CRUEL LESSONS: #NewRelease from Randy Overbeck

Randy Overbeck joins me with a look at CRUEL LESSONS, his newest release and book one his new mystery series, Lessons in Peril. This new series is set in the world of classroom. Randy used his many years as an educator to create his amateur sleuths, Superintendent Ken Parks and teacher Stacy Turner, and lend an air of realism to his fiction. Welcome, Randy!

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“Sooner or later, everything old is new again.”

This quote from Stephen King came to mind when I thought about my newest work. In October, the Wild Rose Press will release my newest fiction, CRUEL LESSONS, an atmospheric amateur sleuth mystery and the first in a new series called “Lessons in Peril” stories set in schools. The novel features a pair of middle age protagonists who are, you guessed it, educators, in fact, an elementary school teacher and a school administrator. Hardly your normal heroes. In the story, fifth graders get hold of a dangerous hallucinogenic, steal a car and die in a horrific crash. Assistant Superintendent Ken Parks and teacher Stacy Turner struggle to uncover who is peddling the deadly drugs before more kids die.

What brought King’s words to mind is that, while the novel is my newest work, it is also my oldest. I’ve been at this writing thing for a while now. Cruel Lessons will be my fifth published work in the past decade or so. But like most writers I think, I’ve been inventing stories, imagining characters and conjuring up plots and crimes for quite a while. One of my earliest fictional inventions was this story—or at least a very early version of the narrative and characters. This manuscript has lain in the virtual drawer for twenty years—the first attempt at the tale written long hand on legal pads—waiting for me to mature and improve as a writer and storyteller. Even though the current published version of Cruel Lessons has been through too many revisions, re-writings and editings to count, the skeleton of the narrative is much the same as envisioned so many years ago. So, like King wrote, what’s old is new again, though this was probably not King’s intent for the saying. 

Cruel Lessons is an atmospheric, amateur sleuth mystery, the first in a new series set in schools called “Lessons in Peril.” The story involves a rogue, hallucinogenic drug being pushed in a middle school and, after it results in the death of four students, the rush to stop the drug pusher before more children die. 

I think you’re going to like the final rendering of the tale. The early reviewers certainly do.

Literary Titan wrote that the novel was “masterfully written. Each new revelation adds to the suspense and keeps the reader on edge, eagerly anticipating what further secrets the story holds…… a gripping crime thriller and amateur sleuth mystery.” 

The folks at ReaderViews called it “a thrilling murder mystery…with an immersive plot, steady pace and stellar character development…one of the best mysteries of 2023.” 

And the reviewers at N N Light Bookheaven thought CRUEL LESSONS was “brilliant from start to finish…Impressive storytelling left me with a racing heart and shivers. One of the best thrillers I’ve ever read.” Interested yet?

Be among the first. 

CRUEL LESSONS is going to be one of your favorite new mysteries.

BLURB:

Four kids dead. Can Assistant Superintendent Ken Parks unmask the drug dealer poisoning his students before more kids die?

On a school camping trip, fifth graders experiment with a dangerous new hallucinogen and die in a horrific accident, their deaths shattering the quiet town. Assistant Superintendent Ken Parks, hoping to redeem a fatal mistake from his past, grasps the opportunity to conduct the district investigation of how students are getting the drugs. Almost before he begins, the cops make a stunning arrest. But Parks battles on, convinced the real pusher is still out there, poisoning more kids until he receives an anonymous threat: if he continues, those close to him will pay. Is Parks willing to risk those he loves for a chance at redemption?

EXCERPT:

From the bend, the road descended quickly and Amanda felt the car picking up speed as gravity and its powerful engine propelled it downhill. As she approached the next turn, she realized she was coming in a little too fast. She slid her foot to the brake. Her concentration on steering the twisting road ahead, at first it didn’t register. She dared to take her gaze off the road and look down at her feet before she understood. When her right foot depressed the brake, the pedal glided all the way to the floor. No friction. She pulled her foot back and slammed on the brake again. The pedal slid all the way down. Unbelieving, she pumped it, again and again.  

There was nothing there.

She jerked her eyes back. The hairpin turn hurtled at her. On instinct, she kept jamming on the pedal. It was supposed to work. She turned the wheel wildly. The big car shuddered as it tried to negotiate the turn. The two rear wheels slipped off the pavement, spinning in space. With the front wheel drive, the front two tires managed enough traction to catch. The car veered around the curve and headed down the next straight incline. The heavy vehicle rolled faster again as gravity pulled it down the hill. 

Amanda’s mind reeled. What was she supposed to do? 

Struggling desperately to force her mind to think, Amanda tried to consider her options. It was all happening too quickly. The next treacherous turn came at her fast. She had no way to slow down. White knuckles gripped the steering wheel.

The bend ahead showed a hard curve to the right, not quite as tight as the last one, but steeper. And she felt the car accelerating, though she hadn’t touched the gas pedal. Right before the car hit the curve, Amanda spun the steering wheel. The car lurched around the bend. The driver side of the car lifted up. Halfway through the long bend, Amanda watched the hood tilt in the turn until it was almost vertical. No seat belt on, she was catapulted down the leather seat, crashing into the passenger door.  

“Hell!” she cried, reaching to grab her bruised shoulder. 

She froze as the two wheels still on the ground shuddered in the gravel, sliding off the small road. Slammed against the side door, she heard the tall weeds and low branches whip against the body. But the car didn’t slow. Blood streamed from a gash on her forehead. For an instant she lay there stretched across the passenger door, holding her breath.

Then she sensed the car teetering. The front tire bumped something hard. Amanda stared, unbelieving, as the car began to flip. As the Regal made the first revolution, she screamed.

AUTHOR BIO:

Dr. Randy Overbeck is an award-winning educator, author and speaker. As an educator, he served children for more than three decades and has turned that experience into captivating fiction, authoring the bestselling series, the Haunted Shores Mysteries, winner of nine national awards. This fall, the Wild Rose Press will release his newest work, an atmospheric amateur sleuth mystery, CRUEL LESSONS, the first installment in a new series set in schools, “Lessons in Peril.” He is the host of the popular podcast, “Great Stories about Great Storytellers,” which reveals the unusual and sometimes strange backstories of famous authors, directors and poets. He is also a speaker in much demand, sharing his multi-media presentations, “Things Still Go Bump in the Night,” “A Few Favorite Haunts,” and “Everything You Wanted to Know About Publishing” with audiences all over the USA. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Dr. Overbeck is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers’ critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Sleuthfest, Killer Nashville and the Midwest Writers Workshop.

