Welcome to my spot on the blog tour for Eighteen by Paul Barrell. Thank you to Random Things Tours for my spot on the tour. Check out my review and let me know what you think in the comments!
Cornwall 1974
It’s Halloween, and against their parents advice three teenage friends decide to hold a séance. At first it seems the dead don’t want to talk but slowly shadows of the past start to emerge. The contact begins – a Roman legionnaire, a Polish boy and a famous cellist all come through with messages. As the teenagers concentrate on the process, keyed up with excitement, exhilaration and fear, aspects of the three teenagers personalities start to appear. Jeff, and Jo, both have demons of their own. While JP, the youngest, appears to be the most vulnerable and most affected by the strange energy that moves the glass. However their innocent fun is curtailed when a new spirit arrives. Despite their efforts the uninvited will not divulge its name and there is something sinister and threatening about it’s tone. They soon realise that IT knows their inner most secrets. How? Is one of them duping the others? Or are they in contact with a much darker force. When a disturbing truth abruptly ends their evening, they presumed IT would leave them alone. They were wrong…
Buy today and join thousands of readers who have read ‘Eighteen.’ Remember, If you call for the Devil, he will surely come.
Review:
Eighteen is my first read from Paul Barrell and it certainly won’t be my last.
This story has such a creepy atmosphere to it. I love the writing. It wasn’t a jump scare type of horror…more like the kind of horror that seeps under your skin and gives you chills. My favorite kind of horror, honestly.
The setting of the house really adds to the creep factor. If you read this at night, make sure to leave the lights on. It really go into my head and made me check my house before I went to bed!
I loved the characters. They added to the overall atmosphere of the story. This is a pretty short read but it absolutely packs a punch. I really liked it. If you like atmospheric horror, I recommend giving it a shot.
Thank you to Random Things Tours for the free review copy. All opinions are my own and unbiased.
Rating:
4★
Paul
Barrell
Writer
Entrepreneur
& former Sportsman
Paul came to writing late. The trigger was a visit to a remote farmhouse while on a family holiday to the S.W. France in 2007.
In the basement he found a secret room that contained a diverse selection of both French and English literature: and over the next two weeks under a burning sun inspiration took hold. His early literary efforts were sent to a copy writer at Channel 4 who rashly said his work although rough and ready, showed promise. His comments spurred Paul on. Since then he has written three contemporary stand alone novels, a Ghost story titled Eighteen , and is working on ‘ a novel set in the drug world of South London. He writes ‘True Fiction”, about people, places, and events that have shaped his life . The underlying themes are a sense of mystery and the idea that our past and present are all inexplicably linked by invisible threads.
Paul was born in Lambeth in 1961 and spent his formative years growing up in South London. In the 1970’s his parents moved to Surrey where he attended Ewell Castle School for Boys. Here he excelled at sport, especially tennis, cross country and football. At 15 he was given trials at Chelsea , joined the youth team and played against Fulham . He left school after A levels, having taken all his exams a year early.
He was a party child of the 1980’s and spent the next three years living in various flats in Chelsea and Pimlico. A chance meeting with a windsurfing instructor in Italy pointed him in the direction of food and drink , and a degree in Hotel Management increasing his knowledge in fine wines and gastronomy. With the music scene exploding all over London he embraced the New Romantic lifestyle and partied the early eighties away at the Blitz and with Ricky Gervais in Camden. In the winters he could be found at the Farm club in Verbier or other drinking holes in Meribel and Courchevel.
When his parents divorced in 1984 he saw this as the perfect opportunity to fulfil his desire to travel overseas. He wanted more. He ended up in Australia running the Bay Garden Restaurant on Magnetic Island, a stones throw from the Great Barrier Reef. After a run in with immigration, he returned to the UK in the late eighties and decided that the boss/ employee relationship were not for him. He wanted to be an entrepreneur.
He gained qualifications in wine and led the way , by being one of first companies to import and distribute Organic Wines in the UK .Epicurean his upmarket wine company in London,dealt with many high profile clients( like Uri Geller) and he ran this successfully until 2005 while also owning a restaurant in Surrey.
His true passion for storytelling evolved alongside his business career. He always felt that telling a story enhanced the whole sales process. His favourite saying is :
‘I used to open wine but now I open doors.’
He currently works in the film industry and runs a wine and travel blog @mywifeflysforba and a food company @mylocalfarmbox
He is married with two children and lives in Surrey with his wife. He has always pursued his dreams and over the last forty years has skied most of the more challenging mountains in Europe. His expertise in all terrains , down to the tutoring of Malcolm Erskine ( British Ski team) founder of the Brit Ski Academy. He still enjoys sport in his fifties and plays five a side football and tennis. He has been an ardent Chelsea fan and follows his team home and away when time permits.
Eighteen is his fourth novel, and portray’s adeptly his skills as an Indie writer. He has never been on a creative writing course and is self taught, although 10,000 hours practice should make you somewhat of an expert.
Also by Paul Barrell
The Girl In the White Dress published Feb 2020
Magnetic North Published Jan 2018
Postcards From Pimlico Published March 2016
‘Eighteen ‘ is coming to haunt you in October 2021
Let me know what you think in the comments. I’d love to interact with you. If this sounds like something you would read, let me know!
Linktr.ee (All links!)
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Jessica Belmont 
Thanks for the blog tour support xx
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