Title: Leighton’s Summer
Series: SYNSK # 2
Author: K.C. Finn
Published: April 15th, 2014 by Clean Teen Publishing
Word Count: 76,000
Genre: YA paranormal Adventure
Content Warning: Mild Violence
Recommended Age: 16+
Synopsis: A teenage boy with something to prove gets caught up in a web of crime and deceit in England, 1945.
In the weeks leading up to his sixteenth birthday, gifted psychic Leighton Cavendish finds himself suddenly packed off to Blackpool, a glittering, teenage paradise filled with plenty of opportunities for amusement—and trouble. With only a preoccupied grandmother to keep an eye on him, Leighton’s desperation for adventure leads him out into a world of holidaymakers, candy, and carnival rides—the ideal place to spend six weeks away from home.
But Leighton’s psychic visions are encroaching on his fun, trying to warn him of the danger that lurks beyond the shimmering lights of the Golden Mile. Who are the mysterious thieves Leighton sees in his head, and what do they want with the children they seek? A girl called Faye holds the answer, but she has enough problems of her own.
Amid the climate of a tourist town recovering from the impact of the Second World War, two lost teenagers will discover a shocking truth about human greed. Together, they will try to fight against it. For Leighton and Faye, this will be a summer to remember—one filled with challenges that must be overcome.
A summer that turns a boy into a man.
Excerpt:
“Look,” I began, knotting my fingers together to try and hide the blood, “those lads I was with… I don’t want anything to do with them really.”
Faye bit her lip. “They’re bad kids,” she agreed, “I didn’t think you were like that.”
“I’m not,” I promised, once again resisting the urge to grab her arm and insist, “I just… I didn’t know they were bad before I started going around with them. I only met them yesterday.”
“Opinions can change quickly, can’t they?” she snapped, her mood shifting once more.
“Charming, that is,” I bit back, throwing myself away from her, against the bench, “Well you can keep your changing opinions to yourself, because I know which way my mind is set.” I felt all my emotions bubbling up to the surface, brimming like a wave ready to crash against the sand. I tried for a moment to hold them back, but it was no good, all the agitation and anger spilled over and I couldn’t stop myself from speaking again. “You want to know why I went with them? Because they’re hard lads, apart from Freddie, and there’s four of them laying on the persuasion. And frankly, I quite like my face and I didn’t fancy getting it smashed in so I’d look like a mosaic for my sixteenth birthday, all right?”
My voice had risen during the altercation and I found there were people looking at me as they passed us by on the bench. I imagined what a state I must have looked with dried blood on my face and only a vest on. I leaned away from the passers-by, upset to find that tears were once again escaping from Faye’s silent face. I felt awful instantly for exploding at her; I had no right to upset her after what I’d done.
“Would they really smash your face in?” she whispered.
“I reckon so,” I replied, gulping down a dry breath. I was grateful for the nosebleed in that moment; my face didn’t have enough blood left in it to glow crimson and show her how embarrassed I was.
“Are you mad at me?” Faye asked, her lips shaking like they had on the Ferris Wheel.
I let out a laugh, some of my tension going with it.
“What would I be mad at you for?” I replied.
She gave a little shrug. “For thinking you were a crook? For spying on you? For not telling you yesterday that I had powers of my own?”
“No,” I said simply, realising that it was the truth, “I shouted at you for no reason and ruined your handkerchief, so I’d say we’re about even. Besides, it won’t do to be mad at you like that if we’re going to be friends.”
She wiped her last tear away and gave me a more hopeful look.
“Can we be friends?” Faye asked, like she wasn’t even sure that it was possible.
“I think we have to be after all this palaver,” I said with a grin.
A wave of thoughtfulness washed over her features for a moment, but then she nodded.
“Right then,” she answered, “shall we go somewhere and get your face cleaned up?”
I waved a hand at her. “I’ll dunk my head in the sea. It’ll be fine.”
About the Author:
Born in South Wales to Raymond and Jennifer Finn, Kimberley Charlotte Elisabeth Finn (known to readers as K.C., otherwise it’d be too much of a mouthful) was one of those corny little kids who always wanted to be a writer. She was also incredibly stubborn, and so has finally achieved that dream in 2013 with the release of her first three novellas in the four-part Caecilius Rex saga, the time travel adventure The Secret Star and her new urban fantasy epic The Book Of Shade.
As a sufferer with the medical condition M.E./C.F.S., Kim works part time as a private tutor and a teacher of creative writing, devoting the remainder of her time to writing novels and studying for an MA in Education and Linguistics.
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