The Heart Ladder by Sibby Spencer

FB ADS 9 e1616056513915“…an ending you will never expect in a million years!”

As the war in Vietnam stutters to a close, a heavily pregnant Faith flees America for a new life in England. 2003 and her son, thirty-something slacker Dan, knows he's wasting his life in pubs, nightclubs, and his dead-end bookstore job – but nothing seems to stir his soul except listening to the music he loves and setting the world to rights with his colleague Fiona. That all changes, though, when a man with storied eyes and an old army jacket steps into the bookstore and introduces himself as the father Dan never had a chance to know.

But is Jacob, a battered and broken war veteran, really who he claims to be?

As he and Dan kindle their relationship, more and more comes under question; including Jacob's true purpose in seeking Dan out, the unanswered mysteries of his past, and the pivotal role he'll play in Dan and Fiona's uncertain future. Soon, Dan comes to understand that his life is very far from meaningless – and that the choices he's being forced to make might have deadly and irredeemable consequences.

The Heart Ladder is a powerhouse psychological thriller by debut author Sibby Spencer, praised for its taut characterisation, unique delivery, and a shocking twist ending that will leave readers breathless.

“I loved this book. Fantastic, page turning story and beautifully written. Amazing twist which I definitely didn't see coming. I can't recommend it enough.” 

The Heart Ladder is available to purchase at Amazon – http://mybook.to/TheHeartLadder 

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About the author

Sibby Spencer is the author of psychological thriller The Heart Ladder as well as a poet and regular book reviewer for BBC Radio Derby. She enjoys playing around with the themes of reality and possibility, and creating characters who are very human in their flaws – yet capable of revelation and redemption. She loves getting lost in a good novel, swimming in the sea, learning new things and dancing in her kitchen. She lives in Derbyshire with her husband and two children. The Heart Ladder is Sibby's debut novel.

 

You can connect with Sibby at: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SibbySpencer

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sibbywrites/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SibbySpencer

 

You can also sign up to her mailing list for updates on new releases and all the latest discounts. 

https://www.sibbyspencer.com/mailing-list/ 

How A Love Charm Ensnared An Emperor

In The Sign of The Blood, two of the main characters, Juliana, a slave, and Sybellina, a Roman priestess, compete for the attention of Constantine, son of the Emperor of the West, a young man destined to become Constantine the Great.

The Sign of The Blood final version name at the bottom 2As the book opens Constantine is about to inherit his father's title and can have almost any woman he wants. He is 34 years old and a Roman Tribune, a senior military officer serving at the front lines. Household slaves will be available to him as well as the daughters of the wealthy.

How could a woman who wants his love, succeed?

The first thing I had to set aside as I wrote this story, was the idea that love was simply a matter of attraction or suitability. For most people living at that time, 306 A.D., the gods interfered and had to be placated, and humans could both read the future and influence it through spells, charms, and potions.

Often, such charms or spells were a way for people to imagine that they had a chance with someone, to give them the confidence to seduce someone, or to keep someone they already had.

If we think about how we pray to be loved, wear rings to signify relationship status, and spray ourselves with perfume to attract, we are not that far away from the mindset of spells, charms, and potions, though we like to fool ourselves that we are all very modern and rational in the age of the iPhone.

What you may not have done, however, is what Sybellina does in The Sign of the Blood. As one of the last priestesses of the slowly dying imperial cult, she is both a spy and an assassin, the 2nd and 3rd oldest professions. She is also a skilled practitioner in the arts of divination and dark magic. Anyone who has read the astrology predictions for their star sign can understand the attraction of knowing where you are headed, especially in times of danger. It really can make you strive harder if you believe in your destiny.

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But to steal the heart of an emperor's son who can have a different woman every hour, the challenge is extreme.

And it calls for extreme measures. Something involving blood and human flesh. Something that requires a sacrifice, to represent the sacrifice you would be willing to make to achieve your aim. A spell and a charm and a potion strong enough to make anyone believe in their destiny.

