Today I'm pleased to welcome crime author Juliet B Madison to the Coffee House to tell us all about her new release Best Served Cold, the fifth book in the, not as successful as she might like, DI Frank Lyle Mystery Series.

Judging by the reaction to this latest release, I think Juliet might be surprised at just how popular this series is becoming!
See what you think...
Heres' the blurb for Best Served Cold  - released 23rd September 2014

DI Lyle is about to get a glimpse into the murky world of political activism and hate crime; the murder of a prominent city councillor is just the tip of the iceberg.
The city of Ashbeck is on high alert when news breaks that convicted triple murderer and paedophile Bob Kenyon has escaped from custody.
Can DI Lyle and his team get to the bottom of this murky mess before another atrocity occurs?

Juliet  advises that readers should be aware this book deals with some fairly adult themes such as revenge, paedophilia and neo-fascist hate crime, as well as containing M/M sex scenes so is therefore unsuitable for persons below the age of 18.

Juliet, perhaps you'd like to tell us a little more about 'Best Served Cold'

"When I wrote Heir to Misfortune, the second book in the DI Lyle series, I knew that being sent to prison convicted of a triple murder and sexual offences against minors was not the end of the despicable Robert “Bob” Kenyon’s story.

This book is somewhat darker than the previous titles in the series because of the subject matter it deals with. I wanted to give DI Lyle a new challenge and his biggest challenge in this book is keeping things in perspective. DI Lyle has some insight into the sick way Bob Kenyon’s mind works, but is the devil you know really easier to deal with than the one you don’t?  This book gives DI Lyle and his team new issues to deal with. The book also deals with two important moral questions. The questions are, are criminals born inherently wicked or are they shaped through the circumstances of their lives and misfortunes? The second question is whether or not murder can ever be morally justified? Whatever your opinion on these issues, be prepared for them to be challenged through this story."

Best Served Cold is available to buy through this global redirect link

http://bookshow.me/B00MRIZQRU

You can catch up with Juliet B Madison

Blog:  http://julietmadisoncrimeauthor.wordpress.com/

Twitter   -   @JulietBMadison

Facebook  -  There are a number of DI Lyle related pages on Facebook but here are a small  selection.

https://www.facebook.com/servedcold/

https://www.facebook.com/Lylefanzunited/

https://www.facebook.com/JulietMadisonCrimeAuthor/

https://www.facebook.com/TheDIFrankLyleMysterySeries/


Please take the time to catch up with the DI Frank Lyle Series, and thank you to Juliet for dropping in.

                                                                                                    Babs x

This week at The Coffee House I’m looking at Shorts. No, not the kind you wear when the weather is warm, (chance would be a fine thing) but the kind you read. Short stories – novellas - collections - anthologies. Basically anything that isn’t a novel length piece. And why am I concentrating my efforts in this area? I hear you ask, well, No1 – because I was always told – ‘there’s good stuff in little bundles’ and No2 - because I’m interested in why writers choose to write them, whether they’re successful from a sales point of view...and if I’m honest, because I’m tempted to try one myself and I like to do my research before taking the plunge. In the course of my investigations I’ve unearthed a treasure trove of goodies that you may not have come across before and I’ve invited a few folk along to talk about them. So welcome, in no particular order to: Paul Trembling, Jean Gill, Rod Glen, Karen Charlton, Claire Stibbe, Gerry McCullough, Jane Harlond and Bev Allan. I did attempt to order the following by genre or type, but what the heck- you’re getting it as it came to me. There’s an order of sorts... at least, it makes sense to me.

If you’d like to find out more about the authors just click on their name. If you want to discover more about their fabulous books for yourself, just click on the title. Please do! And if you have any questions or comments for the authors don’t be shy, leave your comments and we’ll get back to you.

First up - Collections by the same author. 

Paul Trembling is a master in the field of collections. I’ve read most of them and they’re 5 star reads. I asked him to fill us in on his writing process and why he loves short -shorts...

 “As a writer, I've always liked short stories.  I fear that there may be an element of laziness involved.  (With me, there usually is an element of laziness).  For a writer, a short story is a quick fix.  Instead of labouring for months over tens of thousands of words to make a novel, a short story can go from conception to completion in a week or so, or even less.  For those of us addicted to unreal worlds, it's a quick fix.
Having said that, I would vigorously deny that the short story is somehow a weaker or lesser literary form than the novel.  Everything that a novel should have, should be in a short story.  Plot, background, character development, twists, depths, layers, resolutions, confusions, dilemmas … and so on.  It's all there, but shorter.  Which means that, paradoxically, the writer sometimes has to work harder.  One sentence must do the work of a whole paragraph, even a page.  Instead of describing a scene in detail (for example), you have to reduce it to the most basic elements that will show the reader what you want them to see.
Short story writing is a great way for writers to hone their skills, to learn to be succinct and precise without losing anything.  Plus which, you get the satisfaction of a completed story much quicker!
One problem you can get with short stories is trying to pull them together into a collection.  If they have a common theme or character, that's not a problem.  My crime scene short stories – 'A Pattern of Murder' – were all written around different aspects of crime scene examination, and so had a natural link.  Plus which most of them had the same main character, the rather obnoxious Ben Drummond.

My 'Dragon Slayer' series of fantasy stories follow one character, Rimsey Stolworth, through her career, forming overall a novel-length narrative (now collected together in one book).

But how do you fit together a group of stories without a common theme, a common, character, or even in some cases, a common genre?

My solution was 'The Minutes of the Reality Escape Committee'  - an unusual title, and a bit of a mouthful, but it gave me an excuse to bring together some of the odds and ends of stories that I've written over the years and who's only connection was the author's desire to escape from reality.  As one reviewer (so far the only one) mentioned, it makes for an 'eclectic' collection. 

And it offers room for expansion.  Volume One was fantasy and horror, but I'm already planning a Volume Two, which will be Science Fiction.  You can cover a lot of ground with short stories!”

My next guest should be a dab hand at collections as in life she mixes writing with photography, dog training, translating and beekeeping...can’t get any more varied than that! But in fact Jean Gill has just published her first collection, a delightfully eclectic mix of poetry, prose and original artwork.

“Last time I dropped in for coffee I discovered my inner werewolf so forgive me if I sit facing the door, not the mirror. Strange things happen here! And in my new book too ... Like you, Babs, I write in a wide variety of genres and I hear all the advice that an author should keep to one genre, build a readership and so on. I also hear the advice that publishing a short story in between novels keeps your readers interested. I’ve broken rules all my life so what actually reached my imagination from all this advice was, ‘Why don’t you bring out a full book of short pieces in all your genres, illustrated by your own art work.’ I sounded out my critical friends, was given encouragement (always a mistake) and now ‘One Sixth of a Gill’ is available for pre-order. The funny thing is that everyone who’s read it is really excited by it and I’m a bit bemused by the fantastic responses I’ve had to my ‘in between novels’ book.

Some of the pieces have been published in journals and anthologies, some have even won prizes but I didn’t have enough in any one genre to publish a book of the ‘Stories of Love and Loss’ type, nor enough poems to make up my third poetry collection. Since e-books arrived, it has become even more difficult to find readers for poetry and yet everyone can recite a line of poetry that’s touched them, long after they’ve forgotten the stories they’ve read. Perhaps even more than previous books, this one is written from the heart in a way I didn’t expect. If you read it, I think you’ll know which parts I mean.” 

Gerry McCullough is an old hand at short story writing, in fact, she cut her author teeth writing stories for Magazine’s. An accomplished Belfast writer and poet, Gerry is here today to talk about her lovable rogue, Old Seamus.

‘I love short stories. One of my favourite writers is Saki, whose short stories are the thing he’s known for, although he’s also written novels. And often the books I like best, by writers whom I love, are their short stories, like Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Mr Quin. So it should come as no surprise that I’ve had nearly seventy short stories published by now. Over half of those are about the lovable old rogue from Donegal, Seamus O’Hare.
I wrote my first Old Seamus story, A Tale of a Teacup, years ago, and to my delight it was accepted and published by Ireland’s Own – and I was paid for it. At last I was a published writer! The For this reason if for no other I would have a soft spot for these stories. But quite apart from that, I enjoy writing them. Old Seamus is a poacher with a heart of gold who spends a lot of his time happily sorting out problems which crop up in the lives of his friends.

Each story shows Seamus telling his friend Jamie another such anecdote. The stories are light hearted, often funny, sometimes romantic, and sometimes even a little bit sad – though always with a happy ending.

They are set in the fictional village of Ardnakil in Donegal, and usually happen at some time in Seamus’s past. I enjoy the beautiful setting and the nostalgia of looking back to a former age, but an age which I myself remember. (Unless it’s Seamus’s early childhood, and in that case, I’ve heard all about it from my parents!)

A year or so ago my publisher collected the first 12 of these stories and released them in eBook and paperback under the title The Seanachie: Tales of Old Seamus

(A Seanachie is simply the Irish for a traditional storyteller.)

Now it’s time for the second collection of twelve stories, The Seanachie 2: Norah on the Beach, and this will be out in September. In fact you can pre-order it right now. I hope people will enjoy it at least as much as the first book.

Moving on to single short stories/novellas

My next guest Karen Charlton appears to be ticking all the boxes where readers are concerned with her regency detective duo, Lavender and Woods. Attention to historical accuracy, a knack for the vernacular and a razor sharp wit, have Karen’s readers clamouring for more, so how does she do it?

“I originally wrote my short story ‘The Mystery of the Skelton Diamonds’ as a promotional piece for my ex publisher. It features the two main characters in my historical mystery: ‘The Heiress of Linn Hagh.’ She did nothing with the story apart from using it as a freebie give-away on her website, which I always suspected was a waste of time.
I regained the publishing rights to all my books earlier this year and promptly self-published them.  Since April, my regency whodunnit, ‘Heiress’ has sold really well but all the positive reviews on Amazon said the same thing: the readers wanted more stories about Detective Stephen Lavender and his sidekick, Constable Ned Woods, ASAP. Knowing that the second novel in the series wasn’t coming out until Christmas, I took some time out from writing to organise a book cover and editing for ‘The Mystery of the Skelton Diamonds’ and published it as an eBook six weeks ago, priced at 99 cents. The first chapter of ‘Heiress’ is in the back.
I didn’t really expect to make any money from it at that price. It was published to keep my current readers happy and hopefully, to introduce more potential readers to my novel.  But 'The Mystery of the Skelton Diamonds' is now selling between 20-50 units a night and has earned me $500 since I published it. (Over 1050 copies sold.) Reviewers are starting to comment that they've read both the novel and the short story. I’m not sure which one they are reading first, but I suspect that ‘Skelton Diamonds’ is now working as a promotional piece and is introducing more and more people to my dynamic crime fighting duo.”

So what about a stand-alone short story that’s unconnected to previous work? Jane Harlond has recently done just that with an uplifting tale of a boy and his magnificent horse, set during the Spanish revolution. Available in both English and Spanish, Jane is going the extra mile to ensure all her readership is catered for.

“Dark Night, Black Horse is a long short story based on a true story I was told by a friend who breeds Pura Raza Español horses in Coín in rural Andalucía, Spain. In the first year of the Spanish Civil War, Nationalist troops came to requisition his grandfather Diego’s favourite black stallion. Diego’s son, aged about eight at the time, then goes down to the town square where all the requisitioned horses, mules and donkeys have been gathered and ‘steals’ the horse back and hides it. There is more to the story than this but I can’t say more without giving the game away.

Diego Martín was a contrabandista: in those days, duty was paid on basic goods such as flour, oil and chickpeas when they were brought into a pueblo, but Diego had a way of circumventing these taxes. He also ran a side-line in American tobacco. His son (aged 8) was actually put in prison for selling it.

After piecing together the various elements of the black horse incident and Diego’s background, I created the story Dark Night, Black Horse. Anyone who knows anything about horses in Spain will understand the importance to the family of the horse, Lucero (bright star); black stallions are still ridden – shown off – in fiestas and romerias, when men of all ages put on their finery for one special day and parade around the streets of their town. Anyone who has ventured off the tourist trail into real Spain will perhaps understand the social background of the story. In the 1930s Andalucía was a backward-looking province reliant on agriculture and steeped in poverty. Getting by, for most families was a major challenge: the black stallion was Diego’s pride and joy, and only possible luxury.”

And what about anthologies, collections by numerous authors?

Rod Glenn is the man behind Wild Wolf Publishing, who specialize in dark fiction and horror. He’s here to tell us about an anthology put together by Wild Wolf authors.

‘Wild Wolf Publishing was set up to champion new and emerging writers of predominantly dark fiction as we felt that this was an area that was being neglected by the market. Wild Wolf's Twisted Tails was put together to showcase some of our authors in one volume. The idea was to give readers a 'taster' of each author so that it would wet their appetites to read more of their work.’

