Shani Struthers's Blog, page 4
January 29, 2016
Putting the ‘normal’ into the Paranormal
Psychic Surveys
Horror is my favourite genre – it always has been, always will be, but it can become tiresome. The reason? Horror is often dealt with by authors and filmmakers gratuitously – therefore, the gorier, the more outrageous, the more ‘in your face’ the material, the better. Well, yeah, every now and then, one of those is fun but I thought it was time for something a little more down-to-earth. And before you scream ‘but surely that defeats the object’ – I don’t think it does.
For me, the best ghost stories are the ones that deal with the spiritual world more subtly. The Haunting with Claire Bloom is a great example – all through the film the suspense is built but you don’t actually see anything frightening – it’s all left to the imagination, and mine ran riot after that one! The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, not the film but the book, was also very subtle, building suspense beautifully right up until the end. The Others with Nicole Kidman springs to mind too, which relied on a good story rather than effects.
Inspired by these I wanted to write a paranormal that largely dispenses with theatrics and relies on characterisation, plot and mystery instead. Ruby Davis, who owns Psychic Surveys, a high street consultancy specialising in domestic spiritual clearance, is young, modern and accessible. She doesn’t go round in tie-dye clothes or smelling of incense, she wouldn’t stand out in a crowd. It’s only her job that’s out of the ordinary – to make contact with grounded spirits in your home (ghosts to the layman!) and encourage them towards the light – or ‘home’ as she and her team call it. Her team, too, are down-to-earth, there is the young and vibrant Corinna (a sensitive rather than a psychic) and more mature ladies, Theo and Ness, the latter who also works as a psychic for Sussex Police and Brighton and Hove Council. Throw in IT Consultant, Cash Wilks and an attachment in the shape of ghost dog, Jed, and you’ve got the dream team. Keenly aware of how people feel towards ‘psychics’ – sceptical at best, frightened at worst, they deal with ‘assignments’ in a no-nonsense and practical way – charging a sliding scale of fees depending on the client and the problem.
Their reputation is spreading, largely via word-of-mouth, and cases come flooding in. The team may want to play it cool, sometimes, however, the ghosts don’t…
Psychic Surveys Book One: The Haunting of Highdown Hall available on Amazon this week for the special discounted price of 99p/99c.
The Haunting of Highdown Hall
January 21, 2016
Something for the Weekend with Angela Wren
Welcome Angela Wren to Friday’s Blogspot – having recently had a novel publishing by Crooked Cat Publishing – Messandrierre – she’s here to tell us what inspired her to write it, share an extract and also tell us about herself. If you fancy a read all the buy links are at the bottom of the page. Over to you Angela…
Since being a teenager I’ve spent as much of my spare time in France as I possibly could. This has meant that I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to travel the length and breadth of the country and then some!
From, more or less, the same time I’ve always wanted to write. I can recall – now with mortifying and cringing embarrassment – once telling an elderly aunt that I wanted to be the world’s next Shakespeare. My only defence in making that incredibly rash statement was that I was very young at the time! So, put those two things together and it seems to me that a novel about my most favourite place was on the cards long before I even consciously took up my quill – sorry, I mean biro – and made that very first brief note about an odd idea that had been circling at the back of my mind.
That note was scribbled down in September 2007, the 29th to be precise, as a direct result of a change in the weather a few days earlier. I’d been travelling in the Cévennes and woke one morning to find the stunning scenery transformed by snow. It was that white covering that kept my mind exercised until I had formulated the idea of using snow to cover someone’s misdeeds – and the first page of my story began to take shape.
‘I died beneath a clear autumn sky in September, late in September when warm cévenol afternoons drift into cooler than usual evenings before winter steals down from the summit of Mont Aigoual.
My shallow grave lies in a field behind an old farmhouse. There was no ceremony to mark my death and no mourners, just a stranger in the darkness spading soil over my body. Only the midnight clouds cried for me as they carried their first sprinkling of snow to the tiny village of Messandrierre.