That could work, yes? It could certainly give you the confidence to make your move.

If you think I'm making this up, click through to The Greek Magical Papyri which include love spells and hocus-pocus meant to inspire confidence. If you believe in positive thinking you will understand the benefits of self-belief in everything, including matters of the heart.

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Codex with magic spells, 5-6thC A.D. Museo Archeologico, Milan. Wikimedia Commons.

And if you want to know what was written on these charms or chanted as the blood flowed, remember your Virgil who said we could. “… tear love's cure-all from the forehead of a foal.”

Or consider the level of desire evident from the Louvre Doll curse tablet, “…do not allow her to eat, drink, hold out, venture out, or find sleep.”

I am sure you wouldn't use such tactics on the object of your affection, but if the future of an empire was at stake, you never know. And this was at a time when Christianity was being persecuted into annihilation and death loomed every day.

If you think I'm stretching things about the ancients belief in magic, have you read The Apology, where this Roman author states, “magical operations were indispensable scientific experiments.”

And before you dismiss all this as nonsense, consider these questions:

Did you ever feel, when you met a stranger, that you would meet again or had know them before?

And what would you do to hold onto the love of your life?

If you want to read what Sybellina does to get her wish to come true and how she enchanted Constantine, and how Juliana strikes back, you will have to buy The Sign of The Blood.

Laurence O'Bryan is the author of the puzzle series novels and now, The Sign of The Blood, the first novel in a new series set during the bloody and turbulent late Roman Empire.

Conflux: Threat from the Troika

William Brazzel

Conflux: Threat from the Troika Kindle Edition

Abduction

Do you want to read more? Get Conflux: Threat from the Troika By William Brazzel

This April has delivered the harshest and most unpleasant weather Manhattan has experienced in over two decades. Eighteen inches of precipitation has been recorded for the first half of the month. Today, once again, the rain is streaming down the bedroom windows of my condominium severely impairing my view.

When I roll out of bed and get dressed, Boynton, my five-year-old German shepherd, begins performing his usual dance; this is my cue to hurry. After getting dressed, I scurry downstairs to the living room, open the closet, grab my poncho, and walk toward the front door while Boynton runs to get his leash. His lack of traction on the hardwood floor causes his legs to slip out from under him. This unfortunate scene repeats itself on most mornings, but he never seems to learn.

Once outside, we walk briskly to Juniper Valley Park, one of the top ten parks in Queens, located just three blocks away. Boynton seems extremely anxious this morning. He’s tugging so hard on the leash that I have to wrap the handle tightly around my wrist and hand to keep him from pulling loose. When I pull back on the leash, he begins choking. I stop walking and stoop to rub his throat in an effort to calm him.

By the time we finish our walk, the sun is shining through the receding black clouds, and the rain has halted. The beautiful foliage of azaleas and freesias manifests in a gorgeous diversity of color and pleasant scents from the fresh, sweet gardens. It’s a beautiful morning.

The Whizbang Machine, Tunney’s Curse

Danielle A. Vann

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WBT GOLD

 

CHAPTER ONE
Tumbling Down

 

A single wisp of smoke traced up my nose and clung to the back of my throat. My lips parted, breaking the Whizbang machine’s electric kiss of death. My heart drummed out the rapid beat of fear, reminding me I had changed history. I had beaten Tunney’s cloak. I could feel it. I was alive, trembling, and soaked in perspiration.

Still, somewhere in the back of my mind, I wished I hadn’t listened to my father’s pleas and had welcomed death with open arms. It would have been simpler in the long run. I held still and waited for a sign, for someone, a sound, a clue as to where I was, anything. None came.

“Hello?” I whispered. “Mom? Grandpa Jack? Hello?” My eyes peeled open, blinking away the haze of a dusty fog, and then gently shut. “Where am I?”