My next guest, Claire Stibbe, is best known for her Historical fiction novels set in Egypt, but she’s turned a short crime story first published in the anthology Fusion into a full length novel to be published later this year. 

“I was invited to join a writing group about a year ago and they decided to compile an anthology. It was a no-brainer to want to be part of this chorus of voices, all sharing a glimpse of their favorite genres. Mine was short suspense story written specifically for this anthology, only I had no idea it would morph later into a full-length novel. I've certainly enjoyed the experience since Fusion was nominated for the 2014 eFestival of Words for Best of Independent Book Awards.       

Police interviews have always fascinated me. It's one of the most difficult jobs in the department. Watching detectives/sheriffs dissecting criminal activity through menacing interviews, inspired crucial events in my book. I enjoy being immersed in the study of people but most of all, the satisfaction of that 'gotcha' moment as the police unwind the clues one by one. With the release at the end of 2014 of the full version of this book titled The 9th Hour, here is a short description.”

“Until a man loses his daughter to a serial killer, until he loses his best friend, until he is down on his luck, Darryl Williams must put all thoughts of retaliation out of his mind.”

My final guest is Bev Allen and I think she takes the prize today with her inclusion in a Dr Who anthology. Whether you’re a fan or not...wow!

‘I like writing flash fiction and short stories, I like the challenge of finding a beginning, a middle and an end within the confines of a tight word count. It’s fun.
I’ve written loads over the years and for a while I entered a lot of competitions without success, but in the end I got very disillusioned by the amount of money some of these were asking for entry and a bit suspicious about who won. One in particular seemed to favour a very small group of people who always won.
However, in 2007 I entered SFX Pulp Idol competition. It was free and Gollanz were judging it. I didn’t win, but I was one of the top ten authors chosen to have their full story published in an anthology given away with magazine.
You can read mine on my web site “Maud: A Garden Story”
The real excitement came a month after when I was contracted by a publisher called Big Finish. They published Dr Who stories under license from the BBC. Would I like to pitch a story for one of their anthologies?   Hell YES!
It was hard work; there were rules about which Doctor you could use, on respecting the ethos of Dr Who and a very strict word count. It also had to be a Christmas story and, in my case, set in New Zealand. I’ve never been to New Zealand, but travel guides can be your best friend when you are lost.
After a few rewrites and some advice from the editor they commissioned me to write “Autaia Pipipi Pia”, which is Maori if you squint hard and have a big enough pinch of salt.
It was published in 2008 under the title “Short Trips: Christmas Around the World”.
It is out of print now and a silly price on Amazon.

Since then I have gone on to write novels and am currently published by Thorstruck Press, but I still write shorties for my blog and you can read them on my web site.’
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A big thank you to all my guests today ( I won’t mention that they’ve eaten me out of house and home) They’ve all been very generous with their time and I hope you’ve found today’s post as interesting as I have. As for me... well my early efforts at short story writing were successful in competitions but quickly morphed into full length novels. Bedlam and Twisted are to be published in 2015 by Caffeine Nights Publishing. You can sneak a peek at the opening chapters here on my website. In the meantime I’m determined to master the art of a short story - that stays a short story...watch this space!

                                                                                        Babs x

Today The Coffee House welcomes Frances Kay. Frances, (Fan as she’s known to her friends) is the author of the acclaimed book 'Micka', the recently published' Dollywagglers', and she’s also a children's playwright. She has roots in Ireland and England, and currently lives in Wales, and is a very busy lady so I’m especially pleased that she’s found the time to drop in for a chat. So, make yourself at home, Fan. Hang up your coat and kick off your shoes. Feel free to sprawl on the sofas or grab a chair by the stove.

1 - First things first. What are you having? Name your poison, Fan, or in this case the hot beverage of your choice. Are you a latte or a lemon tea?  A shortbread or a chocolate cake? Or perhaps you have some local delicacy in mind?
Well... lately I've been very influenced by a book called NOURISHING TRADITIONS by Sally Fallon, an American food scientist. Her book has given my ideas about healthy nutrition a good old shake-up. So today, I'll have a glass of kefir, made with milk. It's a bit like buttermilk, kind of sour and delicious. Oh, and it doesn't need hotting up! Alas, no cake for me - I don't do glucose.

2 – Let’s get to know a little bit more about how you ended up here on my sofa. A quick bio if you please m’dear.
I'm a new girl to the world of novels; I made my living as a children's playwright [and before that, a director and actor in theatre] for too many years to specify! Having been launched in 2010, I quickly discovered the joys of knowing and sharing information and tips with other writers, which is how I come to be on your sofa!

3 – How did you get into writing and which came first, the theatre or your novels?
I've always loved writing.  I learned to read at three and a half. Just looking at a shelf of books makes me feel happy.  Theatre has always been a passion too - both my parents, and grandparents on both sides, worked in theatre, either as performers or behind the scenes. What I really wanted to do when I left university was ACT, but so did thousands of other women. I discovered the only way to act, was to write and produce the plays myself, and luckily, the seventies in England were a great time for small scale theatre companies to flourish. 

4 – What was the first thing you had published and how did you go about it?
Mm. Do you count a limerick I had read out on the radio when I was eleven? Or the short story in a young people's magazine called The Young Elizabethan? I was fourteen then, with dreams of being a child prodigy. I always had a novel on the go, from age twelve, but none of them ever got published. Which is just as well, as they weren't very good. 'Micka' was my first novel, published in 2010. I went in for a competition run by Cornerstones, a literary consultancy, and from that, I found an agent, Annette Green, who loved Micka, and found a publisher for me within weeks [we didn't even meet!].

5 – From your experience do you have any tips for those not yet published?
Yes - read a lot of good literature, old and new. And when you start writing, give yourself entirely to it, it's like a love affair, be as passionate as you can be, and never look back or forward. Be in the moment.

6 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why? Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?
I am a total chameleon. Writing plays gives you a chance to speak as a character, from Tom Crean to a cunning Fox. So I see novels as a chance to speak in a voice, and that voice sets the tone of the book. I don't have a favourite genre, though I'd like to become known [ah! wouldn't we all!] as a writer of literary fiction. I also write outrageous erotic romances, under the name of Pan Zador, and she is a very strong character who has to be kept firmly in check. Oh dear, I'm beginning to sound as if we're at a seance! Genres I would avoid - thrillers and crime novels, I don't have the kind of logical mind to construct those plots. And historical fiction, which I love reading, but could not write - too much detailed research for me.

7 – Promotion and marketing, most writers see this as a necessary evil. What do you do to make sure your work reaches your readers?
Not enough. I HATE selling myself. That's why I have not bitten the bullet and self-published. I have huge admiration for friends who do, including yourself.

8 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?
I didn't have a favourite. If I found an author I liked, I went to the library and steadily read my way through everything s/he had written. Enid Blyton, Louisa Alcott, Richmal Crompton, Anthony Buckeridge [The 'Jennings' series], Alexandre Dumas, P.G. Wodehouse - that takes me from age six up to eleven. Yes, I was read to by my mother, herself a gifted actress and maker of stories, who made the magic happen and gave me a hunger to read and write and make stories myself.

9 – Tell us a little about the books you currently have published.
I have four books currently seeking good homes. 'Micka' is about two ten year old boys who come from difficult homes and when they meet, they get themselves into serious trouble. I enjoyed the challenge of writing the entire book just in their voices - could I convincingly be those boys? It's a dark book, but authentic, based on my time in Newcastle and my work with travellers [gypsies] in Scotland. 'Dollywagglers' was published in April, and it's a dystopia. I've wanted to write my own take on the world after a major disaster ever since I read Orwell and Huxley as a teenager. Again, it's dark, but told by a character determined to find humour in any situation. Now Pan Zador is elbowing her way in and has just ordered a knickerbocker glory and a triple strength espresso while she waves copies of 'Act of Love' her theatre romance, and her own extremely rude version of 'Far From The Madding Crowd' - oh, and she's offering a ride in her Bugatti to anyone who can tell the difference between her additions and Thomas Hardy's original. 

10 – Can you give us a hint at what you have planned next?
I'm nearly at the end of my first draft of the sequel to 'Dollywagglers' - I realised there was a lot more story and I wanted the challenge of writing a dystopia, but with some utopian moments, as society sorts itself out into the power-hungry and the idealistic. I won’t tell you who wins, or if anyone wins.

11 – And tell us even more about the one you’ve brought with you. I did explain about reading an excerpt later didn’t I? Oh good. Don’t think you get coffee and cake for nothing.
I first tried this out with potential readers - who are also writers - on the extremely helpful 'Authonomy' site run by Harper Collins. 'Dollywagglers' is not the kind of book HC would pick up, but I had over a hundred useful comments which helped me polish up the umpteenth draft and find a publisher, the dark fiction imprint Tenebris Books.

12 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.
I told you, I am hopeless at selling!  But here goes: Tall, overweight, sings folk songs to keep up the morale, doesn't do crying, hopes everyone will think she's a man.

13 – While I top up your coffee would you like to read a short excerpt from your book?

                                                                                    ....................................................

Chestnut Avenue used to be near Tollington Park, according to my A-Z; a wide street now barely distinguishable, like the stain on the mattress, a tired overlay of rubble in order of meltdown with the ruin of the old railway bridge slashing blackly across it. Beyond, a pale sun-flecked landscape where a few middle-aged figures are moving to and fro with wheelbarrows, purposeful as dungbeetles, but not as lovable.

Number thirty-nine no longer exists, as such; just a plot and a mixed mound of interesting, though slimy, remnants. It’s been raining recently. Patiently I begin sifting, trawling through these dead strangers’ effects.

Looking up, I see three beings wheelbarrowing grimly towards me. They’ve probably got rights of piccage and pokage and rummage. One of them speaks:

‘Looking for something?’ His voice is civilised; not friendly, but civilised. Christ! He’s wearing a dog collar!

I adopt a harmless, sad, religious expression.

‘No. I’m only saying goodbye to a friend.’ My gaze travels over the three wheelbarrows with a nauseous suspicion that they are gathering bodies for Christian burial, but not so. They seem to be going big on blue. All kinds of blue objects are tumbled indiscriminately on the three wheelbarrows. The vicar’s wheelbarrow is the emptiest – maybe he’s got a bad back.

‘You’re not from round here, are you?’ says a beak-faced woman in a black hat who could have stepped from the vestry of a church – except that she’s wearing rigger boots, and they’re spattered with blood.

The vicar has a strange expression on his face... maybe the words of a funeral benediction are whirling inside his hairless pate.

‘So – how’s the Jesus business?’  He gives me a twisted, intelligent smile. I notice how thin his lips are, and how his hooded eyes take on a fleeting resemblance to a species of small raptor. Before he has time to answer, the third wheelbarrow, her generous jowls trembling with loyalty, cuts in.

‘Don’t waste your time talking to him, Vicar dear. He’s just a filthy ref. Needs a jolly good bath, if you ask me, his face is positively grey.’

I ignore her, and address the vicar again – I know it’s sexist, but it serves her right for assuming I’m a man.

 ‘So,  you’ve got the hot line to God. Explain this to me.’ I gesture at the general devastation. ‘Why? What did we do to get Him so upset? And who’s going to triumph in the end, good or evil?’

Jowls and Black Hat, alert for his response, stand respectfully silent by their wheelbarrows, twin pallbearers at the funeral of civilisation as we know it.

‘How the fuck should I know?’ says Vicar with simple dignity. ‘And if I knew, why the fuck should I tell you?’

He reaches into his pocket and stuffs a flyer into my hand.

‘TUESDAY JANUARY 28th. RAINBOW JUMBLE SALE,’ it reads. ‘IN AID OF CHURCH FUNDS.’ It is printed by hand in marker-pen rainbow colours; the spelling is faultless. Incredulously, I let it drop, and the Vicar suddenly whispers, urgent and serious and almost certainly insane:

‘Life goes on. You see?’

Jowls has had enough of this disrespect. Heftily engaging with her wheelbarrow, she gives a Valkyrie-type cry and directly targets my solar plexus. I hop comparatively nimbly behind the pile of rubble as she veers off to the left, steering hopelessly out of control, squawking like an enraged chicken, fetching up entangled with the old Habitat armchair. As she lies sprawled in the mud, I see with immense delight she is sporting old-fashioned pink interlock knickers.

Vicar, like many mad people, is right. Life goes on. I offer to help her up and she shakes me off, giving me the born-again evil eye. Black Hat dusts her down, uttering wren-like chirrups of consternation.

