Publisher: Pink
Petal Books
Word Count: 66,000
Cover Artist:
Valerie Tibbs
Book Description:
Recently released
from a mental institution, Beth Gregory accepts a job as a live-in secretary/PA
to the reclusive painter Josh Warrington. Beth's long red hair fascinates him
from the first moment he sees her and Josh wants her to be his Rapunzel for a
series of fairy tale paintings he's working on.
Beth has two major
fears: that she will be sent back to the mental hospital and the visions which
landed her there in the first place will return. They do; this time giving her
glimpses of murders before they happen. Beth becomes the main suspect in the
murder investigation and then she has the most disturbing vision of all: she
will become the next victim...
Short Excerpt:
He wished he'd thought of the water sooner. It was
easier that way, not so much mess. It was peaceful too, watching her hair fan
out behind her like a veil of gold. She didn't struggle after his hands were
around her neck, and he was grateful. It showed him that she accepted her fate
dutifully, like she should. She should never have made him wait so long.
Now he was waiting again, but he didn't mind. He was
used to waiting now. Waiting could almost have been his middle name. Actually,
it was Alphonse, but anyone who knew that was already dead, and so it didn't
matter anymore.
It was a while since he had hunted like this,
anticipated the inevitable. Usually he preferred the quick kill, where they
didn't know he was coming until they started screaming. He liked to hear them
scream. Made it all seem that bit much more worthwhile.
But there was something different about this one;
something that made him want to wait, to delay the final moment, to make it
last. He wanted to frighten her long before the end, when she would beg him to
kill her. He couldn't quite tell what it was; there was just an air of
something other about her. She wasn't like the other girls, and he
grinned broadly. Of course she wasn't. She was special. But then, they were all
special. They were his.
Maybe it was the hair which attracted him. It was
long, tumbling in red-gold waves down her back, almost to her waist. It
reminded him of golden syrup. He loved golden syrup, loved to eat it straight
out of the tin with his fingers. No mother to nag him about that. Not anymore.
Fingers were fine, but sometimes he preferred bread, white bread, none of that
wholemeal nonsense. He could almost taste it on his tongue, could almost taste
her and he had to stifle a gasp at the image. No point in attracting undue
attention to himself.
He glanced at the folder on the passenger seat, her
name stark black against the buff-coloured folder. It had almost been too easy
to get hold of her file, but no one knew what he wanted it for and he wasn't
about to tell them, either. He lifted it up and traced her name with a gloved
finger, feeling almost as if he was caressing her already. This one would be so
easy to break; she'd already been in a mental hospital once. He had to be
careful; if she was sent back he couldn't get to her, not there with their high
walls and staff on alert all the time. No, he just wanted to scare her for a
while, but not inflict madness on her once more. He gasped as he saw her
walking towards his parked car, her head down, her loose hair being buffeted by
the spring wind.
Maybe it wasn't the hair; maybe it was the grey-green
eyes which seemed to see right down to his soul. Would she recoil in terror at what she saw there,
or would she welcome it like the others before her? They had all welcomed him
in the end. Or maybe it was the way she dressed, so unlike her contemporaries
in their short skirts and skimpy tops. Any time he'd seen her, she was always
covered up in long dresses and baggy sweaters, as if she didn't want to show
off any of her womanly curves. She had curves, the clothes could not disguise
them, and he had long imagined his hands roving over her delicate skin.
He also knew that underneath all those layers, there
was a wanton harlot waiting for him to let her out, just like all the others.
How they loved to tease and torment him. This time he would be the tormentor.
But not yet. He would wait. He was getting good at
waiting.
Interview:
1) Where did you get the idea for the novel?
This novel was inspired first of all by a painting, La Belle
Dame Sans Merci by Sir Frank Dicksee. We saw it in a gallery in London and
bought a print of it in the gift shop. It hangs in our bedroom and I saw that
picture every night and every morning and I was in awe. I can’t draw to save my
life and I am in awe of those who can. So I started thinking about painting and
how you would make a living with painting and artworks. So even though I
couldn’t paint myself, I could write about someone who could and the character
of Josh started forming in my head.
