NBTM + #Giveaway: Westmorland Alone by Ian Sansom @ian_sansom @GoddessFish

Westmorland Alone

by Ian Sansom

GENRE:  Mystery & Detective

BLURB:

Welcome to Westmorland. Perhaps the most scenic county in England! Home of the poets! Land of the great artists! District of the Great lakes! And the scene of a mysterious crime…

Swanton Morley, the People's Professor, once again sets off in his Lagonda to continue his history of England, The County Guides.

Stranded in the market town of Appleby after a tragic rail crash, Morley, his daughter Miriam and his assistant, Stephen Sefton, find themselves drawn into a world of country fairs, gypsy lore and Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling. When a woman's body is discovered at an archaeological dig, for Morley there's only one possible question: could it be murder?

Join Morley, Miriam and Sefton as they journey along the Great North road and the Settle-Carlisle Line into the dark heart of 1930s England.

Excerpt:

It was the most violent collision. There was a moment’s shudder and then a kind of cracking before the great spasm of movement and noise began. I fell forward and struck my head on the luggage rack. I was momentarily stunned and knocked unconscious. When I came to I found we were all tilted together into a corner of the carriage – me, the mother and the baby. Our coach seemed to have tipped to the right, off the tracks, and become wedged against an embankment. What were once the sturdy walls of the carriage were now buckled and torn like the flimsiest material: the wood was splintered, the cloth of the carriage seats split, everything was broken. I remember I shook my head once, twice, three times: it was difficult to make sense of what had happened, the shock was so great. The first thing I recognised was that the mother and baby were both crying loudly – though thank goodness they appeared to be unharmed – and that the carriage was shuddering all around us, shaking and groaning as if it were wounded.

‘Are you OK?’ I said.

The woman continued crying. Her face was streaked with tears.

‘Are you OK?’ I repeated.

Again, she simply sobbed, the baby wailing with her.

‘We must remain calm,’ I said, as loudly and authoritatively as I could manage, above the sounds, trying to reassure both them and myself, willing them to be quiet.

‘Where’s Lucy?’ she said.

Where was Lucy?

I stood up, still rather disorientated and confused.

‘I don’t know—’ I began.

‘You have to get us out!’ said the woman, between sobs.

‘I have to find Lucy.’

‘OK,’ I said. I was still gathering my thoughts, trying to work out what to do.

‘GET US OUT!’ yelled the woman, suddenly frantic.

‘I have to find my daughter! You need to do something.’

I didn’t know what to do.

‘You need to do something!’ yelled the woman again.

‘Help us!’

The carriage continued to rock and sway all around us; clearly, we had to get out.

I looked around: the window was open to darkness and the tracks beneath us.

‘What’s under there?’ cried the woman. ‘Is Lucy under there? Lucy! Lucy!’ She did not wait for a response – she was hysterical. ‘Lucy! Lucy! Lucy!’

‘Look!’ I said. ‘You just have to let me check that everything is safe.’ I was worried that Lucy might be trapped beneath our carriage.

An Interview with Ian Sansom

What inspired you to write Westmorland Alone?

Alas there was no moment of inspiration, no hand upon the shoulder, no book, no flash, no revelation. I simply decided I was going to write. And so I began.

When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?

This year I will turn fifty. Even now I’m not sure I want to be a writer. All I do know is that I like to write.

What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?

I was a very late developer. In school I was in the slow learners’ group. It wasn’t until I was in my mid- to late teens that I began reading seriously. The first serious book I read was The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot. I was 15. I was amazed.

What genre of books do you enjoy reading?

I am omdamniverous. I read everything. I tend not to think in terms of genre – I think only in terms of pleasure.

What is your favorite book?

The Bible.

You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?

Without a doubt my favourite author is the late great Czech novelist Bohumil Hrabal. If you never read another novel you should I Served the King of England. Why? Read it and you will find out.

If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?

I would travel back to the 1850s – somewhere in England, wherever Dickens was doing one of his famous readings. I would love to hear Dickens read. Who wouldn’t?

When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?

Writing for me is a bit like exercise: it’s always a problem but it’s also the solution.

Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?

I used to have a dog. When the dog died my heart was broken. I’ve not had a dog since.

What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?

I love a good pickle.

Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?

Yes. I have lots of advice. Most importantly, don’t listen to advice.

AUTHOR BIO:

Ian Sansom is the author of the Mobile Library Mystery Series. As of 2016, he has written three books in a series that will comprise a projected forty-four novels.

He is a frequent contributor to, and critic for, The Guardian  and the London Review of Books.

He studied at both Oxford and Cambridge, where he was a fellow of Emmanuel College. He is a professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick and teaches in its Writing Program.

Website ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

Buy Link:

Amazon

Giveaway:

Copy of the book
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.