On Crime Central Blog

Gillian Philip Interviews me about Dead Boy Talking

Check it out on    crimereading.blogspot.com

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SPIDER

winner of the

Catalyst Teenage Book Award

2010

“You can almost hear the wheels

spin, smell the tyres burn.”

“…. a pacy, touching story that never palls.”

An adrenaline-fuelled ride – a compelling glimpse into a life spinning out of control.

‘

Gritty fast-paced urban  tale about three teenagers who steal a car – it crashes and changes their lives forever.’

Scroll down to read an extract from SPIDER

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And now…..   a new novel by Linda Strachan

Josh has twenty five minutes left to live………….

DEAD BOY TALKING -  Published 2010

(Pub July 2010) ISBN: 978 1905537-20-4

Josh has twenty five minutes to live.

Yesterday he stabbed his best mate and now it’s happened to him. Lying alone in a pool of blood Josh hasn’t much time to think, but there are things he can’t get out of his head.
Where is Skye? What happened to his missing brother? And how did he end up like this? As his life slips away the events of the last twenty four hours start to look very different…

Reviews
Bookbag Review of Dead Boy Talking

See other reviews of Dead Boy Talking on my blog Bookwords

Katherine Grover  School Librarian International School of Aberdeen

Linda came to the International School of Aberdeen  in April 2010. She read an extract of “Dead Boy Talking” to our fifth graders. You could have heard a pin drop! Linda really knows how to hold her audience’s attention. The students were enthralled but disappointed that they couldn’t get hold of the book immediately to finish reading it for themselves, as both the subject matter and writing style appealed to them.

After her visit many of our students went on to read her other book aimed at teenagers, “Spider.” This book also deals with hard-hitting, ‘youth’ topics- joy-riding and teenage pregnancy. A book I would definitely recommend.

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SPIDER

WINNER of the prestigious  Catalyst Teenage Book Award 2010

Shortlisted for the Dumfries and Burgh Book award.

Shortlisted for the RED BOOK AWARD  2009

Long listed for the Lancashire Book Award and the Scottish Royal Mail Book awards

REVIEWS for SPIDER
Herald - Fast paced and uncompromising

The Irish Examiner - A triumph of teenage fiction.
In Spider the author skilfully juggles the voices of three very different teenagers – Spider, Andy and Deanna in a pacy, touching story that never palls ….. the Run – ie racing through a narrow alley in a stolen car – and the consequences of that, are what bind the story in a compelling, insightful intertwining of credible characters.

The Scotsman –
You can almost hear the wheels spin, smell the tyres burn.
When the accident happens it’s with a sickening inevitability. We then share the thoughts of the main characters as they await recrimination and attempt both physical and mental recovery. Spider believes it’s entirely his fault for drawing others into his web. Strachan, however, allows the reader to see a bigger picture of leaders and their followers.

Armadillo - Linda Strachan is such a compelling writer….

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Extract from SPIDER

How did I get here?
Dreams..? Nightmares more like.

My life was sorted. Well, I thought so – I was pretty stupid. Ducking and diving here and there, thieving – just small things, twocking the odd car for a Run. A real peach of a girlfriend – rich too – and I had a reputation as a bit of a hard man.What more could I ask?
Some might say I got exactly what I was asking for and maybe they’re right.
I just don’t know or care any more. Thought I was so clever; but you can’t hide from some things and when your nightmares come true….
I had one last night. A nightmare. I didn’t sleep much, so it must have been in one of those moments when you just drift off. But it was so bad I woke up screaming silently, shaking and sweating, tears streaming from my eyes, not sure where I was.
But that’s probably not surprising, is it?
It was shadowy and dark in my nightmare and I was looking at Deanna. She was crying and I couldn’t get her to stop. There was something in her arms but she wouldn’t let me see it. Her hand was covering it and when she lifted her hand for a moment it was dripping with dark red blood. She started yelling at me.
“See what you did, Spider!” I wanted to shout back that I didn’t do it; I didn’t mean it to happen.
I wanted to tell her that I was sorry, so sorry….

Purchase

(UK) Order from Amazon.co.uk
Also available in book stores

published by Strident Publishing