Open Book Blog Hop – 9th December

This week the topic is:

Interview one of your characters. Introduce them to a new audience or give existing readers new insight into their motivations.

I thought I’d interview Jill Hayes, who is one of the main characters in my new 31,000 word novella ‘Examining Kitchen Cupboards‘, a small part of which is based on my own experience whilst working in a college’s Exams department back in 1999.  The book was published on 7th December.

Stevie:  Jill, do you like your new job as an Examinations Assistant?

Jill:  No, not really.  I don’t think my boss likes me.  I can’t seem to do anything right.  And.. there’s another thing.

Stevie:  What?

Jill:  I’ve found out something.  Everyone knows it’s going on, but nobody talks about it.

Stevie:  Can you be a bit more specific?

Jill:  I’ve since been told to keep quiet and that what goes on in Daxton College has to stay in the college.  However, before I was silenced I was so angry at what I found out that I decided to turn whistle-blower and write some letters to national newspapers under an assumed name.

Stevie:  Any luck?

Jill:  No.  I was told by a succession of editors that they understand my frustrations, but they would not be able to print my letters because they are too controversial.

Stevie:  Sounds intriguing!

Jill:  Yeah, so I wrote to my MP, who told me of somebody else to write to.  When I wrote to them, my son was abducted, beaten up by persons unknown,  and told to inform me to shut up.

Stevie:  Wow.  So you’re not going to spill the beans then?

Jill: Not now.  I’m getting out.  I’ve found another job.  Any job is better than the one I’ve currently got.

Stevie:  Good luck, Jill.  Hope it all works out for you.

Jill:  Thanks.

Jill doesn’t realise what the far-reaching effects are going to be of trying to turn whistle-blower.  Luckily I didn’t suffer the same outcome, but like her I got out of that job as soon as I could find another one.

 Click on the link below to see which characters other blog-hoppers have interviewed:

Rules:

1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Stevie’s New Suspense Novella is Now Available for Pre-Order.

Tags

new book, suspense

Suspense/Thrillers seem to be quite popular, and so I thought I’d write another one.  Twenty years after I quit my job in a college as an examinations assistant, the time was right in the summer of this year to create the novella  ‘Examining Kitchen Cupboards‘.

Jill Hayes discovers that not all is as it seems in her new post as a college examinations administrator. When she turns whistle-blower and tries to report her findings to the authorities, she is horrified to discover that some people will stop at nothing to ensure her silence.

When I worked at a college back in 1999 I found out just what Jill discovered, but it took me twenty years to get around to writing about it.  Jill is braver than I ever was, as you will find out if you pre-order the novella.  It will be just £0.99 / $0.99 until its publication date of 7th December 2019, when the price will then rise to £1.95 / $2.50.

The college I write about is fictional, as are all the characters.  However, the exam question that sparked Jill’s nightmare is absolutely the genuine article from 1999.