saturday sampleIf Crows Could Talk by Debz Hobbs-Wyatt, coffee

Prologue

Wednesday April 10^th, 2019

 

 

It’s the day every path led back to.

April holds the coffee cup with both hands; fingertips pressed lightly to the paper folds. Her reflected face ghosts against the rush of passing trees and gray office buildings. Her neat red bob is caught in the flickedy-flick of the changing landscape. It was still dark when she left the apartment, still dark when she fumbled with the email saying where they were to meet. Only she always knew where they would meet. Still dark when the Amtrak left South Carolina.

And there it is again – the feeling.

She should have told him. What if he never understands?

 

The world clickedy-clacks its way past. People fumble with luggage and make their drunken-like stumbles to the bathroom, reapply lipstick and slap tired faces awake with cold water. Seven hours on a train – but April is sick of driving, sick of flying, sick of the lies.

She pictures Joe back in Lexington, folded into the lilac duvet, a Post-it stuck to the refrigerator. Not the note he wanted. She was planning on talking to him; she didn’t mean it to turn into a fight. There’s something I have to do. And there she was, fingers teasing open the blinds, looking out onto the street, listening for the cab, hoping he didn’t stir, because if he did how could she explain?

What would she say? That she isn’t who he thinks she is?

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About the author 

Since she was a little girl Debz Hobbs-Wyatt always dreamed of being a writer. Inspired first by Enid Blyton's Island of Adventure series, then her love of the classics and later Stephen King, now she devours anything literary and is a big fan of Jon McGregor. She has always believed stories can change the world. She now lives and with her husband and her cat and dog in Essex and works as a full-time writer and editor. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Bangor University and has had over thirty short stories published in various collections. She has also been shortlisted in a number of writing competitions, including being nominated for the prestigious US Pushcart Prize 2013, one of two UK writers on the short list of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2013 and winner of the inaugural Bath Short Story Award.

While No One Was Watching, her debut novel, was published by Parthian Books in 2013.

Her short story collection Because Sometimes Something Extraordinary Happens was published by Bridge House Publishing in July 2019.

Debz is represented by Camilla Shestopal at Shesto Literary.

If Crows Could Talk is another American mystery novel inspired by her love of the States and various long trips, and by her interest in representing diverse characters. She does also write UK-based UpLit literary fiction set closer to home. What Debz loves best is to create authentic characters and give them voice and If Crows Could Talk allowed her to give Lydia from her first novel a cameo role, since so many people requested to see her again.

Debz is thrilled that Walela Books have chosen If Crows Could Talk as their first publication.