Teatime and Books: Audiobook Blog Tour ~ The Deal: Book 1 of The Fallen Angel Series - Written by SC Cunningham & Narrated by Susan Knight

Author: SC Cunningham

Narrator: Susan Knight

Length: 11 hours 32 minutes

Series: The Fallen Angel Series, Book 1

Publisher: SC Cunningham

Released: Sep. 23, 2020

Genre: Romantic Fantasy

Wouldn't it be nice to have hot, funny, feisty, rule-breaking angels protecting and fighting your corner? Keeping an eye on those who slip through law enforcement's fingers? Well here you go...the Fallen. You're welcome! At the age of four, Amy Fox was taken.... She survived.... A week later, another little girl was taken.... She didn't. Angry, Amy made a deal with the heavens. Decades later her lifeless body was found beneath a London commuter train and she became an angel. But for how long? Lusting after her partner, competing with hell warlords, avenging personal scores, and dishing out tough karma on evil exes, crime gangs, traffickers, drug dealers, rapists, abusers, trophy hunters, trolls, and serial killers, all without her units authorization, will have her thrown below ground. Running with a world network of fallen angels, Amy has never worked so hard in her entire earthly life. She has to wonder if making a deal was a mistake.

S C CUNNINGHAM writes suspense thrillers and paranormal rom crime with a skilled mix of fuelled tension, dark humour and pulsating passion. Having worked in the industries she writes about, her novels offer a fresh level of sincerity and authority, rare in fiction. An ex-model, British born of Irish roots, she married a rock musician and worked in music, film, sports and crime (CID, Wanted/Absconder Unit, Major Crime Team, Intelligence Analyst, Crime Investigations). She is owned by daughter (artist Scarlett Raven), three dogs and two cats (cast members of The Ginormous Series children’s books, helping children with the tricky things in life ie bullying, selfe-steem, anxiety, listening & learning, accepting a new family member). And she is proud GlamMa to a brand new grandson who has stolen her heart.

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Feisty Canadian Susan Knight has a confident, warm, strong, captivating voice. With 25yrs experience as a radio presenter, she is the voice of audiobooks, commercials, e-learning and training videos. She road cycles, power lifts, wake surfs and is a motivational speaker for children, adults. After the success of ‘The Deal’, Susan is currently recording book II of The Fallen Angel Series, ‘Karma’.

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Q&A with Author SC Cunningham

