Category: blogs

How to Inspire Words

Adult Fiction, blogs, Uncategorized

Have you ever been tempted to write a short narrative motivated by music? It is a wonderful exercise that produces different effects to the words, sometimes attaching a rhythm or patterning to the narrative.

In my endeavours to find ways to stimulate my writing, I try to choose music from different genres. It can inspire thoughts about characters or influence a scene that has been suffering from mental block. Sometimes, it’s just for fun to relieve tension and let the mind flow, unimpeded.

Today, I’d like to share with you a little piece written under the influence of Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy. I’ve chosen an extended version that allows me enough time to become accustomed to the melody and then to submerge my mind into the emotional senses aroused by the music. Suddenly, the music speaks and all I have to do is note the words flowing from its narrative.

So, here it is – my little piece written under the influence of Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy! Enjoy.

Soft, sensual lips slowly murmured my name. I felt the quiver resonating through my body, sending shivers down my spine, extending outwards to my toes and the butterflies dancing under my ribs. Shadows of laughter hinted at those lips, so delicious and inviting. Yet, something held me back. Was it the unanswered question lingering in my dry throat, hungry for the lips to sate me? Was it knowing that once I succumbed to such sweet temptation, there was no going back? Or the fact that our bodies were entwined when they weren’t supposed to touch? Oh, sweet torture.

Angry, I let go of those long fingers wrapped around my waist. They slipped away, taking the warmth of their touch with them. Desolation engulfed my now hollow frame. How could I be so stupid? Those lips had promised salvation; knights willing to slay the hunger growling inside me like an ugly beast pushing and shoving at my maligned heart. Helpless, I watched as they turned down their protuberant smile and sharp lines invaded smooth skin around them. A sadness I had caused shaped something once so beautiful and eager. So easy it would have been to say yes; so easy to quiet the doubts pecking at my temptation.

Alas, those sweet persuasions were now far away and focused on a new prey, a prey eager to take the trip to fantasia.

I watch as they meet, the enduring touch divulging a missing innocence that was never there to begin with, the embarrassing tartness of such haste and machination. My heart cries at the betrayal but my mind celebrates its fastidiousness – the victory of overcoming a certain desolation that would have cracked an already fragile heart, the hurt that might have been suffered after such sweet salvation.

No. I refuse to watch any longer. After all, it is my birthday and there will surely be more hidden promises of amuse bouche awaiting to entice my appetite for amour.

 

 

 

Copyright  held by ©Eloise De Sousa (2019). All rights reserved.

Who’s Joining the Spoilt Miranda series?

blogs, Children, Uncategorized

It has been the long awaited sequel to Cecil the Bully and Spoilt Miranda. At last, their friends will be getting a chance to tell their own tale of meeting the infamous Ms Crow and her deadly stare.

Without further ado, I present:

Snotty Norman and Spotty Sally Find Fame

Now that the year 6 children of Arden White Primary School have enjoyed their summer holidays and forged new friendships outside the confines of the school grounds, we meet them again as they start their first day at Evelyn Winsborough Academy – a school with a reputation for aggressive behaviour and truancy.

Little do they know that the school has had a major overhaul over the last year. With sparkling new classrooms and hi-tech gear to keep the children occupied (and monitored), Mr Dank, the Head Teacher, expects a high standard of behaviour from the newbies. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t know what’s coming his way as the notorious Arden White crew start their new year causing chaos down the clean halls and run riot over brittle-backed teachers.

Join the young ruffians as they encounter Ms Crow again in a comical calamity that leaves the teachers huffing and the children puffing to get out of her way!

 

Cecil and Miranda’s Young Reviewers

blogs, Children

img_7378-1Working as a junior school librarian has given me the opportunity to see first-hand, how my books affect their readers. Young readers don’t get an opportunity to write book reviews for titles they’ve enjoyed unless it is in-house, that is, in their classroom or school library. I like to encourage my students to share their views with each other by offering up a suggestion box in our library which is filled with book titles chosen by my young readers. I’m happy to add Spoilt Miranda and Cecil the Bully have made the cut!

img_6534-1When discussing books, I get a lot of feedback from my younger readers that Spoilt Miranda is strange and takes the younger reviewer on a confusing journey of dreams before she resolves her situation. My older customers get it though and enjoy the ride. Sometimes scary, sometimes thrilling, the idea of Spoilt Miranda is controversial and encourages discussion on how her silly behaviour could have been dealt with in a better manner. I like this because it makes the reader think further than just the story.

