I have had The Autobiography of James T Kirk: The Story of Starfleet’s Greatest Captain ‘edited’ by David A Goodman on my reading pile since it was published in hardback and e-book by Titan Books on 11th September 2015. As it will be released in paperback on May 1st 2016, I thought it was about time I read it!

The Autobiography of James T Kirk: The Story of Starfleet’s Greatest Captain is available from Titan, Amazon, Waterstones and all good book shops.

The Autobiography of James T Kirk

The Story of Starfleet’s Greatest Captain

The Autobiography of James T. Kirk chronicles the greatest Starfleet captain’s life (2233–2293), in his own words. From his youth spent on Tarsus IV, his time in the Starfleet Academy, his meteoric raise through the ranks of Starfleet, and his illustrious career at the helm of the Enterprise, this in-world memoir uncovers Captain Kirk in a way Star Trek fans have never seen. Kirk’s singular voice rings throughout the text, giving insight into his convictions, his bravery, and his commitment to the life—in all forms—throughout this Galaxy and beyond. Excerpts from his personal correspondence, captain’s logs, and more give Kirk’s personal narrative further depth.

My Review

The Autobiography of James T Kirk: The Story of Starfleet’s Greatest Captain is definitely not a book I would have chosen had it not been sent to me for review, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fans of the Start Trek franchise will love it.

Written in the first person with a foreword by Leonard H. McCoy and an afterword by Spock of Vulcan there is an authenticity to the book that made me forget I wasn’t reading about a real person. Indeed, I felt quite tearful and moved reading the last few words from Spock! The editor’s footnotes throughout add to this authentic impression.

There is, as we might expect, considerable humour in the book such as when Kirk and the crew are in a cinema on Planet IV of System 892, watching actors playing the crew of the Enterprise in a film, when Spock first comes aboard or when Kirk impersonates a Starfleet officer, but it was the personal and honest elements that appealed to me most, exemplified when Kirk questions his own abilities and acknowledges that some of his actions have led to others’ deaths. The colour photos in the middle of the book give further depth, especially the letter to Kirk’s son that he never sent. It was comments from Kirk himself that made the narrative so interesting. He says at one point that he feels the burden of his captaincy giving him a loneliness because he is in command and therefore cannot be a friend to any of the crew. I’m sure many of those in charge across the world feel this too and there are some deep issues explored within these pages.

Not being a Trekky, I have no idea if the stories and anecdotes are reflections or extensions the films and television series, but I don’t think it matters. This ‘autobiography’ can be enjoyed as a highly entertaining stand alone read.

What must also be acknowledged is the quality of David A. Goodman’s writing. He knows how to convey direct speech brilliantly giving a vivacity to conversations, although I did find myself hearing the voices of the actors from the television programmes I vaguely remember watching as a child. The range of sentence lengths give variety to the style so that The Autobiography of James T Kirk: The Story of Starfleet’s Greatest Captain is entertaining even to readers like me who have no particular interest in Star Trek or in sci-fi fiction. Great fun!

I’m delighted to be featuring another Book Connectors on Facebook author on Linda’s Book Bag. This time it’s Jennifer Barclay whose latest book An Octopus In My Ouzo is published tomorrow 14th April by Summersdale. An Octopus In My Ouzo ia available on Amazon UK and Amazon US and directly from Summersdale Publishers.

An Octopus In My Ouzo

Loving Life on a Greek Island

With a laptop and hiking boots, surrounded by wild beauty and traces of ancient history, Jennifer plans to embrace her new life on a tiny Greek island to the full.

Bursting with Mediterranean flavour, An Octopus in my Ouzo takes you from surviving winter storms to serving drinks on the beach, dancing and walking and swimming your way around the island with an exuberant fisherman and an adorable canine companion – a funny, sad and inspiring journey to find that happiness lies in living small and thinking big.

Praise for An Octopus in My Ouzo

‘A seductive evocation of Greek island life and an honest exploration of what it means to try to live differently. An Octopus in My Ouzo is about diving into the unknown and staying afloat’ Lizzie Enfield

‘Poetic, touching, enlightening: Jennifer’s very personal journey into Greece’s deep heartland will give even the most couch-bound armchair traveller itchy feet’ Anne Zouroudi

The Inspiration of Travel

A Guest post by Jennifer Barclay

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been inspired by the fresh experience of going somewhere new, or simply being on the move. In my last book Falling in Honey I mention finding a notebook from when we went on a family holiday to Corfu when I was twelve; discovering it again decades later in a box, I was amused to read how excited I was by everything from the airline meal to the feeling of arrival.

When I was young, I wanted to see the world, and I left England straight after university to begin:  Greece, Guyana, Canada. But I’ve always preferred to stay in places for a while and get to know them, so I haven’t travelled widely. I’m also not so interested in seeing famous places – I prefer to explore places that aren’t well known and come to them without preconceptions, which is why my first book (Meeting Mr Kim) was about my accidental three months travelling around South Korea.

In Canada, I started trying to break into book publishing (it really can feel a bit like that, you’re an intruder trying to find a way in without anyone noticing), and eventually got a full-time job at a literary agency. When I was given the chance to take on my own clients, I was drawn to fiction that revealed stories from other cultures; Canada is very multi-cultural and our agency represented Rohinton Mistry, for example. With a friend, I later put together an anthology called AWOL: Tales for Travel-Inspired Minds that wasn’t conventional travel writing but explorations of travel in unusual styles by novelists, poets and so on. And when I moved back to England in the early Noughties, I leaped at the chance to commission and edit travel literature, narratives of adventures in other places, stories of other lives, other ways of living.

Maybe it’s because I want to experience so much in life – I’m bored by the standard; I’m bored when things don’t change and evolve and remain exciting, and I wish I could live different lives. I lasted seven years as a literary agent before flying to South Korea and then spending two years in the south of France; I lasted seven years back in the UK as editorial director before moving to a Greek island. I’ve never been very good at following others; as a teenager I made my own weird outfits and caused my parents a fair amount of grief by running away from home, getting suspended from school for taking a day off, staying out all night when we were on holiday in Crete so I could sit on the beach and watch the moon with a Greek biker. A fair amount of the trouble I got into has been boy-related. I’m not entirely wayward – in some ways I love stability – but when a shiny new lively thing appears on my horizon I do have a tendency to leap for it.

An Octopus in my Ouzo is a celebration of the first few years I spent living on a Greek island. This wasn’t the standard ‘expats buy a house in the sun’; this was full immersion on a rugged island, storms and all, jumping in at the deep end of a new culture and misunderstanding all sorts of things, getting pregnant on an island that’s a ferry ride away from a hospital… One thing I talk about in An Octopus in my Ouzo is the decision about whether to keep trying to start a family. On the one hand I want the life that is me in my Greek island country kitchen, wellies and home-made bread and walks on the beach with my dog. On the other hand, as someone who’s always moved on when things get dull, I was terrified of being stuck with a situation forever, scared of the convention that you have to give in to – to a certain extent – when you have kids.