Ah, the bird life of London!
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Thanks to Fan for popping in and telling us about her life and her books. If you'd like to check out Micka or Dollywagglers you can find them here:

                                                                                                                                                                    Babs x

This weekend at The Coffee House I’m featuring the work of a very good friend Jacoba Dorothy. Jacoba and I met many moons ago on Authonomy and have remained friends ever since. She’s a great supporter of Indie writers, a genuine bookaholic, and I’ve lost count of the number of books she’s reviewed. She’s an honest and valued beta-reader and a cracking writer. Today I’ve invited Jacoba along to talk about her Heartbreaker books, a new series of romances that have just hit the Amazon shelves. I’m a self confessed Heartbreaker groupie, and coming from a diehard thriller writer that’s saying something, but I have to tell you, these books are just wonderful. Following the interwoven lives of a group of young friends from small town America, they are witty, funny, happy and sad, with characters that get in your head and heart to the point where you just can’t wait for the next episode, and above all they beautifully written for today’s market. But before I get totally carried away with Bailey, Jen and Bennett, let’s find out a little more about their creator Jacoba.

1. Mini bio time, Jacoba. Give us a quick 24hr insight into your life. How does a typical Monday pan out for you? And where does writing fit into it all?

JD - First, it’s lovely to be invited here today. I’ve been dying for some of Babs' coffee and cake.  (Glad John and Alfie left me some, cheers guys.) Though I’d much rather she visited Australia, so we could enjoy the real thing. Hint, hint!!!

Okay, so back to book business ...

I really hate Mondays, I'm so glad you picked that day!! Groan. That first moment of waking, when you know the working week lies ahead, and that the day doesn’t include a leisurely morning of tea, toast and writing, is a real- am I allowed to say: bummer- if not: a pain in the you know what. So after dragging my head from the covers at about six thirty, there’s kids to feed, dress, and after a quick check of my emails, it’s off to work I go, usually without the “hi ho”. Mondays are meeting days, just to add to the delight, so my day doesn’t finish till five, five thirty sometimes. I am, however, very fortunate to have a very lovely husband, who is home in the afternoon to  bath my little boy and get him ready for bed, and to get homework done with my thirteen year old, cheers and hurrah-because that is definitely not a delight, and if I’m honest I’m kind of grateful when meetings run late ( says in a hushed small voice, so hubby does not hear that). So it's usually only dinner and dishes I help with.  Then I usually zone out in front of the telly for a couple of hours, if I don’t doze off that is. I wouldn’t say I’m very productive with my writing on a Monday, unless I’m editing or get a buzz from an idea, that might have been swimming in my head all day that I have to get down.

(And if my boss ever reads this, I love my job, truly I do. And I really do love Mondays, hand on my heart.)

2. Tell us a little about the first book, Heartbreaker.

Blurb:
I know I’m a heart breaker.  I broke Cam and me.
And I also broke myself somewhere along the way.
But I finally made it back.
It’s been two years.
Two years I wish I could erase,  and purge from my existence.
I wish I could kick myself back into the past, kick that stupid, idiotic girl,
and tell her to stop running away.
To live the life she wants, not the life her Mum wanted her to have.
You were such a coward Bailey Ryan.
Now the only thing I know for sure is, I’m home.
I’m never going away again.
                                                         And maybe Cam will forgive me.
                                                         And maybe I’ll exorcise my demons and forget.
                                                         Maybe … but I’m not really sure.
                                                         But now I’m here, I know one thing …
                                                         I’m sure as hell going to try.

                                                      Amazon .com                Amazon.co.uk

JD - Originally it was called, The Beating of my Heart, and was a short story that I put in Soooz’ Paragraphs of Power competition one month last year and won, must have been all the voting I did. Whoops!!! Shouldn't have said that. Ah well...

But it really did stick with me and I never felt it worked as a short story. Bailey, the MC had a lot more to tell, and I always wanted to go back to finishing her story. When I joined Wattpad in July last year, it gave me the opportunity I’d been waiting for, and after writing a chapter or two a week it soon became a 60,000 word book. So after lots of feedback and editing, I decided to publish it. I got quite a few reads on Wattpad,  over 10,000, and lots of positive feedback so I thought, why not. It was my first attempt at contemporary romance, a genre I love to read, so I took the plunge two weeks ago, and now it’s my first self published book.

                                                                                Jacoba on Wattpad

3. How did you first come up with the idea?

JD - Oh, gosh, I really don’t know the answer to this question. I suppose I love the unrequited love scenario, and I love a good romance with lots of angst. Quite frankly I didn’t want to write another graphic romance novel, there are a tonne of those around, and not sure I’m cut out for writing those scenes. Anyway, I wanted to go back to the basics of a good solid romance, where the to and fro, of the love interests are what keep you turning the page. I adore Jane Austen stories for that reason. I don’t think she ever put kissing or  … red rooms of pain (ha ha) in her stories, yet they are still adored and loved world wide.

4. Bailey is a wonderful character with a lot of complications in her life. Was it difficult to write her story?

JD - No, she kind of stuck in my head and the words flowed as though she was whispering in my ear, telling her story. A couple of her traumatic scenes were a bit tricky to write, and made me sad, but it all fit in with her decisions in the end, and why she decided to return to her hometown and try to win Cam back. I truly think our life experiences have a huge impact on the characters we become as we grow up, and I wanted to capture that with Bailey.

5. Personally I love the way Bailey’s story is revealed through her best friend ‘therapy sessions’ it’s a quirky way to bring in back story that works so well. Was that part of your overall plan, or did that evolve as you wrote?

JD - I love Bailey’s best friend, Gerry, and it was a good device to use to give back story, I wanted to drip feed that in, as the present day story progressed. I’m very fortunate to have some lovely friends and sisters in my life, who I engage in “therapy” with, now and then, and just telling another person is so therapeutic. I’d much rather that, than a person I don’t know. Though I understand sometimes people need to seek professional advice and expertise, depending on their problems. I think if Bailey hadn’t turned to Gerry she would have sought out professional therapy.  But by choosing her friend to confide in added a level of intimacy to the story, so I could reveal her background slowly and it also showed how caring and compassionate Gerry is. I’m hoping to have more of her character in another book in the series. I had a lot of people comment on Wattpad about how much they really liked her.

6. Can you give us a short excerpt? Something that will give us all a flavour of Heartbreaker. (About 300 words)

JD - Would love to, though it is always hard to choose. This extract is when Cam and Bailey meet up again, officially, after she returns home…

“Mom, you moved that damn table again,” Cam says, nudging through the door, hopping on one bare foot, the other being rubbed by his large beautiful hands. My eyes are trained on them for a moment, as I recall those very same hands touching me. Shit. I’m not supposed to be thinking about that. I’m here for other reasons. To move on. Then his gorgeous blue eyes land on me and I forget all that. All I see is him and me. Me and him. No past. No lost two years.

God I want him so bad right now.

“Bailey, what ... what ...” he splutters, placing both feet on the ground and stretching to his full six foot height.

I don’t know if I have a voice right now, but I need to say something. His mother is looking between us, like she’s waiting too.

I swallow down a lump. “Hi, Cam.”

He doesn’t say anything just continues to stare at me, then he blinks and looks at his mother who now has her eyes firmly set on him. There's worry there. Concern for him about seeing me, I guess.

Hello. Maybe I do matter.

That thought makes me a feel a little better, even though I know it shouldn’t. Even though I know I’m horrible and to blame and stupid and I hurt him. I still want to smile and latch on to that one thread of hope.

There’s an uncomfortable silence, with so many silent conversations going on right now.

Then I let my eyes trail over him. I swallow an even bigger lump. My brain registering, he doesn’t have a shirt on, his worn jeans hanging from his hips, his brown hair scruffy and messed. Bed hair. His arm pressed with red creases. Then I realize where those creases have come from. Jennifer Jaimeson's head has been lying there. Wrapped in his arms. The realization of knowing who he got that messy bed hair from, and who made those marks, crashes me back to earth and the bile rises in my throat. I swallow for the third time.

Hold it together, Bailey.

7. I know you’ve had a massive response to the books on Wattpad. Did that feedback help to identify your main readership and your decision to extend the series?

JD - Yes, if it had been a complete flop, and I got booed off stage, I would have dropped the idea of self publishing. But the response on there was pretty genuine. It’s not like some writing sites, with the ol', I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine,  so you don't always know if the feedback is genuine. There are a lot of readers on that site, who do say what they think. And some comments led me to tweak things here and there, and hopefully made it a better story. In total I probably had about three to four hundred readers who read the whole book, so that boosted my confidence in choosing to release it. And readers asking me to write from other's POV made me consider writing a series of books.

Sweet Cheeks
Blurb:
Jennifer Jaimeson's life isn't turning out exactly how she planned. 
But plans change, and she is nothing, if not adaptable.
Now after four years out of High School, things are looking up.  Well they were, until Bailey, the ex girlfriend of the guy she's been rooming with and lusting after, arrives back in town.
And once Cam and Bailey rekindle their romance, Jennifer is on the outer once more.
But Bailey has a secret. A bad secret. One that Cam knows nothing about.
Jennifer may have just discovered the opportunity she's been waiting for, and is set to put her new knowledge to good use,  when an old High School friend of Cam's, Tanning, comes to stay,
He's hot with a capital H, and nothing like the geek she remembers being mean to in High School.
Her explosive lustful feelings for Tanning are soon confused with her residual warm feelings toward Cam, and the life she planned to have with him.
And that's just the beginning.
When the father of her unborn baby, Travis, and her childhood crush and tormentor, Jason, come back into town, things are going to get a whole lot more complicated.
Jennifer's life is about to spin out of control, and no matter what she does, or how she tries to adapt, she will be completely powerless to fix her messed up life this time.

                                                            Amazon .com                      Amazon.co.uk

8. In the second book Sweet Cheeks, bad girl Jen takes centre stage. She’s a minx there’s no doubt about that, but I have to admit, she’s my favourite character...so far. I ranged from wanting to wring her neck, to wanting to give her a big hug. How did you come up with her character?

JD - Oh boy. This sounds weird, but I literally woke one morning, and had the idea of Jen’s checklist, which is now the start and end of the book. And that morning instead of dragging myself out of bed, I literally leapt, and started writing my ideas down, and Jen’s story grew from there. I knew a few popular girls in High School, who really got on my goat. We didn't have the clichéd cheerleader, prom queens, in Australia, but those girls could be mean if they wanted to … Goodness, I hope they don’t’ ever read this, I'm sure they're all lovely now … anyhow, I thought it might be cathartic to write from a mean girls point of view and redeem her somehow. I think sometimes those self absorbed characters are the most interesting. And it was so much fun to write from her head.

9. You touch on a number of issues that are relevant to young people today, bullying, drugs, lone parenting etc and your characters often have hard decisions to make. Did any of your life experiences help you to portray these scenes in such a realistic way?

JD - As I said, I’ve read a lot, and in my forty odd years, seen a lot, and yes, experienced some of the things I’ve written about. And I do touch on issues that unfortunately a lot of young people have to face, at an early age. To remain true to the current generation, you’d be almost ignorant as a writer to skip all that, and just focus on the romance, and make everything all happy families, because, well, life isn’t like that. You are constantly thrown curve balls at every turn, and you have to learn to dodge and weave your way through. I also think not enough kudos is given to young mothers who choose to go it alone, it's a hard decision and not an easy road for a lot of them. And I truly think they are unsung heroines. I know how hard having kids can be, and I honestly don’t know how I’d cope if I was a single parent.

10. Can you give us a little taster of teaser Jen? (about 300 words)

JD - There are so many 'Jen' moments, as I like to call them. But her first impressions when she meets up with Tanning again, after being mean to him in High School were really fun to write. So here’s one…

Ouch. Stupid spade. I have another go and this time I put all my muscle into it, which doesn’t seem to help. I’m about to pound the spade into the dirt again, when I hear a deep husky voice say, “You’re not doing that right.”

It's Tanning, and he’s close behind me. So close, I can feel the heat of him, and I shiver involuntarily. I grip the handle tighter and count to three, before I turn around with my best smile.

“Care to show me how it’s done then?”

“Not really. I only came back to grab a change of clothes. I’m going to play golf.”

“Oh.” I sound like I'm disappointed, and I want to kick myself.

I shrug instead and turn, looking at the crappy hard ground. Now I’m more determined than ever to plough through this stupid garden patch. I don’t need his help anyway.

Leaning on the spade I wait for him to leave. I don’t want him hanging around, laughing at me and being an ass.

He sighs long and hard, and I clench hold of the handle.

Why isn’t he leaving?

“Give it here,” he commands.

I narrow my eyes, I don’t want to give it to him, but if he wants to think I’m a helpless female, he can. It's a good image for me.

I stand with my fake smile pasted in place and pass him the spade. It actually hurts to have that stupid smile on my face. I’m usually so good at keeping up the act, but I’m struggling today. He’s making me struggle.

“Why thank you, kind sir,” I say all sweetness, wanting to puke at my own insincerity.

He grunts, and starts to shovel away the dirt and weeds in record time. My god, he is so powerful and strong, I think I could watch him work like that all day, every day. By the time he’s finished there isn’t a weed left standing and the ground is all dug up. The sweat is dripping off his forehead and his t-shirt is drenched. I’m finding it hard not to sweat along with him, just thinking about all that hotness, leading to a whole bunch of naughty thoughts.

