Month: September 2018

Who Cares if They Die: A compelling psychological thriller you won’t want to put down

 

Perfect for fans of L J Ross, Joy Ellis & Faith Martin.

Did she jump or was she pushed?
It starts with the hanging woman in the Maple Valley woods; the woman with no shoes, no car and no name. On paper it’s an obvious case of suicide – but to Officer Dean Matheson, something doesn’t add up.
Then there are the other deaths, deaths that also look like suicides – but are they? The victims are all women living on the fringes of society, addicts and criminals. Who will miss them? Does anyone really care if they die?
Dean Matheson is making it his business to care, even if it means he becomes a target …

BUY LINKS

Amazon:   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Who-Cares-They-Die-psychological-ebook/dp/B07G38PPKP/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Who-Cares-They-Die-psychological-ebook/dp/B07G38PPKP/

IBooks:  https://geo.itunes.apple.com/gb/book/who-cares-if-they-die/id1420445716?mt=11&at=11lNBs

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/who-cares-if-they-die

Google:  https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Wendy_Dranfield_Who_Cares_if_They_Die?id=fP1mDwAAQBAJ

Website: https://www.rubyfiction.com/dd-product/who-cares-if-they-die/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41058107-who-cares-if-they-die

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wendy is a crime thriller writer who lives in the UK with her husband and 3 rescue cats.

She is both an indie author and a traditionally published author, with two novels released plus several short stories published in UK and US anthologies.

Wendy is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association and the Society of Authors.

Social media:

Twitter: @WendyDranfield
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WendyDranfield1/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13513643.Wendy_Dranfield
YouTube: https://youtu.be/UB1GFJ8NZRk

Hi Jan and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?

Thanks for having me, Jo. I’m self-employed and have several day jobs, mostly related to the book trade. I sometimes feel like one of those 1970s TV entertainers who kept lots of plates spinning on sticks. I love it and having a variety of work certainly keeps me on my toes.

When did you decide to become a writer and how did you begin that journey?

I trained as a journalist because the careers lady at school said it was a good choice for someone who enjoyed telling stories! I soon moved into publishing and have been writing and editing non-fiction ever since. I fell into fiction after being approached by Endeavour Press to write a history book; we couldn’t find a topic that worked, so the publisher suggested I try my hand at romcom instead. I ended up writing four e-novellas for them, which were later picked up by a traditional publisher who also commissioned a brand-new paperback called The Bookshop Detective. Mine has not been a typical journey!

What makes a good hero?

Heroes should be complex and contradictory, which means they must have been through the emotional mill. My hero Daniel is still partly in love with his ex-wife, for example, even though she broke his heart. Like most of my characters, Dan won’t see 40 again…

You’re an author of rom coms and contemporary fiction. Have you ever been tempted to write, say, crime or a psychological thriller?

My last story centred around two Victorian mysteries and – as it happens – I began writing a thriller at our recent RNA Bath & Wilts writing day. Did I mention that I get bored easily?

 

When it comes to getting away on holiday are you a Beach or City girl?

A city near the coast is my idea of heaven. I’ve recently returned from Naples and loved it.

What would your advice be to new writers?

Go for it! Rather than fretting, grit your teeth and write something. It might be rubbish, but you can always revise it later. The important thing is to get the creative juices flowing. And read as much as you can, in any genre, trying to note how the authors manage dialogue, time-shifts, etc. Lastly, do make sure that your grammar, spelling and punctuation are correct before sending your book off into the world.

And finally, you’re planning a year out, getting away from everyone on a desert island – what ‘must haves’ would you take with you and why?

An endless pile of books, a year’s supply of teabags and a small dog. Who could ask for more?

ABOUT JAN

Jan Ellis began writing fiction by accident in 2013. Until then, she had led a blameless life as a publisher, editor and historian of early modern Spain. She fell into fiction when a digital publisher approached her to write a history book, then made the mistake of mentioning women’s fiction, which sounded much more fun.

Jan describes her books as romcom/mystery with the emphasis firmly on family, friendship and humour. She specialises in small-town settings, with realistic characters who range in age from young teens to 80-somethings. As well as being an author, Jan continues to work at the heart of the book trade.

About the books

An Unexpected Affair and A Summer of Surprises and French Kisses and A London Affair are published in two paperback volumes by Waverley Books. The Bookshop Detective is a paperback original.

Follow Jan on Facebook and Twitter @JanEllis_writer
http://www.janelliswriter.com
Jan’s Amazon page: http://goo.gl/yqmAey

 

The past is never really the past at Hartsford Hall …
Aidan Edwards has always been fascinated by the life of his great-great uncle Robert. A trip to Hartsford Hall and an encounter with Cassie Aldrich leads him closer to the truth about Robert Edwards, as he unravels the scandalous story of a bright young poet and a beautiful spirited aristocrat in the carefree twilight of the 1930s before the Second World War.

But can Aidan find out what happened to Robert after the war – or will he have to accept that certain parts of his uncle’s life will remain forever shrouded in mystery?

MY REVIEW

I absolutely love the Hartsford Mysteries and Kirsty Ferry’s latest offering in the series –  Watch For Me by Twilight –  is no exception.  Lady Cassandra Aldrich (Cassie) is organising the next Living History weekend at the Hall.  Her sister in law Elodie, who is currently expecting twins has handed over responsibility to her, despite the misgivings of husband Alex (Cassie’s brother). But Cassie is undaunted. After all, how hard can it be?

Aidan Edwards sees Cassie’s advertisement asking for mementoes for the Weekend. Having recently gone through his Great-Great Uncle Robert’s trunk he realises some of the items there connect him to the Hall.  Taking along photos and Robert’s sketch pad he takes a trip to Hartsford Hall to investigate further.

