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A J McDine

@ajmcdineauthor

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Psych thriller writer, mediocre tennis player, mum to 2 boys and 3 rescue cats 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ 🐈‍⬛
The Holiday Swap out 2026! 🇬🇷

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***COVER REVEAL***

I’m over the moon to reveal the cover and title of my next domestic thriller, The Holiday Swap.
Hot on the heels of The Greek Island, The Holiday Swap is another destination thriller... albeit this destination is a little closer to home. My home county of Kent, in fact!
Out on Thursday 30 July, it’s the perfect summer read. So my advance readers are telling me, anyway!

Here’s the blurb:

We’re broke.
The last thing we can afford is a holiday.
So when my husband Robin’s wealthy boss offers to swap houses for the week, it feels too good to be true.
The Lookout is all we could ever want: a stunning glass house perched high on the cliffs overlooking the sea.
Everything is perfect... until Robin’s old friend Pete turns up drunk in the middle of the night.
The next morning, I wake to find blood in the kitchen.
Pete is gone.
And Robin can’t remember a thing.
As I try to piece together what happened that night, I realise this was never an innocent house swap. Someone wanted us at The Lookout. And they’ll stop at nothing to make sure I never uncover the truth.
Because our week by the sea was never just a holiday. Everyone had an agenda. Everyone was keeping secrets and everyone was lying.
Even me.

Pre-order now and the book’ll pop straight onto your Kindle on release day. The link is here and in my bio. https://books2read.com/u/b65wYM

Adrian worked his usual magic on the cover and I love it, but I’d love to know what you think. Let me know in the comments! ⬇️

#destinationthriller #holidaythriller #holidayreading by @ajmcdineauthor

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3 months ago

Who likes our new bathroom ornament?! ❤️🐈‍⬛❤️

#catlove #tabbycat #authorcat by @ajmcdineauthor

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7 days ago

I’m 37k words into the next book and the scene I’m writing this afternoon is set on Blencathra in the Lake District. I’m glad we climbed it while we were there last month. Makes it so much easier to picture. Course, I’d rather be up there and not at my desk, but this is the next best thing. 😁

#blencathra #authorlife #inspiration by @ajmcdineauthor

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8 days ago

Is it really October or is someone playing a trick on me? 😂 I had breakfast outside after a run this morning and it was LOVELY! I must go inside now and do some writing as I’m so behind on the new book. 😬 But I’m going to try to whizz through those words so I can come back outside and enjoy the sun this afternoon. What are you up to on this glorious autumn gift of a day? ☀️

#sunnyday #authorlife #amrunning by @ajmcdineauthor

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12 days ago

We had such a fun morning talking all things self-publishing at @maidstonelitfest today. Hopefully everyone who came to see our workshop went away with some tips and tricks that will help them on their self-publishing journeys. 🥰

#maidstonelitfest2026 #selfpublishing #indieauthorsofinstagram by @ajmcdineauthor

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12 days ago

Charlie is VERY busy today… 🙄😂

#tuxedocatsofinstagram #authorscat #tuxedocat by @ajmcdineauthor

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17 days ago

When you agree (after two white wine spritzers, one G&T and half a bottle of red wine) to go for a run first thing on Sunday morning with your friend who is training for the London Marathon and you haven’t been running for about a month…
But it’s ok, cos you turned up in matchy matchy kit and you managed to keep up while having a chat despite the low-level hangover! 😂🏃‍♀️😂
Thanks for dragging me out @rebholzjulia 😘😘😘 by @ajmcdineauthor

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18 days ago

Adrian and I are thrilled to be appearing together at Maidstone LitFest for the second year running. 😀

We’re giving a beginner’s guide to self-publishing at the Village Hotel, Maidstone, from 11am to 12pm on Saturday 3 October.

We’ll have plenty of practical, honest advice on how to turn your finished manuscript into a professionally published book.

We’ll cover where it’s worth investing your money (and where it isn’t), the importance of professional editing and cover design, writing compelling blurbs, formatting, publishing ebooks, paperbacks and audiobooks, marketing on a budget, growing your readership through newsletters and social media, avoiding common scams, and the biggest mistakes we made so you don’t have to.

Whether your goal is to build a full-time writing career or simply hold your own book in your hands, you’ll leave with practical advice, trusted resources and a clear roadmap for your self-publishing journey.

Tickets are just £10. Visit the LitFest website at www.maidstonelitfest.org to find out more. We hope to see you there! 😁

#maidstonelitfest2026 #selfpublishing by @ajmcdineauthor

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18 days ago

by @ajmcdineauthor

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21 days ago

Every view in the Lake District is a beautiful view. ❤️ These were taken on a walk round Derwentwater. Ten miles, nice and flat and we met Peter Rabbit! by @ajmcdineauthor

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23 days ago

Just a heads up to let you know that The Holiday Swap is only 99p in the UK and $1.99 in the US at the moment. It’s also free to read in Kindle Unlimited. I hope you enjoy it if you decide to give it a whirl! 😁

Link in bio. ➡️

#kindleunlimited #domesticnoir #psychthriller by @ajmcdineauthor

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25 days ago

Hiking in the Lake District sometimes involves a bit of scrambling. This was steeper than it looks, I promise! 😂 by @ajmcdineauthor

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25 days ago