Wild Sky – Lexi Rees / #CoverReveal #BlogTour @rararesources @lexi_rees

 

 

After delivering the pearl, Finn and Aria thought life would return to normal.

But with the survival of the clans still in peril, they must continue their quest.

Can they find the next relic before the forces of evil?

Not everyone is who they appear to be

And time is running out …

 

 

Cover Reveal

Thank you, Lexi Rees and Rachel’s Random Resources

 

About the author 

Lexi Rees writes action packed adventures for children. The first book in The Relic Hunters Series, Eternal Seas, was awarded a “loved by” badge from LoveReading4Kids and is currently longlisted for a Chanticleer award.

She’s passionate about developing a love of reading and writing in children, and as well as an active programme of school visits and other events, she has published a Creative Writing Skills workbook, is a Book PenPal for three primary schools, and runs a free online #kidsclub and newsletter which includes book recommendations and creative writing activities.

In her spare time, she’s a keen crafter and spends a considerable amount of time trying not to fall off horses or boats.

 

Author Links 

http://www.lexirees.co.uk

https://twitter.com/lexi_rees

https://www.facebook.com/LexiAuthor/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvWC70tUEfzPk9e4n9OvOmg/

https://www.instagram.com/lexi.rees

 

 

Book Link

viewbook.at/WildSky

Ronaldo: The Vixen Pederson Workshop – Maxine Sylvester / #Review @flyingronaldo

Ronaldo the Flying Reindeer #4

Destination North Pole! Santa’s top reindeer, Vixen Pederson, is hosting a teamwork workshop—and Ronaldo has his flying goggles packed and ready to go!

In training for a sleigh race, the cadets must work together to win the ultimate prize—Jingle Bells! But Ronaldo’s dream turns into a nightmare when Cupid joins his side. She’s the worst flying cadet, ever! And his squabbling teammates are plotting to put her out of the race.

But Cupid isn’t who she appears to be. And when Ronaldo discovers she is the granddaughter of a world famous flying champion, he suspects she is guarding a secret. And the only way to lead his team to victory—is to find out what it is.

 

 

My Review

Ronaldo is back! This time he and his friends take us to the North Pole and which flying reindeer does not want to attend a workshop by Santa Claus’ best one?

Winning the prize they get showing they are the best team at the end of the course would be like a dream come true. The tension builds …

A team is only as good as his weakest member and this would mean no first place for Ronaldo and his crew. Can he find out what is holding one of them back? Why is her performance brilliant one moment and sustandard the next? Will he come up with a solution on time?

If you are still looking for a lovely Christmas gift for the young ones, this is certainly a book you should consider. Not only are the pictures cute, but Ronaldo also teaches us in a fun way about friendship, how to respect each other and how to work together as a team. 5 stars.

Thank you, Maxine Sylvester

 

About the author

I was born in Hounslow, Middlesex in the south of England. As a child, I loved drawing and took private art classes with a wonderful teacher called, Pearl Lee. She had an abundance of Disney magazines, and I would paint the characters on wood, card, canvas or anything else I was allowed to use, including walls.

When I was nine, my mum took me on holiday to Majorca. I clearly remember being fascinated by how other people lived outside of England. Travelling became my new obsession.

After Sixth Form College, I intended to go to art school, but my travel bug got the better of me and chose to work as a holiday representative in Greece instead. This was followed by seven years working on cruise ships, two years in Israel and Palestine, and six years in Russia and Armenia. Although I lapped up the different cultures, I found my work over the years very unfulfilling. I decided to dig out my Caran d’Arche pencils, and do something about it!

I enrolled in The College of Cartoon Art and was mentored by the renowned caricaturist, Steve Chadburn. I created a character called Ronaldo and decided to write a short story about him. Before I knew it, my head was spinning with ideas and the first book, The Reindeer Flying Academy, went from a small picture book into a fully blown chapter book … but more importantly, I loved every minute of the writing and illustrating process.

Nowadays, I live in Bali, Indonesia, with my amazing partner, Mark, (Bristol born and bred) and am currently illustrating the third book for the Ronaldo series, Rudi’s Birthday Extravaganza.

I am still a self-confessed Disney geek and get excited as a five-year-old whenever a new Disney animated film comes out. I love the Disney theme parks and have visited Orlando, Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo – California and Shanghai are next on my bucket list.

I have an unhealthy fondness for pizza and chocolate but a healthy love of Pilates – I like to think they balance each other out.

And finally, I am a lifelong Arsenal supporter … although sometimes I wish I wasn’t!

 

Social Media Links

Website : https://www.ronaldotheflyingreindeer.com/authorbiography/

 

 

Book Link

Amazon UK : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ronaldo-Pederson-Workshop-Birthday-Extravaganza-ebook/dp/B081KYK2MZ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=maxine+sylvester&qid=1574027096&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

A Phoenix Rising – Vivienne Brereton / #Extract #BlogTour #LoveBooksGroupTours @VivienneBreret1

 

 

 

The House of the Red Duke

“If I have anything to do with it, we Howards will live forever.”

Thomas Howard Charismatic head of one of the most powerful Houses in Tudor England. An indomitable old man approaching eighty: soldier, courtier, politician, a ‘phoenix’ rising from the ashes. After a calamitous period of disgrace, the Howards, renowned for their good looks and charm, are once more riding high at the court of Henry VIII.

