A sheet of black filled his vision as hundreds of birds dived at the cottage, pointed beaks thrust forward. From this angle, he couldn’t see many of them striking it, but the few he did see held nothing back as they hammered into the shutter. The scale of the attack was beyond anything he’d seen or heard of. And bloodied casualties littered the ground: skulls shattered, wings broken, innards spilling from them. The fact that so many of them continued with the onslaught in spite of this filled him with even more dread.
Salin has always wanted an adventure and, when the opportunity presents itself, he grabs it with both hands, taking his friends along for the ride – whether they want to or not.
With strange lands come strange creatures that stand between them and their goal. And that goal is the same for someone else, a man who believes the prize is worth every sacrifice – especially when the sacrifices are made by others.
Graeme Cumming lives in Robin Hood country, and has spent most of his life immersed in fiction – books, TV, movies – turning to writing his own during his early teens.
With his interests in story-telling sparked by an excessive amount of time sitting in front of a black and white television, his tastes are varied. Influences ranged from the Irwin Allen shows (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, etc.) to ITC series (The Saint, The Champions, Randall and Hopkirk (deceased) and so many more), so the common theme was action and adventure, but crossed into territories including horror, fantasy and science fiction as well as crime and espionage.
This diverse interest in fiction continued with his reading and his discovery of the magical world of cinema. As a result, his stories don’t always fall into a specific genre, but will always maintain the style of a thriller.
When not writing, Graeme is an enthusiastic sailor (and, by default, swimmer), and enjoys off-road cycling and walking. He is currently Education Director at Sheffield Speakers Club. Oh yes, and he reads (a lot) and loves the cinema.
The Inheritance by Anne Allen is one year old. To celebrate all the seven books in The Guernsey Novel series will only be £1.99 on Kindle for a limited time. Each of the books can be read as a standalone too.
Tess stared in horror at the face of the young boy on the trolley. It was clear he was dead.
‘You all right, Doctor? It’s not someone you know is it?’ The paramedic’s voice sounded concerned.
Tess looked at him, trying to stay calm, but struggling. Surrounded by the perpetual noise of Accident and Emergency with the constant flow of trolleys carrying patients of all ages and injuries, the sight of the dead boy had hit her like a physical blow.
‘No, not really. He…he came in last week after a road traffic accident, knocked off his bike by a car. Nothing serious. What…what happened?’
The paramedic, known for his cheerfulness, looked solemn.
‘He was playing in a football match at school and, according to whoever called us, just keeled over as he was about to score.’ He touched the boy’s head. ‘There was nothing we could do, Doctor. Poor kid. But we had to go through the motions, like. Recorded as DOA, I suppose.’ She nodded as he handed her his report.
‘What about the parents?’ She held her breath, knowing she would find it difficult to face them now. What if it was her fault?
‘Away. The lad’s been staying with friends.’ He nodded towards an ashen-faced woman with her arms around a boy wearing the same football kit as Gary. Both looked as if they were about to be sick. Tess called a nurse over and asked her to take them into a private room and give them tea.
‘Thanks, Tom, would you mind taking the…body – Gary – downstairs? I’ll just sign the report and they can carry on from there.’ She dashed her name at the bottom of the report, trying not to look at the pale, unmarked face of the thirteen-year-old boy who had been so chirpy only a week ago. And alive.
Anne was born in Rugby to a Welsh father and an English mother. As a result, she spent many summers with her Welsh grandparents in Anglesey and learned to love the sea. Now she is based in Devon to be near her daughter and two small grandchildren. Her restless spirit has meant many moves, the longest stay being in Guernsey for nearly fourteen years after falling in love with the island and the people. She contrived to leave one son behind to ensure a valid reason for frequent returns. Her younger son is based in London – ideal for city breaks ☺
By profession, Anne was a psychotherapist who long had a desire to write and Dangerous Waters, her first novel, was published in 2012. It was awarded Silver(Adult Fiction) in TheWishingShelfAwards 2012. Since then she has published six more books in The Guernsey Novels series; Finding Mother, Guernsey Retreat, The Family Divided, Echoes of Time – winner of The Diamond Book Award 2017, a finalist in Readersfavorite awards and granted a ChillWithABookAward, The Betrayal, and The Inheritance, published April 2019.
Macy Shaw, a journalist, has become obsessed with Jelvias—another species living alongside the human—and is certain they aren’t the heinous assassins the media claim them to be. For research purposes, on a story she hopes to write, she travels to the famous ‘Jelvian Caves’ in Cornwall. She shouldn’t have entered the cave, but being impulsive is one of her faults and it is there she meets a man who isn’t human—a Jelvia. Her obsession turns to devotion very quickly. Is she being played?
She smiled into the dark. She felt his fingers touch her face, and her chin was tipped up, and his lips brushed her mouth.
‘The majority of the Jelvian community have no problem with humans. I can’t say that about humans liking Jelvias, however,’ he said. ‘We’ll just have to tread carefully, and yes, we’ll have to be a secret, to begin with. But let’s see how you feel when we’re out of this cave.’ He sounded guarded. ‘Your feelings may change the moment we’re in daylight.’
