Guest post…..

CRUSHING (ON) CELEBRITY

Do you have fictional character crushes? Do you finish a book and feel a little bereft, even if it has a happily-ever-after ending? Do you get lost in the male protagonist with his six-foot plus of hot model gorgeousness? His chiselled jawline, strong cleft chin, Cupid’s-bow lips, and brown puppy-dog eyes; his toned and taut buns ’n’ guns, buff pecs and ripped abs?

Then spare a thought for us authors.

You get to move on to the next BILF in another book. But we’re stuck with our creation in what can feel like the worst case of unrequited love. It’s why my books have turned into a series. That above-description—it’s Ralph, my lead male character. And I can’t get him out of my head.

Oh, I have the odd moment, you know, when I look at my husband. And he’ll look at me the same way. But the moment’s gone, just like that—pfft—when he says, ‘Pull my finger.’

You see, this is why I’m hooked on Ralph, why I hanker for him, why I wouldn’t climb over him in bed to get to hubby.

And it’s just one reason why we girls crush on book characters. Or celebrity-worship. There are many others:

1. Fictional leading men don’t belch like a chainsaw

2. They don’t pick out their belly-button lint and drop it in the indoor plants

3. They don’t stand in front of an open fridge calling out, ‘I can’t see the cheese!’ And they don’t cut it

4. They don’t drink orange juice straight out of the container

5. They don’t scratch their nuts

6. They don’t leave the seat up (because they don’t even go to the toilet)

7. They don’t pick their noses or scatter toenail clippings on the carpet

8. They don’t hoik phlegm (loudly)

9. They don’t check their text messages while you’re talking to them

10. They don’t refuse to ask for directions

11. And they don’t yell at the footy ref on TV, ‘Oh what was that?! Make a call, ya fuckwit!’

This inventory of gnarly habits that our non-fictional leading men have, does it sound cliché? Does it look like I googled it? Yes, it does, and no, I didn’t. My research is close to home, so to speak. Thanks heaps, Hubs and Dad.

When I was little, my mother told me my father had been raised by une paire de singes—a pair of monkeys. And where Mills & Boon became her drug of choice, I accepted her explanation for his behaviour. But it stopped making sense after I got married: my husband was raised by a pair of self-respecting humans. So …

It seems men are just hardwired as yobs. And women are hardwired with a certain je ne sais quoi. Finesse, shall we say? We might well have a potty-mouth, but we won’t leave skid marks. (Although, some women’s public lavs can leave one wondering, and hoping it’d been a shit-faced bunch of blokes who’d mistaken it for the men’s room and then let loose in there.)

All things considered, for me it’s a double-edged sword because I admire the real. Writing ‘real’ and with depth is my stock-in-trade. But as a starry-eyed teen, I’d interpreted ‘he’s a real man’ as he’s a guy with ample testosterone—deep voice, decent muscle mass, a nice smattering of body hair (not like a gorilla, though), a good libido. I hadn’t factored the other stuff into what constitutes a real man.

We become more feet-on-the-ground as we get older, but the idea of the dreamy one still hangs about. And even though I think fairy tales are bollocks, when too much reality gets tired, a yearning calls from the depth: Please—please—just give me the goddamn storybook man!

And so, Ralph was conceived. He’s real-ish inasmuch as he has his foibles. I even had him vomiting a couple of times, although that’s where I drew the line. I foisted those rubbish tendencies on my other male characters, but I wanted to humanise Ralph, not make a monkey out of him.

. . . .

My girlfriends and I sometimes compare notes about our real-life men:

‘You’re not gonna believe what mine did! He blah blah blah …’

‘Oh, hon, I can go you one better!’

Sounds like a pissing contest, no? A male preoccupation—not the sort of thing fictional female protagonists do. Well, we’re not fictional. We’re real women. Could it be, then, that we women and our husbands are well-matched? Ugh!

Lol! Brilliant!

Cupid F*cks Up

Ruth Roth is a straight shooter. Pity Cupid’s not.

Smart-mouth Ruth is an inspirational humour columnist for a popular women’s magazine. Recently divorced, she has found the love of her life. Without any help, mind you, from the little fat love god. Ruth has decided she herself is her one and only.

And she’s in a comfy place. Why wouldn’t she be? No need to yell ‘Put the bloody toilet seat down!’ No need to hoover toe-nail clippings off the carpet.

But then a silver-tongued Prince Charming fronts up in his shiny Merc and tickles her discarded, little-girl fantasies. He tells her their love is written in the stars.

It must be a misprint.

A romance with this particular PC is not so PC! Still …

Ruth’s life plays out more like ancient myth than fairytale. And what hot-blooded woman can resist forbidden fruit?

There’s a problem, though. Ruth does not have a hot-blooded mum. Ruth has a pain-in-the-arse mum whose squawking disapproval cranks the taboo up a notch.

All the more reason to take up with the stud! But it means taking on the harpy.

Tensions mount, and even Ruth’s man can’t protect her from the trash-talking voices in her head. It looks like he can’t muzzle his own either. When an earth-shattering revelation causes him to give her grief, it makes her feel like she’s dating her mother.

Taking the kind of advice she doles out to her readers is not so easy, and Ruth wonders if this love can survive. More to the point, is it worth the trouble?

Purchase Links

Amazon UK –

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cupid-cks-Ruth-Roth-Book-ebook/dp/B07FZWR76L/

Amazon US –

https://www.amazon.com/Cupid-cks-Ruth-Roth-Book-ebook/dp/B07FZWR76L/

My T(r)oyboy is a Twat

Love, romance, marriage, and a dark little secret. Shh … Small things let loose can grow out of hand.

Ruth Roth’s new husband can’t keep it in. If only he had all those years ago, things might be different now.

His big mouth sends every family member into hell. Except for Ruth’s late mother. She blows in from there. Seems the woman just won’t die. Or let up. Faaaark!

As if Mama’s earbashing isn’t enough, everyone else needs a scapegoat. Ruth is it. Somehow, this mess is her fault.

With everything falling apart, she feels overwhelmed. Until a hunky celebrity pants man—who clearly wants to get into hers—befriends her and makes her feel all warm and fuzzy. At the same time, an educated silicone seductress has designs on hubby.

Temptation abounds. But it’s overshadowed when a startling discovery throws Ruth and her man into uncharted waters, and life comes crashing down.

