# Coombe's Wood



## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Here's a little about Coombe's Wood:
Izzy Santana and her 13-year-old son Connor move into a Reading Council-provided flat in the sleepy village of Cedham. Locals darkly warn her to stay away from nearby Coombe’s Wood, hinting first at elves, then at multiple murders… which may or may not have taken place in the woods hundreds of years ago. It’s all ludicrously superstitious, and Izzy is so delighted to have found a haven for her son – after being threatened by her sadistic ex-partner George – that she takes little notice. 

She meets a neighbour who seems kindly, if a trifle fey, and who takes a great interest in her son. Connor seems instantly comfortable with him. She begins to feel as if she is also falling under his spell. But Connor is bullied at school, and one night she finds herself tracking those bullies in the wood, where she believes they are waiting for him. She doesn’t find them, but something closes in on her – something that sounds like a savage animal. As she runs she realises she may have been set up – or Connor was – to be caught by whatever the animal was. She strengthens the barricades in her flat, no longer puts all the local tales about ‘danger in them woods’ down to superstition, and even begins to wonder about the way she was selected by the Reading Council officer to live in the village in the first place. 

Then a slit rabbit turns up on her doorstep, along with a distinctive cigarette butt, and she knows George has found her. Desperately compassionate, her neighbour calls the police, who turn up next day, harumph the ceiling, and take the attitude: You’ve not been attacked, then, Miss? You haven’t actually seen him? Why, if your ex-lover has tracked you down, do you suppose he would he dump a rabbit at your door…? Her own question, more urgent, is: if George can get in the front door of the building, can he get into her flat? 

What Izzy needs to do is protect Connor. She has already started to uncover the ancient secrets of the village, and now she works out the perfect way to get rid of George… for good. 

Publishers Weekly review 2009
In this suspenseful story, strange characters and unnerving legends punctuate one woman’s desperate attempt to flee from her abusive ex-boyfriend by escaping to the English countryside. With little more than an old Toyota and a pair of suitcases, Izzy and her son Connor head to the tiny village of Cedham, where Connor’s father disappeared years before. Izzy, fearful and mistrustful, soon meets the gently protective neighbors and hears stories of elves, ghosts and the monster stalking the nearby woods. Though warned against visiting the woods, Izzy gives into the pull she feels toward the dark woods with a long terrifying history. Deeply-held Cedham traditions add depth to a familiar set-up and offer the additional mystery of whether these stories could be true—or are they the delusions of a paranoid woman on the run? Nicely done. 

Thanks for looking!
Lisa


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## Tangiegirl (Dec 21, 2008)

Nice reviews.  1-Clicked.  Thanks for posting it.


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Thanks, hope you enjoy Coombe's Wood!

Lisa


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Hello everyone,

Just received this wonderful five star review for Coombe's Wood:

This book hooks you from the start and keeps you rolling all the way to the end and hoping for more. Amazing Characters and brilliant descriptions with the change of seasons leaving you feel, see and smell the rain drops cascading down the window pain. 
You will find out the secrets of the woods and the magic of what happens around it and also be thrown into the raw and dreadful lengths humans will go to hurt one another. 
I put this book in one of my top picks of the year. 

Coombe's Wood has been reduced to £0.99 for a limited time. Please check out the book link for Publishers Weekly review.

Thank you for looking!
Lisa


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Here's my latest review for Coombe's Wood:

Coombe's Wood - This story weaves a magical and mysterious tale. A mother on the run with her son from an abusive ex boyfriend. They end up in village where many unanswered questions arise. A strange next door neighbor who talks of elves, murders and a strange beast that hides in the woods behind their home. Loose yourself in their journey and enter the woods if you dare. Find out what happens to the ex-husband who stalks them and how many of the questions are answered for Izzy. I enjoyed this book very much but would of liked to hear more about her son finding out who he truly was and how he accepted it. (maybe another book) Definitely a thumbs up for this captivating, surprising, nail biting journey. Good Job!

Thank you for looking!
Lisa


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## Ricky Sides (Sep 16, 2009)

Hi there,

Just bought your book. It sounds wonderful. Welcome to the Kindle community.

Have a great day,
Ricky


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Thank you Ricky on both accounts!

Lisa


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

I have a wonderful new cover that you can't see on my link yet. Please check it out!

I also have an Amazon Author Page. I haven't much up, but I do have a photo and my bio there. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003E2VRCG

Thank you!
Lisa


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

kinbr said:


> Hi! Adding a link with your new cover image.


Thank you, doesn't it look fabulous!

And in case Brad (who made the cover for me) is listening somewhere, thanks for doing such a great job!

Lisa


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## DonnaFaz (Dec 5, 2009)

Lisa, I just bought your book.  I can't promise to read it any time soon...I have a PILE of TBRs.  LOL  I promised myself I wouldn't do this when I got my Kindle, but...  :::shrug:::  What can I say?  

~Donna~ <-- book lover!


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

DonnaFaz said:


> Lisa, I just bought your book. I can't promise to read it any time soon...I have a PILE of TBRs. LOL I promised myself I wouldn't do this when I got my Kindle, but... :::shrug::: What can I say?
> 
> ~Donna~ <-- book lover!


Donna, thank you! Enjoy the read when you get to it.


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Two bits of news.

First the good news: Coombe's Wood is bouncing just above the 1000 rank. I am crossing my fingers that by this evening I am able to call my novel a top 1000 Kindle novel!

Second the bad news: At the end of this month I am raising the price of Coombe's Wood to 2.99.

