This is the blog of Samie Sands, author of Lockdown. There will be many great books and projects reviewed here. For more, check out thelockdown.co.uk.

Monday 30 March 2020

AM13 Outbreak Shorts: The Complete Collection

AM13 Outbreak Shorts: The Complete Collection by [Sands, Samie]
The zombie apocalypse has arrived, the virus has been dubbed as AM13, and the human race is struggling to survive. Here are some short stories to accompany Lockdown, Forgotten, Extinct, and Not Dead Yet (but they can be read as standalone)...delve in and enjoy life among the undead!

Outbreak: No one has it worse than Rachael! First her parents make her move to a crappy new town, then Zac starts ignoring her, and just to top everything off...the rumours of a zombie apocalypse seem to have more truth to them than anyone could have imagined!

Quarantine: Katie did not sign up for this when she went to medical school. She's now working as a nurse at one of the specialist medical facilities set up for the AM13 virus. She doesn't want the humdrum of dealing with sick, dying patients every day, she wants to be the hero who finds a cure! As the Lockdown starts, and more people with the virus are bought in, can she keep control of the situation?

Crackdown: Oliver might have a slightly shady past, but he joined the police force to make the world a better place, how was he supposed to know the whole world was going to go to hell? Now, with zombies roaming the earth, he has to try and follow orders, whilst sticking to his (okay maybe newly found) morals and stop his old self from coming back.

One Year On: It's a year into the apocalypse, how are our favourite characters surviving?

Thursday 26 March 2020

Crackdown (AM13 Outbreak Shorts Book 3)

Crackdown (AM13 Outbreak Shorts Book 3) by [Sands, Samie]
Oliver might have a slightly shady past, but he joined the police force to make the world a better place, how was he supposed to know the whole world was going to go to hell? Now, with zombies roaming the earth, he has to try and follow orders, whilst sticking to his (okay maybe newly found) morals and stop his old self from coming back.

Tuesday 24 March 2020

Quarantine (AM13 Outbreak Shorts Book 2)

Quarantine (AM13 Outbreak Shorts Book 2) by [Sands, Samie]
Katie did not sign up for this when she went to medical school. She's now working as a nurse at one of the specialist medical facilities set up for the AM13 virus. She doesn't want the humdrum of dealing with sick, dying patients every day, she wants to be the hero who finds a cure! As the Lockdown starts, and more people with the virus are bought in, can she keep control of the situation?

Sunday 22 March 2020

Tongue Tied is #FREE

Tongue Tied - High Resolution

Scott and Carlie, Carlie and Scott...

From the moment these two lay eyes on each other it seems inevitable that they'll end up together. Sure, they're young so mistakes are made along the way, but the connection they share is like nothing either of them has ever experienced before.

That is...until fate gets in the way.

A catastrophic event leaves Carlie questioning everything. Every single decision that she's ever made comes under scrutiny, including those that involve Scott.

There's something she needs to say, but is she brave enough or will Carlie always be...Tongue Tied?

US Link
UK Link
CA Link
AU Link

Outbreak (AM13 Outbreak Shorts Book 1)

Outbreak (AM13 Outbreak Shorts Book 1) by [Sands, Samie]
No one has it worse than Rachael! First her parents make her move to a crappy new town, then Zac starts ignoring her, and just to top everything off...the rumours of a zombie apocalypse seem to have more truth to them than anyone could have imagined!

Friday 20 March 2020

Tongue Tied

Tongue Tied by [Sands, Samie]
Scott and Carlie, Carlie and Scott...

From the moment these two lay eyes on each other it seems inevitable that they'll end up together. Sure, they're young so mistakes are made along the way, but the connection they share is like nothing either of them has ever experienced before.

That is...until fate gets in the way.

A catastrophic event leaves Carlie questioning everything. Every single decision that she's ever made comes under scrutiny, including those that involve Scott.

There's something she needs to say, but is she brave enough or will Carlie always be...Tongue Tied?

Wednesday 18 March 2020

Through Space And Time

Through Space And Time by [Sands, Samie]
When nuclear war hit in the year 2039, the fabric of reality was changed forever. A hole opened in time and space, making things possible that no one would've dared dream of before.

Raegan has grown up in these worlds, experiencing chaos, drama, war, and occasionally somewhere that's actually pleasant, but she only has one goal in mind; to find her father. They were split up as the blast hit and she hasn't given up hope. Nor will she, however hopeless things may seem...

Monday 16 March 2020

Malediction: curse me... curse me not...

Malediction: curse me... curse me not... by [Sands, Samie, Carr, Jennifer, Jaarsveld, Katie, Bailey, Alex , Suscheck, Dave, Williams, C.L., Osualdini, Noel, Malafarina, Thomas M. , Lopez Jr., Arnaldo ]
Malediction; a magical word or phrase uttered with the intention of bringing about evil; a curse. Something we all want to avoid. But not all of us can. A curse can be inherited, cast upon us, sometimes we don't even know where it's come from but the consequences will be devastating!

curse me... curse me not...

