Perfect Silence by Helen Fields

Perfect Silence by Helen Sarah Fields
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days (as and when able)

Pages - 432

Publisher - Avon Books

Source - Review Copy

Blurb from Goodreads

When silence falls, who will hear their screams?

The body of a young girl is found dumped on the roadside on the outskirts of Edinburgh. When pathologists examine the remains, they make a gruesome discovery: the silhouette of a doll carved in the victim’s skin. And when a macabre ragdoll is found nestled beside an abandoned baby, DI Luc Callanch learns the killer’s horrifying game plan – cutting out dolls from the flesh of his victims.

When a series of drug-users are brutally branded with the letter Z slashed into their foreheads, Luc and his partner Ava must risk both their jobs and their lives to unearth the truth. Is this the merciless work of the same assailant?

As the killer’s twisted games persist, Luc knows it’s only a matter of time before he strikes again. Can they stop another victim from being silenced forever – or is it already too late?



My Review

A young woman is found dead with horrific wounds, DI Luc Callanch and his superior Ava are on the case. When another goes missing and a horrific calling card is left by the killer, the team know they have their work cut out, this one won't stop until they have been stopped. The clock is ticking to save the girls life. If that isn't enough to keep them busy someone is attacking the city's homeless, are the cases related? Who would want to target these victims and why?

The thing I like about Fields books is not only does she create a horrible "bad guy" giving the police tough cases but personally we get to know them, the officers too. If you haven't read the previous books guys really check them out. Whilst you could read this as a standalone you get much more out of the stories, particularly the personal side of the officers if you have read the previous books and got their backgrounds. Ava and Luc have this unspoken, unacknowledged attraction and now she has a promotion and he has a girlfriend it is strained. Despite this they work together, as always, to tackle those attacking Edinburgh's vulnerable and innocent people.

The attacks are pretty horrific, brutal and at times stomach churning, the author pulls no punches when describing the horrors inflicted on the victims. I read horror but there are one or two things that make me wince and give me the boak, one scene ooooft lets just say not for the faint hearted.

We have police procedural, investigation, murder, violence, attacks, friendship, relationships, some humour and that is just for starters. You think you know where the book is going, you don't at least once I had a gasp out loud moment! The characters, the police, I really like, Luc is such a nice guy but totally ruled by his past, Ava is complex, Lively is a loose cannon, funny at times in an unpc way and their boss, Overton oh what a bitch! A page turner, pulled in pretty much from the get go, I cannot wait for book five to see where the series goes next, 4.5/5 for me!

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Promised by Jodi Ellen Malpas

Promised by Jodi Ellen Malpas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 480

Publisher - Forever (Grand Central Publishing)

Source - Bought (Asda I think)

Blurb from Goodreads

Livy notices him the moment he walks into the coffee shop. He's heart-stoppingly stunning, with a blue-eyed gaze so piercing she's almost too distracted to take his order. When he walks out the door, she thinks she'll never see him again. Then she finds the note he left on his napkin . . . signed M.

All he wants is one night to worship her. No feelings, no commitment, nothing but pleasure. Every defense mechanism Livy has adopted during her solitary life is at risk of being obliterated by this confounding man. He's obnoxious but well-mannered. He's a gentleman but aloof. He's passionate but emotionless. Yet the fascination is so powerful, Livy can't deny him... or herself.

M awakens something in Livy, something deep and addictive that she never knew existed -- and that she fears only he can satisfy. But she senses that behind the fast cars, fancy suits, and posh apartment, he's aching inside. To have him, body and soul, she'll have to brave his dark secrets. Delving into his world and breaking down his defenses become her obsession - an obsession that could shatter her heart beyond repair..



My Review

Livy works in a coffee shop, she has zero interest in the guys who keep hitting on her. When M comes into her life, insults her coffee making abilities and leaves a note on a napkin Livy can't stop thinking about him. Again they "bump into" each other and M makes it clear he wants Livy for one night only, pure pleasure, no strings, can she do it?

