I have put up a short pitch of the book so that I can then explain one of my favourite characters. They do say to write about what you know. Sometimes that can be true. I was a psychologist and hypnotherapist for so many years and delight in drawing upon facets of my work for the books.
Pitch for Stone Relics.
It's 2065 and Ben Tobin Super Cop is an enigma, his true identity known only to the few. Working as an undercover agent for MI8, Ben is monitored by a secret organization buried in the bowels of Whitehall.
He heads an investigation into the gruesome deaths of young women left with putrefying snakes covering their bodies an ancient stone relic of a Prehistoric Snake-Bird Goddess relic wedged at their feet. Other young women are abducted chosen to become sacred prostitutes to a prehistoric Goddess.
Ben suspects this is the work of a sinister cult. They take victims from London, France, Germany and America.
At the start of the investigation, to his horror Ben develops a crippling phobia of snakes threatening the investigation, his job, his life. Desperate, he turns to a psycho-neurologist, a titian haired beauty. Because she is a rebel she is unlikely report him to MI8. Reluctantly she agrees to help him, only to be drawn into a love relationship fraught with danger.
Lucy’s character draws upon Past Lives as part of her therapy practice. Part of my work also involved Past Lives. This is such a fascinating subject and one i still find exciting. I am not sure I believe in it as there is no proof but part of the book is based on a past life or lives really. Lucy is not just a prop for Ben as love interest, she is the catalyst for Ben discovering things about himself and about the crime he is investigating. It is through her that we find out about Ben’s history, his flaws, assets, likes, dislikes and emotions. I have always been fascinated with Past Lives. It is not something that I could not say i believe in and there is no proof really. Lots of stories especially from India about reincarnation and memories of past incarnations but nothing really concrete about Europeans. However, it is so intriguing and one that I used regularly for people with severe problems.
A past life can act as a symbol, a covering from a trauma so traumatic that it is intolerable for the mind to bear. So as Lucy explains to Ben, our brains are really clever and develop a counter anxiety often in the form of a phobia. As the person is coping with the phobia they do not have to face the true cause of the panic attacks. It is through Lucy’s therapy that the plot and the symbolism of the sinister cult unfold. Their ensuing love affair is tempestuous, romantic and quite sexy at times. This too holds secrets about Ben and Lucy, that only their affair can reveal.
Lucy is a beautiful woman, with amber eyes and titian hair, but she has flaws, one being an inner insecurity hidden well below her steely exterior. She is also a sincere and warm sympathetic character but can also be feisty when confronted. Ben at first is surprised saying, ‘She is a mean as her cat.’ But for all that Lucy is what he needs a fighter, someone who will believe in him, someone who will go the last mile for him.
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Sounds awesome!
Especially with the link to the relics - a great thriller.
ccfioriole at gmail dot com