More info about his novels, programs and podcast can be found at his website www.authorrandyoverbeck.com .

randyoverbeck@authorrandyoverbeck.com

513-633-2838

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACTS:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorrandyoverbeck

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OverbeckRandy/media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorrandyoverbeck/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/randy-overbeck

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Randy-Overbeck/e/B07QQHW7DM

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4825632.Randy_Overbeck

Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1924616/10983135

Buy Links:

https://books2read.com/u/3GGGvK

Interview with Author Richards I. Levine

I'm interviewing author Richard I. Levine today. In his new book, TO CATCH THE SETTING SUN, a disillusioned Oahu police detective searches for a killer who's targeting women. Richard has had an amazing wealth of experiences in a variety of occupations, including as a writer. Thanks for letting us get to know you, Richard!

Q: Where did you get the idea for your new novel

A: It was a confluence of several separate, yet simultaneous, sensory experiences that triggered images which ignited the creative foundation for this story. Please allow me to explain. In 2018 I was on my way to the set of a Hawaii 5-O episode where I was cast as a background NCIS agent. On the way to set I mentally became this agent—giving him a name, a history, habits etc. I pictured him being uncomfortably hot while driving to an investigation because his car air-conditioner didn’t work. So, I shut mine off, rolled down the windows which caused a blast of hot air to rush in along with the smell of a trash pile left along the roadside. Then I began to play some music from the John Dumas CD Kohola Dreamtime and HPD detective Hank Benjamin came to life. After several weeks of repeating this ritual while in the car, a story began to develop and I knew I had my next novel.

Q: What was the most difficult thing about writing this book?

A: Constant interruptions from work or personal obligations, to neighbors engaged in noisy home remodeling projects or playing loud music to all hours of the night. It was extremely hard and frustrating to find uninterrupted quiet time. 

Q: Did you always want to be a writer?

A: From the time I was a small child, I had always found it difficult to verbally express my thoughts and feelings. I was never one of those people who had the ability to fire off a quick retort in the heat of the moment. The perfect response to any situation would always come to me hours later. Writing always came easy. It was a natural and an enjoyable path to travel; an easy way to transform my daydreams into a world that others can experience.

Q: Do you have any words of advice to beginning writers?

A: When I write, I literally do it for myself. It’s my entertainment. I’m the creator and the critic. The end result just happens to be a story, a novel, and a world that never existed until it developed in and moved out from the deep recesses of my brain. I never worry about an idea that comes to me at an inopportune time. If it’s a good idea, I’ll remember it. If I don’t, well, there will always be more to come. I never try to force a paragraph, a sentence, or a word, and you shouldn’t either. If the inspiration isn’t there, go do something else. If you try to force it, you’ll close down the innate pathways to the imagination and become frustrated. Just remember that If it doesn’t flow naturally, allow yourself to step away. Most important, don’t doubt yourself and don’t rush to get the approval of others. Believe that you are a creative genius. Do allow your imagination to sail across the cosmos with reckless abandon and understand that everything you put down on paper is not chiseled in stone. 

Q: What’s your favorite thing about being a writer?

A: Playing God. Seriously, getting to create and develop my characters and the world where they live. 

Q: What’s your least favorite thing about being a writer?

A: Playing God. While writing my previous four books, there were characters that I had developed a fondness for and never anticipated their demise when they were first created. In each instance, I had to pause for several days to reconcile the inevitable. After I had convinced myself it had to be done, I actually grieved over their passing. Sounds crazy, yes? 

Q: Tell us a bit about you. Where do you live, and how long have you been writing? 

A: I am a native New Yorker raised in the shadows of Yankee Stadium. After dabbling in several occupations (volunteer fireman, bartender, auto parts store manager) and a one-year coast to coast wanderlust trip, I returned to school to become a chiropractor. I’m a twenty-two year cancer survivor and a strong advocate of the natural healing arts. I have four Indy-published novels under my belt; my first being written in 2011. My fifth and latest work, To Catch The Setting Sun, will be released on August 22, 2022 on the Crimson Rose label of The Wild Rose Press. In 2006 I wrote, produced, and was on-air personality of the Dr. Rich Levine show on Seattle’s KKNW 1150AM and after a twenty-five year practice in Bellevue, Washington, I closed up shop in 2017 and moved to Oahu to pursue a dream of acting and being on Hawaii 5-O. While briefly working as a ghostwriter/community liaison for a local Honolulu City Councilmember, I appeared as a background actor in over twenty-five 5-Os and Magnum P.Is. I can be seen in my first co-star role in the Magnum P.I. third season episode “Easy Money”. I presently resides in Hawaii. 

Q: Do You have any pets? What do you like best about your pet.

A: I’ve always been a cat person. Found my first one when I was eight. My current kitty is an all-black (salt and pepper now) stray who is approximately twenty years old. Buddy is more like a lap-dog who follows me around the house. He’s the most vocal cat I’ve ever owned; constantly calling out to be fed, brushed, or to join him on the couch for TV time.

Q: What genre is your favorite to read?

A: I love history, especially late 18th century America. So both historical fiction and non-fiction piques my interest. I loved David McCullough’s John Adams. If I could go back in time, I would love to live in colonial Boston, New York, or Philadelphia.

Q: Name two authors we might find you reading when taking a break from your own writing?

A: When I was in high school, I was impressed with Ernest Hemingway and had always fantasized living in Key West with a bunch of polydactyl kitties and smoking Cuban cigars while pounding the keys of an old cast iron Royal typewriter.

I also have an affinity for the 1930s-1940s. I love old Bogart and Cagney films, so it makes sense that another author on my to-read list is Dashiell Hammett. In the future, I can see myself writing a noir detective novel.

Q: What are two (or more) of your all-time favorite books in any genre?

A: The first would have to be the George R. Stewart sci-fi classic Earth Abides. Written in the 1950s the story follows introvert Isherwood Williams who, thanks to the venom from a rattlesnake bite, survived a world-wide viral epidemic that wipes out most of humanity. Stewart’s masterful prose easily transports me into the protagonist’s shoes. Oddly, given the state of our world today, I find this story a tad prophetic of what can still occur. 

The second book would have to be McCullough’s biopic on John Adams

Q: What do you like best about your hero in To Catch The Setting Sun?

A: I like Detective Henry Benjamin’s integrity; his moral compass. He’s a flawed individual, he has his faults and weaknesses which he recognizes and is determined to overcome. Still, he’s honest and faithful.

Q: What do you like best about your heroine in To Catch The Setting Sun?

A: There are a couple of heroines in this story. My female leads are strong, independent, and intelligent. Not all are honest, but nonetheless, they can hold their own in any situation and can kick a little butt when necessary.   

Q: How can readers reach you or find you online?