So, things I liked and things I didn't about this one. I think, for me Livy seemed like two different people, at one point she isn't fussed with the opposite sex but falls, hard for this random stranger that we know nothing about. She is a bit wishy washey in the first part of the book and lets this guy literally sweep her off her feet and take her away in a car. I know I know it is a book but it annoyed me, she is so seemingly meek. The second half she gets some spark though and a bit of bite, female characters should have that and not be falling all over themselves for a guy.

M is pretty mysterious and we don't get to learn about him really until the book starts to get going. Yes there is sex scenes, lots of heart fluttering and oh my moments, it is erotica so par for the course. I loved the other aspects of the book, I LOVED her wee nan, not often in the book but when she was, for me, she was a wee scene stealer. Some of the book I think you can guess where it is going but I was still shocked and didn't see some things coming. I like when a book does that for you. I will say there was a few scenes that more than echoed fifty shades and some shiny brand new. If you liked the fifty books I think you will enjoy these, the book ends leaving you wanting more, not sure how many books are in this series but I need to look up the next to see what is in store for the characters, 3.5/5 for me this time.

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Say You're Sorry by Karen Rose Blog Tour

Today I am closing the blog tour for "Say You're Sorry" by author Karen Rose, tour arranged by Anne at Random Things Tours, thank you for having me on.





A wee bit about the author:




Karen lives in Florida with her family, their cat, Bella, and two dogs, Loki and Freya. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, and her new hobby - knitting.

QUICKFIRE ROUND WITH KAREN ROSE

Give us three adjectives to best describe your new novel?
Fast-paced, Satisfying, Bittersweet

What are the three most important character traits of your protagonist?
• Daisy – Feisty, Smart, Compassionate
• Gideon – Loyal, Tenacious Able to accept and build on his partner’s strengths

Where is the novel set?
Sacramento, CA and Mount Shasta, CA

What were the last three things you Googled in the name of “research”?
• Tree of Life
• Abandoned mines in California
• Coroner’s office: morgue tour policy

Who is your biggest influence as a writer?
Probably Carolyn Keene (all of them!), authors of the Nancy Drew stories. They were my favorite detective stories and I cut my mystery-writing teeth reading and trying to figure out whodunit.

What is your most socially unacceptable writing habit?
LOL, this isn’t a fair question! Okay, the most socially unacceptable habit that I’m willing to admit to: I choose a song and play it on infinite loop until it becomes background sound. In past books it was Barry Manilow’s When October Comes or Josh Groban’s Evermore or Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. For SAY YOU’RE SORRY, it was a medley of Hallelujah, including versions by K.D. Lang, Lindsey Stirling, and Jeff Buckley. I apologize to my husband, my dog, and any neighbors who were adversely affected. (My husband still gets a twitch at certain songs, LOL.)

Have you ever killed anyone off from real life in one of your novels?
Hmmmm. Well, the right answer is that “any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental.” But the truth is: Yes. There are a few old bosses, the kid who spit on me when I was seven years old, and a doctor or two who ticked me off. I look at it as therapy I don’t have to pay for.

What was your favourite book as a child?
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.

What is your favourite writing snack?
M&Ms. But I have attempted to limit this to an every-100-pages reward. Somehow veggies and hummus just aren’t the same. Boo.

You can find Karen on Twitter and Facebook

About the book:




Special Agent Gideon Reynolds has tried hard to put his past behind him. He escaped the violence of his cult upbringing when he was just thirteen, and since then routine and discipline have been his way of making sense of the world. But when a petite blonde woman crashes into his life, he begins to realize that a little bit of chaos might not be so bad. Daisy Dawson has had more than her fair share of pain too - but she's done being a victim. Daisy's determined to explore every new experience she can - including getting to know the dark and serious FBI investigator she meets when she fights off a masked attacker one night. It soon becomes clear that Daisy's attack was just the beginning. Now the bloodied bodies of young women are showing up all over California, and, as Gideon tries to find the killer, it's clear that Daisy is in more danger than they ever realised...