Ruth has survived plenty with the help of her friends. And as a writer, her wry wit, dirty muse, and a bent for ancient mythology have sustained her. This, though, might be her undoing.

Purchase Links

Amazon UK –

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FKN8HF6/

Amazon US –

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FKN8HF6/

Author Bio –

Paula Houseman was once a graphic designer. But when the temptation to include ‘the finger’ as part of a logo for a forward-moving women’s company proved too much, she knew it was time to give away design. Instead, she took up writing.

She found she was a natural with the double entendres (God knows she’d been in enough trouble as a child for dirty wordplay).

As a published writer of earthy chick lit and romantic comedy, Paula gets to bend, twist, stretch and juice up universal experiences to shape reality the way she wants it, even if it is only in books. But at the same time, she can make it more real, so that her readers feel part of the sisterhood. Or brotherhood (realness has nothing to do with gender).

Through her books, Paula also wants to help the reader escape into life and love’s comic relief. And who doesn’t need to sometimes?

Her style is a tad Monty Pythonesque because she adores satire. It helps defuse all those gaffes and thoughts that no one is too proud of.

Paula lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband. No other creatures. The kids have flown the nest and the dogs are long gone.

Social Media Links –

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/paulahouseman

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/PaulaHouseman

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/PaulaHousemanAuthor

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulahouseman

Check out the rest of the blog tour for reviews, and more, with these awesome book bloggers…..

Happy reading 🙂

Happy Publication Day, Cynthia Hilston 🙂

A Laughing Matter of Pain

Harry Rechthart always knew how to laugh, but laughter can hide a lot of pain that’s drowned by the bottle and good times. He grew up the joker in the early 1900s in Cleveland, Ohio, but as he enters adulthood, conflict splits him. His once close relationship with his brother, Erik, breaks as they come into their own and Erik goes off to college. No longer under Erik’s shadow, Harry feels he might finally shine and make others see him as someone to be proud of. Harry finds an unlikely comrade who understands how he feels–his younger sister, Hannah. Once free of high school, Harry and Hannah double date sister and brother, Kat and Will Jones, attending wild, extravagant parties during the years of Prohibition. Harry thinks he’s won at life–he’s found love in Kat, in a good time, and in the bottle. But all the light goes out fast when Harry’s alcoholism leads to disastrous consequences for him and Kat.

Harry thinks the joke’s on him now that he’s sunk lower than ever. He’s in jail. He’s pushed away his family. He’s a broken man, but in the darkest depths of a prison cell, there is hope. Can Harry rebuild his life and learn that true laughter comes from knowing true joy, or will he bury himself once and for all in this laughing matter of pain?

Purchase Links:

Amazon US:

https://www.amazon.com/Laughing-Matter-Pain-Cynthia-Hilston-ebook/dp/B07F75Z5YP/

Amazon UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laughing-Matter-Pain-Cynthia-Hilston-ebook/dp/B07F75Z5YP/

Author Bio –

Cynthia Hilston is a thirty-something-year-old stay at home mom of three young kids, happily married. Writing has always been like another child to her. After twenty years of waltzing in the world of fan fiction, she finally stepped away to do her debut dance with original works of fiction. Hannah’s Rainbow: Every Color Beautiful is her first original novel. She’s currently working on more books. Visit her website for more information.

In her spare time – what spare time? – she devours books, watches Doctor Who and Game of Thrones, pets her orange kitty, looks at the stars, and dreams of what other stories she wishes to tell.

Social Media Links –

http://www.cynthiahilston.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cynthiahilstonauthor

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/cynthiahilstonauthor

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cynthia-Hilston/e/B01KSD8RPS/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1532102291&sr=1-1

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cynthiahilston

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/authorcynthiahilston

Hi and welcome to my stop on Florence Keeling’s Reflected Destinies blog tour 🙂

Interview with Florence Keeling…..

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

My name is Florence Keeling, I use this name in honour of my Great Grandmother with whom I share a birthday of April Fool’s Day. I am married with two teenage children and two dogs. I write women’s fiction with a hint of the supernatural and my debut novel, Reflected Destinies has a 1940s twist.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

My ideas can come from anywhere, from a song, something I’ve seen in my day to day life or something that I or someone I know has experienced.

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

A lot of my characters are loosely based on people I know or situations that they have been in.

How do you pick your characters names?

Google and baby books are the best for choosing names.

Can you share your writing process with us, in a nutshell?

My writing process consists of me sitting down in front of my laptop and typing. I do very little planning and probably only start thinking of the next chapter as I come to the end of the current one although my brain has often woken me up at 3am to tell me something important which I then have to tap in my phone.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Philippa Gregory, J K Rowling, Catherine Cookson, Jill Murphy and I need to read lots more Terry Pratchett.

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

I would like to meet Philippa Gregory and ask her how on earth she does all the research for her novels and make the characters so vivid and real.

Were you a big reader as a child?

I devoured books as a teenager. Historical romance was my favourite, but The Worst Witch and Famous Five were my childhood books. And I can always remember my Dad reading me the Topsy and Tim books.

When did you start to write?

I wrote poetry and short stories as a teenager and then a few years ago, once my children were older I started to write more seriously.

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

I would re-write the part in the last Harry Potter where Snape dies. He had suffered so much anguish and hurt in his life it would have been nice to see him survive and torment future Hogwarts students.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

No, I am happy writing my own stories.

If you wrote an autobiography, what would your title be?

Dreams do come true.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

I’d love to sit down with The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland and it would have to be in Wonderland of course.

What are you working on right now?

I am currently working on a children’s series of books about a magic academy and then I will be returning to the 3^rd book in my Josie James urban fantasy series under my children’s author name of Lily Mae Walters.

Do you have a new release due?

My second book under Florence Keeling is called Winters’ Gift and is due out in October.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

I usually spend the day checking social media and Amazon sales and rankings.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I am on Facebook and Twitter under both author names and love it when readers get in touch.

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

I would be deeply honoured if you would consider reading a new author or genre that you haven’t read before. It means the absolute world to me when someone enjoys my books.

Reflected Destinies

Laura is happy and content, she has a new boyfriend and loves her job teaching primary school pupils in London.  But when she inherits a rundown house from a stranger on her 30th birthday, memories of her prom night come flooding back, memories of a scary encounter and an antique mirror in the very same house.

Laura visits the house with all its secrets and as she unravels the clues she reveals the biggest secret of all: her own destiny.  But how can you change the future if it’s already written in the past?

