Hello friends, please join me in welcoming author Harmony Kent. Most of you know her through the breadth of her writing. She's an accomplished novelist and poet, and a great blogger as well. Most importantly, Harmony is an extraordinary human being and a very dear friend to many. We join her today to celebrate the publication of her newest book, The Vanished Boy. It just hit Amazon's shelves, and Harmony's going to tell us about it.
Congratulations, Harmony. Take it away ~
Congratulations, Harmony. Take it away ~
Hi everyone. Harmony here. Thanks so much, Gwen, for letting me visit with you today. I'm so thrilled to share the launch of my latest book with you all.
The Vanished Boy is a mystery suspense novel based around a teenaged boy, who's gone missing. The book follows the mother as she trawls through her missing son's online life and realises, to her horror, how out of the loop she's become.
The inspiration for this novel came from watching a number of movies based on how our lives both revolve around and are influenced by the Internet and mobile devices. Although these movies covered many genres such as murder/mystery, thriller, and the supernatural, they all centred around the same theme: Apps and living life online. This led me to ponder how many of us spend our lives in digital pursuits rather than physical—both the old and the young? For many people, their actual physical lives become but a shadow compared to their online existence.
Mostly, the shift to a digital world happens slowly. It's incremental and, too often, insidious. All of which led me to ask how well do we actually know our children? Our loved ones? Those around us? What might be going on in the shadows?
From that inspiration and questioning, this story was born. Much of life and our actions originate from the same needs and wants: to be loved and accepted, the ability to differentiate between truth and lies, and the things we do to cover our mistakes and make ourselves look better than the reality instead of owning who we are. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Below is an excerpt from the book:
The Vanished Boy is a mystery suspense novel based around a teenaged boy, who's gone missing. The book follows the mother as she trawls through her missing son's online life and realises, to her horror, how out of the loop she's become.
The inspiration for this novel came from watching a number of movies based on how our lives both revolve around and are influenced by the Internet and mobile devices. Although these movies covered many genres such as murder/mystery, thriller, and the supernatural, they all centred around the same theme: Apps and living life online. This led me to ponder how many of us spend our lives in digital pursuits rather than physical—both the old and the young? For many people, their actual physical lives become but a shadow compared to their online existence.
Mostly, the shift to a digital world happens slowly. It's incremental and, too often, insidious. All of which led me to ask how well do we actually know our children? Our loved ones? Those around us? What might be going on in the shadows?
From that inspiration and questioning, this story was born. Much of life and our actions originate from the same needs and wants: to be loved and accepted, the ability to differentiate between truth and lies, and the things we do to cover our mistakes and make ourselves look better than the reality instead of owning who we are. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Below is an excerpt from the book:
Her mouth gapes wide, and she can't stop breathing in. A wheezy-whistle follows the air down her trachea and into overfull lungs. She does this kind of backwards scream thing. It won't stop. Carole slaps a cold hand over her mouth and grabs her mobile with the other. No matter how hard she stares and wants and needs, she can't make a reply materialise on the screen.
At last, right when she thinks she's going to suffocate, she manages to breathe in. Only a short heave, but it's something. She stands in the middle of the kitchen and gasps and pants. On wooden legs, she stumbles to the junk drawer and rummages until she finds the old brown paper bag. She hasn't needed this thing in years.
Each in and out breath refuses to work without her voice going with it. A weird moaning noise fills her ears, along with the wheezy whistle she's developed. When she raises the bag and shoves it against her lips, her hand shakes. The bag smells and tastes stale. Blackness narrows her vision. It's no good passing out right now. She has to get a handle on this.
At last, right when she thinks she's going to suffocate, she manages to breathe in. Only a short heave, but it's something. She stands in the middle of the kitchen and gasps and pants. On wooden legs, she stumbles to the junk drawer and rummages until she finds the old brown paper bag. She hasn't needed this thing in years.
Each in and out breath refuses to work without her voice going with it. A weird moaning noise fills her ears, along with the wheezy whistle she's developed. When she raises the bag and shoves it against her lips, her hand shakes. The bag smells and tastes stale. Blackness narrows her vision. It's no good passing out right now. She has to get a handle on this.
Author Bio
After spending around thirteen years as an ordained Buddhist monk, living in a Zen Buddhist temple, and six years after a life-changing injury following a surgical error, Harmony Kent returned to the world at the tender age of forty.
Now, she is famous for her laughter, and has made quite the name for herself … she’s also, um, a writer … and fairly well known for that too. She’s even won a few awards. Harmony lives in rural Cornwall with her adorable husband, ever-present sense of humour, and quirky neighbours.
Harmony is passionate about supporting her fellow authors.
Links
Website: https://harmonykent.co.uk/
Story Empire (co-authored): https://storyempirecom.wordpress.com/
Amazon Author Page: author.to/HarmonysBooks
Twitter: @harmony_kent
Goodreads: Author Page
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/harmony-kent
The Vanished Boy Sales Link: mybook.to/TheVanishedBoy
After spending around thirteen years as an ordained Buddhist monk, living in a Zen Buddhist temple, and six years after a life-changing injury following a surgical error, Harmony Kent returned to the world at the tender age of forty.
Now, she is famous for her laughter, and has made quite the name for herself … she’s also, um, a writer … and fairly well known for that too. She’s even won a few awards. Harmony lives in rural Cornwall with her adorable husband, ever-present sense of humour, and quirky neighbours.
Harmony is passionate about supporting her fellow authors.
Links
Website: https://harmonykent.co.uk/
Story Empire (co-authored): https://storyempirecom.wordpress.com/
Amazon Author Page: author.to/HarmonysBooks
Twitter: @harmony_kent
Goodreads: Author Page
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/harmony-kent
The Vanished Boy Sales Link: mybook.to/TheVanishedBoy
RSS Feed