UK appreciation month: David Massey - Guest post and giveaway

One of my favourite places is Covent Garden, London. It’s the vibe. It’s the actor’s church, ST Paul’s, where the church cats are allowed to roam in and out of the services and sit on your lap. It’s the sound of opera that seems to seep out of the drains somewhere. Wander under the portico at the back of St Paul’s and you’ll find a street performers swallowing one of those long modelling balloons and pretending to extract it from where the sun doesn't shine or some clown teetering about on an impossibly tall unicycle whilst playing the ukelele. Seriously – it’s like attending an open air audition for Britain’s Got Talent. Cafes that have open air tables all year round crowd around the shops and next door to them is the market where you can get everything from a scarf to a bit of instant Chinese calligraphy to hang on your wall. If you ever go though, don’t make the same mistake that I did and attempt to take the stairs at Covent Garden tube station – big mistake. Those Victorians were fit. And they probably did it rising on clouds of soot and steam. And guess what, even the tube station has links to the boards and the grease-paint! It’s supposed to be haunted by the ghost of actor William Terriss who was stabbed to death by a fellow thespian.

Covent Garden and St Paul’s is where some quite terrible (and funny) events take place in Ben Aaronovitch’s crazy novel Rivers of London. The book is about a detective who discovers another side to the metropolitan police. Best described as Harry Potter meets The Sweeny, Rivers of London is written by a guy who penned the odd episode or two of Doctor Who. My kind of wacky  The book really has a feel for Covent Garden and I got a kick out of being able to identify with the setting in a way that I rarely do when reading a book. If you get a chance, and you don’t mind crowds then it’s worth a visit. The book is probably more of an acquired taste!

Torn

Afghanistan. In the heat and dust, young British army medic Elinor Nielson watches an Afghan girl walk into a hail of bullets. But when she runs to help, Ellie finds her gone. Who is she? And what's happened to her? What Ellie discovers makes her question everything she believes in, even her feelings for the American lieutenant who takes her side.

Win a paperback copy of David's book Torn and a copy of Accomplice by Eireann Corrigan.

(See Rachel Ward's guest post for the Numbers giveaway.)

-Giveaway is open to UK and IRE residents only.

-You have one free entry, following for extra entries are optional.

-The winner will be notified via email.

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Author bio

David Massey is the author of TORN (release date: August 2012) by Chicken House Books. When he is not writing his next novel he plays lead and classical guitar and runs an internet business with his wife, Debi. When he’s not doing any of those he’ll be thinking about walking Harvey or wondering where his next coffee is coming from...

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