Friday frolics at Rumer's launch party!

Happy Friday to you!

There's going to be something a little different happening today and that is that I'm filling a short slot at Rumer Haven's Facebook Launch party for her novel What The Clocks Know.

I've done a number of Facebook parties myself, and have taken slots at multi author parties, but this is the first where I'm trying to make connections with someone else's unread novel. I will read it but since I'm only buying it today, I know about as much as you do, if you've not yet bought it. 

Click HERE  to access the party.

My time is coming up at 1 p. m. (London time )

Twenty-six-year-old Margot sets out on a journey of self-discovery – she dumps her New York boyfriend, quits her Chicago job, and crashes at her friend’s flat in London. 

Rather than find herself, though, she only feels more lost. An unsettling energy affects her from the moment she enters the old Victorian residence, and she spirals into depression. Frightened and questioning her perceptions, she gradually suspects her dark emotions belong to Charlotte instead. 

Who is Charlotte? The name on a local gravestone could relate to Margot’s dreams and the grey woman weeping at the window. 
  
Finding a ghost isn't what she had in mind when she went ‘soul searching’, but somehow Margot's future may depend on Charlotte's past. 
  
Woven between 21st century and Victorian London, What the Clocks Know is a haunting story of love and identity. 

Here's a resume of what I intend to do to fill my slot. I'll be posting little bits on the Facebook page at spaced intervals using connections between Rumer's book and my contemporary mystery Take Me Now.  It should maybe go something like this below...but Facebook launch parties have a way of digressing.  

...I’m delighted to be able to do a little ‘Take Over’ during Rumer Haven’s launch today of What The Clocks Know. She was quite agreeable to my muscling in, especially if I could make some kind of connections or similarities with her new novel and with one of mine. My Celtic Fervour Series of Historical Romantic Adventures were clearly unsuitable for any kind of connection, so I wondered what I could use from my Contemporary Mysteries.

 1.

 One of my very tenuous connections is this location….where would this be?

     

Ø      London  is one of the many city locations which are mentioned in my Crooked Cat novel Take Me Now.

2.

When is Take Me Now set?

Ø      21^st Century/contemporary so there’s a link to those parts of What The Clocks Know which are set in the 21st Century.

3.

And what about the characters? Are there any likely connections that I can make? 

Ø      My main male character is Nairn Malcolm, who like many thousands of businessmen, has a head office in London.

Ø      My main female is Aela Cameron. She’s a feisty lass from Vancouver, Canada, who has taken on a temporary job of being a general factotum and pilot cum driver to Nairn Malcolm. London isn’t totally unfamiliar to her at the beginning of  Take Me Now but, as a seasoned world traveller, she quite rightly doesn’t count her 5 day experience in London as comprehensive enough for her to be familiar with the huge city.

Rumor’s female character, Margot, has given up being in the north American continent and also finds herself in London. This is the city she last had a job in. 

Where is this? 

4. Odd happenings

I’ve not yet read Rumor’s book so I don’t know exactly where the old Victorian building might be in London but here are only very slightly more specific London locations which occur in Take Me Now.

Ø      A Thames side industrial development area where Nairn Malcolm has his head offices and warehouses for his ‘Adrenalinn Adventures’ businesses.

Ø      A dual carriageway close to his head office

There have been some very strange happenings at Nairn Malcolm’s business headquarters in London. At first it seems like there’s been a glitch in the computer systems when customer orders are tampered with. Yet the trail leads to no-one because the whole computer system is interfered with… the ramifications meaning his office staff become affected as they’re unable to do their jobs properly. 

Then there’s a very small fire in the warehouse, dealt with promptly by security so virtually no damage is done, yet no-one can be found to be responsible for this either. CCTV provides no evidence. It’s as though the perpetrator is invisible.

Nairn Malcolm finds he’s the next target. He has a mysterious and almost deadly motorbike accident, though this is not in London - it’s when he’s in Scotland. His injuries are numerous though none are life-threatening. It seems too coincidental for this to be a pure accident coming within days of the other incidents but who is responsible? Who is remaining ‘under the radar? Who can cause the incidents seemingly without leaving a trace?

London again and the incidents continue, but this time the harm is done to Nairn’s newly appointed general factotum and PA who is helping to keep him mobile and helping to keep his normally well oiled business interests ticking over. The police are now investigating and coming up blank.

Unlike ‘What The Clocks Know’ Take Me Now isn’t a paranormal novel. The strange happenings are definitely caused by a real live person. The solution does eventually present itself and the mystery is solved. I call this my ‘Corporate Sabotage Mystery’ novel. It might sound like it’s a serious one but actually it’s not!

Take Me Now fits no particular category because it’s a mystery. It’s a romance. It’s a contemporary novel. It’s also a little bit humorous, though I’d not call it chick lit.

 Fascinating London

A visit to London is likely to have you encounter some of the many varied and often highly skilled street musicians. I’m pretty sure they do a lot of soul searching before embarking out with their gear. Will the location chosen be a good one to draw the crowds? Will their effort be well received? Will it be a good, or a dire, experience for them? 

The Youtube video below is a different track from the one used on Facebook but both are excellent. 

*****WIN an ECOPY*****

To win an ecopy of Take Me Now  you need to tell me what this track below is called. When you know the answer please go back to  the Facebook Party HERE and 'direct message' me with the answer!

Good luck and happy reading.

Slainthe!