Sugar & Spice makes the Top 30 on Amazon UK Thriller Chart!

Great news folks.

After a great first full month of sales, Sugar & Spice is now in the Top 250 paid books on Amazon UK and in the top 30 Paid Thrillers!

It has also just received its 6th 5 Star review in a row!

Big thanks to everyone who has downloaded it so far.  Please make sure that you leave a review and tags if possible, it all helps!

Saffina

Child abuse: How has Social Networking changed the face of it?

Sugar & Spice (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sugar-Spice/dp/B004AYDK22/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1) deals with a number of issues; child abuse, serial-killers, death, how society treats potential and convicted abusers: the list goes on.

The original idea for the book came about in the early 90’s, when things like the internet, Facebook and Twitter etc were in their infancy (or their creators were!) and the mechanism for ‘grooming’ was very different.

Yesterday, the BBC reported on how it is today http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12202489

So with the popularity of Social Networking and the faceless abusers having the chance to befriend potential targets via the internet, how has it changed?

How do we manage it going forward?

And just how will it affect the numbers of abused children in the future, now that their abusers have a world of prey at their fingertips?

Latest reviews for Sugar & Spice

Reviews

Review by: Amy Gilbert on Jan. 12, 2011 : star star star star star
Brilliant, captivating, hard hitting, devastating. One of the most thought provoking books I have read in a long time.
This is the type of book you read and believe in, you get to know the characters as if they have lived next door to you all your life, you feel their pain and sorrow and their elation.
I read it in a day, couldnt put it down. Kept me guessing all the way to the end, brilliantly written, despite almost making you feel wary for reading about such a taboo subject.
I recommend this to anyone!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Ellison James on Jan. 10, 2011 : star star star star star
From the very beginning, I was appalled, disgusted, and hooked! And, it only got better from there. I read the whole thing as if on a rollercoaster of emotion. At times I found myself yelling out loud at the characters, other times hugging myself in sadness.

Great work, very well researched, and emotionally charged.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Andy Gilbert on Jan. 09, 2011 : star star star star
A very touchy subject but still compelling reading. I read this book in three consecutive evenings which is an indication of how good it was (I would normally have spread it over a few more). The main characters were well defined and very plausible. The tension built up well throughout the book to a very fast paced climax.
An awful lot of work has obviously gone in to researching the subject of child sex abuse and the in depth insights in to the seedy and depraved mind and world of the paedophile may not be to everyones taste but the book is well planned and thought out so the way the story unfolds and captivates the reader detracts from the heinous acts which are taking place.
The book was very well paced and kept me guessing to the very end.
I look forward to reading the next offering by this author.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: helen young on Jan. 22, 2011 : star star star star star
Possibly the best book I have read in a long time! The story line was gripping, I couldn’t wait to turn the page to find out what was happening next. Written with such detail that you will find yourself totally immersed and engrossed. The subject matter of the book is a disturbing one but the way the story is written it is more about the killer and the race to capture him than the details of the kill, so read the book it will have you hooked. I know I was.

I look forward to the next book this amazing new author has to offer. So much so that I have since bought I kindle!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Erin Kern on Jan. 17, 2011 : star star star star star
Sugar and Spice takes place in modern day England where a madman is abducting children and sending parents across the country into a frenzy and panic. Local detectives scramble to glue together the clues while a young mother of one of the victims takes matters into her own hands by launching her own investigation. The kidnapper’s identity is kept a secret until the very end of the book, prompting readers to turn page after page. The author keeps up the suspense by shining a light on several potential suspects but without giving away too much information.

It’s clear Ms. Desforges did her research of her local law enforcement and crime/punishment. The book comes across as well plotted and well thought out. It’s written in the omniscient POV, taking the reader into the heads of several characters. The vibrantly descriptive scenes gives the reader a clear picture of each scene but without being too overwhelming.

If you’re looking for a good mystery with plenty of twists and turns then Sugar and Spice is one you want to pick up.

Erin Kern
author of Looking For Trouble

 

Child killers

For those of you who have read Sugar & Spice, you will already be familiar with the content.

Although a work of fiction, the original idea (albeit not my own) for the book was based on the notorious serial killer, Robert Black – one of the UK’s most prolific and well-publicised child killer/rapist.

Black’s reign of terror began way back in 1959 at the age of 12, when he first attempted rape, and continued until his arrest in 1990. During that time he is known to have molested and sexually abused dozens of young girls and murdered at least three. There are probably more.

In the UK, the heart-breakingly familiar list of names is thankfully quite short, although one-too-many long: Mary Bell, Ian Brady & Myra Hindley, Ian Huntley, Ronald Jebson, John Straffen, Robert Thompson & Jon Venables, Roy Whiting.

Although not all sexually motivated, most of the people listed above killed more than one child. Their reasons the subject of much professional, academic and domestic discussion, both past and present and no doubt, for many more years to come.

America has its very own list… which I will leave for another day.

Robert Black was known to the authorities for over two decades before he finally murdered. He was charged and released and sent to Borstal. His background was known and yet he was allowed to go on, to continue to abuse and eventually, murder.

Sugar & Spice looks at these types of crimes from various angles and asks some serious questions:

Are potential abusers/rapists/killers let down by the authorities?

Do they receive intervention early enough to prevent their fantasies becoming reality?

Would it make a difference if they did?

Are they all dangerous monsters; beyond help with fragmented childhoods and sexual deviances or are they simply abused children who grow into abusive adults?

Is there even (successful) treatment available?

Sugar & Spice is simply fiction, although based on real-life events…but it happens, we know it happens.

So what do we do to stop it happening again?

The next move

Image representing Smashwords as depicted in C...

Image via CrunchBase

So, Sugar & Spice is now available on all e-book platforms and will hopefully, receive premium status on Smashwords at some point this week, so what now?

I have submitted to a second, carefully selected agency and am waiting to hear back from them. Fingers crossed that they might actually be brave enough to take it on.

In the meantime, there are some poilte coughs in my head space from people that I haven’t paid enough attention to recently, so it’s back to Equilibrium and Snow White for the time being!

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