![\"Amanda](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.melanierobertson-king.ca\/wp02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/An-Unthinkable-Lie-1.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHolly West has turned her life around. She\u2019s found a successful and loving husband in Simon and is expecting twins. She is definitely a woman who has taken back control of her future.<\/em><\/p>\n Until she gives birth, only for one twin to survive. Holly can\u2019t let it go.<\/em><\/p>\n Holly\u2019s world is in a tailspin and suddenly she can\u2019t trust herself or anyone else. No one believes her, not her husband or her best friend. Because she thinks she knows the truth\u2026her son is still alive and she won\u2019t stop until she finds him.<\/em><\/p>\n This story is within the psychological suspense genre, and as well raising lots of questions about what will happen next in the readers\u2019 mind, I have tried to create a strong sense of place. For me as a reader, \u2018stepping into\u2019 a story and feeling part of the characters\u2019 lives is essential. Therefore as a writer, I don\u2019t feel that I can see where I am going without having a firm sense of place. I am a visual writer, and one of my ambitions is to see my work on the TV, or even the cinema screen. Think big I say!\u00a0 I have taken two extracts from Behind the Lie<\/em> to illustrate.<\/p>\n I chose this extract to try and get across the feeling I have when I\u2019m pottering about on the beach and sticking a toe in the surf! I want the reader to \u2018see\u2019 the scene in the story and the characters living inside it. See what they see, and empathise with their feelings. I think writing in the first person also helps to place the reader in the head of the characters. I hoped to get across the contrast between Cornwall and London too, within my main character Holly\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n Paddling in the Atlantic in late March is not something I would go in for normally, but Demi\u2019s enthusiasm wouldn\u2019t let me sit on the dunes huddled in my duffle coat. A duffle coat and a blanket to be exact, because my coat will no longer fasten over my bump. So here I am, ankle deep in the surf and actually loving it, the biting cold has subsided and it feels almost warm. <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018So refreshing isn\u2019t it?\u2019 Demi asks rolling up the hem of her jeans which are already damp.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018Actually yes it is. Makes you feel alive and connected to nature,\u2019 I say looking at a fishing boat, a red splash on the horizon.<\/em><\/p>\n Talk of the city brings a disgruntled image of my husband\u2019s face to mind, soft grey eyes steely with contempt. He wasn\u2019t best pleased at all the other night when I told him I wanted to stay until tomorrow. I don\u2019t normally go against his wishes, but I am just not ready to go back yet. I think it might be that I am at the nesting stage, and nests are built at home. I never think of London as my home, but I\u2019d never tell Simon that of course. Also I wanted to spend another day with my bestie. It\u2019s been far too long…and I am happier being here with her than I have been in a long time, if I\u2019m honest with myself. I don\u2019t usually allow that \u2013 honesty. It\u2019s no good for me.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018You okay?\u2019 Demi asks and splashes a few droplets of sea water at me. I raise a quizzical eyebrow. \u2018Well you look, kind of far away.\u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2018I was back in London so yes, I was.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n I use a similar scene below to show how important Holly\u2019s environment is to her healing. She has been told that her son died three weeks previously, and she\u2019s struggling to come to terms with it.<\/p>\n At the water\u2019s edge I roll up my crop trousers and splash through the waves. I slow my power walk down a few gears though; otherwise I\u2019ll soon be drenched. The chill of the ocean climbs up my claves and cools my heated skin. I turn in a circle, tip my face to the sky and spread my arms. It\u2019s a Tuesday out of season, so there\u2019s not many here on the beach today to see me, and to be honest I couldn\u2019t care less if they do. This place, the ocean makes me feel so free, so peaceful and calm. A deep breath fills my lungs with fresh ozone and seaweed and I close my eyes and let a little bit more pain slip away on the tide.<\/em><\/p>\n In my mind\u2019s eye I place an image of a happy little boy playing on the dunes behind me with his sister. He\u2019s wearing a white sunhat and dungarees, his sister is dressed the same, apart from a yellow, hat and they are laughing and digging in the sand. Of course I realise this can never happen, but it helps a little to picture it. Ruan was a part of me, albeit for such a brief time, and he always will be.<\/em><\/p>\n And here I use an idyllic scene in order to contrast with the turmoil in Holly\u2019s mind. Hopefully the reader can also \u2018look\u2019 out at the landscape while empathising with Holly. They see what she sees, feel what she feels.<\/p>\n A recent summer shower has awakened the verdant green of the landscape \u2013 a patchwork of hills and valleys dotted with brown farms and white sheep. Crystal blue skies growing in confidence soon banish the remnants of rainclouds, and once again, beyond the car windscreen, the world looks idyllic. Inside my head things are very different. Inside my head are a tangle of thoughts and feelings, clashing, writhing and tying themselves in knots. <\/em><\/p>\n There are of course many other examples but I\u2019m sure you don\u2019t want the whole book, Melanie! I hope your readers will have enjoyed the little visit into my head … and to a speedy virtual look at Cornwall of course. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Amanda has written many short stories and has five novels currently published. Her time travelling debut – A Stitch in Time was published in April of 2013 and has met with great success.<\/p>\n Amanda lives in Cornwall and is inspired every day by the beautiful coastline near her home. Three of her novels are set there, Somewhere Beyond the Sea, Summer in Tintagel and Behind the Lie – April 2017 pub – HQUK ( HarperCollins)<\/p>\n Amanda can usually be found playing on the beach with her family, or walking the cliff paths planning her next book.<\/p>\n Author links \u2013\u00a0Amanda’s blog –\u00a0http:\/\/mandykjameswrites.blogspot.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n Twitter – @akjames61<\/p>\n Facebook mandy.james.33<\/p>\n Buy Links \u2013\u00a0https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Behind-Lie-Amanda-James-ebook\/dp\/B06XKCP4L6\/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8<\/a><\/p>\n A Sense of Place Thanks for having me on your blog Melanie, to talk about my latest book, Behind the Lie. Here is a flavour of what the story is about… Holly West has turned her life around. She\u2019s found a successful and loving husband in Simon and is expecting twins. She is definitely a … Continue reading Behind the Lie by Amanda James #psychological #suspense<\/span> <\/a>Amanda James has written since she was a child, but never imagined that her words would be published. Then in 2010, after many twists and turns, the dream of becoming a writer came true.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"