Oh, sorry, is this a blog or a psychotherapy session? Did I just say all that in public?

After Falling in Honey came out, people said, ‘You’re so brave to reveal so much of your personal life’. But I think reading about the funny and painful moments in other people’s lives, we recognise ourselves and realise it’s all OK, and anything is possible.

About Jennifer Barclay

Jennifer Barclay grew up in the north of England in a village on the edge of the Pennines; she left for Greece after university, lived in Canada and France and the south coast of England before moving to a Greek island. She works with books as an editor and agent and writes for newspapers and magazines. She has previously written Meeting Mr Kim and Falling in Honey, and her blog about daily life is here. You can follow Jennifer on Twitter.

I’m thrilled to be part of the launch celebrations for C.L. Taylor’s gripping new novel The Missing which was published on 7th April 2016 by Avon Books, an imprint of Harper Collins. The Missing is available for purchase on Amazon, from WH Smith, Waterstones and all good book shops.

C.L Taylor reveals that her childhood has quite a bit to do with her ability to instill fear in her readers today, as she tells us the three things that used to frighten her and I imagine many of us will have similar experiences!

The Missing

You love your family. They make you feel safe. You trust them.

But should you…?

When fifteen-year-old Billy Wilkinson goes missing in the middle of the night, his mother, Claire, blames herself. She’s not the only one. There isn’t a single member of Billy’s family that doesn’t feel guilty. But the Wilkinsons are so used to keeping secrets from one another that it isn’t until six months later, after an appeal for information goes horribly wrong, that the truth begins to surface.

Claire is sure of two things – that Billy is still alive and that her friends and family had nothing to do with his disappearance.

A mother’s instinct is never wrong. Or is it?

Sometimes those closest to us are the ones with the most to hide…

Three Things That Terrified Me As A Child

A Guest Post by C.L. Taylor

1. My clown puppet ‘Ginger’

As a child I loved hand puppets and putting on a show for my parents. However, I was secretly terrified of my clown puppet who I christened ‘Ginger’. I became convinced that , if I didn’t say goodnight to Ginger before I went to bed, he would do something horrible to me while I slept!

2. Dr Who theme music.

I loved Dr Who as a child – still do – but the theme music scared the hell out of me. It got so bad that I’d run out of the room the second the music started to play and my mum would have to call me back in when the programme began.

3. Gran’s junk room.

One of my grans lived in a farm house in the Worcestershire countryside. I’m not sure how old it was or what its history was but I’m pretty sure the junk room was haunted. The junk room was a room down a corridor from the living room, just off the stairs. It was largely used as a storage room but also contained my gran’s big box freezer. Whenever gran was cooking and she’d ask me to get bits and bobs from the freezer fear would strike my heart. There was something in the junk room – something on the opposite side of the room from the freezer. I couldn’t see anything but I could feel it watching me from the second I stepped into the room. The energy was most definitely malevolent and I’d get in and out of that room as quickly as I could. I never told anyone about my fear of the junk room for fear they’d laugh at me. Many years later I confided in my sister that one of the rooms at gran’s house had scared me as a child. “Me too,” she looked at me with big eyes. “The junk room…”

About C.L. Taylor

C.L. Taylor studied for a degree in Psychology at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle then moved to London to work as a shipping co-ordinator for a medical publishing company. Made redundant after two years she re-trained and moved to Brighton where she worked as a graphic designer, web developer and instructional designer over the course of 13 years. She currently works 4 days a week as a Distance Learning Design and Development manager for a London university, looks after her toddler son 3 days a week and squeezes in writing her novels when she should be sleeping.

You can follow C.L. Taylor on Twitter and find out more about her on her web site.

Be sure to find out more with these other bloggers too:

Today, April 12th 2016, is the publication day of The Age of Treachery by Gavin Scott. Published by Titan, The Age of Treachery is available in e-book and paperback from Amazon, Titan, Waterstones and all good bookshops. To celebrate publication day, I have an extract to whet your appetite for this first book in the Duncan Forrester Mysteries.

The Age of Treachery

It is the winter of 1946, and after years of war, ex-Special Operations Executive agent Duncan Forrester is back at his Oxford college as a junior Ancient History Fellow. But his peace is shattered when a hated colleague is found dead: stabbed and pushed from an upper window.
One of Forrester’s closest friends is arrested for the murder, but Forrester is not convinced of his guilt; the dead man had many enemies, and there are rumours that he was in possession of a mysterious Viking manuscript. A manuscript that may have been owned by a German spy…
Travelling from Oxford to bombed-out Berlin and to the fjords of Norway in his search for the truth, Forrester must use all his wartime skills to find the true killer.

“A wonderful book that opens so many intriguing doors into Britain’s recent past.”
TERRY JONES (Monty Python)

An extract from The Age of Treachery

By the time those who had agreed to attend the Icelandic reading crunched through the snow across the inner quadrangle to the Master’s Lodge, clouds were scudding across the moon. As well as Haraldson, Calthrop and Dorfmann there was a mix of Barnard Fellows, and wives and dons from other colleges. David Lyall, Forrester noted with relief, had decided to absent himself.

Inside the Lodge, a minstrels’ gallery ran around the upper part of the large drawing room and carved beams like those in the Hall ran across the high ceiling. There were gently worn Turkish rugs on the floor and a crackling fire in the grate. Lady Hilary, the Master’s wife, was supervising two tall young men as they shifted furniture for the new arrivals. Lady Hilary was a tall, slightly awkward woman who Forrester suspected was not quite comfortable in her skin. He liked her, but he was not sure she liked herself.

“I want you to meet Hakon and Oskar,” said Lady Hilary, introducing her two assistants. “The Master specially asked them to join us this evening because they’re from Iceland.”

“And children in Iceland learn the sagas at their mother’s knee,” said the Master genially. “In the absence of Professor Tolkien they will gently correct us if we get our Old Norse pronunciation wrong.”

Hakon and Oskar shook their heads. “No, no, we are engineers,” said Hakon. “It is many years since we read the sagas. But as this is our last night in England, we offer to do our best.” Haraldson said a few words to the boys in Norwegian and they laughed. With Lyall gone, he seemed to have regained his good humour.

“You understand it is because of the ancestors of these young men that the Eddas and the sagas exist,” he said to the rest of the company. “The stories and poems were first created in Norway and other parts of Scandinavia, but they were not written down. When Norwegians went in search of new land—”

“Rather like the settlers in the American west,” said the Master.

“Very much like that,” said Haraldson. “They took the sagas with them to their new home in Iceland. When they became literate, they wrote them down, which is how the sagas survived.”

