Beyond the Sea by Melissa Bailey - BLOG TOUR

I am delighted to be today's stop on the BLOG TOUR for Melissa Bailey's Beyond the Sea, which is being published by Arrow on 16 July 2015.

I would like to welcome Melissa Bailey, who tells us about her research for Beyond the Sea. 

Research is one of my favourite parts of the writing process and I do lots and lots of it before I even think about putting pen to paper. I think my obsession with it, apart from a passion for the detail, is fuelled by a desire to create, with as much precision as possible, the world in which the book is set – when something happens in a novel which is inaccurate or flawed, it jars with the reader and undermines its credibility.

For Beyond the Sea, my research took many forms. It involved a trip to the isle of Mull to soak up the general ambiance of the Hebrides, but more specifically so that I could take the journeys by road and sea that the protagonist, Freya, takes in the book. I made a later trip to the isle of Skye so that I could visit Neist Point lighthouse, the one on which I modelled the lighthouse in Beyond in Sea, and experience its remoteness and seclusion.

As well as making actual journeys there, I read a lot of books on the Scottish islands which informed my story. The history of the Hebrides is rich, magical and dangerous, inextricably bound to its proximity to the sea. I read accounts by lighthouse keepers of the harsh realities of tending the light, of isolation, fear, depression and madness. I unearthed stories of whisky high jackings and buried treasure, letters, sealed in wooden boxes, which had been floated on the tides from St Kilda to the Outer Hebrides. It was fact that read like fiction.

There were accounts of soldiers and sailors and shipwrecks.

One in particular caught my eye. The Swan, a small warship, was despatched by Cromwell to the Hebrides in 1653, to suppress the royalist uprisings there. The Swan didn’t travel alone – there were 5 other vessels in the flotilla, including the Speedwell and the Martha and Margaret. During a violent storm on 13 September 1653, the Swan was ripped from its anchor in Duart bay and smashed against rocks, sinking into The Sound of Mull just below Duart Castle. It was rediscovered in the 1990’s – along with a number of well-preserved artefacts: cannons, a wooden carved cherub, clay pipes, coins, Bellarmine jars.

But while the Speedwell and the Martha and Margaret also sank during the storm, no records remain (if indeed there ever were any) as to the location of their final resting places. It was from these accounts that the historical thread of Beyond the Sea was born: a soldier bound for the Scottish islands, haunted by memories in a hostile seascape, an apocalyptic storm on the horizon.

Eventually, I stop researching and I try, to a great extent, to forget everything I have learnt. Huge amounts of research don’t make it into the book. But I hope that its flavour infuses the whole world of the novel and makes it a more authentic place for my characters to inhabit.

Read my review of Beyond the Sea

Beyond the Sea
By Melissa Bailey
Published by Arrow (16 July 2015)
ISBN: 978-0099584957

Publisher's description
One summer's day, Freya's husband and son disappeared on a boating trip.

A year on, and struggling to cope, Freya returns to the lighthouse-keeper's cottage on a tiny island in the Hebrides where they spent so many happy times.

Haunted by visions of the life she used to have, Freya finds comfort in the discovery of her son's diary, written in the weeks before he disappeared.

Until a man, Daniel, is washed up on the shore during the storm, and suddenly her dreams turn menacing. As dream and reality merge, Daniel seems to be turning up wherever she goes and she has no idea what he wants from her.

Is her mind playing tricks? Or is the danger she senses real?

My verdict
Beyond the Sea is an emotional story about coming to terms with the past.

A year after her husband and son disappeared at sea, Freya remains haunted by her memories and struggles to cope with her loss. She feels guilty for leaving her family for a few days to go on a work trip just before they vanished. Their boat was found battered and bruised, but their bodies were never found.

Freya returns to the remote island where her family spent their last few days, believing that this could be the key to healing her grief. But when she finds her son's diary and belongings, it's as if he is still there beside her. Her memories come flooding back and her emotions bubble to the surface again.

Beyond the Sea is actually three stories cleverly woven together. Firstly, there's Freya and her memories, as well as mysterious stranger Daniel who is washed up on the island. Secondly, there are the local myths and legends. Thirdly, there's the discovery of letters written by a soldier on one of Cromwell's ships, which disappeared in 1653.

Melissa Bailey has written a haunting tale with a fascinating historical background. I loved all of the characters, although Daniel is not quite as sinister as I expected. The remote island/lighthouse setting is perfect for the story and the vivid language brought it to life in my mind. In particular, I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the unpredictable sea - violent one minute, calm the next.