My innocent white coverlet allowing the earth around me to shift and settle unseen and become comfortable again. ’
It was two years later, whilst travelling in the Charente, that I finally worked out who the body was, how the death had occurred, who the killers were and who my hero was going to be. All of which meant a lot of scribbled notes. The really hard work began at the end of 2013 when I started to actually write the story that had been haunting me for about 4 years. Some 50 pages in and I realised I didn’t know enough about my central character, Gendarme Jacques Forêt. This time I did my thinking in the Cévennes, Aude and Hérault. With scenery in the picture to look at, it is hard not to be inspired and Jacques soon became a fully formed character in his own right.
‘…Jacques stared at the page and then up at Gaston. “You know we have no other sightings of these two after they arrived here, don’t you?” He kept his eye on his friend to gauge his reaction to what had just been said.
“Yes. Your colleagues from Mende made a point of telling me that,” Gaston said, angrily stubbing out his Gitanes in the ashtray.
Jacques sat back and tossed his notebook down on the table. “Gaston, you have a record and a history of violence. The Investigating Magistrate will be aware of that and it seems that you are the last person to see this couple alive. Are you absolutely certain that there is nothing you want to tell me?”
“My conviction. Yes, that always surfaces eventually. Back then I was hot headed, seventeen and stupid and I’ve paid for my mistake.” Snapping his receipt book shut he tossed it onto the top tray. He frowned and looked down. “And, OK, I sometimes get a bit rough with drunk tourists, but that’s all…’
“And the fracas at the dance in February?”
Gaston slumped back in his chair. “All right. I got a bit heavy-handed then too. But nothing else, Jacques. I swear.”
There was a heaviness to the smoky air in the room and Jacques let the pause in their conversation ferment for a few moments before he stood up and spoke. “I didn’t put the incident in February on record, Gaston. I ought to have done. But as I was there to smooth things over, I didn’t bother with the paperwork.” He picked up his notebook. “I hope that doesn’t turn out to be a mistake.” ‘
And there you have it – a simple tale that begins with Shakespeare, moves through France and ends with a novel, Messandrierre!
Messandrierre – The Blurb
Sacrificing his job in investigation following an incident in Paris, Jacques Forêt has only a matter of weeks to solve a series of mysterious disappearances as a Gendarme in the rural French village of Messandrierre.
But, as the number of missing persons rises, his difficult and hectoring boss puts obstacles in his way. Steely and determined, Jacques won’t give up and, when a new Investigating Magistrate is appointed, he becomes the go-to local policeman for all the work on the case.
Will he find the perpetrators before his lover, Beth, becomes a victim?
Messandrierre – the first in a new crime series featuring investigator, Jacques Forêt.
Links
Smashwords
Other Links
Website : www.angelawren.co.uk
Blog : www.jamesetmoi.blogspot.com
Facebook : Facebook/angelawren
Author Bio
Having followed a career in Project and Business Change Management, I now work as an Actor and Director at a local theatre. I’ve been writing, in a serious way, for about 5 years. My work in project management has always involved drafting, so writing, in its various forms, has been a significant feature throughout my adult life.
I particularly enjoy the challenge of plotting and planning different genres of work. My short stories vary between contemporary romance, memoir, mystery and historical. I also write comic flash-fiction and have drafted two one-act plays that have been recorded for local radio. The majority of my stories are set in France where I like to spend as much time as possible each year.
January 7, 2016
Something for the Weekend with Cameron Lawton!
On the blog today, welcome Cameron (half brother to author Ailsa Abraham), Rory and Jack – it’s always great fun with these boys around and today they’re on top form, telling us about the books they feature in Yours to Command and Cancel Christmas – check them out on Amazon but first they’ll tell you a bit about them…
Hello, Shani! Happy New Year. (kiss kiss) As you can see, Rory is true to his Scottish heritage and won’t enter a friend’s house until the second week of January without a small gift. He’s brought you some whisky, Jack brought some flowers and I made shortbread. I have nothing but a plea for sanctuary!
