What readers are saying…
“Loved this even better than the first.”: BB (Facebook review)
‘Finished the last chapter. Loved it, again! Great read.” Betty (Facebook review)
“I was really intrigued by Deception Under Maltese Skies. The mix of ambition, justice, and personal unraveling set against Malta’s striking backdrop feels like the kind of story that sparks layered discussions. Marica Debono’s struggle between integrity and survival is exactly the sort of theme I love diving into.” Elena A
Behind the scenes
Deception Under Maltese Skies is Book 1 in The Malta Series but it is my second book..what? It’s a prequel, why? It wasn’t the plan. I always intended to only write one book – The Maltese Web. I have enjoyed writing for a very long time and having achieved the goal of publishing a novel, I thought I was ‘one and done‘.
The power of reader encouragement
I had a second book bubbling away inside of me, I simply needed to write it!. However, I received such lovely feedback and encouragement, that the second story I had planned and started writing, simply would not do. I needed to write a prequel to The Maltese Web.
Tell me more about Marica Debono!
The idea of a prequel came from several readers who told me how much they were drawn to Marica and a big thank you goes to my editor Cathie, who convinced me to make Marica the central character. Not only were readers drawn to Marica, they so admired her toughness and determination, in the face of many odds, that they wanted to know more about her. Why does she behave the way she does, what drives her and what has influenced her to be the person she is? And what did she do during the Farrugia incident which threw her career and life into peril? There were so many good questions that I could only do justice to Marica and answer those questions in a book that leads into The Maltese Web.
I will let you in on a secret.
When I first plotted out Deception, it was going to be a novella, a short novel of 20,000-30,000 words. My only guiding principles were to respond to the readers’ feedback and to have Marica show more of Malta to the reader. But as I delved deeper into Marica, the story grew and she kept drawing me into her background. I know that sounds weird, but as the story evolved I felt I understood Marica better. And now Carol and I discuss Marica as if she is a real person and debate if she would do something. And that is how I ended up with a book of approximately 100,000 words. Hopefully ‘Deception‘ is not only a cracking story but it also answers the questions about Marica, and that you, the reader, becomes further enamoured of Marica Debono, Malta’s best financial investigator.