The Nightclub - a New #Romance with #Suspense by Lynette Sofras @ManicScribber - ARCs now available

I'm very excited to announce my forthcoming release - a modern romance with suspense and to be able to offer advance review copies for interested readers.  The book will be on sale in mid-June.

The Blurb

Trying to make a living for her teenage sister and herself, Laura Hamilton accepts a job offer as a hostess at an infamous nightclub. As she struggles to survive in a world of sex, drugs and corruption, she certainly doesn't expect to find her own knight in shining armour in the club's owner, Julian. But will he really save her from a future as a fallen woman? And is he involved in the criminal organisation that threatens not only her sister's life, but will change her own fate forever?


Excerpt

Julian left the Inner Sanctum and let himself back through the office and into the club.  A few cleaning staff were still at work, vacuuming the acres of blue carpet and wiping down tables, but Lucy-Laura sat huddled at a side table, fully dressed now, her body language clearly speaking her dejection.  She looked very different from the delicious creature who'd danced in his arms to song after song last night.
'Hi,' he said, sitting down opposite her.
'Hi to you, too, Mr Manager.  So you work here, Julian, just-call-me-James.'
'Yes Laura, my-name-is-Lucy, or at least, I will do so as from Tuesday.'
'All the girls here change their names, for obvious reasons.  But I didn't know the staff went around tricking them into talking about the club for their own sneaky reasons.  It isn't fair.'  She gave a little aggrieved sniff, which made him smile.
'I know it was a shabby trick, and I'm sorry, but I wanted to get a holistic feel for the place.  You didn't talk yourself out of a job, if that's what worries you.  I was impressed by your honesty and discretion, actually.'  And quite a lot more besides.
'Thank you.  But why did you choose me… or did you just ask Loz to bring you any girl?'
'He has a bit of a soft spot for you, you do realise?  But yes, I did ask for you.  I saw you with Ken Featherstone the other night and thought that if you could charm that old lush, you must be worth getting to know.'
She smiled for the first time and he liked the way this lit up her face.  'Then I'm sorry if I disappointed you.  I have no idea what to make of Ken.  When Loz took me to his table on my first night, he was with another woman.  I presumed she worked here, but she left after a while, seemed to be going on somewhere by herself, and I haven't seen her since.  I don't know why he asks for me when most of the time he's too drunk for coherent conversation and when we dance, I practically have to hold him up.'
He laughed.  'Well you'll soon build up your upper body strength that way.  He must weigh twenty stones.'
Laura gave a little giggle.  'And some.  And the other night, he kind of slumped down on my arm and then—can you believe this—he bit me.'  She pulled up the sleeve of her T-shirt and displayed an angry, deep purple bruise on her upper arm.
Julian stared at the welt in shock and disgust.  He stretched out his hand and touched it gently with his finger.  'He did that to you?  You could have him arrested for that.  You should have reported him.'
'To whom?  I'm probably the one who would have been shown the door.  He's a valued customer, I'm just… the hired help.'
'He's not that valued.  Not after this.  I'll make sure he doesn't come back.'
'No, please don't.  He's not a bad man; he just drinks too much and loses control.  I know he wouldn't hurt someone otherwise.  I'm sure he's a lovely person when he's sober.  He's probably just one of the lost and the lonely.'
He gave her a quizzical look.  'Lost and lonely?  That sounds very sentimental, maudlin, even.'
She gave him a little smile.  'My stepmother had this favourite song.  If she wasn't playing it, she was forever singing it.  It was about some woman in a nightclub singing songs "for the lost and lonely".  That's how I think of him.  I'm sure he must have a good reason for drinking himself into oblivion.  From what I understood the other night, he holds quite an important post in some government health agency.'
Julian shook his head.  'I think Mel's right.  You do belong in church: Lucy-Laura, Little Miss Do-gooder.  Well, he's certainly going to receive a strong warning that if he gets too drunk, he's out.'
'Now that's a far better idea, James-Julian, Mr Do-gooder.  So you're going to manage Ferriby's Nightclub and sober up all your customers?  That's a novel way to do business. You told me you were in the music industry.  Were you telling the truth?'
'I was, and still am, since I won't be abandoning it entirely.  If you can juggle two jobs, I'm sure I can.  Now, are we still friends?'
She smiled up at him looking sweet and trusting.  Dammit, he thought, don't get involved.  But something stirring within him told him he already was.

If you are interested in receiving a review copy, please contact me at ManicScribbler@gmail.com

Wednesday's Writer - Jan Warburton

A Face to Die For by Jan Warburton

I feel rather ashamed about the length of time it's taken me to get to this particular book, when it has been high on my list of 'to be read' for several months. In fact, I was already engrossed in it following my initial 'look inside' and knew I was going to enjoy it even before I downloaded it.  And, of course, I did enjoy it - from start to finish.  The intricate plotting and close attention to social and historical detail meant that once started, I could hardly bear to put it down and often sat up late into the night reading it.  

