Ellesea Loves Reading: 10/28/20

Wednesday, 28 October 2020

Book Spotlight and extract: Stonechild by Kevin Albin

Stonechild by Kevin Albin

Where do we go to when we die? Imagine human consciousness embedded in the molecules of a statue. So, when the statues of London come to life, it is a spectacle like non other, and they come with a specific message, and an offer we cannot refuse.

As the world reels in this wonder of science and religion, Molly Hargreaves has other plans and she sets out to prove that things are not as they seem.

Chased, captured and confined, Molly confronts the statues and her own fears. But who can she convince? The people are welcoming, the Government has succumbed, and the police try to act, but how do you shoot stone and metal? Be prepared to be run ragged around London on a mystery worthy of the great Sherlock Holmes.

https://amzn.to/2BfnoWs

Molly finds herself on the top of Uganda House overlooking Trafalgar Square where large numbers of statues have come together. There are some confrontations with the police, a police car is crushed and it is clear there’s going to be more trouble

Gunshot — two shots, then another two as the armed police officers fired at the statue of Cromwell. He was bullet-proof, and continued to advance on the police. What looked like hundreds of police officers poured out from the lines of parked vans, and moved quickly to strategic points in the square. Statues were shouting, police were shouting, granite blocks being torn up, heavy statues moving; the noise was becoming louder and louder, as everyone tried to make themselves heard over the din, and above it all, two police helicopters.

Then there came a new sound. A heavy pounding of footsteps that could only have come from a statue. With her hands on the stone balcony, Molly could feel vibrations coming up from street level. Who or whatever it was, was big.

A word puzzle for the readers of Stonechild and with a prize to be drawn on the 10th December, which is Human Rights Day. Here’s the link with all the details https://kevin-albin.com/book-kevin-albin/puzzle-time-for-readers-of-stonechild/

I served 25 years with the police in the UK, eight years of which were with a tactical firearms team. In 2002, I took a career change, and retrained as an International Mountain Leader working across the globe guiding on mountaineering trips and expeditions.

I have led many trips to the jungles of Borneo, my favourite destination, an enchanting place that has sadly seen much deforestation. My trips were based on education and conservation.

In 2011, I won the Bronze in the Wanderlust Magazine World Guide Awards for my work..

It was whilst working on a corporate training day in London, when I pictured a statue coming to life to give my clients the answer to the clue they were working on. The rest grew from there.

My hope is that my writing will continue to spread the word on conservation and protection of all species.

I live in France.