Tag - twins

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Symbiosis Sale Ends Today
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Symbiosis Launch
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Symbiosis Countdown
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Symbiosis Blurb Reveal
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Symbiosis Front Cover Reveal
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7 Books about Twins
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Work in Progress Blog Hop

Symbiosis Sale Ends Today

Get my Psychological Thriller Symbiosis today for only 99c/99p (Usual Price: $3.99/£2.86). Available from Amazon (US & UK).

Symbiosis

Perceptive and poignant, Symbiosis explores our enduring fascination with twins and the complexities of twinship.

Identical twins Talulah and Taliah have never been apart. Viewed as curiosities by children and adults alike, they coexist in an insular world with their own secret language. But being identical doesn’t necessarily mean being equal…

Soon a series of momentous events will send Talulah and Taliah spiralling out of control, setting them on a collision course with a society that views them as two parts of a whole. Will their symbiotic relationship survive?

Symbiosis was released at the end of January.

Symbiosis

Sale ends today Tuesday April 12th.

Amazon US (99c) & Amazon UK (99p) — also available in paperback.

 

 

Symbiosis Launch

I am pleased to announce that Symbiosis is now on sale.

Symbiosis

The Blurb:

Identical twins Talulah and Taliah have never been apart. Viewed as curiosities by children and adults alike, they coexist in an insular world with their own secret language. But being identical doesn’t necessarily mean being equal…

Soon a series of momentous events will send Talulah and Taliah spiralling out of control, setting them on a collision course with a society that views them as two parts of a whole. Will their symbiotic relationship survive?

Moving and laconic, with impressive attention to psychological detail…

Symbiosis

Here are 2 short extracts from Symbiosis:

A staccato burst of cryptophasia piercing the air preludes Talulah’s finger prodding Taliah repeatedly in her arm, each occurrence sending a ripple of anxiety coursing through Taliah’s body, that escalates into waves when her arm is shaken vigorously.

‘You will not regress to cryptophasias, not here!’ shouts Hunter-Thornton. The scarlet-cheeked psychiatrist views with consternation the two expressionless faces staring back at him. ‘At Hunter-Thornton Integrated Counselling Services we accept cognitive disorders in all their manifestations, but insolence we will not. You have been warned.’
‘Ugi derriii bothi baldi.’ It is Talulah who says this.

Amazon.com – paperback ($10.99) & Kindle ($3.26)

Amazon.co.uk – paperback (£6.99) & Kindle (£2.29)

Thank you.

Symbiosis Countdown

My psychological thriller, Symbiosis, is being released next Thursday (January 21st) now on sale.

Symbiosis

The blurb:

Identical twins Talulah and Taliah have never been apart. Viewed as curiosities by children and adults alike, they coexist in an insular world with their own secret language. But being identical doesn’t necessarily mean being equal…

Soon a series of momentous events will send Talulah and Taliah spiralling out of control, setting them on a collision course with a society that views them as two parts of a whole. Will their symbiotic relationship survive?

Perceptive and poignant, Symbiosis explores our enduring fascination with twins and the complexities of twinship.

Click here to enter the goodreads giveaway for a chance to win one of three autographed copies.

Symbiosis

Here are two short extracts from Symbiosis:

During dinner that evening Talulah and Taliah’s cutlery does not move in unison with one another, and when they reach for their glasses of water, they do so at different times. Their unsynchronised actions continue into dessert, with Talulah rapidly consuming her Petits-Filous yoghurt, whilst Taliah eats hers at a leisurely pace, each time her teaspoon emerges from the pot, only the front end is covered in yoghurt.

‘You will not regress to cryptophasias, not here!’ shouts Hunter-Thornton. The scarlet-cheeked psychiatrist views with consternation the two expressionless faces staring back at him. ‘At Hunter-Thornton Integrated Counselling Services we accept cognitive disorders in all their manifestations, but insolence we will not. You have been warned.’
‘Ugi derriii bothi baldi.’ It is Talulah who says this.

Symbiosis is now available for preorder from Amazon.

Amazon.com – paperback ($10.99) & Kindle ($3.38)

Amazon.co.uk – paperback (£6.99) & Kindle (£2.29)

Symbiosis Blurb Reveal

There are only 11 days to go until the release of Symbiosis (Publication Date: 21st January 2016). Symbiosis is a Psychological Thriller. It is my third novel (Charles Middleworth & Necropolis). Last week I unveiled the front cover (see below).

Symbiosis

This is the blurb:

Identical twins Talulah and Taliah have never been apart. Viewed as curiosities by children and adults alike, they coexist in an insular world with their own secret language. But being identical doesn’t necessarily mean being equal…

Soon a series of momentous events will send Talulah and Taliah spiralling out of control, setting them on a collision course with a society that views them as two parts of a whole. Will their symbiotic relationship survive?

Perceptive and poignant, Symbiosis explores our enduring fascination with twins and the complexities of twinship.

A valuable addition to the monozygotic canon…

Symbiosis demonstrates Portman’s ability to populate his worlds with peculiar yet plausible characters.

Moving and laconic, with impressive attention to psychological detail…

I am pleased to announce that Symbiosis is now available for preorder from Amazon.

Amazon.com – paperback ($10.99) & Kindle ($3.38)

Amazon.co.uk – paperback (£6.99) & Kindle (£2.29)

Click here to sign up for my newsletter.

 

Symbiosis Front Cover Reveal

Happy New Year everyone! May 2016 prove to be a prosperous year for us all.

Late this morning I spent some time perusing my 2015 Jetpack annual report. If you don’t like stats look away now.

