Have you heard the story of the mysterious woman’s body found in a tree in the West Midlands in 1943?
A group of boys out hunting rabbits found her, and a few months later the phrase Who put Bella in the Wych-Elm? appeared on walls around the area. There’s been a lot of folklore built up around ‘Bella’, but from what I’ve read she was probably a Dutch refugee murdered by her boyfriend, a Dutch smuggler, and hidden by the boyfriend and an English friend. The English friend made a death-bed confession to his wife decades later.
Bella has inspired the poet R.M. Francis and he’s produced a book of poetry. Please enjoy the cover reveal.
A compelling memoir of post-war
Britain. Jackie Skingley grew up with limited career choices but joining the
Women’s Royal Army Corps offered her a different life, living and working in a
military world, against the backdrop of the Cold War. Packed full of stories
reflecting the changing sexual attitudes prior to the arrival of the pill and
the sexual revolution of the mid 60s, Skingley’s memoir denotes a shift in the
political and social fabric of the era. Follow her relationships with the men
in her life from finding her first true love, which through a cruel act of fate
was denied her, to embarking on a path of recovery.
*Terms and
Conditions –UK
& USA entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box
below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all
valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is
received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to
select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any
personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose
only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the
winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only
for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will
delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of
the prize.
Author Bio –
For Jackie Skingley, adventure has been her quest since childhood. Life with the British army allowed Jackie to live all over the world and gain huge appreciation for different cultures and customs. Since 1999, Jackie and her husband have lived in the Charente region of South West France where Reiki, jewellery making, painting and mosaics, as well as writing keep her fully occupied. Member of the Charente Creative Writing Group, mother and grandmother.
A gripping forest adventure full of
mystery, betrayal and courage.
When a new sealer boy joins the journey,
Mai, Long, and Akra are confident their challenges have come to an end. But as they embark on their journey once
again, they find themselves having to escape from the clutches of dangerous
enemies.
They travel to Naroan – the forest lands
of the soulbankers, the regulators of life and death. Against the backdrop of
rules and suspicion, the children are challenged with unravelling the mystery
of the Silvershade, which has been calling to Akra from the moment he arrived
in the forest city. But Long is tormented by his doubts – he must face a deadly
power from the Underworld before it takes him into the darkness.
Will the dark pebble
take Long along a road of no return? Or will his friends find a way to help
him?
*Terms and
Conditions –Worldwide
entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The
winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and
will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7
days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative
winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as
part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be
shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This
will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the
prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the
data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
Author Bio –
Vacen Taylor is a children’s author with a portfolio of screenwriting and stage play achievements. A selection of her poetry has been published in Art and Literature Journals. One of her plays was selected to be part of the Playwrights Program 2017 and then directed and performed as a performance reading at HOTA (previously the Gold Coast Arts Centre).
Her feature film script received a special commendation for Best
Unproduced Screenplay titled Grandfathers at the British Independent Film
Festival in 2018. The logline can be
found under Special Commendations for Unproduced Screenplays here.
Her TV pilot for a series (teleplay) was selected as a semi-finalist in
the Hollywood Just4Shorts Film and Screenplay Competition in Los Angeles, CA.
This pilot was listed in the top 50 for the Cinequest Screenwriting Competition
in 2018.
She presented the first mental health panel at OZ Comic-Con in 2017. This
panel was a fantastic opportunity to discuss openly and honestly about artists
and their mental health to help support wellbeing, foster connectivity and
provide a culture of support.
In 2018 she presented the panel, ‘An artist’s guide to creative happiness:
How to strengthen your creative performance’ at Oz Comic-Con in Brisbane. Her
panels are extraordinary opportunities to explore ideas with people who are
currently working in the industry. She aims to discuss subjects like
individualism, the community, mental health, wellbeing, happiness, creativity,
co-creating and self-awareness which often leads to interesting questions from
the audience.
What else does she do? Vacen is also a creative workshop facilitator and
proficient in, teaching, speaking and concept creation. Guest Speaker. Workshop
Presenter. Creative Panel Facilitator. Mentor. Support Worker. Counsellor.
Social Welfare Advocate.
Tensions
are building on the notorious Holds End estate.
The local
community centre is fighting for survival and the murder of 15-year-old Lewis
Matthews remains unsolved…
Wannabe
teenage singer, Bill Robinson, just got out of hospital after surviving a
vicious attack. He thinks he knows who attacked him…and why. When a violent
feud escalates between him and local thug Charlie McDonnal, Bill vows to find
the killer and help save the community centre by taking part in the local
singing contest.
How can
music bring a shattered community together? And can Bill keep his own demons at
bay long enough to win the singing contest and find out who killed Lewis
Matthews?
When a young woman comes forward saying she’s the reincarnation of Riya Kaur, a wife and mother who vanished during the bloody 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Puri is dismissive. He’s busy enough dealing with an irate matrimonial client whose daughter is complaining about her groom’s thunderous snoring. Puri’s indomitable Mummy-ji however is adamant the client is genuine. How else could she so accurately describe under hypnosis Riya Kaur’s life and final hours?
