Friday, 7 August 2015

A chance to blog: "The Rest of My Life" by Sheryl Browne: Wow! Sheryl Browne has excelled herself with this book.... there is not much it doesn't have! Love, hate, sex, violence, apparitio...

Today I’m super-pleased to welcome onto my blog multitalented author of books for children and adults and a writing tutor, Karen King. Take it away, Karen!

Hi Sheryl, Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog. I’m super-excited to have a lovely trailer for my YA Sapphire Blue, an afterlife romance thriller. You can watch it here:

Sapphire Blue is my second YA and it’s a story that wouldn’t go away.

I first started writing Sapphire Blue seven years ago. I wrote a brief synopsis and sample pages and sent them to a publisher I worked with who I knew were planning on expanding their children’s fiction list. The editor loved the idea right away and told me they wanted it when they brought out their YA list. A couple of years passed during which I wrote several other books and added to Sapphire Blue now and again. Then the publisher told me they’d had to shelve their fiction list so I put it away. A friend who’d seen the original chapters persuaded me to keep writing it up. I got about half way through and shelved it again. Then another writer friend read it and persuaded me to finish it. So finally I did.

What it’s about

Sapphire Blue is set in the afterlife and is based on the concept of true love being eternal. Sapphire and her boyfriend Will are killed in the first chapter but love each other so much they search for each other. They find that the afterworld is split into seven zones, each named after the colour of the rainbow. They both believe the other one to have been taken by the Soul Catchers to Red, a zone where all your nightmares come true. They love each other so much that they go to Red to find each other. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot but it’s a mix of romance and horror – the first time I’ve ever written horror, actually. It’s not my usual sort of story but it’s the one that I’ve carried in my head for seven years so I hope the readers enjoy it.

Here’s the cover.

Extract

Our first drive together. Later, I’ll take photos of wherever it is we’re going, save a leaflet, a ticket, or receipt. Today deserves a whole page in our scrapbook.

Will’s a good driver. His eyes constantly dart to the mirrors to check what’s behind him, around him, in front of him, and he keeps his speed steady. I feel safe with him.

I look out of the passenger window, trying to guess where we’re going. As soon as we join the dual carriageway I know. Mawlish Cove. Where we went for our very first proper date. It’s our special place, the one we go to when we want to celebrate something, but usually we have to cycle there. I think of all the places we can go now that Will can drive, to the coast a few miles away, a sightseeing tour of the local villages, maybe even drive to Wales to see my cousin, Gemma. I’ll be seventeen in a few months and maybe I can pass my test too, then we can go away for weekend, share the driving. I glance at Will and smile. I’m so proud of him.

“I love you,” I say.

“Love you too,” he replies. Then he starts singing.

“Sapphire Blue,

I do love you,

Forever me,

Forever you!” I join in the chorus, bubbles of happiness fizzing through me.

Will wrote the song for me last Christmas, calling it Sapphire ‘Blue’ after the color of my eyes—he said. He knew his folks were buying him the guitar he’d been begging for all year, so had secretly written the song to surprise me. It was the first thing he played. I remember how he picked up the guitar, slowly strumming the strings, then he’d walked over to me, sat down beside me and gazing into my eyes he’d started singing. It was only a short song, one verse, nothing special, I guess, but it summed us up. Me and Will, together forever. A warm surge of love spreads through me. I reach out and touch his hand. He turns to me and our eyes meet.

Just for a couple of seconds. An eye blink. Hardly any time at all.

But long enough for us to not notice the container fall off the back of the lorry in front. When we do notice, it’s in the middle of the road, blocking our path. A shard of ice slithers down my spine.

“Stop! Will, stop! We’re going to crash!”

Even as I shriek the words I know that there isn’t enough time to stop. I’m frozen to my seat, my eyes fixed in terror on the huge metal box just meters away.

“Hold tight!” Will jerks the steering wheel to the left in an attempt to avoid it, but he loses control of the car, and we’re skidding off the road. OMG, now we’re heading for a huge tree. It’s looming in front of us, solid and immovable. Its long, leafy branches swaying in the wind like scaly, green arms reaching out to grab us.