Featuring top horror authors:
Jennifer Carr
Katie Jaarsveld
Alex Bailey
Dave Suscheck
C.L. Williams
Noel Osualdini
Arnaldo Lopez Jr.
Thomas M. Malafarina
Kevin S. Hall
Rob Shepherd
Samie Sands

One Year On (AM13 Outbreak Shorts Book 4)

One Year On (AM13 Outbreak Shorts Book 4) by [Sands, Samie]
The zombie apocalypse has arrived, the virus has been dubbed as AM13, and the human race is struggling to survive. It's a year into the apocalypse, and a lot of the characters are still alive...for now.

But will they stay that way?

Thursday 5 March 2020

When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O'Neal

When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel by [O'Neal, Barbara]
An Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestseller.
From the author of The Art of Inheriting Secrets comes an emotional new tale of two sisters, an ocean of lies, and a search for the truth.
Her sister has been dead for fifteen years when she sees her on the TV news…
Josie Bianci was killed years ago on a train during a terrorist attack. Gone forever. It’s what her sister, Kit, an ER doctor in Santa Cruz, has always believed. Yet all it takes is a few heart-wrenching seconds to upend Kit’s world. Live coverage of a club fire in Auckland has captured the image of a woman stumbling through the smoke and debris. Her resemblance to Josie is unbelievable. And unmistakable. With it comes a flood of emotions—grief, loss, and anger—that Kit finally has a chance to put to rest: by finding the sister who’s been living a lie.
After arriving in New Zealand, Kit begins her journey with the memories of the past: of days spent on the beach with Josie. Of a lost teenage boy who’d become part of their family. And of a trauma that has haunted Kit and Josie their entire lives.
Now, if two sisters are to reunite, it can only be by unearthing long-buried secrets and facing a devastating truth that has kept them apart far too long. To regain their relationship, they may have to lose everything.

Tuesday 3 March 2020

The Institute by Stephen King

The Institute by [King, Stephen]
'It does everything you'd expect of a masterpiece - and it is one' Sunday Express
'Hums and crackles with delicious unease' Independent
'A captivating, hybrid novel that shape-shifts through several genres' The Sunday Times

Deep in the woods of Maine, there is a dark state facility where kids, abducted from across the United States, are incarcerated. In the Institute they are subjected to a series of tests and procedures meant to combine their exceptional gifts - telepathy, telekinesis - for concentrated effect.
Luke Ellis is the latest recruit. He's just a regular 12-year-old, except he's not just smart, he's super-smart. And he has another gift which the Institute wants to use...
Far away in a small town in South Carolina, former cop Tim Jamieson has taken a job working for the local sheriff. He's basically just walking the beat. But he's about to take on the biggest case of his career.
Back in the Institute's downtrodden playground and corridors where posters advertise 'just another day in paradise', Luke, his friend Kalisha and the other kids are in no doubt that they are prisoners, not guests. And there is no hope of escape.
But great events can turn on small hinges and Luke is about to team up with a new, even younger recruit, Avery Dixon, whose ability to read minds is off the scale. While the Institute may want to harness their powers for covert ends, the combined intelligence of Luke and Avery is beyond anything that even those who run the experiments - even the infamous Mrs Sigsby - suspect.
Thrilling, suspenseful, heartbreaking, THE INSTITUTE is a stunning novel of childhood betrayed and hope regained.

Sunday 1 March 2020

Last Day by Luanne Rice

Last Day by [Rice, Luanne]
From celebrated New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice comes a riveting story of a seaside community shaken by a violent crime and a tragic loss.
Years ago, Beth Lathrop and her sister Kate suffered what they thought would be the worst tragedy of their lives the night both the famous painting Moonlight and their mother were taken. The detective assigned to the case, Conor Reid, swore to protect the sisters from then on.
Beth moved on, throwing herself fully into the art world, running the family gallery, and raising a beautiful daughter with her husband Pete. Kate, instead, retreated into herself and took to the skies as a pilot, always on the run. When Beth is found strangled in her home, and Moonlight goes missing again, Detective Reid can’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu.
Reid immediately suspects Beth’s husband, whose affair is a poorly kept secret. He has an airtight alibi—but he also has a motive, and the evidence seems to point to him. Kate and Reid, along with the sisters’ closest childhood friends, struggle to make sense of Beth’s death, but they only find more questions: Who else would have wanted Beth dead? What’s the significance of Moonlight?
Twenty years ago, Reid vowed to protect Beth and Kate—and he’s failed. Now solving the case is turning into an obsession . . .

Cincopa Gallery

...