YvonneToday, my Mailbox Monday features third time returning author Alan Jones, who published his latest novel on April 1st.
Having so enjoyed Alan’s first two forays into the world of fiction writing, there was no way that I was going to let the opportunity to get my hands on a copy of ‘Bloq’, pass me by 🙂
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BLOQ
A father waits in Glasgow’s Central Station for his daughter, returning home from London for Christmas.
When the last train has pulled in, and she doesn’t get off it, he makes a desperate overnight dash to find out why.
His search for her takes over his life, costing him his job and, as he withdraws from home, family and friends, he finds himself alone, despairing of ever seeing her again.
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ALAN JONES
Alan was born in Glasgow 1960 and lived there for the first 22 years of his life. He now lives and works on the Ayrshire coast, in the animal health industry. He is married with four grown up children, and in his spare time reads, sails, makes furniture, plays football and watches films, when he’s not writing of course!
Alan Jones is his pen name, as wishes for the time being, to remain anonymous.
He started writing in 2003, but it took a few false starts over the next ten years before he completed his first novel, ‘The Cabinetmaker’. Despite one agent and one small publishing company showing interest, they didn’t take the book on, so he self published on Kindle, and latterly on Smashwords. It was favourably reviewed, but reader’s feedback threw up a few issues.
His second book, ‘Blue Wicked’, took a year to write and using the feedback he’d had from the first book, resulted in a shorter, more pithy novel than the first one.
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Catch up with Alan’s news on his website
Follow Alan on Twitter
Connect with Alan on Facebook
Clicking on any of the book images, will connect you with their Amazon page.
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Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house during the last week. Be warned that Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Mailbox Monday now has a permanent home, where links may be added each week. So why not stop by, leave a link to your own Mailbox Monday post, oh! and don’t forget to leave a comment for our three new joint administrators, after all, we all like to receive them … ‘Mailbox Monday’
Leslie of ‘Under My Apple Tree’
Serena of ‘Savvy Verse & Wit’
Vicki of ‘I’d Rather Be At The Beach’
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
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Now that would be horrific! It sounds like a good read.
Hi Vicki,
Several years ago now, we watched a television documentary, which highlighted the lengths families were going to, to try and track down missing family members.
That was as harrowing to watch, as I am sure that ‘Bloq’ is going to be to read, given Alan’s ability to get right to the heart of a story.
Thanks for visiting today and for continuing to help host MM, I appreciate both 🙂
Bloq sounds terrifying. Can you imagine living through something like that? I can see how it would take over your life.
Hi Kathy,
Absolutely! This would definitely be a nightmare scenario for any family, no matter who the missing person was. However, if it was a female member, who in this case I am assuming isn’t very old, that must definitely be your worst fears recognised?
Looking forward to reading this one, although those may not be the best choice of words!
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I hope that all is well with you and that the eyes continue to heal nicely 🙂
Ooh Bloq sounds like an exciting read. Hope you enjoy it as much as the author’s previous work.
Hi Lucy,
Alan’s first book, whilst still a crime thriller, was as much about relationships and the nature of human interaction.
Second time around, Alan came up with a dark, disturbing and very violent, gritty thriller, which had me on the edge of my seat and often cringing with anticipation about what was going to happen next.
Given the emotional nature of the premise, if ‘Bloq’ falls somewhere between these two previous storylines, then I shall be more than happy!
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment. It is always good to hear from you.
Happy Reading 🙂
Bloq sounds suspenseful and heartbreaking. As a parent, would I ever give up looking for my daughter? Never!
Hi Laura,
I think that most people would echo those sentiments, even if the time came when I would have to pick up with the semblance of a ‘normal’ life, in order to support the rest of my family, the search would consume the remainder of my available free time.
I can quite understand how much strain this kind of scenario places on the rest of the family unit and any relationships. You quite often hear of the families of kidnap and murder victims, suffering irretrievable breakdowns, because of the stress placed on it and that in itself is just so sad on top of everything else they have endured.
I am intrigued as to just how Alan is going to address some of these issues in ‘Bloq’.
Thanks for your comment, I appreciate the visit 🙂
Bloq sounds quite intense and I can understand why you wanted to add it to your TBR pile. I hope it lives up to your expectations!
Nothing new in my mailbox this week.
Hi Kelly,
Alan does write an intense and deeply disturbing thriller, that’s why I have become such a fan.
‘Bloq’ already has me hooked, just by reading the few lines of the premise. In this day of instant communication, if one of my younger female relatives failed to arrive by public transport when they should have and they hadn’t contacted me to let me know, then I too would be panicking!
An empty mailbox isn’t always a bad thing. It means that you can catch up with some of the backlog you already have on your shelves and e-reader – Although speaking for myself, it never quite works out like that 🙂
Sounds like a very intense read, enjoy!
Hi Mary Ann,
I am so pleased that I discovered Alan’s books, as I really do enjoy his style and delivery, of a good thriller.
His three books to date, all have unique and diverse premises, although they all deliver intense and gritty storylines, with well developed characters.
‘Bloq’ has to be the most emotionally intense of Alan’s books and I am under no illusion that this is going to be a difficult read.
Thanks for visiting today, I always appreciate your comments 🙂
Sounds frightening to not have your daughter appear.
All of his books sound quite good.
ENJOY, Yvonne.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My Mailbox Monday
Hi Elizabeth,
Wouldn’t that just be your worst nightmare?
Would I have jumped on the next train down to London from Glasgow, unless I had first of all exhausted every potential line of contact, to try and find out why she hadn’t arrived?
Who among us knows exactly how we might react until it actually happened to us? I can well imagine that it might tear apart normal family life and relationships, especially around Christmas time, which is the timeline for the start of this story.
I shall be sharing more excerpts from ‘Bloq’ over the coming weeks, so hopefully the picture will start to reveal itself.
Thanks for stopping by, it’s good to hear from you and I hope that all is well 🙂
Great mailbox! Bloq sounds scary! I wonder what happened to her. Glad you have been enjoying this writers work.
Hi Naida,
Alan’s writing always challenges my thoughts and feelings, almost to their limits – that’s why I enjoy his work so much!
I’m not sure that every father would jump on the next train down to London from so many hundreds of miles away in Glasgow, but it sounds as though father and daughter must have been quite close, especially as he seems to be putting his search over and above every other member of the family, when surely they would all be suffering?
Thanks for stopping by, I hope that all is well with you 🙂