Third a second bit of good news: You can get my short story collection, A Peculiar Collection on Smashwords for free! You can find it here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/13363

Lisa


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## Laurie (Jan 9, 2009)

Lisa Hinsley said:


> Two bits of news.
> 
> First the good news: Coombe's Wood is bouncing just above the 1000 rank. I am crossing my fingers that by this evening I am able to call my novel a top 1000 Kindle novel!
> 
> ...


Don't know where I've been and how I missed it, but I just purchased a copy. Not my usual genre, but it sounded interesting enough to pique my interest and the price was right, so......


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Laurie, 

Thank you! Will you let me know what you think, especially as it's not your usual genre?

Cheers,
Lisa

PS I bounced into the top 800 last night for a few hours. Yeah!


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## Laurie (Jan 9, 2009)

Lisa Hinsley said:


> Laurie,
> 
> Thank you! Will you let me know what you think, especially as it's not your usual genre?
> 
> ...


I will let you know. In the middle of another book right now, but I'll start on this one next.


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Just want to say thank you to all my readers - it's been a fabulous couple of months. I am however putting the price back to $2.99 on the first of May. So if you're thinking of buying, this might be the time.

Thank you!

Lisa


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## cheerio (May 16, 2009)

sounds good, might check it out


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## Ed_ODell (Mar 27, 2010)

Lisa,

I perused the reviews for your book when I went though the tagging thread. I'm sold! Very nice reviews and product description. One clicked. Hopefully I'll get to it by the end of the weekend.

Well done!

Ed


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Today's featured author at the Indie Spotlight

Wednesday: Lisa C Hinsley - Coombe's Wood

http://www.theindiespotlight.com

Come up and read and leave a comment.

Edward C. Patterson
& Gregory B. Banks


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Sorry folks, haven't been on the Kindle Boards for a while, came back to find these lovely posts! 

Ed and Cheerio, thank you! Hope you enjoy the read.

Edward, it was great to see my book up on the Indie Spotlight. I also received some very nice comments. Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to be there for a day.

Lisa


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Lisa Hinsley said:


> Update: Price raised to $2.99 but Amazon are cutting the price to $1.99. I have no idea how long the discount will last!
> 
> Hi, brand new to these boards, I would like to tell you all about my book, Coombe's Wood. I've no idea how to do an imbeded (is that the right word?) link, so here's the long one:
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TSAORU/ref=tag_nof_ap_edpp
> ...


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Bumping this to let everyone know that after a few fabulous months selling on Kindle, I need to concentrate on writing, so I'm offering both my books on Smashwords for free. Here's the link to my author page: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Gingery

Enjoy!
Lisa


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

You're welcome kinbr, and thanks for adding me on your freebies list!


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Just popping by to say these are both still free on Smashwords.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Lisa. . .hi! . . . .doesn't look like we welcomed you! I had deleted the recent post you made as it hadn't been 7 days since the one before, and then I realized we never officially gave you a copy of 'the rules' such as they are! So, here they are, and here's a free bump, so you can re-post whatever was in the other one. Sorry!  (But, in the future, be sure to wait 7 days between back-to-back posts of your own.  )

We invite you to use your book cover as your avatar and have links to your book and website in your signature. Be sure to read the fine print below. Don't forget to bookmark this thread (using your browser's bookmark/favorite function) so you can update it. Although self-promotion is limited to the Book Bazaar, most of our authors have found the best way to promote their books is to be as active throughout KindleBoards as time allows. This is your target audience--book lovers with Kindles!

Thanks for being part of KindleBoards! Feel free to PM us if you have any questions.

Betsy & Ann
Book Bazaar Moderators

_The fine print:
Please add to your existing book thread when you have news about your book rather than start a new one, it helps the members who are trying to follow you. You may have a separate thread for each of your books. We recommend you bookmark your post so that you can find it in the future.  You may respond to all posts, but if there have been no member posts, we ask that you wait a week before "bumping" the thread by posting back-to-back posts of your own. And we ask that Amazon reviews not be repeated here as they are easy to find at your book link. Also, full reviews from other sites should not be posted here, but you may post a short blurb and a link to the full review instead. All this, and more, is included in our Forum Decorum. From time to time our site rules may change; be sure to check Forum Decorum (http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,36.0.html) for the current guidelines and rules. _


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Thanks for the welcome, Ann. I will be sure to mind the rules - they seem fair to me.


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## Ali Cooper (May 1, 2010)

Coombe's Wood is too good to give away - buy it here!


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

Thanks, Ali!

Thought I'd give a little excerpt:

"Cool, I love thunder storms." Connor wiped mist off the inside of the window and pressed his face against the glass.
"Ever tried driving in one?"
She drove, once more in silence, confused by conflicting thoughts. Feathers filled her mind, his kiss, his embrace, the scent of his skin under all those oils. He was waiting for her. She'd be home five minutes faster if she took the shortcut along Coombe Lane. Suddenly Whiskey Dave's voice spoke in her mind, _"The hauntings, has Feathers told you nothing?"_ Then Feathers, _"The ghosts of John Coombe and his victims wander the woods."_ 
What rubbish. Ghosts didn't scare her, even if she believed in them. And the missing people? This was a world where unhappy homes, financial trouble and violent partners existed. Drugs, mental illness, terminal relatives, there must be hundreds of reasons to want to disappear. Children ran away. Hell, adults ran away. She didn't give a toss about ghosts and vague warnings. She wanted to get home.


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## Lisa Hinsley (Jan 11, 2010)

It's been a long time since I've been on these boards. I've been writing furiously, and in the meantime, Coombe's Wood has been selling. I am now thrilled to say I am six copies away from selling 1000 copies of Coombe's Wood on Kindle. It's been a fantastic year, and I just want to say thank you to everyone who's bought a copy, and to all the lovely emails I received from readers.

Lisa
Lisa's Amazon author page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003E2VRCG


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