#Newrelease: Run for the Shadows by Ella Drummond @drummondella1 #MeMyselfandI #guestpost

Ella Drummond? Maybe not a familiar name (yet), but I’m sure you’ll be aware of the lovely books of Georgina Troy – and you might remember how blown away I was by Broken Faces by Deborah Carr (read my review again here). And do you know, they’re all the same person? I was really excited to see that Run for the Shadows, her first psychological suspense novel written as Ella Drummond, is already available for kindle, and will be published in paperback in the summer.

Let me introduce you to Ella Drummond, Georgina Troy & Deborah Carr – to tell us more about me, myself and I…

Thank you for inviting me to write a guest post on your excellent site, Anne.

I write in three genres and use a different name for each one. Someone asked me at a dinner party the other night if having three personas confuses me – I can be a little dippy at times, so wasn’t too surprised by the question. I explained that each of my friends have their own personalities and interests and I speak to each one in a subtly different way. I suppose writing in the three genres is similar and to be honest I don’t find it difficult. Maybe that says more about my personality than anything else.

Last week my debut psychological suspense, Run for the Shadows, written as Ella Drummond was launched. This book is the story of two women, their daughters and what happens when the secrets the mothers have guarded for decades are unearthed. I wanted to explore the relationship between strong women and what happens when their friendship is tested to breaking point. The story is set in London and Paris, but mostly in a village near Epernay, Northern France. It takes place during three heatwaves in 1976, 1989 and 2003. This is a standalone novel and my second book in this genre, While I Slept, will be published in May this year. I celebrated the publication of Run for the Shadows with a double launch with my mum, Tess Jackson, whose debut novel, Shadow of the Marula Tree came out at the same time.

I also write historical romances in my real name, Deborah Carr. You very kindly chose my First World War romance, Broken Faces as one of your Being Anne’s Books of the Year 2016, which was a great thrill for me. Broken Faces was shortlisted in the Good Housekeeping Novel Writing Competition and it was through the competition that one of the judges, Luigi Bonomi offered me representation. We have since parted ways, amicably. I wrote Broken Faces – the story of four friends spanning the First World War and the effects on each of them when one is terribly injured – after being inspired by research on my great-grandfather, a cavalryman in the Lancers.

I’m a hybrid author, in that as well as being an indie, I’m also traditionally published. I write contemporary romances as Georgina Troy and my first four-book series, The Jersey Scene, was published by Accent Press. Summer Sundaes, book 1 in my second series, The Boardwalk by the Sea series, was released last summer. As soon as I’ve finished the first draft of the ‘secret project’, I’ll work on Autumn Antics, book 2 in the series, which will be published this autumn.

I always seem to be busy with my writing, but this year has been exceptionally hectic. Not that I’m complaining, I love writing and working to a deadline. Right now, I’m working on the secret project, as well as having completed edits on Run for the Shadows and next month need to finish edits on While I Slept, before writing Autumn Antics. I’ve planned some of my projects for 2019, but no doubt things will change, and I’ll end up doing more writing than I initially expect.

I’m also a member of The Blonde Plotters. We’re three authors from Jersey, all of us blonde as the name suggests. We’ve given talks together and recently attended an excellent conference in London, which was great fun as well as inspirational. My fellow Blonde Plotters, Gwyn GB and Kelly Clayton, also write in several genres. We meet regularly and are all great Tom Hardy fans, so as well as spending time together discussing our writing projects and supporting each other, we have a lot of fun. We’re publishing a crime boxset in March containing a book from each of us, and I can’t wait.

Heavens Deborah, when do you sleep?! Let’s just take a closer look at Run for the Shadows…

When Sera rushes to help her neighbour, Henri put out a barn fire, she ignores the gossip about him. Henri is a mystery, no one knows where he’s come from, or how he ended up with scarring on one side of his body. The farm holds many memories from Sera’s childhood. She yearns to discover what became of her best friend Dee, when she and her family mysteriously disappeared from their home at the farm one hot August night in 1989.

Henri keeps his distance from the locals and they are suspicious about why he’s moved to the village. However, Sera can’t help liking him and despite her mother’s warning, they become friends. Noticing a poster of the David Bowie concert from May 1976 in his farmhouse, she remarks on it unaware that the tragic occurrences of that night link three timelines and their own pasts.

Set during three heatwaves in 1976, 1989 and 2003 in a village near Epernay in Northern France, this is the story of two generations of women and what happens when the secrets they have guarded for decades are unearthed.

I’m so looking forward to reading and reviewing this one as soon as I possibly can… thank you, er… Ella!