Tomorrow my new novel Love vs Honour is released for download from Amazon Kindle. You can still pre-order (see link below) for a mere 99 pence.

Love vs Honour is a young adult romantic drama, but it will also be appreciated by grown-up readers, or anyone who enjoys a gripping, provocative story.

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

Two Religions. Two Deceptions. One Love.

When Johnny meets and falls in love with Sabina, their bond proves stronger than a teenage holiday fling.

Fearing the disapproval of their strict Christian and Islamic families, they undertake an elaborate deception to continue seeing one another. Johnny pretends to convert to Islam whilst Sabina pretends to covert to Christianity to appease their parents. 

But how long can this deception last before it unravels?

Love vs Honour is released tomorrow on Kindle.

Print copies will be available from the 6^th of June.

Herewith a second extract from my upcoming novel, Love vs Honour:

Johnny spent the afternoon with Ant, Mark and Joe at Blackpool Sands. He went swimming, cliff diving and took his surf board to the waves, but the experiences were utterly empty. In the past such activities had excited him, but now they seemed like mundane routine. He did his best to laugh and joke with his friends, but even Mark could tell he wasn’t quite himself.

‘What’s the deal with you and that Asian bird?’

‘Her father’s from Iran,’ said Johnny.

‘Yeah, whatever. The point is have you got anywhere with her?’

‘We’re just friends.’

Mark grinned. ‘I’m not stupid.’

Johnny sighed. ‘It doesn’t matter. Nothing will come of it anyway, so what’s the point?’

‘What’s the point? Mate, she’s gagging for you! Strike while the iron is hot. Who cares what happens afterwards? Another day, another bird!’

‘Is that what you think about Amanda? Sabina told me she’s interested in going out with you properly. God knows what she sees in you.’

‘She’s got taste,’ said Mark.

‘Will you go out with her?’ Johnny persisted.

‘Perhaps, if she’s lucky.’

‘I only wish I could go out with Sabina. But her family would kill me.’

‘You should convert to Islam. Then you’ll be well in there.’

At this, Mark went off to buy an ice-cream, but his throwaway remark planted the seed of a crazy idea in Johnny’s mind. He laughed as he thought about it, and realised how desperate he must be feeling to have even considered it. He wondered if he should tell Sabina, but decided not to. She might just be crazy enough to want to try it.

Love vs Honour is released on the 31^st May on Kindle, and can be pre-ordered from the link below:

Print copies will be available from the 7^th of June.

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

Two Religions. Two Deceptions. One Love.

When Johnny meets and falls in love with Sabina, their bond proves stronger than a teenage holiday fling.

Fearing the disapproval of their strict Christian and Islamic families, they undertake an elaborate deception to continue seeing one another. Johnny pretends to convert to Islam whilst Sabina pretends to covert to Christianity to appease their parents. 

But how long can this deception last before it unravels?

For five days only, you can download my most successful novel to date, Children of the Folded Valley, absolutely FREE from Amazon (see link below).

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

During a journey to visit his estranged sister, James Harper recalls his childhood growing up in a mysterious valley cut off from the outside world, as part of a cult called the Folded Valley Fellowship.

In this seemingly idyllic world, the charismatic Benjamin Smiley claimed to be protecting his followers from an impending nuclear apocalypse.

But the valley concealed a terrifying secret.

A secret that would change Smiley’s followers forever.

By far my most successful novel to date, Children of the Folded Valley is a gripping and dramatic mystery with a “light” science fiction edge.

The novel has been very well reviewed. Here is a sample of the many raves:

“I don’t usually leave reviews but I felt so strongly about encouraging people to read this fantastic book. It had me captured from start to finish. At one stage in the book I actually thought it was a true story.” – Paul, Amazon.

“The use of re-written religious doctrine to control, govern and frighten is particularly chilling… Full marks to Simon Dillon for this creative and highly readable novel.” – Around Robin, Amazon.

“I was captivated… I didn’t want to put it down and just kept trying to find time to squeeze in a chapter… It just gets better and better as you read it and you find yourself needing to know what happened.” – Hannah, Goodreads.