“Shit!” Will’s almost standing on the brakes in an effort to stop the car. My body shoots forward, then is pulled back by the seatbelt. My head slams against the back of the seat. The tires screech as the car starts to slow down but not quick enough for us to avoid the tree. I shut my eyes, not wanting to see the inevitable, horrific moment of impact. I can hear Will shouting, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I love you!” I want to tell him that I love him too, but I can’t speak, can’t move, my body’s turned into a block of granite.

I’m dimly aware that someone is screaming as if their soul is being ripped from their body. It is a few seconds before I realize that the screams are mine.

We’re going to die.

Craaaaaash!

An explosion shatters in my head.

You can buy it from Amazon: http://bookgoodies.com/a/1625261667

And other book stores

My first YA is called Perfect Summer and is set in the not-too distant future when society is so obsessed with perfection that being different in any way is considered a crime. Morgan, the heroine, has a younger brother, Josh, with Down's syndrome and she and her family are under a lot of pressure to have him put away in a home so life is tough for Morgan. Whereas her best friend, Summer, seems to have a perfect life. Then Josh goes missing and in her quest to find him Morgan encounters great danger and discovers that Summer's life isn't so perfect after all.

Here’s the cover.

Extract

I raced along the street, looking for number fourteen, the address we had for Emma. I was at number thirty-four so I ran on. As I passed a small pathway separating a block of houses, two people came running out-both dressed in dark leisure suits. I barely had time to notice that one was a man, the other a woman, before the man charged into me, knocking me to the ground.

“Ow!” I yelled as I hit the pavement, landing on my left shoulder. “What the heck…?”

Furious, I pulled myself up and rubbed my shoulder. It stung like mad, and I could already feel the throb of a bruise forming. I glared up at the man then sucked in my breath as I saw the young girl, flung face down over his shoulder. I noticed the heavy boot on her left leg then the metal splint supporting it. She was wearing a calliper. She must be Emma. And they were kidnapping her!

“Hey, stop!” I yelled, scrambling to my feet. “Help! Help! Kidnap!” I screeched, running after them.

Jamie looked over, heard me and started towards us then suddenly backtracked to the van, shouting into his squilb.

“Law enforcement? You need to get to fourteen Greenhall Street, Barton fast. A young girl’s being kidnapped!”

The man snarled. “Get to the van quick!”

I charged after them as they both sprinted over to the van.

I’d heard people say that when they’d been faced with a dangerous situation, they didn’t have time to think, they just reacted. Just did what anyone else would do. Well, that’s exactly what happened to me.

I sort of went into auto-pilot. All I could think of was saving that little girl from whatever fate those two sickos had planned for her. Trying to ignore the stabbing pain in my shoulder, I ran after them, hollering for help at the top of my voice, hoping to alert Emma’s parents, the neighbours, anyone.

No one came.

The man ran faster, swearing profusely. The girl’s arms dangled limply down his back, her long hair cascading over her like a dark veil. She was so lifeless, that for a moment I feared she was dead. But then I realized she was probably drugged. After all, why would they want to carry off a dead body?

Jamie finished his phone call, and was leaning against the driver’s door of the van, obviously hoping to prevent them getting in. They ignored him and ran straight to the back, the woman in the lead. Jamie chased after them, shouting for help. We were both hollering at the top of our voices, but no one came to see what all the noise was about. Maybe the kidnappers chose the daytime to seize their victims because they knew most people were out at work then.

The woman pulled open the back doors of the van. “Quick! Get her inside before someone comes to check what these perishing kids are screaming at!”

A stitch was gnawing at my side. I tried to ignore it, forcing myself to run faster so I could help Jamie, who battled with the woman. I reached the van just as the man flung the little girl into the back of it. Jamie pushed past him and tried to pull her back out.

“You…" The man spat and cursed, kicking Jamie in the stomach with such force he fell back onto the ground.

Horrified, I heard Jamie groan and saw him curl up into a ball, clutching his stomach.

“Jamie!” I screamed. Pushing past the man I bent down to help Jamie up but the woman yanked me back by my hair so hard, I thought my scalp would come off in her hands. I jammed my elbow into her chest in a desperate attempt to force her to loosen her grip. Before I could wriggle free, I felt something placed over my mouth. A sickly, sweet smell flooded my nose and swarmed up into my head. Then everything went blank.

