By Invitation: Sue Mackender and 'The Girl on the Hill'

I’m delighted to welcome Sue Mackender and her superb novel, ‘The Girl on the Hill’ to Writers at the Gate. 

Read on to find out more...

 

 

About the book…

THE GIRL ON THE HILL

“When you’re not who you think you are, everything’s possible.” 

Having spent her childhood shunned by her adoptive parents in favour of her ‘golden child’ older sister, Mia vowed never to be the black sheep again. Since those lonely days, she’s looked after Number One, lotus-eating abroad courtesy of a very rich man. 

But her charmed existence is interrupted when her sister dupes her into returning home for a short stint as a carer. Housebound in England with her life in Sardinia in tatters, Mia’s world is turned upside down.  

Yet Mia’s not prepared for the secrets she discovers lying beyond her mother’s grave— what was the significance of the old knitting bag embroidered with peacocks her mother continually clutched?  Does Mia dare to discover a life she never knew existed?
 

·   Publisher : Crooksbury Publishing; The Girl on the Hill ed. edition (22 Oct. 2020)

·   Genre : General Fiction

·   Language : English

·   Paperback : 326 pages

·   ISBN-10 : 1527273555

·   ISBN-13 : 978-1527273559

·   Dimensions : 13.34 x 1.88 x 20.32 cm 

 

 'The Girl on the Hill' is available on Amazon HERE 

 

 About the author… 

Sue Mackender sold her successful recruitment business after 29 years to follow her lifelong passion for books and begin a new career as a writer. Sue is often termed as a Grit-Lit writer of Commercial Fiction. She places her heroines in impossible situations where they need to fight their corner to survive.

Her first two novels, Accident of Fate and Accident of Birth have been firm favourites with Book Club readers. She has also been published in America in the Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies. The Girl on the Hill is Sue’s third novel. In 2019 Sue was awarded the coveted Katie Fforde bursary. 

Sue lives with her husband in Surrey United Kingdom.

Website: www.suemackender.com 

Sue on Twitter : @SueMackenderAu1 

 

Brief Interview…

When did you start writing your new book? 

I started writing The Girl on the Hill, in 2010. It was originally part of a novel called "A Date in the Diary" featuring the lives of three girls post boarding school. The girls, Maureen (Mia) Grace, and Cassie, agree never to divulge what happened to Mia and the part the others played. The girls, now women, receive an invitation to a reunion at Chartley, (a fictitious Independent boarding school in Sussex) some 18 years later. 

Agents and editors alike told me they'd be better as a series. So, I unpicked each one rewrote and resubmitted. Two made it to the acquisition table. The feedback was that I merge all three into one book. I could have screamed.  

What is your inspiration behind the book? 

The inspiration, or the raw backstory for this series "Take Three Girls," came from my boarding school years. Whilst so much of it was great. It was also a place where you learnt a lot about yourself. There were no parents to run to If a teacher had given you a hard time, or you'd fallen out with somebody. You had to trust and rely on your dorm-mates, who became your secret keepers, tutors, confessors, and supporters. I gained a vast selection of adopted siblings. 

Whilst The Girl on the Hill is fictional, being a boarder gave me the material and a place to start on each girl's dilemma. 

Growing up isn't easy, which is why I give my heroines a hard time. I'm described as Brit-grit writer. I love to create robust women who escape impossible situations, what drives them, and how they overcome those challenges. 

There's always a mystery and a secret about how and why some things happen. It's the challenges to ourselves, our children, our family that forces us out of our comfort zones and how we react to it. Fight or flight. 

Can you describe your route to publication from concept to completed novel?

I was told at school that I had a vivid imagination. It wasn't until I sold my recruitment agencies in 2007 that I put words to paper. 

I wrote in secret. Not knowing the nuances required to write a novel. At 25,000 words, I thought I'd written the perfect book. How naive I was? Eventually, I confided in a friend who told me there was a new writing group in Bisley. The leaflet said, “How to get published.” It intrigued me.

We met at Bisley Pavilion every Tuesday for almost two years. I didn't know what I'd previously written contained barely 10% dialogue, had no structure and one-dimensional characters. I started again from scratch. My first book, Accident of Fate. I sent it out to agents and publishers… Amazing plot—What a fantastic story writer—gripping etc, etc but… it wasn't quite what they were looking for, at the moment. 

I got disheartened but spurred on by people who'd read my 324 pages of A4, I turned to a vanity press to make my first novel a reality. Soon I was being asked if there would be a sequel. I hadn't planned on one but wanted to keep writing. I had a head full of ideas. So, I wrote my second novel. Accident of Birth. I set both between Malta, Sussex and the Kent coast, places I knew well. 

