“Lucy Fratelli is the girl who has everything – beauty, brains, her own apartment, a close family and friends.
Unfortunately, she is hiding a secret from her family and her best friend, Julie.
Lucy knows that she can tell her family and Julie anything but she also knows that if they find out her secret, there will be hell to pay.
Terry Fratelli, Lucy’s father, is a gangster and lives for his family. He will do anything to make them happy and protect them at all costs.
When Lucy’s secret is revealed he will stop at nothing to keep her safe.”
A very warm welcome to my regular Friday feature here on damppebbles, #damppebblestakeover. Today I am delighted to welcome crime author, Nicole, to the blog. Nicole’s debut, A Few Bad Boys is available to purchase now with her follow-up, Survival At Any Cost to follow hot on its heels soon.
So without further ado, I’ll hand over to Nicole…
I am delighted to be part of #damppebblestakeover and want to tell you more about my fascination with crime genre. I have loved writing and reading for as long as I can remember and although I read many genres, I love a good crime novel. I also like to read books by authors unknown to me. It is surprising how many hidden gems there are out there.
I am originally from London but have lived in Spain since 2000. My grand-parents, like so many others, worked endlessly to move away from the East End, but I was the one who returned. I guess I’m the black sheep of the family and was intrigued by the stories I had heard, first hand, about the Krays and the Richardsons. Throughout my life I have met numerous people from all walks of life, from Prime Ministers to the homeless and I am intrigued how people end up in situations. The old school gangsters do hold some kind of respect and the ones I have met, for research purposes, are pleasant people who do what they do in the same way that people go to an office to work. The thing that does concern me is the new breed of wanna be gangsters who appear to just relish in mindless violence against people that have nothing to do with their circle.
My debut novel, A Few Bad Boys, and my next novel, Survival At Any Cost (which will be published soon) also touch on issues that are a growing concern for people that are not members of the criminal fraternity. These issues include domestic violence, alcohol abuse and drugs. These issues can affect any family and, sadly, more and more people, if they are not the one suffering, know someone who is affected. These issues don’t affect only the victim of domestic violence or the user of drugs or excessive alcohol; they affect their family and friends. Leaving an abusive relationship isn’t a simple case of collecting your things and leaving. Giving up alcohol and/or drugs is more complicated than you can imagine.
One of my works in progress is a detective novel, Dead Eyes. It is very different to the works of mine that I have already mentioned but I am enjoying writing it and creating my strong female detective, Ellen Knight. My plan is to make a series for her without neglecting my more dramatic novels that are waiting to be written, one of which will definitely be located in Spain.
I think a lot of people like to know about the dark side of life and by picking up a crime novel they can experience it without being harmed or ending up in prison.
With all my writing there is a lot of research to be done, which I love doing and there is a lot of imagination needed, which thankfully I have.
Someone I know, after reading, A Few Bad Boys, couldn’t believe that, I, a positive inspirational person, could write something like it – you have been warned!
Thank you for your interesting and thought-provoking post, Nicole. As an avid crime reader, I think a lot of what you say is very true. I live a very normal (wonderful, happy) life but my choice of reading material means I get to indulge in the dark side, in a fictional sense of course!
A Few Bad Boys by Nicole was published in the UK on 25th May 2017 and is available in paperback and eBook formats (please note, some of the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | amazon.com | Goodreads |
Nicole was born in London but moved to Spain in 2000. She has two children, James and Phoenix, who have been her driving force behind her completing her debut novel, A Few Bad Boys. Prior to having children she worked for Karren Brady, which added to her determination to succeed in all goals.
Nicole has wanted to write a book for as long as she can remember, and although she has written articles and helped others with their writing, it is only last year that she finally completed and published her debut novel, A Few Bad Boys. Although the journey to becoming published has been long and difficult, she is overjoyed that she has managed it, but understands that there is a lot more work to do.
Nicole is a firm believer in living life to the full but also living a balanced life.
Nicole is currently working on her second novel, Survival At Any Cost and has a regular blog.
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