true crime, and talk about publishing. Subscribe to my newsletter (usually two every month) to keep in the loop, get access to free and discounted deals, and enter my monthly giveaway contest.
Welcome to KJ Cornwall's Newsletter Hello Reader, Welcome to the newsletter, readers old and new. In case you don't know, KJ Cornwall is a pen name of Stephen Bentley. He writes cosy mysteries in that name and true crime and thrillers in his own name of Stephen Bentley. Maybe that is the reason for seeing the British and American cosy and cozy in these newsletters. Although KJ Cornwall is a pen name for the British Stephen Bentley, "cozy" has always been used for the Jessie Harper series...
Welcome to the Newsletter Hello Reader, Welcome to the newsletter to all readers, old and new. Let's get straight to the monthly giveaway. For those who don't know, this is a monthly giveaway run by author Stephen Bentley with a single prize of any one of his digital (eBooks) books delivered electronically to the winner for free. The December giveaway will be also one winner with an Amazon £50 GBP/$50 USD gift card as the prize plus any one of his eBooks. Click the image below to enter....
Welcome to the Newsletter Hello Reader, Welcome to the mid-July edition of Stephen Bentley's newsletter. First off, the winner of the July giveaway contest was Lalita from Florida, the United States who chose Mayhem as her prize. Congratulations, Lalita! Book Promos As usual, click the images/covers to see all the books in the promos. Free Thriller Books You Can't Put Down More Free Chilling Thrillers - Beneath the Surface, Fear Awaits Audiobooks Manhunt is now on Audible as an audiobook....