Set against the backdrop of the extraordinary 1520 ‘Field of Cloth of Gold’, it is a tale of ambition, love, and intrigue, with Thomas at the centre of this intricate tapestry

Will Thomas’s bold vow be fulfilled? Danger stalks the corridors of the royal courts of Europe. Uneasy lies the head beneath a crown. Every other ruler – a fickle bedfellow…or sworn enemy.

The action takes place in England, Scotland, and France. On either side of the Narrow Sea, four young lives are interwoven, partly unaware of each other, and certainly oblivious to what Dame Fortune has in store for them.

“Nicolas de La Barre laid his lute to one side, hardly bothering to stifle a yawn of boredom. Nevertheless, he couldn’t escape the fact he’d agreed to take on a new wife….”

Explosive family secrets are concealed behind the ancient walls of castles in three lands. But… “There are no secrets that time does not reveal.”

 

 

Extract

 Thomas Howard, the ageing Earl of Surrey, is the central character (around whom all the others revolve) of ‘A Phoenix Rising’, Book One of ‘The House of the Red Duke’.

  Here he is in conversation with twenty-nine-year-old Henry VIII. They have been discussing the forthcoming Field of Cloth of Gold with Thomas Wolsey (nicknamed ‘Snake’ by Thomas). Thomas waits until Wolsey has left because he has a brilliant idea (the brainchild of Thomas Bullen) he wants to put to the King. He has just been telling Henry about an old witch he met in Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, at the court of James IV of Scotland….

  “For some strange reason, I could still remember almost every word the old hag had uttered in a chamber where there was neither night nor day. I was hardly about to repeat her nonsense about bloodied wedding bands involving the House of Tudor…or a match between my own House and the royal House of Stewart. Therein lay the path to madness: one that would take me straight back to the Tower. However, there was still that important matter I needed to discuss with Henry: my last piece of pork, smothered in apple sauce. One of Tom Bullen’s better ideas I was about to present to the King as my own. But as head of the House of Howard, and Tom’s father-in-law, that was my prerogative. Of course, if Henry liked the plan, Tom could see it through publicly, putting his head above the parapet before we knew whether or not it would be successful.

  <<Either way, I’ll win. If it all ends in disaster, Tom will shoulder the blame and I’ll lament him ruining my cunning scheme>>

      As usual, Henry was far too preoccupied with his own concerns to pay any attention to my mood of uncertainty. ‘Now, Thomas,’ he said, about to make for the door, ‘I’m off to see my tailor back in Westminster about that new doublet of cloth of gold I’ve asked him to make. Why not come too and sup with Kate and me. I can help you down to the landing stage and you can tell me what else this ancient Scottish witch told you.’

   Rising as fast as my old legs could manage, I thanked the stars again for giving me this heaven-sent private moment to put my son-in-law’s proposal to the King. I was glad that Henry had the grace to wait for me, gently putting a helping hand under my elbow which I gratefully received. <<We both know that even though my body might be failing, my mind’s as sharp as it’s ever been. And I’m as useful to him as I’ve ever been>>

   ‘Now Tom has gone about on his business,’ he said, ‘you and I can discuss lighter matters on my barge. You know how much I value your opinion. I want to know what you think of Frenchwomen. I’ve seen for myself they’re very fair. But not as fair as our own, of course.’

    I couldn’t quite believe my luck. ‘Your Majesty. How did you guess my thoughts? Comely Englishwomen is exactly the topic I wish to discuss with you. Or rather, one in particular. And then we may talk about comely Frenchwomen to your heart’s delight. Though they do say they can be quite contrary when the mood takes them. But as we know, so can the men.’

   <<As I think of Snake, knowing how piqued he would be if he were here, I can almost taste that last mouthful of apple sauce on the end of my tongue>>”

Thank you, Vivienne Brereton and Love Books Group Tours

 

About the author

Born near historic Winchester in the UK, Vivienne Brereton has been passionate about the Tudors for as long as she can remember. This led to a degree in medieval history at university where she met her future husband. Three sons later and six countries she called home, she finally felt ready to write a novel.

Words have always played an important part in Vivienne’s life whether it’s been writing, editing, teaching English to foreigners, or just picking up a good book. In preparation for her novel, she read intensively on the skills needed to write well and did an enormous amount of research which she greatly enjoyed. Having three sons was helpful when she came to write about the characters, Tristan and Nicolas. All those squabbles she had to deal with came in very handy. She also used her husband and sons as guinea pigs for her Tudor cookery attempts with varying degrees of success (abuse).

Seeing ‘A Phoenix Rising’ in print for the first time was a moment of great joy for her and she hopes you enjoy reading it as much as she enjoyed writing it.