Oh, Shani, we were so sorry not to see more of you when you came house-sitting at the Bingergread Cottage but (as usual) Ailsa’s characters just took over so we thought it would be smashing to get you to ourselves for a little while. Oh thanks. I think a cup of tea would go very well with the shortbread.
Sis? (I’m not pulling that face, Jack, you know better, I how much I support her in her writing, even though we three were at it before her). She’s fine thanks, Shani and sends her love. She is absolutely delighted with the work you did notating the plots for Books 3 and 4. She’s closeted away with the characters getting stuck into it. So she sends thanks and owes you one. (Stop saying one what, Rory, get your mind out of the gutter! Honestly, I would have thought you two were fit to be out in public, being officers and all! Well you both are now, Staff Sgt. Jones!) Excuse them, Shani. They haven’t been on active service with the Army in ages and are getting bored and fractious.
They’re in the Royal Army Military Police, the cops in uniform. That is the basis for their adventures; the sexual tension undercurrent is just present as it usually is in most detective shows on TV. Well, yes, apart from Poirot, Miss. Marple and Midsommer Murders.
(Jack, I know Sis has asked you not to do that before. Please don’t keep asking people if they’ve read our books. It’s not polite and very pushy. They aren’t to everyone’s taste, even if we do have to put an over-18 label on them.) Sorry, Shani. What was the question?
Yes, basically they are detective stories with the added slant of being based in the military. In the first one, Yours To Command, we just set the scene and show how awkward it is for gays in the military, even in these days.
Excuse me again…(Listen you two. I only brought you here because you promised to behave. I’m trying to portray you as a normal, hard-working pair of detectives who just happen to be gay. So could you stop giggling whenever I mention the fact that you’re a couple. OK OK yes you did get off with each other in the first book, that is what it was there for, scene-setting! Take that misty look off your face, Jack, you’ve had far more serious since then!)
Sorry. Cancel Christmas is far more about the job. They get called over to an army base in Germany just before Christmas where a particularly grisly murder has been committed. They get on with solving it and cement their relationship. I particularly love Cancel Christmas because we get to explore the boys’ pasts and characters.
Graphic? Oh I suppose so. Well, yes it is but as it’s part of the story and not gratuitous we’re rather pleased with it. I can write that stuff you see. Sis can’t. When she is doing a “love scene” she has to get me to write the sex which means I do it from Iamo’s point of view because she can’t bring herself to write it. Weird isn’t it? I don’t think we’ve ever heard what Riga thinks of sex although we hear enough about how much she adores Iamo so…
Sorry, back to us three. Them? Oh they’d love to. Rank order please, chaps. Rory first.
Rory: Thanks, Shani. I’m Capt. Rory Sumner, typical gruff Glaswegian and yes, based on some of Cam and Ailsa’s family. I have a rather sad past life about which I don’t talk much but I’m divorced with no children and until I got together with Jack, no love-interest. I know Cam is very dismissive about Ailsa who I won’t call “Sis” cos she isn’t mine but I like her. She used to be in the forces too so we see eye to eye on discipline. She gets her hair off with Cam for being too fluffy although she’s not above nicking his expensive cologne!
Jack: Nice to see you again, Shani. Staff Sgt. Joachim (Jack) Jones currently on officer training course at Sandhurst so by Book 3 I’ll be nearer in rank to Rory and we can be seen to fraternise more as brother officers. (Cam! Will you stop that, you were the dick who was going to call Book 1 “Brothers in Arms”!) Excuse me. Yes, Ailsa jumped in on the back of Cam’s success and has since hogged the writer title in the house but we are hoping to make a comeback if our publisher will take us. Yes, I have a large family. My mother is German, my dad was a sergeant in the Guards and met Mum while on duty. My sister lives in Australia with her husband and two small daughters. They are both veterinary surgeons. Rory and I have been to stay with my parents in Spain where they have a campsite now Dad is retired. Yes, that was a little joke-ette of Cam’s – the boys go to a camp-site for their hols! Tsk.
