Book Extract: Fatal Equation by Gethyn Jones

I’m excited to be welcoming Gethyn Jones to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, Fatal Equation.

Aged just 16, Ali Kurmi was exiled to Portsmouth by his despicable, sweaty, arrogant, bully-of-a-rich businessman father, to protect the family name. Now in his thirties, Ali’s forced to work as an unofficial bailiff for his father’s property company. The only things keeping him going are his songwriting and DJing.

Laura O’Brien, a former journalist from Dublin is a looker and defies her 52 years – made even more remarkable by her tragic back story. Fate strikes again as her renowned husband of just four years, racehorse breeder Frank O’Brien, collapses and dies of a brain aneurysm. It leaves her broken-hearted, but very rich. Determined to avoid returning to the bottle, and egged on by her sponsor, the enigmatic Alice Kingston, Laura leaves Tipperary to start afresh in Hampshire.

This is the story of Ali and Laura – how they got together – and how they navigate their way through a seemingly endless number of cruel and unlikely twists and turns – that threaten their relationship – and their lives.

Gethyn has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy it.

*****beginning of extract*****

Blurb: Laura O’Brien, a wealthy widow in her fifties, didn’t expect to fall in love again – especially not with a 35-year-old British-Indian songwriter. But when she meets Ali Kurmi, a corporate DJ with his own deeply troubled past, everything changes.

Together, they start to build a life filled with creativity, passion, and purpose. Yet danger still lurks in the shadows – Stephanie, Laura’s scheming stepdaughter, wants blood. Fuelled by greed and resentment, she’s plotting something deadly … and failure isn’t an option.

Set between rural Hampshire and Tipperary, Fatal Equation is an emotional rollercoaster of love, ecstasy, frustration, obsession, and revenge.

… a book that blends the warmth of a feel-good romance with the chilling edge of a thriller …

*****

Announcing to your partner that you’ve become a father with one of your ‘exes’ is never going to be an easy conversation. Ali has been very open with Laura about his previous love life – which inclded a long time with Becky Davies. It was a mutually satisfactory ‘friends with benefits arrangement’. When Ali met Laura, his relationship with Becky ended abruptly – until yesterday when his pal Club Manager Dom contrived to get them to meet up again. It was then that an extremely dishevelled-looking Becky dropped the bombshell.

Ali leans in close to the bathroom mirror, pulls both eyelids down and grunts. He turns his head to the right and then the left. He’s never gone for the George Michael look – the five o’clock shadow. Too much work to keep tidy; so, clean-shaven it’s always been.

He’s had a restless night, hardly surprising under the circumstances. To wake up one day and discover that you’re the father of a three-week-old child that you knew nothing about, is understandably mind-blowing.

He shaves, brushes his teeth, smiles to check them and walks back into the bedroom.

‘How are you my gorgeous daddy-o?’ says Laura teasingly, from somewhere under a pillow.

‘I’m fine. Are you still OK with all this?’

‘Of course,’ she says surfacing, doing her best to wake up.

Ali stares at her, amazed at how she always manages to look stunning first thing in the morning. Her tousled hair and sleepy eyes are so incredibly sexy, and his first urge is to get undressed again and get back into bed with her.

This morning though, he has something else on his mind, his daughter.

‘Why don’t you go and see her on your own? You two have a lot to talk about,’ says Laura.

‘Yeh? OK, I think I will, if you don’t mind. Thanks for being so good about this. You-are-incredible. As always.’

‘Listen, this is all good for me too, remember. I love kids and I can’t wait to meet Olivia. We’re all going to have such fun. Well, maybe not just yet but we will soon. I have plans. Put the coffee on. I’ll be down soon. I need one before my swim today.’

Laura steps into the kitchen in her dressing gown, after her twenty lengths. Her hair is combed back, and she looks sleek and toned.

‘Did you get through?’

‘No, it’s turned off.’

‘I don’t blame her, but you’ll get through eventually. When you get there, remember what I said. That we’ll support them both from now on. Becky mustn’t feel she’s on her own with this. Try and find out what she immediately needs, and we’ll get things sorted. I’m so excited about all this. And invite her over; if she’d like a break and a bit of pampering, I can help. A night or a week, it doesn’t matter. I don’t have a diary full of commitments, so it’s all good.’

Ali finally gets through and he’s out of the door like a rocket and driving back to Portsmouth.

On the way, he takes the opportunity to make a couple of calls. He wants to speak to the scheming Dom, to say thanks; but first he calls his sister, Rani. He needs to shout about his joyful news to someone. Sadly, it’s not something he can share with the rest of his family. They don’t even know about Laura, let alone Becky and a child.

‘Guess what, Ran? I’m a dad.’

‘You’re a what? Don’t be ridiculous, Ali.’

‘I am. I’ve got a three-week-old daughter. She’s called Olivia.’

‘Let me get this straight, you and Laura have had a baby? She didn’t look very pregnant last time I saw her.’

‘No, not Laura. Becky!’

‘What? You and Becky have a daughter?’

‘Yes, isn’t it wonderful?’

‘Wow, Ali, where did that come from? And what the hell does Laura think about it?’

*****end of extract*****

About Gethyn Jones –

Gethyn spent 30 years as a producer, presenter and journalist – primarily in BBC local radio and latterly in commercial radio and community TV. He’s an accomplished songwriter and producer, having been part of JUGG Music which provided music for a variety of BBC and ITV programmes, back in the mists of time.

Revitalised and inspired by new audio technology – after a long period of dormant creativity, in 2018 Gethyn hatched a plan to combine his diverse skills. He started work on the trilogy, Fatal Equation – a music album, TV drama proposal and novel.

“As a songwriter and producer I was disillusioned with the way the music industry had changed – effectively closing its doors on emerging talent.

“Despite this uninspiring backdrop I continued to write songs. After a couple of years I’d collected quite a few decent tracks, professionally recorded with great musicians, many of them friends – and fully mastered, ready to unleash.

“But what was the point? Without the backing of a major record label I had a better chance of winning the Euromillions jackpot.

“At this point in 2018, an actor friend (Ian Bartholomew*) recognised a cohesion running through the songs I’d produced. After listening patiently to my moans about the futility of releasing them, he suggested creating a unique context for them; building them into a story that could possibly form the basis of a TV drama. A book, even.

“What a radical, brilliant idea! It was never a lifelong dream to write and publish a novel. But here I am, with pride, brandishing my first – Fatal Equation.

“What happened over the next eighteen months was extraordinary. The whole project became something of an obsession – and a complete delight. To boot, the process of writing was, to my surprise, arousing deep emotional rumblings, similar to my songwriting.

“So … a simple means to an end (to get my music heard) developed into a journey that was unplanned but turned into one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. So much so, that completing the trilogy of books is my number one desire. Number two, is already done and due to be published – and the third and final volume is already in the planning stages.

“I hope you enjoy reading about Ali and Laura and their beautiful relationship that is always being tested to the nth degree … and also their wonderful, diverse group of friends who help to make this romantic, edgy saga come alive.”

*“Ian Bartholomew is a British actor who spent two years in the Coronation Street cast, as abuser Geoff Metcalfe.”

Say hello to Gethyn via Instagram, Facebook, Linktree, Threads, X and TikTok. 

Click to buy Fatal Equation on Amazon. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.