“In short,” said the Master to the Icelanders, “your ancestors preserved Viking culture when it would otherwise have been lost.” He turned to his wife. “And everything is perfectly arranged, my dear. Thank you.” As the audience settled itself, he addressed the room. “The work we’re going to read tonight, the ‘Völuspá’, is one of the most important poems in the canon. Hakon, Oskar, Professor Haraldson and I will take it in turns to do the reading from the minstrels’ gallery. The acoustics are splendid and when I’ve turned the lights down to help you, imagine you’re listening to genuine Norse bards declaiming from the depths of time.”

Then he ushered the readers through a small door that led to the stairs. Moments later tiny reading lights came on up there and they heard his voice again, speaking from the shadows of the gallery above. As he had promised, the acoustics were perfect, and it sounded to Forrester, as it always did, as if the readers were right beside him.

“In the passage you’re about to hear,” said Winters, “Odin, chief of the gods, bids a certain wise-woman to rise from the grave. She then tells him of the creation of the world, the beginning of years, the origin of the dwarfs. She describes the final destruction of the gods in which fire and flood overwhelm heaven and earth, using a phrase ‘ragna rök’, meaning ‘the fate of the gods’, which has become synonymous with the German word ‘Götterdämmerung’.”

“A subject about which we Germans know all too much,” said Dorfmann wryly. Calthrop frowned, and the reading began.

“I saw there wading through rivers wild,” declaimed Haraldson, sounding like a Viking chief booming down a fjord.

Treacherous men and murderers too,

And workers of ill with the wives of men;

There Nithhogg sucked the blood of the slain, And the wolf tore men;  would you know yet more?

 “The phrase ‘Would you know yet more?’ is uttered by the wise-woman,” said the Master. “She is asking Odin if he really wants to hear what is about to befall.”

The giantess old in Ironwood sat,

In the east, and bore the brood of Fenrir;

Among these one in monster’s guise

Was soon to steal the sun from the sky.

 There was a rustle of pages as Haraldson handed the book on to the next reader.

There feeds he full on the flesh of the dead,

And the home of the gods he reddens with gore;

Dark grows the sun, and in summer soon

Come mighty storms: would you know yet more?

On a hill there sat, and smote on his harp,

Eggther the joyous, the giants’ warder;

Above him the cock in the bird-wood crowed,

Fair and red did Fjalar stand.

 Again the reader changed, but by then the audience was scarcely noticing: through the magic of the incantatory words, combined with the darkness and the firelight, they found themselves transported back to a world where gods roamed the earth and dwarves delved in its depths.

Involuntarily, Forrester’s thoughts went back to what Lyall had said about the Nazi obsession with Norse mythology, and the role the sinister, Nordic-obsessed Thule Society had played in Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. But he knew all this was a perversion of the ancient beliefs: the product of warped minds, with no connection to reality. Except when you listened to a Viking saga being recited in the darkness.

Then to the gods crowed Gollinkambi,

He wakes the heroes in Othin’s hall;

And beneath the earth does another crow,

The rust-red bird at the bars of Hel.

Now Garm howls loud before Gnipahellir,

The fetters will burst, and the wolf run free;

Much do I know, and more can see

Of the fate of the gods, the mighty in fight.

A new reader began: one of the young Icelanders.

Brothers shall fight and fell each other,

And sisters’ sons shall kinship stain;

Hard is it on earth, with mighty whoredom;

Axe-time, sword-time, shields are sundered,

Wind-time, wolf-time, ere the world falls;

Nor ever shall men each other spare.

He paused – and as he paused there was a sharp sound of glass breaking from somewhere outside the Lodge. Lady Hilary looked up, puzzled, then walked over to the window, pulled aside the curtain and peered out. Forrester heard her sharply indrawn breath.

“Michael,” Lady Hilary called up to the gallery. “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but something strange has happened outside. I think you should come and look.” Her voice was oddly flat, as if she couldn’t quite put strong emotions into words. Moments later Forrester and the other guests were all crowded around the window, peering out into the quadrangle. The only light came from the moon, still partially obscured by clouds, but against the whiteness of the snow it was perfectly clear what Lady Hilary was looking at.

Below a broken window on the second floor a body lay spread-eagled in the snow.

About Gavin Scott

Gavin Scott is a British Hollywood screenwriter who spent twenty years as a radio and television reporter for BBC and ITN, and has worked in film and television with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. His films include Small Soldiers and The Borrowers; among his television series are The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and War and Peace: his next project is Dunkirk for Working Title. He lives in California.

You can find out all about Gavin Scott on his website and you’ll also find him on Facebook.

Today I’m stepping out of my comfort zone to be part of the launch celebrations for a genre I don’t usually read – paranormal romance and judging by the extract I have for you, I’m missing out! Rae Rivers’ latest book The Keepers:Ethan was published on 7th April by Harper Impulse and is available on Amazon. Following a short story prequel and two other The Keepers books, Ethan is the third in the series.

The Keepers: Ethan

”Going to Ameera to find Hazel.  Stealing the spell … You think you can pull it off?” he asked.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

Just as she thought he’d kiss her, he reached for her jacket and said, “Then let’s go.”

A portal to another world has opened, unleashing dangerous creatures on earth.  A dark witch is out for revenge.  The stakes are high, a war inevitable.

One person can stop the madness.  Jenna.  She’s a Keeper to a powerful hybrid witch but she harbours a secret and if Jenna steps through the portal – seduced by the whispers of her hidden past – she may never return.

Fortunately, she has company … infamous Bennett brother and fiercely protective Keeper, Ethan. Their whip-cracking banter makes them perfect sparring partners in training, but how will they manage when their lives and everything they were born to defend are on the line?

When the battle lines are drawn, will Jenna and Ethan stand side by side – as friends, protectors, lovers … or as traitors?

An extract from The Keepers: Ethan

Bennett Estate, Rapid Falls

“I came to ask you something.” Ethan placed both hands on the door, his arms a barricade of muscles on either side of her head. He glanced at her lips before slowly, slowly, lifting his gaze. “The portal. Going to Ameera to find Hazel. Stealing the spell…” His words were a low rumble of sexiness in the quiet room that took her breath away. He paused, allowing his words to take a beat. “Did you really mean all that?”

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. The man had parts of her fluttering that shouldn’t be fluttering. Not here. Not for him.

“You think you can pull it off?” he asked.

Another nod.

“You can find the portal?”

“I’ll certainly try.”

For a long while, he simply looked at her, like he was pondering his next move. She left him to it, curious, and tried to ignore the heat and energy simmering between them. Anticipation joined the ranks of other sensations already there, the intensity of the moment rooting her to the spot. She considered pushing him away, but even breathing was impossible. Not with him all over her. Her heart pounded, her entire body alive with a zing that seemed reserved for him.

His gaze lowered to her lips, lingered. Pushing forward, he dipped his head closer.

Just as she thought he’d kiss her again, he reached for her jacket on the hook beside her head.

“Then let’s go,” he said softly, his grin softening the heat between them.

