Tag Archives: Beneath the Old Oak

Ten Things I Discovered Beneath…with Read Write Muse

Beneath the Old Oak: Cover Reveal

Great oaks from little acorns grow…
(14th Century English Proverb)

I’ve been working with Blue Harvest Creative and we’re just about ready to unfurl the brand new cover of my soon-to-be-released follow up to ‘Beneath the Rainbow’…

I wanted a cover in line with ‘Beneath the Rainbow’, but didn’t realise that my own concept which was so similar, was not what I’d ultimately go with. Joni and Vern came up with a new twist to the cover which hints at the deeper story inside! The colours work wonderfully with a story of a young girl desperate to escape her history. The sepia tones surrounding the colour crop make her story even more poignant.

I fell in love with this cover as soon as I saw it, and it looks amazing next to its sister ‘Beneath the Rainbow’!

Blurb:
Meg thinks her mother is broken. Is she broken too?
Meg’s life spirals out of control, and when she mirrors her Mum’s erratic behaviour, she’s terrified she’ll inherit her mother’s sins.
Seeking refuge and escape, she finds solace beneath a huge, old oak. Life is as transient as leaves upon the tree and with the changing seasons, the timeworn tree shares its memories with her and she begins to learn and grow.
Amid the turmoil, Meg wants to run away, but a traumatic turn of events changes everything.
As a storm descends, can Meg survive devastating losses? Will she learn from the tree’s precious memories, and will she discover how to become as strong as the old oak?

Design Credits:
Cover Photograph: Lisa Shambrook

Cover Concept: Lisa Shambrook and Blue Harvest Creative

Cover Design: Blue Harvest Creative

Interior Design and eBook Design: Blue Harvest Creative

Also ‘Beneath the Rainbow’ is currently on Special Offer over at Amazon.

£1.35 for the eBook on Amazon UK or $2.25 in the US…until the 15th October…don’t miss it!

Keep a look out for the launch of ‘Beneath the Old Oak’…COMING SOON!

My Creative Process – The Grand Blog Tour

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Thanks go to Nettie Thomson for nominating me for this Blog Tour…I got asked when it was named My Writing Process, but I was too busy to take part, so this second chance is much appreciated! Go take a look at Nettie’s answers here, then see what I’m doing…

Writing © Lisa Shambrook

What are you working on?

Right now I’m editing ‘Beneath the Old Oak’ and I’m very appreciative of beta readers! Sometimes you can be too close to your story and your writing and only someone else can catch the little things – or maybe the big things…

‘Beneath the Old Oak’ is the sequel to my debut novel ‘Beneath the Rainbow’ and continues seven years later following Meg, Freya’s best friend. Meg is now fourteen and her life is in turmoil. This story is close to my heart. They say write what you know – many of both Meg’s and her mother’s problems are things I’ve fought and done myself. Depression and anxiety affect entire families, not just the sufferers, and it’s a subject I’ve enjoyed tackling. Those who know my writing will appreciate a tough subject, but dealt with in an uplifting way.

The tentative blurb for ‘Beneath the Old Oak’ is:

‘Meg’s mother is anxious, depressed and neglectful. Meg thinks her mum is broken and wonders if she’ll be next, or is she already broken too? Meg wants to escape, but her mum beats her to it. Solace is found in a huge, old oak tree and Meg begins to learn to grow…’

Prior to resuming my editing, I’ve been writing flash fiction and enjoying submitting to contests and anthologies: Audiomachine’s Phenomena: Epic Heroes Event, The Anthology Club’s Pirate Anthology, Dirty Goggles 2014 and J.A.Mes Press Rebirth Anthology to name a few, along with traditional flash challenges like Blues Buster and Five Sentence Fiction.

World Book Day © Lisa Shambrook

How does your work differ from others of its genre?

I write eclectic flash fiction and enjoy experimenting with genres!