Cecil, on the other hand, encourages my readers of any age to think of what steps they would take to sort out a bully. From standing up to him or joining his ranks, there are always amusing points of view. The slapstick comedy goes down a treat and adds to the entertainment factor of the book, according to the young reviewers. This is something to consider when I write the next sequel to the Arden White Primary School students.

Give or take the marmite reflections on my books by the young students at my school, I’m pleased to share the news that they are mostly enjoyed and well read. It gives me great pleasure to see this and I do hope more children are enjoying my books around the world.

img_7851-1

Check out my other titles available from these links:

http://amazon.com/author/eloisedesousa

http://lulu.com/spotlight/eloisedesousa

Or give me a shout out on Twitter:

@mello_elo

Thanks for reading and good luck!

Review of The Iron Pendulum

adult fiction, Adult Fiction, blogs, Uncategorized

An exciting new review of TIP showcasing the reader’s opinion on the crime thriller.

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning
ByWilma Lettingson 18 June 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
A stunning thriller full of suspense and susprises. The opening scene sets up a great sense of intrigue as we discover along with the detetcives a very strange crime scene. Soon, another crime scene is discovered, this one even more bizarre and puzzling. You simply can’t help wondering what has happened and will want to know where the story is going. There are two people missing. We learn a little later on where the missing people are, while the detectives are still in the unknown. It’s hard to describe this thriller further without risking giving anything away.
It’s high octane, fast paced, well plotted and definitely a worthy challenge for those eager to figure a novel out before the debouement. A treat for crime fiction fans.

If this has sent your crime taste buds into a frenzy, click below to get your copy:

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00060]

 

Review of The Iron Pendulum

Adult Fiction, blogs, Uncategorized
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent thriller, June 18, 2017
This review is from: The Iron Pendulum (Kindle Edition)
A stunning thriller full of suspense and susprises. The opening scene sets up a great sense of intrigue as we discover along with the detetcives a very strange crime scene. Soon, another crime scene is discovered, this one even more bizarre and puzzling. You simply can’t help wondering what has happened and will want to know where the story is going. There are two people missing. We learn a little later on where the missing people are, while the detectives are still in the unknown. It’s hard to describe this thriller further without risking giving anything away.
It’s high octane, fast paced, well plotted and definitely a worthy challenge for those eager to figure a novel out before the debouement. A treat for crime fiction fans.

Monday

blogs, Uncategorized

The pungent smell of rot permeated the air as footsteps echoed through the forest. Hairs rose on their tiny arms and legs as the bushes rustled to their right. The sound drew closer; their footsteps quickened. No point in running; the roots were a trip hazard and judging by the heavy odour, a swamp was close at hand. 

Suddenly, the torchlight dimmed and went out leaving a yawning darkness ready to swallow them whole. Soft whimpers escaped their lips as they waited for their eyes to acclimatise to the inky blackness staining their retinas. All the while the rustling edged ever closer, shaking and snapping the undergrowth with a vengeance.

Just as the shadows and silhouettes became distinguishable against the purple hued sky, the creature broke free from the bushes. Screams pierced the night followed by running, tripping, crying figures. The odd shape gave chase, closing the distance with ease. 

Flash! Another torch punctured the dark, exposing the two figures cowering next to the redwood with moss tinted bark. Big brown eyes looked up at the adult looming over them.

“That’s quite enough for one night, Izzy and Zach,” sighed their mother. “You’ve excited the dog and now he smells like the swamp. It’s time to go home.”

“Aww, mum please,” they cried. “Just one more game of hide and seek and then we will call it a night. Please?”

Her shadow panned across the tree line and shrubs as she turned to find the smelly beast wagging his tail, waiting for the command to hide in the undergrowth again. She smiled, her teeth glinting in the sparse light.

“Fine. I’ll count but no more screaming as if the devil is out to get you! Ready?”

