It gives me great pleasure to welcome back my very dear friend and talented author, Joy Wood, to Patricia’s Pen. This visit Joy is celebrating her newly launched novel Dead Pretty. Without further ado, it’s over to Joy.
Dead Pretty
Joy Wood
I’m absolutely delighted to share my new release, Dead Pretty. This book is close to my heart as I actually started my nurse training at the wonderful Harlow Wood Orthopaedic Hospital in the 1970s – sadly it’s now a housing estate. The 70s are a nostalgic memory to many of us (pay phones, The Little Chef on the motorway, and sending our photograph films off to Truprint) – I’m sure the memories are flooding back for you all.
BUY
I’ve tried to recreate the excitement, the hard work, and trials and tribulations of student life in the nurses’ home with a matron who made sure everything was in order as we were only seventeen. Fortunately, she had no idea what we got up to . . . or maybe she did, who knows?
The characters and narrative only exist in my head, however, when writing the story, I’ve tried to recreate the hospital in its entirety, although I have had to use a bit of creative licence as I’m fairly certain there wasn’t a murderer stalking the corridors – not while I was there, anyway.
As always, I’m raising the flag for the many independent authors amongst us. Without the generous support that I receive, I certainly wouldn’t be able to produce a book each year as I do.
Thank you so much Patricia for inviting me onto you blog to discuss my new release, Dead Pretty – that is so kind of you. I know I speak for many authors (and poets) in extending our gratitude. You are a wonderful support to us all – we are fortunate to have you.
If you’re not yet convinced to order Joy’s book, let me tempt you with this fabulous teaser.
Dead Pretty
PROLOGUE:1977
Killing was a desire that saturated every minute of his waking day. Adrenaline surged through his veins as he fantasised about vibrant, young female flesh trapped within his deadly hands as he tightened his grip around her milky white neck and strangled the final breath out of her. It was an evil, depraved craving, he knew that, but nevertheless, it overwhelmed him. There wasn’t even a hint of trepidation; right now a last kill was as vital to him as water. But the burning question he couldn’t answer was – would he be able to stop at one girl? Especially now he had a death sentence hanging over him.
There was a certain irony that he was in a perfect place to find a victim. A smirk twitched at his lips as he ran his hand along the windowsill of the old sash window, desperately in need of a coat of paint judging by the flaky chippings dropping onto the burgundy carpet. The heavy embossed dark brown curtains shielded him as he peered outside. It was a crisp autumn day, mild for the time of year and his heart rate quickened watching the new intake of excited students as they arrived to embark on a two-year nurse training course at the cottage hospital nestled in the woods.
A new entrant letter would be in each room instructing the students to meet at 6pm in the communal lounge of North House where they’d be told the rules they must adhere to while residing there. Nothing too onerous – it was essential that the nurses weren’t overwhelmed, forcing them to quit. Not when they were the workforce of the future. They’d have to listen to the instructions about quietness, respecting fellow students, keeping the communal kitchen and bathrooms tidy, and using the in/out notice board so that in the event of a fire, they could ascertain who was inside the building. Most would stick to the rules religiously, while others would bend them accordingly. He’d seen it all before . . . many times. And he hated them all. He hated their youth, their eagerness, and their couldn’t care less attitude. Professional training would undoubtedly ensure their lives would change. He knew categorically that for one of them it would. And the reason he knew was because he was going to extinguish it.
The task ahead now was to pick which one . . .
About Joy Wood
Joy Wood is an independent author living in the quant seaside town of Cleethorpes in North East Lincolnshire. She has written eight books which sell in a local shop and on Amazon. Her first four books were romantic fiction with a crime element; her more recent books are psychological thrillers. She is a registered public speaker and delivers a talk about how she made the transition from nurse to writer (From Bedpan to Pen) in and around Lincolnshire. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys travel and dreams of coming across someone in a foreign destination reading one of her books.
LINKS
Facebook
Patricia M Osborne 