She blinked but kept her expression a blank canvas, refusing to expose the flare of disappointment. Instead, she took quiet satisfaction from the flash of heat she’d seen in his eyes moments before he’d smiled.

Raw desire.  For her.  Again.

Wow.

“We’re going out?” she asked, the smell of leather filling her nostrils as she pulled on her jacket.

He produced car keys and dangled them mid-air. “Up for a road trip?”

Her eyes widened and her jaw fell. And then she grinned, hope soaring for the first time in so long. “You want to find the portal. I thought Archer shot me down on that.”

“My brother has his opinions. I have mine.”

“This is different.”

“I know.”  Ethan gave a sigh of resignation. “Archer’s overprotective and worried. He’s also driven by honour and our code of conduct. It’s clouding his judgement.”

“He’s not wrong.”

“He’s not right either. Neither am I, but this waiting will only end in more deaths. We all know that.”

“If we hunt them down and kill them …”

“We’re nothing like them, Jenna.” His words were spoken louder, with conviction, irritation tightening his expression. Then he relaxed. “Besides, I think your plan of sealing Hazel in Ameera might work. If we’re crafty.”

“I can do crafty.”

The corner of his lip twitched. “Archer’s doing what he thinks is right. I’m doing what I think is right.”

Jenna tugged her hair out from beneath her collar, her body zinging with excitement – and fear. Lots of it. Thoughts of Ameera always did that to her. “But you need an accomplice?”

A small smile broke free. “It’ll be fun.”

About Rae Rivers

Rae’s an avid reader and writer with a passion for writing spicy romance novels. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa, with her gorgeous children and husband and a zoo of house pets. Besides writing, she loves family time, the outdoors, travelling, watching TV series, reading and chocolate. For more information about her books, please visit her website.

She loves to hear from her readers and can be found by following these links: Wattpad,  Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also find out more with these other bloggers:

I’ve been so fortunate to meet Sheryl Browne and I have featured her before on Linda’s Book Bag so I’m delighted to help celebrate the paperback release of The Rest of My Life which was published by  Choc Lit on 7th April 2016. The Rest of My Life is available to buy in e-book and paperback on Amazon UK, Amazon US and from Choc Lit.

Today Sheryl is sharing the inspiration for her writing in a special guest post – and it begins with a man in uniform!

The Rest of My Life

Recommended by the WH Smith Travel Fiction Buyer

Shortlisted for the LoveStories Awards 2015

A Being Anne’s Book of the Year 2015

The Rest of My Life – When is it time to stop running?

“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?

WATCH THE VIDEO for The Rest of My Life

The Inspiration for Writing

A Guest Post from Sheryl Browne

Authors are often asked: Was there anything particular that inspired you to start your journey?

Honestly? A policeman! I can’t help it. I am rather inspired by men in uniform. Winding back a little, writing has always been my passion, since way back when a kindly English teacher gave me 22 out of 20 for an essay, bless him. I started writing actual novels in my early twenties. I was a single parent back then and had taken compassionate leave from my job to nurse my mum through early onset Alzheimer’s. Sadly, there came a time when she needed more medical care than I could give and I found I badly needed an emotional outlet, so I started scribbling. It turned out to be a real catharsis, but not in the gloomy way one might expect. Amazingly, I found I was reflecting on the humour and love we’d shared and out popped my poignant rom com style of writing. I write in two genres, contemporary romance and psychological thriller. I do have a dark side therefore – beware! – but I think, like my romance, my thrillers do tend to look at the fragility of love, life and relationships so perhaps the two genres are not so far apart.

My very first bestselling debut, however… Um, well it didn’t sell. I think the agent who’d hailed it as such went off in search of Prozac. I’d love to tell you about it but, unfortunately, I eventually tossed it in the bin. I can tell you the title. It was called Loose Screws! Hmm? Not so sure about that now. Silver linings, though, my book, Somebody to Love – rewritten and currently submitted to Choc Lit – was based on that first book. Or rather what I could remember of it, mostly that hunky policeman in his bite-the-buttons-off blue uniform.

So was he real, you might ask. Now, that would be telling. Oh, go on then. Yes, very real. My policeman friend was a single dad with a special needs son, ergo, he had an awful lot to consider when entering into relationships. I first met him when his son threw his shoes over my garden fence in order to facilitate a meeting with my three-legged dog. Up until then, the little boy had only ever peered curiously through his bedroom window at the dog, or peeked over the fence, but never had he uttered a word. Whilst my story was a fictional one, it was therefore very much based on fact and intensive research.

I think most authors draw on life events and the emotions around them, looking at the inner and outer conflicts people might be dealing with. In The Rest of My Life, the inner conflicts and demons both Adam and Sienna were dealing with needed careful handling. Sienna’s mother struggled with bipolar disorder. Anyone who has experience of this knows that it is a much misunderstood condition. I do have experience of it, but still, careful research was called for, as with depression linked to post-traumatic stress disorder, which Adam acknowledges he has, but doubts that anyone can help him with. Talking to the people coping with such issues was paramount, followed up by whatever research I felt was necessary.

So there you have it, a quick summary of what inspires me. Simply, it’s people. And now, well, it’s a case of “I write therefore I am”. I simply wouldn’t know how to be without my writing, which is why I’m so super proud to be finally published with Choc Lit and seeing my stories being turned into something beautiful: a gorgeously packaged print book. It’s like the best box of chocolates ever. I couldn’t have done it without people like you though, readers and book bloggers, who are as passionate as I am and wonderfully supportive. Thank you!

About Sheryl Browne

Heartache, humour, love, loss & betrayal, Sheryl Browne brings you edgy, sexy, poignant fiction. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Romantic Novelists’ Association and shortlisted for the Best Romantic e-book Love Stories Award 2015, Sheryl has seven books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies.

You can find out more about Sheryl Browne on her Website, by following her on Twitter  and on Facebook. You’ll find all her books here in the UK and here in the US. Sheryl is also on Pinterest.

You might also like to see: Loveahappyending Lifestyle, Safkhet Publishing, Choc Lit and Romantic Novelists’ Association.

I’m thrilled to have a guest post by Katey Lovell today.  Katey writes the Meet Cute series, published by Harper Impulse .  The Boy with the Boxes and The Boy on the Bus were both published on April 7th 2016.

The Boy with The Boxes

Rosie’s starting afresh. Her best friend and former housemate is starting a new life in Australia leaving Rosie to move into a new flat on her own. But when she meets her next door neighbour, Rosie realises she may not be quite so alone after all…

The Boy on the Bus

A gorgeously romantic short story, part of the Meet Cute series.

Lucy’s morning bus journey is the highlight of her day – it’s the only time she sees her crush. But how can he take up so many of her thoughts when she doesn’t even know his name?

You’ll find all of Katey’s lovely Meet Cute books here.