A: I can be found on my Amazon author page, On Twitter @Your_In8_Power, and my Facebook author page Richard I Levine—fiction novelist.

Q: If I was a first-time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why?

A: I would definitely begin with my newest work because it’s “hot of the presses” as they say.  I wouldn’t deter anyone from my earlier work which are the four novels of the Ray Silver action adventure series. While each book can be read as a stand-alone, just know that where one book ends, the next book begins.

To Catch The Setting Sun

BLURB:

There’s a killer loose on the island of Oahu. His targets? Young, native-Hawaiian women. But it also appears that he’s targeting and taunting Honolulu police detective Henry Benjamin who knew each victim and whose wife, Maya, had been the first name on that list. In addition to battling his personal demons, this New York transplant’s aggressive style didn’t sit well with his laid-back colleagues who viewed Henry’s uncharacteristic lack of progress in the investigation as evidence that fueled ongoing rumors that he could be the killer. Was he, or could it have been someone within the municipal hierarchy with a vendetta? As it was, after thirteen years on the job Henry had been disillusioned with paradise. His career choice long killed any fantasy of living in a grass hut on a wind-swept beach, being serenaded by the lazy sounds of the ocean and a slack key guitar. Instead, it had opened his eyes to a Hawaii that tourists will never see.

EXCERPT:

The reflection from scattered tiki torches competed with the moonlight flickering across the black velvet lagoon. Gentle trade winds, carrying the sweet peach-like scent of plumeria, tickled the flames and the palm fronds. Clearly a welcomed reprieve from five straight days of stifling temperatures. A catamaran and a couple small outrigger canoes, their artfully painted fiberglass hulls made to look like the wood of ancient Koa trees, were pulled up along the sandy shoreline. The heavy beat of drums reverberated off the tall palms and set the rhythm for a half-dozen pair of grass-skirted hips dancing on the main stage while vacationers laughed, ogled, and stuffed their faces with shredded pork, scoops of macaroni salad, steaming flavored rice wrapped in Ti leaves, thick slices of pineapple, papaya, mango, and freshly roasted macadamia nuts that were all artfully displayed on wide banana leaf covered center pieces. They sat cross-legged in the sand, sipping Mai Tais from plastic cups made to look like hollowed out coconut shells, lost in a tropical fantasy that came complete with a souvenir snap shot taken with an authentic hula girl—the perfect paradise as portrayed on the website. The noise from the music, chanting, and laughter, drowned out the frantic noise of the nearby kitchen, and it drowned out the desperate pleas and painful cries of Makani Palahia from the far side of the beach at Auntie Lily’s Luau Cove and Hawaiian Barbecue.

Author Bio:

Richard I Levine is a native New Yorker raised in the shadows of Yankee Stadium. After dabbling in several occupations and a one-year coast to coast wanderlust trip, this one-time volunteer fireman, bartender, and store manager returned to school to become a chiropractor. A twenty-one year cancer survivor, he’s a strong advocate for the natural healing arts. Levine has four Indy-published novels and his fifth work, To Catch The Setting Sun, has just been completed and he's anticipating a spring 2022 release. In 2006 he wrote, produced and was on-air personality of the Dr. Rich Levine show on Seattle’s KKNW 1150AM and after a twenty-five year practice in Bellevue, Washington, he closed up shop in 2017 and moved to Oahu to pursue a dream of acting and being on Hawaii 5-O. While briefly working as a ghostwriter/community liaison for a local Honolulu City Councilmember, he appeared as a background actor in over twenty-five 5-Os and Magnum P.Is. Richard can be seen in his first co-star role in the Magnum P.I. third season episode “Easy Money”. He presently resides in Hawaii. 

Simon Scarrow's WW2 Thriller: BLACKOUT - #NewRelease

 I'm participating in Simon Scarrow's blog tour with Silver Dagger Tours. I love mysteries and I love WW2 stories, so BLACKOUT sounds like it's right up my alley. Make sure to enter Simon's giveaway!

 

Blackout

by Simon Scarrow

Genre: Historical WWII Thriller 

During Berlin’s brutally cold winter of 1939, a serial killer stalks the city throughout the Third Reich’s forced nightly blackouts in this chilling WWII crime novel from #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Scarrow—perfect for fans of Babylon Berlin, Philip Kerr’s Berlin Trilogy, Robert Ludlum, Andrew Gross, and William Christie . . .

Berlin 1939. The city is blanketed by snow and ice. In the distance, the rumble of war grows louder. In the shadows, a serial killer rises . . .

As the Nazis tighten their chokehold on the capital, panic and paranoia fester as blackout is rigidly enforced. Every night the city is plunged into an oppressive, suffocating darkness—pitch perfect conditions for unspeakable acts.
 
When a young woman is found brutally murdered, it’s up to Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke to solve the case quickly. His reputation is already on the line for his failure to join the Nazi Party. If he doesn’t solve the case, the consequences could be fatal. 
 
Schenke's worst fears are confirmed when a second victim is found. As the investigation takes him deeper into the regime’s darkest corridors, Schenke realizes danger lurks behind every corner—and that the warring factions of the Reich can be as deadly as a killer stalking the streets . . .
 
“That line between right and wrong gets pretty smudged in this gem of a story. Atmosphere, sharp intrigue, and a host of fascinating characters all combine to make this one the next addition to your keeper shelf."
—Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author

“Mesmerising. Nail-biting. Unputdownable. Utterly authentic and beautifully written.”
—Damien Lewis, internationally bestselling author

Add to Goodreads

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Website * Kensington Books

Simon Scarrow’s passion for writing began at an early age. After a childhood spent travelling the world, he pursued his great love of history as a teacher before becoming a full-time writer. His Roman soldier heroes Cato and Macro made their debut in 2000 in UNDER THE EAGLE, and have subsequently appeared in many bestsellers in the Eagles of the Empire series, including CENTURION, THE GLADIATOR and THE BLOOD OF ROME. Simon’s latest books, BLACKOUT and THE EMPEROR’S EXILE, are out now.

 Simon is also the author of the novels YOUNG BLOODS, THE GENERALS, FIRE AND SWORD and THE FIELDS OF DEATH, chronicling the lives of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte, and of SWORD & SCIMITAR, the epic tale of the 1565 Siege of Malta, and HEARTS OF STONE, set in Greece during the Second World War.

 Simon has also co-written with T. J. Andrews three bestselling novels set in the Roman era, ARENA, INVADER and PIRATA.

 Writing with Lee Francis, Simon is the author of the contemporary thriller PLAYING WITH DEATH.

