Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Simon Cann and his new book, “Clementina!” For other stops on his Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above.
Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $50
Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card.
Also, come back daily to interact with Simon and to increase your
chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping by!
Wishing you lots of luck in this exciting giveaway!
Clementina
by Simon Cann
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GENRE: Crime Thriller
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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.
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.
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EXCERPT TWO:
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?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INTERVIEW:
Any weird things you do when you’re alone?
You think I’m going to admit—on the internet—to doing
weird things?!?
What is your favorite quote and why?
Never touch shit, even with gloves on. The gloves get
shittier, the shit doesn’t get glovier.
Why my favorite? Because it speaks to the priorities in
life.
Who is your favorite author and why?
Walter Mosley. In
particular, for his Easy Rawlins, Fearless Jones, and Leonid McGill novels—I’m
not a huge fan of his science fiction.
Why? Because I believe every word of these stories. They
are compelling tales from the first word to the last.
What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of
good writing?
The most important element of writing is that the writing
is invisible.
The content—the story—should be all that matters. The
words are merely the means by which the content is transmitted. I want the
story, not to know that the author swallowed a thesaurus or spent three years
researching the book.
Where did you get the idea for this book?
Where? Literally, in Paris. Shocking, huh? I got the idea for a book set
in Paris when I was in Paris doing research for a series of books set in Paris.
I had the character of my protagonist—Leathan Wilkey—clear
in my mind. I knew he was going to be my lead character in a series of novels
set in Paris. What was less clear in my mind was what first drew Leathan to
Paris.
I also had a notion about Leathan being (without trying to
dramatize the situation) trapped in Paris with someone who didn’t really
appreciate the city—someone who saw the surface glitter of the city, but no
more. As I walked around Paris I saw so many tourists who seemed obsessed with
taking selfies in front of the landmarks. They didn’t seem to care about the
landmarks, let alone the rest of the city—it seems that their sole concern was
to get a selfie in various locations and then to go back to their hotel.
The person that Leathan was trapped with in Paris became
Clementina—a willful 17-year-old with a bad selfie habit—who is taken to Paris
by her father while he works on a business deal.
Once I had the notion of Clementina, it was obvious that
Leathan went to Paris to babysit her because that was the only work that was
offered to him. Once I had that notion, I was off and running.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
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.
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CONNECT WITH SIMON:
Website: http://simoncann.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/simoncannauthor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/simonpcann
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
**The book will
be free on Amazon from Monday 25 July to Friday 29 July (inclusive).**
Amazon: http://amzn.to/29X7Mn6
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
One randomly chosen winner via Rafflecopter will
win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and
Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not
Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are
solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