Praise for KAREN ROSE:
'Intense, complex and unforgettable' - James Patterson 'A high-octane thrill ride' - Lisa Jackson 'Fast and furious' - Sun

KAREN ROSE was introduced to suspense and horror at the tender age of eight when she accidentally read Poe's The Pit and The Pendulum and was afraid to go to sleep for years. She now enjoys writing books that make other people afraid to go to sleep.

Say You're Sorry by Karen Rose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - when able over 2 days

Pages - 544

Publisher - Headline

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Special Agent Gideon Reynolds has tried hard to put his past behind him. He escaped the violence of his cult upbringing when he was just thirteen, and since then routine and discipline have been his way of making sense of the world. But when a petite blonde woman crashes into his life, he begins to realize that a little bit of chaos might not be so bad.

Daisy Dawson has had more than her fair share of pain too—but she's done being a victim. Daisy's determined to explore every new experience she can—including getting to know the dark and serious FBI investigator she meets when she fights off a masked attacker one night.

It soon becomes clear that Daisy's attack was just the beginning. Now the bloodied bodies of young women are showing up all over California, and, as Gideon tries to find the killer, it's clear that Daisy is in more danger than they ever realised..


My review


Special Agent Gideon Reynolds is a professional, he keeps himself to himself, never having quite got over his past he finds relationships hard. When a woman is attacked and it links back to his past he is forced to face things he thought long buried in the past. Daisy Dawson is the lady Reynolds finds himself having to protect, after a maniac trys to abduct her they soon realise this isn't a random attack and Daisy may not be out of the woods just yet!

Ooooh if you have read Rose before you KNOW what to expect, a bad guy who is usually terrifying this one if many steps ahead of the law. He is well versed in his craft and knows how to capture them, hold them, kill them and dispose of them. He has never had any trouble until he encounters Daisy, what follows is a game of cat and mouse putting everyone at risk, can Daisy stay safe?

We hear from the killer as well as following Daisy, agent Reynolds and some of the police force involved in the investigation. The killer makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, he is smart, organised, ruthless., brutal and shows no mercy for those at the hands of his predilections. In among this Daisy and Reynolds are being ushered together by circumstances and family who would rather both took an involvement in the other sex. Neither are focused on that with so much at stake however they cannot deny a pull toward each other....

The book is fast paced and you would think at 500 plus pages you may taper off but the action keeps going and I found myself picking up the book every chance I got. I have read Rose plenty of times and whilst some crime books try and fail at a romance angle Rose pulls it off, in my opinion, every time. It doesn't detract from the story and sometimes when you are least likely looking for love you can't help but fall into it!

The book explores some really dark themed, violence, murder, abuse, cults, romance, relationships, love,sex, police procedural, investigation and that is just for starters. Rose is an author who has honed her craft and manages to keep it fresh despite having written so many books now. I always look forward to a new release and this one was no different , a start to a new series although I am sure I recognized some characters from previous books. I really need to look back at the books I have missed and try read them in order, great books, 4.5/5 for me this time!

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The Mum Who Got Her Life Back by Fiona Gibson Blog Tour

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Mum Who Got Her Life Back by Fiona Gibson. I have a review for my stop.

We had a fab time reading this, I love when you come across a book that is just right to lift you when certain things are going on in your life. I also was so happy to have a tub of quality street in the house lmao!




The Mum Who Got Her Life Back by Fiona Gibson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - just over a day

Pages - 400

Publisher - Avon Books

Source - ARC Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

The laugh-out-loud Sunday Times bestseller is back and funnier than ever! Perfect for fans of WHY MUMMY DRINKS.

