Tag: a love of lies

5 Star Amazon Review from Georgie

2019 and ‘DECEPTION’ is still receiving 5 star reviews!

T. J. BlakeLeave a comment

Although I decided to self-publish DECEPTION back in 2016, I’m happy to see that even after three years my readers are still loving it!

A ‘verified purchase’ 5 star review on Amazon.co.uk

5 Star Amazon Review from Georgie

A short and sweet review from Georgie. Chuffed to see that she enjoyed the ride!

DECEPTION’s blurb:

“Through the stark and leafless trees, I see her.

I remember the first day I saw her; an instant attraction. I think she’s beautiful. She has such pensive blue eyes; they remind me of a blue sky right before the sun descends. Every time I see her I want to talk to her, I want to get to know her, and I want to be her friend.

She usually completes the lower woodland walk in six minutes and forty-two seconds; she misses the deeper woodlands and goes home, I believe.

I walk down the road at the same speed as her. She reaches the crossroads at the bottom of the road, looks both ways, and then jogs across into the garden of a house. I stop walking and concentrate on which house is hers.

I can’t stare too long but I am intrigued already, I will come back.”

A psychological thriller that will not let you look at passing dog walkers the same.

If you would like to read this novel, you can download it here from Amazon. Click the link and it will take you to the right Amazon (UK, US etc.) for you.

Deception: A Love of Lies by T. J. Blake

If you do decide to read DECEPTION then please let me know what you think!

Blog Takeover – ‘A Morning Stroll’ by Billy Allen from DECEPTION

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A Morning Stroll

The skies are grey. Damp, decomposing leaves cover the ground, making my path slippery in places. The wind is cold and sharp against my face. My breath plumes before me then dissipates into the thin air as I walk through it.

I look down to Ella. Her head is down, moist nose sniffing the ground and I wonder how many different scents there must be for her to seek. Ella’s ears dangle, flopping gently against her face. She has the typical spaniel face; her straight white nose has a smattering of brown splodges which descend from between her hazel eyes.

“Heel girl, heel. Sit.”

Ella turns and sits down in front of me, eager for my next instruction. Her eyes glisten as she waits for my command.

I pull a dog treat from my pocket. “Good girl. Wait.” I kneel down and unclip the lead from her collar. “Wait. Wait. Go on then.” I fling out my arm as I give the command and Ella runs into the distance but returns like a boomerang.

I enjoy my early morning walks with Ella. I like studying our location to see what people have done in the woodland and surrounding landscape. I can identify the age and gender of a person based on a change from the day before. For example, there are areas of the leaf-strewn ground that have been disturbed to reveal the sludgy, underlying mud. This was done by children, they have been using the mud as glue to build their bases and as ink to write on trees around the woods, marking their territory. I scratch it off.

There are scuff marks on every tree in one cluster, the scuffs are from the children’s dirty shoes. As they climbed up the trees they left their mark. They would have been here during the late afternoon, after they finished school, because glimmering slug trails are visible on the trees’ bark and slugs prefer the dark, damp night time. One tree however does not have the shiny lines because they have been rubbed off. An empty beer bottle sits at the foot of the tree, covered in piss. A man came here in the early hours; depressed and lonely, he comes here most nights. He is most likely around the age of fifty and he’s local. He got pissed whilst walking to no particular destination, ended up here, laid down by this tree.

Only a few dog walkers come through here, a dozen or so, possibly a couple more. There’s always one that leaves its dog’s shit on the ground for someone to step in. On this occasion someone had it follow them home via their shoe. Most likely the drunk man who’s a size ten foot, judging by the print left in the relatively big shit on the ground.

I know these woods better than anyone. These woods are mine. There’s not a day goes by that I don’t visit.

As we walk along the higher grounds of the woodlands, I notice more details. Dry fox scat, must be a day old. I wouldn’t have missed that yesterday so it must have been excreted just after I passed. I see balls of ginger fur rolling in the breeze. It’s not from a fox it’s from a pet cat; the fur is too fluffy and light to be a wild animal’s.