This was a really easy and enjoyable book to read.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Read my Author in the Spotlight interview with Melissa Bailey here

AUTHOR IN THE SPOTLIGHT - Jane Isaac

I am delighted that JANE ISAAC is joining me on my blog today. Jane's latest book - Before It's Too Late - was published by Legend Press on 1 June 2015. 

So Jane, what inspired you to write a book in the first place?
Fifteen years ago, my husband and I took a year out to travel the world and a friend gave us a diary to keep. I didn’t think we’d keep it up, but we both wrote in it every day and returned home at the end of the trip with a collection of diaries. Years later, the photos brought back memories, but it was the diary that recreated the true sense of the places we visited. That’s when my love affair with writing began.

Where do your ideas come from?
I think it’s a mixture of an over active imagination and nosiness! I’ve always been a great people-watcher and I like to imagine putting ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, taking them out of their comfort zone and watching how they react.
With The Truth Will Out, the idea for the opening stemmed from a Skype conversation with my best friend. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if two people were chatting over Skype and one watched the other be attacked through the screen. And then what if they had a secret that meant the friend couldn’t contact the police. The story unfolded from there…
For Before It’s Too Late, it was the idea of what would happen if someone was kidnapped and kept hostage in a disused pit in the Warwickshire countryside. What would they go through, how would they feel, as the police work around the clock to try to find them and track down their abductor?

Have your personal experiences influenced your writing? And if so, how?
I think authors always leave a little of themselves in a book. Most of my books seem to feature dogs or cats in some capacity - DI Jackman in Before It’s Too Late has a Labrador, similar to my own.
Books are a great medium to indulge interests too. I have a passion for travel, both in the UK and abroad, and the kidnap victim in the latest book is a Chinese student in Stratford upon Avon, which necessitated a lot of research on Chinese culture in order to get inside her head, and plenty of field trips and weekends away to explore Stratford.

Describe your writing style in 10 words or less?
A reviewer once described it as, ‘Writing so good, I didn’t notice it.’ That’s the best compliment I could ever have had.

Do you have any strange writing habits?
With a day job and a family, I can often be found penning ideas in very unusual places, like around the pool when my daughter has a swim class and jotting down notes in the supermarket queue.

Do you plot out the whole book before you start or just start writing and see where it leads you
With my first book, An Unfamiliar Murder, I didn’t do any plotting beforehand and just sat and wrote whenever I had a spare moment. But when I came to write my second I felt I needed more structure and direction. Now I draft short outlines of the story before I begin, although often characters do unexpected things, or plot twists and turns jump in and surprise me along the way.

What do you consider to be the hardest part of your writing?
Actually getting down to it! There are so many distractions with family, work, and the very addictive Facebook and Twitter which is made for born procrastinators like me who like to chat!

Do you read? If so, who are your favourite authors?
Of course. Books are never far from my mind, whether reading or writing. I love Peter James’ Roy Grace series and I also enjoyed the psychological thrillers of Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson and Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes.

What's the most interesting place you have visited when researching one of your books? And what's the strangest?
The most interesting were probably a mix of the Scottish Highlands for The Truth Will Out, and Stratford-upon-Avon for Before It’s Too Late. I loved learning about the history and culture of both places, and exploring the countryside in and around them.
The strangest experience was trudging over the fields of Northamptonshire with the family one Saturday afternoon, my daughter and dog running off ahead, while my husband and I searched for potential deposition sites for a body for An Unfamiliar Murder!

If you were writing a book about your life, what would be the title?
Ha! I thought it only fair to ask my husband to name this one and he came up with, ‘Are We Nearly There Yet!’ Apparently, I’m the most impatient person he knows. I only manage to write a novel because I do it in short snippets or scenes, one at a time.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Read voraciously in and around the genre you intend to work with and try to write something every day, no matter how short. When your script is complete, send it to people who you trust to give you honest and constructive feedback, then rework until it is the best you can do before you submit.
It can be difficult to find a home for a novel and publishers reject submissions for many reasons which are not necessarily anything to do with your writing: It may not fit with a publisher’s list, they may have something similar, they may not be looking for submissions in your genre at this time. So, if you receive a rejection, don’t give up; take heed of any advice, rework your script if necessary, and submit elsewhere.

