Introducing Stewart Bint
Where did the idea for the story come from?
At the planning stage, it became apparent that I could turn my original idea into a sequel to my 2015 novel, In Shadows Waiting, and that’s what happened.
But it didn’t start out that way. When I was first musing over the possibilities, what became the paranormal aspect of the story was going to be a scientific experiment, and my main character was a scientist. But I had a complete block regarding the ending, and how I could introduce conflict into the plot. So I abandoned science in favour of the paranormal and toyed with the idea of my main character being a police officer, and bringing in conflict through a villain in a former case. But how would a hard-headed policeman react to the paranormal circumstances? Getting him to accept it would take too much of the story. So, who did I know who had already experienced the paranormal, and would readily believe it? Simon Reynolds, from In Shadows Waiting.
Give a quote from the books, one that says little but speaks volumes.
All those years, all those tests, all the shaking of heads by experts, and no-one could fathom out why. But now I know. When the answer finally came, it was a real doozy, I can tell you.
Give a short summary of what the book is about.
This sequel to In Shadows Waiting is set almost 40 years after the tragic events at teenager Simon Reynolds’ idyllic family home, when his sister was killed by a supernatural entity.
The action in When God’s Wind Blows takes place in 2020 and 2021, during the height of the COVID pandemic.
After a young couple are ruthlessly gunned down on their way home from having their COVID vaccinations, we weave our way through Simon’s personal COVID nightmare, as he seeks answers about the mysterious blackouts he’s suffered, ever since his sister died.
Slowly but surely, paranormal events intertwine Simon’s Long-COVID journey with Adam and Hayley Hampshire’s murder, unveiling a plot to terrorise the entire world.
What genre is it?
It’s a bit of a mix. Paranormal / horror crime thriller with a medical (COVID) backdrop
How many pages is it?
491 pages. Just shy of 140,000 words. It’s the longest book I’ve ever written.
Where are you located?
The beautiful county of Leicestershire, in the UK.
Description
It’s a paranormal crime thriller, showing how grief and love affect one man’s sanity.
This 5* review of the book, which a reader posted on Amazon, sums up everything I’d like to say regarding a description:
“Stewart has always had the ability to surprise me. In When God’s Wind Blows he does this and more. He has taken the events of the last several years and built a story that absolutely scared me to my soul.
Stewart has, in this story, shown us just how easily a terrorist cell could take advantage. He does this in such a way that you are, in the beginning so confused and confounded that you have to keep reading just to see what happens next. It isn’t until the last few chapters you start to figure it out. Then just to confuse you more he added the paranormal to it!
It’s obvious that Stewart Bint has studied at the feet of the masters. He grabs you in the first chapter and keeps you til the end. You can try to figure out the mystery but good luck. It’s not what you think!!”
Release News
Excerpt
“Simon, you need help with your oxygen at the moment.” His voice was more distinct now, penetrating stronger through the fog. “Keep still, we’ve got to get your mask back on.” His fingers fumbled at it, pulling the strap back into place around my ear, and I felt the cool flow of air across my face restored immediately. My nostrils greedily sucked it in, then I opened my mouth to grab even more.
Slowly my heart returned to its normal pace. Now, if only my head wouldn’t feel like it’s still stuffed with cotton wool.
The masked face swam into view above me again, and I looked up, imploringly, into his eyes. “What’s happening?” I asked with difficulty, my words croaky and hesitant, each one jaggedly pulling at my throat.
“Don’t try and talk yet. You’ve been in a coma for ten days, but we’re bringing you out of it now.”
A coma. Yes, I knew that, didn’t I? Grandma told me at her funeral 20 years ago, which I’ve recently come back from. Even though the cotton wool’s still filling my brain, it can’t hide that.
“Your wife would be here with you normally,” the figure was saying, “but we’re having to isolate the ward because of COVID. There’s some good news on that, though. We can still…”
“COVID,” I managed to croak. “Captain Caveman…” I desperately wanted to tell him that Captain Caveman was racing through my bloodstream destroying all the COVID cells with his wooden club, but it was both difficult and painful to articulate properly. The brain fog hid the words I needed, and the ones I managed to unearth spitefully jabbed my throat with tiny little needles poking out of every syllable.
Bob Appleyard.
That’s whose name had been on the tip of my tongue. But why would I be firing torpedoes at my station manager through the wires and tubes connecting me to drips and machines? It didn’t make sense. What did make sense, though?
It felt as if the cotton wool was expanding in my head all the time, pressing on my brain and the inside wall of my skull.
“Bob,” I said. That was easier. Such a nice, short word.
“No, I’m not Bob,” said the face behind the mask. “I’m Doctor Andrew Moore.”
Silly sod. I think he thinks I think he’s Bob. I giggled inwardly. At least I thought it was inwardly, but it sparked a fit of coughing, so maybe it had been out loud. I simply couldn’t seem to get to grips with reality. The oxygen mask had steamed up from the first cough, and I felt warmth and moisture over my nose and mouth as Doctor Moore pulled my head up from the pillow and gently rubbed my back.
“Don’t move or speak for a few moments,” he said. “You’ll be alright shortly. Let me do the talking, and tell you what’s happened.”
I squinted up at him as my coughing eased, and nodded. “Okay.” Just that one word triggered another cough that jarred my throat. I’d learned my lesson. I’d be quiet.
I felt myself drifting again and my eyes closed, but the Doctor’s voice cut through the approaching blackness, keeping me just on the right side of consciousness.
“We’ll tell you everything in due course,” said Doctor Moore. “For now, though, all you need to know is you’ve been in a coma to help you fight COVID.”
Karen J. Mossman 