Blog Tour: Guest Post – Zach Abrams
I’m running late as I dash across the concourse of Glasgow Central Station, hoping to reach my train before the doors close. The weather outside is atrocious and it’s difficult to keep my footing on the slippery wet tiles.
In the distance, rushing in my direction, I see a young lady lose her balance. One of her arms clutches her bag while the other flails the air, but to no avail. She spins out of control. Her hip crashes against a solid bench before she crumples to the ground. Her shoe is broken. She nurses injuries to her hip, her ankle and her pride. She looks pained and bewildered.
Should I offer assistance? Already, the chance of me reaching my train, before it leaves, is slight and it’s diminishing by the second.
I’m spared the dilemma of choosing. A young man arrives first and helps her to her feet. Is he a good Samaritan? Well, Glasgow is renowned as a friendly city. His arm is around her waist and I see words pass between them as they stagger off together towards a coffee stall.
What has just happened? An unfortunate mishap, undoubtedly, but what follows? Has there been a reuniting of friends, a meeting of strangers, the start of a romance, or something more sinister; the prelude to an abduction? If you’re writing a story, then it can be anything you want to imagine.
Something similar to this happened and I took in the scene. Although I wasn’t aware of it making a major impact on me, I must have noted the incident in the back of my head, because I recalled the event as I was writing my thriller, ‘133 Hours’.
Perhaps it was influenced by a dream, but I awoke one morning with the concept of a book I wanted to write. The story begins with my protagonist being shocked to realise she’s been missing for over five days with no recollection of where she’s been or of anything that’s happened to her. As my thoughts developed, preparing to start writing, I had a vivid recollection of the station incident. I thought a fictionalised version would make the perfect opening for my story.
I’m like everyone else: I witness and experience different things every day and some I find significant enough to tuck away in my memory. On rare occasions, I’ll make notes. However, often, I’m not even aware that I’m doing it, as I watch an incident or an event of everyday life. It could be something which amuses or shocks me, or maybe a simple observation of how things are. I store the image away, somewhere in my grey matter. Most of it will be forgotten or discarded, but every so often, I recollect a gem which fits perfectly into something I want to write.
My book, ‘133 Hours’ is written in the first person present tense. Because of this, the event had to be turned around. Instead of being the observer, I had to imagine being the unfortunate young lady who experiences the fall. Being a not so young male, it was a challenge to write an entire book from the viewpoint of a twenty-five-year-old female. It required a lot of consultation, a lot of research and a lot of imagination. I hope my readers are satisfied by the result.
133 Hours – Zach Abrams
Arriving at work to find she’s lost more than five-and-a-half days (133 hours), Briony Chaplin, has no recollection of where she’d been or what had happened to her. She is distraught. Has she been ill, or had a breakdown, or could she have been drugged and abducted?
Doubting her own sanity, Briony is fearful of what she’ll find. Yet she’s driven to discover the truth. When she trawls her memories, she’s terrified by visions, believing she may have been abused and raped.
Assisted by her friends Alesha and Jenny, and supported by a retired detective, she’s determined to learn where she’s been and why.
Purchase Links: http://mybook.to/133 Amazon UK Amazon US
Author Bio
Having the background of a successful career in commerce and finance, Zach Abrams has spent many years writing reports, letters and presentations and it’s only fairly recently he started writing novels. “It’s a more honourable type of fiction,” he declares.
Writer of the Alex Warren Murder Mystery series, set in Scotland, Zach has also written the psychological thriller ‘Ring Fenced’ and the financial thriller ‘Source’, as well as collaborating with Elly Grant on a book of short stories.
Zach is currently producing a non-fiction series to help small businesses -using the collective title ‘Mind Your Own Business’. The first, ‘So, You Think You Want to be a Landlord’ is already available.
Social Media Links –
Website : http://zachabrams.wix.com/zach-abrams
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zach-Abrams-author-463346010364540/
Twitter: @authorway