When her 18-year-old twins leave for university, single mum Nadia’s life changes in ways she never expected: her Glasgow flat feels suddenly huge, laundry doesn’t take up half her week, and she no longer has to buy ‘the Big Milk’. After almost two decades of putting everyone else first, Nadia is finally taking care of herself. And with a budding romance with new boyfriend Jack, She’s never felt more alive.

That is, until her son Alfie drops out of university, and Nadia finds her empty nest is empty no more. With a heartbroken teenager to contend with, Nadia has to ask herself: is it ever possible for a mother to get her own life back? And can Jack and Nadia’s relationship survive having a sulky teenager around?

A gloriously funny and uplifting new book perfect for fans of Gill Sims and Jill Mansell.



My Review

Meet Nadia, mother to twins who are up out finally out the house, Alfie is finally off to uni and the nest is finally empty. Nadia comes across the fabulous Jack and sparks up a romance, finding the joys and freedom of an empty house and dating again. When Alfie drops out of uni and comes home Nadia has to juggle her role as girlfriend, mother and find her place between her ex and his partner whom Alfie seems to have no issue opening up to. Molly is the other twin but doesn't play a huge part at all, our main characters are Nadia, Jack, Alfie and flashes of her ex partner and his misses Kiki.

Nadia is embracing the HEN - Happy Empty Nester, I am sure many a parent can relate to this and as a non parent even I could appreciate it. Going from full on parenting to actually being about you again was a nice change of pace for me, also some fab comedic moments and social awkwardness that a think we can all appreciate or relate to.

The book goes between Nadia and Jack, each having their own chapters, thoughts and moments. Jack has an ex and a teenage daughter with some genuine issues that tackle real life struggles without going too far in depth. It keep the book grounded and real, jocular, emotive, relationships, working life, every day issues and some of the obstacles facing a couple starting off together mid life with all the baggage getting to that age brings.

Nadia in one hand is brilliant, early 50s, does nude modelling for an art class and the response that brings from her kids. Her job, her family woes especially dealing with the partner of her ex who of course is younger, a skin specialist and loved by her kids, ha rage! Jack works in a charity shop and is a sweet chap looking out for his colleagues, totally oblivious to unwanted attentions, trying to be a good dad and deal with an old emotive wound from his past. It is a great wee cast of characters and much as I liked Nadia when it came to Alfie I wanted to shake her although she admits herself she maybe coddles him a bit too much.

The book made me want to visit a charity shop, skelp into quality street at ridiculous o'clock. Try out that with a butternut squash to see if it is a real thing (you have to read yourself to find out, no spoilers here). Hug a dog and visit Lush to buy a ridic amount of stuff I don't need (I do love Lush to be fair but we all know what it is like buying excess crap we don't need!). I really needed a wee book like this, funny, serious, different, relationships, family, humour - just a wee something different. I have read this author once before and I will need to nosey and see what else she has that I have missed. 4/5 for me this time, despite it being a mum I reckon everyone can appreciate this wee book for what it is, had work not got in the way I likely would have sunk it in one sitting.

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Death Before Coffee by Desmond P Ryan Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the blog tour for Death Before Coffee by Desmond P Ryan, today I share my spot with Susan from Books From Dusk Til Dawn.




The Blurb
By 2:27 on a Thursday afternoon, the one-legged man from Room 8 at 147 Loxitor Avenue has been beaten to death with a lead pipe. Twenty-eight minutes later, Detective Mike O’Shea is testifying in a stuffy courtroom, unaware that, within an hour, he will be standing in an alleyway littered with beer cans and condoms while his new partner—the man who saved his life thirteen years ago—flicks bugs off of a battered corpse with a ballpoint pen. When a rogue undercover copper prematurely hauls in the prime suspect, Mike blows a fuse, resulting in an unlikely rapport developing between him and the lead homicide detective sergeant, a woman known for her stilettos and razor sharp investigative skills. At the end of his seventy-two-hour shift, three men are dead and Mike O’Shea is floating in and out of consciousness in an emergency room hallway, two women by his side. Death Before Coffee, the second book in the Mike O’Shea Crime Fiction Series, weaves a homicide investigation through the life of an inner-city police detective intent on balancing his responsibilities as a son, brother, and newly single father with his sworn oath of duty. When faced with death, Mike is forced to make decisions that stir up old memories, compelling him to confront his demons while fighting the good fight.




