Liza Perrat's Blog, page 3

Fantastic Fiction Giveaway!

I thought I’d mention this fabulous fiction giveaway, with a chance to win over 50 literary, historical and women’s fiction titles, as two of my favourite authors’ books are included: The Pearl of Penang, by Clare Flynn and At the Stroke of Nine O’Clock by Jane Davis.

Check out all the books and enter HERE 

There's also the chance to win a brand new e-reader, so why not give it a go, it's free to enter!

 

 

Sign up  for new book releases and receive a FREE copy of Friends & Other Strangers, my award-winning collection of Australian short stories.

If you enjoy my books, follow me on BOOKBUB

http://www.lizaperrat.com/

The Blackbird has Flown!

Well, after an exceptionally long writing period, I'm pleased to finally announce the publication of The Lost Blackbird.

During the latter half of the 20th century, many British parents who were struggling financially, were offered the chance of a better life for their children by sending them to populate the colonies. Some parents, however, were not even asked permission, their children being shipped across the world without their consent or even knowledge.

Supposedly going to a better life, these children –– some as young as three-years-old –– suffered many forms of terrible abuse.

The Lost Blackbird is a work of fiction but it reflects the harsh reality of child migration. In my fictional characters, I hope to have captured –– apart from their sadness, losses and grief –– some joy and hope for the future. 

The Lost Blackbird is on the new-release PROMO price of only £1.99/$2.99 for a limited time only.

If you do read The Lost Blackbird, I’d really like to hear what you thought of it; I love hearing from readers!

Get your copy of The Lost Blackbird E-book HERE.

Or, read The Lost Blackbird for free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

The Paperback version will be available shortly. 

Sign up for new book releases and receive a FREE copy of Friends & Other Strangers, my award-winning collection of Australian short stories.

If you enjoy my books, follow me on BOOKBUB, where you can receive free recommendations for all genres of books.

Celebrating #BastilleDay!

Storming the Bastille prison, 14th July 1789.
Hulton Archive / Getty Images
Tomorrow is Bastille Day, national holiday here in France. Due to the current health crisis, we may see fewer fireworks and parades this year, but we will still remember 14th July as the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, considered the starting point of the French Revolution.

To mark Bastille Day this year, I'm running a week-long 99c/p promotion of my French Revolution novel, Spirit of Lost Angels. 
Just click on the title to go to your favourite retail store.

Read an extract from Spirit of Lost Angels ...

.... we continued on, all walking together––the working class rabble of the faubourg Saint-Antoine, the lawyers and clerks, the brewers, drapers and tanners, the coachmen and prostitutes. Scoured by rumour and precarious unease, our numbers only swelled more as night relinquished to dawn. I thought I caught a glimpse of Sophie, Manon and Olympe at some time, but the crowd was far too dense to reach them.

Empowered by the strength of our numbers, I felt my anguish fade for a brief moment, as we marched into the overcast morning of July 14th.

By six o’clock, our seething arms-hungry crowd had reached Les Invalides, and I was relieved when the French Guards peacefully seized the guns, pikes and sabres, and several pieces of cannon from the arsenal within the old veterans’ hospital. Nobody was hurt.

‘There is no ammunition!’ Aurore shouted, along with several others.

‘A la Bastille!’ people began chanting. ‘A la Bastille!’

Aurore’s eyes gleamed with that potent combination of resentment, patriotism and the desire for change, as the excited mob propelled us down the rue Saint-Antoine.

‘We want the Bastille!’

While their shouts fuelled and thrilled me, they sent bolts of terror through me too, as I moved with the crowd, like some carousel abandoned to centrifugal force, towards the old fortress.

‘Surrender the prison!’ the people shouted, gathering before the Bastille as early daggers of sunlight sheared the dirty brown underbellies of clouds.

‘Remove the cannons!’

‘Release the gunpowder!’

‘Get the Governor to withdraw the cannons!’

Two men chosen to represent the mob entered the fortress to negotiate.

By mid-afternoon, when nothing had happened and people were pawing the ground like restless horses, the crowd hacked down the drawbridge chains and streamed, unimpeded, into the undefended outer courtyard.

I heard shouts from the roof. The panic rose in my chest.

‘They’re going to fire on us, quick run!’ I grabbed Aurore and tried to push our way back through the crowd, away from the prison, but we were trapped, unable to move any which way.

The garrison began firing. I shut my eyes and held my breath.

I expected, any second, the hot burn of a bullet would throw me to the ground. Flambeaux blazed, fanning the shrieks of terror and pain as more and more bloodied bodies crumpled around us. Clouds of gunpowder smoke burned my eyes, almost blinding me. I clutched Aurore’s dress, whimpering like a child as we crouched and cowered in what were the most terrifying moments of my life. As much as I had yearned for things to change––for an improvement to the commoners’ lot––never had I wished for that change to wash in on such vast rivers of human blood.