Purchase Link –

http://mybook.to/reflecteddestinies

About Florence Keeling

​Florence Keeling adopted for her pen-name her Great Grandmother’s name, chosen because of the shared birthday of April Fool’s Day.  She is married with two teenage children.  Born and raised in Coventry, England she now lives just outside in Nuneaton.  Reflected Destinies is her first novel.

Florence Keeling also writes for children under the name of Lily Mae Walters.

Facebook –

https://www.facebook.com/florence.keeling.7

Twitter –

https://twitter.com/KeelingFlorence

Instagram –

https://www.instagram.com/florence.keeling/

Giveaway…..

Win a Signed copy of Reflected Destinies (UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter link below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494137/?

Good Luck!

Check out the rest of the blog tour for reviews, and more, with these awesome book bloggers…..

Happy Reading 🙂

Hi and welcome to my stop on Christopher Lowery’s The Mosul Legacy blog tour with Urbane Publications and Love Books Group Tours…..

Interview with Christopher Lowery…..

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

Christopher Lowery is a ‘Geordie’, born in the northeast of England, who graduated in finance and economics after reluctantly giving up career choices in professional golf and rock & roll. He is a real estate and telecoms entrepreneur and inventor and has created several successful companies around the world, including Interoute Communications and Wyless Group.

The African Diamonds Trilogy:

Vol I. The Angolan Clan. The genesis is his life in Portugal during and after the revolution and the ‘liberation’ of the African colonies, which results in a dramatic international murder mystery in 2008.

Vol II, The Rwandan Hostage is based upon an incident during the Genocide of 1994 which spawns subsequent catastrophic events in 2010.

Vo II. The Dark Web describes a multi-nation cyber-warfare attack in 2017, demonstrating the inherent dangers of the internet.

The Mosul Legacy, set in 2016, deals with the consequences of the jihadist wars in Iraq and Syria, the menace of a European terrorist attack and the desperate plight of a family of refugees fleeing the war-zones.

Chris also writes patents, poetry, children’s books and songs. He and his wife Marjorie live between London, Geneva and Marbella. Their daughter, Kerry-Jane, a writer/photographer, lives in London.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

From my life’s experiences, both personal and business; countries resided in and events witnessed.

– Fleeing Portugal after the Revolution of the Carnations in 1974,

• My daughter’s work in Rwanda in 1996 as a delegate for the International Red Cross,
• My involvement in the birth of the ‘Internet of Things’, from 2003,
• World historical and current events, eg the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

Many of them.

How do you pick your characters’ names?

I have no idea.

Can you share your writing process with us, in a nutshell?

As I did in business, I see everything as a jigsaw puzzle. The end picture is clear to me and I try to find or invent the pieces to compose it.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Wilkie Collins, PG Wodehouse, Frederic Forsyth, John Buchan, JR Tolkien, (+ W Shakespeare).

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

I have met many authors, they are just other people doing something they enjoy.

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes, I started reading very young and devoured the classics before I was required to in school.

When did you start to write?

In grammar school.

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

Not applicable.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

Many, but I’m content to have written several myself.

If you wrote an autobiography, what would your title be?

Wait and see. (That’s not a title, I haven’t decided upon it yet.)

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

Frankenstein. Bloody Mary’s.

What are you working on right now?

A number of song productions.

Tell us about your last release?

The Dark Web is described above.

Do you have a new release due?

The Mosul Legacy is published on Sept 27^th by Urbane Publications.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

Nothing different.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I’m easy to find on Google or Facebook.

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

I don’t like filling in questionnaires.

LOL!

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions anyway, Christopher 🙂

Thank you for asking.

Buy link…..

https://amzn.to/2oAQ56X

Christopher Lowery is a ‘Geordie’, born in the northeast of England, who graduated in finance and economics after reluctantly giving up career choices in professional golf and rock & roll. Chris left the UK for Switzerland in 1966 and has lived and worked in six different countries over the last 50 years. He was a real estate developer and Telecoms/Internet entrepreneur and inventor and has created several successful companies around the world, notably Interoute Communications, now Europe’s largest cloud services platform provider and Wyless Group, now part of Kore Telematics, one of the world’s largest Internet of Things providers.

In 2014, Chris started writing historically/factually based thrillers and the first two volumes of his African Diamonds Trilogy – The Angolan Clan & The Rwandan Hostage, were published by Urbane Publications, a UK publisher. These books are based upon his family’s experiences during the Portuguese Revolution of the Carnations of 1974 and his daughter’s work as a delegate with the ICRC in Rwanda in 1996. The third volume, The Dark Web, was published in April 2018, and draws on his experience as one of the creators of The Internet of Things, between 2002 and 2016. His fourth book, The Mosul Legacy, an unrelated story, will be published in September 2018. His illustrated All About Jack stories for children are written in humorous verse, and were published privately.  

Hiya! Today I have the pleasure of welcoming K. E. Young 🙂

Kerry I am so happy to be joining you here on Chat About Books.

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

I’m a middle aged fat lady who worked as a network engineer for cellular companies (mostly) for 17 years. Some of that was in Europe. I spent 4 years living in Amsterdam… and I still miss it. I loved it there. Now I write. Mostly fantasy, but there are some contemporary thriller stories in there too.

The thrillers were originally stories I wrote as gifts to my mom, who is a fan of thrillers. The heroine, Charley, is an ATF agent. I rather like her. She’s not a simple character.

Fair warning, very few of my characters are simple. In any of my books. In general, people aren’t. Everyone is more complicated than they seem on the surface.

My fantasy novels are all part of a series. They came about because the world in my head morphed as I was writing a book into something I didn’t expect. So I started a new book (Valbore) in this new world. In order to keep events straight, I had to put together a timeline. The one I put together spans four thousand years and has sparked ideas for well over a dozen stories. Some of them are book and some are less than that, but I made notes on all of them. More stories crop up in this world all the time. I faithfully record them all. I have no idea where it will end.

The world the Tasks of the Nakairi are set in a world of magic, but that magic is treated more like physics. For what it’s worth, I’m told the books skirt the line between fantasy and science fiction.

It is a world where the Aria Atlani, children of the Goddess, are exiled from their home universe by a disaster. Thirteen of the Goddess’s brothers and sisters offer her children havens in their own universes. So far, the stories have all concerned Eperu, one of these offered havens. If a problem crops up that the locals can’t solve, the Goddess brings a Nakairu from another haven to deal with it. Earth is one of those havens.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

To be honest, I don’t know. I sit down with a character in a particular situation or a particular place and it’s all stream of consciousness after that. Even when I have some idea of how it will progress, I’m constantly surprised by what happens.