To summarise very briefly, the novel follows the life of Annabel Spencer, an aspiring fashion designer and her gradual rise to fame and fortune in the 1960s.  Her life is interwoven with that of Kate, an attractive fellow-student who models her designs at college and whose career as a top model is subsequently launched.  Over the ensuing years Annabel and Kate's lives continually criss-cross and an intriguing friendship ensues.

I can perfectly see why anyone who 'seized the day' during those so-called Swinging Sixties would love this nostalgia trip.  This fascinating glimpse into a world of which all young girls of that time could only dream, kept me totally captivated.  Very well done to the author for capturing the era so beautifully and evocatively - this novel reads like a valuable (and very interesting) piece of social history.  Jan Warburton is a gifted and knowledgeable writer and I know I will be reading more of her work.

The main character, Annabel was very interesting but I found her self-absorption and amorality a little unattractive.  Maybe that was a symptom of the times, but it made her rather brittle and unlikeable - not that it in any way spoiled my enjoyment of the story, I hasten to add!  Annabel was capable of showing great kindness to certain people (Kate and Lynda among many) but her generosity was invariably motivated by self-interest and I found myself wishing for her to receive her comeuppance at the end - though I won't say if she did or not!  The realistic 'warts and all' presentation was extremely well done.  Kate, on the other hand, was very sympathetically drawn and I found her complex and fascinating.  I couldn't wait to find out more about her and her inner conflicts and felt a great empathy for her.  Despite the 60s setting, Kate's struggle is very contemporary and believable in the tough world of fashion. I'm tempted to give examples but am afraid of creating spoilers, which I would never dream of doing purposely.  I heartily recommend this book and hope many people will read it and decide for themselves about Annabel and Kate.

The rich enjoyment reading this story gave me makes it worthy of top marks, but my reading experience was just slightly marred by some poor editing.  Such a great story really deserves to be fault-free but the punctuation and grammatical errors grated slightly.  I thought some of the scenes could also have used a bit more spark and passion. However, for anyone interested in high society London life during that fascinating era, or just looking for a thoroughly engrossing read, I guarantee you will enjoy A Faceto Die For and I'm awarding it 4.5 cute cats.

As a postscript, I'd like to add that since finishing this novel, I've found myself thinking about it quite a lot.  It's the sort of story I'd love to have in print form to be able to dip into and re-read passages, if not the entire story again (I haven't quite got the hang of doing that on my Kindle!).  I wish I'd made it last longer - but, great news, I've just heard there's a sequel due out this month. Guess who'll be downloading that on the day it's released?!

The Blurb:

Pure nostalgia: London in the “swinging sixties” – Struck by a beautiful girl’s face in an award winning photograph, fashion student, Annabel Spencer, chooses the girl, Katherine, to model her gowns in her art college’s final year fashion show. It tells how this brief meeting with the girl becomes pivotal to Annabel’s eventual success and how these two women’s careers and love lives become uncannily and fatally entwined. An intriguing and truly fascinating love story hampered by loose morals, drug taking and emotional conflict, at a time when anything risqué goes, and frequently does! The storyline reveals the scandal and glamour of a most decadent and revolutionary period in modern history.

About Jan Warburton:

Trained in fashion design at Ealing Art School, Jan first began working for the House of Worth in Mayfair, London in 1958. She then moved on to wholesale fashion as the designer’s assistant. Marriage to an army officer in 1961 took her to Germany for three years. Later, back in civilian life they moved to Singapore; “another amazing experience”, she says, which has proved valuable ‘grist’ to her writing ‘mill’.

After a painful divorce she survived 6 years with two kiddies as a one parent family - a tough period, from which she has drawn in her fiction writing. After managing a fashion boutique in Wakefield for 2 years, her last position for several years was sales rep for top designer spectacle frame company, Oliver Goldsmith, until redundancy finally allowed her to pursue her writing ambition.

She has a daughter Jayne, son Justin, and two granddaughters Abby and Alexia.

Now happily married to Mark for 32 years, they live in a converted barn in rural Yorkshire.

In the past she has sold various articles and short stories to UK magazines, but longer book length fiction has been her main interest for many years.

In December 2009 she was commissioned to ghost write a successful autobiography for black American soul singer/songwriter, Tommy Hunt; ONLY HUMAN, published by Bank House Books. (For further info visit: www.tommyhunt.co.uk )

JOANNA (a spin off sequel to A Face to Die For) will be her third novel, and is due for release on Kindle later in November 2012.

Her previous novels:

THESECRET

AFACE TO DIE FOR

All are available on Kindle.

Please visit her blog: www.janwarburton.blogspot.co.uk