And lastly, why should people read Before It's Too Late?
I’m rubbish at this sort of thing, so I’ll share some of a couple of early reviewers’ comments with you. Sorry for the cop out.
‘Jane Isaac has excelled herself, producing a dark and fascinating contemporary crime read. The parts featuring Min put this in a league of its own…Very moving indeed.’ Northerncrime

‘Really excellent crime thriller again from Jane Isaac, this time bringing us a new main protagonist (Will Jackman whom I adored) and with a heart and soul for the story provided by a victim of kidnap - Min Li, whose musings whilst trapped in a dark pit, not knowing if rescue is coming, gives a beautifully crafted edge to the whole thing that will keep you on the edge of your seat.’ Lizlovesbooks

About Jane Isaac

Jane Isaac is author of three psychological thrillers and lives in rural Northants, UK with her husband and daughter where she can often be found trudging over the fields with her dog, Bollo. When she is not writing she loves to travel, is an avid reader, Mum, dog lover and enjoys spending time with her family. She believes life should be an adventure!

Jane loves to hear from readers and writers. Visit her website, find Jane on her official Facebook page and follow her on Twitter - @JaneIsaacAuthor

Before it's too Late
Published by Legend Press (1 June 2015)

Synopsis: 
I concentrated hard, desperately listening for something familiar, the sound of life. I heard nothing. Just my own breaths and the wind, whistling through branches above… The thought made me shiver. I am buried alive.
Following an argument with her British boyfriend, Chinese student Min Li is abducted whilst walking the dark streets of picturesque Stratford-upon-Avon alone. Trapped in a dark pit, Min is at the mercy of her captor. Detective Inspector Will Jackman is tasked with solving the case and in his search for answers discovers that the truth is buried deeper than he ever expected. But, as another student vanishes and Min grows ever weaker, time is running out.
Can Jackman track down the kidnapper, before it's too late?

Click here to find it on Amazon UK.

AUTHOR IN THE SPOTLIGHT - Alexandra Sokoloff - BLOG TOUR

 I am delighted that ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF is joining me on my blog today, as part of the Blog Tour for her books Huntress Moon, Blood Moon and Cold Moon. Alexandra's Huntress Moon series is published by Thomas & Mercer. Cold Moon was published on 7 July 2015.

So Alexandra, what inspired you to write a book in the first place?
It was a number of factors, but one thing especially. I’ve always written very dark crime and supernatural thrillers, and when the Saw horror movies started coming out and were so incredibly successful, every studio and production company in Hollywood suddenly wanted to jump on that torture porn bandwagon. I was actually asked in script meetings to write torture and rape scenes. Well, I wasn’t going to do that for any amount of money.
But - screenwriters have no real power to say no to that kind of demand because you'll just be fired and someone else who will do it will be hired in your place. I knew I had to do something else entirely for a living, because the kind of cycle that a successful franchise like the Saw movies starts can go on for years and years. So that’s when I started writing my first novel, a very spooky college ghost story called The Harrowing. And luckily that book sold right away in a two-book deal and I did the maths and realised I could make a living writing books without having anyone tell me what I had to write. It felt like being let out of prison!

You write supernatural thrillers as well as crime thrillers. Where do your ideas come from?
Ideas come from absolutely everywhere. I dream some of them (I think any writer who isn’t keeping a dream journal is working too hard!). I’m always doing random research about hauntings and paranormal experiences, and about different aspects of crime.
I also find rage a great motivator. I get tremendous inspiration from things that make me angry. Social injustice especially. My supernatural thriller Book of Shadows, and another very different crime book that I'm outlining now are both partly inspired by the gross miscarriage of justice that resulted in the accusation and conviction to the West Memphis Three in Arkansas: three teenage boys wrongly accused of the murders of three little boys. I am especially outraged by crimes against children and women: rape, abuse, trafficking. My Huntress Moon thrillers definitely draw on my rage about those crimes and my anger at society for not making their elimination a top priority.

Have your personal experiences influenced your writing? And if so, how?
Very much so. I could go on about this all day, but just to give one very important example - before I sold my first screenplay, I worked in the Los Angeles County prison system, teaching juveniles. The boys were mostly teenage gang kids and the girls had been arrested mostly for prostitution. Yes, they arrested the girls instead of the men who were trafficking and abusing them. The whole experience taught me a lot about the vicious circle that the so-called justice system is. We are failing our next generation, and it's heartbreaking. I know I write crime thrillers before of that early experience, and I draw on the emotion of it - and the criminal procedure I learned during that period of life - all the time.

Describe your writing style in 10 words or less?
Intense, highly visual, highly sensory, spooky and page-turning.

