#BookExtracts By Lou of #Unlocked – a #Charity #Book supporting #TheTrussellTrust By@D20Authors @LoveBooksTours #BlogTour

Today I have a very special book that I can reveal 2 excerpts from. All profits of sale of this anthology – UNLOCKED will go to THE TRUSSELL TRUST. The TRUSSELL TRUST is a large food bank charity in the UK. Find out more about them in the link:The Trussell Trust. As you meander down you’ll discover the cover, the blurb and 2 extracts from the book.

Trussell Trust

https://www.trusselltrust.org/what-we-do

We support a nationwide network of food banks and together we provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.

In the UK, more than 14 million people are living in poverty – including 4.5 million children. We support more than 1,200 food bank centres in the UK to provide a minimum of three days’ nutritionally-balanced emergency food to people who have been referred in crisis, as well as support to help people resolve the crises they face. Between April 2019 and March 2020, food banks in our network provided a record 1.9 million food supplies to people in crisis, an 18% increase on the previous year and during the coronavirus pandemic food banks have seen need rise even further. You can find out more about the impact of our work during the pandemic in our latest report, available here.

We know it takes more than food to end hunger. That’s why we recently launched our five year strategic plan. We know our goal to end the need for food banks is ambitious, but by working Together for Change, we believe it is achievable.

Blurb

ALL PROFITS FROM UNLOCKED WILL BE DONATED TO THE TRUSSELL TRUST

From murder to magic, loss to love, Berlin to Bologna and everything in between, this brilliant anthology showcases 16 unique short stories from the D20 Authors, a best-selling group of writers whose debuts were published during the COVID 2020 lockdowns.

Meet the cleaner who won’t let anything stand between her and her job; the ocean diver with a mysterious mission; the pyromaniac driven by a painful compulsion; and the politician struggling to balance it all….

Compiled by best-selling author Philippa East, and covering everything from crime to romance, mystery to uplit, this multi-genre collection has a story for everyone. Contributors to UnLocked have been longlisted, shortlisted and winners of a variety of awards, including The Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, The McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Book, The Guardian’s Not-The-Booker Prize, The People’s Book Prize for Fiction, and the CWA New Dagger Award for best debut of the year.

With this superb anthology, the D20 Authors are delighted to be raising funds for the Trussell Trust, a charity who supports a nationwide network of food banks, and together they provide emergency food and support to people facing hardship, and campaign to end the need for food banks in the UK.

Get to know some of the best fiction writers publishing today, support the Trussell Trust and treat yourself to some great entertainment by reading this exceptional collection.

Contributors

Debra Barnes Tom Benjamin Caroline Bishop Emma Christie

Catherine Cooper Polly Crosby Victoria Dowd Philippa East

Tim Ewins Gillian Harvey Nydia Hetherington Anna Jefferson

Penny Jenkins Louise Mumford Holly Race Rosie Walker

Here is the first of 2 excerpts.

THE CLEANER
LOUISE MUMFORD

I love my job.

Noble profession, cleaning. You take the chaos and mess of people’s lives, the smears and stains and overflowing

bins, and you create order from it – you show them the gleam that lies underneath. You show them the potential.

Of course, then they mess it up again.

Some people might think this new job of mine weird, I guess. After all, I’m still working in the same building, on the

same floor – in fact, I can even see my old desk. Nine to five, five days a week, twenty years: Mr Dedicott’s Personal

Assistant. Sounds fancier than it was, but I didn’t mind that – I’m not fancy.

It was a big change, leaving. If I had my time again, would I have done anything different? Of course, yes. But things

are what they are. I can’t change them.

I’m here for a reason.

And it’s not because of my love for emptying bins.

We work the night shift, which suits me. I’m not so good in the day anymore; I feel a bit fuzzy around the edges,

floating from one place to another in a daze half the time. It’s taken me a while to settle in. I don’t mean in terms of

banter and swapping trashy gossip mags with the others, I mean the effort of it. It’s hard work. Hoovering, wiping,

lifting, moving, bleaching. The concentration. No wonder I’m a wreck in the daytime.

I always do my desk first. No, not my desk anymore, I have to remember that. His. They replaced me with a man.

Just a lad, I saw him the one time, skinny legs in those terrible tight suit trousers which young men wear nowadays,

the kind that look as if they cut off circulation to the brain. I’m sure he’s competent at his job.

But he’s not me.

And onto the second

THE REEF

EMMA CHRISTIE

Now, her breath was everything.

She pictured her lungs, fat with life. The muffled whisper of each inhale and exhale was amplified by the snorkel tube,

made her feel bigger than she was.

But more guilty.

She sighed then swam through the sound of it, repeating one phrase in her head.

Alan made me do this.

She headed back to the boat, grunting as she pulled herself onto the narrow metal steps hung over the side. She

wanted to reach for Alan’s chaffed hands, feel them grip her freezing, slippery fingers. She wanted him to haul her

over the side of the boat like a prize catch, to wrap her in an oversized towel and bring her the last of the whisky. Not

this. Never this.

She had one foot on the top rung when the boat lurched to her side, throwing her back into the water. She tried again,

fell again, then gave up. She’d swim for a while instead, watch life.

The sea was calm today. A few fish inspected the sandy floor, bellies flashing green and blue and silver when they

turned and caught the light. Some swam alone, hunting and hunted. But mostly they moved together, stayed low and

headed towards the reef. Towards Alan.

She started swimming after them, then hesitated and checked her watch. Grief clogged her throat. The worst part –

the watching part – wouldn’t be over yet. There would still be movement, traces of loss. No, she’d stay well away until

Alan was definitely gone. She turned around and kicked hard, one arm stretched ahead of her as she powered

through the water. She kept the other arm by her side, hand gripping the smooth handle of the harpoon gun.

A quick reminder of what The Trussell Trust does

Trussell Trust

https://www.trusselltrust.org/what-we-do/

We support a nationwide network of food banks and together we provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK.