Book Blast! Promo for daring revenge thriller, Spilling Blood, by author, L Penn
When a young girl is raped, she enlists the help of her best friend to help exact revenge but tragic events spiral their lives out of control.
Crime fiction, 424 pages, published by Amazon
Who am I?
Hello, fellow Duffy followers, I’m Cassandra and going through mid-life while writing under the name, L Penn. I’m finally learning to be myself after many years and being happy with what I find, so with a little Dutch-courage under my belt (downing a glass of Perry while fighting the tummy bulge by running ten minutes each night), I’ll tell you a bit about myself and my realistic tough thriller, Spilling Blood.
Born in Leicestershire, UK, like most writers I dream of having that best-seller whilst bashing away at the keyboards creating places, people, and stories everyone will want to read, however that light bulb soon starts flickering and you write what you know and what you want to read. There are many charms surfacing the book world but I look for ones that “grab you by the throat and sling you up against the wall”, like one reviewer put it about my own novel, Missing Him: A real love story.
What influences a story?
Never one to tread lightly, I pen my books with burning passion as you can gather from my heavily influenced love of thought-provoking writing: who didn’t enjoy scribbling down their night time ponderings in that secret diary tucked under the pillow, or wallow in daytime musings while sat at the office desk? I certainly did, and wrote my first feature story at age 15. I continued writing up until 25 then fell away with life at my heels then resurged aged 48 and decided to pick up the pen again. And the result; a new, Spilling Blood.
I won’t sit here and go on about how I write, or how to execute it, but if you’ve got a story to tell then tell it well is all I can advise; and only you will know if you’ve achieved that. The advice given by author of 11 novels, Abigail Drake, featured by Duffy, is simply first-class I wish I’d written it, and while working on my 4th novel, I’m already thinking of my 5th and 6th. There just aren’t enough hours in the day but the challenges keep me going hence my; “ten-minute-only runs”.
Growing up, I’ve been a huge fan of Aussie dramas since the 80’s, like; Prisoner Cell Block H to Water Rats and now the brilliantly brutal Wentworth, so I’m not averse to uncompromising material that hits you in where it hurts.
From since I can remember I’ve loved penning stories which feature smart, unconventional females. During the 80’s, my mum’s best friend Shirley (who sadly passed of cancer), showed grit and determination during the toxic sexism and racism of the times yet she was one strong woman who placed herself unselfishly above the parapet and I admired everything she did and said. Men challenged her and she challenged them right back, and I watched and I listened.
It’s hard to standalone in this writers’ universe as we need that friendly shoulder to occasionally cry upon, and if there isn’t one, then create characters on whose shoulders you can.
Getting readers out of their comfort zone
Hoping I managed to do that with Spilling Blood, it’s a book for readers prepared to step out of their comfort zone and cross over to a dark story that doesn’t pull any punches. Resonating with some of last centuries noir movies; Fair Game, 1986, Shame, 1988, and 1981’s, Ms. 45, such raw films ignited feelings to become fraught that they were quietly put aside by mainstream distributors and left to be un-binned by cult followers. This type of discovery I do like and make no apologies for Spilling’s candour as I found it necessary to be true to the two main characters to tell their story without gloss. So, for a dangerously brave ride, let the main protagonists -Toni and Rebecca- become your memorable characters for the next few hours and experience the shocking journey they decide to take you on; through their eyes.
Thanks for sharing, and happy reads everyone!
Where to buy Spilling Blood
WARNING: Not for the light hearted. Available for a short time for $0.99cents at select outlets. Preview copies can be made available, contact author via website.
Website: https://anovel.wixsite.com/strongwords
Amazon: Spilling Blood: Friends. Secrets. Revenge. eBook: L Penn: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
Twitter: Leah Penn (@leahpenn7) on Twitter
Goodreads: Leah Penn (Author of Missing Him)
Universal ebooks: https://books2read.com/u/4ANKJb