Cameron: Thank you for having us all, Shani. It’s been lovely and we would love to invite you over to the Bingergread again. A little bird tells us that you have a Book 3 out soon too! Well I won’t say “race you” but do come on over and tell us about it nearer the release date. Salute? Oh of course we will.
Attention! Officer on parade, gentlemen! Dismiss!:
(All three salute smartly and exit)
Bio and Links
Cameron Lawton does not have a biography, being an international man of mystery who disappeared from his sister Ailsa Abraham’s life, only to re-appear in his early 50s with a murky past and no partner. If asked he will smile and say he was a long time dead and it’s nice to be back.
Find his books at http://bit.ly/1hjP6Ci
December 22, 2015
Celebrate the Winter Solstice with Ailsa Abraham!
Elf yourself!
TWO DAYS ONLY!
YULE LOVE THIS IDEA!
We celebrate the Winter Solstice or Yule so as my gift to you readers I would like to present – for the two days of 22nd and 23rd December only…..Both books in the Alchemy series at 99p or cents each for an e-book. Come on, less than a cup of coffee? Lasts longer and keeps you awake better!
Click on the link below to see them on Amazon in YOUR country.
Universal Amazon link – anywhere in the world
Plenty of five star reviews and the third one is on the way – grab them while they’re this price!
WHAT DO YOU GET?
Book 1 ALCHEMY A world without war? Professor Sawhele Fielding stumbles across an invention that would change the world; something so monumental, it could spell theAlchemy end of environmental disaster and conflict. With the help of her father, a shadowy figure in the world of international banking, she begins to set into motion the biggest upheaval the planet has seen. But in a changed world, dark forces are threatening the fragile peace. Where modern technology is proving useless, old magic from a bygone era might just save the day. Adrian Oliver, expert in ancient religions is skeptical until faced with incontrovertible proof that ancient evil is abroad once again. How could a Utopian dream of free fuel and peaceful co-existence turn into a nightmare? Iamo, a priest of the Mother Goddess and Riga, a Black Shaman assassin captain, are thrown together – reluctantly at first – to face a threat that nobody could have imagined before “The Changes”. ALCHEMY is the prequel to Shaman’s Drum which features the adventures of Iamo and Riga through their world in the near future, where the established religions of our own days had been banned.
Shamans DrumBook 2 SHAMAN’S DRUM England in the near future. Mainstream religions have been outlawed, and the old gods rule again. Iamo has been a priest of the Great Mother and is sworn to celibacy, but his love for Riga, a Black Shaman, a magical assassin, caused him to break his vows. After being imprisoned apart from each other for three years, Iamo accepts an offer to earn them both a pardon and the possibility of marriage. If they survive. Iamo and Riga must discover why demons are breaking through from the other side. Which of the cults are renegades who allow the demons through? Who can they trust? Combining their powers, they face the ordeal with the help of a band of eclectic pagans, spirit creatures, Riga’s Black Shaman brothers, an undercover Christian granny, and three unusually energetic Goths. It’s a tough assignment, but the hope of a life together keeps them fighting.
December 17, 2015
Something for the Weekend with Rumer Haven!
Welcome today to the very lovely Rumer Haven, talking about her forthcoming book ‘What the Clocks Know‘ due out in early 2016. I had the pleasure of beta reading this fantastically written novel with a distinctly paranormal edge a few months ago, I loved it. I’ll be giving it a shout out once again when it’s on the shelves but for now here’s Rumer to tell us all about it.
Thank you for inviting me here, Shani, and hello, everyone!
2015 has been a lovely year to look back on, and 2016 promises to be a happy new year indeed with the publication of my second paranormal fiction, What the Clocks Know. Just as my debut novel, Seven for a Secret, is a Valentine to my sweet-home Chicago (and more specifically my time there as a single twenty-something around the New Millennium), What the Clocks Know is a tribute to my more recent years as an American expat in London.
