“Locked Up” was released one month ago today, and it’s been a wonderful whirlwind. But the reality is that a book launch takes a lot of people. And yes, there’s all the people from Bloodhound Books that I want to thank, but I’m not going to be doing the Oscar list that lasts forever thing here. Today, I want to say a very special thank you to those who don’t have any vested interest; the independent book bloggers.
As a writer it is only from reviews that I get any idea if what I’ve created is really any good. And the reviews I got were something special. I tried to thank each blogger, but given that I was away from home at the time of the blog tour, I suspect I will have missed a few. So here they are all (in alphabetical order – and yes these links do take you directly to what they said about “Locked Up”):
These people took the time and effort to not only read my book, but to write blogs, to invest in it and therefore in me and my future as a writer, so I feel the need to say thank you for that.
The fact that they said some absolutely wonderful things about my work only makes it better. I’ve add a few snippets at the bottom of this article so you can see some of those nice things, but please click the links and show these reviewers the respect of reading their full reviews, and I can recommend following them too, they’ve already introduced me to some books I may never have found otherwise.
And this isn’t a love-fest thing. These reviewers are honest, there was no guarantee they would live my work. One even shocked me! The reviewer said they didn’t like my characters, that stopped me, I wondered what on earth I’d done wrong. Then came the rejoinder – the reviewer quickly grew to love them – which was something of a relief.
Then there were all the gritty references, and the fact that it got classified as hardboiled that really threw me. I didn’t realise how gritty “Locked Up” was until post publication. The thing is, I know just how much dark unpleasantry that I either took out or didn’t even put in, so I thought it was fairly light, face paced yes, that I was going for, but hardboiled was surprising. Took a little time, about an hour and a friend virtually clipping my ear for being stupid, but I’m comfortable with “Locked Up” being called hardboiled now. So there is another thing to thank the reviewers for, I am now starting to understand what I am good at, and that has to be good for the future of my writing.
So thank you reviewers. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Here are some of the lovely words they passed on (In no particular order):
“I think this was very accurate of its portrayal of the prison system and the lives prisoners lead.” (AnneBonney)
“Locked Up is a brilliant piece of writing that ensures the reader is glued to the page in order not to miss anything. By the end of the book I wanted more.” (Ali – The Dragon Slayer)
“A novel that kept me invested in the characters and their stories, with the developments unfolding in a way that had tension, suspense and an edge of fear….brilliant debut novel” (Bookstormer)
“Wowsers! That was an adrenaline rush and a half! LOCKED UP is a fast paced, sometimes unbelievable (in a good way!), exciting rush.” (The P. Turners book blog)
“…the pacing is really good where something was always happening to keep my interest. I found myself seemingly always on alert reading this book and this was down to the writing, GB Williams definitely kept me on my toes.” (Rea Reads)
“This is a hard-hitting book and is not for the squeamish, especially towards the end.” (Me and My Books)
“the writer has delivered a tale that captures the underlying threat of violence and intimidation that stalks the landings of so many prisons. It gives this novel an edgy grittiness that turns it into a real page turner.”(Booksaremycwtches)
“In the opening pages, I found I quickly disliked Bell and Teddington, and I was worried, how was I going to get into this plot if I don’t like the two main protagonists!? I really need to stop worrying, and trust in this genre I love, because I grew to love both characters.” (Keeper of Pages)
“This is a very realistic picture of what real life is like inside a prison with no sugar coating. It makes for very hard reading in places and takes the reader on a journey through many emotions as we navigate the twists, turns and dead ends that is this book.” (Books n all)
“I’ll just say that this book is one you’re going to want to clear out some time for, because once you start, you won’t want to stop!” (Jessicamp Reviews – great nails in the picture!)
“The pace for the story is spot on and the main characters are strong and work well together to carry the plot along.” (Donnasbookblog)
“A cut-throat, spine tingling, hair-raising and severely eye-opening novel … This is too good to miss.” (The Writing Garnet)
The Write Route 