by Rosie Walker
Find your new mark
Identify your next mark to frame for your future crimes. Start this process before you commit any new crimes.
Prepare to leave everything behind at any moment and accept that no one will know you ever existed. But you did exist, and you will continue. We are hunters; superior human predators who adapt and hone our skills for this evolutionary arms race, and we will continue to kill despite the limitations of this inferior society and its laws.
Don’t forget, in the words of the Zodiac Killer: ‘Man is the most dangerous animal of all.’
Comments are closed.
THE END
If you enjoyed Secrets of a Serial Killer, be sure to follow Rosie Walker on Twitter @ciderwithrosie, on Facebook @rosiewalkerauthor, and check out their website at www.rosiejanewalker.com for all the updates on their latest work.
You can also find us at @0neMoreChapter_ on Twitter and @0neMoreChapter on Facebook where we’ll be shouting about all our new releases.
Acknowledgements
To you, the readers of my debut novel: thank you for taking a chance on this book. I hope you enjoyed reading it. If you did, please recommend it to a friend, talk about it on social media, or post a review somewhere like GoodReads or Amazon. It’s astounding how much difference word of mouth can make to an author at the start of their career. Thank you!
A novel isn’t written by just one person. There is a whole crowd of kind, interesting and imaginative people behind Secrets of a Serial Killer, and I’d like to try and thank some of them, as the novel wouldn’t be the same without them.
I am so lucky to have a collection of fantastic writer friends, many of whom were kind enough to read multiple drafts and talk over ideas throughout the writing of this novel.
A huge “thank you” goes to Suzy Pope, my first reader, trash-TV-and gin-friend, and fantastic fellow writer. She read this novel almost as many times as I did and never once complained, providing so much useful advice, helpful points and enthusiasm. I couldn’t have got here without Suzy, and have learned so much from her.
My friend Colm Boyd has been invaluable throughout the entire writing process: always at the end of the phone to offer his thoughts on every little snag and niggle. He also provided some amazing suggestions for what the dregs of the internet might say in a comments thread.
Massive thanks also to Laura Gavin, Lauren Humphries-Brooks, Anna Eberts, Chanoch Wiggers and Dave Shedden who all read this novel and offered their thoughts on its various phases and stages. And thank you to Louis Kitchen, a really talented photographer who cheerfully wandered around Edinburgh one winter afternoon with a camera trying to capture my good side.
As a student on the University of Edinburgh’s Creative Writing MSc in 2010/2011, I met many of the writer friends that I still call on for their advice and expertise. That remains one of the most enjoyable years of my life, yet I am surprised I can remember any of it due to the amount of alcohol we consumed. Nevertheless, the people, the course, and its workshops made me the writer I am today. Thank you to all of my fellow students from that course, and the fantastic tutors we were lucky to learn from: Robert Alan Jamieson, Dilys Rose, Allyson Stack, Lesley Glaister and Alan Warner.
So many people answered questions, explained concepts and pointed me in the right direction while researching. For their patience and assistance with factual matters, I’d like to thank Fraser Neasham for his expertise on property development, Jamie Bartlett for his insight into the dark web, Naomi Parsons at Lancaster City Museum for pointing me towards so many fantastic historical resources, and the members of the Lancaster Moor Hospital and Royal Albert Facebook groups, who share so many memories of their time working there when it was in operation. Any factual errors or purposeful adjustments are my own.
I’d also like to thank the security guard who was on patrol the day I tried to sneak through a gap in the perimeter fence at the derelict Lancaster Moor Hospital site in 2008. I still don’t know how he materialised from nowhere and how he found us so quickly, but I admire his professionalism and determination in not allowing us one step inside the grounds, despite my very persuasive lie that I was a photography student who wanted to take photographs of the building. Without him, this novel would not exist. Thanks also to Chris Steedman and Dave Steedman, who have been by my side for almost every moment of mild misbehaviour since 2003.
From this whole writing process, I have learned that the writing and publishing industry is packed full of really, truly nice people. Even rejection letters are kindly written. I’d like to thank the amazing people who took my manuscript and made it into a book:
My literary agent Charlotte Robertson at Robertson Murray, who saw promise in the early manuscript and pushed hard for it to be a thousand times better than it was when I first submitted it. I’ve learned so much working with Charlotte and am a better writer because of her.
I’m delighted to be part of the Harper Collins / One More Chapter family, who have been so great to work with over the last few months, in particular the amazing editors Hannah Todd, Bethan Morgan, Laura McCallen and Paul Sellars. I’m so lucky to work with such a talented team, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
And it’s very important to thank the people who literally made me who I am: my Mum, Dad and sister: Hilary, Alan and Emily Walker. As a toddler I stalked them around the house with a book in my hand demanding that someone read to me. They fostered my interest in stories and writing, and (mostly) said yes to my book-related demands.
Finally, Kevin: I am so grateful for his unwavering support and patience while I tore my hair out over this novel. I am very lucky to have a husband who not only lets me throw myself into many ridiculous whims and challenges, but also cheers me on while I’m doing it and picks me up off the ground if I fall flat on my face. He’s a keeper.
About the Author
Rosie Walker is a novelist who lives in Edinburgh with her husband Kevin and their dog Bella. ‘Secrets of a Serial Killer’ is her debut novel, “an edge-of-your-seat serial killer thriller that you won’t be able to put down”.
Rosie has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh and an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Lancaster University.
@ciderwithrosie
@rosiewalkerauthor
Author website
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
India
HarperCollins India
A 75, Sector 57
Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India
www.harpercollins.co.in
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com
cale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share