YA trilogy

Fortune’s Well Book 3: Days End released today!!

~ ChanAtkins ~ 3 Comments

And look out for a future post titled ‘how not to launch a book’!

Life has other plans, right? Life gets in the way.

Today was meant to be a big day for myself and my co-author Sim Sansford, as we released the final book in our YA trilogy, Fortune’s Well.

To recap, as we were coming out of lockdown, Sim messaged me to see if I’d ever consider writing a book with another author. The answer was no – but Sim and I have similar writing styles and interests and get on really well as business partners and friends, so I said yes, why not?

He had a vague idea that struck a chord with me – the image of an empty jar, a jar full of nothing and two teenage protagonists battling with mental health and family drama. I quite quickly created JJ Carson and Sim created Darcie Duffield. I dived in and wrote the first chapter and from there it just snowballed! We were soon writing a chapter a day each, sending them back and forth via email and discussing our plans for the story via messages on Facebook!

The amazing thing was the lack of planning and plotting. It was all very fast and organic and seemed to just fly! We soon realised we had enough material for a trilogy and today the final book, Days End was released.

A few weeks ago we had grand plans of a launch event, competitions, sneak peeks, Facebook Lives and more! Unfortunately, with family drama/work pressures and every day stresses, neither of us have had the time. Amazon then did a spectacular number on us by deleting our preorder link! Sim dealt with this fiasco and there was no real reason given for it being deleted. Our preorders were lost, refunds issued by Amazon and we’ve been left hoping that those people went back and ordered again.

Not a great way to launch a book but it is always tricky with a series.

Anyway, that aside, we are hugely proud of our co-written trilogy and we have already started planning another book together. More on that another day! Right now I am having a glass of wine to celebrate the final chapter in JJ and Darcie’s intriguing story of superpowers, dark organisations, and family secrets and it would mean the world to us if you would consider purchasing the book. Both book 1 and 3 are currently just 99p for ebook!

Here is the link to Days End:

And the blurb:

All things must come to an end…

With the Organisation hot on their trail and their powers growing stronger by the day; JJ Carson and Darcie Duffield are more determined than ever to save Fortune’s Well from the looming darkness.

But when history threatens to repeat itself, and an unseen foe is watching their every move, who will make the ultimate sacrifice to save them all and bring about the end of days?

Days End is the highly anticipated conclusion to the Fortune’s Well trilogy.

Character Interview: Darcie Duffield (Fortune’s Well Book 1 – Hangman’s Revenge)

~ ChanAtkins ~ 1 Comment

To celebrate the release of Fortune’s Well Book 1 – Hangman’s Revenge we are sharing a couple of character interviews! Next up is Darcie Duffield, one of our main protagonists.

1. Who is your best friend?

I could tell you it’s Vicky Marshall, but that wouldn’t be completely true. My real best friend is my aunt Jenna… which is weird, because she’s dead. I know. Messed up. But sometimes I like to talk to her still. It makes me feel ok for just a minute.

2. Who is your worst enemy?

Well, that one’s easy – Jared Wheeler.

3. What do you think people think of you?

Unfortunately, I don’t think people think of me at all.

4. What do you wish people knew about you?

That I’m more than just good grades and good genes. There’s more to me than meets the eye. It sounds silly, but I feel like I’m meant to do great things.

5. What’s your biggest fear?

Losing myself and becoming exactly who they want me to be. But lately… lately I think my biggest fear is what will happen to my new friend, JJ Carson, if I can’t help him in time.

6. What’s your biggest hope?

My hope is for JJ and his mother to reconnect. Perhaps make up for all the lost time. Who knows, maybe I can do the same with my own mom…

7. What’s your biggest secret?

The girl in the mirror. I’m the only one who sees her and she sees me right back.

8. What is the worst thing you have done to another person?

I hurt someone. Bad. At least, I was part of what happened to them. Even worse I ran and covered up the truth. But sometimes bad people deserve bad things… right?

9. What kind of friend are you?

Loyal and fierce.

10. What are your worst habits?

I bite my lip pretty much whenever I’m anxious, or nervous, or just generally over thinking situations. It’s terrible. I’m surprised I have a mouth left at all!