You can buy it from Amazon: http://bookgoodies.com/a/1482720639

And other books stores

Work in Schools

I’m proud to be Patron of Reading for Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, Worcester. Encouraging children to read and write is very important to me and I often visit schools to talk about my work and run creative writing workshops with the pupils.

I’ve been visiting schools for over ten years now, and first started when I Iived in Cornwall. The Tate Gallery in St Ives asked me to run workshops based around one of their artist’s paintings. I enjoyed it and more visits followed.

I work with primary and secondary schools. For younger children I run a variety of workshops about creating characters and building up stories. We create stories about aliens, dragons, make up codes and other fun things. I love to read the stories children create and put a lot of them on my website.

The workshops I run in secondary schools are based around Perfect Summer and Sapphire Blue and cover characterisation, viewpoints, show not tell, setting the scene and story beginnings.

About Me

I’m an author of books for children and adults and a writing tutor. I started my writing career with the teenage magazine, Jackie and spent many years writing for various children's magazines before concentrating solely on writing books. I've had over one hundred children's books published by a range of publishers, including Walker, Scholastic and Harper Collins. I’ve also written several romance stories for women's magazines and had two romance novels published, under the name of Kay Harborne. My third novel, a contemporary romance, will be published by Accent Press next year, under the name of Karen King.

You can find out more about me and my work at http://www.karenking.net/

Wow! Multitalented and prolific! I love the excerpts, Karen. Thanks so much for sharing. On a personal note, I’ve watched Karen in action in schools. I should say, watched in awe. The children are amazingly enthusiastic. Well done, Karen. And huge congratulations on your new contract with Accent Press. Good luck.

Keep safe all!

Lots of Love,

Thursday, 6 August 2015

Did you notice I’m touring? In the capable hands of Brook Cottage Books, The Rest of My Life is on its final leg of a five day tour. Did you manage to catch the reviews, leave a comment? It’s not too late! August 7 is the very last day – and the prizes are … Well, let’s put it this way, I’m reluctant to part with them.

THE PRIZES!

First of all, we have a gorgeous handmade red rose in a bottle with a scrolled tied message: The Rest of My Life. No spoilers, but the single red rose does feature in the story, which Adam delivers with his usual, not-quite-got-it-right style.

Secondly, we have this beautiful handmade ceramic flower pendant.

Aren’t they divine? Yours for grabbing. Just check out my Twitter feed @sherylbrowne or check out the Brook Cottage Books Tweets for The Rest of My Life @BrookCottageBks

With huge thanks to Brook Cottage Books and all of those lovely bloggers who have worked so hard for me, here’s a wee snippet of two of the stunning reviews so far:

“When I finished this book I told Sheryl her book had left me with a smile on my face, and she told me that my smile was probably there because of Adam. OK, that’s true up to a point – but this was also a really fantastic read, sheer enjoyment from beginning to end that I bet you won’t be able to put down either.” Being Anne…

“There are some fantastic sex scenes in this book, although I’m not 100% positive whether it was the heatwave while I was reading this, or the scenes that were making me hot and bothered! I loved The Rest of My Life, and I finished it with a huge smile on my face.” Rachel’s Random Reads

I’ll leave you with the blurb. I hope you get chance to take a look at some of the other reviews and take part in the Giveaway.

The Rest of My Life

“You can’t run away from commitment forever … “

Adam Hamilton-Shaw has more reason than most to avoid commitment. Living on a houseboat in the Severn Valley, his dream is to sail into the sunset – preferably with a woman waiting in every port. But lately, his life looks more like a road to destruction than an idyllic boat ride…

Would-be screenplay writer Sienna Meadows realises that everything about Adam spells trouble – but she can’t ignore the feeling that there is more to him than just his bad reputation. Nor can she ignore the intense physical attraction that exists between them.

And it just so happens that Adam sees Sienna as the kind of woman he could commit to. But can he change his damaging behaviour – or is the road to destruction a one-way street?

Keep safe all!

