Thank you for joining me today on the Blog Tour for Through the Barricades by Denise Deegan. I have an excerpt and a lovely giveaway but first of all let's take a look at the book...
THROUGH THE
BARRICADES
BY DENISE
DEEGAN
Release
Date: 8th December 2016
She was willing to
sacrifice everything for her country. He was willing to sacrifice everything
for her.
‘Make a difference in the world,’ are the last words Maggie Gilligan’s father ever says to her. They form a legacy that she carries in her heart, years later when, at the age of fifteen, she tries to better the lives of Dublin’s largely forgotten poor.
‘Don’t go getting distracted, now,’ is what Daniel Healy’s father says to him after seeing him talking to the same Maggie Gilligan. Daniel is more than distracted. He is intrigued. Never has he met anyone as dismissive, argumentative… as downright infuriating.
A dare from Maggie is all it takes. Daniel volunteers at a food kitchen. There, his eyes are opened to the plight of the poor. It is 1913 and Dublin’s striking workers have been locked out of their jobs. Their families are going hungry. Daniel and Maggie do what they can. Soon, however, Maggie realises that the only way to make a difference is to take up arms.
The story of Maggie and Daniel is one of friendship, love, war and revolution, of two people who are prepared to sacrifice their lives: Maggie for her country, Daniel for Maggie. Their mutual sacrifices put them on opposite sides of a revolution. Can their love survive?
‘Make a difference in the world,’ are the last words Maggie Gilligan’s father ever says to her. They form a legacy that she carries in her heart, years later when, at the age of fifteen, she tries to better the lives of Dublin’s largely forgotten poor.
‘Don’t go getting distracted, now,’ is what Daniel Healy’s father says to him after seeing him talking to the same Maggie Gilligan. Daniel is more than distracted. He is intrigued. Never has he met anyone as dismissive, argumentative… as downright infuriating.
A dare from Maggie is all it takes. Daniel volunteers at a food kitchen. There, his eyes are opened to the plight of the poor. It is 1913 and Dublin’s striking workers have been locked out of their jobs. Their families are going hungry. Daniel and Maggie do what they can. Soon, however, Maggie realises that the only way to make a difference is to take up arms.
The story of Maggie and Daniel is one of friendship, love, war and revolution, of two people who are prepared to sacrifice their lives: Maggie for her country, Daniel for Maggie. Their mutual sacrifices put them on opposite sides of a revolution. Can their love survive?
========================
EXCERPT
Prologue
1906
Maggie woke coughing. It was dark but there was
something other than darkness in the air, something that climbed into her
mouth, scratched at her throat and stole her breath. It made her eyes sting and
tear. And it made her heart stall. Flames burst through the doorway like dragon
breath. Maggie tried to scream but more coughs came, one after the other, after
the other. She backed up in the bed, eyes wide, as the blaze began to engulf
the room. She thought of her family, asleep in their beds. She had to waken
them – with something other than her voice.
She hurried from her bed, peering
through flame-lit smoke in search of her jug and washbasin. Reaching them, she
flung water in the direction of the fire and began to slam enamel against
enamel, fast and loud. She had to back away as flames
lapped and roared and licked at her. But she kept on slamming.
Her arms
grew tired. Her breath began to fail her. And she felt the heavy pull of sleep.
She might have given in had she been alone in the house. But there was her
father. There was her mother. There was Tom. And there was David. She could not
give up.
Then like a miracle of black shadow, her father burst
through the flames, his head tossing and turning. His frenzied gaze met hers.
‘Maggie!’
She
began to cry with relief but relief changed to guilt as she realised that she
had only drawn him further into the fire.
‘No! You
were meant to take the stairs. You were meant to-’
‘It’s
all right, Maggie Mae. It’s all right,’ he said, hurrying to her. He scooped her up and held her tight
as he carried her away from a heat that burned without touching.
She felt cool air on her back as he opened the window. Wind rushed in,
blowing the drapes aside. The flames roared louder, rose higher. But her
father only looked out at the night sky. And down.
‘Missus O’Neill! I’m dropping Maggie down to you!’ he
called. ‘Catch her now, mind. Catch my little girl.’ Then he looked deep into Maggie’s eyes. ‘Missus
O’Neill is down below with her arms out for you. I’m going to drop you down to
her.’
‘Will she catch you too?’
But he just smiled and kissed her
forehead. ‘Make a difference in the world, Maggie.’
The sadness in his eyes filled her
with a new terror. ‘But you’re coming too?’
He smiled once more. ‘I am, as soon
as I get the others out. Now keep your eyes on mine, Maggie Mae. Keep your
eyes on mine all the way down.’
========================
ABOUT
DENISE DEEGAN
Denise Deegan is
author of several best-selling novels for adults and teens. She has been a
nurse, a china restorer, a pharmaceutical sales rep, a public relations
officer, an entrepreneur and a college lecturer. Her most difficult job was
checkout girl, though ultimately this ‘experience’ did inspire a short story…
Denise’s writing
for Young Adults includes The Butterfly Novels: And By
The Way, And For
Your Information and And
Actually.
Denise writes
women’s fiction as Aimee
Alexander including Pause to
Rewind, The
Accidental Life of Greg Millar and All We
Have Lost.
Most recently,
Denise has written an historical novel of love and revolution, Through
the Barricades.
Denise is
represented by the East West Literary Agency and Barry Krost Management. She is a member of the SCBWI.
Goodreads Author Page:
Instagram:
LinkedIn:
Blog and Website:
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GIVEAWAY
A signed copy
of the book (open internationally)
I love that the stories are slightly different and woman had to fight for their right (and wright).
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