11. What is one thing about yourself that you would change if you could?

I wish what was on the inside would shine through more. That people could see that before they see the rest of me.

12. What is one thing about yourself that you would never change?

I’m very inquisitive and that definitely comes in handy when I need it. I guess I must get that from my dad. He’s a head researcher for Bio Chem, a large pharmaceutical company.

13. Where would you like to be in 5 years time?

Right now? Any where but Fortune’s Well. There’s something about this place that I can’t put my finger on. But I will find out what it is. I know I will. It’s in my nature. And that scares me.

14. What is on your bucket list?

Not many people know this, but I love to write. I want to write this down someday, everything that’s happening with JJ and me. An epic adventure I can capture forever.

WE hope you enjoyed meeting our two teen heroes, JJ and Darcie! Here is the buy link if you would like to check out the book. It’s the first in a trilogy, and be warned, it’s wild ride! https://chantelleatkins.com/2022/05/24/character-interviews-jj-carson-fortunes-well-book-1-hangmans-revenge/

Character Interviews: JJ Carson (Fortune’s Well Book 1 – Hangman’s Revenge)

~ ChanAtkins ~ 1 Comment

It’s release day for the YA book I have co-written with Sim Sansford! We are so excited to share Hangman’s Revenge with you and can’t wait to see what you make of our protagonist’s JJ and Darcie. To kick off here is an interview with JJ Carson…

  1. Who is your best friend? Until recently I didn’t have a best friend, in fact it felt like all I had were enemies in this town. But then Darcie stood up for me, helped me fight off the bullies and since then I’ve got to know her better. I think she is my best friend. I hope so.
  2. Who is your worst enemy? Well I’ve got a few. I already told you this town hates me. There’s a group of boys who kick my arse nearly every day because they think I’m a freak and Jared Wheeler is the ring-leader, so yeah, him.
  3. What do you think people think of you? I know what most people think of me. They either pity me because my mum is locked up for killing my dad, or they fear me because they think I’m going to turn out to be as crazy as her. Or they just hate me because they think I’m weird. Yeah,, weird. They all think I’m weird.
  4. What do you wish people knew about you? Ah, I don’t really care. They can all piss off. Well, I suppose I’d like them to know that I didn’t kill my dad so I’m not crazy like my mum. But I don’t think they’d care anyway… I suppose, if I’m honest, I wish they knew how lonely I’ve been.
  5. What’s your biggest fear? Turning out like my mum. Losing the plot, turning to violence in a heartbeat, killing someone. I’m dark inside, I know I am. I’m scared it’ll get out.
  6. What’s your biggest hope? That Darcie and I become close. That she sticks by me, whatever happens. And I hope me and Uncle Henry get on better one day. That would really help a lot.
  7. What’s your biggest secret? There is a darkness inside of me and it’s getting worse. I can see it now in the form of a kind of mist. It likes it when I get angry and it can destroy… If people knew about this, they would lock me up like my mum.
  8. What is the worst thing you have done to another person? I stepped in and tried to be the hero – I tried to stand up to Jared and got caught in the middle of something else instead. He was hurting Darcie – I didn’t even really know her then, but I stopped him. Trouble is, the mist took over and now he’s in hospital…
  9. What kind of friend are you? Hard to say, seeing as how I’ve not really had any until now but I’d probably be grumpy and moody I reckon. I’m used to being on my own so I’m not used to friendship. I’m loyal though and I hate bullies, so I’d be the type of friend that would stand up for you even if it got me in trouble.
  10. What are your worst habits? Uncle Henry would say I don’t do enough around the house but I’d disagree. I do loads. I think Darcie might say I’m grumpy, maybe a bit cynical and negative at times. I’ve got a bad temper which obviously I am trying not to let out.
  11. What is one thing about yourself that you would change if you could? Ah, tricky question. I should say the mist, the darkness inside me, because if I got rid of that, I could maybe be normal. But I also don’t want to get rid of it because without it I’m helpless and lost.
  12. What is one thing about yourself that you would never change? Again, tricky. I don’t want to change the mist even though I maybe should… But also my art. I wouldn’t change that. I wouldn’t be me without art and it’s helped me so much.
  13. Where would you like to be in 5 years time? I don’t know. Not here. There is something wrong with this town and the people in it. I’d like to get away… I don’t know where. I can kind of see me and Darcie running off together and maybe travelling, maybe in a campervan or something cool like that! Other than that, I really have no idea. I don’t have a lot going for me, to be honest.
  14. What is on your bucket list? – Hmm. I guess a romance with Darcie would be top, but don’t tell her that. I’d die. Seeing my mum free again would be awesome. Getting on with Uncle Henry would be good too. I’d like to get better at art and maybe travel to some cool places with Darcie.

