Tag Archives: #emotionalread

Life’s busy….it’s all about Riley

There nearly wasn’t a blog post this week…. a certain diminutive green haired teenager has been taking up all my spare time. Yes, you guessed it- Riley!

Some of you might have noticed that I shared my pre-order links for the e-book edition of Riley a couple of weeks ago but I’ll let you in on a secret…. Riley still looks pretty much like the picture above. Yes…I’m still typing furiously to get it all done. There’s about 3000 words still to be typed so not too much.

I’m also in the thick of proofreading and editing. My wonderful Infamous Five have been reading and giving me their feedback for the past few weeks. I seriously couldn’t do it without the love and support of those guys. Things are on track though so all is well…so far.

I put the feelers out this week to some book bloggers to see if they would be interested in receiving an eARC copy mid-October and reviewing Riley for their own blogs/websites. So far so good on that front too. If you are a book blogger and are interested in reviewing Riley then please drop me a message in the comments below.

There is one aspect of this tale that I do want to be transparent about right from the start. This book differs slightly from my previous book babies. I’ve included a scene of self-harm. There is also a smattering of social media bullying woven into the tale. (Trying not give any spoilers here) I wholly appreciate that these are sensitive topics and could put some readers off but I didn’t want to hide them and accidentally cause anyone distress. That is not my intention here.

I hope once you get your copy of Riley safely downloaded to your kindle or the Amazon courier delivers your paperback copy that you fall in love with this young lady as much as I have. Sometimes as an author you create a character that steals a piece of your heart. Riley is one of those…well to me anyway. I’ll let you make your own minds up in due course.

I’ve set myself the realistic target of 25 ebook pre-orders. Sorry to those who prefer a physical copy, there’s no pre-order available. So far as I type this, I’m at 7. So, if you’d like to pre-order, the links are below.

I’ll love you and leave you here for now. Work to be done to ensure Riley looks like the photo below by 18 November 2022!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9SWP6K3

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B9SWP6K3/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_S6SCJ8PPM7NPDDHPNR8P

Long Shadows – now available worldwide

“Folks, we’ve another new one for you next. It’s a bit of a reflection on the good times. This is Back In The Day.”

The Delta blues influences appeared to catch the crowd off guard, but they clapped along in time as Jake and Todd performed the fast paced, technically challenging song that’s lyrics focused on their good memories of Rich and the band in days gone by. With a nod, Jake allowed Todd his moment in the spotlight during the mid-song solo. He couldn’t help but smile with pride as his former student played the difficult solo faultlessly. As they continued together for the final verse and chorus, Jake mouthed, “Good job.”

“Give it up for Todd, folks!” he cried out at the end of the song. “Awesome job!”

Two songs later, Jake paused between songs for a drink of water. Screwing the lid back on the bottle, he said, “We’ve two more for you. I’d like to thank you all for coming out tonight. This is the first time we’ve done an acoustic show like this and you’ve made it easy for us. Thank you.”

The fans cheered enthusiastically. Holding his hand up for quiet, Jake continued, “Our last new song is the title track from the new record. If you were at the show in Baltimore last year you might already have heard this. This is Shattered Hearts.”

As they played the intro to the album’s title track, Jake recalled the night he first played it for his sister out on the sun deck. Holding onto the memory helped to keep his mind focussed on the song. In front of him, the loyal Silver Lakers, who had been at Rich’s memorial show, sang the chorus along with him. Their passion for the song swelled his heart.

“Thank you. That was special,” said Jake as the last notes faded away. “Now, all good things come to an end, folks. You’ve been awesome tonight. I hope you’ve enjoyed this as much as Todd and me. We’ll leave you with Flyin’ High.”

Long Shadows is now available on Amazon in both kindle and paperback format worldwide!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RR1FGLG

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08RR1FGLG

Have you bought your copy yet?