Hand Over Fist
by Michael Ross
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Thriller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
When an old
friend disappears, Martin learns nothing is what it seems…
Martin Russell can barely face the future. With dismal life prospects and an estranged family, he is at the end of his rope. When an old friend, Hannah, elbows her way back into his life, Martin’s luck begins to turn around.
Hidden within the shadows of evil, there must be some good…
Ex-policeman Bobby Tanner lost everything one rage-filled night. Now he runs a reading group for alcoholics where he meets a young drug dealer, Zack, who disturbs him in a way that’s hard to define. Bobby soon discovers the teenager is in over his head and has been dealing with a despicable individual known as The Chemist.
The roots of evil run deeper than we imagine…
Martin’s lucky streak begins to unravel when Hannah suddenly goes missing, and he turns to a friend of a friend, Bobby, for help. Thrust into an underworld empire of corruption and half-truths, he learns his friend may not be who he thought she was.
In a shadowed world of deception, stalkers, and despicable drug dealers, Bobby and Martin must uncover the truth, and fast…
Several lives depend on it.
Martin Russell can barely face the future. With dismal life prospects and an estranged family, he is at the end of his rope. When an old friend, Hannah, elbows her way back into his life, Martin’s luck begins to turn around.
Hidden within the shadows of evil, there must be some good…
Ex-policeman Bobby Tanner lost everything one rage-filled night. Now he runs a reading group for alcoholics where he meets a young drug dealer, Zack, who disturbs him in a way that’s hard to define. Bobby soon discovers the teenager is in over his head and has been dealing with a despicable individual known as The Chemist.
The roots of evil run deeper than we imagine…
Martin’s lucky streak begins to unravel when Hannah suddenly goes missing, and he turns to a friend of a friend, Bobby, for help. Thrust into an underworld empire of corruption and half-truths, he learns his friend may not be who he thought she was.
In a shadowed world of deception, stalkers, and despicable drug dealers, Bobby and Martin must uncover the truth, and fast…
Several lives depend on it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
…but
there was something gnawing away at him; something about Zachary Jackson that
was just not right. He seemed like a good kid, a good son to a troubled mother
and a dying father. But now Bobby stood in the shadows watching Zack leave The
Chemist's house and he cursed his sixth sense.
The
Chemist's house was one of a pair of semis that were angled at the end of
Shortcross Drive. The area was the roughest part of the city, an independent
borough with its own self-administered terms of crime and punishment. The
crimes that carried the heaviest forms of punishment were those that affected
The Chemist negatively. Punishments ranged from being forced to cut his lawn
for a month to having both your knees smashed by a crow bar. And even worse
penalties if you failed to insist to A&E staff that you'd been hit by a
car.
By
the time the local police force had recognised The Chemist's power, it was
easier to leave him well alone than to face the cost of breaking down his power
base. The semi detached council house was fortified more strongly than a
clearing bank's vault. Over the years, every door and window had been replaced
and so heavily reinforced that it would take a tank to force entry into the
property.
A Word From The Author:
1.When did you first realize
you wanted to become a writer?
Only about seven years
ago, when I moved from the 'big city' to the Welsh valleys I attended a
creative writing class and got well and truly hooked on writing.
2.Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre that you write?
In thrillers it's Harlan
Coben every time. In the more thoughtful literature I love Matt Haig and David
Mitchell.
3.What are reading right now?
As part of my ex
university reading group I'm reading 'The Woman in White.'
4.Which one of your characters is most like you?
My three main characters,
Martin, Pin-up and Bobby Tanner all have large chunks of me in their DNA.
5.Which of your books is your favorite? Why?
I loved very minute of
writing Chasing What's Already Gone, a feel good romance, which comes out in
July, it was a change in style for me, and the story line evolved with very
little stress involved.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
It was a strange and
twisting road that led to the publication of my first novel. From my humble
beginnings, as an office clerk, to ownership of a multi-million dollar business
I always maintained my love for literature.
Born and raised in Bristol,
England. I spent most of my life in business, my companies turning over in the
region of $500 million. The majority of that time marketing cars, eventually
owning the largest Saab specialist in the world, before a bitter divorce forced
me rethink my priorities. Particularly between 2003 and 2005 when I had to
accept that I was no longer a millionaire but literally penniless. I avoided
bankruptcy by the skin of my teeth and slowly rebuilt my life.
This led me to the life
changing decision to leave the bustling city and move to live halfway up a
mountain in the Welsh valleys. At the same time I started a part time six year
English Literature course at Bristol University, and attended creative writing
classes at Cardiff University. I left school at sixteen and this was my first
taste of further education and an immense challenge.
I eventually adjusted my
thinking to the academic life, and on 30 June 2015 had confirmation of my
2.1(Hons) degree from Bristol University. At the same time I also won the
prestigious Hopkins Prize for my essay on Virginia Woolf and the unsaid within
her text. Now the university courses are finished it will, with any luck, gives
me plenty of extra time that I can devote to my fiction writing.
Thanks to the university
experiences, my interest in English literature has flourished over recent
years. Hopefully I have evolved as a writer from my earlier work in short
stories (over ninety of them.) Although interestingly my first three novels
have all been developed from a long forgotten short story.
Life is, once again, very
good, and I live very happily halfway up a mountain, in the Welsh Valleys, with
my wonderful partner Mari, and our rescue dog Wolfie.
Facebook www.facebook.com/michaelross.writer
Twitter @mikerosswriter
Website www.michaelrosswriter.com
Blog
http://mikerosswriter.wordpress.com.
Goodreads Mike Ross
Michael will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a
randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Use the link below to enter.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you like to do when you're not writing?
ReplyDeleteDay to day - walk my dog.
ReplyDeleteOver the course of the year try and spend time in Italy and Poland, two countries I never tire of visiting.
Thanks for hosting this giveaway, have a great Thursday!
ReplyDeleteHow long do you write every day?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the contest.
slehan at juno dot com
Sounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading the excerpt. This book sounds like such an interesting and intriguing read. Looking forward to checking out this book.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the new book and good luck on the book tour!
ReplyDeleteI have added this book to my TBR list and look forward to reading this book!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ally - let me know what you think after reading it.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Michael
Do you take time off from writing?
ReplyDeleteslehan at juno dot com
Do you write more in the winter than in the summer?
ReplyDeleteHi slehan
ReplyDeleteI've learned the hard way only to write when I need to because there is 'stuff' banging around my head that needs to see the light of day. If there's nothing happening I walk the dog, read and wait patiently.
Have a lovely day
Michael