‘Beneath the Rainbow’ is placed in contemporary fiction, but it’s been enjoyed by everyone from 9 to 99 years old. ‘Beneath the Old Oak’ will hit the market as YA contemporary fiction.

How does my work differ? My writing definitely has its own voice, vibrant, lyrical and emotional. I work with the senses, description and colour, and my imagery stands out. If you really want to ‘feel’ what you read, try mine…

Why do you write/create what you do?

I write because it’s an urge I cannot deny. I’d go mad if I couldn’t lay down my thoughts on paper! I’m a creative soul, I need an outlet and it takes whatever forms my inspiration demand, from art to short stories, scrapbooking to photography, and craft to novels…

Notebooks everywhere © Lisa Shambrook

How does your writing/creative process work?

My heart is in control of my process, and I often have to rein it in, or nothing would get done!

I keep my inspirations jotted down, but generally only work on one big project at a time. Right now I will finish and release ‘Beneath the Old Oak’, and then work on the final book ‘Beneath the Distant Star’ which waits in its first draft form.

After that…who knows? I have a lovely children’s dragon adventure trilogy, and an epic dragon fantasy in the works…

I’m a planner. NaNoWriMo taught me discipline and that I need to plan! I pretty much work out a novel with a chapter-by-chapter plan, which will then spawn scenes and then writing. I also keep scrupulous notebooks of information eg: chronology, dates and times of sunsets/rises, flowers in season, character info, eye colour…it’s so easy to switch eye colour half way through a book, or a car model…been there!

My heart will determine my next work…

Flowers_Fairywings_Wood_Anemone_Last_Krystallos

Fairywings Anemone © Lisa Shambrook

What I love about this Blog Tour is all creatives are catered for…and you need to look out for the following on the 26^th when they take the baton for this tour:

Amanda Makepeace: www.amandamakepeace.com Her art is not to be missed!

Ruth Long: www.ruth-long.com Her words just blow me away!

Bekah Shambrook: www.bekahcat.wordpress.com If you want scary zombie make up, she’s your girl!

Website © Lisa Shambrook

You can also check out my website: www.lisashambrook.com

And find ‘Beneath the Rainbow’ on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Blues Buster: Run

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I struggled with conflicting ideas for this week’s Blues Buster over at The Tsuruoka Files. In the end I went with a rewrite of a scene from last year’s NaNoWriMo…which fit the song so perfectly for me. The song, a classic from Amy Winehouse “You Know I’m No Good.” This version of the scene may find its way into the manuscript… (I’ll keep my second story for another day!)

Photograph by Bekah Shambrook (please do not use)

Run

Dad’s days had turned into marathon internet searches and desperate attempts to scroll through his wife’s social media, page after page, looking for clues. Hours of reading online blogs and lengthy research into the reasons why women run. His fingers ran through his unwashed hair and his three-day-old shirt creased like his forehead.
Meg perched on the edge of the sofa debating lunch, which was, as she stared at the clock, rapidly turning into dinner. She shook her head, even if she made food, he’d just refuse it. She glanced at Dad, her eyes roving across the room, taking in the photographs on the mantle, happy family pictures, smiling at the world. Her hands clenched in her lap, and she fought the tears that welled behind her eyes. Her heart thudded and her bottom lip wobbled.
“Am I like Mum?” Meg released her question.
Dad turned to her. “Why do you ask?”
“Because she’s broken, and I might be too…are we both no good?”
Dad slumped at his computer, and Meg spoke anxiously rising from the sofa, “Dad?” Her words no more than a whisper but filled with a hopeful plea of desperation. “Dad, if I ever run away, will you come and find me?”
Tears illuminated his red, swollen eyes and a quivering sigh escaped his lips as he swung his chair round and took Meg in his arms. He crushed his daughter to his broken heart. “Sweetheart, if you ever run away and you want me to find you, no matter how far or how long it takes I will find you, I’ll walk every road and sail every sea until you’re back in my arms, I will find you, I’ll always find you.”
She tightened her arms around him, there was no need to worry, no matter how much she wanted to run, to run until her feet were sore, until her legs could barely carry her, she would never hurt her father.
She was not her mother.