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

Not just people I know, sometimes it’s people I know of. All of my heroines have touches of myself in them of course (just a little), but Sebas from ‘Nexus of Change’ and ‘The Shurshu’ is based on Congressman Adam Schiff combined with Niccolo Machiavelli and Bren Cameron from CJ Cherryh’s Foreigner series. Other characters are based on family or friends. Usually just bit parts and supporting characters though, and they’re never the whole character. Just a seed. Most of my main characters begin as an idea and take on a life of their own. Sometimes, I have to go back and rewrite to take the mutation into account.

How do you pick your characters names?

For my fantasy novels, I look to names in history. Pre Roman usually and not usually European. I’ll also cruise through Arab or Indian names. Some of the names are alterations of a name from one of those sources or a translation of some defining feature into a dead language.

For the thriller stories, I use names from around my own neighbourhood or I’ll look at names common in the area that the story is set.

Can you share your writing process with us, in a nutshell?

I sit down at my computer, read the last couple pages that I wrote just to remind myself where I am in the story, pop on my headphones with an Epic music playlist, and start typing. On a good day, I can pound out 2000 to 4000 words. On a bad day and the story doesn’t want to come… I move to editing, filling out my world bible for the TOTN series, do research, or playing with ideas for stories. Sometimes, your subconscious is still working something out in that next bit you have to write and it’s best to occupy yourself with something else.

I work very linearly. Start to end. I don’t use an outline because all too often, I have no idea where it’s going. All I know is that my subconscious has something planned.

That doesn’t mean I can’t write from outline. That’s what I do with my technical writing, but with fiction… Writing from outline is too restrictive. My subconscious hates not being able to roam. Since my subconscious has better ideas than my conscious does, I let it do what it wants.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Only 5? How do you expect me to choose only 5? Sigh… in no particular order:

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
CJ Cherryh

Lois McMaster Bujold

H Beam Piper

James H. Schmitz

Thornton W Burgess

Dorothy Gilman

Boccaccio

You can add Normandi Ellis too although the ‘author’ part is a bit arguable. She did a prose (slightly loose) translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead that is a joy to read. Gorgeous language.

I know. That isn’t five. I couldn’t choose.

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

I’m not sure. I had never thought of it. CJ Cherryh perhaps. I want to know how she keeps all the little details straight. The politics in her books can be absolutely byzantine.

Were you a big reader as a child?

Voracious. I learned to read before I ever started kindergarten. I was a non-Mormon in a strongly Mormon neighbourhood so I didn’t have many friends growing up. So I read instead. Later on, after we moved to Seattle, I spent time in the library after school because mom was working double shifts. My first friends in Seattle were the librarians. Yes, I was really bad at the social thing for a long time.

When did you start to write?

I started with writing poetry as a child. Eventually, I realized that I wasn’t very good at it and there were all these stories in my head. I’d be watching TV and think “Well, that was dumb. Why didn’t they do it this way instead? By high school, I was putting them on paper. They were still awful, but there were some really good ideas there. Some stories I wrote as presents for my mom.

I didn’t actually start writing in earnest until I suffered a back injury. There I was, lying flat on my back, I couldn’t sit up to work or use the computer because of a ruptured disc and a bunch of torn connective tissue. Most of my books were in boxes in storage, and I could only watch so much YouTube and play so much WordSearch on my tablet before going insane. But the tablet had a Word-compatible word processor. It lacked a lot of features, but it worked.

I started with a fantasy story I began as a way to pass the time during my commute before I hurt my back.

In the process of writing that story, the world changed and, realizing that I would have to rewrite it from the beginning, I tossed it aside. I started another story, the one that became ‘Valbore’. Eventually, I got back to that first story and tried to finish it. I ended up splitting it into two books when I realized I had more than enough story for two volumes. The first half became Nexus of Change. The second half is The Shurshu (due out Oct 1)

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

Not really. At least, not so far. I get that with movies or TV shows when they’re being gratuitously stupid, but not usually with books. My head insists that a book is the territory of the writer. It’s their world, not mine. Since I’m a bit territorial by nature, my head just refuses to intrude on other people’s territory.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

Yes. There was a cyberpunk story I was working on in high school. I had only planned to do a short story, but the story insisted on being more than that. It had taken on a life of its own. Rather than accede to the demands of the story, I dropped it. I never finished it. Thinking back, it would have made an awesome book (with a lot of polishing of course). These days, if the story insists on going in a different direction than I thought it should, I go along with it. The story isn’t always comfortable (like Valbore), but it’s always a better story than my conscious mind was thinking of.

If you wrote an autobiography, what would your title be?

“Well crud, now what do I do?”

I have these streaks of really good luck in my life, and then streaks of really bad luck. Every time I hit one of those bad luck streaks, my life takes a left turn and I’m left asking myself “Now what do I do?” I always muddle through. Somehow. My life may not be what I expected and planned for, but the universe doesn’t care. You just have to deal with the crap you’re handed. If you can’t adapt, you’re going to spend your life bemoaning your fate. TBH, pulling the victim card for the rest of your life is a good way lose all your friends and at that point, it’s your own fault.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

Bren Cameron from CJ Cherryh’s Foreigner series. A very smart and canny man with a lot of wisdom to impart.

Tell us a random fact about yourself.

I lived and worked in Europe & Britain for four years. Three and a half of those were spent in Amsterdam (mostly working with Brits), but the last 6 months I lived in Sheffield. I still miss the little Syrian restaurant across the street from my apartment and watching the college students making the rounds of the pubs and bars on Friday and Saturday nights. There was some very entertaining viewing. I wished that I had recorded some of it on camera. It would have made great blackmail material.

What are you working on right now?

I’m editing The Shurshu (book 3 of Tasks of the Nakairi) so I can get it released. I have a target date of October 1^st (2018) but I’m not sure if I can get it all done by then. I’ll try.
I’m also about 60 pages in to writing Demon Gate (book 4 of Tasks of the Nakairi) but I’ve mostly put it on hold until I can finish the editing on The Shurshu.
There are also random moments working on more Charley Rogers stories and making notes for future TOTN stories.

Tell us about your last release?

