Suzy Turner Author Blog Post and Giveaway!

Thanks, Melissa, for having me on your blog!

My name is Suzy Turner and I'm the author of Raven: Part I of The Raven Saga, a YA urban fantasy novel set in Canada.

Let me start at the beginning... this book wouldn't have been written were it not for a holiday I took two years ago. My husband, myself and some friends went to Alberta andBritish Columbia in western Canada. Needless to say, we fell in love with the people, the mountains, the lakes, the Pacific Ocean, the big cities, the small towns - pretty much everything about it was amazing. But it wasn't until we found ourselves in a little place called Powell River that my imagination began to go into overdrive.

Sitting on a small beach covered in huge pieces of driftwood, we watched fish hopping out of the water while we had a picnic. We were surrounded by trees, the beautiful ocean and lots of pretty little islands. It was one of the most stunning places I've ever been to, but it was also a touch mysterious which got me thinking. By the time I'd returned home to Portugal, I had all kinds of ideas for a fantasy story.

Back then I was working full time as a magazine editor and didn't have time to do much about it, but a few months later, fate intervened. I was made redundant. I was shocked, of course, and pretty upset about it but it became the perfect opportunity to write... and Raven was born.

I am currently working on Part II, entitled December Moon, which will be available to buy from September 2011. It's pretty exciting. I am absolutely loving the creation process!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/iKKnO1

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/58513

My site: http://suzyturner.com

My blog: http://suzyturner.blogspot.com

Raven by Suzy Turner

After the inexplicable disappearance of Lilly Taylor's parents, she has no choice but to move to Canada where she unravels some frightening yet intriguing family secrets...

Her whole life had been based on a lie. Lilly had grown up in a loveless home with a father who she had barely ever seen and a mother who was... well, not very motherly.

After they mysteriously disappear without a trace, Lilly is sent to Canada where she finds a whole new way of life. A life filled with love and people who care for her. But that's not all she discovers, Lilly also finds out that she isn't who, or what, she thinks she is.

Lilly has a very special ability and it's just a matter of time before her true self starts to shine. And when it does, her life will never be the same again.

An Excerpt

The summer months were coming to an end when my parents disappeared. Although the day had begun like any other, it became one that I would never forget.

That morning, as usual, I sat at the kitchen table listening to the noises drifting up from outside - traffic, police sirens, people laughing and shouting - while I struggled to swallow the piece of dry bread that was shoved in front of me. “Eat,” commanded my mother.

A small glass of milk just about helped it go down before she snatched the plastic tumbler from my hands, pulled me to my feet and shoved me out of the front door of our London flat without another word. Turning around to search her eyes, I attempted a smile in the hope that she might return it. But the door was shut in my face. A deep ache filled my stomach. I needed something that I had never experienced. I needed to know that she loved me.

Leaning against the door, I heard the familiar sound of her footsteps walking into the other room. She closed the door and locked it behind her. My mother and father had locked themselves in the spare room once again, just like they had done every day for as long as I could remember. I had always assumed they worked from home. I've no idea what they did, they never told me. I never asked. I wasn't allowed to ask questions.

Running down the four flights of stairs, I pushed open the large heavy door that led outside. The noises multiplied and hit me, as did the dull smog and the intense London humidity that seemed to accompany every hot summer. As my feet touched the edge of the pavement, I stopped for a moment to allow a few cars to pass by before rushing across the road to school. I had to be quick. She was watching, she was always watching. My mother would peer down, staring blankly at me from the fourth floor window of the room she and my father spent their days. It was as if she was making sure I was actually going to school. Like I would dare do anything else. She never smiled. She never waved. She just stared. Sometimes it was almost as if she was looking right through me.

Returning home at lunchtime, as I was forced to do every day, she was there at that window staring at me again, as if her stare would physically guarantee that I came home. She had done it every day since I'd started school so it was normal to me.

I unlocked the front door with my key and gingerly tiptoed into the kitchen where I found her waiting for me.

“Eat and get back to school,” she said with a glare as I perched myself onto the old metal stool and began spooning the cold soup into my mouth. It was the same cold soup I'd eaten every day. It would have been nice to have something else, a different flavour, perhaps, but I would never have asked. Oh no. I'd experienced my mother's anger one too many times before. It's not that she had ever hit me, but I knew. I just knew that she wanted to, so I avoided making her mad at all costs.

http://suzyturner.com

http://suzyturner.blogspot.com

http://twitter.com/#!/suzy_turner

Giveaway!

Suzy has generously offered her ebook to one lucky winner. Just comment below and give me your e-mail addy if it isn't in your profile. I'll pick the winner on the 13th. Good luck!
Giveaway is over! Thanks for playing!