(331 Words)

Visual Dare #34:Kiss and Five Sentence Fiction: Vision

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Anonymous Legacy’s Visual Dare #34: Kiss and
Lillie McFerrin’s Five Sentence Fiction: Vision

Photo Source: Anonymous Legacy’s: Kiss

The room was clinical and sparse, but comfortable despite its mint green walls and overly starched bed linen. Dad stood by the window, his hands in his pockets, staring out with his lost puppy-dog expression and Meg knew he wasn’t checking the tears that slipped down his face.
She bit her lip and gazed at her heavily medicated mum.
Meg leaned across the bed and rested her cheek against her mother’s soft face. Her kiss elicited no response and Meg closed her eyes picturing, just for once, that she had a normal mum, and she bit back her conflicting resentment.

(100 Words)

(Five Sentences)

The Next Big Thing: Beneath the Old Oak

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I was recently nominated to take part in The Next Big Thing by the lovely Donna McNicol, where we let you in on all the info about one of our works in progress…I chose my NaNo novel:

Photograph by Lisa Shambrook (please do not use without permission)

What is the title of your Work in Progress?

Beneath the Old Oak

Where did the idea come from for the book?

When I first met my husband I read my future mother-in-law’s poetry and really enjoyed her writing, ‘The Death of a Tree’ was my favourite. Years later, a seed (or acorn) of an idea crept in and I had to run with it, and with her permission I’ll add the poem to the back of the book.

It’s about the life cycle of an old oak…and piqued my interest when I thought about all an oak will have experienced in its life…

What genre does your book fall under?

YA, the accompanying story covers some graphic and heartrending times for fourteen-year-old Meg.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Meg would be played by a young Emma Watson, someone who could convey holding the weight of the world on her shoulders, and her mother would be an actress like Emily Blunt or Anna Friel who could portray a complete breakdown.

What is a one-sentence synopsis of the book? (Okay, I used four sentences…)

Meg’s mother is anxious, depressed and neglectful. Meg thinks her mum is broken and wonders if she’ll be next, or is she already broken too? Meg wants to escape, but her mum beats her to it. Solace is found in a huge, old oak tree and Meg begins to learn to grow…

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Right now I’m planning to self-publish as it’s a sister book to my earlier book ‘Beneath the Rainbow’ already out on Kindle.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

This story was put on the back burner, but when I joined NaNoWriMo I knew it was the one I’d write. All the backbone was there, the story just needed fleshing out and writing, so the majority of its first draft was written in 30 days for NaNo… There’s still about 10K left to write (to add to my NaNo 50K), and I’m taking my time with the ending.

What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?

Not really sure right now, my reading is so eclectic I don’t know anything out there the same. Meg’s story is heart rending and fits well into YA.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The poem inspired the oak tree and I inspired the rest, to explain…I suffer anxiety and depression and have been through much of the experiences in the novel…I write what I know. (Though the novel is fiction)

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

How would you feel if you leaned against a huge, ancient, old tree and it spoke to you? Not with a voice, but with emotions and imagery…your hands tingle and prickle, and your mind floods with emotions so great you are overwhelmed. You are privileged to experience fragments of the old oak’s history…

Photograph by Lisa Shambrook (please do not use without permission)

I’m now supposed to nominate five further nominees for: The Next Big Thing…I’d love to know more from these wonderful writers:

Stacy: A Jar of Fireflies

Elisabeth: 40 Something Undomesticated Devil

Ruth: Bullishink

Mark: My Souls Tears

Meg: Darcy to Dionysus

There are so many more I’d like to nominate but many have already been nominated…so nominate yourself with my permission if I haven’t tagged you!