Friendship

A Guest Post by Katey Lovell

The opening scene to The Boy with the Boxes introduces Rosie Willis, a young art and design graduate moving into her new flat.  It’s a big moment for her as she’s starting afresh in a new home, but especially as she’s just said goodbye to her best friend Carmen who’s moved to Sydney to further her career.

Carmen and Rosie’s friendship is actually loosely based on my relationship with my own best friend, Jen (who The Boy with the Boxes is dedicated to).  We never moved to London together, nor did we go to Glastonbury to get soaked to the skin as Rosie and Carmen do, but we have survived being quite literally inseparable as children (I remember one summer where we alternated staying at each other’s houses for almost the entire six week holiday!) to seeing each other just a handful of times a year.  I moved away to Sheffield in 1998 and Jen later went to university in Glasgow, but it was during 2008 and 2009, when Jenny spent a year in Australia, that the very fact she was on another landmass made her feel so much further away.  It happened to coincide with me suffering from postnatal depression and I so desperately wished she was still living just around the corner so we could put the world to rights over a hot Ribena and a mint Viscount biscuit.  Strangely though, by reverting to snail-mail letter writing and Skype conversations, our bond strengthened, and in my mind that’s what happens to Rosie and Carmen too.  They get to develop their independence whilst still knowing they’ll always have each other, because their friendship goes beyond distance and time zones.

Although Rosie and Connor’s is the love story in this book, the friendship between the two girls is equally important to me.  Because romance is one thing, but the love between friends is a very special kind of love indeed.

About Katey Lovell

Katey Lovell is fanatical about words. An avid reader, writer and poet, she once auditioned for Countdown and still tapes the show every night. Getting the conundrum before the contestants is her ultimate thrill.

She loves love and strives to write feel-good romance that’ll make you laugh and cry in equal measure.

Originally from South Wales, Katey now lives in Yorkshire with her husband and their eight year old son.

You can follow Katey on Twitter, find her on Facebook and visit her blog.

It gives me enormous pleasure today to be interviewing Shelley Wilson whom I’ve met and chatted with in real life. Shelley Wilson is an author and inspirational blogger and her latest Young Adult book, Guardians of the Sky is out now.

Guardians of the Sky

Guardians of the Sky is the second in Shelley’s Guardians series.

Can one girl sacrifice herself to save the one she loves…

Following their daring escape from the demon realm, Amber and her friends become caught up in a war between good and evil. They must join forces with the Queen’s warriors to overthrow a malevolent force that has spread across Avaveil, the land of the Fae.

As her powers grow, Amber is faced with the real possibility that she is a danger to the ones she loves. Her full strength is yet to be tested in a way she can’t comprehend.

Dragons, faeries and humans stand side-by-side as they are drawn into a cunning battle of magic and surprising revelations. Can Amber survive long enough to see her dreams fulfilled?

Guardians of the Sky is available in both e-book and paperback on your local Amazon site.

Guardians of the Dead

Guardians of the Dead is the first of Shelley’s Guardians series.

When sixteen-year-old Amber Noble’s dreams begin to weave into her reality, she turns to the mysterious Connor for help. His links to the supernatural world uncover a chilling truth about her hometown and a pact that must be re-paid with blood.

As her father alienates her, and the Guardians take her best friend, her true destiny unfolds, and she begins a quest that will see her past collide with her present.

Drawn deeper into the world of witchcraft and faeries, it is only at the end of her journey that she realises how much she could lose.

Perfect for fans of The Mortal Instruments, Creepy Hollow, L.J. Smith

Guardians of the Dead is available in both e-book and paperback on your local Amazon site.

An Interview with Shelley Wilson

It was lovely to meet you in person Shelley. Thanks so much for agreeing to be interviewed for Linda’s Book Bag.

Thank you so much for inviting me, Linda. It’s great to be able to visit your beautiful blog. I promise to behave myself.

Firstly, please could you tell readers a little about yourself?

I was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire but moved to the West Midlands with my parents and brother when I was eight. I still consider myself a Yorkshire lass as the rest of my family live up North (my Yorkshire accent starts to come back about half way up the M1).

I’m a single mum to three amazing teenagers. They are such good company – and very useful when I need help with my YA research. We have a crazy black cat called Luna and a ten-year-old fat goldfish that refuses to pass over to the great sea in the sky.

(I hate to tell you this Shelley, but I had a goldfish that lived for fifteen years after I trod on it – it’s a long story!)

I have to admit that when we met I was struck by how vital you appeared, despite your own health problems. Do you think your self-help books have positively affected your own life as well as that of your readers?

Aw, thank you for that lovely comment, Linda. Yes, to write any non-fiction topic you must first know everything you need to know about it. As a holistic health practitioner, I had to walk the walk otherwise my clients would never have trusted my advice. Meditation became a huge part of my life long before I began running my group sessions.

Back in 2008, I walked out of a physically and emotionally abusive marriage. My children were two, three and five at the time. I suffered for many years but slowly developed an inner strength. When we were free to start our lives over I became obsessed with self-help books. I wanted to discover how I could expand on that strength and become the person I knew I could be. It was through my reading and my training in alternative therapies that I pieced it all together. My self-help books are a way of sharing all my knowledge, advice and tips. If I can help just one woman feel empowered, strong and inspired then I’ve achieved something wonderful.

(You’re certainly walking the walk.)

Would you tell us more about your Resolution Challenge Blogspot (which readers can visit by clicking here)? 

I have an OCD fixation on writing lists – I even have a list of my favourite lists! Writing out my New Year Resolution list, therefore, is like giving a kid chocolate.

One New Year’s Eve I began to jot down my resolutions in my journal. After scribbling down the usual suspects: lose weight, get fit and write your damn book, I decided to read over the lists from previous years. I was horrified to notice that I’d regurgitated the same goals year after year but never achieved any of them. I didn’t want to waste another twelve months.

Referring to the motivational tools I used with my holistic clients I began to put together an action plan. I brainstormed what I wanted to achieve with ‘writing’ being my top priority. Not wanting to overwhelm myself I broke the big goals into smaller chunks – one challenge for every month of the year.

I ended up with twelve topics to cover in the year. I then decided that to achieve it all I had to be accountable for my actions – that’s where the blog came in.

I’d never blogged before and had to learn as I went. In the beginning, I aimed to write one post a month on the given challenge, but as I began reading other blogs, I noticed how often posts appeared. Once a month wasn’t going to work so I broke each challenge down even further so that every month was now split into weeks – my twelve challenges became fifty-two.

I blogged the entire year’s events – good and bad. It was the most rewarding experience. My Resolution Challenge blog is now three years old and still going strong. I shape my posts around motivation, being inspired, and holistic health and well-being.

How do you conduct research for your non-fiction titles?

Most of the content in my non-fiction books is from real life. I believe wholeheartedly in sharing my own experiences because I know it might help someone else. Before I walked out of my marriage, I felt utterly alone. I developed depression, many physical health issues caused by stress and my self-esteem was rock bottom. I now understand that you are never alone – people have walked your path before and are waiting with an outstretched hand to pull you along. I knew that I wanted to be there for other women in a similar situation.