11. Who’s next to take centre stage? What plans do you have for the next in the series and how long do we have to wait for it?

JD - Well funny you should mention that. I have started writing Bennett’s story, and also plan to write Travis’s story. I’d like to release them at the same time, the way I’ve released Bailey and Jen’s story at the same time. That probably won’t be till early next year, but if you want more details, I’ll add snippets to the Heartbreaker facebook page, so if any readers want to give me a like you can stay tuned that way.

     Facebook

12. And finally, do you have any other projects up your sleeve that you think we should know about?

Blurb:
A dead princess.
A drunken prince.
A darker forest, further away...
Where you'll meet Savath.
A large hearted hero ...
Picking up the pieces in this dysfunctional fairy tale.
Happily Ever After-a distinct improbability!


JD - Good question. Yes I do. As you know, Babs, I have a funny little fellow called Savath, who is just bursting at the seams to get his name in neon lights. I am hoping his wee little tale, will be released next month. He’s been waiting a good while now. It’s called Cold Grey, and it’s a twisted take on the classic fairy tale, Snow White. I have the links to the facebook page listed below, where you can find out its release date.

                                    Facebook


JD - Thanks a billion for having me. It's been lovely to spend my morning chatting with you. Cheers, she says, and chinks her very nice bone china coffee cup.

 Jxx

The pleasure is all mine, Jacoba. It's been a delight having you visit and chat about your fabulous books. One day soon I hope to be popping in to your house to share a coffee with you for real!

                                                                                                                            Babs x

In case I haven’t mentioned it before, my little corner of Northumberland was recently voted one of the darkest skies in Europe. For the uninitiated amongst you, this means it’s a super place for stargazing, which is rather appropriate as this week’s guest at The Coffee House, Glenn Muller, is a keen astronomer. He’s also a cracking thriller writer, but hey, don’t take my word for it, just wait till you read the excerpt from Glenn’s thriller Torque. Slick writing, my kind of read, so much so, I’ve just downloaded it... review to follow.
I’m delighted to have you here today, Glenn, please make yourself and if the skies are clear tonight, who knows what you might glimpse.

1 – First up, Glenn, I like to make my guests welcome so what are you having? Name your poison. Are you an Earl Grey or a Latte man? Can I tempt you with a slice of chocolate cake or a helping of apple crumble?

GM - Well, since you're boiling water, Babs, I'll have some green tea and a bit of that lovely apple crumble.

2 –Mini bio time -Let’s get to know a little bit more about how you ended up here on my sofa, Glenn. Are you a full time writer or do you have an additional occupation or interesting hobby that drags you away from the keyboard. Let’s get an idea of what makes you tick.

GM - I guess you could call me a full-spare-time writer since I maintain a 9-5 gig as a bookkeeper to stay solvent. My interesting hobby would be astronomy. My wife and I have several telescopes and our own observatory in the backyard.

3 – How did you get into writing? What was the first thing you had published and how did you go about it?

GM - I got into writing the same way artists get into drawing and dancers find their way onto the stage. It's a creative need that has to be acknowledged and catered to. The first thing I had published that actually brought in money was a book review for an astronomy magazine. It was so nice to have my writing validated in that way that I almost framed the cheque instead of cashing it!

4 – Are you a planner, Glenn? Do you plot your novels out in advance or just go where the characters take you?

GM - I like to have a general idea of the main plot line before I start typing, and spend a long time just thinking of the possibilities. Once I have the framework in mind, I'm quite happy to let the characters take over and see where they lead me. That's one thing I enjoy about writing; even as the author I never quite know where the story might go.

5 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why?

GM - The genre I'm most comfortable with is the thriller because you can really set the reader up for a surprise. Plus there is plenty of opportunity for action which keeps the story moving at an entertaining pace. I also like to mix in elements of crime with a law enforcement chaser just to keep everything accountable.

6 – Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

GM - From a writing standpoint, I'm not big on horror – too much gratuitous bloodshed. If a scene requires an animal to be the victim I find a way to gloss over it in a sentence or two, and I won't write anything that involves the abuse of children. My bad guys can be nasty without resorting to that sort of thing.

7 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

GM - I started reading when I was four and, though I was read to, I often liked to do the reading. Since I spent my early years in England, the Biggles books were a favourite. In fact I still have them  in my bookcase alongside tales of Robin Hood, and King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

8 – Promotion and marketing is the bane of most writers’ lives. How do you reach your readers and promote your work.

GM - I would like to say telepathically – that would certainly make things easier – but there really is no substitute for blog posts, maintaining a Facebook page, Twitter'ing, setting up book signings, and generally blowing your own horn. I'm still feeling my way around the whole marketing thing so any support from friends, peers, and readers is always appreciated.

9 – Tell us a little about the book you've brought with you?

GM - Torque is a thriller with an excellent set of characters. The protagonist, Chas Fenn, is an average guy who unwittingly gains possession of a street drug formula. The antagonist is a ruthless vixen, called Brittany Reis, who will stop at nothing to get it back. When writing Torque I put all the elements into it that I like to find in a book – action, suspense, mystery, police procedures, technical data, a bit of romance, and plenty of humour.

10 – How do you develop your characters? Pick your favourite and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

GM - Brittany Reis surprised me the most. Not bound by social morays or morals, one reader said that “Reis springs off the page at you!” and I would certainly agree.

11 – Can you give us a little hint at what you have planned next?

GM - I have a short story written that will be part of an anthology due out this Spring. I'm also working on the sequel to Torque.

12 – While I top up your tea would you like to read a short excerpt from your book?

GM -  I'd love to. To avoid spoilers, I'm going to give you the first part of Chapter 5 in which the main character here is an aging con man whom Reis wants to recruit to retrieve the formula.

Torque - Chapter 5

The Stockport Lounge was busier than normal for a Wednesday. Fall’s crisp calling card had arrived and the office crowd was feeling cozy. Located on the mezzanine of Hanlon Place, a hybrid of office tower and luxury hotel, the bar’s hospitality beckoned to those who disembarked soundless elevators opposite the rain-specked brass and glass street exit.

       Chatter ebbed and flowed around small round tables, cresting occasionally into laughter then receding to choppy conversation. Over bobbing heads, new arrivals caught the eye of the bartender. He nodded while slicing limes for the ever popular Mai Tai and Daiquiri. He couldn’t see the TV but listened, as he worked, to the news anchor’s summary.

        “The Bank of Canada is forecasting yet another rise in interest rates, and the body of a second youth has been discovered in Hamilton. More details in a moment.”

         The station switched to a commercial and the barman changed the channel. Stark reality was not good for the tip jar.

         “You don't mind?” he said, indicating the large screen to the only patron who might have an interest in it.

          The heavyset man on the barstool shook his head.

          The Stockport Lounge wasn't exactly Stanislaw Svoljsak’s kind of place. Next to a beer at home he preferred a street corner tavern where the drinks were cheap and the patrons talked about hockey or fight clubs. The two-for-one cocktail hour was okay, though. He raised his glass and drained the amber dregs of a double scotch.

           “Another one, sir?”

           Svoljsak assented, and armed with the plastic miniature spear he sat hunched over the drink like an Inuit at a seal hole. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill. On the side with the goose, written in fine blue marker, was the name of the lounge and the date and time he was expected. It was a novel way to get his attention, though a mere C-note wouldn’t keep it for much longer. Now twenty minutes past the allotted time his patience was already evaporating with the alcohol.

            He took a sip and stole a glance at the segmented mirror behind the bar. The view was obscured by the bottles in front so he hitched around on his stool and casually panned the room. Most of the suits and skirts were there on his arrival. A mixed group in a large booth appeared to be fanning the flames of an office romance between two of their co-workers.

         His scan had nearly reached its unobtrusive limit when he caught the pale sheen of white flesh in silk stockings. He took a quick mental snapshot then turned back to the bar as if he hadn’t noticed.

         That woman hadn’t been sitting there when he'd arrived. Nor had she entered after he'd found a stool at the bar, he could see the doorway and wouldn’t have missed legs like that coming in. She must have followed him from the lobby. That could just be a matter of timing, but in Svoljsak's line of work timing was important.

          There was a motion beside him, a hint of perfume, then a flash of silk-clad thighs being crossed on the next stool over.

“Thank you for coming, Mr. Svoljsak. I'm sorry for the delay, but one can never be too careful.”

Blurb:

After nine years on the road, Chas Fenn knows how to avoid accidental death - it's the intentional kind that gives him trouble.
The intentional kind is the seductive Brittany Reis, who plans to carve a niche in the street drug trade with a new hallucinogen. When her lab technician suddenly dies, Reis is forced to partner with an aging con man who sees the opportunity as a last chance for a big payoff.
There is dishonour among thieves, and the formula is misdirected to Fenn who's main ambitions are to win at darts, and get a raise. And maybe get laid. Now, with Reis and her thugs hot on his tail, Fenn’s life takes a dangerous detour where the normal rules no longer apply.
In the background, Detective Inspector Evan Lareault's case load of two homicides, a fatal overdose, and a fraudulent funeral home appears unrelated until Fenn discovers a family connection to the formula, and turns from hunted to hunter.
Torque is a high-action tale with powder-dry humour and a sexy villain you won't soon forget.

Torque is available to buy at:

Amazon .com

Amazon.co.uk

And all the usual e-book retailers, Kobo, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble .

13– And finally a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. Can you give me 100 words of your choosing to follow on from this? Your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on:

“The foul tasting water seeping into her lungs and she knew in this drowning moment that this was not a dream…this was real....Something was definitely wrong with the holo-deck. She'd dialed in #65 – mad scientists, werewolves, and freaks – and the danger level was only rated as 3. Drowning on the other hand was a 9 and she didn't have clearance for that. Why does it always malfunction on my shift, she thought, and hit the KILL switch on her ring. The shackle fell off, and the water stopped rising but instead of receding just sat there. The crap from the dungeon must have clogged the drain. With lungs ready to burst she dove down but what she found on the bottom was another nasty surprise.

Thanks so much for dropping by Glenn. Love your addition to the story and I'm looking forward to reading Torque. Best of luck with the sequel.

                                                                                                                                                                            Babs x

Today at The Coffee House I’m featuring friend and fellow writer Moonyeen Blakey and her marvellous book The Assassin's Wife. Moon and I met ‘virtually’ some time ago via Authonomy and subsequently became members of a small historical fiction group affectionately known as The Hysterical Fictionaires, and yes, as a group we are often reduced to hysterics at our own antics, but we are also extremely supportive of each other and our individual endeavours. I was fortunate to meet Moon in the real world when we lunched together in the medieval heart of Lincoln. We proudly exchanged copies of our first novels, my ‘Mrs Jones’ for Moon’s ‘The Assassin's Wife’, a tale of historical intrigue, and chatted about books, writing and our future hopes. She’s a lovely lady, with a wicked sense of humour, a passion for history and a unique way of bringing it to life by weaving incredibly addictive tales. I’m privileged to have Moon here today to talk about the background to her book. It’s quite well timed as the debacle concerning the discovery of Richard lll’s remains is currently doing the rounds of UK courts.
Please take the time to discover the influence behind the book and then, if you wish, join us in our  ‘Hysterical Book-Blast’ today Saturday 15th by downloading your own copy of ‘The Assassins Wife’ and sharing this blog post.
So without further ado:

Dirty, Devilish Deeds in the Tower

Last year's discovery of Richard III's bones under a carpark in Leicester, raised more than new interest in the history of this much maligned king. It stirred the spectres of two, lost, little, noble boys said to haunt the Garden Tower.

Who were these waifs in black velvet, doomed to cling hand-clasped and forlorn, confronting us perpetually with their abject misery?  Who could have abandoned them to such a fate?

Those primary school-children who studied history during the 1960s might have had some inkling. According to a 'potted' Children's History Book Series published by Unstead and used throughout schools for 7-11 years in England, these small boys belonged to the Royal House of York. They were in fact the sons of Edward IV, the dashing Yorkist king who took the crown from poor, mad Henry VI of the Royal House of Lancaster. Again, according to Unstead, whole swathes of history could be reduced to just a few relevant sentences summing up the entire later 15th century history of England to something like: 'The rival barons fought for the crown and the strongest set himself up as king.' (Sorry, girls, only manipulative, scheming princesses/noblewomen stood any chance of influencing the menfolk--and then probably by using the usual methods!)

It seemed the peasant population drifted along in some thick miasma of ignorance merely 'obeying orders' and benefiting nothing from the various changes on either side. Kings came and went, princesses were bought and sold, nobles swapped sides and embraced underhand deals, and Richard Neville, the wily Earl of Warwick, manoeuvred all the pieces, like a giant puppet-master, in this fascinating Game of Thrones.

