Today I'm thrilled to be kicking off the blog tour for Dark Fragments by Rob Sinclair. I've got a guest post from the man himself but first let me tell you more about his new book released by Bloodhound Books which has been described as 'clever' and 'chilling' and an 'expertly crafted story'.
Dark Fragments: an edge of your seat thriller from the best-selling
author of The Enemy Series.
Murder. Money.
Revenge.
Outwardly, Ben
Stephens appears to be a normal, hard-working family man. In reality, his life
has been in turmoil since the murder of his wife, Alice, seven years ago. The
killer was never caught.
Now re-married
- to the woman he was having an affair with while still married to Alice -
Ben’s life is once again spiralling out of control, and he’s become heavily
indebted to an unscrupulous criminal who is baying for Ben’s blood.
When Ben’s
estranged twin sister, a police detective, unexpectedly returns to his life,
asking too many questions for comfort, it becomes clear that without action,
Ben’s life will soon reach a crisis point from which there will be no return.
In order to
avoid falling further into the mire, Ben must examine the past if he is to
survive the present - but just how much pressure can one man take before he
breaks?
Dark Fragments
is a fast-paced thriller with a blend of mystery, suspense
and action that will appeal to readers of psychological thrillers,
as well as a broad section of crime, thriller and action
fans. If you like authors like Mark Edwards, Robert Bryndza and C.L. Taylor you
will love this unforgettable thriller.
There's not long to wait if you want to read this as it's available from the 8th of November and you can pre-order it now here.
Rob's
first novel, Dance with the Enemy, was published in June 2014 and is the first
in the Enemy Series following embattled intelligence agent Carl Logan. Rise of the Enemy, the second book in the series, was released in April 2015, with the
third book, Hunt for the Enemy, being released in February 2016. The Enemy
series has received widespread critical acclaim with many reviewers and readers
having likened Rob's work to authors at the very top of the genre, including
Lee Child and Vince Flynn.
I asked Rob to tell me ten things that you might not know about him, so lovely readers, I'll hand you over to the man behind the words.
I asked Rob to tell me ten things that you might not know about him, so lovely readers, I'll hand you over to the man behind the words.
I
started writing as a bet with my wife! Its true! Up until my late twenties I’d
never before attempted to write fiction, or even thought about it to be honest.
(And, I know I shouldn’t admit to this, but I wasn’t really a big reader
either). I think I’ve always struggled a little with books because I find it so
hard to find ones that I truly enjoy (same with movies). I have a really short
attention span and I guess I can be overly critical and am always looking for
holes. So, winding back a few years, when I was on holiday with my now wife,
and having had the time to read a few books in quick succession (which is a
rare thing for me, particularly these days with two young kids), I was becoming
increasingly frustrated with the books I was reading, and said something along
the lines of ‘I bet you I can do that.’ So I did! I didn’t know back then that
I’d actually fall in love with the craft but that’s how it all started.
Me and
my wife lived in New York for 18 months and it was one of the best experiences of
our lives! Prior to me being a full time writer I was a forensic accountant for
a large accountancy firm (where I met my wife and where she still works). We
were both lucky enough to arrange a secondment out to New York as part of an
exchange program, so in October 2006 (10 years ago, I can’t believe that!) we
moved to Manhattan and found a fabulous apartment on the Upper West Side just a
stone’s throw from Central Park. Hard work aside, it was an incredible
experience and I’ve longed to go back there ever since returning to England in
2008 (with us getting married and having two kids since then we’ve not yet had
the chance!).
I think
I might be addicted to chilli's. I don’t know how this started but I very rarely
go a day without some sort of spicy food, and the hotter the better! I
absolutely love things like curry and Thai food and if I’m not eating those
it’ll be pizza covered with fresh chilli or Mexican drenched in habanero hot
sauce, or chicken wings drenched in Frank’s Red Hot sauce (a fetish I developed
in New York (other chicken wing sauces are available)). In the middle of
writing this I’ve just been to my kitchen to count and I have 32 different
varieties of hot sauces or chilli's currently!! When I met my wife she didn't eat
much spicy stuff but she was quickly converted, and my two sons have been roped
in to this now as well. I’m always immensely proud when we go out for pizza and
my 5 year old son asks for fresh chilli on his, or we go for a balti and he
eats all of the chilli pickle with his popadoms . The waiters and waitresses
can never quite believe it, but he always eats it and usually steals some of
mine too!