‘They won’t.’
‘They might.’ He turned back, and began to walk, his hand holding hers behind him. His stride matched hers.
‘Can you see?’ she asked.
‘I can,’ he said. ‘You weren’t far from the entrance. The bats nest here, so it’s easy to tell when you’re almost there.’
Macy looked up at the roof area, but couldn’t see anything. She could hear them from time to time though.
‘Does it bother you that I’m a reporter?’
‘No, but be careful of anyone who wants you to work alongside Jelvias. There have been, er, problems in the past where humans have placed other humans in danger for the advancement of knowledge on the Jelvian community. Keep an open mind on things this friend William may tell you about us.’
‘Do you know him?’
‘Never heard of him.’
‘He’s on your side.’
‘If you’re willing to tell me, I’d like to know what he wants you to do.’
She hesitated, and he squeezed her fingers again. He said, ‘You don’t have to tell me.’
‘I’ve just signed a data protection clause, that’s all. I’m unable to discuss the whys and hows, and I can only tell you that I’d like to interview Jelvias. Aldarn is in charge, I believe? I’d like to interview him first.’
Narcifer stopped to look at her. ‘At Springfield’s insistence or yours?’ he asked, the twin beams of light on her face.
‘Mine.’
‘Yet you told Aldarn that you wanted to interview me,’ he said, catching her out on her fib. He turned back, and they began walking again. It was still very dark, and walking was slow as she had to hold his coat to avoid tripping over the ends. ‘You’re too trusting of this William Springfield,’ he added.
‘I’m an excellent judge of character. I’m not too trusting!’
Macy felt Narcifer squeeze her hand. ‘Are we having our first argument?’
‘No, I’m just saying I’m not too trusting.’
‘Okay, I believe you. I just want you to be careful. Springfield shouldn’t have allowed you to come to these tunnels. You could have died, Macy.’
‘He didn’t know what I planned. He knows I’m in Cornwall and that’s all. Christ, I didn’t know I was going to follow a Jelvia into the caves, either!’
‘But if I hadn’t heard you scream…’ His fingers rubbed the base of her wrist. ‘I couldn’t get to you fast enough!’
‘Hey, the dark is lifting. I can see outlines now,’ she said. ‘And I’m sure I can hear the sea again.’
‘Yes, not long now. The opening is just around this corner,’ he said and pulled her in front of him. Then daylight swamped them, and the sound of the sea crashing against the shore reached Macy’s ears.
Macy tried to turn around to look at Narcifer, but his hands on her shoulders wouldn’t let her. His breath fanned her cheek as he said in her ear, ‘Once you see me, you’ll be afraid again.’
‘No, I won’t.’
‘You will. I’ll see fear and mistrust in your eyes, and I think that will break my heart.’
‘You’re just going to have to trust me.’ She reached up and took his hands away from her shoulders and then turned around to face him. He was as she remembered: tall, beautiful, completely black eyes—but there was no grin this time. He looked serious, and for the first time Macy noticed his uncertainty, but it endeared him to her. The sound of the ocean and its light spray added to the surreal moment Macy found herself in—staring into a black cave and straight into the eyes of a Jelvia. His expression was impassioned, and his fingers brushed the side of her cheek.
‘I’ve dreamed about you every night since we met,’ he said, ‘and I’ll always be your hero, Macy Shaw, whether you reciprocate my sentiments or not.’
The discovery of a woman close to death in a city basement sends Bucharest police officers Anton Iordan and Sorin Matache on a complex chase through the city as they seek to identify the victim. As they try to track down the would-be murderer, they find a macabre trail of missing women and they realise that this isn’t the first time the killer has struck. Iordan and Matache hit one dead end after another, until they decide they’ll have to take a chance that could prove deadly.
When investigator Sergiu Manta is handed the investigation into a series of bizarre murders, he can’t sure what he’s getting involved in as he has to work with regular detective Marius Stanescu, who has his own suspicions about the biker he has been told to work with, and wants to get to the truth. The twists and turns of their investigation takes them from the city of Bucharest to the mountains of rural Romania, and back.
Distorted Days If she could speak to them, she would say they have exploded her heart, released firecrackers through her senses. She wishes she could call the police, the ambulance, the fire brigade, to arrest and anaesthetise and waterboard the bastards. So what happens when your husband runs off with your best friend? When you discover the dead body of an old man halfway through your delivery round? When your house is burgled and you get beaten up? Doris, Andy and Colleen are about to find out. They’re also about to discover that you can find friendship and support in the oddest of places… Heart-rending, humorous and above all authentic, Distorted Days is an exquisitely written account of the ways in which life can knock you off our feet – and how you can pick yourself up again. If you’ve experienced the fickleness of fortune, this is a book that you’ll never forget. Purchase Links https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0244236143 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0244236143 http://www.lulu.com/shop/louise-worthington/distorted-days/paperback/product-24338530.html
Extract One- from chapter one. Doris’ husband John has left her for her best friend Lisa on Christmas Eve. Doris gets drunk in the bathroom. The extract includes a refrain used throughout the book (in italics) to convey Doris’ destructive habit of drinking heavily when life gets tough. This habit affects her judgement & leads to John leaving her. The title of the novel is derived from her impaired judgment caused by depression & drinking. (323 words)
Her voice has walked out and left her too; carried itself down the stairs to someplace else where it might be listened to. ‘Your fucking wife! That’s who it is, love.’ That’s what she should have said to John, but she’s never been good at thinking of a comeback on the spot. Besides, she has no courage to fight back, to admonish, because she is a damp firework.