Now on the verge of British citizenship, I’ve certainly learned my lessons on UK soil and could relate a more rounded, mature perspective on my experiences in this beautiful land, but several years ago, the initial going was rough. I was naïve and lost, quite frankly, and in navigating my way through international relocation, I had to renegotiate my identity as well—but from that early turmoil, this story was born. And if there’s anything else I’ve learned from London, it’s that it’s a haunted city—how couldn’t it be, with so many layers of history densely packed onto one spot? I can’t turn a single street corner without stumbling on some fascinating fact, legend, or just a bit of soulful inspiration, so I wanted to give homage to that as well. As a result, much like the past haunts the present in Seven for a Secret (which alternates between 1920s and Y2K Chicago), What the Clocks Know is a ghostly love story where modern and Victorian London collide.
Blurb:
To find what makes her tick, twenty-six-year-old Margot dumps her New York boyfriend, quits her Chicago job, and crashes at her friend’s London flat for the summer. Rather than find herself, though, she only feels more lost. An unsettling energy affects Margot from the moment she enters the old Victorian residence, and she spirals into depression. Frightened and questioning her perceptions after a while, she gradually suspects her dark emotions belong to Charlotte instead. Who’s Charlotte? Margot doesn’t know either. But the name on a local gravestone could relate to her dreams and the grey woman weeping at the window.
Of course, it could all be tricks of the eye and mind. Coincidence. Margot exhausts logical explanation until belief in her sanity hinges on belief in the supernatural—that somehow her soul search has found Charlotte’s spirit. Yet it’s a greater leap of faith for Margot to believe she might be haunting herself, that perhaps it’s not the first time her footsteps have tread through that old house…nor the first or last time an eternal love triangle will bind her to Charlotte.
What the Clocks Know is due for release in early 2016 by Crooked Cat Publishing, and you can find Seven for a Secret now (print and ebook) at the following:
US Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Secret-Rumer-Haven-ebook/dp/B00PNQG6EA/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
UK Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seven-Secret-Rumer-Haven-ebook/dp/B00PNQ14KG/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Simon & Schuster: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Seven-for-a-Secret/Rumer-Haven/9781623421106
Other Retailers: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Seven-for-a-Secret/Rumer-Haven/9781623421106/retailers
About the Author:
Rumer Haven is probably the most social recluse you could ever meet. When she’s not babbling her fool head off among friends and family, she’s pacified with a good story that she’s reading, writing, or revising—or binge-watching something on Netflix. A former teacher hailing from Chicago, she presently lives in London with her husband and probably a ghost or two. Rumer has always had a penchant for the past and paranormal, which inspires her writing to explore dimensions of time, love, and the soul.
Find more at www.rumerhaven.com and Goodreads.
December 10, 2015
Something for the Weekend with Gina Dickerson!
Today, it’s a pleasure to host friend and fellow Authors Reach colleague, Gina Dickerson, to the blog. She’s talking about her latest novel, a dark fairytale, Always Golden. I’m more than three-quarters of the way through reading it and it’s great. Here’s the blurb, an excerpt and, of course, those all-important buy links. It’s currently on special offer at 99p so go on and treat yourself. Welcome, Gina…
Gina: Thanks for having me on your blog! My new book, ‘Always Golden’, is a dark fairy tale retelling of the French fairy tale ‘The Story of Pretty Goldilocks’ by Madame d’Aulnoy. Oriana is the princess of the story and she’s about to find out that living in a castle does not mean she is safe…
Here’s the blurb…
Being a princess is both a blessing and a curse…
Growing up in a castle, Oriana was accustomed to the security of living within its walls…until the day an evil tore through the fortifications and shattered her perfect world.
Wanted by a ruler known as “The Collector” Oriana now has a battle on her hands to escape his clutches. With The Collector’s best tracker hot on her heels, Oriana is forced to fight for her freedom while trying to work out why she is so desirable to The Collector.
One problem is that Oriana didn’t expect her heart and head to also be at war. Will she do what’s right for the kingdom, or is she at risk of losing not only the realm but also her heart?