Once more I tried the traditional publishing route, becoming frustrated with each contradiction or rejection. My books were selling. I joined writing groups and professional bodies. The Alliance of Independent authors, The Society of Authors. I joined the RNA new writers' scheme, gradually honing my craft. 

Each line I write is a challenge, I'm dyslexic. I can read a text through a million times and won't see where I've put things in the wrong place or left out words or letters altogether. It's difficult but not uncommon in many successful writers. I handwrite each chapter then dictate via Speech Dragon. ProWritingAid picks up a lot of my errors and I use Fictionary as it’s great for following story arcs, scene-setting and character development.

Marketing has been a long, hard learning curve. I'm envious of Mal and his ability to do just that. The Girl on the Hill. I published via Amazon KDP, but also with Ingram spark. I can't say which I prefer until I've had a year to compare the two.

I spent a lot of time researching material for The Girl on the Hill writing in the unspoilt coastal town of Sidmouth in Devon. It was the perfect setting for Mia to unravel the secrets of her past. 

What ideas do you have for any future books?

I'm currently editing the second in the “Take Three Girls,” series. Grace, The Woman I've Become, I expect to publish later this summer. The third, Cassie, The Unexpected Mother, in 2022.

I have two psychological suspense novels waiting in the wings, I've loved writing the darker side of life. 

 

 

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By Invitation: Alan Dale and his book, 'Theta Double Dot'

Today I welcome, Alan Dale and his crime fiction novel ‘Theta Double Dot’ to Writers at the Gate

Read on to find out more... 

 

About the book…

Saddled with the project everyone dreaded, Mark Hammond finds himself ensnared in a nightmare that threatens his marriage, career, sanity and, finally, his life. Who are the increasingly violent activists, wreaking havoc, with attacks on petrochemical plants across the UK? Ministerial frustration increases with mounting evidence of police bewilderment. Mark’s problems expand to include an Alaskan community facing annihilation, as the Arctic Sea threatens to overwhelm their homeland. Desperate for time and managerial support, he finds himself enmeshed in the ultimate horror, a race against time, to a potentially suicidal showdown. Not even he envisages the terrible endgame. 

Note: Alan Dale began writing the first chapter of this book as an assignment on the Writer’s Bureau Comprehensive Creative Writing Course, in 2012. He recommenced work on the novel in 2013. 'Theta Double Dot' is available in hardback, paperback and Kindle formats.

·         Publisher : Austin Macauley Publishers (27 Jun. 2019)

·         Genre : Crime Fiction

·         Language : English

·         Paperback : 250 pages

·         ISBN-10 : 1788238613

·         ISBN-13 : 978-1788238618

·         Dimensions : 12.7 x 1.35 x 20.32 cm

 

'Theta Double Dot' is available on Amazon HERE 

 

About the author…

 

Alan Dale is a graduate mechanical engineer, with project management experience in the petrochemical industry. He began writing a few years ago, in his fifties, by enrolling on the Writers Bureau Comprehensive Writing Course. Alan has since had short stories, articles and features published in magazines and online. He lives in Surrey and is a member of the Woking Writers’ Circle.

Website: www.alandalewriter.com

Alan on Twitter: @AlanDal24227647

Brief Interview…
 

What was the inspiration behind the book? 

Forty-five years ago, I was in a final year dynamic lecture at university. The tutor wrote a differential equation of motion on the blackboard, ending with the symbol theta double dot, which he completed by banging the chalk into the blackboard, twice, in rapid succession, to crown theta with its two dots. The noise this made instantly suggested two bullets bursting through the board, towards the student audience. That was the underlying image that was to dominate the narrative. I had no intention whatsoever to write anything, for the next forty years. I reacted strongly against my late mother’s frequent assertions that I should write, largely because she occasionally had an article or letter published. I began to study writing, having enrolled in the Writers Bureau after my wife died. When I saw novel writing listed as one of the modules, my reaction was to avoid it and concentrate solely on shorter, simpler pieces, to have a very modest additional income stream. The idea of becoming a published author seemed utterly unattainable and therefore ludicrous. 

Can you describe your route to publication from concept to completed novel? 

I followed the admirably complete and well explained Writers Bureau system for novel writing, together with my engineering project management experience. The latter helped immeasurably with admin. and research. Following the advice in the course, I duly revised my first draft, until, by the fifth effort, I summoned sufficient courage to submit it to several agents. One expressed sufficient interest to ask for the entire work, after reading the first three chapters. They later declined to offer representation. I had seen Austin Macauley’s website and decided to try them. They accepted the work, offered me a contract and the book was published in 2019. 

What ideas do you have for any future books? 

I have a partially completed plot for a more elaborate techno/eco thriller, involving a giant offshore vertical axis wind turbine, more terrorists, mind altering drugs and weather control.

 

Amazon Review of Theta Double Dot by Earth Mother... 

Above all things, I thoroughly enjoyed this book as that rare thing: a well-written, thought-provoking, and action-packed read. I loved the fact that the tension is sustained from the first page to the last. There is plenty of action, but not at the expense of characterisation. The characters, with all their believable strengths and weaknesses, will stay in my memory for a long time to come. I was particularly moved by the author's portrayal of the Innuits, which never becomes simplistic or patronising, conveying as it does their wisdom and resilience as well as their ability to grasp what's going on in the world of 'progress'. I am looking forward to Alan Dale's next book!

 

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By Invitation: Sunny Angel and her book, 'Wings'

I am delighted to welcome Sunny Angel with her powerful autobiographical account, ‘Wings’, as my first guest author to Writers at the Gate.

Read on to find out more about this remarkable book...

 About the Book...

 

‘I always get what I want and I will get you.’

When Sunita captures the eye of a predator, her world is turned upside down. Subjected to the barriers of living with a traditional Indian family, Sunita finds herself unable to seek the support she needs from them.

Facing her predator alone, Sunita, young and naïve, finds herself drawn to him; a man who claims to have the power to destroy her family if she doesn’t comply with his demands.

Desperate to keep her family from harm, Sunita gives in. He says he loves her … more than her family does. When his manipulation moves to the next level, Sunita finds herself trapped in a world she could never have imagined. It was almost like she was three-years-old again, but this time, things are worse … much worse.

Her fear, feelings of degradation and shame only compound the emotional turmoil she faces. Chained by the guilt of bringing heartache and shame to her family, Sunita starts to believe this is the life she cut out for herself. After all, that’s what everyone was saying, so why shouldn’t it be true?

Sunita finds herself propelled from one form of abuse to another … a victim can either surrender to their abuse, or rise above it …

This is the inspirational true story of Sunny Angel and her strength to overcome the manipulation, lies, violence, threats and violation she was subjected to. Her scars tell the story of a survivor …'

 

·         Publisher : Red Admiral Press; Illustrated edition (10 July 2017)

·         Genre: Biographical

·         Language : English

·         Paperback : 298 pages

·         ISBN-10 : 1999763203

·         ISBN-13 : 978-1999763206 

 

‘Wings’ is available on Amazon HERE

 

 

About the Author...

 

My name is Sunny Angel, I changed my name via deed poll so I could share my story to safeguard others. I now have a new life as well as a new name. I’m 42, I was born in England and I live in Woking, Surrey, the outskirts of London. 

Ever since I was diagnosed with Atrial Septal Defect (Hole in the Heart) my mission was to tell my story before I die, to help inspire others to heal. I didn't want my pain to be wasted. I'm thankful my experiences have helped safeguard many others. I believe Life is for living, not just surviving or existing.

I was sexually abused as a child. At 17, I had a stalker who groomed me through fear of hurting my Family. He raped and tortured me in a locked house for 6 months. Following my escape, my Parents allowed me back only to get rid of me via a Forced Marriage. I wasn’t ready for marriage, so I left to go to a homeless shelter where I did an overdose and attempted suicide. I woke up in the hospital realising death had rejected me too. My Parents then coerced and forced my marriage to a man with disabilities. The Groom’s family wanted ‘Dowry’ and gave me and my family abuse. My Parents collected me after 4 months of marriage and it ended in divorce.

Now, I am a Speaker, Campaigner, Author and Survivor Ambassador. I wrote my Book ‘Wings’ with my friend Paul King. I have had the honour of doing speeches with Nazir Afzal OBE, Jasvinder Sanghera CBE, Family Division Judges of the High Court, Lord and Lady Justices of Appeal, Barristers, Multi-Agency, Social Workers, Drs, Hospital staff, Teachers, University Students, School Parents, Major Crime Unit, Several police forces, Multi-Faith, Inter-Faith and Charities. 

I have worked with seven Universities.

I am a Finalist for the Heroine of the Year Award (Domestic Violence) 2017, Nominated for Author of the Year WLA 2017, Finalist for the British Indian Awards 2018 (Arts & Cultural Awareness), Winner for the Beautiful Survivors World of Honours – Ladies of All Nations International 2018, Winner of the She Inspires Award 2018 and True Honour Award 2019.

‘Wings’ has featured in various Newspapers, National and International. TV, Radios and Documentaries.

Please visit my website www.sunny-angel.com  for further information.