Sticking with this theme, the one research process I love to use is case studies. Interviewing women who have overcome incredible circumstances, illness or tragedy is humbling.

What inspired you to use S L Wilson for your YA writing rather than your full name?

It’s interesting that you ask this question because just recently I started to wish I hadn’t done that. It was done for two reasons; the ability to attract a teenage male audience for my books (I read once that this was the reason behind JK not using Joanne), and my equally OCD obsession with organisation. I thought it would be ‘neat and tidy’ to partition my non-fiction from my YA fantasy.

As it turned out, I can’t link my titles on Goodreads so have to have two accounts and if you click on S.L. Wilson under the title of my YA books on Amazon you’re taken to a general book page and not my Amazon author page.

You’re obsessed by vampires – what started off that obsession and how does it impact on your fiction writing?

Ha ha! On my personal Facebook page I am regularly tagged in on posts from friends and family that contain either Johnny Depp or vampires – I clearly have a reputation! It began in the 80s when the film Lost Boys came out. I was totally hooked and started seeking out vampire movies, right back to Christopher Lee. When the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer came out, my fascination grew.

Interestingly, I would read every article I could about Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy, even buying the scripts so I could analyse his writing. He taught me about the story arc. I loved the action and the unpredictable relationships between characters in the vampire shows, and I carry this forward in my fiction. YA books are known for their fast-paced action, and I believe my obsession with all things ‘fang-tastic’ has helped me write in this genre. Oddly enough, my fantasy fiction is about faeries, witches, dragons, and werewolves – I haven’t had a vampire character jump into my head…yet.

How did the Guardians series come about?

Going back to my New Year Resolutions, my number one goal was to finish the first draft of a book – any book. I’d filled hundreds of notepads with half-finished stories. As part of my year of challenges, I signed up for NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month). I planned to use the month of November to complete the first draft. According to the rules, you are allowed to plan, plot and build character profiles, but you can’t begin writing until 1^st November. The rough idea behind the trilogy came from a photograph of a hooded statue in a cemetery.  My organisational side kicked in soon after, and I plotted the novel out chapter by chapter.

I love taking part in NANO and thrive on the pressure of that deadline. I’ve been a ‘winner’ for the past three years, and I’ve used each year to write the trilogy. Book three will be published in December 2016.

In your YA books there’s strenuous conflict between good and evil. How far do you see parallels between your fiction and non-fiction writing.

That’s a great question. A couple of years ago I would have answered that I just wrote for two genres, and there was no parallel, however, last year I had to close my holistic business due to ill health. Thanks to a viral infection, I was trapped in a body that didn’t want to work and spent most of my time inside writing. When I sent book three of my YA trilogy to my editor, she told me she thought it was the best book so far. During the edits, I noticed how dark it was. My poor health and depression had impacted my writing, and I was able to channel all those negative (evil) feelings into something creative (good).

Good vs. Evil is a daily struggle for so many people, and hopefully, my non-fiction books act as the good in my readers’ lives, especially if they are suffering at the hand of abuse. In my YA books, I hope to show my teenage audience that they can overcome anything with determination and inner strength.

Which is more difficult – blogging or writing books – and why?

If I’m totally honest with you, I don’t find either to be difficult. I love writing in all its forms and cherish the hours spent in my writing cave. I guess the process of blogging can be more time consuming as they are normally quite short and need to be planned and scheduled. With a manuscript, I just open it and pick up where I left off.

You juggle blogging, writing YA fantasy and adult motivational non-fiction and being a mum to three teenagers. What’s your secret in managing it all?

I wear my underpants over my trousers and try not to catch my cape in the oven door! Seriously, I have no idea how I do it all. A year ago you could add ‘run a business’ to that list. Having to close my business after seven years was incredibly hard but I have a ‘just get on with it’ attitude that helps me survive most things. Keeping a diary/calendar is the only way I keep sane. Everything goes into my diary – writing goals, appointments, events, the kids’ social life (I don’t have one!), so I guess it’s down to my OCD organisational skills.

What’s next in the busy life of Shelley Wilson?

I’m working on two novels at the moment. A standalone YA novel with werewolves which I’m thoroughly enjoying, and a non-fiction book about staying motivated to achieve your goals – this came about after the hundreds of messages I received from readers of How I Changed My Life in a Year.

I have also written a pack of motivational oracle cards which should be available this summer. There is a sheet of paper on my noticeboard with all my novel ideas written on it; there are five ideas listed at the moment, so I guess this means I’ll be busy for many years to come.

I want to attend more events in the future such as the Annual Blogger Bash in June and the various events organised through Book Connectors. I try to sign up for a variety of Mind, Body, Spirit fairs where I can sell my books and chat with readers.

Thank you so much for your time in answering my questions Shelley. I’ve found your answers fascinating. I will see you at the Annual Blogger Bash!

Thank you so much for inviting me over to chat, I told you I could waffle! I’ve had great fun.

About Shelley Wilson

Shelley Wilson divides her writing time between motivational non-fiction for adults and the fantasy worlds of her young adult fiction.

Her non-fiction books combine lifestyle, motivation and self-help with a healthy dose of humour. She works in the Mind, Body, Spirit sector as a practitioner and tutor. Her approach to writing is to provide an uplifting insight into personal development and being the best you can be.

Shelley writes her Young Adult Fiction under ‘S.L Wilson’ and combines myth, legend and fairy tales with a side order of demonic chaos.

She was born in Yorkshire but raised in Solihull, UK, where she lives with her three children, a crazy kitten and a fat fish. She is an obsessive list maker, social media addict and a huge Game of Thrones fan.

You can follow Shelley on Twitter, and visit her writing blog, her motivational blog, her YA Facebook page or find her Non-fiction Facebook page.

Readers will also be interested in Shelley’s other books all of which can be found on her Amazon page.

 

It’s my pleasure to be supporting the celebrations of Dollar Signs by Manning Wolfe with Brook Cottage Books today. Dollar Signs is a legal thriller published by Starpath Books, LLC and was released on 18th February 2016. You have the chance to enter to win an e-copy of Dollar Signs at the bottom of this blog post.

Dollar Signs is available to buy here: Amazon, IndieBound and Barnes & Noble.

Dollar Signs

MERIT BRIDGES, an attorney and widowed mother in Austin, Texas, works hard, drinks too much wine, and sleeps with younger men. When Merit goes after a shady

corporation threatening her client, she encounters hired gun Boots King. His charge is simple, “Stop her!” Merit and her team – including Betty, a mothering office manager with a bad-ass attitude – struggle to stay alive, while they navigate a labyrinth of legal issues, and prove once again that you don’t mess with a Texas lady lawyer.

PRAISE FOR DOLLAR SIGNS!

