Definitely NOT Disney

For the next couple of days, every one of the Colour of Light books is on sale - that's all 4 books for around $6/£5. A proper Billy-bargain! Check it out here. Or, they are all available for free on Kindle Unlimited.

Not gonna spoil it for you, but I will say that after all the years of struggle and strife, we finally get a truly satisfying Happy Ending - Fairytale, you might say. Although Disney would turn in his grave at some of the torments the characters have to endure along the way. Because the first book, Context, has very tenuous - and I do mean tenuous - links to Alice In Wonderland, Cinderella, The Happy Prince and The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, I wondered if I could find other Fairy Tales/Movie links for the other books. When I watched Beastly last night, I realised quite how much Captive has in common with Beauty and the Beast.  One reason it was my favourite fairytale, was because Belle was whip-smart and anything but a girly-girl.

Which leads me nicely to a recent conversation with one of my perceptive beta readers. The character of Rory resonated with her completely for that very fact. When I asked her to describe Rory (because I'm currently trying to put together the book trailer for the series), she described her as a "grown-up tomboy, in touch with her masculine side." Couldn't be more perfect, because that's exactly who I had in mind.
As for Archer, I have to thank a very good writer friend of mine for this; she called him a "cinnamon bun of a hero." The tasty fire and the sweet, shy, sensitivity - it all fits.
Now I just need something for the bad guy who shakes up the lives of so many people during his reign - so far I've cobbled together a monster with devilish intent from some of the comments, but I'll keep on searching. If you have an idea (for any of them), please add it below. Ta xxx

Bad Boys and Good Girls

Some of my detractors criticize the way even my villains turn out to have hearts of gold. I hold my hands up - I believe every person has at least one redeeming feature. Even when I spent a decade and a half trying to teach kids who'd rather be anywhere but in a maths class, I found enough goodness to keep me turning up to school every day. And more than enough material to fill a dozen books.

So this "fun bridge between the Hengist and Colour of Light series" gives a brief glimpse into some of the unsung characters - not necessarily heroes except in their own minds. Although they never made it to the mic, they all have a part to play in the bigger picture of the Hengist people’s adventures when two worlds collide.
Please indulge me with the fairytale blurbs, they kinda fit. The stories are way darker than the Hengist YA series with no guarantees of HEA endings, but the satisfaction that justice was done. Mostly.

Context is available for 99c/99p. Here's the blurb:

Seven unlikely protagonists. Seven taxing situations. 
Seven opportunities for rebellion and/or redemption.

Maura's Magical Saviour
A poor-little-rich-girl follows the hippie trail to become a poor-little-poor-girl. All essential preparations for meeting a time-travelling Viking prince.

Lynette's Stonehenge Rite
A spunky misfit meets a rugged soldier at the Dark Side of the Moon in this psychedelic, Alice-in-Wonderland adventure.

Edlyn's Evil Scheme
A villainous bully with no redeeming features plots a violent revenge against a virtuous hero. Bonus - you get to hear Archer's side of the story too.

Jack Jumps Hoops
A cowardly anti-hero learns valuable lessons from a tyrant-with-a-twist. Watch out for the Punkarella ending.

Kia's Hot-dish Revenge
A rebellious Cinderella's accidental revenge on her lazy mother backfires big time.

How Tamas Got his Scar
A happy prince falls under the spell of the most craven of bullies after a life-changing accident.

A Lie, a Witch and a Wardrobe
What is a drama brat to do when her lie results in incarceration and certain death? Why, rant, wail and wring hands, of course. Luckily, Claire's geeky friend is trapped with her, so she can engage science brain and figure out their survival.

And finally, although not exactly vintage, these stories are mostly set in the 80s and 90s, when your average teen didn't own a mobile phone and messaging/streaming/Netflix were mere twinkles in someone's eye.

Colour of Light series:
#1 Context: Seven short stories of rebellion and redemption - Available May 2020
#2 Chrysalis: Medieval magic meets modern-day mystery - Available June 2020
#3 Captive: Modern-day mystery meets medieval magic - Available August 2020
#4 Catalyst: Modern military thriller meets medieval magic - Available October 2020