Oriana is about to discover life as a princess is most definitely not always golden…
And an excerpt…
Consoled the only sounds to be heard were far off in the heart of the castle, Oriana edged cautiously towards the exit. This part of the castle was not usually busy as the rooms in the lower corridor housed the wine collection. Oriana’s father was a hoarder of rare and unusual beverages and this particular collection was reserved for special occasions. Nearing the storeroom it was no surprise the locked door was now not only open but battered and hanging off its hinges. Risking a peek inside, she saw bottles had been pulled from their shelves, their expensive contents spilt across the floor.
She nearly moved on before she noticed it.
A bloodied foot encased in a pale lilac, satin slipper.
Oriana hardly dared to breathe; in fact she was not sure if she even was. The spilt wine splattered under her bare feet as she staggered into the room and towards the direction of the foot, protruding from behind a floor to ceiling wooden wine rack.
Time slowed although Oriana’s pulse raced.
She knew the slipper.
Knew to whom it belonged.
Yet, someone else could have borrowed the slippers, couldn’t they?
At first all Oriana saw was a flash of lilac. Her vision blurred, and then sharpened. Pale legs, bent awkwardly, stuck out at odd angles from within a mound of satin and lace. A slender waist encased within a crimson splattered bodice led up to shoulders which were so blood red it seemed as if they were wrapped in a ruby shawl. Looking past the neck, her mind already anticipating the sight of her mother’s heart-shaped face, Oriana screamed.
No head…her mother’s head had been severed!
‘Mother?’ Oriana whispered, bending down to touch the bloodied corpse. Her fingers brushed her mother’s leg and she recoiled, the skin was already cold.
Pain seared through her kneecaps upon impact with the blood slicked floor. Beyond her mother’s body was another. This time Oriana recognised the smart trousers, the ring on the little finger of the left hand. Her father’s white shirt was sodden with his blood, and the ruffles at the neckline were tattered, obscuring the stump where his head should have been.
‘No!’ Oriana wailed, flinging herself between the bodies and, despite her fear, grasping one of each of their hands in her own. ‘This can’t be real…it must be a trick…or an enchantment. Wake up!’
Clinging onto her parents’ cold hands, Oriana hung her head and sobbed so hard her head throbbed. Unaware of how many minutes had passed, she slowly composed herself, grief gradually giving way to anger and hatred.
What was it with these people and heads? First Shera’s, and now both her mother’s and father’s heads had been removed by these…these barbarians.
Hell, she had to escape. Neither of her parents would wish her to die here.
She must survive to ensure vengeance was exacted.
Gina Dickerson lives by the Thanet coast on the north-eastern tip of Kent within the UK, with her family and bouncy Siberian husky.
Having previously worked for a Local Authority in Planning and Enforcement, Gina is now a full-time author who has also written columns and articles for a local newspaper. Gina’s books include the Mortiswood Tales series, The Pennington Christmas Curse, and Underleaf. She has also had short stories and poetry published in anthologies.
Besides writing Gina also designs book covers and other promotional material under the name RoseWolf Design.
Buy the book…
Amazon http://goo.gl/sooVpz
Amazon UK http://goo.gl/PTYShD
Goodreads https://goo.gl/8JLgai
Smashwords https://goo.gl/EXpc8L
Barnes & Noble http://goo.gl/A8IKLx
itunes https://goo.gl/G4SpRA
Author links
Websites http://www.ginadickersonwriter.co.uk/ and http://www.authorsreach.co.uk/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ginadickersonwriter
Twitter https://twitter.com/GinaDWriter
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5819047.Gina_Dickerson
December 4, 2015
Something for the Weekend with… Sue Barnard
Welcome to Sue Barnard today with a tale of something lovely and festive that happened to her three years ago. Grab a coffee, have a read and then check out her books on Amazon. I’ve got all three on my Kindle and look forward to reading them soon. Take it away, Sue…
SANTA’S MAGIC
Almost exactly three years ago, I met Santa.
No, you didn’t read that wrong. It was, truly, only three years ago.
