by FJ Campbell
‘That cretin has been wetting his pants for her since the first moment he laid his soppy great eyes on her gorgeous arse. I would be willing to bet the lives of my entire family and all my worldly goods, including my Tennis Girl poster and my collection of porn magazines, that it was Ms Atkinson who had to do all the running to get him into her pants. Such is the nature of our friend, and always will be. Put on some music, Livs, I’m welling up here.’
So they drove on, into the night, towards their own tomorrows.
Quotes from existing works
I’ve included lots of quotes in this novel that have been nicked from other writers. That’s OK – Thomas Hardy did it himself – his title Far from the Madding Crowd is from Thomas Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.
“No man is an island”
from Meditation 17 - Devotions upon Emergent Occasions by John Donne.
Various permutations of, quotes and misquotes from She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron.
“The truth will out”
From Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.
“Love the spring” (“Sweet lovers love the spring”)
From Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
“Ignorance is bliss”
Also from Thomas Gray - Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College.
Also by F. J. Campbell
No Number Nine
What do you do when your amazing, beloved sister dies?
Hide in your room for two years?
Sleep with a very, very wrong man?
Leave home and start a new life, lying to everyone you meet including your kind employer, your curious friends and the man you love?
Pip Mitchell’s an expert at making seriously bad decisions. But when her past, present and future collide at the Sydney Olympic Games, she’s going to have to decide whose side she’s on – or she’ll lose everyone she loves.
“This book is in my top 5 surprise books of the year – it gave me a fuzzy feeling in my chest and put a stupid grin on my face. I loved this book, and I can’t wait to see what F. J. does next.”
Kate Hardy, beautifulbookland.com blogger
"Calling all #hockeyfamily - this book needs to go straight to the top of your summer reading list. Drama, love, laughter, lots of hockey players & hockey club antics we can all relate to."
Helen Richardson-Walsh, GB hockey gold medallist
A novel for anyone who enjoys a well-plotted love story with characters you won’t want to say goodbye to – from sweet, confused Pip, to lovable Billy and potty-mouthed Nadine.
No Number Nine is available to buy as an ebook or paperback. To find out more, go to www.fjcampbell.net.
Acknowledgements
Although this is my second published novel, it’s actually the first one I ever wrote, and as you might imagine, that takes a huge amount of self-delusion and misplaced confidence. My first draft was pretty cringeworthy, and it took another two years after I’d finished that draft to be able to say that I was ready to publish The Islanders. But – and this is the awesome bit – some of my friends and family believed in me. They told me I could do this – and so I did. Without them, I would never have finished The Islanders.
Thanks to Faye Booth, my amazing Editor who kept tabs on where all the horses and the tan marks were supposed to be; and to Joe Shillito and Jonathan White at Troubador Publishing, for whom nothing is too much trouble and no question is too stupid.
Jericho Writers and in particular the Neons (my online writing group) are wonderful and supportive and the Edit Your Novel course I did was fantastic, as was the professional critique by Sam Mills. Thank you.
Thanks also to the wonderful author Rachel McIntyre, who mentored me and gave me a big dollop of confidence and some invaluable advice about social media.
Rick, Sarah, Andy, Gretchen and Florence: you read the very first draft and I apologise now for making you do that. I hope your eyes and your brains have recovered. You were so unbelievably nice about it.
Vikki, Lesley, Dorte and Sigrid – thank you for the time you spent reading the book and helping me with your wonderfully kind and honest feedback.
A special mention to the PAF: those long-ago school days and holidays in Cornwall we had together, although not directly described in The Islanders, certainly were the inspiration for much of the book.
And last but not least – my favourite three boys in the whole world – Rick, Oliver and Toby. This book (and all my books) are for you.
Last word
The Islanders is an independently published book. So before you close it, sighing wistfully, and return it to your bookshelf, it would be crazily brilliant if you could do me a small(ish) favour.
Tell your friends about The Islanders and how much you loved it.
Review it on booksellers’ websites (e.g. Troubador, Amazon, Kobo, Wordery etc), or on book review websites (e.g. Goodreads).
Sign up for my mailing list on www.fjcampbell.net, and I’ll email you to tell you when my next book’s out.
Follow me on social media – like me, share me, retweet me
Twitter @fj_campbell
Facebook FJ Campbell Author / TheIslandersFJC
Instagram fjcampbell_author.
The more you do, the more time I have to write my next book – so it’s a win-win!
