Blood Loss
Sarah
With one eye on the rear view mirror and the other on the road
ahead, Sarah is desperate to get as far away from the remote Scottish cabin as
she can without attracting attention. But being inconspicuous isn’t easy with a
black eye and clothes soaked in blood…
… and now the fuel tank is empty.
DI Paton
When a body is discovered in a remote cabin in Scotland, DI
Paton feels a pang of guilt as he wonders if this is the career break he has
been waiting for. But the victim is unidentifiable and the killer has left few
clues.
Jenna
With the death of her father and her mother’s failing health,
Jenna accepts her future plans must change but nothing can prepare her for the
trauma yet to come.
Fleeing south to rebuild her life Sarah uncovers long-hidden
family secrets. Determined to get back what she believes is rightfully hers,
Sarah thinks her future looks brighter. But Paton is still pursuing her…
… and he’s getting closer.
Kerena Swan’s brilliant novel
explores how honest mistakes and human frailty can have terrifying and
long-reaching consequences. It’s a tale of family ties and loyalty, revenge and
redemption that you won’t want to put down.
Purchase Links
US - https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Loss-Paton-Investigates-Book-ebook/dp/B08ZLPV615/
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Loss-Paton-Investigates-Book-ebook/dp/B08ZLPV615/
Blood Loss will be just 99p for a limited time only!
Author Q&A
What would you consider to be your Kryptonite
as an author?
Running a care agency for children with
disabilities is the biggest obstacle to my creative writing, especially during
this pandemic. I’ve written plenty of business continuity plans, risk
assessments and Covid19 policies but these are nowhere near as much fun as psychological
crime thrillers.
If you could tell your younger writing self
anything, what would it be?
Make time for writing and keep a diary. I’ve
always wanted to write but working full-time and raising a family left little
free time. I wish I’d started writing earlier. I think it is harder to be
successful these days as there’s so much competition and the market is
saturated. I also wish I’d kept more of a diary. It would be fascinating to
read back the facts about my earlier life now rather than relying on thin and
distorted memories.
What book do you feel is under-appreciated?
How about overrated?
I think Michael Robotham is a fantastic writer,
yet I don’t hear him mentioned very much. His Joe O’Loughlin series is
enthralling. I wouldn’t like to judge a book as over-rated. We all have
different opinions so just because I don’t enjoy something doesn’t mean others
wouldn’t. I think some books do well because of all the hype and marketing
rather than the quality of the writing though. If a famous person writes something,
they get instant recognition even if the writing is poor.
Favorite childhood memory involving books?
Being read to every night by my mother and
learning to read on my first day at school. I was desperate to make sense of
all the squiggles and wanted to yell at the crying children ‘Quiet! I’m learning
to read here.’ I was too meek and mild-mannered to say anything though.
If you could dine with any literary character,
who would it be and why?
It would have to be the detective in Death
in Paradise. Of course, I’d have to insist we dine at his place though. The
shack on the Caribbean beach is idyllic and my idea of heaven.
What fantastical fictional world would you
want to live in (if any) given the chance?
I’d love the simplicity of life on the
mountains of Virginia in The Waltons. I watched these avidly when I was a child
and likened my own big family to this programme. At one point people called us
the Waltons because there were eleven of us – parents, Granddad, three
brothers, me, partners/spouses a dog and cat, all living in a big old house. It
was a happy time in my life, especially when we used to turn out all the lights
and play a creepy game of Murder in the Dark. Whoever had the cross on their
piece of paper was the murderer and they had to find someone to ‘kill’ them. I
was ‘murdered’ once and lay in the bath with ketchup around my neck to give
those looking for the missing person a fright. Maybe this is where my love of
crime fiction stems from.
Did you want to be an author when you grew up?
When I was six, I wanted to be a trapeze
artist or a ballerina. I then matured at the age of eight into wanting to be a
social worker (and later achieved this). I always had my head in a book but
didn’t consider I’d be good enough to be an author for many years. I had ‘write
a novel and get a publisher’ on my ‘yet to be achieved list’ so when I
nearly lost my eyesight and developed cancer it spurred me on.
If you had to describe yourself in three
words, what would they be?
Determined, resourceful and compassionate.
What’s one movie you like recommending to
others?
Immortal Beloved with Gary Oldman. It’s the
story of Beethoven and the scenery and music are stunning.
If you could own any animal as a pet, what
would it be?
I really want a dog to make me walk every day.
Not only will this keep me fit, but it will give me time to plan my writing in
my head. My daughter’s standard poodle has just had puppies so now I need to
persuade my husband. After bringing home cats over the years without him
knowing or agreeing, I promised I’d never do that again, so I must tell him
soon. Watch this space!
Have you ever met anyone famous?
I met Norman Wisdom many years ago when my
auntie was his housekeeper. He kissed me on the cheek, and I have an
autographed photo. It’s probably worth a fortune in Albania. They love him
there!
What is the first book that made you cry?
I can’t exactly recall
but it was probably Lassie or Black Beauty. I’m a softie when it comes to
animals suffering and I promise I will never harm an animal in my novels.
How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?
I can usually write a
book in six months although Blood Loss took longer because it went through some
major changes. Once I get hooked into writing a book, I sometimes sneak out of
bed in the middle of the night to write a chapter that’s wormed its way into my
head
How do you select the names of your characters?
What are your top 5 favorite movies?
Immortal Beloved
What we did on our Holiday
The Untouchables
The Boat that Rocks
About Time
Do you have any
advice for aspiring writers?
Write for
pleasure. It’s not easy to make money as a writer, especially enough to live
on. There are three keys to success – talent, determination and luck.
Tell us 10 fun
facts about yourself! :)
1.
I’m a lightweight. I can’t drink more than two glasses of
Prosecco without falling over.
2.
When I was six, I was thrilled to take the school mouse
home for the weekend until my cat ate it.
3. I insisted my children treated books with respect. I hate
it when people fold the corners of a page or lay an open book face down. It
breaks the spine, and the pages start to fall out.
4. I failed my English Literature ‘O’- Level because I
watched the film ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ instead of reading the book. It
turns out the only person to lose out by cheating was me.
5.
I have a tri-focal lens inside my eye so will never need
to wear glasses.
6.
I have a big black farm cat called Bonkers and a spotty
Benghal called Moomba (named after my husband’s favourite Beach Bar).
7.
By Easter I still have chocolate left from Christmas
8. Every time I mention books or writing at home my family
say ‘BeeBeeBeeBeeep! Book Nerd Alert! Book Nerd alert!’ It’s infuriating.
9. My life was fast-forwarded at the age of thirty-eight
when my daughter told me I was going to be a grandmother. I could hardly
lecture her when I’d got pregnant at the same age.
10. My husband suffers with nose bleeds and he was horrified
when I asked him to let it drip on the floor so I could see the blood spatter
and describe it in my novel.
About Kerena Swan
We are thrilled to be introducing DI Dave
Paton and his son Tommy, the stars of the first novel in Kerena Swan’s new
series, to the world. Before coming to Hobeck, Kerena had
published three novels, Dying To See You, Scared to Breathe and Who’s There? and has built a solid fan base around
her writing career thus far. She is a juggler extraordinaire: driving forward a
successful care business she runs with her husband yet finding time to write.
She loves to write, here and there and everywhere when she’s not working. We
don’t know how she does it but we are glad that she does! Kerena talks about
her writing, her influences and how she came to Hobeck in this video.
Social Media Links
Website:
https://kerenaswan.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @kerenaswan
Facebook :
@kerenaswan · Author
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