It was pretty much a non-event. I had no pre-release hoopla, no reviews, no marketing at all. I dumped 4 books onto KDP in one day Then opened a bottle of champagne and had pizza for dinner. The next morning, I continued work on The Shurshu.

Since then, Mom has been helping out by handling the marketing side of things while I write. She enjoys having something new to learn and do and I can never thank her enough for it.

Do you have a new release due?

Theoretically, on October 1, 2018.

The Shurshu. Book 3 in my fantasy series, Tasks of the Nakairi and a direct sequel to book 3, Nexus of Change.

It is the continuation of Kendra’s story and takes up the story at the exact point Nexus of Change leaves off. At some point, I’ll do a little editing and meld them together, but not until I have the next few stories either done or in the works. There are stories in my head and they want OUT.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

So far, champagne and pizza, but I’m willing to switch it up. Bourbon and ice cream might be good. French fries and cognac? I’m open to suggestions. They may sound a little odd, but the whole idea is to splurge on something you don’t allow yourself the rest of the time, right? I don’t allow myself French fries because they’re addicting and I don’t want to be craving something that really isn’t good for me. So I make it a special occasion thing. Mind you, bourbon, cognac, and pizza are a different story. A bit more than I usually have, but not unusual. After all, pizza is easy to make.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

My webpage, Facebook, etc. There are links on the website for them all. http://WorldsofKEYoung.com

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

Yes. I see a lot of people who seem to think that writing is easy. It’s NOT. There’s a lot more that goes into it than just letting your brain spit diarrhea onto the page, despite what it may seem from what I’ve already said. It took a long time to write my first book because I was learning more about spelling, punctuation, grammar, plotting, editing, character creation, and a hundred other things, than I spent actually writing. It took me a year to edit Valbore because of all I had to learn.

It’s still not perfect and at some point I’ll revisit it and release an update. Meanwhile, if anyone spots a problem in any of my books, LET ME KNOW! I can’t fix it if I don’t know about it.
During editing, you go over the same stuff so many times that you don’t always see the problems. You see what you expect to see. That’s why you use someone else’s eyes. A writing group, a paid editor, or a writing partner. Beta readers to tell you where your plotting or characters are wonky, where it drags, or needs clarification.
You cannot write in a vacuum. You can’t do it all alone.

That means you have to be able to take criticism. You must be willing to listen and adapt. Your Golden Words are only golden to you. Someone else may think they’re dreck and with good reason. Maybe you missed a word that clarified everything. Maybe you spent too much time describing every little thing and now it’s just plain boring. Maybe you tend to pontificate instead of giving the reader action. There are more reasons than there are words in this answer for things to go wrong and you have to be open to fixing those things. Even if it means your Golden Words get the axe.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions! 🙂

K. E. Young’s Amazon Author Page

K.E. Young lives and writes in a small commuter city near Seattle on the west coast of the US. She is supervised there by her long haired rescue cat named Slick. Her work history has included periods of time spent as an assistant librarian, a phlebotomist, phone technical support, Call Center Administrator, Sysadmin, taught networking to high school students, Fault Surveillance Technician, Networking Consultant, Network Engineer, Senior Network Engineer, Network Designer, and now Writer. 

Hi and welcome to my stop on Alex Walters’s Their Final Act blog blitz!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Sarah Hardy

This is the first book I’ve read by Alex Walters and I have to admit that I don’t usually read a series out of order. I had hoped to read the first two books prior to starting Their Final Act, but I ran out of days with the blog tour fast approaching. It hasn’t hindered my enjoyment of the book though. There are obviously things that happened previously that I now need to find out, so I have already added the first two books to my list!

DI Alec McKay is an interesting character and likeable in his own way. I enjoyed the banter between him and some of his colleagues, but he obviously isn’t the type to suffer fools gladly. I found his lack of patience with some of his lower ranked colleagues quite amusing, although I doubt I’d find it funny if I was one of them. It was nice to see a more personal side to him in regards to his relationship with his wife.

McKay and his team find themselves investigating the brutal death of a comedian. Garrotting isn’t a common way to murder someone and it feels personal, but is it, or is it just a random attack and a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. When more bodies start turning up, killed in the same way, it’s a race against time to find out if they are dealing with the same killer and if so what the connection is between these victims.

This is a fast-paced police procedural with twists and turns a plenty. It has certainly kept me on the edge of my seat and reading late in to the night until I had to force myself to put it down so I could go to sleep. The shortish chapters add to the pace of the story and each are full of enough suspense to make sure you read just one more. Very well written, with excellent characterisation and a compelling plot. I highly recommend to anyone who loves a good police procedural/crime thriller.

I’m looking forward to going back and reading the first two books. I have a feeling DI Alec McKay will be become a firm favourite.

Their Final Act

blurb

Jimmy McGuire, a washed-up comic, is found dead on
the streets of Inverness, his body garroted. Back in the 1990s, McGuire had
been half of a promising double-act until his partner, Jack Dingwall, was
convicted of rape.

Soon after, a second corpse is found in an
abandoned industrial site on the edge of the Moray Firth. The body has been
there for some days and has also been garroted. The victim turns out to be a
former musician turned record producer, who had also been the subject of rape
allegations.

Meanwhile, DI Alec McKay and DCI Helena Grant are
still wrestling with the fallout from one of their recent cases following an
acquittal.

As the body count rises, the police think they
have the killer in their sights. But McKay is concerned that the evidence is
too neat so when he realises there will be a final victim, he fears that time
is running out…

Author Bio:

Alex Walters is the author of Candles and Roses, Death Parts Us and Their Final Act, all featuring DI Alec McKay and set in and around the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands. He has also written four books set in and around Manchester – Trust No-One and Nowhere to Hide featuring the undercover officer, Marie Donovan, and Late Checkout and Dark Corners, featuring DCI Kenny Murrain – and three crime novels set in modern-day Mongolia, The Shadow Walker, The Adversary and The Outcast.  Alex has previously worked in the oil industry, broadcasting and banking and as a consultant working mainly in the criminal justice sector. He now runs the Solus Or Writing Retreat in the Black Isle with his wife, occasional sons and too many cats.

Links:

Website: https://www.alexwaltersauthor.com/

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

Twitter: @mikewalters60

Hi all! Today I am delighted to be joining in with the cover reveal for Elizabeth Davies’s A Stain on the Soul 🙂

A Stain on the Soul

Resigned to another lifetime of being a witch’s familiar, Caitlyn has found a degree of peace in her role as the Duke of Normandy’s protector and spy.

