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THE LUCK OF THE DEVIL (novel) by Stephanie M Bennion

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THE STORY OF MORDIS TERRIFIED HER AS A CHILD...

Susan Jones, a transgender woman struggling to get by in the economic woes of 1990s Britain, is under the care of psychiatrist Doctor Mordussen. He in turn is obsessed by her disturbing nightmares. But are her demons real?

An unexpected road trip to Ireland awakens traumas of the past. A seventeenth-century sorcerer, evil nurses, a castle reborn from the ashes and a bloodthirsty sheep do not making getting to the bottom of the mystery any easier. The old wise woman of the village knows more than she's telling. Susan must confront her demons in more ways than one. Can her love of heavy metal, her battered Volkswagen camper van and two best friends save the day?

The Luck Of The Devil is a thriller of both comedy and tragedy, set in a contemporary world of superstition, psychiatry and the metaphysical.

(First published 15 June 2018; approx 99,000 words.)

Cover artwork by WyrdStar.

Read Chapter One now!

"So I'm just going to start with this teeny tiny spoiler: the main character, Susan, sneaks into Hell using an Inland Revenue security pass. And I nearly inhaled my coffee laughing. I've been reading for this blog from the very beginning, and I have never picked a book up like this. And to be honest, I'm not sure I've ever picked up a book like this from the cisgender world either. This book is unique..."

"...And the story itself is great! It’s a powerful plot, very well driven, and very deeply described. Every character has a point and purpose and personality, and Susan herself is a great balance of terrified disbelief and fed-up strength. [...] If you’ve got a spare few days and a desire to read something really unique and different, I would definitely give this a go."

4 stars (Matt's review, Trans Book Reviews, 29 September 2018.)

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EBOOK recommended retail price:
£2.99 / $3.99

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Tarot CardsTHE LUCK OF THE DEVIL. Hell is other people...

"Doctor Mordussen, I came to you for help," she said. "You told me my nightmares and my gender-identity issues were one and the same. You spun me a story of mental health problems, that my life could be fixed by lying on your couch. You knew that wasn't true."

"Are you still having nightmares?"

Susan paused. "They have changed, but yes."

"Changed? In what way?"

"Last night I saw a vision of hell," Susan told him reluctantly. "A conversation between two demons. It seemed so real, as if they knew I was listening." Maybe I was dreaming of you, she thought grimly.

On a camper van trail of discovery, can Susan's friend Marie cut through to the truth?

"Don't you start!" Marie retorted, with a grimace worthy of Nurse Doherty. "Doctor Mordussen is up to something. If I ever get my hands on him, I'll take a scalpel to his groin and show him the true meaning of 'struck off'!"

Though there are some creatures she would rather have stayed in her head!

"Like a bat out of hell," she muttered, staring at the fiend from her nightmares.

"I'll be gone when the mornin' comes," the squat demon reassured her, giving her a knowing wink. "Nice frock," it added, leering impishly.

But is there rock 'n' roll salvation at the end of a gateway to hell?

"A game show?" remarked Mordis, his arms full of bits of paper. "Judgment Day for me was being thrown in a lake with lead weights around my ankles."

"We likes ter change wiv the times," the imp said solemnly, peeling the skin from the banana. "Life's sort-of ya moral sandwich. Angels whisperin' in one ear, demons the other."

"It was fixed!" retorted Susan. "I was doomed no matter what I said!"

"Talk, talk, hard sell," sneered Sumokyn-Kils. "Come on down, the price is hell!"

Susan stared at the demon. "Did you just quote Hawkwind?"

And much, much more!

CHAPTER TITLES: Prologue: On A Storyteller's Night / Can You See The Real Me? / We Are The Road Crew / Sympathy For The Devil / Welcome To My Nightmare / Don't Fear The Reaper / Symptom Of The Universe / The Number Of The Beast / Dazed And Confused / Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight / Stone Cold Crazy / Gates Of Babylon / The Court Of The Crimson King / For Whom The Bell Tolls / Epilogue: Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be.

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PUBLICATION HISTORY

Do you have the latest version? Ebooks are periodically revised to update endpapers following new releases and to correct any errors...

EBOOK: ISBN: 978-0463987834 (Smashwords); ASIN: B07CKDWXWY (Kindle).

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JUNE 2018 - First ebook edition (Amazon Kindle).

SEPTEMBER 2018 - First ebook edition (Smashwords).

NOTE: If you obtained this ebook from Smashwords, you can download subsequent updates at no extra cost.

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