http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2016/07/virtual-book-tour-clementina-by-simon.html
One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
Author Interview
- Do you ever wish you were someone else? Who? No. I’m really happy being me. But more significantly, I already get to be countless numbers of other people in my books.
- What did you do on your last birthday? I’m not a big one for birthdays. To me it’s just another day and I’ve never understood the notion of making one day special—I want the other 364 days to be equally special. That said, my last birthday was spent with family and friends. What could be better than that?
- What part of the writing process do you dread? The part of the writing process that I dread is the time between finishing the novel and the publication date. There’s a lot of work to be done, and I’m always itching to get onto the next book.
- Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it? I’ve got a friend who’s a firefighter. He never has firefighter’s block. I’m not sure why a writer should get the luxury of being blocked and it’s not something I’ve ever encountered. However, there are days when the words don’t come as easily and usually that’s a sign that I’m doing something wrong.
5. Tell us about your latest release. Clementina is the first novel in a new series for me featuring a new protagonist: Leathan Wilkey. Leathan had to leave London in a hurry when he upset an organized crime gang. When we meet him he has been living off the radar for a few months. He has just arrived in Paris where he has been hired to babysit Clementina, a seventeen-year-old whose rich daddy is going through a messy divorce and is over-compensating. What starts for Leathan as a battle with a strong-willed teenager as he tries to fulfill his task of protecting her soon changes when Clementina’s boyfriend is murdered. As Leathan investigates, he finds that the boyfriend had no background and met Clementina through a connection made by daddy’s business partner. Daddy’s business partner who has been slowly and progressively putting daddy in a vice, grabbing more of the business, and who now starts menacing Clementina directly to manipulate daddy.
Clementina
by Simon Cann
GENRE: Crime Thriller
Blurb:
Leathan Wilkey has been hired to babysit Clementina, a seventeen-year-old whose rich daddy is going through a messy divorce and is over-compensating.
Leathan soon tires of her spending habits, her selfie obsession, and her social media preoccupation as his ward drags him from shop to boutique to jeweler, approaching each with the self-possession that comes from a lifetime of getting her own way and never once having to worry about money.
But when Clementina snaps her fingers and her boyfriend doesn’t come running, something is up. He doesn’t appear because he’s been murdered.
When Leathan investigates, he finds that the boyfriend has no background and met Clementina through a connection made by daddy’s business partner.
Daddy’s business partner who has been slowly and progressively putting daddy in a vice, grabbing more of the business, and who is now menacing Clementina directly to manipulate daddy.
Excerpt:
I stared up at the six-foot pile of brick held together by cement, then turned to the fastidious man. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Vianney,” he said.
“Vianney. Is this the only way out?”
He nodded, a precise tilt of his head like a movement fashioned by a watchmaker.
“Do you know who is over the back?” I pointed over the wall.
A shake of his head, equally precise. I pulled out my phone. Vianney shook his head again—three small twists. “No signal.” He pointed back inside. “Seven paces.”
I took seven paces and got two bars. “We’re going out the back,” I said when Reece answered. “I’m not sure what’s there, but come and find us there.” Back outside, Clementina was still staring up at the sky. “Ready?” I asked.
She seemed perplexed.
“We’re going to meet the neighbors,” I said, taking her shiny bag and handing it to Vianney. “You’re going first.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“We’re going over the wall—you’re going first. Give your bag to Vianney to hold.” I pointed to the large lump of leather still hanging from her shoulder. “And put this back on.” I handed her the jacket I was carrying. I was sure it wasn’t designed for rough and tumble, but I preferred it be scraped rather than her.
“Why…?” she began.
“Because it’s the only way out, and you’re going first because if I go first there’s no one to help you over the wall,” I said, predicting her range of questions. “What else did you want to do today?”
“I wanted…” she began, slipping on her jacket. “That was rhetorical, wasn’t it?”
Author Bio and Links:
Simon Cann is the author of the Boniface, Montbretia Armstrong, and Leathan Wilkey series of books.
In addition to his fiction, Simon has written a range of music-related and business-related books, and has also worked as a ghostwriter.
Before turning full-time to writing, Simon spent nearly two decades as a management consultant, where his clients included aeronautical, pharmaceutical, defense, financial services, chemical, entertainment, and broadcasting companies.
He lives in London.
Website: http://simoncann.com
The book will be free on Amazon from Monday 25 July to Friday 29 July (inclusive).
B/N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/clementina-simon-cann/1123925440
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Clementina-Leathan-Wilkey-Book-1-ebook/dp/B01FZJEDW6/ref=sr_1_6
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/simoncannauthor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/simonpcann
16 responses to “Simon Cann on Tour: Clementina”
Hello everyone, it’s Simon here.
Can I start by thanking Danita for the kind invitation to participate in this community.
I’m really looking forward to chatting with everyone and to hearing what you’re all reading.
I’ll be here all day, so if you’ve got any questions, comments, or thoughts, please jump in.
Over to you!
Simon
Thanks for hosting!
Thanks for the chance to win 🙂
What is the source of inspiration for the characters/plot situations you create? Do you have a muse?
Good questions! Unfortunately, there’s a pretty poor answer…
To deal with the second, first. There’s no muse…I just like telling stories.
The source of inspiration is a difficult one. In short, everything inspires me and nothing inspires me. Yeah, helpful, I know… But let me try and elaborate.
I start with characters. I start with a character who has reached a major transition in his or her life. In the case of Leathan Wilkey, the protagonist in Clementina, the major change in his life is that he upset an organized crime gang and fearing for his life he left the country. He is now rebuilding his life in a different city (Paris). He needs to work to earn money, all the while living “off the grid” so that he cannot be tracked.
From this kernel of a person in transition, I find situations where a story is big enough to sustain an entire novel (and to remain interesting throughout that novel). How do I find these situations? In truth mundane, everyday sources: often it’s news stories, sometimes the ideas just come to me, sometimes a location suggests something, maybe I read something in a piece of non-fiction… It’s really a case of going through literal and metaphorical archives and pulling out ideas and see if they work with the situation in which my character is living.
Once I’ve found the intersection of an interesting character (and I think Leathan’s a pretty interesting guy) with a challenging situation which means their life is in chaos (or at least transition), both set against a challenging situation, then I write the story.
It’s a pleasure to have you here Simon! Congratulations on this interesting thriller.
Thanks, Danita! It’s great to be here.
The story sounds very intriguing.
It is! But then again, I am biased :-).
If you want to read more, be sure to jump over to Amazon quickly–I’m giving it away for free until Friday: http://getbook.at/clementina
Entertaining interview!
Good questions always help!
I’m looking forward to reading this one, it sounds great. Thanks for sharing the excerpt 🙂
My pleasure to share the excerpt.
And as I said above, if you want to read more then be sure to jump over to Amazon quickly–I’m giving the book away for free until Friday: http://getbook.at/clementina
I’d like to thank Danita for the invitation to participate in this community and to thank you all for you kind welcome and the great questions.
I’ll be popping in at regular intervals, so if you’ve got any more questions, then please keep asking. Alternatively, drop past my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/simoncannauthor/) and say hi.
And don’t forget, Clementina is available for free until Friday. Make sure you grab your copy: http://getbook.at/clementina
All the best
Simon
I really enjoyed reading the entire post, thank you!
My pleasure, Nikolina.