Tag: writer

My Dramatic Book – An Extract

In celebration of the fact that my book has now gone on sale at a cheaper rate on Amazon, I wanted to share another snippet. The Kindle version is approximately half price for the next month and I would love some new readers. Check out my dramatic book and maybe snap up an ebook if it takes your interest.

At the time of me writing this the UK version is £1.75 and the US version is $2.18.

——————————————————————————————-

The Fathers, the Sons and the Anxious Ghost

Extract from Chapter 19 (Max)

Today we all sat around a table, going through every line and discussing possible staging. The director, Mr Simmons, was very helpful and guided us kindly through each scene, suggesting ways we could alter our tone and bring out the characters appropriately. He was a legend in school, and we all took what he said very seriously, often taking time to note down his suggestions. My scripts ended up covered in copious notes, which I would probably have to type up later in order to make sense of them. The reviews for last year’s play were outstanding, and none of us wanted to let the others down. We all badly wanted to pull off a masterpiece and the concentration on our faces must have looked intense.


My phone vibrated and I caught it in time to send it to voicemail, but everyone seemed to glare at me as I tried to play it down. Dad then texted me, and I could see that it flashed up with the words ‘pizza later?’ This brought out a smile, which distracted me from what I was about to say.
“Keep up, Max,” Mr Simmons nudged, supportively.


Lisa repeated her cue to me and I managed to get through a few sentences correctly, even pausing for effect whilst showing a concerned expression on my face. A small clap came about as I completed the monologue, and a few more people read their lines before we were stopped and told to get a drink or use the washrooms.


Taking the opportunity to message Dad back, I agreed a time and he said he would pick me up. It was great because I hadn’t seen him for over a week now. I wondered if he had been around Sam’s house, but he hadn’t mentioned it and I hadn’t bothered to ask. With Sam and me, the less said about our two dads at the moment, the better.

Since we both discovered them together, we had been a bit emotionally scarred. I mean, I love gay people. I love my dad. I always thought Sam’s dad was great. But putting all of those elements together at the same time freaked me out. It would just take some getting used to I supposed, and the last thing I wanted was for it to drive a wedge between Dad and me.

It was partly my fault though that Mum found out; as in my distress I had messaged Chloe for support and she had told her nan, who just happened to be my neighbour, old Ruby. So taken aback, Ruby had gone straight around to tell my very surprised mum, who immediately flipped out, threw a toaster across the room, nearly hitting me and chucked everything that Dad possessed into bin bags, dumping them in the driveway.

Anyway, that was over with; the dust was settling, and it was important that Dad and I got to spend some quality time together. When he came to pick me up after rehearsals, he nodded at me to get in the car and drove off quickly, hardly speaking all the way there. When we sat down in Pizza Bob’s, I made the first move and asked him what he had been up to.

He was friendly and relieved that I was still speaking to him. I was, of course, likewise pleased that he was not holding a grudge. We managed to make some small talk and he mentioned how bad the football game had been the previous night and how our favourite team’s manager was appalling and should have been sacked. We definitely agreed on that. It made him laugh when I did an impression of the ignorant goalie who was basically not even paying attention when the striker came by and scored from up close. Dad seemed at ease with me, so I considered bringing up Josh, my old teacher.

——————————————————————————————————

Thank you for checking out an extract from my dramatic book – ‘The Fathers, the Sons and the Anxious Ghost’. I hope that you enjoyed it and maybe even found it intriguing. Check out Another Book Extract here.

5 Amazing Authors!

As a bookblogger, I am always finding time to sit back with a good book. Often I am making my way through loads of contemporary dramas and YA stories. I also love getting to grips with a well written biography now and again.

Today I wanted to recommend some amazing authors of contemporary drama novels. These writers are my go-to experts in building tension, exploring relationships and making me chuckle.

Joanne Harris

I first read her brilliant novel Chocolat back in 2000 and absolutely adored the French setting and the intriguing characters. She tends to write in short chapters which are told from different characters viewpoints.

‘Chocolat’ was followed by three more France based novel. My favourite of these was ‘The Lollipop Shoes’ which I would love to see made into a movie, set in Paris. She also writes YA books related to the Norse God Loki and short stories which are always well worth reading.

Liane Moriarty

Liane is known for her books which were turned into huge TV series. ‘Big Little Lies’ drew my attention as the book had Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon on the cover of the TV tied edition. I went on to love the TV shows and her writing.

Now I always have one of her incredible books on the go. She is Australian and her novels are all based there. Liane writes in the close third person which means she focuses on one character at a time.

Matt Haig

Matt writes fiction and non-fiction rather well. Having experienced mental health problems, he writes in detail about that experience and provides motivational texts such as ‘The Comfort Book’.