The stench of hot char hit my face, bringing with it a raw dirtiness that sent my body recoiling. Wrenching my shoulders forward, I violently wiggled against the heaviness covering my chest.

They Don’t Shoot Horses

Sara Caudell

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Chapter 1

Susie was jolted awake from a deep slumber. Confused, she sought the window and confirmed the dark of night. She lay still, searching the room with her eyes. All was normal, and yet a chill ran through her. Her son mentioned a big cat in the area, a danger to everything outside. Susie froze, held her breath and strained her ears listening for sounds – animal sounds – any sounds. Through the vented window the cool night air smelled of pine trees. No noise ventured forth. The bed was warm and comfortable, and sleep called to her, even as her conscience demanded she discover what woke her. She needed to see for herself that everything was safe and secure.
She pushed back the covers when she heard it: Boom . . . boom . . . boom.

 

“OH, SHIT.”

 

Recognizing the shots from a rifle, terror grabbed her. She jumped out of bed, grabbed yesterday's jeans and bumped her hip into the dresser as she pulled them on.

 

“Dammit.”

 

Ten years ago that bump wouldn’t hurt as much. Ten years ago her slim, short stature would not bump the dresser. Her silk gown came off, and she struggled into her sweatshirt as she headed for the stairs. Not sure where she put her cell, she ran down to the kitchen phone. She pressed speed dial for her son’s ranch. As it dialed, Susie peeked out the window over the sink at the dark, silent shadows. The leaves on the apple tree obscured her view so she moved to the larger window. She saw nothing unusual; everything looked normal.

 

“What in the hell’s going on?” She could see the single pole light illuminating the barn doors. Listening intently she could hear the frantic dogs barking and bouncing against the doors.

 

Jerry picked up on the second ring. Susie heard the phone being dropped and retrieved, with cloth rustling on the other end. “I’m up. I heard it. Poachers?” he said, his urgent voice still groggy with sleep.

 

“I don’t know, but it was too damn close.” Susie's voice shook as she huddled in the kitchen shadows, straining to catch movement outside.

 

“I’m on my way. Call Sheriff Hobson. And Mom, don’t go outside!” Jerry called into the phone pressing the off key.
“Hurry!” she pleaded to the silence. Susie hung up, hands cold and shaking. Trying to calm herself, she took a deep breath and laid the phone on the counter. She went to the hall closet, pulled out the shotgun and reached for the shells on the top shelf. She loaded the gun by touch and a small bit of moonlight coming in through the window.

 

 

 

The Pernicious Pachyderm

Victoria Benchley

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Chapter one

A Gruesome Discovery 

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Duncan adjusted his kilt, nervous energy threatening to overtake his calm exterior. He stepped on the rubbery hose just as the thing moved, wrapping itself around his foot. Teetering, he tried to keep his balance as a wave of dread engulfed him. Without thinking, he held his breath as a means to obliterate the strong odor of wet hay and animal that permeated the air and filled his nostrils.

 
“Step on the tusk, Sahib!” the boy yelled, tempering his strained tone with a forced smile. The lad's words triggered the expulsion of air from his lungs, and he gasped for breath, trying to quell his alarm and remember the instructions given to him moments before. Instead, he panicked as the beast's trunk shifted, and he grasped the animal's long ivory tooth, clinging for dear life. He never should have agreed to this. The creature had finished off one person already. A barrage of encouragement from others had persuaded him that he'd been given a unique opportunity, something no one present would ever forget, a welcome distraction from morbid thoughts that might taint the occasion.

 

 

The pleats on the side of his kilt flounced as the elephant boosted him higher, forcing him to bend at the waist while still clutching a tusk. Compelled to release his hold on the ivory or risk falling, he leaned into the monster and grabbed at an enormous ear. The coarse hair on its leathery hide scratched the exposed skin on his leg like steel wool as the behemoth propelled him further into the air.

 

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