 

Author Links

Website: http://www.viviennebrereton.com

Twitter: @VivienneBreret1

 

 

Book Links

Amazon US https://amzn.to/2yaLmO1

Amazon UK https://amzn.to/2N6AzwV

Restoration – Alice May / #Extract #BlogTour @rararesources @AliceMay_Author

 

 

The House That Sat Down Trilogy #2

Inspired by a true story, The House That Sat Down Trilogy is a tale of triumph over tragedy. It is an astonishing account of sudden, first-world homelessness in the heart of the New Forest, and the unexpected consequences. Written entirely from a mother’s point of view, following the collapse of her family’s home, it is an uplifting and positive read in spite of the subject matter, with a thread of wry humour throughout. Follow this ordinary woman on an extraordinary journey of survival and self discovery as she reels from disaster, before picking herself up and coming back stronger and wiser than before.
Packed with humorous observations about what it is like to live in a tent in your garden with your husband and four children after a significant part of your house falls down out of the blue one day, this story takes you from the depths of despair right through to the satisfying heights of success against the odds, with lots of tea and cakes on the way.

Follow this crazy family as they cope with disaster in their own truly unique and rather mad way, and celebrate each small triumph along the way with them.

 

Restoration

Let us return to the crumbling cob cottage in the country, and our intrepid heroine and her hilarious family.

They are about to start rebuilding their home and their lives. Of course, nothing is going to go smoothly for them, is it?

In this sequel to ‘Accidental Damage – tales from the house that sat down’ we accompany our heroine on her journey as she bravely battles to restore everything that she loves; often against the odds and with a liberal sprinkling of humour, art and home-made cookies along the way.

One thing is for sure, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

 

 

Extract

The whole second book is about rebuilding, both the house and the family’s confidence and resilience. I wanted to demonstrate how the small things in life can make a massive difference. In this case, it’s something as simple as a basic, functioning staircase, the arrival of which is greeted like a major technological breakthrough.

 

 ‘Remaining in the past….

As with many building projects, things can seem to take forever before one sees any progress and then, all of a sudden, everything starts to come together. This is the stage that we were now at with the rebuild of our beautiful cottage.

At long last the new staircase went in, the walls were plastered, and the space started to feel almost useable again, instead of some noisy old barn stuffed to the brim with busy builders. I took such great delight in walking up and down the brand-new, modern, safe set of stairs that I think poor old Dusty thought I had finally lost the plot. I was so pleased with it that I even went to get the Barbarians from the caravan to come and try it out too.

The Barbarians completely understood my fascination with the new stairs.  We had spent so many years with the old rickety 350-year-old cottage staircase that it was a complete novelty to have a full set of even, steady treads complete with a handrail! Fancy that! Marvellous! All five of us spent a merry half-an-hour testing the new flight out, and then going into each of the newly rebuilt bedrooms and generally getting in the way of the bemused workforce. Then I took lots of photos of the four Barbarians on the stairs with Skelly and sent the images to Beloved Husband at work, to cheer him up.

Eventually, having been physically prevented from trying to get poor Skelly to slide down the new, unpainted bannister, Small changed the subject and nodded towards the sealed up back bedroom door, saying bluntly, “So when are you going to open that up then?” He was only trying to distract me. I knew he’d already made his mind up to try the banister sliding thing later on, when I wasn’t looking, but I had to agree that he had a point about the little bedroom.

The bulk of the really dusty work had been completed. The carpentry, the plastering and the electrics were almost finished bar a few minor details. We even had a front door! Amazing! A beautiful forest green one with a little glass window in it and sleek, black fittings. We were now able to actually secure our property after nearly fourteen months with a gaping hole in the wall direct to the outside world. Wonders would never cease. Such a small detail but so important to a family’s sense of security and one that signalled that yet another significant change was on its way.

It really wouldn’t be long before we could start to move back in.’

Thank you, Alice May and Rachel’s Random Resources

 

About the Author

I am a multi-tasking parent to four not-so-small children, and I am fortunate enough to be married to (probably) the most patient man on the planet.  We live in, what used to be, a ramshackle old cottage in the country. Our house began to fall down out of the blue one day, which resulted in the whole family living in a tent in the back garden for quite some time, while we worked out how to rebuild our home.

A few years afterwards, I decided to write a book and, once I started, I found I couldn’t stop.

Inspired by true-life events ‘Accidental Damage – tales from the house that sat down’ wouldn’t leave me alone until it was written.

Within six months of self-publishing my novel, I was delighted to learn that it had won two ‘Chill with a Book Awards’. This was a massive honour and motivated me to continue writing. Accidental Damage became the first book in a trilogy.

The Omnibus edition of all three books in the House That Sat Down Trilogy is now available via Amazon in both paperback and kindle format.

 

Author Links 

Website: www.AliceMay.weebly.com

Facebook www.facebook.com/AliceMayAuthor/

Twitter: @AliceMay_Author

Instagram: alicemay_author_artist

 

 

Book Links:

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-That-Sat-Down-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B07WJW5MYF

US – https://www.amazon.com/House-That-Sat-Down-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B07WJW5MYF

Grasping at Water – Carmel Bendon / #PromoPost @CarmelBendon @HenryRoiPR

“What if the world I have seen for the years of my life was shown to be an illusion? Would I discard the solid illusions of a lifetime in favour of the truth?” When a young, unidentified woman is pulled alive and well from Sydney Harbour in 2013, the links to another woman – found in similar circumstances forty years earlier – present psychiatrist Kathryn Brookley with a terrible decision as the events of the present and past begin to mirror each other and the gap between truth and illusion shrinks. When the young woman goes further and declares that she has lived continuously since coming to ‘understanding’ in the 14th century, her vivid accounts of life, love, childbirth, and loss in the Middle Ages seem so authentic that they test Kathryn’s scientific objectivity to the limit. As Kathryn delves she discovers that she is not the only one whose habitual assumptions about life have been torn asunder by an apparent experience of the miraculous in connection with the mystery woman. But it is the emotional, spiritual and mystical insights that emerge from the connection of all the facets of this mystery that affect Kathryn and others most profoundly, reflecting the commonality of human experience across the ages and the deep yearnings within all of us.