Richard III's bones provided historians with a wealth of exciting information. First he suffered from scoliosis--a painful disease of the spine. Here was meat and drink for all who'd believed the tales of the wicked, hunch-backed uncle who'd crept up the Tower steps to murder the innocent children in the dark! My not so scholarly school book displayed just this picture--the twisted monarch leering villainously as he trod his solitary way towards the slumbering lads to snuff out their lives!

Of course the Richard III Society, championed by the passionate Phillipa Langley, refused to accept Richard's infamy. Presenting the public with a charming, romantic reconstruction of the king's head, they quickly won huge support. I suspect many who saw the Unstead History Book refused to believe such a man could have smothered his nephews single-handed. Certainly I was never convinced.

But those two boys--Edward, Prince of Wales, eldest son to Edward IV, and young Richard, Duke of York, his brother, disappeared mysteriously in1486. So what became of them?

The struggle for power is never pretty. Whilst 15th Century England's noble cousins battled for the throne, desperate to provide the country with the strongest ruler, to maintain England's powerful position in Europe, and ensure the longevity of the ruling family, various wicked deeds were performed 'for the best'. Doubtless the princes' murder was such a one.

Henry VI's reign demonstrated the disaster of having a minor on the throne. No one wanted a similar situation. A united family created strength and security. Noble girls proved useful assets in cementing firm alliances. Eventually everyone might be expected to accept what seemed most expedient for such dangerous times. In this case, to exclude the young princes and plump for loyalty, strength and experience. The logical choice had to be Richard III.

Is it possible that people should desert the princes' cause so quickly? No doubt the commons recalled Edward IV --that handsome, courageous, warrior-king who'd sired` them, with admiration and nostalgia. But the people were sick and tired of war. His memory faded into a kind of Mills and Boon Romance--a gorgeous image which had been beautifully created and accentuated by the rumours of his secret marriages and dangerous liaisons. But who wanted to begin on another era of warfare and intrigue? Edward's wife, the fabled beauty Elizabeth Wydeville, was never popular. She had proved greedy and ambitious ,promoting her own family beyond the old nobility. People feared she would take the real power behind the throne once her son was crowned. Perhaps it was time to make some drastic changes?

People will see what they want to see. Avoiding close examination of the facts allows one to create a kind of vague, rosy glow over the past. Perhaps it was time to let the princes go...? Perhaps the trail of secrets concerning their disappearance should not be unravelled after all? 

Of course many people stood to profit by their removal. Historians argue still as to who might have plotted and schemed for their demise. The first name which springs to mind is probably Henry Tudor, product of Margaret Beaufort's cold, religious fanaticism, the boy on whom she lavished all her` attention, Determined he should be king, Margaret, clever as a snake, wound her coils about all those noble persons who might aid her to fulfill this ambition--an ambition she believed to be a part of his destiny.

And what about Harry Buckingham? Disgruntled member of the old nobility, forced into an arranged marriage with a dreaded Wydeville princess, old friend of Richard III, why did he suddenly turn rebel?

There are so many possibilities when it comes to choosing villains!

But perhaps it was just sheer exhaustion which made the people of England turn their backs on the princes? 

We all love a change. The new order beckoned. If only the country could forget about fighting and get back on its feet again... A change is as good as a rest?

Sadly, for the boys in the Tower, they were soon forgotten---but not quite. Throughout the turbulent years that followed still people sought for answers. Finding bones under an old staircase sparked yet more curiosity... But DNA testing was still necessary to identify these bones.

Now, with all this knowledge at their fingertips, and the bones of King Richard III in their capable hands, all the scientists need is the Queen's permission to re-examine those mysterious finds.

Why then, is she so reluctant to allow this???!  

The Assassin's Wife

Blurb:

Second Sight is dangerous…
Nan's visions of two noble boys imprisoned in a tower frighten her village priest. The penalty for witchcraft is death.
Despite his warnings, Nan’s determination to save these boys launches her on a nightmare journey. As fifteenth-century England teeters on the edge of civil war, her talent as a Seer draws powerful, ambitious people around her.
Not all of them are honourable.
Twists of fate bring her to a ghost-ridden house in Silver Street where she is entrusted with a secret which could destroy a dynasty.
Pursued by the unscrupulous Bishop Stillington, she finds refuge with a gypsy wise-woman, until a chance encounter takes her to Middleham Castle. Here she embarks on a passionate affair with Miles Forrest, the Duke of Gloucester’s trusted henchman. But is her lover all he seems?

"The author reveals through a vivid, gripping narrative the fear, violence and chaos of that time. Will the assassin's wife have the power to alter the course of history? Read this book and find out." - Paul Sutherland, Multi-Published Author and Editor

"…a vivid and visceral journey into the darkest hearts of men during the Wars of the Roses… An incredible, unforgettable story, surely made for the screen. Moonyeen Blakey is a major new talent to watch." - Sally Spedding, Award-Winning Mystery Author of Cold Remains

My five star review

“I love books of this period and was attracted to this one by the additional premise of a main character with the dangerous gift of "sight"
From the outset I was captivated by Nan and the way her character was carefully and believably, developed throughout this book. The prose was quite beautiful, and a joy to savour. The period detail and setting drew me in, in such a natural and effortless way, a compliment indeed to the author. Nan's visions served to rank up the suspense as they increased in number and intensity. The reaction of both Nan and those around her fully illustrating the fear and suspicion, abound in those times.
I thoroughly enjoyed this exciting and well researched tale. This is a must read for those who enjoy historical fiction.”

To grab your own copy here are the links:

Amazon .com

Amazon.co.uk

Happy Reading ...

                                                                                                                                                                                            Babs x

This week I’m delighted to welcome a very special guest to The Coffee House. As a first round judge for  The Yeovil Literary Prize, Sue Yockney discovered my entry ‘Mrs Jones’ and championed it all the way to second place. That was back in 2011 but I didn’t actually get to meet Sue until much later at the Brympton Festival. Sue, and Liz Pike (Prize organiser) made a Northern lass so welcome down there in Somerset and were incredibly encouraging to me as a new writer.  This year’s Yeovil Literary Prize is open now for submissions and I’d recommend it to all.  Sue has just released her first two YA dystopian novels and I’m thrilled to finally have her here on the sofa to chat about books, writing and her work with the Yeovil Literary Prize. So, without further ado, hang up your coat, Sue, and make yourself at home.

1 – Finally I get to share some North East hospitality after being so well looked after by you and yours in Yeovil. What can I tempt you with, Sue?

SY - I’m delighted to be here at the Coffee House, Babs. Thank you so much for inviting me. I’d love a latte with a sprinkling of cinnamon on top and a warm almond croissant, please. Mmmm, nice!

2 – I’ve already touched upon your fantastic work for The Yeovil Literary Prize, but perhaps you’d like to tell us about your background and what you do when you’re not pounding away at a keyboard. Do you have an additional occupation or interesting hobby that you’d like to share with us?

 SY - I was born in London and describe myself as almost a Cockney, my birthplace being just out of earshot of the Bow Bells! After studying art at Central St Martins, I went on to qualify as a chartered librarian and eventually became a School Library Advisor. My writing career began when, as a member of an amateur dramatic group unable to find suitable material to perform, I decided to produce something myself and ended up writing and directing three murder mystery plays. After that, I concentrated on writing short stories for many years. In 2013, I published my debut novel Happy Deathday and its sequel Resurrection. When I’m not writing, I enjoy, reading, cinema and contemporary jazz. My husband and I love to travel and prefer ‘adventure’ over relaxation. We’ve been to Alaska twice, using the local ferries to travel the Alaskan Marine Highway and did a five week road trip of New Zealand. Our most exciting and challenging trip to date, was driving the Dempster Highway (the Ice Road Truckers road) up to and beyond the Arctic Circle - in the summer… doing it in the winter, would just be suicidal! Wow! Sue, I’m impressed by your travelling adventures, and to think I had trouble navigating the London Underground.

3 – How did you get involved with The Yeovil Literary Prize? What is your role within it and how much of your time is devoted to this each year?

SY - 2011 was my first year as one of the three novel short listing judges. I was asked if I would help out with the online novel submissions and I said I’d give it a go and have been doing it ever since! It is very time consuming process with each submission consisting of a synopsis and opening chapters (combined maximum 15,000 words). I usually start in March, when the competition has been open for a couple of months and go on until July. You can’t do too many in one sitting as it is pretty mind-boggling! When we’ve each got our shortlist we meet up and thrash out which ones will go to the designated novel judge for that year. The other two categories, Short Story and Poetry have their own shortlisting judges but follow a similar process.

4 – Do you get carried away with the latest project to the exclusion of everything else, or do you flit from one to the other as the mood takes you? Are you a planner, or happy to go where your characters take you?

SY - I’m a planner initially but do let the characters guide me at times. Often I’ll see or hear something during the course of writing and incorporate that into the story but I do tend to stick to my original outline. I can only work on one thing at a time!

5 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why?

SY - I too, like to genre hop and have tackled pretty much everything in my short story writing, including horror, supernatural, crime, historical and humour. I do have a particular passion for Sci-fi, so I suppose that it was inevitable that my debut novel would be in that genre.

6 – Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

SY - I have a problem with the Fantasy genre. I don’t know what it is but I just can’t get a feel for it, although a lot of my stories do have a supernatural element.

7 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

SY - I devoured Enid Blyton as a child but was always rather disappointed that my family holidays did not involve dastardly criminals, giving me no opportunity to thwart their plans with my cunning detective skills! I remember being read stories at primary school, in particular, The Water Babies. It upset me so much, I was haunted by it for years! Fortunately, it didn’t stop me developing a love of books and reading but does show that you need to be careful to read the right book at the right time, to a child. Having said above that I do not like Fantasy, I have to say that, one book that I’ve recently read, has gone a long way in changing my mind and that is Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway. What a fabulous read! I’m currently reading Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier.

8 – Promotion and marketing is the bane of most writers’ lives. As a newly published writer how are you reaching your readers and promoting your work? Have you had any particular marketing successes?

SY - P & M is my nemesis and takes up so much time! But there’s no getting away from it, you have to get out there and do it. I’ve been helped a lot by friends and fellow authors but it doesn’t come naturally to me. I suppose the thing I am most proud of, as a self-published author, is getting my books in stock at my local branch of Waterstones.

9 – Tell us a little about the books you currently have published.

SY - Happy Deathday is set in an underground breeding colony constructed to save the Human Race from extinction, by a gamma ray explosion that destroys the Earth’s ozone layer. The story is told by the two main protagonists, Jonathan and Sarah in a dual narrative. Both of them have had their eighteen years in the Colony and their Deathdays are fast approaching. One is born every day; one dies every day. That is the way of the Colony. Like Jonathan, Sarah has successfully completed her breeding programme, a soulless clinical procedure and is ready to re-join the Colony and prepare for her Deathday - a time of celebration when, the contribution each colonist has made to its mission, is fulfilled. It’s all they have. This is your destiny. That’s what they’ve always been told…

10 – Can you give us a little hint at what you have planned next?

SY - It’s in the very early stages but my next novel will be a satire set in the not too distant future and will involve a very creative solution to a problem threatening national stability!

11 – And tell us even more about the one you’ve brought with you.

SY - The novel starts with a seemingly innocuous accident, where Jonathan loses a week’s supply of the Supplement, he’s been required to take since he was nine years old and that he believes contains only vitamins and minerals. Without its influence, he begins to experience all the signs of puberty. He starts noticing things that he’s never noticed before, in particular Sarah. With his body no longer under his control, Jonathan struggles with his attraction to her and his growing sexual awareness. He also notices Zack, a Security Response Unit officer and two things become apparent. One that Zack is becoming an increasing threat to the Colony. And two, Zack has designs on Sarah. Fuelled by love, jealousy and the hormones his body’s been denied for years, Jonathan takes him on. The third main, ever present, character in the novels, is Time itself.  It’s there at the beginning of each chapter, reminding us of how little of it, Jonathan and Sarah, have left. The Happy Deathday duology is a crossover novel targeted at the 14+/Adult age range.

12 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

SY - Jonathan, like Sarah, displays great bravery as he battles against, not only a de-humanising environment but also, his own body.

13 – While I top up your coffee would you like to read a short excerpt from your book?

Putting my used tunic in the recycling chute, I press the dispenser button for a clean one. I have already checked my shoes and they will be fine for another few days before, they too, will be recycled.

I exit my hygiene cubicle, cross to the food dispenser and press the button. A packet drops down onto the metal counter. Straight away, I see that it is smaller than yesterday. Opening it, I stare at the contents - two rice balls and a small pile of bean shoots. Raising the packet to chin level, I pick up one of the rice balls between my thumb and forefinger, put it whole into my mouth and swallow. I feel every centimetre of its journey, as it is pushed down into my growling stomach. A spasm of pain grips me under the ribs, as my gut muscles clench hold of it. I wipe away a trickle of saliva that creeps from the side of my mouth, with the sleeve of my tunic top then gobble down the rest of the contents. Spotting a grain of rice caught in the fold of the carton, I hook it out with my fingernail. Then, placing it on my tongue, I work it to the back of my throat and gulp it down.