Having also explored Matt’s brilliant fiction, I am now always looking out for his content. His story ‘The Midnight Library’ sees Nora caught between life and death. She gets to find out what alternative lives she might have had. All of his work is easy to read and very relatable.

Lily King

When I randomly selected the book ‘Writers and Lovers’ based on its brilliant blue cover, I had no idea who Lily was. Now I am a big fan of her writing style. Writers and Lovers is a modern book about a woman who waits tables and writes in her spare time. It also follows her difficult dating life.

Since then I have enjoyed her short stories in the book: Five Tuesdays In Winter. This is an eclectic selection of tales exploring social issues. I totally recommend checking out her publications.

Celeste Ng

Again, I became aware of her books when Reese Witherspoon created a TV version of ‘Little Fires Everywhere’. As I knew the TV series was being made, I quickly read the book and both impressed me. I then went on to read her debut, ‘Everything I Never Told You’ which explores a family dealing with a significant loss.

Her stories deal with issues such as race, sterotypes and disadvantage. The characters feel very real and their storylines are very thought-provoking.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for something new to read, then please consider one of these amazing authors. They are all very talented and write very well developed characters with complex but fascinating narratives and cleverly planned plot points.

I have written a review of Blackberry Wine by my top author, Joanne Harris which may tempt you to try her insightful style. You may also want to consider following my blog for more bookish content.

Being Watched – Book Snippet

Happy Easter! Today is Good Friday and my newish YA mystery book has finally been discounted with 50% off. To celebrate this special offer I have included another snippet of this story of two teenagers constantly overshadowed by some watching eyes. I hope that you enjoy it and it might intrigue you enough to add it to your TBR list.

Blackbirds are sinister reminders in Being Watched.

Having got around to arranging with the applications people to delay my Uni course until the next year, I met up with Max and Siobhan at the Hub for lunch. It wouldn’t be long until we were all separated as they went off to different cities, but I had a feeling we ‘d get the chance to go and visit them both, so I wasn’t that worried. I bought them both a milkshake and Siobhan asked Max about his plan.

“It’s simple. We break in one night…”

“How though?” I piped up.

“We go on our bikes, ditch them behind the hedge that surrounds the front garden. Just in case the cameras see us, we wrap scarves around our heads…”

“Me losing my scarf is what started all of this.”

“…and I reckon I could easily pick the lock to the conservatory at the back.”

“Since when have you known how to pick locks?” Siobhan said, with a grin.

 “If not, we bash a little bit of glass away, wear gloves and make sure we don’t leave any signs that lead them to us. We know nobody actually lives there. It’s almost like a museum these days.”

The waitress dropped off the milkshakes and we all took big sips. I could feel the questions brewing.

“So how are we going to see?” she went on.

“Torches… I meant we can walk across the garden without light.”

“Moonlight only?” I said.

“Yeh, as long as we stick together and don’t knock anything over.”

Siobhan wasn’t impressed. “The place is scary as sh@#t. Are you telling me we have to walk around it in the pitch black?”

“No. Just till we get inside the building. Then we use torches,” he replied getting a bit touchy.

I knew we needed to do something. We couldn’t go on not knowing more about the place. I agreed that the time to act was now. As far as we knew, Bonita’s mum was the old man’s only child and whatever the situation was, we probably weren’t going to get another chance like this… to explore.

“Oh f*#k it. Let’s just go for it,” I said, trying to show Max that I had his back, even if I didn’t really know what I wasn’t getting myself into.

“Yeh, I’m up for anything. It’s a pretty sick idea. Just chancy,” said Siobhan, bouncing off my enthusiasm and deciding to go for the optimisation slant.

Changing subject, Max asked how I felt about my decision.

“Well, it’s done now. I doubt I’ll regret it,” I said in a matter of fact kind of way.

“I mean, I almost did the same thing. Uni is gonna break the bank for me,” said Max, frowning.

“That’s if we’re still alive by the time term starts,” Siobhan said, looking furtive.

“It’ll be fine,” I said, disguising my nerves. “We just stick together.”

“Glued man,” said Max, slapping my back. “We are glued together.”

“That sounds a bit too weird,” Siobhan sniggered.

I started to blow bubbles through the straw of the milkshake and snorted a bit as he whacked me again.

“You know it bro…and erm… sis?”

She snorted and I struggled to breath as I accidentally sucked some milkshake froth into my nostril.

———————————————————————

Here are the current links to Being Watched on Amazon:

UK link £1.77 on kindle

US link $2.95 on kindle

Now is the time to get in on the mystery.

Thank you so much for reading my extract. For more of my suggestions, have a look at Read, Watch and Listen. Then perhaps follow my blog for future similar content.