A legal thriller not to be missed…Manning Wolfe just put herself on my list of must-read authors. — Mark Pryor, Hugo Marston Novels

Move over, John Grisham. There’s a lady lawyer in town. — Elizabeth Garcia, Deputy Ricos Tales

This novel is smart, funny, moving, and entertaining as hell. — Jesse Sublett, 1960’s Austin Gangsters

A great read, and Texas crime fiction has a new star. — Bill Crider, Dan Rhodes Mysteries

Pages smoke like burnt fried chicken grease on a Saturday night…This one, my friends, is a non-putter-downer! — George Wier, Bill Travis Mysteries.

A high-speed storyline full of twists and turns upon a stark background of reality as lawyers might really experience Manning Wolfe is one of the up and coming legal thriller writers of this generation. Read her and enjoy her, but don’t expect much sleep! — John Ellsworth, author, Thaddeus Murfee Legal Thrillers

An Interview with Manning Wolfe

Hello Manning. Thank you so much for agreeing to answer some questions on my blog about your writing.

Firstly, please could you tell readers a little about yourself?

I’m an attorney and author living in Austin, Texas with my mate, Bill Rodgers.  I now write full time, but that is a recent development.  I practiced law for over twenty years.

When did you first realise you were going to be a writer?

I’ve always been a writer – born that way. I told picture stories before I could write words.

If you hadn’t become an author, what would you have done instead as a creative outlet?

Some form of art, maybe.  I collect original artwork and masks.

Which aspects of your writing do you find easiest and most difficult?

Easiest is coming up with a story.  My mind loves to spin yarns.  Most difficult is juggling the time demands of writing, promoting, and life in general.

What are your writing routines and where do you do most of your writing?

I tend to write in chunks.  I get a lot of the story out in a relatively short period, then I edit over time.

When you’re not writing, what do you like to read?

I enjoy many different genres and non-fiction books, but my favorites are thrillers and mysteries. As for legal thrillers, I’m a huge Michael Connelly fan, read everything by John Grisham and Scott Turow, and keep up with John Ellsworth, Robert Dugoni, and Lisa Scottoline. I also enjoy many of the UK legal thriller writers.

Do you have other interests that give you ideas for writing?

Being an attorney, there are enough stores in my history to write forever.  You can’t make this stuff up. That said, I use my legal background or a client file as a starting point, then I blow things out of proportion to make it more thrilling.

Which of your characters would you most like to be and why?

I’m closest to Merit Bridges, the protagonist of the Texas Lady Lawyer novels. We have differences, but we are both attorneys living in Austin, Texas with a strong sense of values. I have a little Betty in me too.  She is the character who says what she thinks and doesn’t worry if anyone likes it or not.

How important was it for you to have a female protagonist in Dollar Signs?

Merit started talking to me – she showed up.  I didn’t decide to write a male or female.

How did you ensure that the legal elements in Dollar Signs were authentic?

Research, research, research.

How much of your own experience in the world of law has found its way into Dollar Signs?

Tons. I use my experience as an attorney on almost every page. I was never a litigator, but a strategist. That’s my favourite thing about the law.  Sometimes it is smarter to think yourself out of a situation than to fight your way out. That said, there’s nothing like a good courtroom drama scene – so I mix it up and use both.

You have a very cinematic style of writing. Is this deliberately crafted or is it a natural style for you?

I’m a big outliner and I think in visuals.  When I combine those two in my writing, it’s very much like a movie on the page.

The cover of Dollar Signs is very striking. Without giving away the plot please, could you tell readers what you wanted to convey through that image?

I worked closely with my designer Heidi Dorey on the cover.  Since fire is the weapon of choice of the antagonist, Boots King, and the novel is based in Austin, the image emerged from the story. My son owns an aerial photography company. He hovered a drone over the S. Congress bridge looking back at the capitol and downtown Austin and took the cover photo. Heidi enhanced the picture, I had her turn it upside down, and that became the reflection of the flames beneath the fire.

Dollar Signs is the first in the Texas Lady Lawyer series. How is Merit Bridges developing and are you finding she’s taking over your writing?

For now, Merit Bridges is the center of my writing.  All the stores I have planned in the immediate future are part of the Texas Lady Lawyer series. I have a stand alone suspense story that I’ve been thinking about for some time.  It’s not a legal thriller. I don’t know when I’ll work on that one, but it occurs in part in Europe, so a trip may be in order.

Who would you choose to play Merit Bridges if Dollar Signs became a film?

Maybe Reese Witherspoon.  She is a strong and powerful Southern woman like Merit. I could also see Amanda Seyfried. She has a quality that would add an interesting undercurrent. I’d jump through hoops for Helen Mirren – huge fan of hers. I’m sure she could master any accent she pleases.

If you had 15 words to persuade a reader that Dollar Signs should be their next read, what would you say?

Dollar Signs is a legal thriller with a sprinkling of Texas bullshit. If you like a gripping thriller, but also want to laugh and be entertained, grab it for the beach or a plane ride. By the end of the book, you’ll be waiting to see what Merit will do next.

(I think you might have cheated there Manning!)

Is there anything else you would have liked to be asked?

There is a dyslexic character in the book – Merit’s son, Ace. My son is dyslexic, and although he is now grown and is on his own, the experience of raising a child with a learning disability was very difficult. I created Ace so that I could show some of the issues that surround dyslexia and the struggles for those who are challenged by reading.

(What a brilliant thing to do – this resonates with me as an ex-English teacher.)

Thank you so much for your time in answering my questions.

Thank you!

About the Author – Manning Wolfe

MANNING WOLFE an author and attorney residing in Austin, Texas, writes cinematic-style, smart, fast-paced thrillers with a salting of Texas bullshit. The first in her series, featuring Austin Lawyer Merit Bridges, is Dollar Signs: Texas Lady Lawyer vs Boots King.

 A graduate of Rice University and the University of Texas School of Law, Manning’s experience has given her a voyeur’s peek into some shady characters’ lives and a front row seat to watch the good people who stand against them.

Find more about Manning Wolfe through these links: Facebook, website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, Google+ and LinkedIn.

 GIVEAWAY 

Enter to win an ecopy of Dollar Signs by clicking here.

I love travel as much as I love books, but I’m not sure I’d travel to Haiti as Fiona Cane has done following the release of her latest novel The Other Side of the Mountain. Today Fiona tells us all about her post-publication visit to the country where her book is set – and what a visit it turned out to be!

The Other Side of the Mountain was published on 6th August 2015 and is available on your local Amazon site and from Waterstones. However, if you’re a UK reader, you have the chance to enter to win a paperback copy at the bottom of this blog post.

The Other Side of the Mountain

It’s 2001, and amidst the political turmoil in Haiti, three disparate lives collide: Yolande, an impoverished farmer desperately looking for the sister her abusive husband has sold into slavery; Maddy, an eager British journalist on her first overseas assignment, set on making a name for herself; and Clare, an ex-pat gynaecologist who’s devoted the past eight years to healing Haiti’s downtrodden women.