If she could speak to them, she would say they have exploded her heart, released firecrackers through her senses. She wishes she could call the police, the ambulance, the fire brigade, to arrest and anaesthetise and waterboard the bastards.
If she screws up one eye, she can see the colour of the glass rolling pin on the bathroom tiles. It’s a noisy one because it was expensive, carefully chosen by Doormat with the aid of an assistant in Tesco called Freda who had a nasty twitch in one eye. Freda’s twitch got excited when Doris loaded her shopping trolley with twelve bottles of wine, four colours of each hue. She and John used to go on alcohol percentage and special offers but Freda opened her eyes to the aromas and blends and whatnot.
They make her drink. Guzzle until her stomach is a well, so full it begins to pour over the top and trickle down Utkinton Street, a red rivulet, an S shape all the way to the corner shop and back. They still make her drink, sip it if she has to, faces at the bottom of the glass. She keeps drinking, swaying, and they are still watching. Then it is dark, the colour of a drinker’s liver.
This hurt is like a lit cigarette dabbed across the ribs. A grenade in her chest. Cock John and Twat Lisa stir cocktails with the linchpin. She breathes air through a damp handkerchief. Delirious, she lies on the cold tiles; sleep wants to take her.
Author Bio
Louise is the author of ‘Distorted Days’ and ‘Rachel’s Garden of Rooms.’ ‘The Entrepreneur’ will be available later in 2020. ‘The Thief’, a short story published by Park Publications, is available to download Louise Worthington’s website.
Before writing full time, Louise worked mainly as an English teacher after getting a degree in Literature and later, studying business and psychology at Masters level.
Louise grew up in Cheshire and now resides in Shropshire.
“Louise’s characters, without exception, are skilfully wrought which make the reader genuinely care for them.”
A Cumbrian Village… Three suicides… A red-hot summer…
Join super-sleuth Hattie as tempers and temperatures rise in the Cumbrian village of Hollywood. With mischief and shenanigans aplenty, will Hattie discover the truth?
A funny and intriguing mystery – the first in a new series by Caroline James
When recently bereaved Hattie Mulberry inherits her aunt’s dilapidated cottage in the village of Hollywood in Cumbria, she envisages a quiet life. But retired hotelier Hattie is bored and when her neighbour asks her to investigate a suspicious suicide, Hattie’s career takes a new direction and H&H Investigations is born. During the hottest summer for years, Hattie discovers there have been three recent suicides in Hollywood and she determines to find out why. Temperatures rise as she throws herself into village life and, with mischief and shenanigans aplenty, Hattie has her work cut out. But will she establish the truth?
LAURIE STERNE feels like he’s been cut adrift in space. His father has been shot dead, caught in the crossfire of a gangland war that has also claimed his boss’s life. Laurie is a refugee who lost his adoptive mum years before and doesn’t know where he was born, let alone who his birth parents were. But he’s not alone in the world: someone is trying to kill him.
This is London, 2050, a dumping ground for climate refugees and dissidents. Gangs rule, murder goes unpunished and the police make sure you can’t escape.
In his struggle to stay alive, he finds an ally: his former boss’s secret daughter. But with the killer predicting his every move, is the man without a past being betrayed by the woman who seems to offer him a future?
133 Hours Arriving at work to find she’s lost more than five-and-a-half days (133 hours), Briony Chaplin, has no recollection of where she’d been or what had happened to her. She is distraught. Has she been ill, or had a breakdown, or could she have been drugged and abducted? Doubting her own sanity, Briony is fearful of what she’ll find. Yet she’s driven to discover the truth. When she trawls her memories, she’s terrified by visions, believing she may have been abused and raped. Assisted by her friends Alesha and Jenny, and supported by a retired detective, she’s determined to learn where she’s been and why. Purchase Links: http://mybook.to/133 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07ZT9VRF3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZT9VRF3Continue reading “Extract Post: 133 Hours, by Zach Abrams”
Five different people. Five separate lives. Sixty minutes to bind them for ever.
Hassan, Jim, Shuna, Dan and Nadia come from very different worlds. If life were straightforward, their paths would never cross. But our lives are rarely that simple and, as the clock ticks away the minutes of a single hour on a July morning, fate draws all five together in a headlong rush towards disaster.
Who are the heroes and who are the villains?
Tony Salter’s latest novel leaves us guessing right up to the last page.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 