Book Synopsis:
War consumed the world at the end of the twenty-first century. A new dominant empire reigns, the Denestra Empire.The Empire put tight restrictions on its people, denying them the freedoms that Denestra viewed as fuel to conflict in the past.A resistance movement rises but is only given real hope when a map is handed down to its leader, a map leading to a powerful device created by one of Denestra’s former enemies, a device that could turn the tide of war.Cleo Kennedy is the former commander of Denestra’s elite military unit, The Purgery. After a betrayal, Cleo now fights the Denestra Empire alongside a former smuggler, Seif. Cleo is enlisted by the resistance to use the map and find the rumoured device before the Denestra Empire. It is a mission that could bring the end to the conflict and bring Cleo closer to those that have betrayed her.
Equinox is out now and available via the link below.
Extract:
CHAPTER ONE
I watched from the top floor balcony of the decaying tower block as the soldiers dressed in white combat gear emptied their convoy of armoured vehicles in the square below. It was a square enclosed on every side by the decaying tower blocks of the slum. They had been in this state of disrepair since the end of The Great War. This is what the poorest of society called home. And already, chaos reigned in the square, with everyone fleeing from the sight of the soldiers. I heard heavy footsteps approach me with a heavy breath to match. “They’re here,” a voice told me. It was Seif. His hair was scruffier than usual, but the look went with the dusty, beaten robes he was in. It wasn’t an unusual sight to see him in. I had seen him in a lot worse. He was in the same style of robes that I wore. A dark blue robe that stretched all the way to our feet, dated, with loose threading here and there. Even being second hand, they were amongst the best-conditioned ones we had seen. “Time to go,” I told him. I left my perch upon the balcony and led the way to the stairwell with Seif on my heels. Our footsteps thundered down the concrete stairwell as screaming and commotion erupted below. I didn’t slacken my pace, heading straight towards the danger. This was another routine sweep of the district. We had been following the soldiers for weeks, waiting for an opportunity like this. “Cleo, slow down. Hey, are you sure about this?” Seif asked, trying to match my pace behind me. The only legacy of my parents was my name. It was the only detail that remained in my memory from them. I think they named me after an ancient Egyptian Queen. But I got Cleo for short. Now Seif was the only person in the world that would call my name. He was all I had left. My only family, even though it wasn’t through blood. “I’m sure, now c’mon!” I shouted, taking the steps even quicker. We finally reached one of the lower floors, but the Denestra soldiers hadn’t reached that certain one yet. The tenants were rushing around frantically in a panic. Cries of women and children echoed through the halls, as well as the shouting of the men. Suddenly, a burst of gunfire erupted from the floor below, sending everyone into deeper hysterics. “This way,” I told Seif, making my way from the stairwell and down a long grey corridor. The paint was flaking off the walls, and there was a powerful stench of dampness. People were rushing in every direction. These were poverty-stricken people. The lower working class of Divenire, the capital of the Denestra Empire. I pushed my way through the flood of people and followed a chanting I heard over the panic. We reached a room at the far end of the corridor where a congregation of people had gathered inside. They all seemed to be reciting a religious prayer. Seif stopped by my side in the doorway, almost colliding with me. ‘What, this?’ he asked. “It’s perfect,” I said, entering the room and joining the back of the crowd. I had to usher Seif to my side with gri ed teeth before he reluctantly obliged. “We’ll burn for this,” Seif told me in a lowered voice. “I’m counting on it,” I told him as I joined in the prayer with a loud voice.
About The Author:
Northern Irish novelist, Paul McCracken was born 16th January 1991 in the Ulster hospital, Dundonald, just outside of Belfast. He grew up in the Castlereagh area of east Belfast where he also went to school.
Ever since he could hold a pencil, he wanted to be an artist and no-one, not even the school career advisor could tell him otherwise. He left education with only three GCSE’s and an Art diploma. He tried to make it as a fine artist whilst also trying to find any work to support himself financially. However, the more he learned about the commercial art world, the more he wanted no part in it.
In spring 2011, he enrolled in a five day film making course through the Prince’s Trust charity. He always had a passion for storytelling. During the course, he impressed the owner of the studio at which the course was being held, through the raw creativity he displayed. The studio owner was the first to encourage Paul to write his own material, that material being screenplays. After leaving the course with new found confidence and ambition, Paul started to learn the craft of screenwriting and got to work writing his very first feature film.
After securing full time work later that year, he found a renewed inspiration to write again and wrote a full length film script in the space of a week. Paul kept on writing other projects as well as continually editing the first script, but he kept the fact he was writing close to himself as he didn’t want to face any negativity if he were to tell anyone. The script would go on to score highly in an international screenplay competition, based out of Los Angeles. It would then place in the quarter-finals of the same competition for the next two years in a row, accompanied by another screenplay that Paul wrote next.
Years later, after entering competitions, pitching, submitting and doing some occasional freelance scriptwriting, Paul wanted to find a way to get his work into the public eye. Writing a novel was a challenge that seemed daunting but also exciting. Having first thought of converting his best script into a novel, he decided to come up with a completely original story.
In 2018, he self published his debut novel, Layla’s Song.
In 2020 he secured two book deals with two different English publishers. The Conrad Press and PM Books (Imprint of Holland House Books). The first of these books was Where Crows Land, a detective thriller set in Belfast and published by The Conrad Press.
His other novel, The Last Rains Of Winter is due out early 2021 with PM Books.
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