 

 

Promo Post

Thank you, Carmel Bendon and Henry Roi PR

 

About the author

When Carmel Bendon isn’t writing she’s lecturing at university or giving talks to general audiences on “all things medieval”.

 

Author Links

Blog : https://carmelbendon.com/

 

 

Book Link

Amazon: https://bookgoodies.com/a/B07GNH8DTH

White Zion – Gila Green / #GuestPost @green_gila

This novel-in-stories takes readers into the worlds of 19th century Yemen, pre-State Israel, modern Israel and modern Canada. You will hear the voices of a young boy marveling at Israel’s first air force on his own roof, the cry of a newly married woman helpless to defend herself against her new husband’s desires, the anger of the heroine’s uncle as he reveals startling secrets about his marriage and the fall-out after generations of war.

 

(Note: my book cover is an authentic family photo of Yemenite Jewish women in the Ottoman Empire around 1920.)

 

Guest Post

Something to Remember

By Gila Green

“All I remember of my grandmother’s house was her doll collection. I was five and overweight from too much Kentucky Fried chicken, dripping with the honey they’d give you in those bite-sized plastic containers, and I was as shy as any fat kid in a foreign country.

I remember a room with low ceilings and walls that felt too close together, and an ancient woman, who covered her hair and neck with a night-blue scarf, opening the thin wooden doors to a closet which was filled with the dolls she had spent many years collecting. I cannot remember any specific doll; I see only a jumble of bright eyes and plastic grins of different shapes and sizes in neat, dusted rows.

My grandmother was pointing at the dolls and smiling down at me, and I hope I smiled back, but honest to God I don’t remember. I know that chances are I stood like my own young daughter often does when confronted with a stranger: shrugging a shoulder up to one ear, mouth ajar, eyes unnaturally wide. I hope not. I hope I made her smile that one and only time.”

–excerpt from my novel-in-stories White Zion

In my novel-in-stories White Zion my heroine, Miriam (Miri) Gil, is both haunted by and trying to tear herself away from memory. Though one of the major themes of White Zion is immigration and the fall-out from war, you could fill a drawer with the various sub-threads. One such sub-thread readers can easily tease out is coping with tragic memories and, in the case of this excerpt, coming face to face with the absence of any memories at all.

In Miri’s case, as an adult, she discovers a photo album that offers a tiny glimpse into her paternal grandmother’s life. She is aware that her grandmother, who was born in Ottoman Palestine, died when she was ten years old. She had always been told that her grandmother died accidentally,

but now as an adult, she revisits this version of the story—at times unwillingly when she’s trying to sleep.

Remembering the forgotten

This absent grandmother is named Nomi El-Karif. And Nomi’s death has culpability splattered all over it. Adulthood means a depth of understanding that was previously blocked to Miri. Now she struggles to swallow the circumstances: her uncles were young, burdened with small children, unable to care for their absent-minded mother. Her father was an ocean away, so distant he may as well have been camping out on Mars. Or that’s the way the story was always presented.

So, nobody had the peace of mind to consider deeply the consequences of placing a physically strong, sixty-two-year-old woman in an old-age home. There were empty stomachs to be filled, bills to be paid, and in her father’s case, an ocean so wide, even his mind could not cross it.

The result?

Nomi, who wants nothing more than to return to her childhood home and has long forgotten that her parents are dead, flees the old-age home. For three months it is as though she never existed—until one day when her body is discovered in a forest by passing backpackers.

Though Miri must now reprocess this tragedy as an adult, ironically, there is not a line in the novel she begins with anything close to “Remember when?” Remember when grandmother was found dead in a ditch? is not a sentence she can approach. It is not something she can toss at her tight-lipped father or hold out to her icy mother. There is no one with whom she can share this absence of memory and because she cannot give what she doesn’t have, the reader is not an option for her either.

Miriam’s angry father never mentions his mother’s death to her, possibly because he is himself unsure of what really happened. After all, who chose this old age home? Were references given or was it merely a convenient location? Who wasn’t on duty that night when his mother escaped? These questions go unasked and are buried along with Nomi in a ditch in a Jerusalem forest.

The album of alleviation

There’s no one on earth to clue Miri in, so she flips through a photo album that itself becomes a companion for her. It is through the album that she begins the process of healing, because the album is safe. She can ask all the

questions she likes; she can flip back and forth to images of her young, radiant grandmother. Through the photo album, Miri remains faithful to the false memories she concocts on her own to soothe the absent ones. She cannot get enough of the would-have-been sunny afternoons and easy laughs every granddaughter craves. They are all there in the precious album Miri comes to prize.

