Spotlight is on Alison Brodie and The Double

THE DOUBLE is a full-bodied romance sweeping across continents; from a slum in Glasgow, to a luxury super-yacht in St Tropez, to a civil war in the Eastern bloc.                                                                                          *

Beth Skiffington is demoralised by a bullying husband and exhausted by a life of drudgery. Determined to have one night of fun, she splurges on a glittering outfit and goes to meet her pals down at the dockside.  But she never arrives.

She’s kidnapped and wakes up on a speeding boat. Her Russian captors, who can’t speak English, give her a note addressed to “Sonita la Cruz”. They think she’s the American rock star! She reads, “Transnistria, Zhivago,” and believes she’s been caught up in a game for the mega-rich.

She’s frantic. Andy will go mad if she’s not home to cook his dinner, AND she has a week of ten-hour shifts. She can’t just sail off into the sunset! But, it seems, she has no choice. Two days later she’s delivered to the Kazka, a battleship of mouth-watering luxury floating serenely on the Mediterranean Sea.

All she can surmise is, she must wait for Zhivago - presumably another contestant in the game.  But she can’t stay HERE!  A Glasgow skivvy like her could never relax in such surroundings.  But she’s about to surprise herself. By the end of the Day One, she’s swam in the pool, sampled the champagne in her State Room and changed her outfit four times.  By the end of Day Two, she’s commanding the army of uniformed stewards and waving regally to passing boats.

Day Three, she’s lying resplendent on deck in a gold bikini when a tall dark man appears. This is Zhivago. He’s not a contestant, he’s the captain. He apologises for the mix-up, explaining that his friends were desperate: the children of war-torn Transnistria are dying.  Sonita La Cruz had promised to help, but she’s disappeared.

Beth decides to stay and help Zhivago raise the money to save those children.  She looks like Sonita, so why not BE Sonita? Beth gives a magazine interview for a million dollars, she ransoms herself for another million, deals in transnational crime and comes head-to-head with the Russian mafia.

But the danger is about to come from another source. Too late, Beth discovers why Sonita disappeared …

About the Author:  

Alison Brodie was a photographic model, modelling for a wide range of products, including Ducatti motorbikes and 7Up.  She was also the vampire in the Schweppes commercial. 

A disastrous modelling assignment in the Scottish Highlands gave her an idea for a story.  She wrote Face to Face as an enjoyable hobby and then decided to send it off to see what would happen.  It was snapped up by Dinah Wiener, the first agent she sent it to.  Three weeks later, Alison signed a two-book deal with Hodder & Stoughton.  Subsequently, Face to Face was published in Germany and Holland and serialised in Sweden.  It was widely reviewed, ie:  “Vain, but wildly funny leading lady.” -Scottish Daily Mail.  It was also chosen as Good Housekeeping’s “Pick of the Paperbacks.” 

Unfortunately, Alison then suffered from Second-Book Syndrome.  The publisher’s deadline loomed and she was terrified she would not be able to fulfil her contract.  She didn’t have any ideas for a story!  She found the whole experience a nightmare; and this is why she cautions first-time authors to write more than one book before approaching an agent.  She managed to finish the book – Sweet Talk – but it bombed.

While writing this novel, she moved to Kansas and lived there for two years.  She loved the people, their friendliness, their free-and-easy way of life, the history and the BBQs!  Sadly, her visa ran out and she had to come back to the UK – although her dream is to one day live permanently in America.  Now, Alison lives in Biarritz, France.

Alison has taken the exhilarating steps to becoming an indie author.  Her second ebook, THE DOUBLE, is out on Amazon Kindle.  “Excellent.” –San Francisco Book Review.

Alison writes contemporary romance.  She aims for a strong plot line, set against the background of a world-changing event, coupled with touches of humour, sexual tension and character transformation.

Please visit Alison Brodie on her Facebook Page,Twitter, and Website.

You can purchase her books on Amazon.