But that peace is shattered when she returns to her native land only to come face-to-face with her past, and fall in love with a man who she desperately hopes will become her future.

Check this out ⇓⇓⇓

Pre-Order Link:

http://books2read.com/StainOnTheSoul

Author Bio –

Elizabeth Davies is a paranormal author, whose books have a romantic flavour with more than a hint of suspense. And death. There’s usually death…

Social Media Links –

Website –

www.elizabethdaviesauthor.co.uk

Twitter –

@bethsbooks

Facebook –

https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethDaviesAuthor/

Instagram –

@elizabethdavies.author

Hi and welcome to my stop on Graeme Cumming’s Ravens Gathering blog tour 🙂

Interview with Graeme Cumming…..

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

After 20 years running my own business, I sold it last year so I could concentrate on writing full-time. (That didn’t work out quite how I expected, but after 12 months of trying to get into a routine, I’m almost there!)

My interest in story-telling was sparked by an excessive amount of time sitting in front of a black and white television in the ‘60s and ‘70s, which means my influences are varied. This diversity continued with my reading and tastes in movies. As a result, my stories won’t always fall into a specific genre, but will lean towards thrillers.

Ravens Gathering is currently the only book I’ve had published, though three others are at various drafting stages. It should come as no surprise to learn that it doesn’t slot neatly into a genre, but offers the reader suspense, uncertainty, and an array of garden paths to be led up.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

Ideas can come from all kinds of places. You spot something and your imagination takes off as you wonder why it happened and what led up to it.

Then again, it can come from a title, which is what happened in the case of Ravens Gathering. I was driving along the A1 and noticed a group of black birds on the hard shoulder, no doubt feeding off some rotting dead animal. As I drew closer, some more arrived and I said: “Did you see those ravens gathering?” Clearly, that didn’t give me a story, but the title led on to it – and a title like that just screams creepy, doesn’t it?

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

That would be telling, wouldn’t it? Seriously, if they are, it isn’t a conscious thing, though I’m sure some of my own character traits will show up from time to time – and not always in a good way!

How do you pick your characters’ names?

I don’t have a system. Some names of characters have been with me for years (even though I haven’t written the stories yet), and I honestly can’t remember how their names were chosen. Others might be inspired by characters from books, or even actors or musicians. The Gates family name came from the singer/songwriter David Gates, and there’s even a firm mentioned in Ravens Gathering that goes by the name Griffin, after James Griffin, who collaborated with David Gates.

That aside, I should say that I am conscious my stories tend to have a lot of characters in, so I do keep a note to make sure I don’t have too many similar sounding names.

Can you share your writing process with us, in a nutshell?

Plot it and plan it, including chapter plans. It doesn’t work out exactly how you intended, but it does make the process easier to follow, and you can work out more readily how to lead the reader up the garden path!

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

That’s difficult to say with complete clarity. Probably the best approach for me to take is to consider which have influenced me the most. And they are:

Trevanian

Wilbur Smith

Alistair MacLean

Dean Koontz

Graham Masterton

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

Ed McBain. And the question would be: how the hell did you churn out a brilliant crime novel every three months?

Were you a big reader as a child?

My second home was the library. Does that answer your question?

When did you start to write?

As a child. I seem to remember bashing out stories on my dad’s typewriter when I was still at primary school. The first inkling I had that this was something I could take seriously, though, was when I was about thirteen or fourteen. An English teacher gave the class the option to do homework over the Easter break and, instead of the usual two-page essay, I submitted a 15 page thriller. Her reaction to it was the most significant encouragement I’ve ever had. She was clearly enthused, and was later heard to say that, if I wasn’t a published author by the time I was twenty-five, she’d eat her hat. I suspect she had a very high-fibre diet for a number of years as I was fifty by the time Ravens Gathering was published.

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

I wouldn’t be so presumptuous. Just because I didn’t like an ending doesn’t mean no one else did, and I wouldn’t want to spoil someone else’s enjoyment.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

I’ve got about thirteen in my head that I wish I’d already written…

If you wrote an autobiography, what would your title be?

Cumming by name…

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

Nicholai Hel, the assassin in Shibumi. I wouldn’t take them for coffee, because I hate the stuff, but I suspect he wouldn’t be too keen either, probably preferring a herbal tea. Still, I might be able to persuade him to try a quiet pint in a local pub.

What are you working on right now?

Carrion. In practice, I’ve been working on versions of it for several years, but I feel like I’m getting close to the point where I’ll be happy to share it with the world. It’s both completely different to Ravens Gathering and yet somehow connected…

Tell us about your last release?

Ravens Gathering has been available as an e-book for nearly six years, and paperback for about a year, but it’s still my latest! As I’ve already indicated, it’s a difficult one to define because it doesn’t slot neatly into a genre. I think of it as a thriller, but it has shades of horror, fantasy and crime in it as well. The good news is that most people who’ve read it appear to have gone along for the ride and enjoyed it. I didn’t realise there were so many people who liked their fiction that dark!

Do you have a new release due?

Not imminently. I’m expecting Carrion to be the next – but only when I’m satisfied it’s ready.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

As there’s only the one book out, I don’t have a standard practice. When Ravens Gathering was launched, it was very low-key, but I suspect I enjoyed a glass of something…

How can readers keep in touch with you?

They can follow me on my website and blog, Facebook or Twitter at the following links:

www.graemecumming.co.uk

www.facebook.com/Graeme-Cumming-1638108329841072/

www.twitter.com/GraemeCumming63

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

Aside from writing (and reading), I am an enthusiastic sailor, enjoy off-road cycling and walking, and love the cinema. Although my concert-going days are fewer and further between now, I like to reminisce about the multitude of gigs I went to in my younger days. Those occasional reminiscences can be found on my blog.

As well as a passion for the written word, I’m currently Education Director at Sheffield Speakers Club (but I’m not available for weddings, funerals or Bar Mitzvahs!).

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Graeme 🙂

Ravens Gathering –

Blurb

As she let her gaze drift around her, she saw that there were more birds. Perhaps a dozen or so, perched among the trees that stood on the edge of the clearing. And yet more were arriving, swooping down through the gap overhead and landing on branches that overlooked them. The birds weren’t threatening, yet the sight of them all coming together in this dark and isolated spot was unnerving. Tanya reached a hand out towards Martin, and was relieved to feel him take it. She felt him move in behind her. After the uncertainty she’d experienced with him in a similar position only a few moments ago, she recognised the irony of her reaction. His closeness offered security.

