Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Border Lines by L.E. Fitzpatrick - Blog Tour with Author Guest Post and Giveaway



Synopsis

When the perfect job comes up, Charlie doesn't think twice about taking it. This is the break he's been looking for and nobody, not even the rest of his team, can persuade him otherwise.
The job means working for an old enemy and crossing the border into London. Both are risky, but Charlie has no idea how high the stakes really are. The team will have to confront their past, each other and a killer who is closer than they realize. But can they all make it out of the city alive?

"We all remember that kid in Piccadilly. That determined look he had on his face as he willed all those people to him. Just using his mind, he pulled them close then blew them all to pieces. It could be anyone. Your neighbour, your friend, your lover. Remain vigilant. Reachers are everywhere."

Border Lines is the second book in L.E. Fitzpatrick's Reachers series.

Buy Links

Amazon DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01N9C0VCJ/

Excerpt

However long it took the greeting was always the same. Border watch stopped each car, surveying it with suspicion before checking the passes of the passengers. Babies to pensioners were inspected, their ID's scanned and, if the border patrol took offence, they'd even strip search travellers in the street.

Rachel rapped her knuckles on the passenger seat as the car ahead of them started to move forward. This was closer than she had ever dared go to the border. There were stories about guards having scanners that picked up Reachers, even if that was a lie it still left her fake ID and the boot full of weapons to worry about. The urge to use her powers was overwhelming, but Charlie insisted they get through legitimately – well as legitimately as fake ID’s and a car full of weapons would allow.

She glanced at John as he drove forward. He was focused, but unconcerned with the task at hand. The brothers were used to crossing the border. They'd seen what it was like on the other side. She hadn't even seen through the gates. The world she was used to was the one they were parked in – dirty, decaying, depressing. What could be hiding behind that concrete wall? How good was it on the other side?

It was their turn. Rachel followed John and Charlie's lead, placing their hands on the dashboard and the front seat. Three border police circled their car. One ducked down to see underneath and, satisfied, they gestured that John slowly open the window.

"Passes," the man ordered, shuffling his rifle back onto his shoulder.

Rachel handed the three fake passes to John, her heart racing. John handed them to one watchman to process, while another began his interrogation.


"Is this your first visit to London?"

Start with Book One, The Running Game


Rachel’s father called it the running game. Count the exits, calculate the routes, and always be ready to run.

On the surface, Rachel is just an ordinary doctor, but she has a secret. Rachel is a Reacher, wanted by the government and the criminal underworld for her telekinetic powers.

Charlie and his brother John have a reputation for doing the impossible. But after losing his family, Charlie is a broken mess and John is barely keeping him afloat. In desperation, they take a job from a ruthless crime lord, only to discover the girl they are hunting is a Reacher... one of their own kind.

With the help of dangerous and dubious allies, can Rachel turn the game around and save herself?



Giveaway

Prizes: 1 x $10 Amazon Gift Card, 1 x signed paperback, The Running Game, 3 x ebook copy, The Running Game





Origins of Dystopia – The Reacher Series
L E Fitzpatrick

One of the major inspirations behind the Reacher series is political and social unrest. I wanted to create a dystopian society in Britain that we’d already seen in history. A lot of dystopian stories come from viruses, nuclear apocalypses, alien invasion – all of which are scary and will likely give you nightmares. But I wanted my world to come from left field. I didn’t want there to be “survivors” as such because the idea behind the series is that human society is adaptable not susceptible.

The Running Game, the first book in the series, is set on the outskirts of London. Like today, London is a hive of political activity and wealth, but with growing unrest and fearing an eventual revolt against the government, a wall is erected around the city. This of course doesn’t stop people, refugees from the north, flocking southwards for work. Here they form their own shanty town around the borders known as Safe Haven, or S’aven to the locals.

The idea behind S’aven came from time I spent in Nepal, where people built and developed their homes, based on materials they could find and space they could acquire. These ramshackle, cobbled together buildings often circled temples and mansions, which were all walled off. I often wondered if the walls were there to keep people out, or to hide the rest of the city from the wealthy living inside.

But an overcrowded, underdeveloped town is never going to run smoothly. There is crime, immense poverty and total desperation. The main hospital there is at breaking point. Food is a currency. Jobs are sparse. And although there isn’t a town like this currently around London, we are a nation beginning to recognise the short comings of our own culture. Our hospitals are failing. Families are having to choose between food and heating. In many places jobs are rare and poorly paid. I wanted S’aven to be recognisable to readers. I wanted them to be able to imagine it from their own experiences, rather than from their imaginations.

Then, in Border Lines we move into London and see first-hand the difference between the rich and poor divide. London becomes a celebrity homeland, a place of gold and diamonds. There is an abundance of food and money. Although there are jobs, people here can afford not to work, spending their time on leisurely pursuits. They even cross over into the shanty town to indulge in drugs and prostitution. But London is not the perfect city. Beneath the lavish exterior, there is a greed built on fear. And that is the one similarity for us all, rich or poor, we fear. We fear that our lives will be changed for the worse, we fear for our families, we fear for our future. The Reacher series is about living with fear, sometimes overcoming it, many times succumbing to it.


About the author

L E Fitzpatrick was born in Hull, East Yorkshire, but now lives in West Wales, with her family plus lots of dogs and cats. She manages an office, volunteers as a room steward for the National Trust and also supports independent authors as a proofreader and beta reader. She obviously has no spare time because of this, but if she did it would probably be invested in walking in the countryside and enjoying the peace and quiet.

L E Fitzpatrick published her first series Dark Waters in 2011 and is currently working on her Reacher series.

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