{"id":117969,"date":"2021-01-26T18:12:47","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T18:12:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=117969"},"modified":"2021-04-08T09:41:09","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T08:41:09","slug":"the-liar-of-red-valley-cover-reveal-and-excerpt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/books\/the-liar-of-red-valley-cover-reveal-and-excerpt\/","title":{"rendered":"The Liar of Red Valley: Cover reveal and excerpt"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Walter Goodwater’s upcoming fantasy The Liar of Red Valley<\/strong><\/em> is out later this year and we’re delighted to exclusively<\/strong> reveal its amazing cover as well as a sneak look at the novel…<\/p>\n

But first, here is a synopsis:<\/p>\n

In Red Valley, California, you follow the rules if you want to stay alive. But even that isn\u2019t enough to protect Sadie now that she\u2019s unexpectedly become the Liar: the keeper and maker of Red Valley\u2019s many secrets.<\/p>\n

In a town like this, friendships are hard-won and bad blood lasts generations, and when not everyone in town is exactly human, it isn\u2019t a safe place to make enemies.<\/p>\n

And though the Liar has power \u2014 power to remake the world, with just a little blood\u2014what Sadie really needs is answers: Why is the town\u2019s sheriff after her? What does the King want from her? And what is the real purpose of the Liar of Red Valley?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If the cover isn’t enough to get you hyped up for The Liar Of Red Valley<\/strong><\/em>, then settle down and read an excerpt from Chapter One right here…<\/p>\n

Chapter 1<\/p>\n

Sadie never realized just how full of shit her mom was until the day she died. Of course she\u2019d known her mom was a liar; her lies paid their bills. People would come from all over Red Valley to see her. They hated her \u2013 because she knew their secrets, because they needed her, because she hated them \u2013 but they still came, in beater trucks with rusted wheel wells or glossy Audis with no license plates, each winding up their dirt road to knock on the Liar\u2019s door. And after a lifetime in Red Valley, her ledger was full of every dirty secret thing the people in town had ever tried to hide away.<\/p>\n

When Sadie was younger and the customers came, her mom would say, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you go play outside for a few minutes?\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019d go, but she\u2019d peeked in through grimy windows enough times to know how it worked. The customer would tell her mom the Lie they wanted to be true, and she\u2019d write it down in her ledger. Then they paid her, usually cash \u2013 the Liar didn\u2019t accept checks \u2013 but sometimes in barter: groceries, Lotto tickets, tuna casserole. Honest Bob, owner of Honest Bob\u2019s Used Automotives, must have had a real whopper he needed telling \u2013 and didn\u2019t want to touch his savings account \u2013 because he gave her mom the keys to the Mustang he\u2019d driven up. She\u2019d kept it for a few months then sold it back to him, said she didn\u2019t like how the convertible top messed up her hair.<\/p>\n

After her mom was satisfied with the offered payment, there was only one step left: they had to pay the Liar\u2019s Price. This was probably what her mom didn\u2019t want Sadie to see. She forgot that blood isn\u2019t as scary to kids as it is to grownups.<\/p>\n

Her mom would take out her pocketknife, clean the blade, then make the customer hold out their hand, though some people preferred she made the cut somewhere less conspicuous. In the end, she only needed a few drops, enough to smear next to the Lie written in her ledger, to seal the deal. People got out of there real fast after that. Maybe they didn\u2019t like the sight of their own blood. Or maybe they didn\u2019t want someone else to come down that dusty driveway and find them there. Sadie didn\u2019t care either way. After a while, watching this forbidden ritual became a bore, so instead she\u2019d go off and play make-believe in the dry oak trees that surrounded the tiny blue house. She liked to climb up in the twisted branches and pretend she was invisible, pretend she could see the whole world but they couldn\u2019t see her. She\u2019d sit up in the trees for hours and wonder what Lies she\u2019d tell:<\/p>\n

