Truth Or Dare

I'm not so brave as I once was.  I'm certainly much less crazy.

Apart from getting older, it's helped by avoiding stimulants that have no more power than coffee or tea.

So I'm taking Truth.

In Loco Parentis is a novel.  Teacher Noir.  It's a bit like I imagine The Slap to be, only it would have to be considered to be a hard slap.

I'll put in some frills later.

You need to know a few things before clicking to make a purchase.

First off is that I did submit this to a couple of publishers.  You may be able to guess who they are, but I'll not mention them in case it's bad form.   The part you need to know is that this novel didn't make it past the gates - I had positive feedback, but it wasn't for them.  Now, I hoped that it might come off and their response might mean that it's not the novel I hoped to write.

That said, it's the story I wanted to tell.

So, left with a choice of trying to find other homes and just going it alone, I decided on the latter. 

A little bit like the character in the book, I'm an impulsive kind of guy.  Impulsiveness has been a blessing and a curse in so many ways, but it's the way I am and I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out.  So as soon as decided, I did it.

This happens to be my longest piece yet. 

Smoke will soon be released by Blasted Heath; stretching myself to novella length was a challenge which I thankfully managed to pull off (by all accounts).  Stepping up to 3 times that length, I can only say I think I managed it.

The other thing is that I'm not intending to make this free at any point.  If I change my mind on that, you'll just have to forgive me, but I want to do this without the free promotion.

If you're interested, would like a read and feel the price of $2.99 / £1.99 is steep, just send me an email and I'll get a copy to you in Kindle format (or a PDF if you'd rather).  You'd be most welcome to have one.

I'd like to thank those who've read the book in advance of publication for their support, effort, encouragement and comments. 

Here are a couple of thoughts on the novel, which you might be interested in:

"All on his own, Nigel Bird has created a new sub-genre: Teacher Noir. In Loco Parentis delves into the darkness of the everyday through the eyes of painfully human and delightfully contradictory characters. This is vulnerable, brave fiction.
 
Bird is a noir poet who crafts characters you will love, hate, and become addicted to--all at the same time. Be prepared: In Loco Parentis is a rare and devastating book."

- Chris Rhatigan (Watch You Drown, All Due Respect, Death By Killing, Pulp Ink)

and:

"IN LOCO PARENTIS displays Nigel Bird's ability to expose the raw experience of life. Hope, pain, fear, loss, rage, love, lust and regret all drive the characters, and will take root in the reader in this well written tale." - R. Thomas Brown (HILL COUNTRY)

Those comments are very much appreciated given that they come from very fine writers.  And in case you haven't heard, Watch You Drown is free in the US today (truly).

Which is about it for the Truth.

The Dare part?  All I can do is dare you to take a look.  Check out the intro and see if it works for you.  It's not going to suit everyone's taste, but there's only one way to find out if that's yours or not.

Till soon.