BeachReadBonanza_FBpostToday I am so pleased to welcome Emma Jane to Joyfully Jay. Emma has come as part of our Beach Read Bonanza to talk to us about her release, Shuttered. And we have giveaways! Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

 

Thank you to Jay for hosting me today. I love beaches and so I knew I had to take part in the Beach Read Bonanza.

My novel Shuttered is partly set in a little seaside town in Dorset, England, called Lyme Regis. Lyme is one of my favourite places, with lovely little shops and cafes, great scenery (it’s part of the Jurassic Coast – England’s first natural World Heritage Site, where you can find stunning cliffs which yield fossilised evidence of life on Earth millions of years ago) and both sandy and pebbled beaches. Not to mention the famous Cobb!

Author's own photo. (Can perhaps go to the right of the text, or at the bottom)The Cobb, Lyme’s harbour with its fabulous curved wall heading out to sea, features in Shuttered and Rowan, the main character’s love interest, is particularly taken with it – although standing on top of the high wall gives him vertigo. I’ve walked along there a few times, but I find it quite scary – especially when the sea’s rough and the waves are crashing over the wall! I’ve not dared walk up there with my dog in case we both get swept out to sea. The Cobb features in Jane Austen’s Persuasion and her character Louisa Musgrove falls from the wall and gets concussion. It’s also featured in the film The French Lieutenant’s Woman which stars Meryl Streep.

There are a couple of beaches at Lyme where you can take your dog all year round and my dog, Beau, absolutely loves it there. He’s not happy until he’s had a run along the seafront, chased some pebbles, and dug in the sand. Then we can go and have some tea and Dorset apple cake at the Bell Cliff cafe.

The main character in Shuttered is a photographer called Daniel, and he and his dog Sasha have a very special bond. I figured that, like me, he’d also enjoy taking his dog to Lyme. I have kept the setting in the novel as true to life as possible, but I did resurrect an old hotel (called The Three Cups in real life, which is currently empty and has an uncertain future) because I love the history of the place. In fact, J.R.R. Tolkien stayed there!

So, Lyme is very dear to me. I want to hear about your favourite beaches and seaside towns. Just leave a comment and one winner, chosen at random, will win an e-copy of Shuttered.

You can buy Shuttered from Dreamspinner Press or Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any good bookstore.

You can follow me on Twitter @emizzy, or at my blog http://emmy-j.blogspot.co.uk/

Thank you for joining me.

Shuttered_headerbanner


Excerpt

Rowan sat on a bench in the gardens overlooking the sea. The sky had darkened, and the sun was disappearing over the horizon, though its light reflected brightly off the ocean. He licked his ice cream, feeling dejected enough to not even move when a kid sauntered past with a wallet sticking out of his back pocket. Kid probably didn’t have much cash on him anyway.

The wind blew an empty chip packet across the path in front of him and then lifted it up and caught it on one of the ammonite street lamps, where it stuck for just a moment before it blew away again. Rowan bit into the cone, and the ice cream chilled his teeth. Damn thing was making him cold, and he didn’t know why he was eating it anyway. He wedged the cone between the bench slats and crossed his arms across his chest, watching the waves.

He wished Daniel were by his side.

He’ll come back.

Of course he would. The man was besotted with him. He could see it in his eyes. He wouldn’t just leave him.

“Idiot, Rowan,” he muttered. That was the last time he was ever going to answer anybody else’s phone. He ruffled his hands in his hair, shook out his arms, and then sat with his palms facing upward on his knees and his feet firmly planted on the ground.

He breathed in through his nose and let it out slowly from his mouth. He gazed at the sea, letting his eyes unfocus, and imagined his chakras opening and light spinning from his body.

Spirits, speak to me.

He swore he could hear the sea clearer, and he concentrated on the sound of the waves, imagining the water rushing over the pebbles.

Speak to me.

Seagulls called to one another, and wind whistled past his ears.

Speak to me, you miserable bastards.


Blurb

ShutteredWhen wildlife and landscape photographer Daniel Hopson gets a reading from clairvoyant Rowan Foster at a local craft fair, he quickly realizes it’s a con. But he sees the charm behind the chancer’s façade, and so rather than expose him, he starts to date him—only to discover that some of Rowan’s other cons are far more serious.

The so-called psychic owes ten thousand pounds to two men after deceitfully claiming to be able to find the body of their murdered mother. Daniel must help Rowan recover the genuine gift he possessed in childhood and contact the spirits before the men catch up to them—and the key to doing so might be Daniel’s telepathic connection with his dog Sasha.


Bio

Emma Jane was born in Somerset, England, in the 80s. She grew up in a little village and now lives in a small town in the countryside. She has been writing stories since primary school, some of which still survive in notebooks in her dad’s attic, and wanted to be an author as soon as she realised it was a possible career choice and “Pony” or “Ninja” weren’t viable options.

Official website: ejtett.weebly.com


Giveaway

Emma has brought a copy of Shuttered to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Thursday, June 11 at 11:59 pm EST.

Also, this post is part of our Beach Read Bonanza! Enter at any or all of the 12 stops for your chance to win a beach bag full of goodies for the beach, including a Kindle! Check out our Beach Read Bonanza post for more details and contest rules, and leave a comment below to enter.

  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win.  The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.