Do you have any strange writing habits?
I’m laughing. My partner, Craig Robertson, is also a crime writer and he finds it very strange that I move around to all the rooms of the house in the course of my work day. I can only stay about two hours in one place and then it feels like there’s too much energy in the room and I have to go somewhere fresh. And I also change clothes four or five times during my writing day. After two or three hours whatever I’m wearing doesn’t feel right any more and I have to change it up.

Do you plot out the whole book before you start or just start writing and see where it leads you?
Oh, I am a total plotter. I wouldn’t ever have been hired as a screenwriter if I couldn’t go in and pitch the executives, producers and director the entire story, from beginning to end. I use index cards and a three-act, eight-sequence story structure grid to start brainstorm plots. The index card method is a very common plotting technique in Hollywood because you often have to come up with full story ideas so quickly, sometimes literally overnight. If you’re not familiar with the three-act, eight-sequence structure, I teach this method in my Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workbooks and on my blog.

I have really enjoyed all three of your books. What made you write about a female serial killer?
Thank you! When I was a screenwriter, I worked on several film projects featuring serial killers. So for several years I was doing research into the subject every way I could think of besides actually putting myself in a basement with one of these monsters. I tracked down the FBI's behavioural science textbook before it was every available to the public. I stalked psychological profilers at writing conventions and grilled them about various real life examples. I went to forensics classes and law enforcement training workshops.
And while I was doing all that research, one thing really jumped out at me about serial killers. They’re men. Women don’t do it. Women kill, and sometimes they kill in numbers (especially killing lovers or husbands for money – the “Black Widow” killer; or killing patients in hospitals or nursing homes: the “Angel of Death”) — but the psychology of those killers is totally different from the men who commit serial sexual homicide.  I couldn’t believe no one was writing about that, and so for years I’ve been thinking about a great storyline and characters that would allow me to explore these issues in a series of nail-biting thrillers. I finally hit on it with Huntress Moon.

What do you consider to be the hardest part of your writing?
The first draft. I love the research, I love the pre-plotting, I love the editing and layering once the first draft is done, but actually bashing through that first draft is absolute torture. I hate it.

Do you read? If so, who are your favourite authors?
I read compulsively, often five books a week or more. Considering how little time I have to read, that's a lot. I love Tana French, Mo Hayder, Denise Mina, and Val McDermid - the way these authors deal with crime from a feminine perspective, and how they cross police procedure with an almost supernatural sense of evil. I'm a big fan of Stephen King, early Thomas Harris and Lee Child. And of course, my partner, Craig Robertson. What can I say - great writing is sexy!

If you were writing a book about your life, what would be the title?
The first thing that came to mind was 'Against the Current'. Which makes me think that I might be making things too difficult for myself! Seriously, I would never write a book about my own life. Fiction is so much more interesting.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Oh gosh. I blog and teach about this constantly. So I guess the advice is, read my blog! The self-publishing revolution has made it possible for more writers to make a living than ever before. The promotional tools are unprecedented. But you need to understand how self-publishing works before you hit 'publish' on that KDP upload screen.

And lastly, why should people read the Huntress Moon series?
Readers who enjoy serial killer thrillers are fascinated by the way the books turn the genre inside out. Readers who are sick and tired of seeing women portrayed as victims are thrilled by the way these books turn the tables. But mostly, the books are about haunted and haunting characters engaged in a life-or-death battle with real forces of evil. If you like books that make you think and feel along with your adrenaline rush, I think you’ll love them.

Thanks so much for having me, Vicki!

About Alexandra Sokoloff

Alexandra Sokoloff is the Thriller Award-winning, Bram Stoker and Anthony Award-nominated author of eleven supernatural, crime and paranormal thrillers. As a screenwriter, she has sold original scripts and written novel adaptations for numerous Hollywood studios, and teaches the internationally acclaimed Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshops. She lives in Los Angeles and in Scotland.

Find Alexandra Sokoloff:

AXSokoloff@aol.com

http://alexandrasokoloff.com

https://twitter.com/AlexSokoloff

http://www.facebook.com/alexandra.sokoloff

http://goodreads.com/alexandrasokoloff

www.screenwritingtricks.com

Huntress Moon crime thrillers

All three books are published by Thomas & Mercer

Series synopsis: 
Special Agent Matthew Roarke thought he knew what evil was.
He was wrong.

FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke is closing in on a bust of a major criminal organisation in San Francisco when he witnesses an undercover member of his team killed right in front of him on a busy street, an accident Roarke can't believe is coincidental. His suspicions put him on the trail of a mysterious young woman who appears to have been present at each scene of a years-long string of 'accidents' and murders and who may well be that most rare of killers: a female serial.

His hunt for her will take him across three states, and force him to question everything he believes about evil and justice.

Click on the links between to read my reviews.
Huntress Moon
Blood Moon
Cold Moon

The Martyr's Curse by Scott Mariani

The Martyr's Curse
By Scott Mariani
Published by Avon Books (4 June 2015)
ISBN: 978-0007486182

Publisher's description
AN ANCIENT CURSE. A SHOCKING MASSACRE.
A THREAT TO UNLEASH THE ULTIMATE DISASTER.

Ex-SAS major Ben Hope has found sanctuary in a remote monastery in the French Alps. But wherever Ben goes, trouble is not far behind.
When a team of merciless killers slaughter the innocent monks, Ben's revenge quest draws him into a bewildering mystery of stolen treasure, deception and murder.
As he works to unravel the clues, he is confronted with a terrifying reality that threatens to cruelly reshape the future of humanity. What is the significance of an ancient curse dating back to a heretical burning? What are the real ambitions of the enigmatic 'Army of the Prepared'?
The race is on to prevent global devastation, and there's only one man who can do it.

My verdict
The Martyr's Curse is the 11th book in Scott Mariani's Ben Hope series. I would advise that you read the other 10 books first if you can, as this will help you to understand more about Ben Hope and his professional and personal background.

In this book, we meet action hero Ben Hope as he recovers in the peace and tranquility of a remote French monastery. Living a simple existence among the monks, he is regretting his often-violent past and looking towards a far more peaceful future. But his current life is destroyed after a vicious attack on the monastery. Ben Hope vows to find the perpetrators of massacre and avenge the deaths of his friends.

Ben Hope books never disappoint. These fast-paced thrillers are filled with action and adventure, as well as a hint of romance and intrigue. Ben Hope is a great action hero with an interesting background. He is ready to help out the underdog but merciless when he needs to be. In The Martyr's Curse, he is fighting against the odds to save the world from a terrifying, but very real, threat.

In The Martyr's Curse, Ben Hope is far more on his own than in the previous books, as he isn't in contact with his old friends and colleagues. This didn't affect my enjoyment of The Martyr's Curse, but it would be great to get some of that camaraderie back again, as this is what makes him different from other more-solitary action heroes.

As with all Ben Hope books, The Martyr's Curse is ideal for fans of action thrillers. And it makes a change from Jack Reacher, especially for anyone who prefer an action hero with a sensitive side.

Thank you to Avon Books for my copy of the book (won in a Twitter competition).

Click here to read my review of the previous Ben Hope book, The Forgotten Holocaust.

First One Missing by Tammy Cohen

First One Missing

By Tammy Cohen

Published by Transworld (2 July 2015)
ISBN: 978-0857522771

Publisher's description
There are three things no-one can prepare you for when your daughter is murdered:
- You are haunted by her memory day and night.
- Even close friends can't understand what you are going through.
- Only in a group of mothers of other victims can you find real comfort.
But as the bereaved parents gather to offer support in the wake of another killing, a crack appears in the group that threatens to rock their lives all over again.
Welcome to the club no-one wants to join.

My verdict

First One Missing is a character-led slow burning psychological thriller. It follows the heartbreak of families whose daughters appear to have been the victims of a serial killer over a four-year period. While the police continue to search for the murderer, the parents live with the knowledge that they will never see their beloved daughters again and struggle to face the future without them.

Helen Purvis, the mother of the first victim, has set up Megan's Angels, a support group for the bereaved parents, named after her daughter. Unfortunately, as more girls are murdered, the group grows in number. Leanne Miller, one of the family liaison officers, supports the families as they try to move on with their lives. But it's difficult for them to do this when the killer is still at large and the media are knocking at the door.

In First One Missing, Tammy Cohen has tackled a difficult subject - the murder of girls under 10. While the underlying story is a dark one, she manages not to make the book gruesome or difficult to read. The narrative plays havoc with your emotions as it switches from one character to another. You get to know their innermost thoughts and feelings as the story progresses, which makes the characters seem very real.

Several of the parents come under suspicion as the police investigate, but there are also various other suspects too. I had no idea who the killer was, and this came as a welcome surprise (as I often manage to guess correctly). This is a complex plot, but well written with several twists and turns to lead the reader off track.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.