Everyone at school likes Sadie.<\/p>\n

Sadie lives in a big house with a fireplace and a pool and a garden.<\/p>\n

Sadie doesn\u2019t feel lonely all the time.<\/p>\n

So Sadie always knew her mom was a liar, but still she never expected she\u2019d lie to her.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cExcuse me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sadie blinked hard. Old memories of gnarled branches and blood soaking into paper scuttled away, replaced in a flash by the diner\u2019s heavy air, greasy with French fry oil and floor cleaner. Sadie\u2019s head swam for a moment, like she\u2019d fallen asleep on her feet and woke just before toppling over.<\/p>\n

The frowning man at table six was waving irritably at her. Sadie let the afterimages fade and slipped on a cheery smile \u2013 the most important part of the waitress\u2019 uniform \u2013 as she came out from behind the bar.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me,\u201d he said again. He sounded like he didn\u2019t much care for having to repeat himself. Calloused fingers drummed on the table. He glanced down at Sadie\u2019s nametag but didn\u2019t even bother to use her name. \u201cI ordered that coffee ten minutes ago, sweetheart. I\u2019m just wondering when I should expect it to arrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

A coil deep in her chest tightened a little. The smile threatened to bail, but Sadie locked it back into place. Working in Red Valley, you got used to the assholes. Some entitled, some bitter, and some just plain mean, every shift had a least a couple. Sadie didn\u2019t know if the town drew them or bred them, but she\u2019d learned to stop expecting better from people around here. Fake smiles, thick skin. Never look them in the eye, so you don\u2019t have to remember their stupid faces when trying to sleep at night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry about that,\u201d Sadie said, her voice a little too sweet. \u201cI\u2019ll go get that right now. I think we\u2019ve got a fresh pot going.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said something through his frown as she walked away but she didn\u2019t listen. She could tell by the shape of the words that it would just make her want to pour the coffee on his lap instead of in a mug, and that wouldn\u2019t end well for either of them. So she got the coffee and returned to his table, her smile never fading.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally,\u201d he said. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t so hard, was it?\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s that irresistible Red Valley charm, Sadie thought, though then cringed immediately. Now she sounded like her mom and that was terrifying. The Liar could get away with casual disdain for everyone in town. Sadie on the other hand still worked for tips. Not that there was much hope for any this afternoon. Other than the cranky guy sucking coffee through his mustache, the diner was mostly empty, just a couple of the old-timers in the booth by the door, arguing about the drought and how the whole town was drying up under our feet like a raisin. Their tips usually came in the form of pocket-warmed pennies and dimes. The lunch rush had only been a couple hours ago, and she assumed it had been busy, but truthfully could barely remember.<\/p>\n

Someone in a hairnet stuck their head out the door from the kitchen and called to her. \u201cPhone call!\u201d<\/p>\n

Sadie wiped her hands on her apron and frowned. No one called her, not at work. She went through the flapping doors into the kitchen and was greeted by hot air scented with day-old bacon. The dishwashers were laughing in a corner while they broke down oily cardboard boxes, all except Javier, who had drawn the short straw again and was sweating over the grill, trying to find some clean metal under all that old black grease. The chefs were seeing how many times they could flip their spatulas in the air before catching them \u2013 or dropping them with a clatter. Denise, the owner and head waitress, glared at the chefs and pointed Sadie toward the phone hanging on the wall in the back.<\/p>\n

\u201cSounded serious, hon,\u201d was all she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello?\u201d Sadie said into the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you hear me? My name is Abagail, I\u2019m a nurse down at St. Elizabeth\u2019s, and we\u2019ve got your mom in here\u2026\u201d Sadie listened to the rest without hearing it, and somehow was able to repeat enough to Denise for her to tell her to take the night off and go see her mom.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need a ride out there?\u201d Denise asked. \u201cI can send Javier.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that\u2019s fine,\u201d Sadie said. Her voice sounded like a stranger\u2019s. \u201cIf I go now I can catch the bus.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Liar Of Red Valley by Walter Goodwater will be released on 30 September from Rebellion Publishing<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We reveal the cover and an excerpt from Chapter One of Walter Goodwater’s The Liar Of Red Valley.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":118921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"MSN_Categories":"Uncategorized","MSN_Publish_Option":false,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":""},"categories":[1624,1718],"tags":[7078],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Liar-Of-Red-Valeey.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}