Let’s all welcome Harmony Kent to the blog. Harmony is an old friend, one of my Story Empire partners, and she has a new book to tell us about. Don’t be afraid to use some of those sharing buttons to help her spread the word.
Hi everyone. Harmony here. Thanks so much, Craig, 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.
Blurb:
Excerpt:
Enraged and desperate, Carole sprints forwards and nearly knocks the girl over before she manages to skid to a stop on the wet paving stones. The girl leaps back.
‘What the fuck?’ She looks at her friends in an evident bid for fortification and encouragement. ‘Woah, crazy-woman alert.’
Carole gasps for air, bent over at the waist and hands braced against her knees. She straightens and holds up her palms. After a couple of seconds, she says, ‘I’m Jay’s mum.’ Her lungs burn. She’s too old for this sort of exertion.
The girl scowls at her. Around them, a bunch of kids pull out their phones. ‘Yeah, so? Why should I care?’
God, the idiot’s as obnoxious and rude in real life as she is online. Carole bites back her temper, but only just. ‘You said he was with you. Where is he?’
The girl smirks, and her lips lift in a sneer.
Carole steps forwards so she stands too far into the girl’s personal space. She plants her hands on her hips and glares at the teen. Through a tight jaw, she says, ‘Where. Is. He?’
The obnoxious girl rolls her eyes. ‘I was having a laugh. Lawd, everyone’s, like, freaking out. I mean, just chill, right.’
That does it—Carole’s temper flares white-hot, and she loses it. Her animal brain takes over. She flies at obnoxious gal, knocks the large tub of popcorn from her hands, and grabs her around the throat. In her peripheral vision, more phones get pulled out. Some flash as their owners snap pictures, but most of them hold out the screens to record the night’s excitement.
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
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