Author Bio
For almost thirty years, Desmond P. Ryan began every day of his working life with either a victim waiting in a hospital emergency room, or a call to a street corner or a blood-soaked room where someone had been left for dead. Murder, assaults on a level that defied humanity, sexual violations intended to demean, shame, and haunt the individuals who were no more than objects to the offenders: all in a day's work.

It was exhilarating, exhausting, and often heartbreaking.

As a Detective with the Toronto Police Service, Desmond P. Ryan wrote thousands of reports detailing the people, places, and events that led up to the moment he came along. He investigated the crimes and wrote synopses for guilty pleas detailing the circumstances that brought the accused individuals before the Courts. He also wrote a number of files to have individuals deemed either Not Criminally Responsible due to mental incapacity, or Dangerous Offenders to be held in custody indefinitely.

Now, as a retired investigator with three decades of research opportunities under his belt, Desmond P. Ryan writes crime fiction.

Real Detective. Real Crime. Fiction.

Buy the book HERE
I have a we guest post for my stop today, enjoy xxx
A Day In the Life of Demond P. Ryan

You may think that writers lead romantic lives, filled with intellectual discussions amongst like-minded people over late-morning lattes in cafes all over the world followed by a couple of hours of writing and then numerous pints in pubs in equally exotic and/or cool locations.

Maybe it’s just me, but that’s not how it goes.

Most mornings/all mornings begin with our toddler welcoming the day as only toddlers can: with a scream that is either ear- or nerve-shattering in both volume and intensity.

My wife (said toddler’s mother) is a saint. I may say that a few times throughout this post and, if I don’t, I should.

And, while I am a retired police detective, I am hardly living the life of leisure. I teach criminal and court procedure courses at one of the colleges here in Toronto a couple of days a week and write/eat/life/sleep/be the rest of the time.

All that is to say: I am often stealing time away from any one of my other responsibilities to run up to the glorious office/writing space on the third floor.

Once there, the magic begins.

Writing a series is like visiting old friends. Regardless of where I am in the manuscript, or which book I’m working on, all I have to do is open the file, and there the characters are, their lives unfolding before me. It’s that simple. Sort of.

For each book, I start by writing a (very) brief outline on cue-cards and then shuffle them into place to make everything make sense, adding bits and pieces of thoughts and dialogue to the cards as I go. Once the cards are in place, I weave them together with dialogue first, and then go back over the manuscript and add the narrative. From there, I go over the manuscript another time to fill in the details and make sure everyone’s movements make sense (oddly enough, those Sunday night dinner scenes at Mary Margaret’s are often the most challenging!).

And then I type ‘the end’. For a day or so, I’m usually pretty convinced that I’ve absolutely nailed it. After that, I’m pretty convinced that I’ve just written the crappiest piece of garbage ever and should delete the whole thing.

After another read-through, I send it off to my editor. And wait. She knows I sit and wait, so she is quite vigilant about getting it back to me sooner than later. And then the real work begins.

I spend the next few days/weeks going over all of the comments, making additions and deletions as required, and then send the manuscript back to my editor for another round or two.

In the meantime, I send the unpolished manuscript to my cover artists so that she can get a sense of what the book will be about and start her process.

After numerous emails back and forth with my editor and cover artist, a book is born.

And then it gets published and I put it out to you, hoping you like it because, yes, I do write for you, my reader. Without you, there would be no Mike O’Shea or Julia Vendramini or Ron Roberts or Amanda Black or…beyond the screen on my computer.