Driven by a sense of duty – the original case was his late father’s – Puri manages to acquire the police file only to find that someone powerful has orchestrated a cover-up.
Forced into an alliance with his mother that tests his beliefs and high blood pressure as never before, it’s only by delving into the past the help of his reincarnated client that Puri can hope to unlock the truth.
Tarquin Hall is a British author and journalist who has previously lived in the USA, Pakistan, India, Kenya and Turkey. He now divides his time between the UK and India and is married to BBC reporter and presenter Anu Anand. He is the author of four previous Vish Puri mysteries and The Delhi Detective’s Handbook.
Bex Ellman and her friends are in hiding, sheltered by the resistance.
With her family threatened and her friendships challenged, she’s looking for a
way to fight back. Ketty Smith is in London, supporting a government she no
longer trusts. With her support network crumbling, Ketty must decide who she is
fighting for – and what she is willing risk to uncover the truth.
The Battle Ground series is set in a dystopian near-future UK, after
Brexit and Scottish independence.
Rachel Churcher was born between the last manned moon landing, and the first orbital Space Shuttle mission. She remembers watching the launch of STS-1, and falling in love with space flight, at the age of five. She fell in love with science fiction shortly after that, and in her teens she discovered dystopian fiction. In an effort to find out what she wanted to do with her life, she collected degrees and other qualifications in Geography, Science Fiction Studies, Architectural Technology, Childminding, and Writing for Radio.
She has worked as an
editor on national and in-house magazines; as an IT trainer; and as a freelance
writer and artist. She has renovated several properties, and has plenty of
horror stories to tell about dangerous electrics and nightmare plumbers. She
enjoys reading, travelling, stargazing, and eating good food with good friends
– but nothing makes her as happy as writing fiction.
Her first published short
story appeared in an anthology in 2014, and the Battle Ground series is her
first long-form work. Rachel lives in East Anglia, in a house with a large
library and a conservatory full of house plants. She would love to live on
Mars, but only if she’s allowed to bring her books.
Life is already
complicated enough for Awa Bryant when she starts having weird dreams – waking
dreams – and strange coincidences start appearing in her real life.
She meets
dreamcharmer, Veila, a quirky glowing creature who helps to guide Awa through
the mysterious Dreamrealm.
At first the
Dreamrealm is a glorious escape from Awa’s daily struggles but something is not
right… Soon Awa discovers she has a bigger quest, and everything she cares
about is at stake. Will she be brave enough to face her fears and save her
friends?
*Terms and
Conditions –Worldwide
entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The
winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and
will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days
then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative
winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as
part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be
shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This
will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the
prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the
data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
About
the Author
Isa Pearl
Ritchie is a New Zealand writer. As a child, she loved creating imaginary
worlds. She has completed a PhD on food sovereignty in Aotearoa. Her second
novel, Fishing for Māui, was selected as one of the top books of 2018
in the New Zealand Listener and was a finalist in the NZ Booklovers Award for
Best Adult Fiction Book 2019. Awa and the Dreamrealm is her first book
for young people.
So, Kelly at Love Books Tours emailed the other day and asked if I’d help with this publication day book promotion. As people know, I like to help, so I said yes. I was also intrigued by the synopsis of the novel. Having now read the author bio, I like the author too. The bio is funny. And appeals to my socialist side. Anyway. go ahead and have a gander for yourselves.
Elianor Paine is a Magistrate of the Peace in the Kingdom of Trist and a republican secret agent. She has 6 days to subvert her investigation, supplant war-hero Lord Vile, then coerce his adult children to start a revolution, before her masters discover the truth and have her killed. Just how far is she willing to go? And can she change the world without changing herself?
Keith Crawford is a retired Navy Officer, a disabled veteran, a Doctor of Law & Economics, a barrister, a stay-at-home Dad, and a writer. He has written for collections of scholarly works, academic journals, and newspapers including The Economist. He has had more than thirty plays recorded or produced for stage, been listed in a variety of short story competitions (in spite of his hatred of short stories), and runs a radio production company, www.littlewonder.website, which regularly runs competitions promoted by the BBC to help find, develop and encourage new writers.
In 2014 he was lecturing at Sciences Po in Paris and negotiating a contract to write a book on banking regulation, when he and his wife discovered to their delight that they were due to have their first child. Rather than writing more work that would only be read by his poor students, and then misquoted by politicians, he decided he would do his bit to stick his fingers up at the patriarchy and stay home to look after his own kids rather than the grown-up kids of rich people. Two more children swiftly followed. Keith has discovered that if you recite Stick Man backwards you get the lyrics to AD/DC’s Highway to Hell.
This (looking after the kids, not satanic rites with Stick Man) allowed him to support his wife’s career, which appears to be heading for the stratosphere, and also gave him the space to write about sword fights and explosions. And spaceships. All of which are more fun than banking regulation. As an extension to his work in radio production, he set up his own small press, and his first novel, Vile, is due to be published in December 2019. More novels will swiftly follow, like buses in countries that don’t privatise the bus companies.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 