Monday, March 30, 2015

Stella's Memory



‘So what do people do for fun around here?’ said Marvin, changing the subject.
‘I don’t know,’ said Stella. ‘I just come here.’
‘I mean, there must be somewhere else other than this graveyard.’
Stella stared at Marvin. ‘Don’t you like it here?’
‘Yeah, but I was just wondering what else there was?’ He looked straight into her face. Perhaps she knew of other ghostly places, places that might help her recall her own death… Whoa! What was he thinking of? He didn’t help spirits. Avert eyes, earplugs in, turn up volume… but this was different, wasn’t it? A teenage spirit - a girl! Perhaps…
Stella looked puzzled.
‘What’s up?’ said Marvin.                
‘I’m trying to think!’ snapped Stella, her forehead creasing up.
‘I was just asking,’ said Marvin, immediately regretting asking his initial question. He looked at her again.
Stella frowned. ‘I don’t know. I really don’t know,’ she said. Her eyes flicked from one side of her face to the other. ‘Why don’t I know?’
‘Hey, it’s okay!’ said Marvin. ‘I-I was just trying to make conversation.’
Stella frowned again. ‘But I should know, shouldn’t I?’ She stood up and looked around. ‘I mean, there has to be something else around here, doesn’t there?’


Saturday, March 28, 2015

My beautiful print, advertising my fairy novels. It will have pride of place on my book stand.



'I'm never scared.'


Marvin moved the curtain and stared out. The view was restricted by the garden wall. He glanced around, spotting a chair to stand on. The image of the girl in the graveyard was still fresh in his mind. Whose grave was she tending? Who was she? 
   Thrusting the curtain to one side, he hoped to get another glimpse of the mystery girl, but he saw nothing – nothing, but grass, stones and trees. 
   His legs twitched as he stood on tiptoes, straining to see beyond the wall. A sudden sharp poke in the leg made him jump. 
   ‘Looks dead interesting out there, huh?’  
   ‘Very funny,’ snapped Marvin. ‘Can’t you think of anything more original?’ 
   ‘Hey, it was just a bit of fun,’ said his step-dad. ‘Didn’t mean to scare you.’ 
   ‘I’m not scared,’ said Marvin, climbing down and brushing him aside. ‘I’m never scared.’

 

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Young Adult Book Giveaway/Dark before Dawn Tour

"Welcome to the party! First door prize of the day - I am looking to increase Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble reviews of Dark Before Dawn. Want a Smashwords or Audible audiobook code to review the book? Tell me which one you want in the comments! I'll friend you and send you a direct message with the code. Here is the blurb: Dawn's psychic abilities lead her to befriend two girls who share her secret talents — but when she discovers that her new friends have dark intentions, she must make an impossible choice."


I'm at this YA Facebook event today. Why not nip over and join in the fun? Lots of prizes to be won all day.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1575459569377950/1586064484984125/
 

Friday, March 20, 2015

Scene - at the pawnbrokers


‘Show him the card,’ said Marvin, pushing her back towards the desk.
Stella patted her trouser pockets then lifted her hands up. ‘Must have lost it.’
‘You’re pathetic!’ said Marvin, half smiling. ‘It’s in your back pocket. I saw you put it there earlier.’
‘Oh, yes,’ she said, pulling the card from her pocket. ‘Here it is.’
She lay the small rectangular card on the desk in front of the old man. She stared at it for a few seconds before pushing it towards his side of the desk. Seeing her tremble slightly, Marvin took her hand and squeezed it.
‘It’ll be okay,’ he said. ‘Just explain…’
‘This is too old for here,’ said the man, cutting across their conversation. ‘This code… it starts with a B and all these,’ he said, waving his hand around the room, ‘starts with an L.’
‘Which means what exactly?’ said Marvin.
‘What it means is that whatever you pawned, it ain’t here anymore,’ said the man, pushing the card back across the desk and resuming his book reading position. ‘Close the door on your way out.’
‘Oh!’ said Stella, her voice a little startled. ‘Okay then. We’ll be on our way.’ She grabbed the door handle making the shop bell ring again.
‘Hold on a minute!’ said Marvin. He leant over the desk, his face parallel to the old man’s.
Stella stepped away from the door, moving in behind him.
‘My friend has a ticket for something she pawned in this shop. Now she’s come to redeem it. So where is it?’
‘Not here!’ said the man, resting his book on his lap. ‘Only L tickets onwards here.’
‘So where are the B tickets?’ said Marvin.
‘Don’t know. L tickets onwards here.’
‘What?’ said Marvin. ‘So where are tickets A to K?’
‘Try Old Kedigan…’
‘You mean you’re not… him… Kedigan?’
‘Not Old Kedigan, no,’ said the old man.
‘So where do we find this, Old Kedigan then?’ asked Marvin, tapping his fingers on the desk.
‘Go to the manor.’
‘Go to the manor where?’
‘Go to the manor at top of the hill… and ask for Old Kedigan,’ said the man, picking up his book again. ‘And close the door on your way out.’
 


