NK Chats To… C.D Steele
Thank you so much for joining me today. Can you tell me about your book, Hidden Truth and where we find Joe Wilde when the story begins?
Joe is in his office with potential new client Sylvia Graham, who wants Joe to investigate the disappearance of her daughter Julie. She had vanished six years prior, seemingly without a trace.
What are the challenges of writing a book series? What do you find most enjoyable about it?
I suppose the main challenge of writing a book in a series is being able to come up with an original plot. It needs to be different to the plots in the previous books, but at the same time not so different that it doesn’t feel part of the series.
What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any writing rituals?
I have no particular writing rituals. I mostly write in the evenings during the autumn and winter months.
If you were putting together a playlist for this novel, which songs would you include?
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Book Review: The Three Witches By Elena Collins
I’m very excited to be welcoming Elena Collins to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, The Three Witches.
Now: When Ruthie gets the part of one of Macbeth’s famous three witches she can’t wait to get started. Inspired by the beauty of the film’s Scottish locations and the camaraderie of the cast and crew, she can leave behind the expectations of her family and her lacklustre love life, at least for now. But as echoes from the past begin whispering in Ruthie’s ear and a restless spirit draws her further into its centuries-old secrets, it soon becomes clear that only she can uncover the truth of a terrible injustice.
1050 Scotland: Isobel and her two sisters have learnt about healing from their loving mother Sidheag, and she in turn has kept them safe. But without the protection of their late father, Sidheag knows that her daughters must find husbands or their futures are at risk.
Isobel believes in love over duty and when she catches sight of King Macbeth’s stepson Lulach she can picture a happiness she had hardly dare imagine. But as heir to a Scottish throne that is drenched in blood, Lulach’s destiny is to be a warrior. When Isobel’s actions leave her and her sisters vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft there may be nothing that can keep the three women safe, not even the great Macbeth himself.
As the calls from the past grow ever louder, Ruthie has no choice. Macbeth’s witches have a story that needs to be told and the truth can no longer stay hidden…
*****
1050. Scotland. Isobel and her two sisters, Merraid and Ysenda are healers and midwives. As each of them grow and find love, the risks for their safety increase.
Present day – Ruthie gets an opportunity to be part of a documentary, playing one of Macbeth’s three witches. She sees the trip to Scotland as a chance to get away from the pressures of her life. However, she begins to see things that can’t possibly be real. Is she losing her mind or is someone trying to reach her?
A story of survival and love is fighting to be told.
by Book Review: Dragon Kin’s Blood By Jo Gatenby
I’m so pleased to be welcoming Jo Gatenby to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Dragon Kin’s Blood.
Who do you trust when you can’t go home?
After centuries of hiding themselves and their shifting abilities from outsiders, the Dragon Kin decide to send a delegation of “dragon riders” to a nearby Lowlander territory. Eager to see the world, young Lauran quickly volunteers. But not all Lowlanders can be trusted. As the visit comes to an end, Lauran finds herself trapped in her draconic form—and hunted by an evil warlock. Desperate to protect herself and her people, she flees along the Dragon Spine Mountains, away from friends and foes alike.
Meanwhile, the last place Jenny wants to be during her summer break from university is on a family vacation with her mother’s new husband and his young son, Davy. Hoping for some peace and quiet, she explores a nearby cave—only to stumble into a portal to the Kingdom of Galahar, a land of magic and mythological creatures.
As Jenny searches for Davy, who follows her through the portal, and Lauran struggles for freedom, they come together with the help of Nath, an apprentice shaman of the Anishinabe people. Between Jenny’s technology and Nath’s magic, can they help Lauran escape the warlock’s relentless pursuit before he gets his hands on the Dragon Kin’s blood?
*****
I have been a long time fan of fantasy. I have read many books which involve dragons in one guise or another; from rare and mysterious beasts to semi-organic war machines and I can honestly say that this is the first time I have encountered dragons in the way they are portrayed in this book. I won’t give it away, but let’s just say that the classic rider / dragon pairing is brought into question.
by Book Review: Blind Pursuit By Rob Sinclair
I am absolutely thrilled to be welcoming Rob Sinclair to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his new book, Blind Pursuit.
Callum Murphy thought he was happily married to a corporate consultant…
But when police show up at Callum’s work site, informing him of his wife Lea’s death – his world starts to crumble. And it turns out, her death was just the beginning…
Within a few hours, Callum is told that Lea was, in fact, an MI6 agent who was killed because of intelligence only she had, strangers with guns break into his home and he’s forced to run for his life. Thrust into a terrifying chase across Europe, Callum has to dodge British police and shadowy MI6 operatives who believe he knows more than he’s letting on. All the while trying to piece together the truth about his wife’s final mission.
But the deeper he digs, the more dangerous his situation becomes, forcing him to ask the ultimate question: Who did he marry, and can he trust anything she ever said to him?
*****
Callum loves his wife, Lea. However, when he is told she’s been killed overseas on what he believed to be a business trip, his world starts to unravel quickly. He soon learns that the woman he loved was someone he didn’t really know at all.
I was delighted to be welcomed onto the blog tour for Blind Pursuit, the latest novel by Rob Sinclair. Having not had a chance to read any of his previous books, I didn’t fully know what to expect. All I knew was that the premise sounded very engaging. And boy was it.
by Book Review: The End of the Sahara By Saïd Khatibi
On an early autumn morning in 1988, on the outskirts of an Algerian city on the edge of the desert, a shepherd stumbles upon the lifeless body of Zakia Zaghouani, the stunning nightclub singer at the Sahara Hotel. Suspicion immediately falls on her lover, who is thrown into prison.
The incompetent Inspector Hamid begins an investigation. So does the defense lawyer of the main suspect. Family, friends, and close ones give their testimonies, finding themselves confronted with their past. Secrets, betrayals, grudges, but also dreams and hopes shed light on their connection to the victim.
Each person harbours, for one reason or another, the desire to take revenge on her. So, who really killed Zakia? And what if, behind this woman’s murder, lie secrets so unbearable they could tear an entire community apart?
*****
What starts as a normal morning for an Algerian Shephard ends up being anything but when he finds the body of a young woman. Later identified as Zakia Zaghouani, a singer at the Sahara Hotel, an investigation begins to find her killer.
The premise of this novel was intriguing – a fictional murder mystery set against the real backdrop of the 1988 October Riots in Algeria.
It didn’t take the author long to get me right into the thick of the story. Although it’s main focus is the murder of Zakia, I could feel the rumbles of the riots simmering all the way through the novel. There’s something within the undertones of every description and piece of dialogue. It really did pull me into the situation and gave me a small idea of what it must have been like at that time for the characters in this story.
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