I once
ran a half marathon when it was minus 10c outside! We lived in New York at the
time and I’d only recently taken up long distance running with a few guys from
the office. There was a half marathon in January in New York that was two and
bit loops around Central Park, and it just happened to be in the middle of a
massive cold snap. I started the run wearing ski socks, trousers, a t-shirt,
skiing base layer, a long-sleeved top, hat and gloves. Pretty soon, even in
that temperature, I was way too hot and every time I passed my wife - who kept
dashing across to the other side of the park to see me - I’d give her another
item of clothing or two! For whatever reason, I actually ran my best ever half
marathon time that day, and I’ve always enjoyed running in the cold (though
maybe not minus 10) ever since.
My Dad
is a CBE! A Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, to
give his full title. Don’t really need to say much more, but how cool is that?!
My
Enemy series books feature the main character Carl Logan, a somewhat damaged
and loner of an intelligence agent. The inspiration for his character comes
from all over the place inside my muddled mind, but, his name was inspired by
the X-Men! I’ve long been a big fan of comic book heroes and love movies like
Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. But the Wolverine - aka Logan - is one of
my all time favourite comic book characters. Wolverine does, in many ways,
share similarities to Carl Logan in terms of his image and personality ...
except for the big claws and superhuman strength and immortality and all that.
When I
was a child I cracked my big brother’s head open with a rock ... it was an
accident, honest! I actually can’t recall the incident itself - just the moment
my Dad went running off with my brother in his arms, the gaping wound in his
head bleeding all over the place. We were at the seaside and both of us kids
were innocently throwing stones into the sea. I was only four or five but,
following my big brother, was picking up bigger and bigger stones ... and,
well, the rest is history. Was I actually aiming for my sibling’s skull? To
this day, nobody really knows.
My new
book, Dark Fragments, actually has a lot of ‘me’ in it. It’s the first book
I’ve written that is about normal people, rather than the world of espionage
and specially trained elite agents. What you get in Dark Fragments (if you take
out the adultery and murder and the violence and some of the other nasty
things!) are a lot of experiences that really have happened to me and my family
(though sexed up a bit to make them more fiction worthy!).
I once
got 100% on an A-level maths exam! Obviously I was doing A-levels at the time,
and maths had always been one of my better subjects. I remember coming out of
the exam (Pure Maths) and thinking, ‘I don’t think I got anything wrong there.’
And I was right! Somehow though I still only got a B on A-level maths overall,
so I was clearly working harder in some areas than others (I hated Mechanics).
My
marriage proposal almost didn't go to plan. I took my wife away for a short
Florida break to Fort Lauderdale (when we were living in New York). I’d already
bought a ring and had successfully hidden it through airport security, and when
I got down on one knee later that day in our hotel room, fumbling both for the
ring and for some words to come out of my mouth - I’d tried my best to think of
something cool to say, but I was completely tongue-tied in the moment - my wife
simply looked down on me in some sort of bemusement. Or was it amusement? I of
course did eventually say something (I’m not quite sure what), and she
did say yes in response!! But the first thing she then said as I straightened
up was along the lines of, ‘I had no idea what was wrong with you, I thought
you’d fallen over and hurt yourself!.’ I’d say proposing was probably the most
nerve-wracking thing I’ve ever had to do - but at least she said yes!
If you'd like to find out more about Rob's books you can visit his website here and be sure to follow the Dark Fragments blog tour on these fabulous blogs.
If you'd like to find out more about Rob's books you can visit his website here and be sure to follow the Dark Fragments blog tour on these fabulous blogs.
I'd like to thank Rob for taking time out of his busy schedule to write this guest post and to wish him lots of success with his new book.
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