Lots of love,

Monday, 3 August 2015

Rachel's Random Reads: Book Review - The Rest of My Life by Sheryl Browne...: Amazon UK Title: The Rest of My Life Author: Sheryl Browne Format reviewed: Ebook Source: Netgalley Publisher: Choc Lit Pub...

Free!

I can’t resist sharing this, particularly as I have read the book and love it! Please find my review here. I can promise you a compelling read.

If you have not read The Wind Weeps, grab your free digital copy now on amazon or on smashwords. Follow it up with the conclusion to Andrea’s story in Reckoning Tide.

Here is a sample of the beginning of Reckoning Tide.

You’re mine!
To have,
To hold,
No matter how hard.

You’re mine!
Give me honour,
Obey,
And do as you’re told.

You’re mine!
In sickness,
My sickness,
Comes hell.

You’re mine!
This day forward,
’Til death,
Do us part.

Chapter 1

“Nurse!” I screamed. “Nurse, come back!” Robert’s smile vanished. He advanced and tossed the three orchids onto the foot of my bed.

I twisted around grasping for the cord with the call button. “Get away from me!” I hit the button frantically.

Robert lunged at me. “No, Andrea. Don’t!” He ripped the cord away from me. I pulled my fist back to punch him, but he was quick and caught my wrist in an iron grip. His eyes narrowed into slits.

“Nurse!” I yelled again. He clamped a hand over my mouth. Flashbacks of what that hard hand had done to me went through my mind. I bit down on his fingers, my terror lending me extra strength.

“Arrrgh! You bitch!” Robert’s eyes grew wide. He stared at me with a glassy look that I remembered too well. He drew his arm across his chest to backhand me, but dropped it when the nurse appeared.

“What’s going on here?” the nurse demanded. Margaret was a hefty woman. She filled most of the doorway as she stood with her hands on her hips. “Sir! Come away from the bed.”

“She bit me!” he said, unable to keep the whine out of his voice. “I brought her flowers—orchids, her favourite kind—and she bit me!”

I gasped at his outrageous boldfaced ploy, twisting the truth. “He tried to kill me. Don’t let him near me. He’s the one I told you about.”

“Now, Andrea.” Robert’s voice, silky smooth, sent ripples of terror up my spine. “You know that’s not true.” He turned to the nurse and slowly shook his head. “I’m her husband. You see, she’s had quite a shock. We had an argument and she set fire to our cabin and ran away when she thought I had died in the fire. I guess she’s surprised to see that I’m still alive.”

The nerve of him! I tried to get out of bed. “No! No-no-no!” I had to get the nurse to believe me. “He’s twisting it all around. He tried to kill me.”

The nurse was quick to put her hand out. “Stay in bed, Andrea.” She looked flustered and tried to calm us both. But no wonder she was confused. The whole situation was so bizarre. She looked from Robert to me and back to Robert again.

Would she side with Robert?

“Sir,” she said, “would you mind going to the waiting room down the hall? I’m sure the RCMP would like to speak with you, too. They’ll be here soon to interview Andrea.”

Robert raised his chin and gave me a smirk. “That was fast,” he said. “We’ll soon get to the bottom of the situation then.”

The nurse escorted him out the door. “We called them this morning when she woke up,” I heard her say as they walked down the hall.

The nurse had explained to me earlier that the police have to make a report in cases where there has been violence, especially since a gun was found in my fanny pack. The gun I pointed at him last week. Should have pulled the damn trigger.

*****

You will find paperback and digital versions of Reckoning Tide on amazon outlets and on smashwords.com (for e-readers other than Kindle). Just click on the links:
Amazon.com
Smashwords.com

Anneli Purchase lives on Vancouver Island, Canada, where she works as an author and freelance copy-editor. Her articles on coastal life have been published in Canadian magazines. Her novels involve relationships that develop in unusual settings, from the wild and remote coast of British Columbia, to the primitive camping areas of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, or the grisly conditions in postwar central Europe. Her aim is to have the reader still thinking about these people and places long after they close the covers of the books.

For more about Anneli and her books, visit her at http://anneli-purchase.com/

Happy reading!

Keep safe all.

Lots of love,