Tell us a little about you
- I am a Crime Investigator, I write steamy rom thrillers and paranormal crime romance. Divorced twice, the first was a British rock musician, the second a Texan (got drunk, married in Vegas), have a wonderful artist daughter and am owned by three dogs and two cats and a grandson. Am a ‘GlamMa’.
- I’m old, so I’ve managed to work in and draw from a few exciting industries over the years; modelling, fashion, rock n’roll, music to film production, football, horseracing, sport celebrity management and crime.
Can you summarize The Deal
- When I was little, 3/4yrs, I was taken, I survived. Coming from an Irish Catholic family, I remember praying every night to God, offering him a deal; if I was a good girl, when I died could I sit on a cloud for a while, invisible, and help him get the baddies who slip through his fingers? I heard later in life that another little girl was taken in the next street, and she didn’t survive.
- Like many others, I’ve found myself surviving a few unexplained dodgy situations where afterwards I’ve thought “Gosh, I must’ve had someone/something looking over me there…” I tend to like looking out for the underdog, getting justice. I’ve taken a few jobs which have enabled me to do that; child charity work, intelligence analyst and police crime investigator.
- I’m not religious, but I feel that there is something out there, an energy. Maybe it’s just quantum physics we don’t understand yet. And with the world going a tad crazy at the moment, we need a little empowering escapism, so I adapted my childhood deal with God into a fictional series. I love romance and laughter, so of course sex and cheeky banter gets added to the mix.
- The Deal is the story of feisty Amy Fox who was taken at 4yrs. She survived and did a deal with god. At 30, her deal and God long forgotten she mysteriously dies. She awakens to find MI5’esque Units in the skies, where vigilante angels dish out tough karma on those below. We follow her work, her revenge, her turbulent love life and attacks from competing forces. She has to wonder if her deal with God was a good thing?
Where do you get your character inspiration from?
- From people I meet and experiences I have had…
- I’d better not say any more, I’ve signed the Official Secrets Act and a few Confidentiality Agreements in my time.
3 books/authors you’d take to a desert island?
- Lee Child, Martina Cole and an Agatha Christie.
When did you know that you wanted to be an author?
- I went through a nasty divorce, my husband and I had worked together in the music to film industry for 8 years, overnight I found myself with a little girl of 6 years, no job, no home, no car, dwindling friends and an empty bank account. I had to start again.
- Although ‘effing painful, looking back, it was the moment I was reborn. I no longer lived life to another’s rhythm; I could do what ‘Siobhan’ wanted to do, be who ‘Siobhan’ wanted to be.
- I often made up stories as a child; I loved to entertain my peers and teachers. As an adult, escapism through books and films was my passion. I see things in pictures, visuals, so I decided that was who ‘Siobhan’ was, a person who writes books for film… an entertainer.
- Juggling life, being a single mum with a full time job and taking that tiny thought to the finished product was a long process. Years later, I’ve published 17 books, working on eight more and my Steamy Rom Thriller The Penance List has been adapted to film screenplay and is sitting on a desk in Hollywood somewhere.
- As they say… it only takes a single thought to start something rolling.
What inspired you to write The Deal?
- When I was little, 3/4yrs, I was taken, I survived. Coming from an Irish Catholic family, I remember praying every night to God, offering him a deal; if I was a good girl, when I died could I sit on a cloud for a while, invisible, and help him get the baddies who slip through his fingers? I heard later in life that another little girl was taken and she didn’t survive.
- Like many others, I’ve found myself surviving a few unexplained scary situations where afterwards I’ve thought “Gosh, I must’ve had someone looking over me there…” I tend to like looking out for the underdog, getting justice. I’ve taken a few jobs which have enabled me to do that; child charity work, intelligence analyst and police crime investigator.
- I’m not religious, but I feel that there is something out there, an energy; maybe it’s just quantum physics we don’t understand yet. And with the world going a tad crazy at the moment, we need a little empowering escapism, so I adapted my childhood deal into a fictional series.
- I love thrillers, romance, laughter, sex and cheeky banter, so all is added into the mix.
If you could sell this book in one sentence what would it be?
- Wouldn’t it be nice to have hot, feisty Angels fighting our corner? Well here you go. You’re welcome!
What are you up to next?
- I’m currently adapting the next Fallen Angel Series audiobook, Karma, with narrator Susan Knight, and writing the next in series, The Calling.
- I also write children’s educational books The Ginormous Series and psychological thrillers The David Trilogy. Am working on For My Sins from The David Trilogy.
- I’m moving my naughty but oh-so-sexy bad boy David Howard from The David Trilogy into The Fallen Angel Series. I just couldn’t let him go, and fans seem to have fallen in love with him. In the Angel Series, I’ve tasked the complex, ex SAS, Jack Mallan with the job of looking after him. Sparks are flying, I love it.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
- Everything I read influences me, whether its trashy news or gifted authors, I’m always on the lookout for the way words are played out, I love their power.
- People - those celebrities and wealthy who give back, who put their mouths and money to good use, ie life-saving and world-saving projects. My main causes of interest are Veterans, Mental Health, Child and Animal Protection.
- Authors - Martina Cole, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, John Grisham, Jilly Cooper, James Patterson, Agatha Christie, Nora Roberts, Patricia Cornwell, Harlan Coben to name but a few.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
- Read, dog walk on a beach, sit around a wine and food-ladened table in the sun with girlfriends and no deadlines. Chill with my daughter – we manage to talk about absolute rubbish for hours!
Chocolate or sweets?
- - Chocolate and sweets… I’m greedy… and I’ll only live once.
You have a free flight and accommodation to anywhere in the world where would you go?
- - Would grab a delicious lover and fly to the Maldives, it’s heavenly. Second choice would be Hawaii, I’ve never been and it sounds wonderful. Although the Greek Islands are fab and closer to home. The lucky Greeks have it all; 2,500 islands, beautiful blue sea, sun, stunning beaches and good food. Shirley Valentine all the way… go girl!
What is your favourite season?
- Definitely Summer. I’m a bleached, trashy, flip-flops, sun, sea, beach, bar-dancing, margarita and fries kinda girl.
What do you love about writing?
- From a young age I enjoyed engaging people with stories that allowed them to escape, dragged them into a different world and encouraged them to look at things differently. I find it easier to write what I know, feel. My writing is loosely based on things I’ve experienced or observed, charged up a few notches with cheeky imagination, sex, murder and laughter.
- In The Deal, I get to work with a few sexy, kick-ass characters and dish karma on the injustices I see around me in day to day life. It’s fun. But please be aware there are a few adult tones.
Is there anything you hate about writing?
- Yes, the solitude. I’m naturally a chatty, social being, but my writing locks me away to live like a mushroom in the dark. I become a reclusive, batty, scruffy old lady who spends all day talking to herself. Thank god for my pets (and understanding friends).
Do you have a favourite childhood/teen story/novel?
- I grew up on Enid Blyton books; I think they were banned in the convent boarding school I went to, which is crazy. I loved the Secret Seven until I read a crumpled copy of The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins – now that was definitely banned!
Do you believe certain types of writing translate better into audiobook format?
- I think fiction, rather than non-fiction, translates well, the build of intrigue is there.
Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
- Yes, I write books with film in mind, audio is another arm of that. Bringing characters to life is exciting, the narrator adds another level of intrigue.
How did you select your narrator?
- I cast via ACX for a few years before I found Susan Knight. She had the fire in her voice I needed. There are a few adult tones in the books, she handles them with class.
How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?
- I am a Brit and she is a Canadian, she had a few pronunciation questions but not much. I trusted her and left her to it. I wanted her to have fun, not have me breathing down her back.
If this title were being made into a TV series or movie, who would you cast to play the primary roles?
- I would like a bunch of talented newcomers, give them a chance to shine.
What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
- Do they the same for film? The gift of entertaining a person in whatever format is priceless. There are no rules. Audiobooks are wonderful, they are missing out.
Have any of your characters ever appeared in your dreams?
- No, but a few scenes I’ve written have come true. Eeek! Not even going to go there.