Hi, thank you so much for inviting me on your blog today!
Of course!
Can you tell us a little bit about your book? When did it come out? Where can we get it?
Can you tell us a little bit about your book? When did it come out? Where can we get it?
Following the success of my previous books and
the first edition of Purple Mist, I thought I would show my appreciation
of my readers by bringing out a second edition of PURPLE MIST at a much cheaper
price and five extra chapters by self-publishing. Purple Mist – An
out-of-this-world Adventure! is now being enjoyed by both adults and children.
Nice!
Is there anything which prompted your books? Something that inspired you?
Is there anything which prompted your books? Something that inspired you?
My granddaughter Gabby inspired me by asking me
to make up stories for her. She loved it when I created a cute lady mouse
called Mousey Mousey, who adored the color pink, and a mischievous witch called
Agatha.
Wow, that's awesome! I kind of stumbled into writing a children's book too.
Let me ask a different question.
When did you know you wanted to write? Or has it always been a pastime of yours?
I have always had a good imagination and was
encouraged by my husband Tony, a journalist and author, to get my stories
published. We exchanged ideas and I gave Tony the original idea for his
successful fantasy adventure SECRET POTION, which has been acclaimed as
being ideal for Harry Potter fans.
That's fantastic!
Do you have any favorite authors yourself?
I love books by Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte,
and I adore J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. I also enjoy it when books are
turned into successful musicals such as Beauty and the Beast.
I agree with all of those statements. ;)
Do you write in a specific place? Time of day?
I usually write in what I call the 'Garden Room'.
When the weather allows, I can open up the patio doors and look out at our
delightful garden while writing.
Sounds inspiring!
Are there some words you'd like to impart to fellow writers? Any advice?
My advice is don't fret when you seem to get a
block. Just write down anything that has impressed you - perhaps a picture or a
news story you have read in a newspaper or magazine. If you cannot come up with
a story line, describe a character and go from there.
Such great advice for writers at any stage of their careers...
Thank you so much for stopping by to visit us here today at Writing in the Modern Age. It was wonderful having you! :)
Readers, here is the blurb for Purple Mist: An Out-of-this-World Adventure.
 |
| https://books2read.com/u/49MMkw |
NEW EDITION WITH 5 EXTRA
CHAPTERS
Heather Flood's latest book Purple Mist –
An-out-of-this-world Adventure! is proving a big hit with both adults and children,
who are greatly enjoying the new edition containing five extra chapters.
Annique discovers she has special powers which
enable her to turn the tables on three school bullies. The astonishing truth
behind these powers is finally revealed on her 13th birthday. She must face a far
worse bully – a tyrant on another planet!
She and her friend Antony - and her dog Waggles
- prepare for the biggest ordeal of their lives as they are transported to a
new world ruled by an evil king.
Purple Mist has been endorsed by actor Brian
Capron and bestselling author Ellie Dean. They say:
“DELIGHTFUL! Don't you love it when bullies get
their comeuppance? That's just the start to Purple Mist, a wonderful adventure
story full of thrills and spills that is literally out of this world!” – BRIAN CAPRON, actor who starred in Coronation
Street.
“CAPTIVATING! An enchanting fantasy adventure
that both adults and children will love…” – ELLIE DEAN, Sunday Times bestselling author of the Cliffehaven
novels.
Purchase Link:
Universal Reader Link: https://books2read.com/u/49MMkw
Here is an excerpt from the book.
CHAPTER
ONE
My name is
Annique Sheldon. I considered myself to be an ordinary schoolgirl until
incredible things began to happen and my worst nightmares started to come true.
My whole world was changed beyond belief on my
thirteenth birthday. But let me turn back the clock to four years earlier - the
day I discovered I had special powers.
I was hurrying home from school along a country
lane in Chobham, Surrey, trying to avoid my three tormentors, Fizz, Stacie and
Nicola.
Nicola and I had been friends for a while, but
when Fizz joined our class everything changed. Fizz was a bully and soon got Nicola
and Stacie to join her in picking on other pupils – usually me!
I no longer
had any friends because these three horrid girls would be nasty to anyone they
saw speaking to me. Their favorite trick was to call me names.
Determined
to ignore them, I continued on my way home, but Fizz grabbed my bag and ripped
it off my shoulder, while Stacie and Nicola cheered her on. She swung it
violently and the bag, containing all my schoolbooks, thudded against my head.
I staggered backwards, rubbing the painful spot above my left ear.
“You're ugly, Antique Sheldon. You've
got strange purple eyes and you smell of fish,” taunted this tall, thin,
squint-eyed girl, who liked nothing who liked nothing better than to make my
life hell.