The Battle for Memory

It is precisely what she believes her grandmother would have said to her if she had only not plunged to her own death, that propels the plot forward, enables a new layer of false memories to replace the void in Miri’s heart. When Miri admits how much she would have liked to have had another grandmother, instead of weighing herself down in grief, these imaginary memories yank her up out of her hopelessness and toward actualizing her strengths and finally, success.

The question for the reader is if it is believable that Miri has grown enough to stand her ground and resist the temptation to blame her uncles and aunts once more, or to take a stab at her father when her buoyancy passes?

Or can Miri see the larger picture for good now that she has processed this loss? Can the reader imagine a higher resolution Miriam Gil by the end of White Zion? A heroine who fingerprints a firm protective layer over her grandmother’s ugly death as food for animals at the base of a cliff. Could Miriam Gil preserve what’s lifegiving about the familial database she does have with the absent grandmother and avoid turning it into an excuse to deceive, and accuse, and ultimately to abandon the people she loves the most?

I invite you to read my companion novel Passport Control where you will meet Miriam Gil and her father again and find out. Meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts.

(https://www.amazon.com/Passport-Control-Gila-Green-ebook/dp/B07GTPZP19)

Thank you, Gila Green

 

About the author

Canadian Gila Green is an Israel-based author. Her novels include: No Entry, White Zion, Passport Control, and King of the Class and she’s published dozens of short stories. She writes about racism, war, alienation, immigration, and survival. She has a fascination with the 1930s and 40s in the Middle East, and most recently has turned her attention to African elephant poaching. She does most of her work in a converted bomb shelter overlooking the Judean Hills. She loves to hear from readers.

 

Author Links

 www.gilagreenwrites.com

@gilagreenfiction Instagram

@green_gila   Twitter

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100015609368304

 

 

Book Links

Cervena Barva: http://www.thelostbookshelf.com/g.html#Gila%20Green

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/White-Zion-Gila-Green/dp/1950063127 

 

The Quiet Girls – J.M. Hewitt / #Review #BooksOnTour @bookouture @jmhewitt

 

 

‘Hattie!’ Carrie called, an edge to her voice. ‘Hattie, this isn’t funny, come out now.’ Carrie moved forward through the woods on shaking legs. She tried calling, shouting, screaming, but everything was quiet. Her little sister was gone.

Detective Carrie Flynn’s sister Hattie was kidnapped when they were both just little girls, but the face of the man who took her is a blank in Carrie’s memory. After the police never found the culprit, Carrie swore she would become a detective.

Twenty years later, when eleven-year-old Melanie Wilson, a quiet girl who loves books, is reported missing, Carrie drowns in memories of her lost sister. Searching for Melanie, Carrie finds grainy black-and-white footage of the young girl with her parents at a harbour, boarding a boat and disappearing. Carrie realises they have headed for a deserted wasteland, the river island Pomona. What could make a family so desperate to escape their home?

Then the police receive a mysterious message from another young woman, calling from the same docks where Melanie vanished: I gave you his name, where to find him, but you did nothing. My blood is on your hands.

Carrie is sure Melanie and her family are in terrible danger. She knows what it’s like to have the authorities give up on you, and something in the voice sounds horribly familiar. It may have nothing to do with her lost little sister, but she will never ignore a plea for help.

To find Melanie, Carrie must unlock the memories she has buried for years – but will it be too late? Can Carrie use her own demons to bring Melanie home safely and finally get justice for her beloved sister?

 

 

My review

Well, this is a weird book. No,no need to stop reading here. I mean weird in a good way.

There is so much going on that your head is spinning. It’s like there are 3 books in here for the price of one. In the beginning I had no idea how that would end and how it would work out.

At this point authors can do magic. They start with storylines that seem to be miles apart and in the end you see the gap between them getting smaller and smaller until the link that binds them is finaly revealed.

What have I learned? Thinking with your heart instead of your head can put you in some very dangerous situations and sometimes you are leaping out of the frying pan and into the fire. 4 stars.

Thank you, J.M. Hewitt and Bookouture.

 

About the author

J.M. Hewitt writes crime fiction and is the author of three previous crime fiction novels and has been published in two short story publications. Her work usually incorporates twentieth and twenty-first century events and far flung locations, and her novels explore the darker side of human behaviour.
In contrast to the sometimes dark content of her books, she lives in a seaside town in Suffolk with her dog, Marley. 

When she was ten years old she’d read all the books she owned, all those on her mother’s bookcase and everything the library had to offer. She decided the only course of action to take was to write her own stories. Thirty years later, she is still writing them.

 

Author Links

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/j.mhewittauthor/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/jmhewitt

WEBSITE: www.jeanettehewitt.com

 

 

Book Links

Amazon:  https://geni.us/B07XCNF4N9Social

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2ktCG1M

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2lR4AoO

Googleplay: http://bit.ly/2kr053W

Nothing Important Happened Today – Will Carver / #Extract #BlogTour #RandomThingsTours @annecater @will_carver @OrendaBooks

 

 

When strangers take part in a series of group suicides, everything suggests that a cult is to blame. How do you stop a cult when nobody knows they are a member?

Nine suicides
One Cult
No leader

Nine people arrive one night on Chelsea Bridge. They’ve never met. But at the same time, they run, and leap to their deaths. Each of them received a letter in the post that morning, a pre-written suicide note, and a page containing only four words: Nothing important happened today.

