Arlya by Jack Lowe-Carbell Virtual Book Tour

 

ARLYA

Jack Lowe-Carbell

I am quite new to writing these blog posts so I guess I wanted to start by just saying hello! My name is Jack Lowe-Carbell, and I am a 26-year-old writer living in Vancouver, BC. I recently published my first novel, “Arlya”, which is available everywhere now. It has been a long and stressful journey but one that I will hold dear for the rest of my life, as I hopefully continue to write, as it is something I love to do.

Now with that strange time-independent and faceless interaction out of the way I wanted to take a moment to discuss how I have handled rejection in my short career as a writer.

I started writing music about seven years ago and that was where my career began. I spent three years making my own music and releasing it independently. I had about 50 labels say no to me when I was starting out. It was disheartening, but I kept making music because it was what I loved to do. Now I didn’t have an illustrious music career, but I was able to perform my music for thousands of people, build a fanbase and create memories I will hold onto forever.

Then I began writing short stories, I have submitted to about 150 magazines, contests, publishers, websites, you name it. Want to guess how many have said yes and published my work? Two. Now I am so grateful for those two publishers but still, you can see how many “not at this time”’s, “Doesn’t work with our upcoming issue”’s, and “keep writing”’s I have received. But I did exactly that, kept writing.

I then decided to self-publish a novel, I worked as hard as I could to edit it, market it, and put it out there shamelessly and one of these days I will get that call writers wait for. Someone will notice the work, because I really love this novel, I cried writing it, I felt a hole in my heart when it was done, and that to me, makes the rejections worth it. I was able to make something I care about and I am so grateful for the opportunity to do that. 

So, to sum it up and end with a little advice that isn’t a rambling mess, the rejections are hard, trust me I know. You know what’s harder, someone like me saying “Hey, keep your head up! Don’t worry about the no’s just keep writing”, trust me I know. But, I think in this career path it’s literally the only thing you can do. Keep writing, keep sending your work out, focus on your words, don’t worry about the ones that say no, it makes the ones that say yes so much more impactful. 

Thank you, if you rolled your eyes at this that is totally okay, I rolled my eyes at people telling me the same thing, but I am still here, doing what they said, writing away. Have a wonderful day, I hope someone takes a chance on you somewhere down the road. 

Thriller

Arlya, a small town in Southern Ontario, is rocked by a gruesome crime. Four friends must work together with Detective Dylan Grey to find a pattern, a bike, a clue, and a sister before it is repeated.

James and his three best friends, Owen, Tommy, and Mike, have just finished school for the summer. The plan is the same as every other year: they are going to build the biggest fort yet, deep in the Dhoon Woods. After stumbling across a tiny, seemingly unimportant wooden hut, a series of crimes take place and their plans change.

Arlya falls into itself. Doors are locked, curtains drawn, bikes are put away, strangers invade, and kids are off the street. In the first week of summer vacation, a dark and disturbing family history is uncovered; friends turn on each other; a storm rolls through town; and a monster is hiding just out of sight, smiling its toothy grin and crawling through the corn.

AMAZON.COM - https://amazon.com/dp/1779410964

AMAZON.CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1779410964

RAKUTEN KOBO - https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/arlya

BARNES & NOBLE - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book/1144578780

ABEBOOKS - https://www.abebooks.com/products/isbn/9781779410962

One Friday night last summer, the four of them had left James’s house after his parents had gone to bed. They had biked around in the dark, briefly illuminated by the sparse streetlights looming over the side streets. Fog had drifted across the side roads; houses were barely visible through their covered lawns. Somehow, they wound their way to the bottom of Cemetery Hill.

  

“My grandpa is in there,” Tommy had said quietly.

They had looked out at the long blackness which rose menacingly above them. The trees at the top of the hill had been reaching toward the starry sky.

James had wanted to bike back. If he had left, the others would have surely followed suit. Mike had glanced at James waiting for his decision.

“My dad was supposed to be buried here,” Owen had said, his voice cracking, devoid of moisture.

The fog had continued to thicken around the four of them standing stagnant in the road, straddling their bikes. 

Jack Lowe-Carbell is a 26-year-old writer living in Vancouver, BC. Arlya is his first novel, and it is based in his hometown, Ayr, ON. Thanks to his dad, who read him horror stories when he was far too young, Jack has always loved the genre. His next novel is a tale of horror based in Garibaldi Provincial Park.

CONNECT WITH JACK LOWE-CARBELL

WEBSITE - https://jacklowecarbell.com/

FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/arlyanovel

INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/jacklowecarbell/

TIKTOK - https://www.tiktok.com/@jacklowecarbell

Jack Lowe-Carbell will award a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter.

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