It amused Fizz to ridicule me and call me 'Antique'
instead of 'Annique'. I hated her and the snotty-nosed Stacie and pimply
Nicola. The spots on Nicola's chin always looked like they would burst at any
minute - it was a disgusting sight.
Fizz - that was her nickname because she
preferred it to Felicity - did not care about my pain. Instead of stopping this
uncalled for attack, she poked me hard in the chest with one of her bony
fingers. The other two joined in, pushing and shoving, until I fell, hitting my
head on the ground. The throbbing was so bad that I thought I was going to be
sick.
When I
looked up Fizz was holding my bag. “There's only junk in here - I'll be doing
you a favor if I empty it on the ground,” she gloated, starting to unzip it.
“Don't do that,” I yelled, trying to stop her
but my head ached so much that my eyes began to water.
“Ow, look, poor little Antique is crying,” scoffed Fizz.
As my eyes
cleared, the feelings of pain and humiliation gave way to an all-consuming
anger. I glared at her and a strange purple mist appeared in front of me.
Fizz, suddenly surrounded by the mist, was lifted off the ground. She
dropped the bag as she began to float into the air, screaming.
“What yer doing up there?” Nicola screeched,
seeing her friend rise higher and higher until she hovered above our heads.
“Nufink, stupid - get me down!” Spinning around in the mist, her arms
flapping in panic, Fizz shouted: “Help me!”
Stacie leapt in a vain effort to grab hold of one of her friend's legs.
Climbing to my feet, I rushed over to help as the
airborne girl continued to wave her arms like a large bird.
Another
searing pain behind my eyes caused me to blink. In that instant, she dropped
several feet. I recovered sufficiently to tug at Fizz's coat, helping Stacie to
pull her down. She landed with a thud in the mud on the wet grass verge.
“Leave me alone, you freak,” Fizz shouted at me,
climbing to her feet. “Did you do that?”
“No...I don't think so,” I mumbled. But my
hesitant answer obviously didn't convince Fizz.
“I'll get you for this, Antique. I'll make you suffer.”
I picked up my bag and ran as fast as I could
the rest of the way home, crashing through the red front gate to my small
terraced house. Fumbling in my bag for the door key, I pushed it into the lock,
tripped over the step, slammed the door behind me, and rushed up the stairs to
my room. I threw myself onto the bed and pulled the duvet up over my head.
Stella, my mother, called to me from downstairs,
but I was too afraid to get off the bed as my legs felt like jelly.
My heart
thumped in my chest as I went over what had just happened. Was it really me
who'd created the purple mist and made Fizz float up into the air? Maybe they
were right: I was a freak.
NOW WE MOVE
ON TO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
At 3pm the doorbell rang. It was Antony and his
parents, who Stella ushered into the lounge. They all looked rather glum. There
was no sign of Antony's usual soppy grin and he wasn't even chewing gum! This
must be serious.
I'd been allowed to let Waggles stay in the
house and he lay between my feet on the deep pile of our red carpet. I sat on
our sofa between Kirsty and Stella. Antony and his Dad Lee were seated on stiff
backed chairs.
Graham came in and stood by our old oak
bookcase. He, like Lee, was wearing grey tunic and black trousers that I'd
never seen them in before.
Stella suddenly took hold of my hand and held it tightly, which was very
unusual for her. It made me apprehensive. I had an awful feeling as I gazed
across at Antony, who smiled sheepishly and then avoided making eye contact
with me by staring down at the carpet.
Before
Graham could speak,
Stella squeezed my
hand again and said, "Annique, what we are about to tell you will come as a shock, but we all want you to know that whatever happens from this moment, you will always have our support."
Clearing his throat, Graham began talking. “You
remember when we spoke about your powers, Annique, we told you that if certain
people found out they might try to take you away from us?”
“Yes,” I replied, wondering what was coming next.
“Well, the risk of that happening has increased.
We can't remain here any longer. In fact, we will all be leaving tonight,
Annique.”
“Are we leaving for good?” I asked. “Where will we go?” “We're going
home to our planet Thaasia.”
I was dumbfounded as Graham continued: “It must
sound incredible to you, but your real mother and father,King Daald and Queen
Lalia, were rulers of Thaasia and that is where we all come from.”
It hit me like a bombshell,
and I began to shake.
“What do you mean, my mother and father? You're
my parents,” I cried, looking from Graham to Stella in alarm.
“No,” Graham said. “We are not your parents - we
are your humanoid guardians. You are Princess Annaaqualalia Anastasia, of the
royal house of Thaasia. And you should be our Queen.”
Another Bombshell! It felt as if my brain would
explode with all this startling information.
“I don't believe it,” I shouted at Graham. “I'm
not going anywhere.” I jumped up and rushed out of the room in a state of
panic.