That is how they knew they had been chosen to become a part of the People Of Choice: A mysterious suicide cult whose members have no knowledge of one another.

Thirty-two people on that train witness the event. Two of them will be next. By the morning, People Of Choice are appearing around the globe; it becomes a movement. A social media page that has lain dormant for four years suddenly has thousands of followers. The police are under pressure to find a link between the cult members, to locate a leader that does not seem to exist.

How do you stop a cult when nobody knows they are a member?

 

 

Extract

THAT MORNING

3

225–226 – Lovers

For the last week, they’ve been telling each other one thing they like about the other person, every day. And it seems to have been working.

They’re fucking when the first child walks in. It’s the same morning sex they used to love before kids came along. When he would lie on top of her and they’d look at each other, pretending that they didn’t care about his sweaty, clammy skin and her stale breath.

But it’s passionless now. Forced. And they don’t look at one another. And they don’t bother with foreplay or kissing or talking.

Or tenderness.

Or feeling.

They’re still spooning when that first kid walks in.

The little shit says, ‘Mummy’ in a half excited-by-a-new-day, half still-rubbing-his-eyes way. He toddles over to the bed and starts tugging at the covers that disguise his parents’ activity. They tell him that he has to stop. That they’re just having a cuddle. That he needs to go downstairs and put the television on.

But the little brat decides that he doesn’t want to go downstairs without mum and dad. That he wants to perch on the edge of the mattress, swinging his legs, until they get up with him. They are trying.

Desperately trying to love each other.

Again, they push, telling him that they’ll only be a minute or so, smiling like everything is normal, ruining the moment even further. In their heads they tell themselves that it’s not the kids’ fault. It’s theirs.

And they are still linked together when another child dodders around the doorframe.

The one they stupidly thought could save them.

Make them a real family.

They don’t want to shout at the kids or tell them off. Because neither wants to be the bad parent. Because they only truly love them now. And it doesn’t do those boys any good. They’re moments away from abandoning everything and letting the little pests get their way again.

This is how every day starts. Though not always with pitiful intercourse.

Then the letterbox slams shut downstairs and the mail crashes to the doormat. Two utility bills they won’t worry about, a pizza delivery leaflet, a free catalogue that arrives every month from a website that was only ever visited once, a card from the local estate agents showing which houses have been selling in the area, requesting to give them a valuation on their property, and one final letter addressed to both lovers.

It uses their names. Not their numbers. Not their job. Not their archetype. Not their clearest personality trait.

It’s their time.

Congratulations. You have been chosen. Your membership request has been accepted.

And they are still just hard and wet enough to continue when both children innocently race out of the door to collect the benign bills and junk mail and death sentence. The bed squeaks ferociously for another twenty seconds or so to mark the last moments of their frigid ceremony, their attempted intimacy.

They are both empty and unfulfilled when the two boys come skidding back into their lie with a plastic-wrapped furniture brochure and innocuous white envelope. They’re sitting up now. The boys make paper aeroplanes from unwanted flyers.

The lovers are shocked at the size of the bills they won’t have to pay. They don’t yet realise that gas usage and interest accrued means nothing to those who are chosen.

In the final envelope are two pages. Reading a few words ignites them into action. Both of them slipping out from under the sheets, both throwing on something to cover their modesty, both exiting the bedroom, descending the stairs with two contented children in tow, the furniture publication left resting on the quilt, both walking barefoot on the cold kitchen tiles and both standing in front of the stove, ignoring the children who are pulling at them from behind.

He holds down the button to produce a string of sparks and turns the dial that releases the gas they won’t have to pay for. Once the hob is fired up, she places the letter and envelope into the flames and they both wait, staring until it is flaking, brittle carbon, incinerating the evidence.

As they discussed.

As was agreed.

As the others will be doing right now.

What a team.

And they crouch down to be at the same level as the boys – it’s easier to think that they’ll be better off without them. And they kiss their children. And they tell them that they love them.

And they make breakfast.

This may be their last day, but it should be no different from any other.

Thank you, Will Carver and Random Things Tours

 

About the author

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.

 

 

Book Link

Amazon Uk : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nothing-Important-Happened-Today-Carver-ebook/dp/B07QX36CM8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BZWTCKKFMZYE&keywords=nothing+important+happened+today+will+carver&qid=1572771293&s=digital-text&sprefix=nothing+important%2Cdigital-text%2C205&sr=1-1

All At Sea – Gemma Roman / #Extract #BlogTour #RandomThingsTours @annecater @GemmaRomanBooks

 

 

Alice is young, in love and living on the Cornish coast. Life should be perfect. But Alice is about to meet someone who will make her question everything.

 

 

Extract

Kai

The train doors open with what sounds like a relieved sigh and I carry my bags through onto the platform as a swarm of commuters rush past me, reluctantly eager to start their day.