“You know what they are, don’t you?”

A stranger’s arrival in a small village coincides with a tragic accident. For the Gates family in particular it’s more than a coincidence, but unease increases following a brutal attack. As tensions rise, a dark past returns to haunt them and others, while newcomers to the village are drawn into a mystery with terrifying consequences.

And only a select few know why the ravens are gathering.

Author bio –

Graeme Cumming lives in Robin Hood country. He has wide and varied tastes when it comes to fiction so he’s conscious that his thrillers can cross into territories including horror, fantasy and science fiction as well as more traditional arenas.

When not writing, Graeme is an enthusiastic sailor (and, by default, swimmer), and enjoys off-road cycling and walking. He is currently Education Director at Sheffield Speakers Club. Oh yes, and he reads (a lot) and loves the cinema.

Interview with Elizabeth Davies…..

Hi, Kerry, and thank you for having me on your blog!

You’re very welcome, Elizabeth 🙂 Thanks for joining me.

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

I’m a fifty-something Welsh woman with a liking for old places and the stories they tell – and to be fair, those stories are usually about murders, and ghosts, and torrid affairs! But because I’m a romantic at heart, I like to combine all those elements in my writing with the addition of love, romance and a hunky male character, or two.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

I’m not really sure, though sometimes they come from the castles I visit (I drag my poor husband around loads of them!), when I discover a juicy titbit about one of the people who used to live there. Or an idea may come to me from something someone says, and I think “that’s a good premise”! But occasionally, my subconscious works without my even realising it, and I wake up with an idea in my head that I simply have to get down on paper right now!

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

Yes, no, no comment! Seriously though, I tend to take bits of people I know or meet, and add more bits until I’m left with a sort of Frankenstein’s Monster of a character, though hopefully much nicer.

How do you pick your characters names?

For the historical novels, many of the characters come supplied with their own. Take the witch in this book for instance; she is based on the mother of William the Conqueror, and history isn’t totally clear what her name was. However, the common consensus is that she was either called Herleva or Arlette. So, I decided to split her into two characters. With the name “Caitlyn” I was looking for something inherently Welsh, but also one that was easy to say (believe me, some Welsh names aren’t!), and was old enough to have been used in the eleventh century. Besides, I like it!

Can you share your writing process with us, in a nutshell?

It often starts with a vague idea, a loose premise, a strong notion of the first chapter, a less clear notion of the ending, then I simply open a new document and start writing. It’s rare for me to plot things out, and when I do, I never stick to the plan, anyway.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

I adore Barbara Erskine for her skilful weaving of the past and the present, all bound up in the supernatural.

I also love Sara Woodbury, of course (who doesn’t!), especially because she writes about myth and magic in Wales. Then there is Dianne Duval, Avril Borthiry, and Ginger Myrick, who are also on my list of must-reads, whenever they release a new novel.

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

Actually, I would like to meet Stephen King, because although he sticks to his genre, that genre has evolved over the years, and now he can span horror, supernatural and fantasy, yet still be true to his writing. I’d love to ask him how he does it!

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes, very. I can’t actually recall a time when I wasn’t able to read – though of course, there must have been, because I was definitely no child genius! Books featured strongly in my life from a very young age, and the family home always, always, had loads of books scattered everywhere.

When did you start to write?

I dabbled (very unsuccessfully, I might add) in my twenties, scribbled ideas which never came to anything in my thirties, and finally wrote my first novel when I was in my forties. It was a huge 300,000 word monster, and it will never see the light of day, but I proved to myself that I could do it, and that’s what kickstarted my writing career.

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

Okay, if you don’t like spoilers, look away now! I’d change the ending of The Martian by Andy Weir – it would have had so much more poignancy, impact and believability of the MC had died. Sorry, folks…

Is there a book you wish you had written?

I don’t know where to start on this one – there are loads, probably hundreds. From Wuthering Heights to Harry Potter. You’ve just got to admire the talent and the imagination of those writers.

If you wrote an autobiography, what would your title be?

‘With My Head in a Book’ – because if I’m not busy writing my own, then I’m busy reading someone else’s.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

Rhett Butler and I’d take him to my house, but not necessarily for coffee!

What are you working on right now?

I don’t want to say too much about it, because with the way I write, things have a habit of changing, but I’ve got an idea for a new vampire series, and hopefully these darlings will be considerably nastier and deadlier than the ones in my Resurrection series. I love writing about the dark side!

Do you have a new release due?

I have two!! The second in the Caitlyn series, A Stain on the Soul, will be released on 4^th October, and the final one, Another Kind of Magic, is due for publication on 1^st November.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

I don’t celebrate – I sit nervously in front of the computer and bite my nails, while drinking gallons of coffee.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

My website – https://www.elizabethdaviesauthor.co.uk, Twitter – https://twitter.com/BethsBooks or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethDaviesAuthor/

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

I like liquorice. There, I’ve admitted it!

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Elizabeth 🙂

Three Bloody Pieces

A dead king, a queen who is more than she seems, and a witch who uses the dark arts to entrap her.

Queen, widow, beggar – Lady Caitlyn is all three, and now she can add murderer to the list.

When death and treachery propel her south to Normandy, to seek sanctuary with the exiled Prince Alfred, visions of a woman with ancient eyes travel with her.

Herleva is a woman filled with ambition and greed. A woman who intends to be more than a commoner. A woman who gets what she wants by whatever means possible, even if she has to practice the dark arts to achieve her goals.

A woman who is a witch.

Caitlyn finds herself caught up in a magic which changes her very being. A magic which produces a king to change the lives of every man, woman, and child in England.

Purchase links…..

Amazon –

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Bloody-Pieces-spellbinding-paranormal-ebook/dp/B075RH1QJ3/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Apple –

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1287207080

B&N –

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/three-bloody-pieces-elizabeth-davies/1127125749;jsessionid=30CDB4C91A2F4A4D583FE529FF96B54C.prodny_store02-atgap06?ean=2940154924754

Kobo –

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/three-bloody-pieces

Author Bio –

Elizabeth Davies is a paranormal author, whose books have a romantic flavour with more than a hint of suspense. And death. There’s usually death…

Social Media Links –

Website –

www.elizabethdaviesauthor.co.uk

Twitter –

@bethsbooks

Facebook –

https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethDaviesAuthor/

Instagram –

@elizabethdavies.author

Giveaway –

Win a hardback notebook, a pen and a signed paperback copy of Three Bloody Pieces (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Interview with Val Penny…..