Sunny on Twitter: @777SunnyAngel 

 

Excerpt: Women Empowered (online magazine)
 

The biggest life lesson I have learnt is to stop beating myself up about the past. I have had to face my past, own it and deal with it. And then I have had to learn how to move on. The past no longer hurts me, it’s just a story now, says ‘Wings’ author Sunny Angel.

As a teenager, I was stalked and then groomed. The scars on my back from the attacks I suffered are now covered by a large wings tattoo so my young daughter cannot see the scars of my past. It was a heartbreaking time.

Today I empower others by teaching them that it’s not OK to accept abuse as love. I teach others to love themselves and have boundaries so they do not feel vulnerable and become targets. I also teach them how it is possible to move on and accept the past and not let it define them.

I strongly believe mindsets need to change so I have chosen to share my story globally. Nationally, I have been honoured to have done great speeches alongside Nazir Afzal OBE and human rights activist, Mandy Sanghera for The University of Nottingham and Forced Marriage Unit (film to be released soon). I have also spoken with Jasvinder Sanghera CBE at the WOW (Women of the World) Festival and with Polly Harrar at the Sharan Project. I’m also on the New Karma Nirvana Survivor Program.

I went live on Zee TV to talk about my abuse, in the hope that others will not suffer in silence and seek help. There are now new laws in the UK with regards to forced marriage and controlling behaviour and lots of support is available. People just need more awareness and education.

Reproduced courtesy womenempowered.co.uk 

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Jude & Bliss by Mal Foster

About the book: 

In the Victorian era, for many young women, going into domestic service was a significant source of employment where they found suitable work but with extended hours for a reasonable salary, receiving free accommodation as well as enjoying the perks and prestige of working for the aristocracy or other members of the upper or middle-classes.

As a matter of course, employers had a moral obligation, but one without a legal requirement to ensure their servants were kept clean, healthy and well-nourished. However, for one poor girl, that, unfortunately, was not the case.

In 1896, Jude Rogers, a wide-eyed but vulnerable sixteen-year-old from Woking, Surrey, secures a position as a domestic servant at a large terraced house in Half Moon Street, near London's Piccadilly. Following a brief settling-in period, she quickly realises everything is not quite as it seems. As time moves ruthlessly forward, what happens next is almost beyond comprehension. Jude finds herself in the most impossible of situations and finally succumbs to the pure evil dealt out by her employer.

This story is NOT for the faint-hearted!

• Paperback : 234 pages
• ISBN-13 : 979-8550129265
• Dimensions : 13.97 x 1.35 x 21.59 cm
• Publisher : PublishNation/Amazon (12 Nov. 2020)
• Language: : English
• ASIN : B08M2KBMRM
• Paperback : £10.99
• Kindle £2.99

BUY NOW

Mal Foster

Brief Bio...

Very much a self-proclaimed “writer of the ordinary man,” Mal Foster was born in 1956 and grew up in Camberley, Surrey before moving to nearby Knaphill in the late 1980s. He had left school just before his sixteenth birthday in 1972 to help support his single mother and younger brother. Around this time he began writing poetry, and indeed, his first poems were published soon after.

Now semi-retired, Mal counts his time as a local journalist as a career highlight. 

Since 2015, Mal has gone on to publish five novels, from which he has enjoyed some great feedback and exposure. His latest, 'Fluke's Cradle', a psychological thriller, was published in April 2022.

Excerpt from Writing Magazine - February 2021 

Some authors will tell you, there is no better feeling than receiving the proof copy of a new novel, particularly during these challenging times when many people are struggling to keep their mental health, and indeed their lives and livelihoods intact," says author Mal Foster. 

"When the proof copy of my fourth book, Jude & Bliss was delivered, it was with a sense of pride and fulfilment that I gleefully accepted it from a rather bemused postman who would never have understood the reason for my excitement. 

I’d been sitting on the concept of writing Jude & Bliss ever since the summer of 1994 when I first discovered the harrowing account of a young girl from Surrey who had travelled to London towards the end of the 19^th century to enter domestic service. The story somehow stuck and I was inspired. This was the Victorian tragedy I knew I was always going to write… "

"When meeting readers, book-bloggers, and indeed fellow authors, the conversation often leads to a character in one of my novels. In all my books, the characters are important to me and I like to introduce them as identifiable and colourful souls without being too over descriptive. Fortunately, the feedback is usually positive, and this makes the whole writing and publishing experience worthwhile. Proof, if needed, amidst all this gloom of contagion, global stress and uncertainty, there is a certain therapy in writing."

Jude & Bliss is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon and from www.malfoster.co.uk

A message re: Jude & Bliss
from Toyah Willcox 

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