Book Spotlight: Broke Deep by Charlie Cochrane

Broke Deep
(Porthkennack #3)
by Charlie Cochrane
Date Released: June 5, 2017

About Broke Deep
Morgan Capell’s life is falling apart by small degrees—his father’s dead, his boyfriend dumped him, and his mother’s in the grip of dementia. His state of mind isn’t helped by his all-too-real recurring nightmare of the wreck of the Troilus, a two-hundred-year-old ship he’s been dreaming about since his teenage years.

The story of the Troilus is interwoven with the Capell family history. When amateur historian Dominic Watson inveigles himself into seeing the ship’s timbers which make up part of Morgan’s home, they form a tentative but prickly friendship that keeps threatening to spark into something more romantic.

Unexpectedly, Dominic discovers that one of the Troilus’s midshipman was rescued but subsequently might have been murdered, and persuades Morgan to help him establish the truth. But the more they dig, the more vivid Morgan’s nightmares become, until he’s convinced he’s showing the first signs of dementia. It takes as much patience as Dominic possesses—and a fortuitous discovery in a loft—to bring light out of the darkness.


Read my four-starred review of Broke Deep.

Add Broke Deep on Goodreads.

Purchase Links


About the Porthkennack series
Welcome to Porthkennack, a charming Cornish seaside town with a long and sometimes sinister history. Legend says King Arthur's Black Knight built the fort on the headland here, and it’s a certainty that the town was founded on the proceeds of smuggling, piracy on the high seas, and the deliberate wrecking of cargo ships on the rocky shore. Nowadays it draws in the tourists with sunshine and surfing, but locals know that the ghosts of its Gothic past are never far below the surface.

This collaborative story world is brought to you by five award-winning, best-selling British LGBTQ romance authors: Alex Beecroft, Joanna Chambers, Charlie Cochrane, Garrett Leigh, and JL Merrow. Follow Porthkennack and its inhabitants through the centuries and through the full rainbow spectrum with historical and contemporary stand-alone titles.

Learn more about the Porthkennack series on Riptide Publishing.


A Note from Charlie Cochrane
Broke Deep is the story that refused to sit down and take no for an answer, a tale that waited patiently in my works-in-progress folder for a setting and a context to do it justice. When the Porthkennack universe opportunity came along, Broke Deep bounced into my mind like the most insistent plot bunny, saying, “That’s my home! Write me there!”

Reader, I did. 


About Charlie Cochrane
As Charlie Cochrane couldn't be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice—like managing a rugby team—she writes, with titles published by Carina, Samhain, Bold Strokes, MLR, and Cheyenne.

Charlie's Cambridge Fellows series of Edwardian romantic mysteries was instrumental in her being named Author of the Year 2009 by the review site Speak Its Name. She’s a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Mystery People, International Thriller Writers Inc, and is on the organising team for UK Meet for readers/writers of GLBT fiction. She regularly appears with The Deadly Dames.

Connect with Charlie


A Guest Post by Charlie Cochrane
The Perils of Public Speaking

I sometimes get conned – sorry, asked nicely – into chairing author/reader events such as the Festival of Romance or the UK Meet, or appearing at events with the Deadly Dames. Now, this is meat and drink to me, seeing as I’ve done some freelance training and facilitating, so standing up to handle panellists and audiences holds few terrors, and acting as a panellist for author events (conferences, library talks, bookfests, etc) is also right up my street. 

There are pros and cons to all of this, not least because of unforeseen problems which upset your plans, but you have to take the rough with the smooth. And the ‘free’ opportunities – to get your name out on advertising, to engage with potential new readers (whether they buy your books at the event or later) and to present yourself as an interesting, nice person – are not to be sniffed at. Any author at our level in the profession will tell you that books don’t sell themselves and the harder you work and network, the more success you tend to have.

Preparation is key for all these things. Not to the nth degree, as you start to sound very flat (you need some bounce in your bungee!) but to have some idea of what you might say. For panels, circulating some key questions in advance is helpful so that participants can be prepared. I also like to have some answers at least half prepared in my mind for anything tricky someone in the audience might ask. You know the sort of thing. “Why does a straight woman write about gay men?” I want to get the answer to that absolutely right. (Although some of the audience questions, especially about e-books, make such little sense that having an answer ready would be well nigh impossible!)

There are some tips I’ve learned down the years, which I’ll happily share:
  • Have people in the audience you know you can call on if questions have dried up or are slow getting started. Instead of waiting for the audience to pipe up, you say something like, “Laura, I know you’re interested in vampire fiction. What’s your opinion on ‘Victoria and Albert, love at first bite’?” Once somebody talks, generally others will join in.
  • Make sure you have some spare questions to ask your fellow panellists if nobody in the audience is doing so. You can always use generic ones, such as, “Is there a classic book you couldn’t finish” or “Is there somebody’s else’s book you wish you’d written?”
  • Try to ensure everyone gets to ask their question, even if that means being blunt with floor-hoggers. Have a few handy lines up your sleeve, such as, “Can we come back to you if there’s time? I have a lady in the back row who won’t forgive me if I don’t get her question in.” Smiles and good humour help pour oil on many a troubled water.
  • Don’t be afraid to pull panellists/delegates back on topic. Remember that your core business isn’t to be everyone’s friend, it’s to keep the event running to topic and on time. Oh, and have a clock to hand, and even a whistle. Don’t be afraid to use either of them!


Giveaway
To celebrate the release of Broke Deep, one lucky winner will receive a goodie bag containing postcards, a notebook, a tea towel, candy, and more, all from Charlie Cochrane! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on June 10, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Follow the Broke Deep blog tour.


Comments

  1. Public speaking is so hard. Everyone's done it in their life and it really never gets easier (t least for me). It doesn't matter what I do to calm myself and even if I still know what I want to say. Thank you for the tips.
    humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very few people enjoy public speaking. Good thing you've learned helpful tricks.
    legacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I quite like it, although I'm now at the age where I don't give much of a hoot in terms of what people think of me.

      Delete
  3. I like that question, "Is there somebody else's book that you wish you'd written?". It's totally an interesting question! I wonder what your answer is on that one. ;)
    mushyvince(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My answer is The Charioteer. Because I'd have found a way to give it a happy ending.

      Delete
    2. Didn't know that it's a gay book. :O I'm rather afraid to read it, tho as you've implied that it has a sad ending. Same feelings I have for At Swim, Two Boys. Have you read that one?

      Delete
    3. No, I'm too scared to read it. The Charioteer doesn't have quite such a sad ending.

      Delete
    4. Looks like I'll have to rethink my decision, then. Love me some stories in the middle of war. <3

      Delete
  4. This advice could work for all sorts of meeting situations!

    vitajex at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete

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