 Simon lives in Norfolk.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon

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#NewRelease from Glenda Thompson - BROKEN TOYS

Glenda Thompson makes a return visit to my blog with BROKEN TOYS, her thriller from The Wild Rose Press which just released on December 16, 2020. She's back to tell us her reasons for writing about human trafficking. She also shares a little about her favorite things in FAST FIVE. Please welcome Glenda Thompson!

I have two messages in Broken Toys. The first is to bring awareness to human trafficking. It can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. We need to be more observant of our surroundings. Keep an eye on our children, our friends, and family. Keep everyone safe. We need to trust our guts. Yes, that kid throwing a fit may be just having a temper tantrum, but he or she might be in the process of being snatched as well. Teenagers make easy targets for “Romeos” who sweep them off their feet making them believe they are “in love.” If it doesn’t feel right to you, say something. Especially in today’s environment of everyone wearing masks. It’s so easy for a child to disappear in a split moment.

 The second message is to be true to yourself. Own your identity. Be who you are meant to be. Don’t be afraid you have to pretend to be someone else to be loved. If you love yourself, others will love you, too.

Broken Toys is my first published novel. I have a drawer full of partially finished manuscripts so I would have to say I’m most excited that I finally finished it. LOL. For most of my life, I have had two goals. To see my art hanging in a gallery and to have a book traditionally published. I have now achieved both.

FAST FIVE:

Favorite color? The green-blues of the ocean

Beach vacation or sightseeing in the city? Beach

Pie or cake? Yes, please

Bubble baths or steamy showers? Bubble baths

Country life or city life? Country without a doubt

Blurb, BROKEN TOYS:

Broken Toys is a bumpy ride down a twisting red dirt road.

Texas Ranger Noah Morgan has his life together—with a great job and the girl of his dreams. Too bad it's all based on a lie. A single phone call threatens to bring it all crashing down. After an irate citizen complains shoddy workmanship has left him with a booby-trapped driveway, and the local sheriff's office is too busy to respond, Noah takes the call. The investigation of local scam artists uncovers a human trafficking ring, Noah fights to avoid being swept back into the sights of his murderous family—people he escaped at the age of seventeen.

Can he keep his past a secret or will his carefully crafted life come to a violent end?

Excerpt:

“While we wait for the mobile crime scene lab to arrive  from Austin, I need you to sign this consent-to-search form. Next, Ranger Trammell and I will photograph the scene to preserve it in situ—as it currently is.” 

“Now you wait one cotton-picking minute,” the old man growled. “How long will all that take? What if I don’t want to sign your verdammt form? I need my car. The old lady has several doctors’ appointments in San Antonio this afternoon.” 

Noah lifted his hat again and brushed sweat off his forehead before it rolled into his eyes. “Tell you what. Sign this piece of paper giving us permission to search your driveway, and as soon as we finish the photography, Ranger Trammell and I will change your tire. Then you can pull your car out of the driveway. If you don’t sign it, we will have to find a judge and get a warrant. Going the warrant route will delay things considerably.” Noah shrugged. “The choice is yours. Either way it goes, you won’t be able to pull back in for some time. We’re going to have to tape off your driveway and process it as a crime scene. Is there somewhere you could stay for a few days?” 

“Crime scene?” Mr. Schmidt crumpled as if he’d been kicked in the solar plexus. Bewilderment flooded his features. For the first time since the rangers arrived, the man looked old. “My driveway is a crime scene?” 

“I’m afraid so, sir,” Noah said, using the tone he reserved for scared kids, grieving family members and sagging old men who hadn’t tasted sweet tea in more than sixty years. “Hip implants, bits of bone and teeth are not normally used for road base. It looks like someone may have disposed of a body in your driveway.”

Buy Links:

Amazon   iBooks   B & N

Author Bio:

A sixth-generation Texan with Scottish roots, Glenda Thompson can 'bless your heart' with the best of them. As a former emergency medical technician married to a south Texas Lawman, she's used insider information from both their careers as inspiration to build her Broken world of Texas Rangers with hidden pasts and dark secrets. 

When she's not busy embarrassing her children or grandchildren by dancing in the middle of a country road during a rainstorm, she can be found huddled in her writing cave with her law enforcement technical adviser/husband working on another story in her Broken universe. 

You can keep up with the future crazy cat lady's hi-jinks at www.glendathompson.com or follow her on Twitter @PressRattler or Facebook @Glenda Thompson, Author.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorglendathompson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PressRattler

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glendathompsonauthor/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Glenda-Thompson/e/B08L9NQ5V7

Website: http://glendathompson.com

Writing a Serial Killer-Stephen B. King and the Deadly Glimpses Series

Fellow Wild Rose Press author makes a return visit to Journeys with Jana with the third book in his Deadly Glimpses Series, Glimpse, the Tender Killer which released September 11, 2019. So, if writers are supposed to write what they know, how does Stephen get inside the head of a serial killer? Take it away, Stephen!

How do I get inside the heads of my serial killer characters?

Very recently, while talking about the release of book 3 of The Deadly Glimpses trilogy, Glimpse, the Tender Killer, I was asked a question that made me sit up and think about my answer very seriously. The question was from a fellow TWRP author, Christine. This was what she asked:

“When I write, I actually 'become' the characters and live their lives to write authentic stories. My reviewers have said my writing is very emotional, tear jerkers, realistic, complex characters with deep POV.  So, with writing books as good as yours, I would think you must've taken on the characters lives & gotten into their minds, or imagined them explicitly (unless you have another method of making them so real).”

Now not only was this very high praise, which I truthfully appreciated very much, but it was a serious question, because the Glimpse series, give the reader insights into three serial killer’s mind, from their own POV and each suffer from a different mental illness. I think what she meant in a very polite way is how can I describe these monsters so well without being or acting like one myself.

The answer is that I don't get inside them. I couldn't because I am the complete opposite to them (I'm a lover, not a fighter in every sense of the word). I guess everyone has their own way of writing, for me it starts with a spark of an idea. For example -  and I've told this story in blog interviews before - I was driving along to work one day, with the radio on, and a crap song was playing. I was stuck in traffic and I was NOT thinking about my next book. At that time I was deep into edit rounds for Thirty-Three Days.  Anyway this random thought flitted across my mind and I have no idea where it came from or why I thought it: I was five years old when I first saw somebody bleed out.

Now, I’ve never seen anyone bleed out thankfully, at any age, let alone five years old. So I began to think who would say that, and why? What circumstances would cause someone to say such a thing? The only way for me to explore an idea is to start writing from that point forward; I never pre-plan anything and I have no idea what's going to happen next. When I’d written two or three pages about a five year old remembering watching someone bleed horribly I realized that what I was writing was a memoir of a serial killer, and in that moment, I had the title. Glimpse, Memoir of a Serial Killer is what book 1 is called; book 2 is Glimpse, The Beautiful Deaths and three I’ve already mentioned.