I move to the edge of the higher grounds and look over the naked lower woodlands. I scan the meandering dirt paths. The leaves on a few of the paths have been disturbed by the footfall of walkers, but not all. The trees are thinner down there; some of their leaves still have life in them. The dead leaves have blown from the higher grounds but some have been carried by the children to be used in their bases.

Through the stark and leafless trees, I see her; she’s walking her Springer, ‘Bussy’. She has a slight bounce to her stride as she lets Bussy gallop around the lower woodlands.

She has that horse rider look; tight fitted riding trousers and boots, a black woollen jumper and a white shirt.

Her brown hair is woven into a plait and dangles over her right shoulder.

I see her most mornings. I remember the first day I saw her; an instant attraction. I think she’s beautiful. She has such pensive blue eyes; they remind me of a blue sky right before the sun descends. From different angles, I catch the glint from her eyes, similar to the sparkle of a star in the night. Her skin is pale but in this cold she has rosy red cheeks that match her deep red lipstick.

Every time I see her, I want to talk to her. I want to get to know her, and I want to be her friend.

As I walk along the woods watching her from the corner of my eye, I once again pass her without saying a word. I wish I could pluck up the courage to speak to her but I simply can’t. She’s the first woman that’s caught my attention since Cindy.

I will not speak to her today. I will one day, but I will do something different to engage her attention. She usually completes the lower woodland walk in six minutes and forty-two seconds; she misses the deeper woodlands and goes home, I believe. I want to find out more about her so I will bypass the lower woodland and exit from the upper woods in two minutes, where she will have to walk up the slope to enter the upper woodlands and then exit onto the road. I will be far enough up the road that she will not see me, but I will see her.

“Ella, here.” My dog bounces back to me. “You need to be on the lead for this, little girl.”

I turn and retrace the path we have just walked. I reach the middle of the upper woods and then exit onto the road. I wait a couple of seconds and then I see the woman also exit the woods. A natural smile settles itself upon my lips; she must be special to make me smile so unexpectedly.

I walk down the road at the same speed as her. I never do this. The last time I walked down this road was when I followed a girl home when I was a kid.

I had forgotten about the detached three bedroom homes on the left, opposite the woods. This road always seemed like a wall, a divider protecting me from the world full of cruel and heartless people. The woods were where I felt most comfortable as a kid and even now, their reassurance remains with me.

As she reaches the crossroads at the bottom of the road, she hesitates, looks both ways and then jogs across and into the garden of a house. I stop walking and concentrate on which house is hers. There are two detached houses. There’s a fair amount of land for the two homes. A line of bushes separates their front gardens and it’s probably the same around the back. She walks Bussy in my woodlands, so behind the houses must be private land, a farm possibly?

I can’t stare too long but I am intrigued already. I will come back.

DECEPTION: A Love of Lies – available as eBook and paperback!

Deception: A Love of Lies by T. J. Blake

New Deception Book Cover

‘DECEPTION: A Love of Lies’ book cover comparison

T. J. BlakeLeave a comment

You may remember that a few months ago I announced that my 2016 novel, DECEPTION, was getting a new book cover. Although I released and revealed the change, I never actually got a copy of the new cover for myself.

Yesterday, my new DECEPTION copy arrived.

New Deception Book Cover

It’s interesting to see the change of the cover since its revamp too.

DECEPTION book cover comparison
Original cover (left). New cover (right).

The original cover was artsy and although I loved it at the time, the quality of it wasn’t good enough. The coloured focus eye line effect was a nice touch (albeit slightly cheesy) around Eve and her dog Ella, but the cover overall needed to reflect the dark and mysteriousness of the story.

The crisp, cleaner cover is much darker, but then the story is quite dark, so it fits with the narrative.

The typography is neater too, especially with the inclusion of ‘A Love of Lies‘ on the front and spine.

I love the fade effect on ‘Blake‘ on the front cover. It’s a minor touch but I think it adds to the mystery of the novel.

spine shot of deception

Fancy reading my psychological thriller novel, DECEPTION?

