Blog

Researching Rebel Green

8 May 2020 by PJ Skinner Leave a Comment

Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s is the setting for Rebel Green which is the book I’m working on. I went to Ireland as a 6 year old child with my English parents and siblings, and stayed for almost 20 years. We lived through the years of the Troubles but were never directly affected by them. As teenagers, we did drink in a pub frequented by members of the Provos but the landlord used to advise us if any of them arrived so we could leave discretely.

The book will examine how being moved to a new country can affect a whole family. Small incidents can colour a childhood and create false perceptions leading to tragedy. I hope you will enjoy these photos of that time. Do you have any similar experiences to share? You can do this on my Author page at https://www.facebook.com/PJSkinnerAuthor/ or send me an email.

Concrete Jungle is out

15 March 2020 by PJ Skinner Leave a Comment

Armed with an MBA, geologist Sam Harris is storming the City.

But has she swapped one jungle for another?

Forging a new career was never going to be easy, and Sam Harris soon discovers she has not escaped from the culture of misogyny and corruption that blighted her field career.

When her heroic past is revealed at a mining drinks party, she finally achieves the acceptance she has always craved. But being one of the boys is not the panacea she expected. Her due diligence on a project uncovers a scam, and she is presented with the stark choice of compromising her principles to keep her new position, or exposing the truth behind the façade.

Will she finally get what she wants or was it all a mirage?

Concrete Jungle is the final book of the Sam Harris Adventures and completes the saga. It is not a standalone as it incorporates threads from all the other books. If you like strong female protagonists, international adventure and financial thrillers, and have followed the series, you’ll love Sam’s final hurrah.

No Cell Coverage

19 December 2019 by PJ Skinner Leave a Comment

Hi Gang,

Thought you would enjoy these photos from Northern Brazil while you are waiting for Concrete Jungle. Only six weeks now and I’m struggling to finish in time. This is due to taking a work contract in Brazil to keep the wolf from the door. So if you haven’t already, please review my books and help me get more sales. I’d really appreciate the leg up.

Meanwhile, feel free to comment on the photos or ask me questions. Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year to all of you.

PJ Skinner

The End is Nigh

12 November 2019 by PJ Skinner Leave a Comment

No, this isn’t another Halloween advertisement. I just wanted to let you know that I’m writing Concrete Jungle, the final book of the Sam Harris Adventure Series. You can get it on pre-order right here.

I will be finishing a standalone novel about Ireland during the troubles called Rebel Green next, followed by a new series, so please stay subscribed if you wish to hear about these books.

It’s almost time for Digging Deeper

26 August 2019 by PJ Skinner Leave a Comment

Digging Deeper is based on my experiences in north-eastern Angola in 1998-99. We worked beside a project that was attacked by UNITA who shot some of the white managers and used others to carry their booty. The whole contract was a nightmare, especially since it was six months long with no break. The only relief as the odd Sunday football or rugby game on the solitary television, and clandestine fishing trips (forbidden for security purposes).

Sam Harris has taken the job, as I did, out of desperation for money. Like Sam, I was supposed to be based in the Capital, Luanda, but I found myself sent out to the provinces, near the UNITA base. Why didn’t I leave? Because they thought they could force me out. It became a battle of wills. I did six months, and, bonuses included, it paid for me to do an MBA. For me, it was worth it. I know it was crazy, but being a woman in that industry was always a compromise between swallowing casual sexism and the odd physical assault, and doing the job I trained for.

Luanda Seafront
Oil rig in Luanda Bay
My house
Laundry Ladies
Cassava plantation
Tiger Fish
Edison and Pibe

Digging Deeper is on Pre-Order for 31st of August. First reviews are in. Here is one I am particularly proud of:

‘Your writing (especially in Digging Deeper) HAS REACHED MY HEART, MY SOUL, AND ALL THE REST OF ME. (My spirit guides capitalized that and I agree).

Especially adorable are Pibe and Edison Jr. and the way Sam feels about them, and the way they feel about her. The Beatles were right: All You Need Is Love.

Digging Deeper is Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious times a million!! It could be (and I think it should be) made into a movie.’

GET IT NOW

Travels in Senegal

10 August 2019 by PJ Skinner Leave a Comment

I took these photos during a year I spent working in Senegal. I am using the experience as background for one section of book 7, the Concrete Jungle, which I am writing now. It will be the last book in the Sam Harris Adventure Series.