Watch for Me by Twilight is a time slip which gives us two hugely enjoyable stories – one set in the present where Cassie and Aidan make some interesting discoveries as they work together on the Between the Wars Living History project (with a little romance along the way) and the other in the past which details Robert’s love affair with Stella Aldrich.

Thoroughly recommended…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Kirsty is from the North East of England and won the English Heritage/Belsay Hall National Creative Writing competition in 2009 with the ghostly tale ‘Enchantment’.

Her timeslip novel, ‘Some Veil Did Fall’, a paranormal romance set in Whitby, was published by Choc Lit in Autumn 2014. This was followed by another Choc Lit timeslip, ‘The Girl in the Painting’ in February 2016. ‘The Girl in the Photograph’, published in March 2017, completes the Rossetti Mysteries series. The experience of signing ‘Some Veil Did Fall’ in a quirky bookshop in the midst of Goth Weekend in Whitby, dressed as a recently undead person was one of the highlights of her writing career so far!

Kirsty’s first timeslip novel ‘The Memory of Snow’, commended in the Northern Writers’ Awards, is set on Hadrian’s Wall, with the vampire tale ‘Refuge’ set on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. She has also put together a collection of short stories, a non-fiction collection of articles and writes Gothic Fiction under the pen name Cathryn Ramsay.

Kirsty has had articles and short stories published in Your Cat, Peoples Friend, Ghost Voices, The Weekly News and It’s Fate, and her short stories appear in several anthologies. She was a judge in the Paws ‘n’ Claws ‘Wild and Free’ Children’s Story competition in 2011, 2013 and 2014, and graduated from Northumbria University in December 2016, having achieved a Masters with Distinction in Creative Writing.

You can find out more about Kirsty and her work at http://www.rosethornpress.co.uk, catch her on her Facebook AuthorPage, follow her on Twitter @kirsty_ferry or pop by her blog at http://www.rosethornramblings.wordpress.com.

BUY LINKS

Amazon UK:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Watch-Twilight-Choc-Hartsford-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07FJYKJ9V/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Watch-Twilight-Choc-Hartsford-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07FJYKJ9V

Apple iBooks: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/gb/book/watch-for-me-by-twilight-choc-lit/id1411286585?mt=11&at=11lNBs

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kirsty_Ferry_Watch_for_Me_by_Twilight_Choc_Lit?id=EYxlDwAAQBAJ

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/watch-for-me-by-twilight-choc-lit

Website: https://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/watch-for-me-by-twilight/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40965331-watch-for-me-by-twilight-choc-lit

 

Hi Sonja and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?

Yes- first of all thank you for inviting me over. I live in Somerset with my family and dog and love living out in the country. When I’m not writing, I’m usually hopping on and off planes to teach in Germany.

When did you decide to become a writer and how did you begin that journey?

Once I’d secured a position at university in Germany by getting a PhD in English Lit, I decided to write whatever I wanted. It just kind of took off from there so that I now spend most of my time writing.

Are you a plotter or do you have a general outline of your story and begin writing to see where it takes you?

I would always advise newbies to plot if they can, but do I practice what I preach? No, it’s simply never happened, but there’s always hope. You have to mine your creative vein in any way possible and I happen write in the most time-consuming of ways. When a newspaper article, or some incident inspires me, I sit down and wait for the rest to come, which often involves staring at a blank screen for ages. I wish it were otherwise, but even though I despair at times, it’s is the only way that works for me.

Where do you go for inspiration? Are you someone who sits in cafes watching the world go by or do you get a buzz from wide open spaces?

I work at home in my study overlooking a field of sheep. They haven’t played a major role in my stories, though! Rather, I let my imagination travel to unfamiliar terrain. My first book THE GIANTS LOOK DOWN was set in Kashmir and BLACK SNAKE, which I’m now finishing takes place in the Canadian Wilds. I’ve never been to either place and the news inspired both stories. GIANTS is about a young girl’s struggle to become a medic against all odds which I started after I heard a report about the Great Earthquake that hit the Vale of Kashmir in 2005. I wanted to find out more about the region, which is surrounded by the highest mountains on this planet and contains a string of beautiful lakes. BLACK SNAKE tells the story of a widow’s quest to solve the mystery of her husband’s death out in the Canadian Wilds against the background of the conflict surrounding the construction of pipeline across Indigenous Canadian burial grounds.

If you had unlimited funds, where in the world would you choose to go for a holiday?

Having written about Kashmir in such detail, I would love to go there. In fact, India would be high up on my list anyway as it is the most colourful and interesting of places.

What one good piece of advice would you give to new writers?

Don’t put yourself down. So many would-be writers, especially women, talk about their work as if it’s a dirty secret, saying things like ‘I’ve written this but it’s no good.’ Believe in yourself and if you want to get published, hone your art and persevere.

And finally, you’re planning a celebrity dinner party. Which four individuals (either dead or alive) would you invite and why?

Does everyone say Barrack Obama? He’s wise, capable and charming.
Patricia Highsmith – what a talent, what a character.
Stephen Fry – I’m sure he could answer any question I had and he’s so funny to boot.
Banksy – I want to get to know person behind the thought-provoking art.

 

More about Sonja:

She’s a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and her short stories have appeared in Stories For Homes, the Shelter Anthology of Short Stories and In these Tangles, Beauty Lies, an anthology in aid of the Beanstalk Trust for children with reading difficulties. Her debut novel The Giants Look Down came out in 2016 and made her a finalist for the Joan Hessayon Award.
Links
Website: http://www.sonja-price.com
Twitter: @PriceSonja
Facebook: Sonja Price Author
Buying links: