• …
  • About
  • Vampire Month Alumni
  • World Book Night

Lurking Musings

~ Musings of a newly published writer

Lurking Musings

Tag Archives: First World War

[Vampire Month] Angela Lockwood

02 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings, Vampire Month

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Angela Lockwood, Blood Ties, Edinburgh, First World War, Netherlands, Vampire, Vampire Cat


Meet Angela Lockwood, our first Vampire month victim for this year. She will be interviewed in the next post and will provide a guest post later in the week.

Here you can find details of all Angela’s publications and her bio and other links.

Slide1Language in the Blood 

Until the outbreak of the First World War, young Cameron Blair would have liked nothing better than to stay in Edinburgh and marry his childhood sweetheart. As the call to arms goes out, Cameron and his pals sign up to fight for their country. They are soon delivered into the nightmare of war, and there Cameron more than meets his maker. The story follows Cameron as he comes to terms with his new ‘life’, from his first days as a hapless vampire in war-torn France to the glamorous modern day setting of the Côte d’Azur. Along the way, he develops a distinctive taste for the finer things in life: jewels, yachts, small dogs and champagne-infused human…

 

Language in the Blood is FREE via the following sites:

 

Amazon worldwide: myBook.to/LanguageintheBlood

 

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/583826

 

Nook books: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/language-in-the-blood-angela-lockwood/1122788669?ean=2940152402995

 

Ibooks: https://itunes.apple.com/fr/book/language-in-the-blood/id1048212406?l=en&mt=11

 

Blood Ties (Language in the Blood book 2)

After meeting his maker on the battlefields of the First World War, Cameron Blair has spent almost Slide2a century coming to terms with his new vampire identity. Along with a taste for human blood and lapdogs, he has acquired the linguistic skills of his victims and learned to survive in the shady underbellies of Europe’s great cities. The end of Language in the Blood sees Cameron facing a dilemma when blame for one of his kills gets laid at his best friend George’s feet. Cameron discovers a deeply buried vestige of humanity and surrenders to the French authorities – a decision he soon regrets as it becomes clear they don’t have quite the same heroic role for a vampire agent in mind that his own vivid imagination does. Locked up, his needs denied, misunderstood and plagued by an unhealthy obsession with his friend’s daughter, the bored vampire edges close to insanity. Before long, Cameron starts plotting his escape.

 

Amazon worldwide: http://www.hyperurl.co/u6nkfg

 

The best thing about writing is connecting with other writers who have taken the independent publishing route. Their advice and the shared experiences have been invaluable. Being a member of the Independent Author Support and Discussion group (IADS) has spurred me to write several short stories and I’m proud to be part of several anthologies: Holes, You’re not Alone and (with my friend Elspeth Morrison) Something Short. The last two were published for charity.

 

 

Something Short

Amazon universal link: mybook.to/SomthingShort

 

You’re not Alone

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Not-Alone-Author-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00Y5RCOOE/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452522591&sr=1-4&keywords=you%27re+not+alone

 

Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Youre-Not-Alone-Author-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00Y5RCOOE/ref=pd_sim_351_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=61soH3zEgEL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_UX300_PJku-sticker-v3%2CTopRight%2C0%2C-44_AC_UL160_SR101%2C160_&refRID=1NF5VEM6HKC4EA2JGBVP

 

Holes

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Holes-Author-Anthology-Angela-Lockwood-ebook/dp/B01633DFPY/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1452522406&sr=1-1

 

Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Holes-An-Indie-Author-Anthology-ebook/dp/B01633DFPY/ref=pd_sim_351_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=41TFQ516mQL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR100%2C160_&refRID=1NF5VEM6HKC4EA2JGBVP

 

Amazon author page: Author.to/authorpage

 

Blog: http://languageintheblood.blogspot.fr/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CruftsloverAkaCameronBlair/?ref=hl

Twitter: @LitBCameronB

Webpage: http://www.cruftslover.adzl.com/

 

The Bio

Angela Lockwood-van der Klauw was born in the Netherlands. She learned her trade as a jeweller and gemmologist at the Vakschool Schoonhoven before moving to Edinburgh as an apprentice jeweller. There she met and later married her husband Adam. Angela ran her own jeweller’s shop in Edinburgh for ten years before she and her husband moved to the south of France in 2011. Like her vampire character Cameron, Angela prefers the climate there, but often thinks about the town she left behind and its people. Cameron’s story was born in the spring of 2013, a very wet spring during which Angela found herself climbing the walls, frustrated that she couldn’t go out and have her usual long walks along the seafront. Seeing his wife’s frustration, Adam suggested ‘Why don’t you write a book?’ Angela thought about it for a few days, then switched on her laptop and started writing Language in the Blood. Blood Ties is the second book in the series and Angela has also published a collection of short stories Something Short with her friend, Elspeth Morrison.

 

Review: Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge

03 Wednesday Sep 2014

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2014, amazon link, books, Centenary, Cuckoo Song, Downton Abbey, First World War, Flappers, Frances Hardinge, Jazz, Neil Gaiman, Oxfordshire, Self Publishing, The Great War, writing


You may recall way back in April that I went to the Fashionably Late World Book Night party with author Frances Hardinge in tow? Well, there was talk of there being copies of her latest book, Cuckoo Song, available for buying and signing but due to a post office snafu those books never appeared.

Of course every author wants Eddie to pose with their book now...

Of course every author wants Eddie to pose with their book now…

Well, not long after this I was contacted by her publisher and asked if I wanted a copy for review. Of course I said yes…

Unfortunately, being a very busy person, I have lately been very slow to get reviews out so here we are in September and I am only just getting round to putting my thoughts on this book down in a readable form.

Cuckoo Song is set in the fictitious English town of Ellchester, somewhere in Oxfordshire during the early 1920s. The post Great war vibe portrayed here is perfect for release in a year that sees the centenary of that war and the setting is vividly portrayed. Triss is a young girl who lives with her father (a famous architect credited with designing much of the town they live in), mother and younger sister (Penny). Her brother, Sebastian, died in the Great War leaving a fiancée and a grieving family behind.

The story begins with Triss having been rescued from almost drowning in a lake while the family are away on holiday. Following this incident, strange things begin to happen to her. She has gaps in her memory and a bizarre hunger that can only be satisfied by devouring her own toys and clothes. As time goes on, this strangeness tests her relationship with her parents and sister and her investigations into what has happened to her lead her to discover that there is more to her brother’s death than she had been told. She also delves into a hidden underbelly of the town ruled by a sinister being known as ‘The Architect’ and encounters the strangeness of that world, learning its secrets and dangers.

Hardinge deftly presents both the setting and the plot in a skilful manner, peeling back layers of world building and mystery in a way which has the reader slowly become aware of what is going on. This approach maintains the mystery as subtle clues you did not consider relevant slot into place and trigger small ‘ah ha’ moments at intervals. The setting starts out with a Downton Abby feel, all stiff gentlemen and upper middle class pomposity overlaid with a quaint olde worlde children’s book vibe, but soon develops hints of a world beneath that which is related more to Neil Gaiman’s Coraline – a dark, fey world of hidden evil and whimsy. The characters are also mostly well drawn and some, particularly Sebastian’s fiancée Violet and the Tailor Mr. Grace, are striking in their presence – the bold and adventurous, jazz loving  Flapper with the hidden sorrow and the quirky, friendly tailor with a sinister undertone. You come to care for Triss and the other characters, though Triss in her early appearances seems selfish and whiny she soon gains a backbone that turns her in to a true hero.

In all this was a very enjoyable read and one which I am sure children of all ages will enjoy.

D.A Lascelles is the author of Lurking Miscellany, Transitions (Mundania Press) and Gods of the Sea (Pulp Empires). He lives in Manchester UK. You can sometimes see him writing about Zombie porn on https://lurkingmusings.wordpress.com/ but he mostly blogs about books, vampires, science fiction and Terry Pratchett. He is inordinately proud of the fact that one of his Pratchett articles was referenced on the French version of the author’s Wikipedia page.

He would like to point out that having Eddie pose with a copy of your book is a special privilege reserved for those who have met Eddie and given him a stroke.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaLascelles

Twitter: @areteus

Buy Lurking Miscellany (paperback)

Buy Lurking Miscellany (Kindle)

Twitter Updates

  • Just entered the Behind the scenes competition on @PurplePort #photo #competition #PurplePort purpleport.com/competition/vi… 1 week ago
  • Just entered the From the future competition on @PurplePort #photo #competition #PurplePort purpleport.com/competition/vi… 2 weeks ago
  • @CBRedWriter Its well deserved. 2 months ago
  • @faithdlee Yes, amazing disco. Much 80s. 2 months ago
  • Just entered the Resistance competition on @PurplePort #photo #competition #PurplePort purpleport.com/competition/vi… 3 months ago
Follow @areteus

Like me on Facebook

Like me on Facebook

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join the Lurkers

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,006 other followers

Recent Posts

  • Eastercon Artshow
  • Interview: Gillian Polack
  • Blending the Con
  • The Elementals: Russell A Smith interview.
  • New Year Dog

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Lurking Musings
    • Join 2,006 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Lurking Musings
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...