N is for Night Ranger
We’re staying in the US for today’s rock band. We’ve moved to San Francisco for Night Ranger.
Public Speaking – yay or nay?
Do you cringe at the thought of public speaking? A lot of people do. Me, not so much. Stick a microphone in my hand and let me rattle on about something I’m passionate about, and you might have a hard time getting me stopped.
I recently spoke to a seniors’ group. I started with my first trip to Scotland in 1993. The intention being to discover my roots. But along the way, I discovered a few more things… a spooky mansion top of the list. I love reading about ghosts and hauntings so seeing this hulking ruin and hearing my cousin (who I’d met earlier that day for the first time) say, “Ooh that place is filled with lots of ghosties” was fodder for the future.
Couple that with the portrait of my grandfather with his first wife, presumably on their wedding day, that fueled the fire. Did I expect a novel to come out of it? Not at the time. Seven years later, a novelette was born, entitled Sarah’s Gift.
After that, I took a creative writing course and expanded my Sarah into a novel. Many re-writes later, it was suitable for submissions to publishing houses. I signed my contract in 2011 and after many more revisions, A Shadow in the Past released in the summer of 2012.
I also spoke about my collection of short stories and the storefront writing contest I participated in and how the story from it became the title short in my collection.
I read the current back cover blurb for my work in progress. A long-lived WIP. How when I started writing it a number of years ago, the actual event that was part of my storyline happened – and more than once! That was enough to make me put that project on hold for quite a while. But, it never really went on hold 100%. I gleaned information from the newspapers, websites and anything else I could find that would aid in the research for the book.
I read a short excerpt from my debut novel, A Shadow in the Past, and by then my ‘fifteen minutes of fame’ were over.
Afterwards, I spoke to people on a one-to-one basis at my display. The photo below shows the storyboard I had on stage more clearly.
And how about those tartan boots?
M is for Meat Loaf ~ #AtoZChallenge
M is for Meat Loaf
No, you don’t eat it. I don’t think Mrs Meat Loaf would be best pleased. This is Michael (Marvin according to other sources) Lee Aday better known as Meatloaf – singer and actor. Remember him in Formula 51/The 51st State? I saw the band in concert in Kingston, ON at the K-Rock Centre.
L is for Loverboy ~ #AtoZChallenge
L is for Loverboy
We’re headed north of the border to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for today’s band. Who doesn’t work for the weekend? It’s quite fitting that the letter L falls on a Friday, too.
K is for KISS ~ #AtoZChallenge
K is for KISS
We’re staying in the US for today’s band – KISS. Outlandish costumes and makeup and one hell of a stage persona is KISS’s claim to fame. Off stage, they’re really a down to earth bunch of guys.
DEATH OF A CUCKOO by Wendy Percival #review
Death of a Cuckoo
by
Wendy Percival
Genre: Cosy Mystery
Series: An Esme Quentin Short Read
Release Date: 6 March 2017
Publisher: sBooks
A letter. A photograph. A devastating truth.
When Gina Vincent receives a letter of condolence from a stranger following her mother’s death, a photograph slipped inside reveals a disturbing truth – everything she’s ever known is based on a lie. Shocked and disorientated, she engages genealogy detective Esme Quentin to help search for answers.
The trail leads to an isolated and abandoned property on the edge of Exmoor, once the home of a strict Victorian institution called The House of Mercy and its enigmatic founder, whose influence seems to linger still in the fabric of the derelict building.
As they dig deeper, Esme realises that the house itself hides a dark and chilling secret, one which must be exposed to unravel the mystery behind Gina’s past.
But someone is intent on keeping the secret hidden. Whatever it takes.
EXTRACT
I ran down the steps and squeezed my way down the slim passage. In the recess was a narrow door but it didn’t match the faded, peeling paint of the remainder of the house’s decoration. It was brighter, as though it had been protected from the elements. As I stepped closer, I realised that’s exactly what had happened. Under my feet were pieces of broken planking. Until very recently, this doorway had been covered by a decorative panel and disguised. So who had uncovered it? It couldn’t have been there at the viewing.
LINKS
Buy link:
Goodreads link:
My Review
I found this book an easy read. I finished in one sitting. I loved Esme. She reminds me of a young Miss Marple, determined to get to the bottom of any mystery no matter how big or how small.
Wendy’s writing is strong and her descriptive narrative of the old Victorian institution, I felt like I was there along with her characters.
I’ll definitely be looking for more books by this author.