Let me set the scene. It was a grey, gloomy, rainy Saturday – one of those days where you get the impression that it’s never going to get fully light – in late November 2012. For reasons which I won’t trouble you with here, I was spending the day, on my own, in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the time I was working on my debut novel, which was based very heavily on one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays, and I was hoping that rubbing shoulders with the Bard might give me some inspiration.
On a previous visit to Stratford, I’d come across a lovely quirky little place called The Creaky Cauldron. It’s situated in Henley Street, just a few doors down from one of Stratford’s more famous attractions, the Shakespeare Birthplace. The Creaky Cauldron describes itself as “a wizarding world of wonder”, and anyone who loves the world of magic in general, and Harry Potter in particular, can happily pass an hour or two revelling in the place’s truly magical atmosphere. I remembered that on my previous visit the rooms had contained lots of fascinating exhibits, and I was looking forward to seeing them all again.
But on this occasion, the place had been redecorated for Christmas. The magical themes were still there, but the exhibits were now geared much more towards the Festive Season. Including, according to the poster outside, Santa in his grotto.
Oh well, I thought, I won’t need to bother with that part of it.
How wrong I was. Santa, it seemed, was non-negotiable.
I made my way through the museum’s maze of corridors and ended up on the top floor, where a young lady was waiting at the top of the stairs. “Once you’ve finished looking round these rooms,” she said, “I’ll take you through to see Santa.”
“Oh, thank you,” I said, trying not to sound surprised or self-conscious.
Santa himself was a kindly-looking, very well-spoken fellow with twinkly blue eyes. He seemed not the slightest bit fazed to find that his visitor was a solitary middle-aged woman with rain-bedraggled hair and mud-splattered jeans. (He did not, to my relief, invite me to sit on his knee.) After we’d said “Good morning,” he asked me what I would like for Christmas.
I opened my mouth to reply. What came out was: “I’d like to get my novel published.”
Without batting an eyelid, he answered, “What sort of novel is it?”
I told him a little about it – that it was based on Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, but that in my version the story had a rather happier outcome.
“That sounds fascinating,” he said. “Now – have you got a proofreader? And an editor? And have you been in contact with a publisher?”
My goodness, I thought. I expect he gets a lot of weird requests – but what a professional-sounding answer.
Aloud, I said, “I’ve made some enquiries about that.”
“That’s good,” he said. “It sounds as though you’re going about it the right way. I wish you the very best of luck. And a very merry Christmas.”
That was in 2012, and publication still seemed as far away as ever. But less than a year later I signed a contract with a wonderful publisher, and in early 2014 my Romeo & Juliet novel, entitled The Ghostly Father, was released. My second novel, a romantic intrigue entitled Nice Girls Don’t, was to follow a few months later, and earlier this year saw the release of my third novel, The Unkindest Cut of All. This too draws inspiration from Shakespeare – it is a murder mystery set during an amateur dramatic society’s production of Julius Caesar.
Did Santa really work a little magic for me, back on that rainy Saturday three years ago, a mere few yards from Shakespeare’s birthplace?
I’d certainly like to think so.
December 2, 2015
The Highs and the Highs!
Two years after publication, an incredible thing happened – Psychic Surveys Book One: The Haunting of Highdown Hall, on a Black Friday promotion, smashed through the Amazon barriers to make it into the top 100 in the USA, Australia and Canada. In the UK it faired extremely well too and went to No.1 in several genres. As a consequence other books in my paranormal series shot up the charts also – it was certainly a Monday morning to remember! At one point I was the 85th Most Popular Author in the Genre Literature & Fiction on Amazon.Com – just 7 places behind J.K. Rowling! Now that is mad and left me wondering whether Universal Studios Orlando might be persuaded to open a Psychic Surveys Land to sit alongside Harry Potter World. A ghost ride to end all ghost rides. Ah, a girl can dream…
As with all things, sales have stabilised but it was wonderful hitting the highs for a wee while. To celebrate, we’re keeping my range of paranormal books, published by Crooked Cat, at 99p for a couple more weeks, so, if you fancy a good scare, grab them now at a bargain price. Click on the pictures on the right hand side or on the links below and they’ll take you all the way to Amazon. Spooky reading y’all!