I glance up at the time display on the COMSET and see that I must leave at once. I have lost track of time and hurry towards the door.

‘Remember Jonathan that your Pre-mortal course is scheduled for tomorrow at 14.00 hours. It is essential that you are carefully prepared for your Deathday ceremony.’

Perhaps it is the lack of food, but I have forgotten all about my Pre-mortal course and this troubles me a great deal. Ashamed at my oversight, I reach the door deep in thought and wave my hand over the console. But it remains closed. I freeze for a moment, unsure of what to do then hear a click behind me.

‘Jonathan, you have not taken your Supplement.’

Shocked at another mistake in my morning routine, I rush over to the dispenser and push the button. Nothing happens. In my haste, I have not applied enough pressure. I push it again, hard and for several seconds this time. But instead of one tablet, seven shoot out of the nozzle and bounce, one after another, off the metal shelf. I try and catch them with my knees but they fall onto the floor and I watch, in horror, as they clatter down the air vent in the floor by the wall. Standing quite still, I wait for the COMSET to respond. Nothing. I pour a little water into a plastic cup and pretend to take a tablet. I dare not look at the Eye behind me. After a few seconds, I walk over to the door again and wave my hand over the console. It glides open and I step out into the corridor.

I have lost a week’s supply of Supplement. The Supplement, I have taken every day of my life since my 10th Deathday.

Happy Deathday and its sequel, Resurrection, are available in Kindle and paperback formats from:

Happy Deathday

Amazon .com

Amazon co.uk


Resurrection

Amazon .com

Amazon co.uk



You can catch up with Sue at:

Twitter @SueYockney;

Facebook

Goodreads.


14– And finally a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. Sue, can you give me 100 words of your choosing to follow on from this? your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on:

She was chained up in the castle basement as the flood waters began to rise... The dark, encroaching liquid crept up her naked body, shocking her with its chill. She expelled a terrified scream from the back of her throat, the sound ricocheting around the slick stone walls of the basement. No-one would hear her cries. She was quite alone. As the water reached her neck then her chin, she struggled to free her chained leg but it was held fast to the floor. Then her nose slipped under the surface, the foul tasting water seeping into her lungs and she knew in this drowning moment that this was not a dream…this was real.


Thanks so much for coming, Sue. I wish you much success in all you do and hope all your plans come to fruition. Do pop back and let us know how you get on with your next travelling adventure.

                                                                                                                                                                                                Babs x

Well, we’re into March and The Coffee House garden is resplendent with snowdrops and aconite. Touch wood, we’ve escaped the worst of the winter weather and both of our greenhouses and the kitchen windowsills are filled with seedlings. I’m looking forward to the weather warming up and serving refreshments on the lawn. But I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s still a bit too parky to be out and about without a warm coat, so this week’s guest can be assured of a spot by the stove. Please join me as The Coffee House welcomes Julie Ryan.  Julie released her debut novel in 2013. She’s a regular contributor to Goodreads and Facebook groups and a regular reviewer.

We’re pretty easy going here, Julie, so please make yourself at home. Feel free to sprawl on the sofas or grab a chair by the stove. Dogs are very welcome, biscuits supplied.

1 - So first up, Julie. What are you having? Name your poison, or in this case the hot beverage and tasty treat of your choice. The chef is very accomplished with a whisk and a rolling pin.

JR - Thanks so much for having me and what a lovely welcome! I love a nice cup of coffee in the morning, milk and one sugar please. As for a treat, I’d choose a ‘pain au chocolat’ being a bit of a chocoholic. (Mmmm chocolate ... )

2 – Mini bio time. Let’s get to know a little bit more about how you ended up here on my sofa. Are you a full time writer, Julie, or do you have an additional occupation or hobby that drags you away from the keyboard?

JR - I wish! Like many writers, I can’t afford to write full time so I run our local village post office in the mornings. The rest of the day I’m a distance learning tutor, teaching English over the phone to French companies. I write in between whenever I can. The good thing about working from home is that I’m never far from my keyboard or a coffee!

3 – How did you get into writing? Perhaps you’re lucky enough to be a member of a writer’s group. Or maybe you just fell into it by accident.

JR - I’ve always written, even as a small child but my dream of one day writing a novel was just that until I started working from home. One day I bumped into fellow writer Linn B Halton and her writing journey inspired me to dust off my notes and get cracking. ‘Jenna’s Journey’ was the result and I haven’t looked back since. Together we set up a ‘Book Club’ and their support has also been invaluable.

4 – What was the first thing you had published and how did you go about it? Did you run the gauntlet of the query letter or decide to self publish? How do you promote your work?

JR - My goal was ultimately to write a novel and the fact that you can self-publish on Amazon was very attractive. I am a bit of a control freak so wanted to keep the novel in my own hands and didn’t approach publishers. That’s something I may consider in the future but for the moment I’m busy building up a reader base and interacting with people on Facebook and Twitter. For all the faults of social media, I’ve ‘met’ some lovely people that I wouldn’t have done otherwise. I also set up my own blog site so that I can help publicise other writers’ work. Hopefully by spreading a bit of goodwill, it’ll make the online writers’ community a better place.

5 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why?

JR - I didn’t plan my genre, rather it chose me.  At first, I only had an idea of writing about Greece where I spent some time in the 1980s. I knew it wasn’t quite chick-lit, nor was it a real thriller but I love the fact it embraces several genres. I call it a romantic mystery but in fact the only thing it’s missing is a steampunk vampire! I guess we write about what we enjoy reading and as I enjoy contemporary women’s fiction, thrillers and suspense mixed with a bit of historical fiction, it’s not surprising that my first novel has ended up as a crossover.

6 – Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

JR - I love a good story so for me almost anything is permissible if it allows the story to flow. Just recently though, I’ve noticed a tendency for very steamy sex scenes in lots of different genres. I don’t mind the odd scene if it’s well written but after six or seven such scenes in one book, I found myself thinking ’just get on with it. I want to know what happens next.’

7 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

JR - I was an absolute Enid Blyton fanatic as a child and my greatest pleasure was shopping with my mum on Friday evenings. She’d leave me in the book aisle happily reading while she did the shopping and then I got to choose which book to buy. That most definitely developed my love of books. Nowadays my choice is much more eclectic. I don’t have one favourite author but amongst my top choices are Philippa Gregory, Anne Zouroudi, Sara Alexi, Kate Moreton, Kate Mosse, John Fowles, Ken Follett

8 – Tell us a little about the books you currently have published and what you have planned next.

JR - My debut novel, Jenna’s journey, tells the story of a young woman who flees to Greece to escape her failing marriage. It’s a voyage of discovery as she works out what she wants. On the way she gets caught up in a drug smuggling ring, There are lots of twists and turns but it’s only when her daughter returns to Greece twenty-five years later that some of the questions are answered. There’s also a romantic interest in the form of Nikos the hotel manager. It’s a bit like ‘Sliding Doors’ meets ‘Shirley Valentine.’

At the moment I’m working on my second book in the series. It’s called ‘Sophia’s Story’ and although it’s set on the same island, it isn’t a sequel. One or two of the characters from’ Jenna’s Journey’ do appear though. After I’d finished the book, they just wouldn’t leave me alone.

9 – And tell us even more about the one you’ve brought with you. I did explain about reading an excerpt later didn’t I? Oh good. Don’t think you get coffee and cake for nothing.

JR -‘Jenna’s Journey’ touches on several themes such as domestic abuse, love and romance, motherhood and I hope gives the reader pause for thought. It is set against a backdrop of Greece, a country that I came to think of as my second home so is an ideal beach read if you’re looking for something more than boy meets girl, conflict stops the path of true love, boy and girl live happily ever after. I like to leave the reader guessing and you’ll have to wait and see if love wins out in the end.

Blurb:

‘Jenna’s Journey’

When Jenna decides on a whim to go to Greece, she’s trying to escape her failing marriage.  Will Greg let her go so easily though? Can she make a new future for herself and how did she get involved in an antiques smuggling ring? Is fellow holidaymaker Tom all he seems and will it be happy ever after with Nikos?  It’s not until twenty-five years later that some of the questions are finally answered.

Available from:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk


10 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

JR - I became extremely fond of ‘Jenna’ – sassy, fun-loving yet vulnerable ; she’s had her spirit knocked out of her but finds love when she least expects it.

11 – While I top up your coffee would you like to read a short excerpt from your book?

                                                                                                ............

As she stepped off the plane, she felt a rush of excitement and anticipation flood over her. She wondered if her mother had felt the same when she arrived in Greece almost twenty-five years ago. She knew that there must have been many changes during that time. Instead of flying direct to the island, her mother would have had to fly to Athens first and then taken a boat to the island as direct flights to the island had only started up a couple of years ago. She stood in line waiting to clear customs, feeling guilty even though she had nothing to hide. Just walking through the green channel she could sense hidden eyes watching her every move. This automatically made her act suspiciously and then breathing a sigh of relief she was through and out into the bright Greek sunshine. Squinting to read the address on the scrap of paper, she hailed a taxi and the driver sped off towards the hotel.

“Hi, I am Leo,” the taxi driver said, introducing himself in fluent English.

“Allie,” she replied.

She’d been anxious about being ripped off or being taken on a wild goose chase, but there was no need to worry. Leo seemed to be the exception to her stereotyped image of Greek drivers. Although he drove fast, he negotiated the roads with great skill. Driving up narrow tracks, he tooted his horn to let any other drivers know he was coming. She wanted to ask him about the austerity measures that had recently been imposed on them in order to meet their euro deficit obligations. She had been quite shocked at the effects that the cutbacks had had on ordinary people. Last year the government had introduced a kind of surtax cunningly collected through the electricity bill. If you refused to pay or couldn’t pay, you were cut off – simple! People had struggled to keep warm through the winter, as many couldn’t afford oil any more. The news had shown piles of rubbish in the streets thanks to the refuse collectors going on strike because they hadn’t been paid. Allie remembered seeing pictures of Piraeus on the news with rubbish piles as high as cars. She wanted to ask Leo more about how ordinary people had coped but when she pressed him for more details he shrugged and smiled,

“Greece is not only Athens, you know. Here, sure, life is tough but we survive. Maybe we spend a little less, complain a little more but life is good. You are in the most beautiful place in the world. If you have the sun and the sea and a few vegetables – what more do you need?”

Looking around at the idyllic scenery of the island, Allie thought that this was a far cry indeed from the sensationalist pictures of Athens that she’d seen on the TV. They finally pulled up in front of a traditional-looking but freshly painted hotel. Allie took the well-thumbed photo from her bag for comparison. Whilst the land around had all been eaten up by new developments, the hotel itself looked remarkably similar to the photo. It had been extended at the side but there was no doubt that this was the place.  Maybe now she would get the answers that she’d been waiting for all this time?  She wanted answers that her mother couldn’t or perhaps wouldn’t give her.

“Here we are,” said Leo, taking her holdall from her and escorting her up some stone steps. Allie added a few euros to the fare, partly in relief at having got here in one piece and also because Leo had been so charming. She knew from the guidebook she’d read on the plane that it wasn’t necessary to tip, but Leo accepted gracefully, handing her a card with his number on it in case she needed his services again. If what he’d told her was true, Allie guessed that meant his family could eat that night.

She walked up to the reception desk and seeing no one about, rang the bell. She was quite surprised by the interior. Whilst the hotel looked traditional on the outside, the inside had been renovated in a very contemporary style. She was sure it was the right place, but she really didn’t know where to start to get the answers she’d come all this way for. She was in the middle of reading the notice above the desk which advertised free Wi-Fi access for hotel residents when a man in his late forties or could be early fifties – Allie wasn’t much good at telling people’s ages – came out of a room at the back. His skin was lightly tanned and he was wearing a light blue chambray shirt, which set his tan off perfectly. He must have been good-looking in his youth, thought Allie.

 The man stopped in his stride and she watched the colour fade from his face in disbelief.

 “My God, it can’t be,” he whispered.

 “You must be Nick,” replied Allie. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost!”

                                                                                                        .........

12- And let us know where we can find you, Julie.

Twitter: @julieryan18

Facebook

BLOG

13– And finally a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. Can you give me 100 words of your choosing to follow on from this? your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on:

Then the door crashed down, and the furred beast was . . .
...upon her. She tried to push it off with all her might but it was simply too strong for her. She could smell its rancid breath in her face: a mix of stale fish and something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She was trapped now. There was no way out and nobody to save her. The furred beast had a horrible rough tongue which she could feel on her cheek. It opened its maw wide and out came a pitiful ‘miaow’.
“Get off me, stupid cat, “ she cried and as she fell back asleep, the dream changed again. This time she was chained up in the castle basement as the flood waters began to rise.

Thanks so much for coming, Julie. I wish you much success with your books.

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Thanks Babs and compliments to the pastry chef - yum

I have to say, I’ve been so lucky to have some marvellous guests join me on the sofa since I opened The Coffee House doors.  This week is no exception and I’m delighted to welcome George Polley to my little corner of Northumberland. George has travelled all the way from Japan to be with us today. He’s a writer, blogger and all round good guy and he’s been in the literary business for a heck of a long time, so I’m hoping he can give us all a few tips. He writes for the young at heart, regardless of age, and has a wonderful lyrical way with words. I’m looking forward to hearing more about George’s interesting life and learning more about his latest book, a novel set in Mexico City. So please, George, come in and make yourself at home.

GP - “Thank you, Babs, for inviting me. Cozy place you have here. This morning in Sapporo, Japan, it’s a beautiful, cold day and the snow is a brilliant white in the sun.”

1 – Now, George, this is where you get the opportunity to order up anything you fancy from the menu. And since you’ve come such a long way I’ll make sure you get double helpings.

GP - “Coffee (black) and a chocolate chunk scone if you have one, please.”

2 – I know you’re originally from the USA, George, but perhaps you’d like to spend a few minutes giving us a little more background about your life. Were you always a writer? Do you have a secret skill or hobby that we need to know about? And how did you end up in Japan?

GP - “I grew up in Seattle, then lived in several different places (Oregon, California, Illinois, Minnesota, then back to Seattle in 1984, where my wife and I lived until we moved to Japan in early 2008. I’ve been writing since the late 1960s, squeezing it in around a busy career in the mental health field as a clinical social worker. I retired from that at the end of 2007. Why Japan? My wife is from here, and wanted to go back home after I retired. So we sold our home, flew to her home town in Hokkaido, found a place in Sapporo, bought it, and moved. Couldn’t be happier.”

3 – What brought you to writing? What was the first thing you had published and how did you go about it?

GP - “My 7th grade English teacher gave me high marks for a story I wrote for a class assignment, telling me that I had a talent for writing. That was in 1947. I didn’t do anything with it until the mid 1960s, when I was seized with the desire to begin writing. Things progressed from there. The first thing I had published was a short story, “Jonah’s Birth”, published in The South Dakota Review, a literary journal. Frederick Manfred, a well-known upper Midwestern novelist, read it and recommended that I send it to their editor, which I did. After that I wrote and published an article about Henry Miller’s work. Fred Manfred became my mentor and guide in those early years.”

4 – Are you a disciplined writer, George? Do you get carried away with the latest project to the exclusion of everything else, or do you flit from one to the other as the mood takes you? Do you have a study or place of solitude where you write, or are you the ‘back of an envelope’ kind of guy?

GP - “I write something every morning, usually focusing on one main project at a time, such as a specific book, poem or story. Right now, I’m putting together a short story collection which I hope to publish later this year. I’m also working on a nonfiction book on addiction and recovery, which is a carry-over from my profession and my personal life (I’m a recovering alcoholic; quit drinking 35 years ago). I also blog, which satisfies my desire to share my thoughts on issues and interests, poems, snippets, etc., with others.

“I’m fortunate to have a study here in our little home, as I did in our Seattle home. I don’t write well when I’m surrounded by other people talking and doing other things. This way I can also have a messy desk, and other essentials, like a place for pens, pencils, and books that I often reference for details and inspiration (I keep all of my poetry books nearby so I can read them when I feel the urge).

5 – Where do you take your inspiration from?

GP - “People, incidents, dreams. Life presents an endless supply of stories. My novella, “The Old Man and The Monkey” came from a dream I had in 2006 about a big Japanese monkey. Since I’d never had a dream about a monkey before, and hadn’t been thinking about monkeys, I wondered about the dream. So I “asked” the monkey why he’d dropped around. The result is the story about an elderly Japanese man and the big monkey that, much to the consternation of his wife and neighbors, becomes his good friend and companion. I listened, and he “told” his story. Once when I tried to expand the story, my mind went blank and nothing happened. Expanding it would have ruined it. I’ve learned to listen to my characters and allow them to tell their story through me. May sound weird, but, hey, I’m a writer, right?”

 6 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why?

GP -“Interesting question, Babs. Prior to publishing my first two books (“Grandfather and The Raven” is the second), I’d never given a thought to genres. I just wrote books that I hoped people would find interesting. I suppose both books fit in “General fiction” or “literary fiction”, though both have been identified as “children’s literature. i see them as fables (especially the one about the old man and the monkey). A favorite genre? I don’t have one. I read what I find interesting in a broad selection of genres.                          

7 – Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

GP - “Sex scenes; I’m really awful at them. Attempts send my wife to rolling about on the floor holding her abdomen which is bouncing up and down as tears of mirth spill into her ears). Romance is another subject I’m not especially good at writing about, though there is a budding romance toward the end of a new novel about Mexico City, so perhaps I’m not totally hopeless on the subject.”

8 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

GP - “What comes immediately to mind is Edgar Rice Burroughs series about John Carter and Mars. Couldn’t get enough of them. Read them again and again, to the point that, as a child, on a clear night when I could see Mars in the night sky, there I’d be in our front yard with my arms raised toward Mars waiting to be lifted up and planted on the Red Planet. I quit that when the thought dawned on me: “What if I can’t get back?” Horrors! That put an end to that (but not to reading those books.) I also liked historical fiction, especially those written by Louis Muhlbach about Napoleon and Josephine, Henry the Eighth, and so forth.”

9 – Promotion and marketing is the bane of most writers’ lives. I know you’re a successful blogger, does this help you reach your readers and promote your work? Do you have any particular tips that you can share with us?

GP - “Oh, my! Marketing is something I’m learning a lot about, I belong to several helpful Facebook groups and mine books and articles on the subject. Since I’ll be much more involved with marketing my new books, I’m taking tons of notes, being much more active in Facebook groups and Twitter, and paying attention to what I learn. My work there will sharply increase as my new books come out this summer and beyond.”

10 – Tell us a little about the books you currently have published.

GP - “The Old Man and The Monkey.” This is a fable about friendship, about Genjiro Yamada and his wife, who live in a tiny village in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture. They have lived in the village for fifty years. Genjiro has a favorite place to sit that he calls his “sitting place,” a broad, flat stone on a little rise from which he can view and meditate upon the broad, lush valley and its river below and the mountains rising beyond. There is a forest nearby, in which a tribe of monkeys (not native to Hokkaido) are alleged to live. Legend has it that, whenever villagers have sought to go deep into that forest to dig for mountain potatoes and forage for mushrooms, the monkeys attack by throwing things at them from the trees and chattering ferociously. One day, while sitting and gazing out over the valley, a very large old monkey walks up, stands and gazes at him, then sits down on the stone next to him. Genjiro has never seen such a large monkey before, and is somewhat anxious, even though it is clear that the monkey means him no harm. After thirty minutes, the monkey gets up, looks Genjiro in the eyes, and leaves. This scene repeats itself several times a week. When Genjiro’s wife and the villagers find out about it, they are upset, especially when Genjiro names the monkey Yukitaro (“snow monkey” in Japanese). Friendships with such an alien creature is frowned upon. But when Yukitaro shows his kindness to his human friend and, ultimately, to the villagers, they are overwhelmed.

“Grandfather and The Raven” is about a Sapporo grandfather and the big raven that becomes his friend and companion. “Sir Raven” (as Grandfather calls him) is a bit of a comic figure who enjoys pulling Grandfather’s leg, chases away vicious dogs, and is a pretty likeable guy. The raven is one of my favorite characters. He almost always gets his way, he has a wicked sense of humor, and he’s quick to rescue people when called upon. Yep, Sir Raven’s my kind of guy!

11 – Can you give us a little hint at what you have planned next and when it might be available?

GP - “‘The City Has Many Faces: A Love Story About Mexico City” will be available late this summer. As the title says, it’s a love story about Mexico City, told through the lives of its citizens and history. I lived in Mexico City in 1973-74, fell in love with it, and the novel is the result.

“‘Bear, the story of a boy and his very unusual dog”. Previously published by Taylor Street Publishing, it will be published by Tortoise & Hare Publications sometime this summer.

A third book that I hope to have completed and published before the end of the year is a nonfiction book, “Returning to the World From the Crazy Land of Addiction.”

12 – And tell us even more about the one you’ve brought with you.

GP - “It’s ‘The Old Man and The Monkey.’ Having lived in the village for over fifty years, Genjiro and his wife Harue are respected elders. When a friendship develops between Genjiro and a very large monkey, everyone is thrown into a tizzy, except for one little girl, who’s convinced that the monkey is really a little old man dressed up like a monkey. When the monkey, whom Genjiro has named Yukitaro, shows up at their house and begins helping Harue with her garden, and brings them a huge long mountain potato that one villager mistakes for a club (“He’s going to kill them! I’ve seen him!”), the whole village shows up, ready for a fight. When they see that the “club” is really a huge mountain potato, they all laugh and go home. And then, one day, they really see what the gift is that Yukitaro has brought to them all.”

13 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

GP - “Yukitaro: he’s a shaman, a being that just comes along one day, says little but does much in spreading kindness around.”

14 – While I top up your coffee would you like to read a short excerpt from your chosen book?

Prologue

In a small park near one of the rivers that run through the city of Asahikawa, Hokkaido, there is a bronze statue of an old man and a monkey seated side by side on a wide flat stone looking out over the river and the mountains. The monkey is bigger than ordinary snow monkeys; the top of his head reaches to the old man’s shoulder.

Looking at the bags under his eyes, one can see that the monkey, like the man, is elderly. Affixed to the base of the statue is a bronze plaque that reads: “Genjiro and Yukitaro.” These two old friends sit and warm themselves in silence as the years and seasons pass.

As Long as long as the statue has been there, people passing by have paused, wondering how a monkey and a man could become friends because, as everyone knows, monkeys are pests and can be dangerous when humans get too close. Some people tell each other that such a friendship is unnatural, and that because it is unnatural, is impossible. Others believe that Genjiro and Yukitaro are characters that the artist made up. But everyone agrees that the statue is appealing, because the two old friends have such an air of tranquility and peace about them that people come and sit down next to it to enjoy their lunch, or to just sit quietly and look out at the river and the mountains, later commenting on how peaceful the experience was.

So it is that the old man and the monkey receive a constant stream of visitors who sit and enjoy their company in silence and take something of them away to warm themselves.

No one believes the old man and the monkey were real; but I know that they were because the old man was my grandfather, Genjiro Yamada, and Yukitaro was his companion and friend for the last five years of his life.

Now is the time for me to tell their story and reveal for the first time how an improbable friendship like that between a man and a monkey happened, how it was good, and how it ended.

Amazon.com

Amazon UK

George's Website

And finally, George, a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. Can you give me 100 words of your choosing to contribute to The Story So Far and to follow on from last weeks guest? Your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on:

‘Oh, no, my pretty one!  Too late for that!’ Then, quite suddenly, a great well of resolve rose up in her. “Not too late!” she heard herself shout; “Not too late, ye daemon!” With strength she didn’t know she had, she threw off his hand and pushed, sending him reeling back. Then, quick as lightning, she was through the door. Slamming the inner bolt into the locking mechanism, she looked wildly about the room. All she needed to do was find the key. But where? From the other side of the door came a growl: “Ye canna get away!” Then the door crashed down, and the furred beast was …

Thank you, George. It was a real pleasure to chat with you. What an interesting life you've led. I hope to see many more of your books in the coming months and wish you well with all of them.

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This week I’m excited to welcome the very talented Gerry McCullough to The Coffee House. Gerry is a Belfast writer with a commendable list of thrillers, short story collections and magazine articles to her name. Her fabulous book Belfast Girls was an Amazon best seller. In addition to her own writing, she’s a tireless supporter of fellow Indie authors and I’m delighted she’s found the time to stop by for a coffee and a chat. I know she has a busy life so I’m hoping she’s going to share more about what she’s been up to recently and of course about her books and future projects. So, without further ado, Gerry, come in out of that awful weather, hang up your coat, and make yourself at home.

1 – Before we get started, Gerry, what can I get you? Name your poison and I’ll see if the chef can rustle it up. If it’s an Irish delicacy then you might need to roll up your sleeves and give a hand.

GM - You’re very kind, Babs! I think, since it’s a special occasion, I could forget my diet for once (or is it the millionth time?) and have some strawberry pavlova – or hot pancakes with raspberry jam – or a cherry scone – or hot chocolate – or – or – oh, you decide!

2 – Okay, mini bio time -Let’s get to know a little bit more about how you ended up here on my sofa, Gerry. I know you’re a successful writer but do you have an additional occupation or interesting hobby that drags you away from the keyboard.