Five Sentence Fiction: Time

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Photograph by Lisa Shambrook (please do not use without permission)

Her mum had been missing for three excruciating days and though the police report had been filed and a search coordinated, her mother did not want to be found.

She stared at her dad, slumped at his computer, and spoke softly, “Dad?” her words no more than a whisper but with filled with a hopeful plea of desperation, “Dad, if I ever run away, will you come and find me?”

Tears illuminated his red, swollen eyes and a quivering sigh escaped his lips as he crossed the room in a few short strides and crushed his daughter to his broken heart, “Sweetheart, if you ever run away and you want me to find you, no matter how far or how long it takes I will find you, I’ll walk every road and sail every sea until you’re back in my arms, I will find you, I’ll always find you.”

She tightened her arms around him, there was no need to worry, no matter how much she wanted to run, to run until her feet were sore, until her legs could barely carry her, she would never hurt her father, and so she would never run.

She was not her mother.

Written for Lillie McFerrin’s Five Sentence Fiction.

NaNoWriMo Teaser: Oncoming Traffic

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So it’s the final NaNoWriMo week…and here’s your last unedited snippet:

Photograph by Lisa Shambrook (please do not use without permission)

Once on the main road, Meg stared out of the window at the river running alongside, the sunshine glinting and sparkling across its surface, and Meg thought how inviting it looked. The she heard sniffles, just a little one then another. She squinted at Mum as the sun gleamed across the windscreen, and Mum choked back a sob. Meg wanted to say something, but nothing made it out of her throat.

“I don’t know why I bother!” wept Mum, “What’s the point, everything always goes wrong…”

Meg sat, her skin prickling and her fingers clenching.

“There really is no point. Did you know that Meg, there’s no point, no point to anything…”

“Mum…” squeaked Meg.

“Just know that now, before life decides to rip you apart with its dreams and promises. Know that nothing’s worth it!”

Meg’s eyes welled up too.

Mum turned her head to look at her daughter. “Meg, don’t cry, that’s not worth it either. Crying doesn’t do a damn thing!”

Tears began to slip down Meg’s face as she sat in silence.

Mum continued, as a car horn blared behind her. “Don’t cry, there’s nothing we can do, not a damn thing!” Mum released the steering wheel and Meg’s eyes widened. She cried out. “Mum!”

Mum’s hands were back on the wheel but she was staring rigidly at the road. Not at the road, thought Meg suddenly as she stared out of the windscreen, but at a lorry heading down the opposite side of the road. Her mum was staring at the lorry. Her mum was staring at the lorry!

“Mum!” Meg screamed, “Mum!”

The car began to veer across the double white lines, and Meg’s cries got desperate. “Mum, stop, Mum, stop!” Meg began to wail as they veered into the lorry’s lane. Meg grabbed at the wheel but Mum’s hands were too firm. Meg closed her eyes, her heart about to break through her chest and just as suddenly, the car swerved back onto the right side on the road, the lorry’s horn screaming as it passed.

Meg’s legs were jelly, her hands sweaty and shaking and she wanted to get out of the car. “Mum, stop the car, stop the car!”

Her mum, slowed the car down, but kept driving, a car horn sounded behind them and Meg begged her mum to stop again. Finally, as they approached a lay-by her mum slowed and pulled over. The car stopped and Meg scrambled out, slamming the door behind her and running to the hedge. She thought she was going to be sick, her head thumped, her stomach swam and her heart broke.

Five Sentence Fiction: Feast

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Photograph by Lisa Shambrook (please do not use without permission)

There were no worries about walking on egg shells Mum had already broken all the eggs. Meg had painstakingly cleaned the walls and kitchen cabinets herself. Bright, sunshine yellow yolks had dripped down the tiles and sticky, gooey egg white had plastered the cabinets and floor. Following the eggs had been the plastic tub of butter, which had split upon hitting the wall and a huge smear of butter had spread, landing in a heap on the surface. Meg rued that day.