So, in this case, by starting at five years old, I was able to build a character so traumatized by events he became a serial murderer. At the same time I had to create the protagonist who catches him. For a while I’d wanted to tell a story of two people, who are in dysfunctional marriages, who are immediately attracted to each other when they work together to catch the killer. I wanted to tell the story of their relationship, and the consequences if they took the irrevocable step of sleeping together. So, I wondered how about a cop and a criminal psychologist?

When I am in the zone, the words pour from me like a torrent, and often I read what I’ve written and wonder where the hell did that come from? Its like the words come through me, not from me - it's a tap I can't turn off.

I’m not inside the characters - that would be too one dimensional for me, but more like I’m omnipotent; I can see what they are doing, know what they are thinking, and am often horrified by it. I suppose it’s a bit like being a method actor, except I’m the one writing the script. My brother said to me, when he read Burial Ground, an earlier book of mine about – you guessed it, a serial killer: “You’re a sick bastard.” He was smiling and said that he only meant that because he enjoyed the story so much and the character was so NOT like me. More high praise!

I guess it’s a subject that has always fascinated me; why do serial killers kill? What makes them want to do terrible things like that, and I don’t think I’m alone in that interest. How about you, dear reader? Do you ever wonder why someone that everyone thought was reasonably normal diced up ten people over a couple of years? It’s too glib to say because they wanted to, because the next question is, yeah but why did they want to?

So if you read the Glimpse series, you will learn why three people became mass murderers in my make believe world. The sad thing is though, you will discover that my make believe world is scarily close to the truth sometimes……….

Blurb:

Criminal psychologist Patricia Holmes is now a detective paired with Detective Sergeant Rick McCoy. Together they hunt The Biblical Killer, so named for the quotes left on walls written in the victim's blood. To lure the murderer out they join the Tender Nights internet dating site, openly making themselves targets. Rick and Pat have fought their desire for each other for months. Can they now survive their lust and an insane murderer intent on vengeance?

Purchase Glimpse, The Tender Killer at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W3NNVKM

Stephen B King
http://www.stephen-b-king.com
twitter: @stephenBKing1
Facebook: @stephenbkingauthor

A Look at GLIMPSE, The Beautiful Deaths by Stephen B. King

Today I'm featuring Stephen B. King's book GLIMPSE, The Beautiful Deaths from The Wild Rose Press. Steve tells us a little about the story and the characters and shares an excerpt. Check out this amazing thriller!

“When is a Serial Killer not a murderer?” asks criminal psychologist Patricia Holmes of the detectives she is preparing a profile for, in Book 2 of The Deadly Glimpses Trilogy, Glimpse, The Beautiful Deaths. 

Detective Sargent Rick McCoy wanted her brought back to the Major Crime Squad after her recovery from the stabbing attack by the maniacal killer PPP, in Book 1 to help them understand a find in a series of caves in the South of Western Australia. The bodies of six young girls have been discovered, fully clothes, with garlands of flowers, each left there approximately a year apart. Strangely, there appears to be no visible cause of death; it’s as if the girls just faded away.

When another teenager goes missing, the pressure is on for a quick result, but Pat is not convinced it’s the same person responsible. She believes they are hunting a man whose upbringing and current life is so ugly, he is addicted to beauty. Further, she thinks he wanted to collect the young women after becoming obsessed with their looks, and they only died when they ceased to be what they were when he took them – beautiful. Hence her assertion that while he is a serial killer, he hasn’t actually killed anyone, and even if they catch him, there is no guarantee that they can charge him with murder.

But both Rick’s and Pats marriages are in trouble, because everyone can see the attraction, and desire they have for each other. Hell, blind Freddy could see that. Even PPP knew it, and he hates Rick and Pat and used their obvious desire to poison the mind of Rick’s wife, Juliet. So, while Rick needs Pat to help find the man who has caused the Beautiful Deaths, he doesn’t need the drama from Juliet because he is staying in a motel with Pat in the room next door. The real problem is, Rick had an affair once before, and though Juliet forgave him, she never forgot, and trust is an issue even if he was a saint.

Meanwhile Pat’s husband, Tom, has forbidden her to work with the police in general, and Rick in particular again after she was almost killed. But that’s not going to stop Pat from following her dream, and working with the man who thrills, respects and wants her more than Tom ever did.

Together, Rick and Pat must not only fight to control their desires, but face problems from their partners, and find a serial killer, who may not be a killer at all.

In this book, like all stories in the Glimpse series, the reader is given, in alternate chapters, a glimpse through the killer’s point of view into his life. Just why and how he became what and who he is. Pat says by way of explanation to the detectives working on the task force: “we are all products of our upbringing.” Gordon, as she nicknames him, is all that and more.

Though they don’t know it, Rick and Pat have a far bigger problem looming. PPP, the master of long term planning and strategy, is plotting his escape. When he succeeds, he is intent on making their lives a fate worse than death.

Blurb:

Rick McCoy of the Major Crime Squad is trying to repair his marriage when he is sent to the South of Western Australia. A young girl's body has been found in a cave, with flowers on her chest. A search finds five more bodies.

Beautiful criminal psychologist, Patricia Holmes, has recovered from her stab wounds inflicted by the serial killer PPP, and is brought in. Pat believes they are hunting a man who is addicted to beauty. When another school girl goes missing, they have only days before she too will die.

As their desire for each other grows and the pressure on their marriages increase, they close in on the man responsible for the beautiful deaths. Meanwhile, in the high-security wing of the mental health hospital, PPP plans his revenge on Rick

Excerpt from Glimpse, The Beautiful Deaths:

“Right, listen up everyone,” DCI Colin Harris began, as officers stopped talking or working at their desks. He with Rick and Pat stood before the whiteboard back in the incident room. “Some of you were with us on the PPP case and are familiar with the work the extraordinarily talented Patricia Holmes did for us. It is true to say without her help in capturing him; God knows how many more people he would have killed. She has graciously agreed to help us again and has been down to the caves with Rick and Tyler. I want you to pay close attention to what she tells us, as she has completed a preliminary profile of our killer which is nothing short of remarkable. We are very lucky to have an expert of her caliber working with us. Pat, please take over.”