GM - Well, Babs, I was born and brought up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where I went to school and later university. I married as a student and we moved to the Co. Antrim seaside village of Whitehead. My first husband died while he was still very young, leaving me with two little boys aged four and five. A few years later, I met and married my present husband Raymond, who’s been a real blessing to me and the boys, and we moved to Bangor on the other side of the Lough, not too many miles from Belfast. Then we had two more children, both girls. Two per husband, I think that’s fair, isn’t it?  So to answer the second part of your question, Babs, since I have four adult children and nine grandchildren, keeping up with their lives (and, for example, their birthdays!) is enough of a hobby for anyone, I should think. And, yes, it can be a major distraction!

3 – How did you get into writing? What was the first thing you had published and how did you go about it?

GM - I’ve always loved writing, Babs, since I was a very small child, and for years I tried hard to get published, but like 99% of authors, famous or otherwise, I gathered up enough rejection slips to, as PG Wodehouse said, ‘paper the walls of my office.’ The breakthrough came when an Irish magazine accepted one of my short stories, A Tale of a Teacup, (my first Tale of Old Seamus), and then went on to publish a whole series of the other stories I wrote about the same character. A few years later, I won a prestigious Short Story Award. I really thought I had it made! But it was several more years before Someone accepted one of my full length books. That came to nothing (Irreconcilable differences, as they say in the divorce courts.) But not long after that, Night Publishing accepted Belfast Girls, and since that I haven’t looked back.

4 – I usually have two or three projects on the go at the same time. How about you, Gerry? Do you get carried away with the latest project to the exclusion of everything else, or do you flit from one to the other as the mood takes you? Are you a planner, or happy to go where your characters take you?

GM - They say women are multi-tasking. I can only say, I’ve never been. (Which reminds me to stop talking for a moment and eat some more of this marvellous pavlova!). I need to concentrate on one thing at a time, and finish that, before going on to something else. At the moment, I have the problem that there are at least three things I should be writing. Firstly, adapting Belfast Girls to make a play. A local theatre is very interested in this project, but since way before Christmas it’s been dead slow and stop with it. Secondly, I’ve planned for some time to lengthen one of my more literary short stories, set before, during and after the First World War, into a full length novel. I’ve got up to 33,000 words. But every time I’ve thought of writing some more (and I’ve lots of ideas for new scenes) I think I should really be working on the play, and nothing happens. Then, I really want to write another book in my Angel Murphy thriller series, and I have ideas for two more, but I don’t know whether to go ahead with them or finish one of my other projects first. I really need to get my head together on this.

5 – I like to listen to music when I’m writing and depending on what I’m writing, the music will differ. So, for my Mrs Jones series it’s got to be Michael Buble’, Wildewood is Sting and Bedlam is definitely The Stereophonics. How about you, Gerry? Do you have a particular musical influence while writing?

GM - Well, no, Babs. I love listening to music when I’m doing nothing else. But I suppose it follows on from what I’ve said above, I can’t listen to music, or to someone talking, or anything, while I’m trying to write. I just doesn’t work for me.

6 – I love to genre hop, how about you? Do you write in a specific genre? Which is your favourite and why?

GM - Yes, I’ve written Belfast Girls which is labelled as Literary Fiction / Contemporary Romance; Danger Danger and my two Angel books which are thrillers with a bit of romance thrown in, Lady Molly & the Snapper, which is a YA Time Travel adventure, a collection of the first 12 of my Old Seamus stories (The Seanachie – which means storyteller in Irish) and a so far unpublished book which is a Terry Prachett-like comic fantasy. (This was the book accepted by another publisher which I mentioned above.) So I’ve genre hopped and enjoyed it. I actually believer books shouldn’t be labelled as one genre or another. No one labelled Dickens or Jane Austen as of one particular genre – but who am I to challenge the now established system? The problem with genre hopping is that readers are trained to expect a certain sort of book from an author. If you write something different, you have to start from scratch building up a new audience. Far too much work, I’m afraid.

7 – Is there a particular genre or type of scene that you would avoid and if so why?

GM - Yes, I would never write anything upsetting about a child being hurt in any way. I don’t read this sort of thing either. Or extreme horror, or extreme erotica. That’s about it. I’ll happily write or read almost anything  else.

8 – As a child which was your favourite book? Were you read to as a child and did that develop your love of books? Do you have a favourite book and author now? What are you reading now?

GM - I never know what to answer to questions about my favourite book. Mostly, I have favourite authors, and I’ll read and reread everything that author has ever written. As a child, I read a lot of E. Nesbit, Nancy Breary (intelligent girls’ boarding school stories) Geoffrey Trease (historical fiction). But I also read adult writers like PG Wodehouse, Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen – the list is endless and I’ve probably left out some real favourites. One of my sisters used to read to me, and was also responsible for taking me to the children’s library and getting me enrolled. My mother recited poetry to me, my father sang – oh, I was brought up in a very cultured family. For which I’m very grateful. I can never understand writers who don’t read. If I stopped reading, I think my creativity would die the death very soon.  Currently I’m rereading J.B. Priestley’s The Image Men, a book I couldn’t recommend too heartily to anyone reading this.

9 – Promotion and marketing is the bane of most writers’ lives. How do you reach your readers and promote your work? Do you have any particular tips that you can share with us?

GM - The usual advice is to build an internet platform. Facebook, Twitter, a bog, a website. I’ve done all that. The Kindle Select Programme, where you are allowed to make a book free for 5 days out of every 90, worked very well for me at first. Nearly two years ago my second book Danger Danger, published by Precious Oil Publications, had 21,000 free downloads followed by over 2000 actual sales, which put it into the overall top hundred on Amazon. Then because Danger Danger had a chapter of Belfast Girls at the back, and a link to buy Belfast Girls on Amazon, Belfast Girls in turn sold around eleven thousand in a few months, was in the top hundred overall for some time, and was #1 in its genres. Around then I switched Belfast Girls from Night Publishing to my new publisher, who put it up free on Kindle Select, and it similarly had around 21,000 free downloads followed by 2,300 actual sales, and went back into the overall top hundred again. Alas, Kindle Select no longer works like that, since Amazon changed the goalposts. Free downloads are no longer followed by actual sales, or not by many. Facebook and Twitter are less useful than they were, I think. And the new Countdown programme is of doubtful value. The emerging thing seems to be paid advertising, especially on sites with an established following, like BookBub. Unfortunately this is hard for a new writer since they won’t accept a book unless it has a large number of reviews. And how do you get reviews before people have read the book? It’s a bit of a vicious circle.

10 – Tell us a little about the books you currently have published.

GM - I suppose I’ve already covered this pretty well!  I have six books published. Belfast Girls is about three girls, friends since childhood, growing up in the new post conflict Belfast where drugs, wealth and fashion have become important; and of their lives and loves.  Danger Danger is a romantic thriller about twin girls separated at birth whose lives nevertheless follow strangely similar patterns, as the lives of twins seem to do. Both have a relationship with a dangerous man who draws them into trouble. Angel in Flight introduces Angel Murphy, a Belfast Girl emerging from a broken marriage and learning, while on holiday in Greece, to stand up for herself and deal with the villains she comes across. The second Angel book, Angel in Belfast, shows Angel tracking down another villain who has driven a well loved pop star to the brink of death. I’ve already mentioned Lady Molly, the YA Time Travel adventure, and The Seanachie: Tales of Old Seamus.

11 – Can you give us a little hint at what you have planned next?

GM - I’ve too many pots on the boil, as I said above. As a matter of fact, I decided last week to simply put all these aside, turn off the gas as it were, and relax into writing, as I used to do long ago, just what I feel like writing. I’ve started what might have been a short story, but seems to be developing into a novel. It’s a mixture of Georgette Heyer, Vanity Fair, and Jane Eyre – a historical romance, in fact – and I’m enjoying writing it. Whether it will ever get finished or not I’ve no idea. The whole point is not to push myself, but to get back to writing purely for enjoyment.

12 – And tell us even more about the one you’ve brought with you.

GM - Well, I’ve decided on Belfast Girls.  The three girls in this book each have their own stories, but because they are friends the stories are intertwined. Sheila, beginning life as an ‘ugly duckling’ grows up to be a supermodel, and is kidnapped at one point in the book. Her one desire is to heal her broken relationship with her former boyfriend John Branagh. Phil is deeply in love since her teens with Davy Hagan, who is involved in dealing drugs. Phil, because she won’t give Davy away, is herself accused of dealing and sent to prison at another point.  The third friend, Mary, starts as a wild child, with underage drinking and drugs. But when she almost dies from an accidental overdose she has a spiritual awakening and her life is turned around.  And that’s just scratching the surface of the book!

13 – Pick one of your characters and sell him/her to us in twenty words or less.

GM - Sheila seems to have everything – beauty, success as a model. But all she really wants is John, who despises her.

14 – While I top up your coffee would you like to read a short excerpt from your chosen book?

Sheila stared at herself in the mirror and saw a cool, beautiful woman, the epitome of poise and grace. She knew that famous, rich, important men over two continents would give all their wealth and status to possess her, or so they said. She was an icon according to the papers. That meant, surely, something unreal, something artificial, painted or made of stone. And what was the good? There was only one man she wanted. John Branagh. And he’d pushed her away. He believed she was a whore – a tart – someone not worth touching. What did she do to deserve that?

It wasn’t fair! she told herself passionately. He went by rules that were medieval. No-one nowadays thought the odd kiss mattered that much. Oh, she was wrong. She’d hurt him, she knew she had. But if he’d given her half a chance, she’d have apologised – told him how sorry she was. Instead of that, he’d called her such names – how could she still love him after that? But she knew she did.

How did she get to this place, she wondered, the dream of romantic fiction, the dream of so many girls, a place she hated now, where men thought of her more and more as a thing, an object to be desired, not a person? When did her life go so badly wrong? She thought back to her childhood, to the skinny, ginger-haired girl she once was. Okay, she hated how she looked but otherwise, surely, she was happy.

Or was that only a false memory?

The evening was almost at its climax.

To the loud music of Snow Patrol, Sheila half floated, half danced along the catwalk, her arms raised ballerina fashion. This was Delmara's spring look for evening wear and she could tell at once that the audience loved it.


With one part of her mind Sheila was aware of the audience, warm and relaxed now, full of good food and drink, their minds absorbed in beauty and fashion, ready to spend a lot of money. Dimly in the background she heard the sounds of voices shouting and feet running.

The door to the ballroom burst open. People began to scream. It was something Sheila had heard about for years now, the subject of local black humour, but had never before seen. Three figures, black tights pulled over flattened faces as masks, uniformly terrifying in black leather jackets and jeans, surged into the room. The three sub-machine guns cradled in their arms sent deafening bursts of gunfire upwards. Falling plaster dust and stifling clouds of gun smoke filled the air. For one long second they stood just inside the entrance way, crouched over their weapons, looking round. One of them stepped forward and grabbed Montgomery Speers by the arm.

“Move it, mister!” he said. He dragged Speers forcefully to one side, the weapon poking him hard in the chest.

A second man gestured roughly with his gun in the general direction of Sheila.

“You!” he said harshly. “Yes, you with the red hair! Get over here!”

Blurb:
The story of three girls - Sheila, Phil and Mary - growing up into the new emerging post-conflict Belfast of money, drugs, high fashion and crime; and of their lives and loves.
Sheila, a supermodel, is kidnapped. Phil is sent to prison. Mary, surviving a drug overdose, has a spiritual awakening.
It is also the story of the men who matter to them –

John Branagh, former candidate for the priesthood, a modern Darcy, someone to love or hate. Will he and Sheila ever get together? Davy Hagan, drug dealer, ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’. Is Phil also mad to have anything to do with him?

Although from different religious backgrounds, starting off as childhood friends, the girls manage to hold on to that friendship in spite of everything.
A book about contemporary Ireland and modern life. A book which both men and women can enjoy - thriller, romance, comedy, drama - and much more ....


  Buy at -                Amazon

Catch up with Gerry at:

Blogspot
Website
Twitter
Goodreads
Facebook
Amazon Author Page

16– And finally a little game that I hope all my guests will contribute to. Gerry, can you give me 100 words of your choosing to follow on from this? Your last line will be picked up by the next guest... and so on: You can catch up with the whole story so far Here.

Oh my God nightmare! ...Rose twisted and turned in the damp sheets. Her fever increased. No more of this horror throwing her from one awful situation to another! Where was the castle where her dream started? If she could get there, a prince on a white horse would come and rescue her. There was the kitchen! Rose heard hooves thudding in the courtyard outside the door. She must open it! She wrestled in vain with the heavy bolt. A hand grasped her shoulder. A hand covered in grey fur. And a voice said in her ear, ‘Oh, no, my pretty one!  Too late for that!’


Thanks for inviting me in out of the cold, Babs! It’s been great – especially the strawberry pavlova.

And thank you so much for coming, Gerry. It's been lovely to find out a little more about your life. I wish you continued success in all you do and hope all your plans come to fruition. Do pop back and let us know how you get on.

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