Written for Lillie McFerrin’s Five Sentence Fiction. I’m so caught up in the final week of NaNoWriMo, that you get another glimpse into Meg’s life… From next week, you should be getting more one off fiction again!

NaNoWriMo Teaser: Fault Lines

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Our third NaNoWriMo week is upon us…therefore another snippet:
This one, again very unedited…is harder to give you. I make no apologies for the nature of the excerpt, I write what I know, but please bear in mind this is fiction.
You need to know that Meg is fourteen and troubled, her mother is depressive and Meg hadn’t realised how bad things had become. She sneaked upstairs to find her mum and saw her mother cut herself, through the door hinges. Meg was devastated, and in the following chapter tried it, but couldn’t do it, herself. The tension mounts:

Photograph by Lisa Shambrook and Instagram (Please do not use without permission)

While Dad sat at the desk checking emails, Meg disregarded the chair she usually sat in and took the empty seat beside Mum. Mum glanced at her daughter and a smile played on her lips. She rested her hand on Meg’s thigh and caught Meg’s eye, and her daughter leaned across to burrow close. Nobody spoke but mother and daughter felt familiar warmth. Meg placed her hand on Mum’s and felt emotion bubble in her throat; she couldn’t talk even if she wanted to.

They sat like that for a while, Meg’s head resting on her mother’s shoulder and their unusually tender affection soothed the crippling anguish in both of their hearts.

The clock ticked, the cat sat in the middle of the floor straining his neck to reach his hindquarters as he meticulously washed, and Meg’s mum closed her eyes as she relaxed.

Meg heard her mum sigh and her chest rose and fell with comforting regularity, Mum was in a good place and Meg allowed herself to breathe deeply. She stared at her mum’s hand, the one that lay on her lap, and gently stroked the back of it. She rubbed her fingers across the rings on Mum’s third finger. The smooth gold band and the perpetual circle of tiny diamonds circumnavigating her eternity ring. She lightly rotated the diamonds, letting them sparkle, then massaged Mum’s hand up to her wrist.

Mum’s breath was soft and tranquil and Meg softly pushed Mum’s sleeve up her arm in a gentle move to massage further. Her mum didn’t move, and Meg pushed it higher. The cut tapered below the furrowed sleeve, peering angrily at Meg. She massaged lightly and softly followed the cut, then ran her finger over the reddened, swollen ridge.

Her mum flinched and instinctively reached across and pulled the sleeve back down, covering any betrayal.

Meg bit her lip desperate to speak, her heart raced, thumping so loud she was sure Mum could hear it. Indy stopped licking himself and paused in an ungainly fashion mid-clean, he stared at Meg and Meg stared back. Mum sighed and Meg spoke, softly but firmly.

“Mum, how did you cut your arm?”

The silence was ear piercing for a split second, and Meg felt the tension pool into her mother. Her mum cleared her throat and nodded towards the cat gazing at them on the floor. “The cat scratched me.”

Nobody spoke; even Dad’s fingers hovered above his keyboard.

Then Mum cleared her throat again and despite the palpable tension she brushed her fingers across Meg’s arm. “And how did you get that scratch Meg?”

“The cat,” Meg’s answer was quick and precise. She was learning well.

The Last Krystallos

Its those silly dreams that keep us alive…

Tag Archives: Beneath the Old Oak

Ten Things I Discovered Beneath…with Read Write Muse

Beneath the Old Oak: Cover Reveal

My Creative Process – The Grand Blog Tour

Blues Buster: Run

Visual Dare #34:Kiss and Five Sentence Fiction: Vision

The Next Big Thing: Beneath the Old Oak

Five Sentence Fiction: Time

NaNoWriMo Teaser: Oncoming Traffic

Five Sentence Fiction: Feast

NaNoWriMo Teaser: Fault Lines