OCTOBER has been a busy month for Stocksfield thriller writer LJ Ross.

Hitting shelves on Halloween is the first in the best-selling novelist’s latest book Impostor, which marks the first in a new trilogy.

The novel introduces readers to a new main protagonist criminal profiler Dr Alex Gregory, who some might recognise from the DCI Ryan series, where he previously featured as a minor character.

The new series will mark a change in scenery for LJ, as she moves away from her usual setting of Northumberland, and instead to a tiny rural community in Co. Mayo, Ireland where Alex is called to catch a serial killer.

An audio edition will also be released simultaneously, narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Hugh Dancy, who is best known for his role of criminal profiler Will Graham in the hit television series Hannibal.

Self-published LJ also revealed this week that she has launched own publishing imprint, Dark Skies Publishing. So far, her 15-title DCI Ryan series has been available to only a handful of independent book stores and libraries, but LJ will now offer print editions of her 18 titles to stores under Dark Skies Publishing in the first quarter of 2020.

LJ will offer similar terms and availability to booksellers as those offered by major publishers.

LJ said: “Making my books available to the trade for the first time is an exciting challenge. I don’t know of too many other authors who have taken the decision to manage this element themselves, but I feel my existing readership shows that demand for my books is strong, particularly in the UK, and I’m willing to take the punt and forge ahead.”