‘DECEPTION: A Love of Lies’ is available on Amazon as both an eBook and paperback, check it out – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deception-Love-T-J-Blake-ebook/dp/B01J0434K4

 

Books by T. J. Blake and what’s to come 

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My writing journey began with my debut release, Endurance (2013), a gory dystopian horror-thriller novel.


After my fast paced debut came my suspenseful mystery thriller, The Author (2014), which was closely followed by the second gory book of The Endurance Series, Endurance: Apocalypse (2014).


I then took a year gap whilst I finished my last year at university. But as soon as I fnished, I was back and I decided to release a tense dark fantasy short story, Alive (2016).

After Alive, I released my latest novel, Deception: A Love of Lies (2016) – this book has received wonderful reviews from readers across the globe!


I’m always working on new book ideas, my latest includes a brand new horror!

My next book to be released is the last instalment of The Endurance Series – which is currently due for release later this year.

To find out more about my books and what’s to come, take a look at Books by T. J. Blake.

Deception on Waterstones

Get ‘Deception: A Love of Lies’ from Waterstones or WHSmith

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This may be old news to some of you because I posted this on my social media, but my latest psychological thriller,  Deception: A Love of Lies, is available to purchase from Waterstones and WHSmith. 

It’s a great achievement, mostly because my previous books did not make it onto WHSmith, but Deception has! 

It’s currently out of stock on WHSmith, but it’s available elsewhere in paperback and eBook. 

Deception T. J. Blake WHSmith
It’s great that it’s listed on WHSmith, and I am trying to speak to the distributor to see if we can get a description added into the book’s product page, as well as get it stocked in stores.

I’ll also admit, it’s quite pricey in WHSmith. However, on Waterstones, it’s available for a cool £7.50. 

Deception T. J. Blake Waterstones
Deception: A Love of Lies – worth the read? 

If you’re wondering whether Deception is worth reading, then you should see the incredible ratings it’s received on Goodreads from readers across the world. 

I love this book – it’s easily my favourite out of my books, and it’s all because of the main character, Billy. I know I’m slightly biased, but I’m confident that if you enjoy a psychological thriller with intricate characters and detailed characterisation, then you’ll enjoy Deception!

Deception A Love of Lies Goodreads
Grab a copy of Deception today by heading over to Waterstones, Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and see what others are saying about Deception on Goodreads! 

Be careful when looking at reviews, there’s potential for spoilers! 

Deception and T. J. Blake

‘It’s the first time I have encountered using setting observations as characterization.’ – Another 5 star review for Deception

T. J. BlakeLeave a comment

You’re probably asking yourself the question, ‘what exactly can I expect from Deception?’ Well, I can tell you that it’s not your typical thriller novel. I would describe it as an intricately detailed psychological thriller, which will have you following clues and trying to piece the story together; along with trying to understand the behaviour and past of the main character, Billy Allen. 

The latest 5 star review on Amazon and Goodreads, posted by justafarmer4, has given an appreciative nod to the extremely detailed story telling and rare characterisation technique of Deception. 

“This one will keep you wondering from the very beginning.

I don’t often read an entire novel in one sitting, but this one kept me turning pages until 2 a.m.

The story begins with an excruciatingly detailed description of walking in the woods. Extremely, minutely, detailed and I thought, ok, get on with the story already!

Then I realized: this was a most central facet of the main character, Billy. It’s the first time I have encountered using setting observations as characterization. And it’s done brilliantly because Bill’s attention to detailed observation is who he is, how he has let it take over how he views his life, and it is how it ultimately fails him, thus leading to this twisted tragedy.

His “peeping tom” episodes concerned me tremendously, and initially put me off feeling any sympathy whatsoever for Bill, but they were also an important part of the characterization and understanding the hows and whys of his mental state.

