June 13

Cover Reveal: The Lingering – SJI Holliday

A very special post today as I get to share the first look at the cover for The Lingering by SJI Holliday.

You need to scroll down a little for this one as the book blurb comes first to set the scene. I promise though that those extra screen swipes or and clicks of the mouse make it totally worthwhile – this is a stunning cover.

Don’t stop reading once you reach the cover though as Susi has joined me to share her thoughts and tease some extra info about what you can expect from The Lingering.

The Lingering – SJI Holliday published by Orenda Books on 15 September 2018

Married couple Jack and Ali Gardiner move to a self-sufficient spiritual commune in the English Fens, desperate for fresh start. The local village is known for the witches who once resided there and Rosalind House, where the commune has been established, is a former psychiatric home, with a disturbing history.

When Jack and Ali arrive, a chain of unexpected and unexplained events is set off, and it becomes clear that they are not all that they seem. As the residents become twitchy, and the villagers suspicious, events from the past come back to haunt them, and someone is seeking retribution…

At once an unnerving mystery, a chilling thriller and a dark and superbly wrought ghost story, The Lingering is an exceptionally plotted, terrifying and tantalisingly twisted novel by one of the most exciting authors in the genre.

My initial reaction was “ooft…that’s a belter” but I tried to sound a bit more professional when I caught up with Susi yesterday.

The cover of The Lingering is stunning – quite unlike any other that I can think of. Does seeing a cover for the first time change how you think about a forthcoming book, for example does it seem more real?

Yes! It makes it feel instantly more real and instantly more scary as then I start to think about what people will make of the cover and will they love it and then hate the book? Haha! Seriously – all of this is really exciting but always massively anxiety inducing. And thank you, it really is a stunning cover – I was blown away by it at first as it was so unusual – the inversion of the building and the odd feeling of looking up at it, and the tree, from somewhere very low – as if someone might be lying on the ground… *cough* no spoilers here. And the people on the roof! I love them so much.

The description is teasing witches and a ghost story, something of a change from what we may have seen from you before. Does the fact The Lingering appears to be a “chiller” reflect the type of story you enjoy reading?

Most definitely. My favourite ghost stories are The Woman in Black and The Lovely Bones and I have read some brilliant new ones lately, such as The Silent Companions. I think with my early short stories and then my first novel, Black Wood, there was a hint of horror, of something a touch unworldly, but then after that I seemed to veer down another path. That path was fun, but I felt it was time to go back to my roots. With The Lingering, I am back where I belong and I am excited to share this story with the world and hope they appreciate that I have always been a creepy little girl at heart 🙂

You can pre-order a copy of The Lingering here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lingering-SJI-Holliday-ebook/dp/B07DFVXVDX/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Posted June 13, 2018 by Gordon in category "From The Bookshelf