To mark the occasion I have self-published a new ebook edition of my guide to all things Morse. ENDEAVOUR: The Complete Inspector Morse is a vastly expanded and updated version of the book formerly known as The Complete Inspector Morse, adding nearly 50,000 words of new material to the ebook.
It covers Colin Dexter's original Morse novels and short stories, the Inspector Morse TV series that ran from 1987-2000, and related materials - radio adaptations, the Morse stage play and so on. The big addition to this edition is comprehensive analysis of Endeavour, the TV drama prequel set in the 1960s, starring Shaun Evans as the young Morse and Roger Allam as his mentor, DI Thursday.
The new ebook covers the first 13 episodes of Endeavour, up to and including Series Three. To mark Morse's 30 years on screen, ITV is launching Series Four on Sunday January 8th 2017. I've got a wee preview of Series Four in the ebook, a full analysis will be in a future edition. The new run of stories looks like a corker, judging by this trailer:
For now, ENDEAVOUR: The Complete Inspector Morse is only available as an ebook, sold exclusively through Amazon sites in various countries [the US edition is available here, for example]. This raises two questions: why is it only available as an ebook, and why have I chosen to self-publish it this round?
The Complete Inspector Morse has always been a steady rather than spectacular seller. Titan published the fifth edition in 2011 after acquiring Reynolds & Hearn's list of titles, but The Complete Inspector Morse didn't shift enough to persuade Titan into commissioning an update for Morse's 30th TV anniversary.
But my original contract is so elderly [2001 - long before Kindles or tablet computer], it gave the publisher only non-exclusive electronic rights, enabling me to issue a new ebook. With the ease of self-publishing, I choose to do just that.
Endeavour enthusiast Jo White [aka @Jodelle08 ] provided the cover photo which she took while the show was filming its fourth series in Oxford earlier this year. She even waived a fee, suggesting I make a donation to Oxfam instead, which I was happy to do.
Being too time-poor [and, let's be honest, too lazy] to learn how to format my complicated text for ebook, I employed the publishing consultancy services of Caroline Goldsmith to do all the coding. Very helpful and reasonably priced too - I can recommend her.
I don't expect to make money from ENDEAVOUR: The Complete Inspector Morse - indeed, if I eventually cover my costs, I'll be happy. So why did self-publish it? Because I enjoy all things Morse and wanted to mark the character's 30th anniversary on TV.
So, if you enjoy all things Morse - or if you're simply a fan of the TV series Endeavour - you might give ENDEAVOUR: The Complete Inspector Morse a look. And if you enjoy the ebook, please give it a good review on Amazon or Good Reads. Onwards!
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