April in the Back of Beyond
by p.m.terrell
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BLURB:
Writer Hayley Hunter has arrived in Ireland to complete a book on Irish history. When she discovers the old carriage house she is renting is haunted, she is determined to uncover the truth behind the burned ruins of a nearby manor house and the abandoned British barracks it overlooks. With the assistance of Shay Macgregor, an Irish historian, her quest will take her to 1919 and the Irish War for Independence, exposing the murders of two young men and why their mother, April Crutchley, refuses to leave the back of beyond even in death. With a budding romance and the opportunity to begin life anew, Hayley finds her own life is now in jeopardy as she gets closer to a truth the villagers have long sought to bury.
Excerpt Three:
I could not hear the cattle though we continued to approach. I saw a head dodge this way or that, could envision their mouths opening in snorts or grunts. Two dogs came into the picture as though there were curtains on either side, appearing from behind the veils to join the cattle on center stage. They ducked and darted, their heads held low, ever on the watch for a strayed cow and yet the yips and barks I should have heard were lost in the winds that blew through here a hundred years ago.
The road stopped and yet Shay continued to press forward, the terrain becoming steeper and rockier as we drew ever closer. I was panting now and my forehead was covered in perspiration and yet I knew I could not turn back. I had to remain with Shay. I longed to ask why we were moving steadily toward the ruins, or what he hoped we could possibly accomplish there, but the words were frozen on my lips.
The air grew icy but there was no wind, as if time itself was suspended.
Then the herd parted to reveal two young men, boys really; and they were looking at us.
Shay stopped and I was so mesmerized that I started past him but he reached out to grab my arm. I have no idea what amount of force he might have used because in that instant, I barely registered his hand upon me. I only knew my feet had stopped and I was staring uphill at two boys that stared back at me.
Their baggy pants were dark, their shirts light, but I could see the giant tree that stood behind them. My brain slowly registered that I could see it because I was looking through them; the combination of their light and dark clothing was casting the tree into curious shadows. I knew they were looking at us though I could not see their facial features, but rather judged their stance from the position of their bodies. Their faces glowed eerily, the outlines blurry. They grew even hazier as I realized they were beginning to run.
In an instant the cattle dispersed in a panic, rushing down the hill toward the pasture from whence they’d come while the two boys raced upward in the opposite direction toward the house. They reached the open doorway almost at the same time, catapulting over the threshold. As they stepped inside the walls, everything vanished: the boys, the dogs and the cattle were gone. All that was left were the skeletal ruins, dark and forbidding against a sky filled with ominous clouds.
Author Interview
How did you choose the genre you write in?
I love books that take ordinary people and place them into extraordinary
situations. I also love the dynamics of mysteries and suspense; the way the
pieces are carefully arranged in the beginning, the mounting drama, and the
method used in weaving everything together into the final scenes. Because those
are the books I enjoy reading, I’ve found they are also the ones I enjoy
writing the most. Even my historical books have been written with the same
rules as suspense, which has helped to make them decent sellers.
Where do you get your ideas?
I perform a great deal of research and I often come across stories, backdrops
and events that influence my writing. When I began studying my family’s history
in Ireland, it opened up an entirely new world for me. I love writing about
Ireland; the Irish have had such an eventful and colorful history, and the island
itself is so magical and mystical. Every time I travel there, I come back with
enough ideas to last a decade, and those that are meant to be written will
stick in my mind.
Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either
growing up or as an adult?
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote was
the book that first influenced me to write mysteries and suspense. I considered
writing nonfiction but love the creativity of fiction too much, so while it
influenced my style I’ve remained with fiction. Also, What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson taught me the importance
of a cliff-hanger at the end of each chapter. It keeps the reader turning the
pages, especially as they are soaring toward the climactic scene. I love
anything by Daphne du Maurier but my editors picked up on changes in my
manuscripts that made them too ‘flowery’; it seems today’s audiences want less
description and more action.
Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all
imagination?
I used three real life stories as inspiration. Hayley Hunter, the writer that
travels to Ireland to research an historical work, is loosely based on my own
experiences traveling back and forth to Ireland to research both my historical
books and my fiction. The country is so rich in history and fascinating
stories.
During my research, I discovered a true story about two brothers who were
murdered in 1919, during the Irish fight for independence from Britain. The
story haunted me; not only because of the brothers but because their mother was
there when it happened and it affected her for the rest of her life. She became
April Crutchley in the story, and the ruins overlooking the old British
barracks are based on the true story.
Because the story deals with ghosts that haunt the writer’s rented cottage and
the surrounding area, I integrated a third true story about parallel worlds and
time warping.
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
My favorite chapter was the one leading up to the climactic scene, where the
final pieces of the puzzle fall into place. It is then that Hayley learns the
full story of the brothers’ murders, their mother’s role in trying to save
them, and what happened afterward. It is also an omen of what is to come, as the
past catches up with the present.
How did you come up with the title?
The title, April in the Back of Beyond,
is a play on words. When the story begins, writer Hayley Hunter is arriving in
Ireland in early April, before the beginning of the rushed tourist season. But
as the story progresses, the reader learns of April Crutchley, the mother who
cannot leave her home even after death. The ‘back of beyond’ is a phrase used
in Ireland to describe a place far from everything; in this case, it is in a remote
area of western Ireland where April once lived and where her boys died.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
p.m.terrell is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 23 books in multiple genres, including contemporary suspense, historical suspense, computer instructional, non-fiction and children’s books.
Prior to writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area: McClelland Enterprises, Inc. and Continental Software Development Corporation. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her specialties were in the detection of white collar computer crimes and computer intelligence.
A full-time author since 2002, Black Swamp Mysteries was her first series, inspired by the success of Exit 22, released in 2008. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The Pendulum Files was a national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014. Her second series, Ryan O’Clery Suspense, is also award-winning. The Tempest Murders (Book 1) was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book Awards, cross-genre category. Her historical suspense, River Passage, was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee. Songbirds are Free is her bestselling book to date; it is inspired by the true story of Mary Neely, who was captured in 1780 by Shawnee warriors near Fort Nashborough (now Nashville, TN).
She was the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She was the founder of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual event held in the town of Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase literacy and reduce crime and served as its chairperson and organizer for its first four years. She also served on the boards of the Friends of the Robeson County (NC) Public Library, the Robeson County (NC) Arts Council, Virginia Crime Stoppers and became the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights Crime Solvers in Virginia.
For more information, book trailers, excerpts and more, visit the author’s website at www.pmterrell.com.
Twitter: @pmterrell
https://www.amazon.com/April-Back-Beyond-p-m-terrell/dp/1935970461
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER
p.m.terrell will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
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