Divided by language, lifestyle and personality yet all driven by painful memories buried in their pasts, the three women unite to search for the missing child. It’s a quest that takes them deep into the city’s underworld, where poverty is rife, black magic thrives and violence is king; a world in which appearances can be deceptive and where survival is by no means certain.

Haiti – Real and Imagined

A Guest Post from Fiona Cane

A few weeks ago I travelled to Haiti, where my fourth book The Other Side of the Mountain is set. I was excited but I was nervous. It wasn’t the best time to be visiting. President Martelly was refusing to step down and the people were rioting in the streets. The root of my apprehension, however, lay deeper. The book had been published in August, but this would be my first visit. I know, it should have been the other way round, and that had been my intention, but life has an annoying habit of not always going to plan. I’d read dozens of books, scoured the internet, but now, at last, I was about to see the country I’d inhabited in my mind these past few years.

But would my ‘learned’ knowledge and my imagination match up to reality? Had I got it right?

‘So, where are you travelling on to?’ the laid-back US custom’s official asked when we touched down in Atlanta.

‘Haiti’, I replied confidently.

‘Haiti’?!! Whaddya wanna go there for? You missionaries?’

‘No, I’m a writer. My latest book is set there.’

‘O–kay. So you’ve been before?’

‘Er … no. This is my first time,’ I said, my confidence wavering.

‘So you want to see it before you submit?’

‘Yeah. Something like that.’

‘So you a counsellor then?’

‘What? No. I’m a writer and … um … a tennis coach.’

‘Jeez!’ he said exploding with laughter. ‘I been to Haiti once,’ he added. ‘Dangerous place. I kiss the ground I live on.’

Echoes of Maddy’s father’s reaction resounded in my ears. Life, it seems, really does imitate art.

My aim was to visit the locations featured in The Other Side of the Mountain, so I booked into the Oloffson Hotel where Maddy was based. With its towers and balconies, and tired but elaborate fretwork, it exuded the faded grandeur of a forgotten era. Walking up the sweeping horseshoe of dirty-white stone steps felt like stepping inside my own story, a feeling compounded when we were shown our room.  The mahogany wardrobe had a door that wouldn’t shut properly, and there was a chest of drawers and a desk!

‘It’s Graham Greene times in Haiti. Empty hotels and political unrest,’ Richard Morse, the hotel manager and national celebrity, told us at breakfast the following morning.

‘Are we mad?’ I asked.

He smiled. ‘No. You’re risk-takers.’

Right!

‘But I wouldn’t go anywhere without a guide.’

The once neat order of the Champs de Mars, a series of parks in Port-au-Prince’s centre, is the starkest reminder of the damage wrought by the devastating earthquake of 2010. Most of the iconic buildings, including the whiter-than-white National Palace, were destroyed and it is no longer a place to linger as it was in 2001, when The Other Side of the Mountain was set. The magnificent bronzes of the four heroes of Haiti have survived. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the first leader of the first black republic, still sits astride his horse on a grassy mound, but the Marron Inconnu – the Unknown Slave – is now hidden behind a large fence under lock and key.  But just as with everything in Haiti, if you know the right people, as our guide did, you can see the fabulous bronze at close hand.

The beautiful pretty pink-and-yellow Notre Dame Cathedral also lies in ruins, although the steps remain intact. I imagined Yolande sleeping there, ‘one eye open, one eye closed’.  A lump formed in my throat. She’s not real, I reminded myself. You made her up.

Admiring the view from the hills, thirty minutes later, we saw a plume of smoke spiralling into the sky near the Cathedral.

‘Riot!’ our guide said, grinning.

‘Burning tyres?’ I asked, reminded of Maddy’s heart-in-the-mouth experience. Jean nodded. And tear gas we learned later but only one serious injury, a man who’d had a massive cinder block dropped on his head, a common occurrence in Haiti.

The streets were crowded with market sellers sitting under multi-coloured umbrellas, women carrying baskets on their heads and men wheeling wooden barrows. Pigs paddled in sewage as they feasted on mountains of rubbish, and hundreds of pedestrians jostled for space with battered cars, psychedelic tap taps overflowing with people and baggage, buses, lorries and motorbikes, while on the roadside, people chatted, played dominoes, shined shoes, built cabinets, styled hair, beat metal, and fixed cars.

Inching my way through, one day, I felt a tugging at my elbow. A cute little boy was smiling at me and rubbing his tummy.

‘Bonjou, Blan. Mwen grangou.’ (Hello, Foreigner. I’m hungry). He pointed to his mouth and held out his hand. ‘Monnen.’

My heart skipped a beat. It was word for word what happened to Maddy, only she gave money and, without spoiling the story, it didn’t turn out well.  Within seconds street kids, bigger and a lot less cute, just as in the book, surrounded us. I started to panic.  Avoid eye contact and move on, I told myself marching forward. The boys followed, still yelling, still smiling until, reaching a square guarded by a couple of policeman, they scattered.

We visited the Péligre Dam but not, like Maddy, by tap tap. The glassy blue lake flanked by mountains was low, so the river, below, wasn’t ‘rolling and crashing’ but there were boats on the lake and washerwomen on the edge. I had to pinch myself when a family, their luggage balanced on their heads, passed by on their way back from Carnival, just as ten-year-old Yolande and her family had done.

Zanmi Lasante, the prototype for the hospital where Clare works, is bigger than I expected but with its well-tended gardens and myriad of paved, low-walled walkways, connecting the labs, operating theatres, wards, consulting rooms, radiology with the college, orphanage and church, otherwise as I’d imagined. I half-expected to see my characters going about their business.

It was tough leaving Haiti. I loved being there and was thrilled that I’d captured its essence, a fact reinforced by so many Haitians complimenting me on my knowledge of their country. This was due to the books I’d read, but seeing is believing. My doubts vanquished, I couldn’t help wondering if I’d have studied Haiti in so much detail if I’d visited this wonderful country first?

———

About Fiona Cane

Fiona Cane graduated with a BA degree in Philosophy from Exeter University before moving to London where she worked in Film and Entertainment PR.  Having spent a year travelling with her future husband, she qualified as a tennis coach and after a brief stint in sport’s management, she moved to Sussex with her young family and set up Smash Tennis. Since then she’s coached in schools and clubs and ran a series of spring and summer camps for local children. When she isn’t hitting tennis balls or writing, she’s an avid reader and a keen cinema-goer, enjoys watching cricket and rugby, plays golf, skis, runs, cycles and scuba dives. She lives in Sussex with her husband, two children and  their faithful Westie, Gemma.

You can follow Fiona on Twitter, find her on Facebook and visit her website.

Enter to win a paperback copy (sorry UK only) of The Other Side of the Mountain by clicking here (Competition ends UK midnight on 13th April)