Rupert and his wife Lizzie drove to Manchester from their home in the Midlands being as Lizzie’s attending the conference that we’ll be shooting footage of. We’re both booked into a cheap, local hotel but they were kind enough to pick me up from the station. I’ve only met them a few times but I spot Rupert straight away: He’s a slightly rotund, stocky man with a greying mop of hair that seems to have happily rested in the mullet category. His approach to the ‘smart casual’ directive of the week seems a bit more well-mannered than mine as he stands beside their Nissan Micra wearing a full suit – the same colour as his hair I realise – with his shirt collar undone by one button. He looks slightly uncomfortable in the outfit and this look amplifies when he sees me and it compounds the realisation that he is overdressed. I opted for a pair of dark jeans and a simple short sleeved shirt with a red and blue cheque pattern. I decide it’s best for me not to comment and I opt to simple say hello and attempt to squash my bags into the impossibly tiny space left in the boot.

We make polite conversation in the car: Lizzie asking about my train journey, and me reciprocating by enquiring about their long motorway haul. It’s obvious after the short journey to the hotel car park that we’re all shattered from the early start, so we check into the hotel and agree to meet back at reception half an hour later to regroup and walk to the venue to set up our equipment.

I’m on the fourth floor, so I venture into the lift and select the relevant button. I pull my phone from my pocket to see that it’s 08:37 and seeing Alice’s smiling face on my screen, I have the urge to hear her voice. Her number goes straight to voicemail, and after a pregnant pause I hang up without speaking.

Last night was nice – I met her from the bar and walked her home, hoping to spend my last night in Devon in her bed. My wish came true, we talked, we made love and we somehow painted a fresh start over the night before.

I’ll admit that I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve asked Alice to marry me, at least a handful over the years we’ve been together but my instinct tells me that she wants to. This girl has been the only thing I’ve ever really wanted, and from the moment that I first kissed her during a walk on the beach in the rain three years ago, my world seemed to fall into place and as far as I can tell, she’s my soul mate.

I send her a quick text to say that we arrived safely, and open the door to my hotel room: It’s a standard type for budget places like this, but still pleasant, with its tiny kettle next to the single use coffee and milk pouches. The blinds are open and reveal a slightly oppressive view of the street outside with rush hour in full force. It makes me long for home, and the sound of the waves rather than horns beeping at each other in frustration.

Turning on the kettle, I unpack my bags quickly, aware that we need to be at the venue soon. I sit on the edge of the bed, feeling the need to lie back and rest my eyes, despite the less than luxurious firmness of the mattress. The water boils slowly and noisily, creating an annoying spluttering sound that luckily stops me from closing my eyes.

The coffee tastes like loneliness; bitter and watery. I finish the cup, burning my tongue and appraising myself in the small, simple wall mirror. Taking a deep breath and promising myself a better night’s sleep in a depressing single bed, I check my phone again. Disappointment seeps into my skin, more powerful than the cheap caffeine, seeing that the screen is still empty. I shake my head, running my fingers through my hair, chastising myself for the utter dependence I have on Alice to make me happy. It’s always been there, and I’ve always been aware of it.

I have no doubt that she loves me, and that I make her happy in return, but Alice has a kind of self-reliance that I’ve never understood. Perhaps why she often pushes me to come away on my work trips: She enjoys her own space and sometimes even seems to crave it when I’m at home for long periods of time. I know that’s normal, and has no bearing on us a couple, but I’d spend all of my time with her if I could. My whole world lights up when she’s with me, as if there’s a sensor inside my heart that pulsates when it feels her warmth.

Perhaps I’m just naïve, she’s my first love and ours is the first relationship I’ve had, but I can’t imagine my life being better than when I’m with her, and I wish that one day soon she’d let me solidify that feeling by committing to us fully. My friends think I’m foolish for wanting to be married at twenty-three but I think when you know you’ve found the one you want to be with, what’s the point in waiting? Alice’s silent treatment is making me realise that I may be waiting a while though.

I rinse my cup and pick up the bag containing my camera gear, looking forward to getting my thoughts lost in the day ahead.

Thank you, Gemma Roman and Random Things Tours.

 

About the author

“I’m Gemma Roman.

I have pretty much always been a bookworm.

I always loved reading, writing and the creative arts, and also enjoyed dancing which led me to study for a degree in Dance Studies when I was at University. Following graduation, I worked in retail and became interested in the wealth of characters that I came across daily while working in customer service.

I’d had a few ideas rumbling around in my head for a while, and so spent a few years writing my first novel in my spare time. I finally managed to release it in June 2016, and am now planning for the release of my new book ‘All At Sea’, which is due out in 2019.

 

Author Links

blog : http://www.gemmaromanbooks/books.review.blog

Twitter @GemmaRomanBooks

Author Page on Facebook

 

 

Book Link

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-At-Sea-Gemma-Roman/dp/1089529376

The Raided Heart – Jen Wilson / #Interview #BlogTour @rararesources @inkjunkie1984

 

 

Meg Mathers, the headstrong youngest sibling of a reiving family on the English-Scottish border, is determined to remain at her childhood home, caring for the land and village she’s grown up with. When an accident brings her a broken ankle and six weeks in the resentful company of ambitious and angry young reiver Will Hetherington, attraction starts to build. Both begin to realise they might have met their match, and the love of their lives, but 15th century border living is not that simple, as Meg soon finds herself betrothed to the weakling son of a tyrannical neighbour, Alexander Gray. When tragedy strikes, can Meg and Will find their way back to each other, and can Will finally take his own personal revenge on Gray?