Psychic Surveys Book One: The Haunting of Highdown Hall
UK http://tinyurl.com/lak4ub2 US http://tinyurl.com/l29wj78
Psychic Surveys Book Two: Rise to Me
UK http://tinyurl.com/n9q352z US http://tinyurl.com/nzjz62x
Eve: A Christmas Ghost Story
UK http://tinyurl.com/nmnajss US http://tinyurl.com/pe5f6db
Jessamine
UK http://tinyurl.com/ml3om46 US http://tinyurl.com/n5adytl
November 27, 2015
Black Friday at Crooked Cat!
It’s Black Friday fever hereabouts and joining in the fun, my publisher, Crooked Cat Publishing have reduced their entire range of e-books to 99p for one day only, including my paranormal novels. Now’s a great time to stock up on a variety of titles, ready for Christmas and the New Year.
Check us out on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. There’s loads of wonderful authors at Crooked Cat, writing across a variety of genres, from crime to romance, supernatural to comedy. I’ve several favourites amongst them, and always look forward to what’s next on offer.
I’m heading over to Amazon now – maybe see you there!
UK http://tinyurl.com/ml3om46 US http://tinyurl.com/n5adytl
UK http://tinyurl.com/nmnajss US http://tinyurl.com/pe5f6db
UK http://tinyurl.com/lak4ub2 US http://tinyurl.com/l29wj78
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November 24, 2015
Eve: A Christmas Ghost Story – She’s Live!!!
Finally it’s live! Prequel to the Psychic Surveys series – Eve: A Christmas Ghost Story is now available on Amazon – a month exactly before the biggest Eve of them all. More paranormal than horror, it’s a novella rather than a horror – something that was a challenge to write as it forced me to be more focussed – there’s no room for waffle in a novella! Featuring two members of the Psychic Surveys team – Theo Lawson and Vanessa Patterson (Ness) – long before they’ve met Ruby and co, it also gave me a chance to explore their characters more fully.
Eve is based on a true event – one that took place in Calumet, Michigan, USA in 1913. I’ve heavily fictionalised it (of course!) but it’s fair to say that all my paranormal books are based on events that have actually happened, some to me personally. It was my dear American friend, Lindy Stem, who first mooted the idea to me during a discussion we were having and she even came up with the title – I hope I’ve done her proud with my rendition.
Here’s the blurb and a few teasers, the buy links are at the end of the page if you fancy a read. I’ve also got a Facebook launch party going on as I type with prizes to be won, so pop in if you can. I’ll post the link to the party at the end of the post too.
Massive thanks to all my readers, for your continued and generous support and also thanks to my publishers too, Laurence and Steph at Crooked Cat Publishing. A massive thanks too to Jeff Gardiner, my editor, who works so hard on the books and also to Tracy Smith Comerford for the wonderful teasers she makes up for me. It’s a real team effort!
Eve – A Christmas Ghost Story
What do you do when a whole town is haunted?
In 1899, in the North Yorkshire market town of Thorpe Morton, a tragedy occurred; 59 people died at the market hall whilst celebrating Christmas Eve, many of them children. One hundred years on and the spirits of the deceased are restless still, ‘haunting’ the community, refusing to let them forget.
In 1999, psychic investigators Theo Lawson and Ness Patterson are called in to help, sensing immediately on arrival how weighed down the town is. Quickly they discover there’s no safe haven. The past taints everything.
Hurtling towards the anniversary as well as a new millennium, their aim is to move the spirits on, to cleanse the atmosphere so everyone – the living and the dead – can start again. But the spirits prove resistant and soon Theo and Ness are caught up in battle, fighting against something that knows their deepest fears and can twist them in the most dangerous of ways.
They’ll need all their courage to succeed and the help of a little girl too – a spirit who didn’t die at the hall, who shouldn’t even be there…
Amazon:
Facebook Launch Party:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1003293033062268/permalink/1011610898897148/