“Thank you, Sir, and thank you all for having me back as part of the team. Sooner or later you will be interviewing this man, and for the purpose of drawing a picture of him for you, I’m going to call him Gordon. To me that name sums up how I’d like you to think of him, does that make sense? Gordon; that’s a nice common name that hopefully conjures up an image of a decent, caring, ordinary bloke. Rick, Tyler and the DCI are familiar with all this, and I’m not sure how much they’ve passed on to you, so for those who have heard this before I apologize. I started my profile with Rick and Tyler by asking a question, which is relevant to the kind person I believe we are hunting. That question is: When is a serial killer not a serial killer?”

She paused to look around at the police officers, and Rick smiled to note the look of consternation on a lot of the faces. “The answer is when the killer doesn’t actually kill the victims. His actions caused them to die, but that wasn’t his intent. I gave the others an estimation that I could be up to twenty percent wrong, but I think it’s now closer to ten, fifteen tops. What I do, is interpret the facts and things I see with some understanding of the psychology behind it, but it’s not an exact science. Please understand that.

“In the case of Gordon, when these girls died he was sad, terribly upset. Strictly speaking, while he knew he was breaking the law when he drugged and took them, he didn’t see it as illegal, if that also makes sense. In his mind, he saw a thing of beauty, or such sheer captivating loveliness, he had to own it. He is a collector of beautiful things, but soon after their abduction, the girls woke up, and suddenly they were no longer stunningly beautiful things, they were angry, sweaty, dirty, and smelly, and Gordon, well, he realized they had changed into something horrible. Like a butterfly turning back into a chrysalis. So, he no longer liked looking at them and talking to them, they were dirty ungrateful ugly things, so he visited them less and less because each time he did see them they were worse. Eventually, they died through his neglect, and he was hurt by that. But what hurt him most was not his actions, but her change from being a person of such beauty, to an ugly dead corpse.

“Now, to you or me, Gordon is a murderer, right? Of course, he is, but to him he isn’t. I think he is a rather a sad, pathetic creature who is addicted to beauty and who wants to collect as much of it as he can. He does this because his home is most likely not lovely any more, not on a personal level. Do not mistake his submissive nature for homosexuality, he is not gay, but his whole life he has been the meek one. Firstly, to his mother, or father, and then to his wife who probably dominates him to the point of stifling him.

“When you visit his house you will find his personal space, which will not be the main area, his wife will dictate what goes where there, but he will have a study, locked bedroom, or shed that is quite pretty. There you will find his collections. They all represent beauty to him. I’m thinking here of things like a collection of first day release postage stamps, perhaps those framed South American exotic butterflies, porcelain china or dolls. The house may or may not be perfect, because he doesn’t live alone, and he lives how he is told to live, but within that possibly untidy house he will have a room which in its own way will be quite extraordinary. You will know it when you see it.

“He is married, unhappily, though once he wasn’t, or at least he believed marrying would make him happy. In the early days, he was glad to get away from his mother, even though he idolized her. It’s possible; his mother forced him into it. She may for example, have told him he wouldn’t be able to do any better. Either way his wife is by far the more dominant; he is meek and mild mannered; she is strong willed and makes him conform to her lifestyle. Again, this strengthens his desire to own beautiful things, because his day to day life is far from that.”

Purchase GLIMPSE,The Beautiful Deaths at Amazon

Stephen B King
www.stephen-b-king.com
twitter: @stephenBKing1
Facebook: @stephenbkingauthor

#AuthorInterview with Gary Guinn

Mystery/Thriller author Gary Guinn is my guest today. This retired English professor has created a character much like himself - an English professor. He even took an incident from his early career as the inspiration for the first book in the series. Please welcome Gary Guinn.

Where did you get the idea for your new novel?

I had begun to feel stagnant in my writing. I found myself revising older work instead of creating new. Then NaNoWriMo popped up, and I decided to take the leap. I just wanted to do something new. All my writing to that point had been literary fiction, so I turned to my favorite genre, mystery/thriller. Almost as a lark, I decided to write about a protagonist very much like myself—a liberal English professor who taught in a small, conservative southern college. It turned out to be liberating and fun.

Was there anything unusual, any anecdote about this book you’d like to share?

Once I decided to create the scenario of liberal professor at a conservative college, it was easy to establish the first major plot point, the catalyst of everything that followed. It was a gift, in a way. Early in my career at the college where I taught, three of my close friends, who were also liberal professors in three different departments, received disturbing threatening notes from an anonymous antagonist because of their progressive beliefs. The threats were never carried out, but it was a very unsettling time at the college. I simply adapted that actual event as the springboard for my own plot. On page one, my protagonist, Dr. Lam Corso, liberal English professor, receives a note threatening his life, from someone who doesn’t like his beliefs.
   
What do you want readers to come away with after they read your book?

In the novel, there is a strong strain of religious and political fanaticism and  intolerance that drives some of the characters. We live in a world where the destructive results of fanaticism and intolerance leap out at us every day. The novel does not attempt to promote any particular ideology, but I do hope the story is a voice for tolerance and respect and the importance of the dignity of every human being.

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

Yes. During the final revisions of Sacrificial Lam, I was also writing the second book in that series, the working title of which is A Lam to Slaughter.  At the same time, I was revising a sequel to my first book, a literary novel titled A Late Flooding Thaw. The working title for that sequel is Every Time I Breathe. I think working on three novels at the same time taxes my ability to really focus on the story in front of me. It makes sense to me to be working on your next book as you finish up the current project, but maybe three at once is one too many.

Gary, I've recently found myself in the situation of writing several books at once, and I can definitely tell you it's too many. What comes first for you – plot or character? And why?

I would say usually character comes first. In most of my short fiction and in my four novels, I begin with a character that intrigues me and build a plot around the character. The reason is simple. I find certain people, and certain character types, fascinating. When I come across someone who grabs my attention, and when that person sticks in my mind and keeps popping into my thoughts, then I have a character for a story. I begin to imagine that character in a situation, and the story builds from there. The exception to this rule is that for several of my short stories I have been attracted to a news story that becomes the catalyst for a work of fiction. The best example of that is a story published in Carve Magazine about ten years ago, titled “The Scar.” It grew from a newspaper story about a pickup truck that ran off a curb and drove through the back wall of a country church.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I wrote my first novel as a “pantser.” Started with a character or two and an incident, and let the story guide me through. It was a long and winding road and the revision process was much more extensive than it would have been with a more structured outline. For the three novels I’ve written since then, I’ve become a “plotter.” I spend two to four weeks writing and re-writing an outline that includes all the major events in the story. By the time I’m finished with the outline, it is four to six pages long and it clearly reflects the story structure. I know where the major plot points are located and what needs to happen to make them work. I don’t feel enslaved to the outline. If a new idea comes up that I think will make the story better, I go back and work it into the outline. I have found this to be a much more effective way to write long narratives. For my short fiction, I am still pretty much a “pantser.”