Get your copy of Spirit of Lost Angels HERE


Sign up  for new book releases and receive a FREE copy of Friends & Other Strangers, my award-winning collection of Australian short stories.
If you enjoy my books, follow me on BOOKBUB
http://www.lizaperrat.com/ 

The Lost Blackbird

Well after another "challenging" year health-wise, I'm so excited to finally have a new novel, The Lost Blackbird, coming soon.
 London 1962. A strict and loveless English children’s home, or the promise of Australian sunshine, sandy beaches and eating fruit straight from the tree. Which would you choose?
Ten-year-old Lucy Rivers and her five-year-old sister Charly are thrilled when a child migrant scheme offers them the chance to escape their miserable past. 
But on arrival in Sydney, the girls discover their fantasy future is more nightmare than dream.Lucy’s lot is near-slavery at Seabreeze Farm where living conditions are inhuman, the flies and heat unbearable and the owner a sadistic bully. What must she do to survive?
Meanwhile Charly, adopted by the nurturing and privileged Ashwood family, gradually senses that her new parents are hiding something. When the truth emerges, the whole family crumbles. Can Charly recover from this bittersweet deception? 
Will the sisters, stranded miles apart in a strange country, ever find each other again?A poignant testament to child migrants who suffered unforgivable evil, The Lost Blackbird explores the power of family bonds and our desire to know who we are.

The Lost Blackbird will be available at your favourite retail store in a few weeks!


Sign up  for new book releases and receive a FREE copy of Friends & Other Strangers, my award-winning collection of Australian short stories.
If you enjoy my books, follow me on BOOKBUB
http://www.lizaperrat.com/

14 Extra-Special Books

Very chuffed to see The Silent Kookaburra on "14 Extra-Special Books" celebrating 6 years of Rosie's #Bookreview team.
On behalf of my fellow authors, thank you to the wonderful Rosie Amber and her review team for all your great work!

The Silent Kookaburra, only 2.99c/p at your favourite digital store!
https://books2read.com/u/4EyaqO

Podcast

 Many thanks to Howard Lovy for a lively and lovely interview for the Alliance of Independent Authors podcast.



Listen to the podcast here:

#75Liberation

https://books.bookfunnel.com/1945liberationsales/2qg6lb40w0The 8th May this year, 2020, marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe Day), celebrating the Allies' acceptance of Germany's unconditional surrender.


As many of you know, I live in a rural village west of Lyon and discovered, during the research for my novel, Wolfsangel, that my village, and the surrounding area, was a "hot spot" for French Resistance fighters. I was fortunate enough to be able to speak with several Resistance fighters, who gave me a first-hand account of what the Nazi Occupation was really like.

 
Lyon under Nazi Occupation
Due to the current virus lockdown situation here in France, our annual VE day village celebrations are, sadly, not happening. But to mark the occasion I am pleased to be taking part in a collective author celebration of the end of conflict.

Check out these great books celebrating the end of WW2: https://books.bookfunnel.com/1945liberationsales/2qg6lb40w0



Lyon under Nazi Occupation

Wolfsangel Shortlisted Exeter Novel Prize

While I am super chuffed to see Wolfsangel made it to the shortlist of the Exeter Novel Prize of 2019, it didn't win the big one.

However, it did receive some nice praise from well-known literary agent Broo Doherty: ' … great pace … moments of high emotion, a pronounced sense of community and a solid sense of place. Engaging and well researched, this is an ambitious novel …' Broo Doherty Literary Agent, DHH Literary Agency.

Wolfsangel is available for only 2.99 at your favourite retail store!

Spring Hello

Well, all our lives have certainly changed since I penned my last post, and I’m not sure what to write here, since so much is being said, by so many. But so many more people are not just talking about the virus. No, the real heroes today are those providing essential services: the paramedics, the hospital staff, those transporting food and working in supermarkets, the garbage collectors. Not to mention those in the scientific field who are literally working against the clock to find solutions. So many people are going above and beyond, and for this we are grateful, and owe them far more than I can express.

I want to ask how you’re coping, if you’re having ups and downs like me, but I guess most of us are just hanging in there, trying to do the right thing. And waiting, and hoping. What I’ve found inspiring is that way so many people are reaching out to each other to stay in touch, via the internet. The realization that we truly do need that social contact in our lives.

Lockdown buddies

I hope that you and your loved ones are keeping well, and if not, that you are managing to fight this virus, and make a full recovery. I hope that if you have lost your job, it will be waiting for you once the virus is gone. And I hope that if you have some spare time, you’re finding some good books to read!

One piece of lovely news amidst all this bad, is that Wolfsangel, the second book in my French historical trilogy –– The Bone Angel series –– has made it to the shortlist of the 2019 Exeter Novel Prize Competition.

Willow, writing assistant extraordinaire

During this time of confinement, I feel very lucky to live in a rural area. Here are few pics from our evening one hour walks around the village:

French Alps
  

#Audiobook #SpiritofLostAngels

Very pleased to announce the audiobook publication of Spirit of Lost Angels, narrated by the very talented Jennifer Jill Araya.

Available here.



If you fancy a free copy of the audiobook, in exchange for an honest review, just email me on: liza.perrat@gmail.com