Eager little heads bobbed up and down before disappearing back into the darkness.

A voice called,”One…two…three..!” 

Two figures scrambled in the dark, their bodies pumped with adrenaline as their breath came in gasps. This was the best game of hide and seek ever! 

Tapestry of a Killer

blogs

That beautiful moment when your serial killer finds a reason for being! I’ve been pandering with the idea of poison, but due to the common occurrence of poisons as a medium for murder, I’ve decided to change things up a bit. 

Given the nature of my killer and realising the catalyst needed to activate his natural instincts, I have a clearer direction as to why he creates mayhem in Bagley town. My two detectives have their work cut out for them once he goes on a rampage and what could have been a clean cut case of suicide turns into  a bigger mess.

Looking at the behavioural patterns of certain individuals and the stimulus pushing them to violence gives a model for my character to morph into and perform the dastardly tasks that normal functioning humans could never achieve. 

Perspective can be frightening when it comes to cold blooded killers. I do hope I can capture the essence whilst throwing breadcrumbs through the story for my detectives to find.

Catch up with Detectives Perkins and Jones in The Iron Pendulum. Click on the pic to download your copy. 

The Iron Pendulum

Book Tuesday

blogs, Uncategorized

Before He Sees (A Mackenzie White Mystery-Book 2) by [Pierce, Blake]Hello, welcome to Book Tuesday.

This week I have read a rather interesting crime thriller called Before He Sees (A Mackenzie White Mystery – book 2) by Blake Pierce.

Mackenzie White is young police detective pulled from the backwaters of Nebraska and recruited to Quantico as an FBI rookie agent. Already a promising student, she is chosen to assist in a series of murders that have the FBI chasing their tales. The pressure to prove just how good she is mounts as another body is found and the powers that be who have given her the opportunity have set a deadline for her to solve the case or lose her job and career as an agent. Flashbacks of Mackenzie’s own troubled past mixed with previous experience from solving the Scarecrow Killer murders, which bear a similarity to the case she is helping solve, puts her in a precarious position. With no-one to turn to or share the burden of responsibility, she is pushed beyond her limits, testing her capabilities as a true detective and agent.

When she is pulled off the case and returned to the status of rookie agent, her own perseverance in cracking the case pushes the powers that be to give her a second chance, but their own stubborn arrogance forces her to take drastic measures which put her in danger.

This was a great thriller and I enjoyed the momentum of riding along with the main character as she pushed her way through a world of dominant characters bent on proving they are right! Though the end was predictable, I still enjoyed the thrill of the story unfolding and would recommend this book to readers who want a light crime thriller.

There are two more books in the Mackenzie White series and I look forward to reading them. If you would like to read Before He Sees, click on the pic below to order your copy.

As always, please leave a review for the author. It’s a great way for other readers to gauge the books. Thanks.

before-he-sees

If you would like to read one of my crime thrillers, please click on the pics below to download your copy.

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00060]

deception cover
Click here to order your copy.

Notes on murder

blogs, Uncategorized

Whilst surfing the net, searching for interesting ways to kill people for the next book in my crime series, I stopped to wonder at what the new laws covering people’s search history would throw up for those writers who dabble in murder.

Today, I was investigating the merits of using a muscular relaxant to mix in with insulin for terminal effects.

NIMBEX (cisatracurium besylate) is a nondepolarizing skeletal muscle relaxant for intravenous administration.

Of course, my character would have to be a doctor to administer such medicines and the research required for said profession with access to the required meds was quite interesting. It drew my attention to the many cases of murder using insulin. As a person who has friends and family with diabetes, it was an interesting subject to investigate, whereas from my writer’s point of view, it gave me very poor traction as a murder weapon. Not many adults die from insulin overdoses given to them by murderers, mainly because the side effects show up pretty fast and can be actioned by the victim before it’s too late. The long term side effects of brain damage opened up options on killing the victims in a different setting, adding tension to the story. So, to restrain said victim in the first place after administering the insulin,a muscular sedative seemed like a good option and something different to throw into the mix.

Oh, the things we think of as writers. Makes my real life seem rather mundane in comparison!