ABOUT WENDY PERCIVAL
Wendy Percival was born in the West Midlands and brought up in the Worcestershire countryside. After training as a primary school teacher she moved to North Devon in 1980 to take up her first teaching post and remained in teaching for 20 years.
An impulse buy of Writing Magazine inspired her to start writing seriously. She won Writing Magazine’s Summer Ghost Story competition in 2002 and had a short story published in The People’s Friend before focusing on full-length fiction.
The time honoured ‘box of old documents in the attic’ stirred her interest in genealogy and became the inspiration for the Esme Quentin mystery novels Blood-Tied and The Indelible Stain. She is currently working on the third in the series, where the clandestine past of the Second World War provides the secret world into which Esme must delve to uncover the truth.
When she’s not writing fiction, Wendy conducts her own family history research, sharing her finds on her blog, www.familyhistorysecrets.blogspot.com.
Wendy lives in a Devon thatched cottage beside a 13th-century church with her husband and a particularly talkative cat.
You can find more on her website www.wendypercival.co.uk.
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2mJj8TC
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wendy_percival
Goodreads Author Page: http://bit.ly/2lhecIA
Blog: http://familyhistorysecrets.blogspot.co.uk
Website: http://www.wendypercival.co.uk
Publisher: http://sbooks.co.uk
J is for Journey ~ #AtoZChallenge
J is for Journey
We’re back in the US today for rock band, Journey. I’m a fan of their older material. I mean, ladies, who didn’t swoon over Steve Perry?
I is for INXS ~ #AtoZChallenge
LOVE BLEEDS BLUE by Emma Calin #PassionPatrol
Emma Calin announces today the release of the third novel in her ‘Passion Patrol’ series: ‘LOVE BLEEDS BLUE’.
Firmly in the ‘suspense romance’ genre, this story features another sassy female hero-cop who is as passionate about her job as she is about the love in her life. Each Passion Patrol novel can be read as a stand-alone story, characters from previous stories make cameo appearances across the series.
Book Title:
LOVE BLEEDS BLUE by Emma Calin. A stand-alone fast-moving action adventure with a love story at its core. The third novel in the Passion Patrol Series, featuring hot cops, hot crime and hot romance.
Blurb:
A London girl cop, a violent political crisis, an instant decision. One moment of courage to catch the destiny of history.
When single mother Sergeant Sophia Castellana stumbles into a terrorist shooting, things are not as they seem. Global forces beyond her grasp sweep her up into an audacious scheme to re-unite a world in chaos. The love of a far younger man, the infatuation of a charismatic woman leader seduce her into a blur of inappropriate love and infinite danger. Power and celebrity beckon, betrayal and violence threaten every move as events unfold in the city of Paris. Her brute courage and loving woman’s heart confront ruthless enemies who offer no second chances. She knows the streets, she knows her power as a lover. Can she, dare she seize the prizes before her? Will a world offer her the choice?
Love Bleeds Blue, another stand-alone novel in the #1 Kindle Bestseller, Passion Patrol suspense romance series . Steamy Emma Calin holds nothing back to bring you her juicy mix of cops crime and passion.
EARLY REVIEWS FOR LOVE BLEEDS BLUE:
“Politics – Philosophy – Terrorism – Romance – Coup D’ Etats – Assassinations – World Reordering – Steamy Hot Sex! An intriguing love story.” Charles Smith, USA.
“Between the criminal plots, assassination attempts, and cases of almost innocent subterfuge, Ms. Calin weaves in passionate sex scenes that threaten to set the pages on fire.” Anneli Purchase, Canada.
“Staggering!! Wonderfully descriptive coupled with an outstanding story line makes this book a must read! The underlying satire provides some essential humor through out the book.” Evonne Hutton, South Africa.
Launch Details:
LOVE BLEEDS BLUE is out, worldwide, on Amazon for Kindle and digital e-readers, on the 3rd April 2017. The print edition will be available by May 2017.
The launch price is 99c/99p and FREE on Amazon Kindle Unlimited but will go up to $2.99/£2.50 after the 17th April.
Universal Book Sales Link on Amazon: http://www.smarturl.it/AmazonLBB
COMPETITION:
For the two weeks following the launch there is a Rafflecopter sweepstake link in the back of the book, to win a brand-new Kindle Fire 7″ Tablet worth $50 (gift card equivalent alternative in countries where product not available).
FREE BOOK FROM THE PASSION PATROL SERIES: Try one of the Passion Patrol novels for free https://www.instafreebie.com/free/1LZ7p