Thursday, March 19, 2015

Herbie Brennan's endorsement

If you look carefully at my cover you'll see that best selling author, Herbie Brennan, has very kindly endorsed my book, Marvin's Curse.

'A marvellous book full of unexpected twists, turns and high imagination.'

I've read many of his books and loved the Faerie Wars Chronicles series so much. He is an amazing writer who has been successful with children's and young adult genres as well as non-fiction books too. If you are into faeries and fantasy, these really are great books to delve into.


'Henry thinks he is simply saving a butterfly from being eaten by Mr Fogarty's cat - but he is in fact saving the life of a misdirected exiled fairy prince. A prince who has to get back to his own land in order to thwart a threatened attack by the Faeries of the Night. But time is against Pyrgus Malvae and soon he is relying on Henry and Mr Fogarty not just to get him home but also to solve the puzzle that surrounds his exile.'


Wednesday, March 18, 2015



There once was a ghost called Gertie
Who became so decidedly flirty
When her victims cried out
She put paid to their doubt
By dancing incredibly dirty


Sunday, March 15, 2015

What am I reading at the moment?

As an author, I like to make sure that I keep up to date with books in my writing genre of children's/YA. I read quite quickly so I do manage to get through a lot of books. The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare has had me gripped from book one, City of Bones. I love the world of shadowhunters that she has created. I quite fancy myself dressed all in black, fighting alongside Clary, Jace, Izzy and Alex as they track down the demons of the world. Added to the mix is Clary's best friend, Simon - a mundane - and the mysterious warlock Magnus, amongst others. It all forms a rich tapestry set in a world which you just can't help being sucked in to.





Friday, March 13, 2015



'A marvellous book full of unexpected twists, turns and high imagination.'  Herbie Brennan, international best selling author of Faerie Wars.

On Amazon now 99p/99c



 

Thursday, March 12, 2015

New teaser


Teaser


One of my favourite discworld books by the now late Terry Pratchett which includes this wonderfully written section:


The night was as black as the inside of a cat.  It was the kind of night, you could believe, on which the gods moved men as though they were pawns on the chessboard of fate.  In the middle of the elemental storm a fire gleamed among the dripping furze bushes like the madness in a weasel’s eye.  It illuminated three hunched figures.  As the cauldron bubbled an eldritch voice shrieked:  ‘When shall we three meet again?’
There was a pause.
Finally another voice said in far more ordinary tones:  ‘Well I can do next Tuesday.’


Blurb
Things like crowns had a troublesome effect on clever folks; it was best to leave all the reigning to the kind of people whose eyebrows met in the middle.

Three witches gathered on a lonely heath. A king cruelly murdered, his throne usurped by his ambitious cousin. A child heir and the crown of the kingdom, both missing…

Witches don't have these kind of dynastic problems themselves – in fact, they don’t have leaders. Granny Weatherwax was the most highly-regarded of the leaders they didn't have. But even she found that meddling in royal politics was a lot more complicated than certain playwrights would have you believe, particularly when the blood on your hands just won't wash off and you're facing a future with knives in it...

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Why come to a graveyard?


The eye of the dragon

Searching for dragon pictures I came across this one. It reminds me of the wonderful dragon books by Chris D'Lacey, The Last Dragon Chronicles. Equally, it could be the eye of Smaug, the gold-hoarding dragon in the Hobbit. I love the way the shades of blue work and the shape of the pupil as a diamond.

Monday, March 09, 2015

Dragon artwork

Beautiful dragon artwork. So inspiring.


Friday, March 06, 2015

Wednesday, March 04, 2015