Welcome to the Virtual Book Tour for Shelf Life!
About the Book:
Young bookseller Cathy Finn is having a bad day. First, there's the assassin's bullet. Then comes the realisation that she's been living in a work of fiction. Worse, she wasn't even the main character.
Cathy's quiet, bit-part life may be over, but her troubles are only beginning. Her last day on Earth is also her first as a citizen of New Tybet. For over four hundred years, its people have been rescuing those destined to die in other narratives, but now the system is faltering. A saboteur is at work and Cathy will have to stop him if she’s ever going to find a way home. Failure could maroon her forever and spark a revolution that sets all the worlds of literature ablaze.
Book Details:
Print Length: 338 pages
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing; 1 edition (http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com)
Publication Date: July 17, 2019
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07SNGW2Z7
Genre(s): Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Literary Mashup, Parallel Worlds, Comedy
Excerpt
He began to turn away.
"Oh, no." Finn grabbed his arm. "No, no, no. You don't do the 'mysterious stranger' act and then just disappear. What just happened? Where am I? What isthis?"
Dropping his jacket against the wall, he rubbed his scalp. "I'm sorry, but we've got other people here to answer questions like that. People a lot better at it than me." He glanced at the door, his voice hardening a little. "And they should've been here by now."
Finn released him with a sniff. "Yeah, well they're late. You're all I've got."
"Hey, Reed." The youngest of the three looked up from packing his kit into the tube. "We've gotta go. Three more of these before lunch."
Reed nodded. "I know; I'll catch you up. If you see anyone from Reception…"
The other rolled his eyes. "Yeah. If."
Reed watched his friends manoeuvre their strange capsule through the door. Then, noting Finn's glare, he took a breath. "Okay, look. Um... You are in a safe place, so please don't be alarmed. It's, ah... natural that you'll be feeling a sense of disorientation at this time but…"
"No, no, stop, stop." She waved impatiently. "Just… just forget all the rehearsed stuff. Talk to me. Your friend just said 'lunch' but it's coming up to five. Where am I? What is this?"
Reed glanced again at the door. "It's... complicated."
"No kidding. Help me, here, Reed. What we just did - none of it makes sense. Am I dead? Am I dreaming? I mean, give me something."
He looked away, his eyes unable to settle. "I'm sorry. Just remember: I'm not good at this."
"I'll remember anything you want so long as you get to the bloody point."
"Okay, well... Did you ever read any sci-fi?"
She pulled a face. "I've seen Star Wars. I used to watch a bit of Stargate when I was little."
"Okay. That one was about gates to different worlds, wasn't it?"
"Uh huh." She was pretty sure she didn’t like the direction this conversation was heading.
"Well, think of…" He stopped at the sound of the door opening. A matronly, olive-skinned woman hurried in, a folding stool tucked under each arm.
"Oh, thank the gods for that." Reed seemed almost to deflate. "Cathy Finn, I'd like to introduce my friend Cariola. She's very late, but I know you'll get on fine."
"Late and ridiculously busy," muttered Cariola through a smile.
Reed looked back. "Um, Miss Finn, it was good to meet you, but now I've really got to get going." He nodded her a small bow.
Finn responded with her flattest, most baffled look. "Okay. Right... Well goodbye then, Mr. Reed. Thanks a lot for... whatever this is."
He offered an apologetic smile. "Got to run."
Cariola caught his eye as he made to leave. "You're doing Resolution's Brink next, aren't you?"
"Yeah, and now I'm running out of time to kit up."
"Well I'm sorry, but you know how things are."
"And they messed up the outfits again." He picked up his SWAT vest and strode to the door. "This is getting out of control."
Cariola smiled thinly. "I know that, Joe, and I'm trying to do my job here, sweetie, so perhaps we could save the complaints until later, eh?"
Giving a quiet snort, Reed offered Finn a final wave and was gone.
"Now then, Cathy." Setting down the stools, Cariola gave her the most reassuring of smiles. "I'm sure you've got a hundred questions."
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Meet the Author:
Rob Gregson spent much of his youth reading fantasy novels, immersing himself in role playing games and generally doing everything possible to avoid the real world. In his defence, we're talking about the late 1980s - a time when ridiculous hair, hateful pop music and soaring unemployment were all very popular - so it wasn't altogether a bad decision. However, had he abandoned the realms of wizardry at an earlier age, he might have developed one or two useful life skills and he would almost certainly have found it easier to get a girlfriend. Rob lives in Lancashire and has two children, although he has absolutely no idea why anyone should find that interesting.
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