Guest Blogger: Alex Sinclair ~ Five Days Notice

Alisha: Please welcome Alex Sinclair to Wicked Thorn and Roses. I'm thrilled to have him here! Alex, please tell us about Five Days Notice.

Alex: I originally wrote, Five Days Notice, a few years ago, but when it was due to come out the world went into financial meltdown. Due to the nature of the story I thought it would be far too depressing to put out at that moment in time. Five Days Notice is set in a world where the global economy has collapsed and the third world war has left the planet a dark and dangerous place. I decided to allow the novel to wait for its fifteen minutes of fame and I believe that was the right choice.

The reason I created such a harsh reality was because I wanted to stress how important a low paid dead end job actually was. Due to the economy there are no new jobs, which split society in two. You have the poor and the damned. The poor are the ones that work long hour for nearly nothing, but the job is the lifeline for their family. So the horrible world was created to cement the fact that this tedious job really was a matter of life and death.

The novel follows the lives of seven characters. They are told at the start of the book that by the end of the working week three of the members of staff will be let go. Malcolm, the manager, has five days to decide who he will keep on and who he will fire. I worked as a Christmas temp in a big superstore and after Christmas the manager came to us and said that three of us would be kept on, but the other seventeen temps would be let go. I was one of the people kept on, but it was horrible. People were gossiping, back stabbing and just being rude and nasty. It really made me wonder what lengths they would go to if their lives depended on that job. So, like reality, the character relationships start off nice and friendly, but when the pressure and the realization of losing their jobs sink, things turn bad!

Five Days Notice is a romantic suspense. The story follows the main relationship of Ariel and River. Ariel was the best friend to River’s mother. She has watched out for him and guided him these last few years, but when the boy turned into a man his feelings for her turned into something beyond friendship. She is nearly twice his age, but in a world without hope the two of them found their own little private piece of happiness. River knows that he must keep his job so that he doesn’t mirror his father. His father sponged off of his hard working mother for so many years. If he lost his job he would have to leave Ariel, which is the fuel for the fire that drives him forward.

All of the characters have justification for what they do. Hope is a depressive that needs the job to survive. It is the only reason she continues to exist. Kerry is a single mother that will do what is necessary to ensure she keeps her job for her daughter, no matter how low she must go. Alan is the victim of domestic abuse and is manipulated by his own wife. Michael is a man filled with hatred and anger for the manager, Malcolm. Bad blood between means that Michael knows he will be the first to go, but how far will he go to make sure he doesn’t lose his job?

There are no “Bad Guys” in, Five Days Notice; every character has a reason for the things they do. It is a battle of survive where friends become enemies, strangers become lovers, lovers become deceivers and it is every man or woman for themselves. The story is filled with love, passion, corrupt, betrayal and deceit. Due to the amazing reviews and fantastic sales I have already started work on a sequel. The sequel is titled, Five Days Notice: Hand of God, the story follows the characters that keep their job at the end of, Five Days Notice, but takes the story in a new direction that no one could expect.


Book Title: Five Days Notice

Author: Alex Sinclair

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Price: $0.99

Links

AMAZON LINK

Sinclair Books

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Blurb

The global economy has collapsed and third world war has left the planet a dark and deadly place. Having a job is like winning the lottery. It is a rare and cherished thing. Society is split into two classes, the poor and the damned. Only one superstore remains in the city. The seven staff members work long hours for hardly any pay, but they are considered the lucky ones.

River is in love. He is in love with the woman of his dreams. Only she doesn’t know it. Ariel lights up his dark and lonely world. She is the reason he wakes up every single morning. Her friendship and company give meaning to his existence, but when job cuts are announced his world is turned upside down. The staff are given five days notice. By the end of the week three members of staff will be fired, but how far is River willing to go to ensure that the love of his life keeps her job?

With uncertainty and doubt fuelling the fires of fear each member of staff sets out on a dangerous path of deception. The flesh of the weak is food for the strong. It is a dog eat dog world. Friends become enemies. Lovers become deceivers. You can trust no one. You can rely on no one. You must do what needs to be done to make sure you survive. You must steal, you must betray and you must kill. Betrayal, deception and corruption have never looked so sexy.