So thank you for completing the writing cycle. I hope you enjoy Death Before Coffee. And now, perhaps, we’ll have that latte or pint together, shall we?

The Nightmare Girl by Jonathan Janz Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the blog tour for "The Nightmare Girl" by Jonathan Janz, I am closing the tour and if you missed the previous stops please check them out, we all offer different content.



About the author:


Jonathan Janz is the author of more than a dozen novels and numerous short stories. His work has been championed by authors like Joe R. Lansdale, Jack Ketchum, and Brian Keene; he has also been lauded by Publishers Weekly, the Library Journal, and the School Library Journal. His novel Children of the Dark was chosen by Booklist as a Top Ten Horror Book of the Year. Jonathan’s main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children.
You can sign up for his newsletter and you can follow him on
Twitter @JonathanJanz
Instagram @jonathan.janz



The Nightmare Girl by Jonathan Janz
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: FLAME TREE PRESS; New edition (14 Feb. 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1787581292
ISBN-13: 978-1787581296
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nightmare-Girl-Fiction-Without-Frontiers/dp/1787581292/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1548443635&sr=1-1

BLURB: When family man Joe Crawford confronts a young mother abusing her toddler, he has no idea of the chain reaction he’s setting in motion. How could he suspect the young mother is part of an ancient fire cult, a sinister group of killers that will destroy anyone who threatens one of its members? When the little boy is placed in a foster home, the fanatics begin their mission of terror. 

Soon the cult leaders will summon their deadliest hunters―and a ferocious supernatural evil―to make Joe pay for what he’s done. They want Joe’s blood and the blood of his family. And they want their child back.

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER: FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.
http://www.flametreepublishing.com/


For my stop I have a wee bit from the author, enjoy.
Do your book ideas come from real life horrors? Any real cults that sparked ideas for The Nightmare Girl?

Well, the generic answer would be that I've read about numerous cults, and that I did do a ton of reading about cults.

The less generic answer, but one that's sort of challenging to talk about, is that my biological father was in a cult and tried to convert me when I was eighteen. I hadn't seen him in a long time and wanted to start some sort of relationship with him, so I flew to California in an attempt to establish a connection. He proceeded to take me on a drug deal in a back alley in Westwood, and then he drove the money up to a compound on a mountain in Malibu, where he left me in the truck staring at an armed guard. This was all a few hours after he'd shown me a video trying to persuade me to follow his religion. His whole rationale for believing in this particular cult leader was that the leader was alive "now" and why couldn't a messiah be alive during his (my father's) life? For my biological father, the fact that Christ and other holy figures had lived long ago disqualified them from being worshiped. But because this cult leader was alive now (at that time), he was worthy of being deified and venerated.

Anyway, the weird fervor I experienced that day, in addition to the funding of the cult through the drug trade, most likely played a role in the creation of THE NIGHTMARE GIRL. How's that for oversharing? :-)

Sea Babies by Tracey Scott-Townsend Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Sea Babies by Tracey Scott-Townsend, this is a #LOVEBOOKSGROUPTOUR.





About the Author:
Tracey is the author of The Last Time We Saw Marion, Of His Bones, The Eliza Doll and Another Rebecca. Her fifth novel, Sea Babies is out now. Tracey is also a visual artist. All her work is inspired by the emotions of her own experiences and perceptions.

Tracey is the mother of four grown-up children and now spends a lot of time travelling in a small camper van with husband Phil and their rescue dogs, Pixie and Luna, gathering her thoughts and writing them down.

You can find Tracey on Twitter
Facebook
Tracey's website




Blurb
Short Description:
Lauren Wilson is travelling by ferry to the Outer Hebrides, about to begin a new job as a social worker. When somebody sits opposite her at the cafeteria table, she refuses to look up, annoyed at having her privacy disturbed. But a hand is pushing a mug of tea towards her, and a livid scar on the back of the hand releases a flood of memories.

