The Lion Tamer Who Lost: Author Q&A with Louise Beech. @louisewriter @orendabooks @annecater #blogtour

*shimmies sideways singing* Well, I don’t care if the sun don’t shine, I’ll get my lovin’ in the evening time, when I’m with my bayyyyBeeee…

Well, it ain’t no fun with the sun around, I get going when the sun goes down, And I’m with my bayyyyybeeeeee…

Well, that’s when we’re gonna kiss, and kiss and kiss and kiss, and we’re gonna kiss some

more…..*stops suddenly dropping a photo of Louise*

 

Ummmm, oh…ahem…er…hello! I didn’t see you there. Please, please excuse me. I’ll, ummm, I’ll just remove this tutu and take off my make-up and, oh pick up this totally random photo that I have just found on the floor and is not at all covered in lipstick kisses, no, no it isn’t…. 

Right *cough* um, helloooooo and the warmest of beardy welcomes to my humble blog. You may be wondering why you are here. In fact, I am certain of it. Some of you may actually have chosen to come here of your own free will. Well, that was silly of you, but I am glad you’re here. Seeing as you are here, either by hook or indeed by crook, let me help to ease your confusion and enlighten you as to to point of this post.

You see, today I am very proud to host a Q&A as part of the blog tour for Louise Beech’s sublime new book, “The Lion Tamer Who Lost” (published by the immense powerhouse that is Orenda Books).

But wait! Before we continue, you may not know what a Q&A is. Silly me, let me explain; It’s really quite simple. a “Q&A” is a blogging term meaning Questions and Answers: the ‘Q’ part – that’s the “Questions” and the ‘A’ part – that’s the “Answers”. The squiggly thing in-between the Q and the A is an “and”. See? It’s hardly rocket surgery this blogging lark.

So, if you are ready, sitting comfortably, and have a stiff drink to hand, we shall begin:

 

After He Died – Michael J Malone @michaeljmalone1 @orendabooks @annecater #blogtour

Look at this beauty. Yet another Orenda/Kid Ethic thing of beauty. All three of Michael’s Orenda books to date have featured a circle/semi circle motif, but this one is the best yet. Love it.

 

As if the day wasn’t difficult enough for you – burying a loved one is never easy, but Chirpy Cheep-Cheep was a beloved budgie and the neighbour’s cat will face justice over this feathered crime, as will the person who left the cage open in the first place – there is one face in the crowd of mourners (yourself, your youngest, the nosey, pervy neighbour peeping behind their bedroom curtains, and their murderous cat, looking smug and with a I’m-totally-digging-him-up-later look on his stupid feline face), that you don’t recognise. You’re not even sure how she got into the garden, but you notice that the gate is open when it should be bolted; another mental note to admonish this persistent door-leaver-opener – probably your eldest as they can never seem to keep their mouth closed either. As you make eye contact the stranger walks across the lawn towards you – the lawn that Chirpy Cheep-Cheep will never gaze at through the window ever again – and embraces you. You feel her slip something into your pocket as she whispers her condolences, and, as quickly as she came, she leaves through the still open gate. Befuddled you put your hand into your pocket and pull out a piece of paper. On it, in neat writing, is a……blurb:

“When Paula Gadd’s husband of almost thirty years dies, just days away from the seventh anniversary of their son Christopher’s death, her world falls apart. Grieving and bereft, she is stunned when a young woman approaches her at the funeral service, and slips something into her pocket. A note suggesting that Paula’s husband was not all that he seemed…

When the two women eventually meet, a series of revelations challenges everything Paula thought she knew, and it becomes immediately clear that both women’s lives are in very real danger.

Both a dark, twisty slice of domestic noir and taut, explosive psychological thriller, After He Died is also a chilling reminder that the people we trust the most can harbour the deadliest secrets…”

Overkill – Vanda Symon @vandasymon @orendabooks @annecater

Look at that cover. Lush or what, eh? Bloody gorgeous and it really does suit the tone of the story inside. Another Orenda cover success.

 

The doorbell rings. In the middle of a particularly tricky jigsaw you tut, tear yourself away, and look through the peephole in the door. On the other side is a man, cap pulled down so to obscure his face, dressed in the dark blue overalls of a tv repairman. But you haven’t got a tv; your passion is jigsaws. Who needs telly when the act of slotting those lugs into their correct piece is so thrilling. Something isn’t right here. The bell rings again making you jump, but you cover your mouth to stifle any call of surprise. The man’s body language belies his impatience, but he turns to leave. You realise that you have been holding your breath and you start to let it out, but he turns suddenly, thrusting a piece of paper through your letterbox. It falls to the floor, twisting as it does before landing face up. In crude, almost childlike writing you see the words. Upon the paper is……. a blurb:

“When the body of a young mother is found washed up on the banks of the Mataura River, a small rural community is rocked by her tragic suicide. But all is not what it seems.

Sam Shephard, sole-charge police constable in Mataura, soon discovers the death was no suicide and has to face the realisation that there is a killer in town. To complicate the situation, the murdered woman was the wife of her former lover. When Sam finds herself on the list of suspects and suspended from duty, she must cast aside her personal feelings and take matters into her own hands.

To find the murderer … and clear her name.

A taut, atmospheric and page-turning thriller, Overkill marks the start of an unputdownable and unforgettable series from one of New Zealand’s finest crime writers.”