Wrenching open the back door, I ran out into the
den. Waggles bounded after me, barking and yelping, presumably thinking it was
a game of chase.
As I stood crying, a pair of strong arms encircled me.
“Don't worry,” whispered Antony. “I'll be with
you – you won't be doing this on your own.”
Recovering slightly, I asked: “Did you know
about any of this, Antony?” “Some of it. That holiday we went on - it wasn't
toAmerica. My parents took
me to this other planet, Thaasia. It was a
mind-blowing experience. That's why I was acting so strange when I got back. I
hated not being able to tell you but they made me promise that I wouldn't.”
“So your parents are from this other planet as well?”
“Yes. I am, too. We all are. I couldn't believe
it at first. I know how you must be feeling now.”
“Does that mean you and your parents are humanoids as well?” “No, we're
Thaasians like you.”
“But why did your parents take you back there?”
“They wanted to see if it was safe for you to
return. As Graham said, you are a Princess, and my parents, l, like Graham and
Stella, are very concerned for your safety.
Look, we'd better go back inside, Annique - you need to be told the
rest.”
“Oh, Antony... Annique's not even my real name. I'm not the person I
thought I
“Don't worry,” he tried to reassure me. “I'll always
protect you - with my life if necessary.”
I remembered how he looked when we first met
skinny with freckles. He'd become a young man. I felt a wave of love for him as
he promised to protect me.
“We have to go back, Annique. You'll have to be
braver than you've ever been before, but always remember I will be by your side
- that's my job now.”
“What do you mean?”
“That's what I have to do - always be there for you.” “Always?”
“Well nearly always.” He smiled, looking a bit embarrassed.
I suddenly realized that I might be better
equipped to protect Antony than him looking after me if I still had my powers in
this strange place they wanted to take me.
So, what are people saying about this book? Let's find out!
☆☆☆☆☆
"" - C.A. Greenwood, Amazon
☆☆☆☆☆
"" - John Eastbourne, Amazon
☆☆☆☆☆
"" - Alan, Amazon
☆☆☆☆☆
"" - Laurie Wilkinson, Amazon
☆☆☆☆☆
"" - D. Fielder, Amazon
Sounds like quite a read! Add Purple Mist to your Goodreads bookshelf, readers! :)
We'll be sure to check out this middle-grade sci-fi/fantasy adventure novella!
Get it now!
We'll be sure to check out this middle-grade sci-fi/fantasy adventure novella!
Get it now!
SOME ACCOLADES FOR HEATHER
FLOOD’S BOOKS:
PURPLE MIST – AN OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD-ADVENTURE by
Heather Flood, which has been endorsed by bestselling author Ellie Dean and
actor Brian Capron and soared to #1 bestseller in its category on Amazon.
MOUSEY MOUSEY AND THE WITCHES' SPELLS by Heather
Flood, which went to #1 in its children's category in the Amazon bestsellers
top 100.
MOUSEY MOUSEY AND THE WITCHES' REVENGE, another children's book by
Heather Flood which went into the top six in its bestsellers category.
GIANT STICKER MONSTER AND OTHER CHILDREN'S
STORIES by Heather Flood, which has been given excellent reviews.
Author Bio
Heather Flood has written several books for
children, and her latest much acclaimed fantasy PURPLE MIST – AN
OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD ADVENTURE! is for both adults and children!
Her wonderful characters have been compared to
some of those in Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo, and Heather has reached
No. 1 in her Amazon top 100 bestsellers category!
She began writing by reviewing theatrical
productions for the Richmond and Twickenham Times newspaper series and, since
moving to Eastbourne in 2008, she has penned theater reviews for the Brighton
Argus.
Heather decided to write children's books,
mainly for her grandchildren Gabrielle, Ashlee and later Sam. It was Gabrielle's
love of the color pink which prompted Heather to create Mousey Mousey and
the Witches' Spells, about a delightful little mouse who loves everything
pink but has her world turned upside down by a naughty witch.
This was so successful that Heather followed up
with Mousey Mousey and the Witches' Revenge, and The Giant Sticker
Monster and Other Children's Stories. Heather had previously given husband
Tony the idea for his first novel, Secret Potion, a fantasy adventure
story for all ages.
She has benefited from belonging to Anderida
Writers, where she won three successive awards.
Heather, a former secretary, likes trying new
things and has taken on many challenges. These include helping her first
husband to build two houses, climbing the Great Wall of China and making
wedding and birthday cakes.
She had great fun as a member of two choirs and
learning to dance with Erin Boag, one of the stars from TV's Strictly Come
Dancing. But Heather discovered that, sadly, both she and Tony have two left
feet!
Author Links:
Heather's Books:
 |
| https://books2read.com/u/49MMkw |
No comments:
Post a Comment