His social skills are so depressed that he has difficulty interacting with other people. Fortunately for him, this dreadful inadequacy doesn’t extend to canines. He carries on lengthy discussions with his own dog, who adores him, and he gets on well with other dogs. And the other dogs like him as well, so that was a major point in his favor for me. After all, anyone who really knows dogs understand that dogs are almost infallible when it comes to which humans are trustworthy. Almost always…

Bill isn’t the only “peeping tom”. Other characters made me feel like a ping pong ball as my sympathy for each swung back and forth while they did their own peeking and sneaking around; well, except for one particularly nasty piece of work who enjoyed terrifying everyone else…no sympathy for him, at all, ever. (Boo! Hiss! Hide yer children and dogs from this bully!)

I’ll wrap this up by returning to the topic of excruciating details. The novel is jam-packed with them, which lends extremely well to the constant misdirection. All of the clues are there, hidden in plain sight. Such a cliché for me to say, but it is indeed very close to “not seeing the forest for the trees”.

This has been one of the more difficult reviews for me to write because I’ve tried to avoid including anything remotely resembling a spoiler. Trust me. Any one of the characters could ultimately be revealed as “the one”. I encourage the reader to take up the book and enjoy the ride or, in this case, the walk through the woods.”

This reader has a great reading of Deception,and fully embraced the book for what it stands for. 

Get your copy of Deception either as paperback or on Kindle/eBook now. 

Deception T. J. Blake split

‘Do you really know the person you love?’ Deception will certainly make you wonder!  

T. J. BlakeLeave a comment

Deception is certainly getting a reaction from my readers, and I am specifically happy with the fact that the book is unpredictable and suspenseful for all readers so far. With a focus on human behaviour, Deception: A Love of Lies will draw you into the dismal yet intriguing life of Billy Allen and his Springer Spaniel, Ella, and their unusual habits.

I appreciate this review, the reviewer is rightly questioning my motives in terms of the ending, but I think it’s the perfect ending for this story and any to follow. I won’t be saying anymore on the matter though, you’ll have to read my book to make your own decision on the end!


Start reading Deception tonight by downloading it onto your Kindle or reading device from Amazon or Smashwords. 

5 star review of Deception: A Love of Lies

Deception is compared with Gone Girl

T. J. BlakeLeave a comment

Is there a better way to praise a book? I’m extremely pleased to see that my readers are enjoying Deception, with more 4 & 5 star reviews popping up – but a comparison with Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl is really impressive. 


I enjoyed reading this particular review, the reader has clearly enjoyed getting to know the characters and thoroughly enjoys the ‘Deception’ of the story. You can see their full review on Amazon. 

If you want to read a psychological thriller which will have you looking over your shoulder and questioning your loved one, then Deception is for you! 

Get your copy today on Amazon and Smashwords. 

Deception a love of lies book reviews

The positive reviews keep coming for Deception 

T. J. BlakeLeave a comment

Deception: A Love of Lies continues to receive more praise, so what are you waiting for? Start reading it today on Kindle – http://getbook.at/DeceptionTJBlake

5 star review on Amazon.com


4 star on Amazon.co.uk


BizPR.co.uk – ‘Deception: A Love of Lies’ Press Release

T. J. Blake1 Comment

As you must know by now, my fourth novel, Deception: A Love of Lies is now available to buy from Amazon, B&N, Waterstones Marketplace and many other online bookstores.

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You can find out much more about Deception by reading the press release on BizPR.co.uk.

BizPR.co.uk – UK Author T. J. Blake Releases New Psychological Thriller, Deception: A Love of Lies

“Through the stark and leafless trees, I see her.

I remember the first day I saw her; an instant attraction. I think she’s beautiful. She has such pensive blue eyes; they remind me of a blue sky right before the sun descends. Every time I see her I want to talk to her, I want to get to know her, and I want to be her friend.

She usually completes the lower woodland walk in six minutes and forty-two seconds; she misses the deeper woodlands and goes home, I believe.

I walk down the road at the same speed as her. She reaches the crossroads at the bottom of the road, looks both ways, and then jogs across into the garden of a house. I stop walking and concentrate on which house is hers.

I can’t stare too long but I am intrigued already, I will come back.”

Read Deception: A Love of Lies on Kindle/eBook now!

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