  • This blog received over 14,000 page views in 2015.
  • Visitors came from 123 countries including Kiribati.
  • I wrote 52 blog posts (every Friday afternoon).
  • March 20th was the most popular day with 341 views.
  •  My most viewed post was 7 Famous Writers Who Died Poor.

2016 promises more of the same.

2016

As many of you know my third novel, Symbiosis, is being released later this month (21st January).

Here is some information about Symbiosis.

  • Symbiosis is a Psychological Thriller (a story which emphasises the psychology of its characters and their unstable emotional states).
  • The main characters are twin girls called Talulah and Taliah.
  • Talulah and Taliah speak to each other in a cryptophasia. A cryptophasia is a secret language developed by a set of twins, which only they understand. The word originates from the Latin crypto meaning secret and phasia meaning speech.
  • The book’s themes include mental health.
  • Symbiosis explores our enduring fascination with twins and the complexities of twinship.

And now for the first time I present Symbiosis’s front cover.

Symbiosis

I hope you like it as much as I do.

Happy New Year.

Click here to sign up for my newsletter.

7 Books about Twins

My 3rd novel, Symbiosis, is a Psychological Thriller about identical twin girls called Talulah and Taliah. I will be revealing more soon, but for now we continue with the book theme.

As part of my research for Symbiosis I read a number of books about twins. This week’s blog post is devoted to books about/that feature twins (fiction & non fiction) – 4 of which I have read.

The following books are presented in chronological order:

 

The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (1927)

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Set in 18th century Peru, this novella is about a bridge that collapses, killing 5 people. The main characters include identical twins called Esteban and Manuel. The Bridge of San Luis Rey is a philosophical tale with religious undertones. Click here to read my review.

My Opinion: Average

 

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews (1979)

Flowers in the Attic

This, the first book in the Dollanganger Series, features twins called Carrie and Cory. Flowers in the Attic is a gothic horror/family saga that has been adapted for the silver screen on 2 occasions. Over 40 million copies have been sold worldwide.

 

The Silent Twins by Marjorie Wallace (1986)

The Silent Twins 

This is the true story of June and Jennifer Gibbons, identical twins born in the UK in 1963. Their lives caught the public’s attention, and were the inspiration behind the lyrics of Tsunami by the Manic Street Preachers. Click here to read my review.

My Opinion: Quite good

 

Evil Twins by John Glatt (1999)

Evil Twins

Utilising a tabloid journalistic approach, Evil Twins is a true crime book, which is divided into 12 sections, each dedicated to a different set of ‘evil’ twins. It spawned a television series of the same name. Click here to read my review.

My Opinion: Eminently readable sensationalist tripe.

 

Alva & Irva by Edward Carey (2003) 

Alva & Irva

This unusual novel is about inseparable, identical twins called Alva and Irva. The twins, who come from a family of post office employees, reside in Entralla, a picturesque city with only 1 guidebook. Click here to read my review.

My Opinion: Quaint

 

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (2006)

The Thirteenth Tale

One of the book’s main characters, Margaret Lea, was born a conjoined twin. Her sibling died shortly after separation. This gothic suspense novel also features another set of twins called Emmeline and Adeline March.

 

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (2009)

Her Fearful Symmetry

Her Fearful Symmetry is a novel about American twins called Julia and Valentina, who are living in an apartment their aunt left them. The girls’ lives become entangled with that of their neighbours. It is set in and around Highgate Cemetery in London.

 

 

Work in Progress Blog Hop

I have been nominated for the Work in Progress Blog Hop by author Heather Burnside (heatherburnside.com). Heather is a regular blogger, who likes to share writing tips and information about her books. Heather is currently working on her second novel – a sequel to SLUR, her crime fiction novel, set in 1980s Manchester. Heather has also written a book of short stories called Crime, Conflict & Consequences. Thank you for nominating me Heather.

Typewriter2

The blog hop rules are:

  • Link back to the person who nominated you.
  • Write a little about and give the first few lines of your first three chapters from your WIP.
  • Nominate some other writers to do the same.

Here are my nominations:

Andy Lowe – Andy is a poet and author of 4 books. He shares writing excerpts on his blog – andrewlowewriter.wordpress.com

Craig Stone – Craig is the author of 5 humorous novels. He is also something of a Twitter celebrity. Craig shares his unique insights on his blog – http://thoughtscratchings.com

You can find reviews of Heather, Andy and Craig’s books in the review section of my blog.

Amazon6

Here’s a little about my work in progress:

I am currently writing my third novel (Charles Middleworth & Necropolis). It will be an original and suspenseful work of psychological fiction.

This is the opening line:

‘wethiwethi deh klathi nuhnuh – meou klathi bothi iahn’

It’s not even English I hear you say. It is written in a cryptophasia. A cryptophasia is a secret language developed by a set of twins, which only they understand. The word originates from the Latin crypto meaning secret and phasia meaning speech. As you’ve probably guessed by now my book is about twins. Their names are Talulah and Taliah.

Here are the opening lines of my first draft of Chapter 2 and the second paragraph of Chapter 3 (the first contained spoilers).

Chapter 2

Framed watercolours capturing landscapes adorn the white walls of the spacious, brightly lit room, furnished with vivid coloured settees, chairs, polka dotted bean bags and a large glass desk. Spread out on the polished wooden floor in the centre of the room is a large gridded mat with different coloured squares. Taliah is crouched over the mat, each of her feet and hands resting on separate squares. The young psychiatrist, sitting cross-legged beside the mat, says, ‘You ready …’

Chapter 3

As far back as Colin can remember he has been led to believe that ownership of a Ferrari offers the prospect of redemption, but now as he looks down upon its metallic, inanimate form, and its balding proprietor Gerald, heaving his corpulent carcass towards the office entrance, it occurs to Colin that redemption is merely an illusion.

Necropolis

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