Hello, Kerry and thank you so much for inviting me on to your blog today. I am delighted to be here and to talk books, reading and writing with you.

You’re very welcome, Val. Thanks so much for joining me today 🙂

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

I am an American author living in SW Scotland. I have a Law degree from Edinburgh University and an MSc from Napier University. I have had had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, lawyer, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer. My crime novels, ‘Hunter’s Chase’ and ‘Hunter’s Revenge’ are set in Edinburgh, Scotland and published by Crooked Cat Books.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

Like many writers, I carry a notebook with me where ever I go. Often a conversation overheard in a coffee shop, someone standing on a railway platform or a snippet of news from the papers will give me an idea that I will use later.

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

Ha ha! Do I really need to answer that! Perhaps, yes. But more often characters in my novels have a combination of features, faults and attributes that come from a variety of people I have known.

How do you pick your characters names?

Choosing a character’s name is really fun for me. I am intrigued by unusual and interesting names. Hunter Wilson’s name came from a business I saw once. It was called Wilson Hunter, but I thought Hunter Wilson would be a great name for a detective.

Can you share your writing process with us, in a nutshell?

Every author writes and plans differently. My first novel, ‘Hunter’s Chase’ grew organically from one or two ideas threaded together. However, I later attended a course by Sue Moorcroft, who writes women’s fiction. She explained how she plans all her novels in great detail, so my second book ‘Hunter’s Revenge’ was planned. I am now writing the third book in the series ‘Hunter’s Force’ and that is developing through a combination of the two styles.

I make my notes longhand in a note book, but write directly to the computer. It is easier to change things and move scenes or chapters if I need to.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Oh dear, only 5?

I read a great deal and enjoy most of the books I read. However, most of the books I pick up by choice are crime novels of one type or another.

I love Erin Kelly’s work. Her novels The Poison Tree and He Said/She Said are amongst the best I have ever read.

I also rate Michael Jecks and his Templar series of medieval West Country mysteries very highly. That period in history fascinates me.

Another author whose books I find never disappoint is the Canadian author Linwood Barclay. His mixture of humour and crime is unique.

Last year I also discovered Stephen Booth’s Cooper and Fry detective series after hearing him speak at a writers’ convention. I do enjoy these greatly.

I think my last choice has to be another author who was new to me this year. Katharine Johnson writes mysteries set in Tuscany. Her novels ‘The Silence’ and ‘The Secret’ are second to none.

Is that five? Oh dear! I also love, MJ Arlidge, Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre, Kathy Reichs, Peter Robinson, Mark Billingham and Ian Rankin, but that’s cheating!

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

I am lucky in that I have met all the authors that I have mentioned and have had time to talk to them at some length about their writing. However, I think the most important question for any writer would be, how do you balance your life and work. I find that tricky and, from what I have heard we can all be difficult when we are ‘in the zone’.

Were you a big reader as a child?

My mother introduced me to reading from an early age. I cannot remember a time when I was not hearing a story from her or reading one myself. So yes, I read a lot as a child and still do. But I am a serial reader: by that I mean that I only read one book at a time, finish it and move on. I am in awe of people who have several novels on the go at one time.

When did you start to write?

I started writing when I was only nine years old. I used to make up stories for my younger sister and then I started writing them down so that I did not forget them. None of these masterpieces ever made it to print. That is probably a blessing!

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

I do not think that it would ever be my place to change the ending of somebody else’s novel. It would feel rather presumptuous.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

Oh goodness yes! It has to be ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Bronte. It has everything: romance, crime, mystery and has stood the test of time. I re-read it recently and was delighted to find that it is still a joy.

If you wrote an autobiography, what would your title be?

I think it would have to be Circle of Life. It would have three parts: For Richer or Poorer, For Better or Worse, In Sickness and in Health.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

That surely has to Fagan, from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, but I wouldn’t take him anywhere with silver cutlery!

What are you working on right now?

I am working on the third novel in my series of crime novels set in Edinburgh. It is to be called ‘Hunter’s Force’ and will be published early in 2019.

Do you have a new release due?

My new crime novel, ‘Hunter’s Revenge’ is available to pre-order on Amazon now and will be published by Crooked Cat Books on 09.09.2018

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

I like to cuddle my husband and toast the new publication with an ice cold gin and tonic. What more could I want?

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I am always happy to hear from readers

twitter @valeriepenny,

FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/Authorvalpenny/

My author website: http://www.authorvalpenny.om

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

I would like to take a moment to thank everybody who takes time to read and review novels. Reviews are the lifeblood of contact and help authors learn what works and what does not work for their readers – so please – keep those reviews coming!

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Val 🙂

Thank you for having me to visit today, Kerry. I hope your readers enjoy our chat as much as I did.

Hunter’s Revenge

Hunter by name – Hunter by nature: DI Hunter Wilson will not rest until his friend’s death is revenged.

DI Hunter Wilson is called to the scene of a murder. He is shocked to find the victim is his friend and colleague, George Reinbold. Who would want to harm the quiet, old man? Why was a book worth £23,000 delivered to him that morning? Why is the security in George’s home so intense? Hunter must investigate his friend’s past as well as the present to identify the killer and identify George’s killer. Hunter also finds a new supply of cocaine from Peru flooding HMP Edinburgh and the city. The courier leads Hunter to the criminal gang but Hunter requires the help of his nemesis, the former Chief Constable, Sir Peter Myerscough and local gangster Ian Thomson to make his case. Hunter’s perseverance and patience are put to the test time after time in this taught crime thriller.

Purchase Link –

myBook.to/HuntersRevenge

Author Bio

Val Penny is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and two cats. She has a Law degree from Edinburgh University and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, lawyer, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer. However she has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballet dancer or owning a candy store. Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories and novels. Her first crime novel, ‘Hunter’s Chase’ set in Edinburgh, Scotland was published by Crooked Cat Books on 02.02.2018. The sequel, ‘Hunter’s Revenge’ will be published on 09.09.2018.

Social Media Links –

@valeriepenny

http://www.authorvalpenny.com

www.facebook.com/valerie.penny.739

Check out the rest of the blog tour for reviews, and more, with these awesome book bloggers…..

Happy Reading 🙂