The
Journey
Today
I am pleased to be able to participate in Day 1 of the Blog Blitz for The Journey by
Conrad Jones. My thanks go to Sarah Hardy at Bloodhound Books. I have a lovely little Q&A session with the author, so settle down and have a read.
About the Book
One of the best books you will read
this year. Outstanding!
I have read many Conrad Jones books...for me this is his masterpiece... A stunning story...
This is Conrad Jones at his best... An outstanding well written story...
An emotional rollercoaster. Unputdownable
This is nothing like anything Conrad has written before. However it's equally as excellent, if not better, as all his other books.
What an amazing story, my heart was in my mouth all the way through, the literary world is all the richer because of you Mr Jones I salute you sir
Sad, moving, emotional, at times uplifting....a horrible reflection of the cruelty of this world. But a story that needed to be told and must be read. Highly recommended
The gripping story of a young boy and his family, driven from their home by war and indiscriminate violence. Like millions of others, they attempt the treacherous journey across their war-torn continent, trying to reach the safety of Europe.
The truth is, Europe doesn't want
them and thousands die every month at the hands of thieves and profiteering men
to whom life is cheap. Kalu believes that he can lead his family to safety, he
has planned for this. They have money, a plan and Kalu is, after all, the
smartest man in Monguno.
The story is fast-paced, at times funny, at times heart-breaking but it will pull you along at 100 miles an hour. It will make you think, it will make you question your perceptions. Most of all it will make you ask, if your family was in peril, what would you do?
Q & A with the Author
Today
on my blog I have a Q&A session with the author Conrad Jones, so grab a
chair and a drink of your choice and sit back, relax and have a read. There are some fabulous questions and
answers.
1: The Journey is unlike your other novels, where did the idea for
it come from?
It came from the abduction of over 276 schoolgirls in 2014,
carried out by the extremist group Boko Hara. I follow the news a lot and I’ve
been following their attacks on schools. That generated the story.
2: Had you already decided on the ending when you started or did that come further down the story?
2: Had you already decided on the ending when you started or did that come further down the story?
I never know the ending of a novel. I don’t write to a plan. If
the author knows where it is going then its likely the reader will pick up what
will happen. If I don’t know, then I hope the reader won’t.
3: The story is set in Nigeria, is this some where you have been yourself?
3: The story is set in Nigeria, is this some where you have been yourself?
I’ve travelled extensively around Africa but can’t talk about it!
4: What research did you do for the story?
I had to study to maps for the routes the family took but they’re
easily found online. Most of the research was about Boko Haram and the other
countries that border Nigeria.
5: As a writer, what sort of emotions did you go through writing it? Did you find some parts harder to write about than others?
5: As a writer, what sort of emotions did you go through writing it? Did you find some parts harder to write about than others?
I cried several times during The Journey. I was so attached to the
family, it was difficult at times. I’ve never felt so attached to a character
as I did in this novel. I think my emotions are there in the pages.
6: If you weren't a writer what other career do you think you
would be doing now?
I spent many years fighting in Muay Thai boxing and later studied
MMA and cage fighting. I am passionate about martial arts and the positive
effect it can have on youngsters. It teaches them discipline and respect. If I
wasn’t writing, I would be teaching self-defence.
7: How many hours a day to you set aside for your writing?
It is very much a fulltime job for me. I start at 9am and finish
at 4.45, Monday to Friday. I am very disciplined workwise.
8: Do you get much chance to read yourself for pleasure?
Before I started writing, I used to read a lot. I only read on holiday now, which is very difficult and I struggle to finish a book. Writing changed something in my mind and I find it very difficult to maintain any interest in fiction. I mostly read nonfiction now, usually linked to crime!
9: Which of your books means the most to you and why?
That is like asking a parent who is their favourite child! Okay,
I’ll try.
The Journey, because it is so different and I loved the characters
so much.
Thr3e, because it was the end of the Ramsay series. It was deep
and dark and 100 miles an hour.
A Child for the Devil, because it was about me and a very scary
time. I loved those books and would write them all day if they sold as well as
the crime genres but they don’t.
The Child Taker, because it changed everything for me. It went to
number 6 in the Amazon charts and stayed as the number 1 crime download for
over a year. It has been downloaded over 800,000 times and has nearly 3000
reviews. That book allowed me to become a fulltime writer, something I will be
forever grateful for.
10: What would be your dream writing space?
I
live in my dream writing space! I am lucky to live in beautiful Trearddur Bay,
Angelsey. I live in an old converted hotel overlooking the sea and Snowdonia. I
used to go to a disco in the hotel in the 1980’s! The view changes every time I
look through the windows and never ceases to amaze me. The winter storms are
spectacular and summer brings shades of blue that I didn’t know existed! If
some one had told a 16year-old me that one day I would write 21 novels, 9
guides and two biographies and live overlooking the sea in the old Cliff Hotel,
I would have phoned them an ambulance. It has been a journey, which is quite
apt……
My thanks go to Conrad Jones for taking time out of his busy schedule to provide these questions and answers.
About the Author
Conrad Jones is a 50-year-old Author,
originally from a sleepy green-belt called Tarbock Green, which is situated on
the outskirts of Liverpool. He spent a number of years living in Holyhead,
Anglesey, which he classes as his home. He worked in management at McDonalds
Restaurants Ltd from 1989-2002, working his way up to Business Consultant (area
manager) working in the corporate and franchised departments.
On March 20th 1993 he was managing
the Restaurant in Warrington`s Bridge St when two Irish Republican Army bombs
exploded directly outside the store, resulting in the death of two young boys
and many casualties. Along with hundreds of other people there that day he was
deeply affected by the attack, which led to a long-term interest in the
motivation and mind set of criminal gangs. He began to read anything crime
related that he could get his hands on and links this experience with the
desire to write books on the subject.
He signed a three book deal with
London based publishers, Thames River Press. The Alec Ramsey series is now 7
books long with an average of 4.8 stars from over 2000 reviews. Conrad has also
written The Soft Target series, which has received critical acclaim.
Social Media Links
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Check
out the rest of the blog tour with these fabulous blogs below. I'm off for a nice drink and a catch up with today's bloggers to see what they thought of the book.
My
thanks to Conrad Jones for joining
me on my blog today and providing the lovely Q&A, and also Sarah Hardy @ Bloodhound Books for my spot on the blog tour and providing the lovely Q&A session for
my blog.
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