We hope you enjoyed meeting JJ! If you are interested in finding more, here is the buy link mybook.to/HangmansRevenge


Welcome To Fortune’s Well: Book One Hangman’s Revenge is coming soon!

~ ChanAtkins ~ Leave a comment

Fast on the heels of my recent release The Old Friend – A Collection of Tales and Poems, this Wednesday sees the release of the first book in the YA trilogy I’ve co-written with Sim Sansford. We are both incredibly excited that the moment is finally here after a whirlwind year of writing three books via Facebook messenger! It seems incredible that we are now about to welcome you into the strange town of Fortune’s Well and introduce you to our characters, JJ and Darcie.

I still can’t quite believe that we wrote three books together in such a short space of time – with very little planning, I might add! The majority of it was discussed and thrashed out within Facebook messenger. Sim had the original idea about lonely, misunderstood teens who discover they have special abilities and we decided to each create a character and then write alternate chapters from their points of view.

I went first and wrote the introductory chapter and my character JJ made his somewhat solemn entrance. At this point, we were not entirely sure where the story would lead us but we didn’t have to worry because the characters knew! Once they were fully alive, they just seemed to lead the way. What happened next was really a crazy whirlwind of messages and chapters flying back and forth between us.

Normally, I like to plan a book a bit before I start and then have a planning notebook running alongside the story as it unfolds, but our approach was a lot more haphazard than that. Yet it worked! I’ve never co-written anything before so this was a really interesting process and experience for me. I’ve always believed that talking about writing makes you want to write. It gets you excited, gets the ideas sparking and the passion running high. I often see this happening in the writing groups I run – people are unsure or hesitant or suffering from a block or a loss of confidence, and then all the talk and discussion and floating of ideas suddenly gets it all going again.

I think this is what happened with us and these books and it really felt quite magical. I mean, writing is magical anyway, it really is – ideas become stronger, characters become real people, plots develop and twist and turn and it all ignites together to create a story. A world.

With these books we had an idea, a concept about teens with powers hidden within them and that led us to the creation of Fortune’s Well and a far darker, twistier, grippping story than we had ever imagined. The town itself (based loosely on Sim’s home town of Dorchester) became a bigger part of the story than we first anticipated, opening up the possibility of prequels and sequels based there.

Whatever happens next, Sim and I have had the best time ever creating these stories. It was never supposed to be a trilogy, but it just kept going and I know we haven’t seen the last of these characters.

The book comes out on Wednesday 25th May and you can preorder via the link below if you are interested in finding out about what lies within Fortune’s Well and inside our our two teen protagonists.https://books2read.com/HangmansRevenge

Here is the blurb!

In the town of Fortune’s Well a dangerous storm is brewing, and two unsuspecting teenagers are standing right at the heart of it.

For JJ Carson, life has not been easy. His father is dead, his mother arrested for the murder, and he has been forced to live on the farm with his alcoholic uncle, Henry. Just when things could not get any worse, JJ discovers his living situation is not the only thing that makes him different from the other kids. A dark, swirling mist has made itself at home inside him and it is slowly changing him from the inside out.

Enter Darcie Duffield. Beautiful, popular, and incredibly misunderstood. Darcie is sick of the status quo and wants to make a difference. After a chance meeting with a strange boy at the river she becomes tangled in a web of lies and deceit as she tries to help save him from the darkness lurking within.

Why is this happening?
Where has it come from?

And why is Darcie the only one who can see it?