Turn The Page: Strand of Faith

A girl and a monk, both with extraordinary mental powers, have compelling reasons not to fall in love. But those from whom they expect support are manipulating them both because their choices will have consequences for the rest of the world.

After a stormy youth, Brother Prospero has found comfort and fulfilment in the monastery. That is, until he discovers something that forces him to reconsider his whole vocation. To follow his heart, he’ll have to face his demons again, outside the security of the monastery. Is it worth the risk? Can he beat them this time? Or will they finally destroy him?

Orphaned and mistreated, Leonie has found sanctuary and safety at the abbey. All she wants is to learn how to manage her unusual abilities so that she is not a danger to those around her. When she comes into contact with Prospero everything threatens to spiral out of her control. Whether she leaves or whether she stays, how can she possibly avoid destroying – yet again – those she has come to care about?

Abbot Gabriel is faced with an impossible choice. He can do nothing and watch the world descend into war. Or he can manipulate events and ensure peace – at the cost of two lives that he is responsible for. He knows what he has to do but is he strong enough to sacrifice those he loves?

Getting a degree in engineering, followed by a career in accountancy is probably not a conventional path to becoming an author, particularly in paranormal romance. Rachel says that, although accountancy isn’t anything like as boring as everyone thinks, writing is a lot more fun. When not writing, she can be found walking in the beautiful countryside near where she lives, which has influenced much of the scenery in her books, or shooting things with her local archery club. Target shooting only, honest. Nothing to worry about.

Win a signed paperback copy of Strand of Faith, a set of bookmarks (3 styles plus a business card) featuring the cover art, and a canvas print (40cm by 30cm) of the original cover art. Open Internationally

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

One of the frequent questions put to writers is about their routine – a polite way of asking ‘What do you actually do all day?’ I certainly don’t have a ‘typical’ day, but I didn’t have typical days before I started writing either.

As well as writing I work freelance as a business financial management consultant, mainly in the public sector, doing things like financial modelling, business plans and budget management. I aim to work about half time on average, but that can mean a couple of hours one week, full time (or more) the next and nothing the week after that. I have a couple of voluntary roles too, which involve evening meetings, as do church activities. My husband is also employed half time, with additional voluntary roles and, like me, he works from home. It all means that our working days are quite flexible and varied, and that’s something we both enjoy.

If I have no other plans or meetings, I’ll aim to be at my desk sometime between 9am and 9:30am and the first thing I tend to do is check and read my email. Anything that needs more than a very quick response I’ll put to one side to deal with later. I’ll probably also have a quick look at Twitter, though I try not to spend too much time on social media – I can easily get distracted and find the morning has disappeared.

I have a ‘to do’ list for each day which helps me prioritise what I need to do even if I’ve had to add all the things I didn’t quite manage to complete the day before. The trouble is, not all tasks are created equal – ‘rewrite Thread of Hope’ (the sequel to Strand of Faith) is on a totally different scale from ‘order more printer ink’! If I have a really big task, I’ll break it down to a series of much smaller ones, so that I can feel I am achieving something. I like the feeling of ticking things off on the list, so I do tend to start work with some of the smaller and easier tasks – completing them encourages me to move onto the larger or more complicated items. But once I get into a big project – a first draft, or editing, or developing a spreadsheet – I’m totally into it. I don’t want to stop or do any other tasks, and when I do have to stop for some reason (eating for example, or sleep) I’m eager to get back to it.

I generally stop for an hour or so over lunchtime, and if I’m not in the middle of a big project, I can find it hard to get going again. That makes the early afternoon a good time for virtual meetings, phone calls or some of the little and easy tasks. Or I might go and do something domestic, like the ironing. Unless I’ve got a looming deadline, I tend to stop work between 5pm and 6pm, though I might well have an evening meeting, or some other evening activity. If we’re both home (rare), my husband and I usually spend the time together, watching a film, a box set or something we’ve recorded.

I’d love to spend my whole time either writing, editing or creating spreadsheets, but unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. If you are self-published, as I am, you need to spend as much time on marketing as you do on writing. Strand of Faith is the first (but hopefully not the last) book I’ve published and it’s been a steep learning curve. I’ve learnt about book cover design, commissioning professionals, creating both eBooks and paperbacks, blog tours and the wonderful book blogger community. And I now know an awful lot more about using social media, Goodreads, eBook publishing aggregators (I’ve used Draft2Digital who made it very easy) and Amazon.

Strand of Faith - Rachel J Bonner