Some people believe in the existence of a parallel universe. Does Lauren have a retrospective choice about the outcome of a terrible recent accident, or is it the bearer of that much older scar who has the power to decide what happens to her now?




The book is available to buy now, click HERE to go to Amazon.

For my stop I have a wee content spot, enjoy.

Themes and Inspiration: Sea Babies by Tracey Scott-Townsend

I was surprised to discover that one of the themes at the heart of my new novel Sea Babies is actually Quantum Theory. My son put a name to it when I described to him that at the beginning of the novel we find Lauren in the cafeteria of a ferry to the Outer Hebrides, where she’s about to take up a position as a social worker, and, quite by accident, she comes face to face with a former lover, Neil, who she hasn’t seen for thirty years. By the end of the book, we discover that the reality Lauren believes she’s in is completely turned on its head by Neil’s alternative perception of their situation at that moment – at the same time altering several other minor storylines. This turns out to be the parallel universe, or multi-world branch of Quantum Theory. I was quite chuffed, to be honest.

Another inspiration behind the novel is a short story called The Sea-Baby by Eleanor Farjeon. I found it in Stories by Firelight, selected and illustrated by Shirley Hughes. A drowned village is exposed by an exceptionally low tide after a night of storms, and a child rescues a baby from one of the houses. She runs home with the baby in her arms, chased by the returning tide which has sealed itself back over the lost village. The sea baby stays awake for a whole week until the night of another storm, when its mother swims though the darkness and reclaims her baby from the child’s bedroom. The baby, who has remained awake for the week she stays with the child, finally settles into sleep in her mother’s arms.

This made me think of Old Kilnsea on the East coast of Yorkshire, which was taken by the sea in the 19th Century, and of the enduring connection I have with the area because of the year I spent living at Blackmore House in (new) Kilnsea in 1984, when I lost the baby I was carrying at six months. I imagine the possibility of being reunited with her if the cliffs I walked along then, much depleted in the decades since, were to be exposed again as in the story. In my novel, Lauren’s granny tells the story of the sea-baby to Lauren and her siblings and she relives a version of it in her parallel universe.

Another theme behind Sea Babies is displacement. I began writing Sea Babies in 2015, the year the heartbreaking image of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, washed up on a beach and appearing as though only sleeping, hit the headlines. For a while it felt as though the world might open its heart to refugees. In my book Lauren and Neil discover that they’ve both spent time working in refugee camps and each tells of a particular refugee friend who has claimed a special place in their heart.

I drew inspiration from my mother’s extinct care work files for an understanding of Lauren’s job as a social worker, and from word-of-mouth accounts of family situations from children I’ve worked with in the past.

Finally, an idea for a specific structure for the first part of this novel came from a viral YouTube video of a 2010 art-performance by Marina Abrovomich. It caught my attention and deeply moved me around the same time that I was planning the book. In the MOMA in New York she sits at a table with her eyes closed, while strangers sit down opposite her. She opens her eyes and they stare into each other’s faces for sixty seconds. At one point she opens her eyes and discovers it’s her ex-lover sitting there. They’ve been reunited after thirty years apart. The camera shows intense emotions playing over their faces as they gaze at each other without speaking. This is what I wanted to convey in the first part of my novel, only I reversed the situation and decided not to allow Lauren to look at Neil’s face until she had relived their past in her mind.

Those are just a few of the things that helped me build a framework for Sea Babies. A massive influence was the landscape of the Outer Hebrides, particularly the wonderful, unspoilt district of Uig and the township of Ardroil, and the cottage I settled on as Lauren’s fictional home. I have many happy memories of camping there. I also enjoyed my research stays in Edinburgh, and Glasgow – my paternal grandfather’s birthplace.

Thank you very much for having me on your blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the inspiration behind Sea Babies.

Tracey

Please check out the other stops on the blog tour, we all offer different content and you will find some epic book bloggers!