 

 

Q&A

– When and where do you prefer to write?

I work full-time, so I’m limited to evenings and weekend, but my usual pattern is to do plotting, making notes or focusing on the more admin-based side of things on my evenings, then putting aside my weekend time to do the creative side. So far, it’s worked, and I really look forward to my writing time, especially on Sundays, when I can pop some music on, hide from the world, and write.

– Do you have a certain ritual?

I recently moved my writing space from the dining table into my ‘study’, and I am really trying to build that into a nice, creative space where I can focus, away from any distractions. In terms of having a ritual to actually write, I’m not too bad, I don’t think. I like having music on, and have recently been experimenting with having a Spotify playlist for a writing project. There’s one for The Raided Heart, which you should be able to access here. I cannot write in silence, but equally, I cannot write when I don’t know what music is playing, so my favourite thing is to listen to music I know inside out, like my old boyband albums, or musical soundtracks, where I know what’s coming next and can’t get distracted.

– Is there a drink or some food that keeps you company while you write?

It depends on what I’m writing… I do have to have a cuppa on the go, at a minimum, whilst I’m writing, and I’m a big fan of green tea, either with or without caffeine, depending on the time of day! Equally though, I’ve always enjoyed writing in pubs, so a nice glass of red wine has helped many of my words hit the page. I tend not to eat, as I’m terrified of letting crumbs ruin my laptop.

– What is your favourite book?

The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory. It’s the first historical fiction book I read after leaving uni, after a colleague insisted I would enjoy it, and she was right. I still reread it whenever I’m feeling ill, or generally mopey, and it’s such a great book. It also got me hooked on the Tudors, having never been interested in them before, so I have it to thank for getting me restarted on my historical writing and reading.

– Do you consider writing a different genre in the future?

You know how most people associate themselves as being either larks or owls, based on whether they work better in the morning or evening? Well, sticking with the bird metaphor, I’m definitely a magpie. At the moment, I’ve got projects in contemporary and historical romance, and I’m working on a collection of short stories, going back to my Kindred Spirits series, which I’m really excited about. I just love writing stories, and I enjoy experimenting with different styles and genres.

– Do you sometimes base your characters on people you know?

Not necessarily people I know, but when I’m writing, I do tend to ‘see’ the characters, and for that, I generally base them on actors who I think would portray them perfectly. In The Raided Heart, it’s probably fairly obvious when you read it, but Gray is 100%, absolutely, Alan Rickman in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I simply cannot picture him any other way when I think about him. I guess this is what happens when you write a first draft in your teens.

– Do you take a notebook everywhere in order to write down ideas that pop up?

I do. If nothing else, it justifies my slightly ridiculous notebook collection… I love thinking and writing on long journeys, so if I’m travelling with work too, I make sure there’s always one of my personal notebooks in my bag. I’ve been doing morning/evening pages as well recently, so there’s always a notebook by the side of my bed too.

– Which genre do you not like at all?

Ironically, as somebody who writes about ghosts a lot, I cannot read or write true horror. I’m just too much of a wimp, and know I’d end up having nightmares. I’m not a huge fan of graphic violence either, so some crime-writers cross my personal line, but I can sometimes still read that, and just skim through the gory bits…

– If you had the chance to co-write a book. Whom would it be with?

That’s so difficult! I’m torn between my three favourite writers: Philippa Gregory, Elizabeth Chadwick, or Anne O’Brien. I love their work, and working on a historical fiction novel with any of them would just be incredible. I say working with them, I’d probably just sit there, being a daft fan-girl!

– If you should travel to a foreign country to do research, which one would you chose and why?

Well, I’ve currently got plans for a Kindred Spirits: Paris novel, so heading back there would be an obvious choice. If I was going to pick somewhere new, I adore Italy, but have only done Rome and a couple of small villages, so exploring Italy more would be amazing.

Thank you, Jennifer C. Wilson and Rachel’s Random Resources

 

About the author 

Jennifer C. Wilson is a marine biologist by training, who developed an equal passion for history and historical fiction whilst stalking Mary, Queen of Scots on childhood holidays (she has since moved on to Richard III). Enrolling on an adult education workshop on her return to the north-east of England for work reignited her pastime of creative writing, and she has been filling notebooks ever since. In 2014, Jennifer won the Story Tyne short story competition, and has been working on a number of projects since, including co-hosting the North Tyneside Writers’ Circle. Her Kindred Spirits novels are published by Crooked Cat Books and her time-slip novella, The Last Plantagenet?, by Ocelot Press. She lives in North Tyneside, and is very proud of her approximately 2-inch sea view.

 

Author Links 

Website:              https://jennifercwilsonwriter.wordpress.com/   

Amazon:             https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jennifer-Wilson/e/B018UBP1ZO/

Facebook:           https://www.facebook.com/jennifercwilsonwriter/

Twitter:               https://twitter.com/inkjunkie1984

Instagram:          https://www.instagram.com/jennifercwilsonwriter/

 

 

Book Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Raided-Heart-Romantic-Adventure-Historic-ebook/dp/B07WN3R8D7

US –  https://www.amazon.com/Raided-Heart-Romantic-Adventure-Historic-ebook/dp/B07WN3R8D7