Today, we feature a sneak peek of S.P. Mount’s comic epic fantasy, Prickly Scots Part I .
A feel good story with all the elements of an epic adventure, Prickly Scots is a richly described escapade with humour beating at the heart of it. Paths cross on individual life journeys as a wonderfully nuanced, largely irascible cast, human and otherwise, become embroiled in a fantastical situation; finding themselves time-travelling between three time periods in Scotland and interacting with supposedly mythical creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot as a biblical artefact is sought out. The plot pulls the story along in Part II in a butterfly effect, as even the cast themselves change beyond recognition.
Prickly Scots Part I is available through Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Kobo, Smashwords and other online stores.
Here is an excerpt from Prickly Scots Part I :
Prologue excerpt: Twenty-two New Year’s Eve: Twelve years ago
If the trees hadn’t been rooted for centuries, the outhouse sunk into its ancient foundations, the children’s swings firmly anchored with concrete blocks into the lawn now covered with what appeared to be dense blue snow, they might just have disappeared into the kaleidoscopic vortex that’d already flown off three whirly bird clotheslines like a deployment of helicopters.
Everything else had been fair game, sucked up; broken branches swishing, searching for someone’s back to lash, the odd child’s toy abandoned, molested, no longer innocent. Everything not battened down, frantically trying to flee the hundreds of flashes of lightning lashing the grounds of Burnside Children’s Home.
Yes, the large corner window of her bedroom, normally overlooking serene vistas of the moors on which her heritage mansion stood, had transformed in mere seconds from idyllic winter wonderland to a frenzied hell, the motherboard of all electrical malfunctions, a computer game from which its ghoulish players had emerged.
After eighty years of suppressing emotion, Sadie Wallace, for the second time in her miserable life, felt fearful.
“The apocalypse? And here’s me withoot ma wig on.”
**
When the so-called ‘Blue Phenomenon’ lit the country up like a sleazy nightclub at chucking out time, bagpipes all over Scotland deflated like many sheep’s stomachs before them that night, gutted for the stuffing of liver, lungs and hearts. Haggis, the way it was meant to be. And indeed, the sheep might’ve been the lucky ones; not having to contend with proverbial knitting needles being poked in their ears all night.
“Thank Christ fer that!”
As well, swirling dervish dances suddenly halted as kilts blatantly displaying what isn’t worn beneath them came to rest in perfect pleats around the shaggy legs of both men and women – and not least of which, on the makeshift stage at the Sly-n-Sleekit hotel located on the outskirts of Murkentilloch, a tiny little village where the luminosity was brighter than anywhere else in the land.
“Oh my… did ye see up that wan in the middle, Effie?” Said Ma Clancy sitting courtesy of her reporter daughter, Shona, hosting the New Year’s Eve festivities from a table at the base of the stage. But Effie’s glasses, long since steamed up, had made her miss the nether regions of the particularly hairy beast front centre of the dance ensemble. “Size o’ a baby’s arm!” She said, tucking her chin into her pearls.
And it wasn’t long before newsflashes from every TV station cut into the joviality of the evening’s celebrations to reassure the public that there was nothing at all to be concerned about, and with more than a little candour, instructing them to not to even think about looting; something, apparently, only the English did.
‘A-w!’
‘God… are we ever gonny get a new telly?’
Yes, insignificant and of bygone age, nothing ever happened in Murkentilloch… well, nothing outside of the odd handbag snatching anyway… but after that Hogmanay night, the less than quaint little hamlet that time, and perhaps the local government, forgot about, was about to get its fifteen minutes of fame. No, not long at all before the world’s media came crawling all over it like flies round a piece of…
Great to see this Indy author getting some extra coverage for this story, one of the most unusual fantasy stories, I’ve ever read, with great characterizations, as Sadie Wallace here is already beginning to reveal; Sadie is a character that is pivotal to what happens in both Part 1 and Part 2, which I have read as well; oh it is worth the read, quite funny, and keeps you wondering, because nothing is quite like it seems.
Thanks for your support Jerriann. Actually whenever anyone asks, ‘are you in the book?’ lol, which of course I’m not, I do tell them that Sadie is the character that I’m MOST like – but not necessarily a good thing, as you know; her unusual mind working in a highly unusual way. One reader said she hated her, but then as she got to know her better, realising exactly what made this old lady tick; the problems stemming from her mentally abusive childhood, she said that she would absolutely ‘kill’ anyone who was to harm her.
Yes, I love creating characters, especially when readers want to defend them, and as I always say, I like to blacken the thumbnail of even my most beautiful ones. Nobody’s perfect in my books! Nobody.
Ha ha, this looks great. I’m still chuckling 🙂
Thanks so much Suzanna, Glad I could make you smile. Hint – the collective volume: Prickly Scots Pts I & II, is also available, meaning that the sample is much bigger there. If you found this funny, well… as one person said, don’t read it with a glass of wine unless you want to buy yourself a new reading device. Although I would hasten to add that the humour is only an underlying element; the storyline, hopefully, intelligent and captivating.
Hi SP
Glad I popped over. The story sounds like great fun, especially since you have my name in the book, LOL. My maiden name is Wallace. Best of luck with the book.
Cheers Bev. I’m glad you did too. For authenticity sake, the many characters in this book have the names of people I grew up with in Scotland – except one or two. Sadie Wallace is a name that I conjured up because it suits her old money heritage and for having connotation of a fine Scottish name steeped in history; her ancestors from the 16th century coming into play in Pt II, and a time when only the noble DID have a surname. Must have been fate. 😀
Funny, SP, a very funny little except. By the sounds of it, and the synopsis, it has all the elements I might find entertaining. A fellow Scot, the name of one of the places I spent time growing up was Kirkintilloch, when pronounced, it sounds very similar to Murkentilloch.
It’s quite a long list mind you, but it’s definitely on my list to read!
A’ll let ye intae a wee secret T. D. I really didny waant tae gee these places real names, so a sade tae masel, a sade, why no take the furst pairt o’ the word murky, and the second part o’ Kirkintilloch an make up ma ain?
And that’s exactly what I did; this was the first one that popped into my head. I don’t know Kirkintilloch (meaning church in the field, or church at the end of the hillock) but I saw the name all the time as a kid – I guess at Glasgow Central train station, or maybe from road signs).
Glad you liked the excerpt and thanks for commenting, you’ll find much of the humour of home in this book, I’m sure. Aye….
This story is fun AND original. It had me chuckling at regular intervals. Great characterisation, dry humour, and an attitude to money that the Scots and the inhabitants of Yorkshire definitely share! I’m just sorry it took me so long to realise this book was being featured here… it’s one of my favourites.
So nice to hear Sue, yes part one is very much character driven, and even though part II is more plot pulled there are many more ‘new’ characters that the cast find themselves interacting with back in1587 where they’ve found themselves whisked away to searching for a biblical artefact that’s been hidden for centuries. Talk about being ‘prickly’ – wait to you see how they react without political correctness being a factor – lol. Thank you for reading.