William Shaw Books

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William Shaw is a former journalist and author that writes crime fiction novels. Shaw has lived an exciting life. His work has taken him to interesting places. When he wasn’t interacting with neo-Nazi Christians, the author was in the Utah desert observing the lives of Stone Age survivalists and firing rifles alongside Zionist fundamentalists.

It took Shaw longer than most to find his footing in the publishing arena. The author started writing fiction during his days as a journalist. His children came along at one point, momentarily sidetracking Shaw.

But eventually, he got back on the horse and started writing. Those books, which he wrote in the 80s and 2000s, never saw the light of day. Shaw’s agent was not impressed by his work.

He thought that the author was better off dedicating his life to nonfiction. Because the agent in question was quite good at his job, Shaw was tempted to listen. He was ready to throw two decades of hard work away.

But after stagnating for a year, Shaw came to an important realization. Successful fiction writers triumphed because they refused to give up. They had a compulsion to tell stories that hounded them.
He had that same itch, and it pushed him to give fiction another shot. He sat down to write his first crime fiction novel, produced ten pages, and quickly realized that he was finally home.

He belonged to the crime fiction genre. Shaw is not afraid to admit that he was envious of his younger colleagues, some of whom entered the publishing field as fully formed writers at the tender age of 23.
But the author did not regret the three decades it had taken him to identify his calling. Even before his agent had revealed the truth, Shaw knew that his first three novels were terrible. He could see his mistakes and the mess he had made with his stories.

But because of his experience, Shaw also knew within the first ten pages of his crime fiction novel that he had a winner on his hands. And fortunately, he was right.

Shaw doesn’t have a specific source of inspiration. His ideas can originate from anywhere. He will read a story and re-imagine it from a different character’s point of view.

Once an idea takes root, Shaw will play with it in his mind until it forms a definitive shape. The author has a strong support network that includes Jane, his partner.

She acts as his sounding board. When Shaw starts asking questions about his story and characters, Jane knows that he doesn’t want her to answer. Rather, he just needs to talk aloud until the answers become apparent.

The author has people that see early drafts of his manuscript, including some members of his writer’s group. Besides using Scrivener to write, he keeps an iPad on hand at all times just in case he needs to jot down ideas.

He prefers the tablet to a notebook because he can back up his ideas on the cloud. He doesn’t have to worry about losing them.

William Shaw Awards

Shaw has received nominations for Barry, CWA Historical Dagger, and Golden Bullet Awards.

Best William Shaw Books

The author had the privilege of being in the same writing group as CJ Samson before Samson’s first book was published. Shaw’s best books include:

The Birdwatcher: South is not quite what he seems. The birdwatcher also doubles as a detective, and he’s quite brilliant. But people don’t realize that he was responsible for a man’s death during his childhood.

When another birdwatcher dies, South panics. The victim could have connected South to his crime, and now he was dead. South had to keep a lid on the truth, but that was easier said than done. He had a new partner, a female sergeant working side by side with South to investigate the crime.

Salt Lane: DS Cupidi was starting over on the Kent coastline. A scandal had forced the detective to relocate from the London Met. But her new home was no stranger to murder.

The victim drowned in a slurry pit. The evidence suggested that someone had herded the North African man into the pit. But the other fruit pickers had nothing to say to Cupidi. Questions made them suspicious. It will take quite a bit of creativity for the detective to squeeze the answers she needs out of her strange new home.

When Does The Next William Shaw book come out?

William Shaw doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Wild Swimmers and was released on May, 23rd 2024. It is the newest book in the DS Alexandra Cupidi Series.

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