“Creepy and unnerving. Kept me gripped the whole way through.” – Lucyboo, Amazon.

“I couldn’t put it down.” – Bukky, Amazon.

“Really well written, well thought through, compassionate… Full of empathy.” – Over, Amazon.

“So well written, you could believe it was a memoir.” – Shelley, Amazon.

“A perturbing and very original story… The ending is magnificent.” – Joan, Goodreads.

Print copies can be ordered here (but unlike the download are sadly not free): http://www.lulu.com/shop/simon-dillon/children-of-the-folded-valley/paperback/product-21812308.html

When I wrote Love vs Honour ten years ago, I intended it to be a contemporary story. However, as I prepared the manuscript for publication, I became increasingly aware of elements that dated it to mid 2000s. These included references to pop groups and current events that could easily have been updated, but there were other, more serious elements that couldn’t.

For example, Sabina’s father Ahmed has a background that goes back prior to the 1979 Iranian revolution. His age and the age of his daughter would not work if the setting became 2015 rather than 2005.

In addition, other plot events pertaining to how the protagonists communicate would not be believable in a contemporary setting given the social media revolution that has since taken place, regardless of the strictness of parental control exhibited in the novel.

On a more esoteric note, as I re-read the text I realised the attitudes of the characters reflected the concerns inherent during the Bush-era war on terror. These concerns have shifted in a number of subtle yet significant ways in 2015.

So I made the decision to make what was once a contemporary drama a period piece. I don’t believe this will make the story any less powerful but obviously that will ultimately be for readers to decide.

Love vs Honour can be pre-ordered from Amazon on Kindle (see link below).

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

Two Religions. Two Deceptions. One Love.

When Johnny meets and falls in love with Sabina, their bond proves stronger than a teenage holiday fling.

Fearing the disapproval of their strict Christian and Islamic families, they undertake an elaborate deception to continue seeing one another. Johnny pretends to convert to Islam whilst Sabina pretends to covert to Christianity to appease their parents. 

But how long can this deception last before it unravels?

Love vs Honour is released on the 31^st May on Kindle.

Print copies will be available from the 7^th of June.

The inspiration for my new novel Love vs Honour came in a most unexpected way, at a most unexpected time. I was sitting on a bus in a traffic jam, bored beyond belief, and the entire plot suddenly downloaded into my mind from who knows where. At least, Acts 1 and 3 did. The mechanics of Act 2, wherein Johnny and Sabina pretend to covert to different religions as an elaborate parental appeasing ruse so they can still see each other, came to me a little later. But in essentials, the plot for Love vs Honour arrived in my consciousness on that bus journey in 2005.

Once I determined to write the book, I wondered about where to set it. When I moved to Devon shortly after the initial inspiration, I decided to set it locally, using locations like Dartmouth and the staggering beautiful Blackpool Sands beach (see below).

As I have already said on this blog, Love vs Honour is a long way outside of my “comfort zone” (if you’ll forgive my use of an obscenity). My primary reason for writing this story was the sheer challenge of working away from my usual genres. I hope that readers enjoy the novel, and find it gripping and moving. I think it’s an unusual love story, and whilst it owes a debt to past romantic classics, I think it also works as a unique piece in its own right.

I should also add that I did not want Love vs Honour to be a piece of Christian propaganda, nor a Muslim bashing piece, nor a story with an ending where everything is neatly tied up. I definitely intend this novel to provoke thought and discussion, given its potentially contentious subject matter.

Ultimately readers will decide whether Love vs Honour should be judged as a success or failure. It is available to pre-order on Amazon Kindle (see link below).

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

Two Religions. Two Deceptions. One Love.

When Johnny meets and falls in love with Sabina, their bond proves stronger than a teenage holiday fling.

Fearing the disapproval of their strict Christian and Islamic families, they undertake an elaborate deception to continue seeing one another. Johnny pretends to convert to Islam whilst Sabina pretends to covert to Christianity to appease their parents. 

But how long can this deception last before it unravels?

Love vs Honour is released on the 31st May on Kindle.

Print copies will be available from the 7th of June.