What’s one thing that your readers would be surprised to learn about you?

Interesting question. Maybe that I have been spooked by heights all my life, and so when I was in college I took a sky-diving class and jumped twice, just to prove to myself that I could do it.
Or maybe that, when my two grandchildren were infants (They are four and six now), I brewed each of them a very strong beer, a Barleywine, that is stored away until they come of age, at which time they can drink the beer. It’s a custom handed down from jolly old England.

Do you have any pets? Are you cat person or a dog person? Or are you into totally different pets, like goldfish? What do you like best about your pet?

We have two dogs, both pound puppies. They are, like two siblings, very different from each other. The older one, a male lab mix named Seamus (after the late Irish poet Seamus Heaney), is cautious and catlike. He is not cuddly, though he can be very affectionate when he chooses to be. He is very watchful and is the first one out the doggy door when there is something that needs barking at. The younger one, a female corgi mix named Peanut (because she is long and brown), wants all the affection. She will squeeze in between Seamus and whoever is petting him. If you stop petting her, she paws on your hand, letting you know she has not given you permission to stop. She often wakes us in the morning by licking our faces.

What are your hobbies away from the computer?

1) I started brewing beer about six or seven years ago. I have brewed a wide variety of types of beer. My favorites are India Pale Ale and Rye Ale.

2) My wife and I travel a lot. When I was still teaching at the college, we took students on foreign study trips, and did a lot of traveling in Europe on our own. Our son and his family lived in Ireland for eight years, so we visited them often. Now we like to head south for the winter. We spent the month of January in Caye Caulker off the coast of Belize.

3) We walk three miles per day, in part for exercise, in part to exercise the dogs, and in part because we love walking.

4) I love to sit with a glass of brandy and a good book.
That all sounds good, Gary. Especially the going south for the winter part!

Name two authors we might find you reading when taking a break from your own writing.

Hakan Nesser, the Scandinavian crime writer.
Louise Erdrich, the Native American writer.
John Irving

What are two (or more) of your all-time favorite books in any genre?

Love Medicine, by Louise Erdrich
Sharpshooter Blues, by Lewis Nordan
Cider House Rules, by John Irving

What do you like best about your hero?

My hero, Lam Corso, is not heroic until he is forced to be. When he has to protect his wife and children, he does what has to be done, though it is terrifying. And he brews beer, like me.

What do you like best about your heroine?

When forced to make life-or-death decisions that threaten to destroy her most cherished beliefs, Susan Corso finds a degree of strength she has never known. And she has a sexy smile.

How do you choose the names and physical characteristics of your characters? Do you base them on real people?

I collect interesting names from the obituaries in the newspaper. Then when I need a character name, I mix and match until I find a name that sounds right for the character. I tend to use real people as models for the basic physical characteristics of my characters, though I usually add to them and modify them to better fit the nature of the character.

How can readers reach you or find you online?

Email: gary.guinn@gmail.com
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/garyguinnwriter/

Facebook Personal Page: https://www.facebook.com/
Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/585203.Gary_Guinn
Twitter: @gmguinn

Tell us a little about your current work in progress.

I am currently working on the second book in the Lam Corso series, the working title of which is A Lam to Slaughter. Whereas the first novel, Sacrificial Lam, begins with a death threat and progresses gradually in the intensity to a crescendo, the second book, at least as it is in the first draft, will open with a corpse hanging in the stairwell and move more quickly into intense action. My protagonist, Lam Corso, decides to help the widow of the murdered man find out who killed him. That, of course, triggers a snowballing series of threatening and violent events.

The opening line of the draft is “In the dim lighting of the stairwell, the flashes of the police camera briefly illuminated the body, hanging inert and heavy from a nylon rope, casting grotesque shadows on the concrete walls, barely registered on the retina before they were gone.”

What’s your tagline? Why did you choose it?

The tagline of my current release is: Someone is set on a path of destruction and determined to sacrifice Lam. Actually, my editor, Laura Kelly suggested the tagline, and I thought it sounded good.

Blurb for SACRIFICIAL LAM:

When English professor Lam Corso receives a death threat at work, he laughs it off.  A liberal activist at a small Southern conservative college, he's used to stirring up controversy on campus.  It's just part of the give and take of life.  Even when violently attacked, Lam is convinced it must be a mistake.  He can't imagine anyone who would want to kill him for his beliefs.

When his home is broken into and his wife's business vandalized, Lam is forced to face the truth. His wife—a passionate anti-gun crusader—is outraged when Lam brings a gun into the house for protection. The police can't find a single lead. Left to their own devices, Lam and Susan are forced to examine their marriage, faith, and values in the face of a carefully targeted attack from an assailant spurred into action by his own set of beliefs.


What will it cost to survive?

EXCERPT:

When he dropped Lam back to the pavement, he said, “You dodged a bullet Friday afternoon. My bad. But I won’t miss this time.” And then the attacker stepped away and waited, breathing hard.
Another shock of fear and clarity ran through Lam. The car had been trying to kill him. He’d been a fool. He thought of Susan, sitting with the boys on the sofa, watching TV and sipping a glass of wine. He couldn’t let go of her, he couldn’t bear to leave her and the boys, lying there in an empty parking lot. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. He had imagined dying hundreds of times—cancer, car wreck, drowning, plane crash—but never this, beaten to death by a lunatic who didn’t like his politics.

A desperate sound, short, high, and strained, broke from him. Blind without his glasses in the dark, he was helpless, but he refused to lie there and be killed without a fight. He tried again to stand. But as he struggled to his knees, a blow to the side of his head sent him sprawling against the bike rack, and he thought he was passing out.

The voice came again, “Time’s up, Lambert.”

When Lam looked up, the man stood above him with something, a knife Lam thought, in his hand.

The voice said, “You were warned.”

BUY LINKS:

The Wild Rose Press   Amazon

AUTHOR BIO:

Gary Guinn’s great, great grandfather moved his family to the southern Ozark Mountains from Kentucky after the Civil War. He lives in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, with his wife, Mary Ann, and their lab mix, Seamus, and their Corgi mix, Peanut. He writes both literary and mystery/thriller fiction. His first novel, A Late Flooding Thaw, was published by Moon Lake Publishing in 2005. His poetry and fiction have appeared in a variety of magazines, and his short fiction has appeared in several anthologies, the latest being Yonder Mountain, from the University of Arkansas Press. His mystery/thriller novel Sacrificial Lam, released by The Wild Rose Press March 3rd, is set on a small Southern college campus. His favorite pastimes are reading, writing, travelling, and brewing beer (and of course, drinking it).

Book Spotlight with Dianne Noble

Dianne Noble is my guest today. She's here to talk about OUTCAST, her contemporary mystery/thriller set in the slums of India. It looks like a fascinating read. Please welcome Dianne Noble!

BLURB for OUTCAST
Rose leaves her Cornwall café to search for her daughter, Ellie, in the steaming slums of Kolkata, India. In the daily struggle for survival she is brought to her knees, yet finds the strength to confront the poverty and disease and grows to love and respect the Dalit Community she is helping. But then there are deaths and she fears for her own safety. Her café at home is at risk of being torched then finally she has to make the terrible choice between the Dalits and her own daughter.

EXCERPT
She breathed in slowly, one, two, three and then out. Watched the conductor squeeze through collecting fares. The bus stopped again. How could they possibly get any more on? Babies were passed over heads until their mothers could battle their way through to reclaim them. The smells of spice and sweat increased, the rattling of the bus, loud conversations.

     ‘Start pushing,’ Ellie yelled.

By the time the bus stopped Rose had made it to the door. With one last effort she burst through the passengers trying to force their way up the steps and almost fell on to the road. Her shirt was stuck to her back and the air outside felt cool.

    ‘This way.’

She coughed as she followed Ellie through the honking traffic, held her hands over her ears.

    ‘You’ll get used to it.’ Ellie said.

     A family was living on the blackened pavement, only enough room for one person at a time to lie down. Naked toddlers. Rice boiling in a pan teetering on a charcoal fire. Filth, flies. And beyond this family, another and another, packed tight, inches away from the lorries roaring along the road. She hurried past a body enveloped in a brown blanket, studded with flies. Stepped across a pool of vomit, rushing to catch up with Ellie. Shouted out in pain as she turned her ankle on broken stones.

     ‘Come on.’

     She was waiting by a footbridge. Rose tried to re-arrange her features into a semblance of calm but tears ran down her cheeks.

    ‘I know it’s tough, Mum. Do you want to go back to your hotel?’

Rose wanted very much to do just that, but she knew her street cred would be zero. She swallowed. Hard. ‘No.’

     ‘OK.’ Ellie’s voice softened a little. Was there a glimmer of sympathy there, a touch of respect?
‘Forgot to ask. Did you have any injections before you came? Hepatitis, tetanus…?’

     ‘No.’

Ellie sighed. Rose followed her down a dark passageway between two crumbling shops, the lumpy feel of broken pavement beneath her feet. Only room for single file. Kept her arms pressed to her body, unsure of what was either side. The alley led into an open space. The stench hit her first – faeces, rotting food. Crows cawed overhead. She looked up to see a tangled geometry of power lines and wires. At her feet naked children up to their ankles in rubbish, empty water bottles, used tampon applicators, yellowed cotton buds, mildewed newspaper.  A mountain of stinking, festering filth.

     ‘This way,’ said Ellie, edging past a bent old woman heaving a handcart. A cow chewed an aged vest. A parabola of pee as a man urinated against a wall. ‘Right, we’re here.’

     Rose saw a settlement of huts made by driving bamboo poles into the ground and draping empty sacks and cardboard over the top. Maybe a dozen of them on the edge of a green pool of sewage. Tiny children ran around playing, shrieking with laughter.

     ‘Where are their mothers?’ Rose asked.

     ‘Working. Trying to get money for food.’

     ‘Aunty! Aunty!’ They’d spotted Ellie, tore across the broken ground, flinging themselves at her. She squatted, gathered them all into her arms. Rose saw running sores on their limbs, stiffened.

     ‘Ellie, don’t,’ she pleaded. ‘You’ll catch something.’

My God, I didn’t bring her up to do this. All the opportunities she’s had, the best schools. She had everything I didn’t and she’s squandering it.

     ‘Good Morning,’ Ellie said to the children. ‘Now, what do you say?’

     ‘Good Morning Aunty.’

     ‘Brilliant!’ She wiped green candles from a boy’s nose.

     ‘They’re dirty, Ellie,’ Rose whispered.

     ‘No water for washing,’ she snapped. ‘One tap for the whole place and it’s only on for two hours in the morning. They can’t afford to stand in line with a bucket. They need to earn money for food.’
A tiny girl held up her arms to Rose, who recoiled as she saw movement in her hair.

     ‘Pick her up, Mum.’

     ‘I can’t.’

A woman in a thin sari dragged a sheet of cardboard towards Ellie then put her hands together as if in prayer, bowed her head.

     ‘Namaste.’

     ‘Namaste,’ said Ellie. ‘Mum, this is Shenaz.’

The woman gave her a shy smile. Ellie squatted on the cardboard and brought out paper and pencils from her bag.

     ‘Shenaz has family here,’ she continued. ‘They share their earnings with her and in return she passes on what I teach her.’

The woman’s head was bent, her tongue between her teeth, as she started copying the words. The children clustered round to watch, pushing and shoving to get nearer. Ellie put her fingers to her lips and they quietened.

     ‘Mum, if you really want to help, talk to the children, teach them words.’
 Rose gave her a blank look.

     ‘Words, Mum. Anything.’ Her voice rose. ‘One, two, three. My name is Rose. This is my arm, my leg.’ She was shouting now and the children shrank back.

     ‘I’m sorry Ellie, really. I can’t.’

Shenaz had risen to her feet. Looked from Rose to Ellie and back again, her expression fearful. Ellie put an arm around her shoulder.

     ‘It’s OK, Shenaz. Don’t be scared. One of the boys can show my mother the way back. She’s leaving.’

BIO

I think I became a reader before I could walk. While other people had childhood memories, I amassed a vocabulary. I was born into a service family and at the tender age of seven found myself on the Dunera, a troopship, sailing for a three year posting to Singapore. So began a lifetime of wandering – and fifteen different schools. Teen years living in Cyprus, before partition, when the country was swarming with handsome UN soldiers, and then marriage to a Civil Engineer who whisked me away to the Arabian Gulf.

Most of the following years were spent as a single parent with an employment history which ranged from the British Embassy in Bahrain to a goods picker, complete with steel toe-capped boots, in an Argos warehouse. In between I earned my keep as a cashier in Barclays, a radio presenter and a café proprietor on the sea front in Penzance.

BUY LINKS

Amazon UK:   https://www.amazon.co.uk/Outcast-Dianne-Noble-ebook/dp/B01BLL9CVO

Amazon USA:  https://www.amazon.com/Outcast-Dianne-Noble-ebook/dp/B01BLL9CVO

Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/614347

Apple:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/outcast/id1083130105?mt=11

Kobo:  https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/outcast-51

Nook:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/outcast-dianne-noble/1123400384


SOCIAL MEDIA

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