I still couldn’t see if he would be able to make a good living
out of it, so he was independently wealthy. Now, I had the artist, I needed his
Muse, and that was Beth, who had long red hair like the Queen of Faerie in the
painting. Josh paints nothing but fairy tales, so he wanted Beth for his
Rapunzel, even though she was only supposed to be his secretary or personal
assistant.
I also love gothic romances, especially ones written by Victoria
Holt. There is always a mansion or stately home of some sort, along with a
mysterious or aloof owner and secrets to be discovered. So I tried to write
something a bit gothic, but with a modern feel to it as well.
2) Your title. Who came up with it? Did you ever change your
title?
There is a killer on the loose who was drowning long-haired
women, so calling it Drowning Rapunzel was very apt. I never chanted the title.
It was that title from the start.
3) Which came first, the title or the novel?
I had the title and the idea for the story around the same time.
4) Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing to
ever happen to you?
Seeing that very first contract landing in my email inbox. I
felt a bit light-headed and faint that someone wanted to publish my work. I
still get that same fluttery feeling every time.
5) What book are you currently reading or what was the last book
you read?
I’m currently reading The Thousand by Kevin Guilfoyle.
6) What was your first book that you ever wrote (very first one
you wrote, not published)?
I wrote it when I was fourteen and it’s never seen the light of
day. It was a novel based on the Robin Hood legend, but from Maid Marion’s
point of view. I think there have been a few written and published of that ilk
by better Historical writers than me, LOL!
7) What is your writing process?
I usually have a vague outline in my head, but I tend to just
sit down to write and see what happens. My characters surprise me all the time
and I think that keeps your writing a bit fresh. I had a detailed outline for
Drowning Rapunzel, even down to who the baddie was, but when it came to the
showdown, it wasn’t him, it was someone else! It worked well that way so I left
it in and didn’t stick to the plan.
8) Who are your favorite authors of all time?
Oh, I have quite a few. I love Lynn Flewelling and Carol Berg
for fantasy, Sarah Rayne and S. J. Bolton for psychological thrillers and you
can’t really beat Stephen King for horror. For romance and historical I love Elizabeth
Chadwick and Philippa Gregory. And I adore the Harry Potter books by J.K.
Rowling.
9) At a book signing, do you just sign your name or do you write
a note? How do you come up with stuff to say?
I’ve never had a book signing. I’ve signed a few books for my
immediate family, but that’s about it.
10) What is something people would be surprised to know about
you?
That I met my husband through a lonely hearts ad, long before
Internet Dating this was. We’ll be married twenty-two years this year and we
still get asked when we’re on holiday if we’re on honeymoon, LOL!
11) How do you react to a bad review?
I usually feel a bit upset and might cry first of all, then I
just forget about it and continue writing the sort of stories I want to write,
no matter what other people might think of them. You’re never going to be able
to please everybody anyway, so you may as well write what you like, not what
the market dictates.
12) How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?
Like I do with them all, my husband and I go out to dinner to
celebrate.
About the Author:
Annette Gisby grew
up in a small town in Northern Ireland, moving to London when she was
seventeen. She writes in multiple genres and styles, anything from romance to
thriller or erotica to horror, even both at the same time. When not writing,
she enjoys reading, cinema, theatre and travelling the world despite getting
travel sick on most forms of transport., even a bicycle. Sometimes you might
find her playing Dragon Quest or The Sims computer games and watching Japanese
Anime. She lives in Hampshire with her husband, a collection of porcelain
dolls, cuddly toys and enough books to fill a library. It's diminishing
gradually since the advent of ebooks, but still has a long way to go.Giveaway:
Thanks for hosting me :)
ReplyDeleteWow, great excerpt and interview!
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