Lucy Brazier is the author of PorterGirl: First Lady Of The Keys, a zany trip through mayhem and chaos as Old College suffers it’s first ever female Deputy Head Porter.
For those of you who have not encountered Lucy’s blog before, then I really think you might be missing out. Not only does it contain the blog version of PorterGirl and the goings on within Old College, but a wonderful saga in a post Brexit dystopia where England is now split into county realms and seedy goings on in “Who Shot Tony Blair?”
PorterGirl is a quirky trip into an elite educational bastion of medieval lore and clandestine tradition, hiding dark secrets and practices seemingly time locked around the fourteenth century.
As the first female allowed into the college, PorterGirl has not only to find a way of fitting in and become accepted, but also uncover the foul deeds that the establishment has conveniently chosen to ignore in order to keep things ticking along as they always have done.
With eyes wide open, she begins to suspect that the sudden deaths of two staff members sympathetic to her cause are not entirely of natural causes. The reader is drawn into a path of incredulity at an elitist modus operandi, travelling with her as the old ways are exposed and a sinister past known only by a select few starts to unravel.
The Blurb
‘Porters are not the carriers of bags, they are the keepers of keys!’
As one of the most ancient and esteemed establishments of the academic elite, Old College is in for something of a shock when it appoints its very first female Deputy Head Porter.
She struggles to get to grips with this eccentric world, far removed from everyday life. PorterGirl, the proverbial square peg in the round hole, begins to wonder quite what she is doing here.
PorterGirl; First Lady Of The Keys is a touching, and at times laugh-out-loud funny, glimpse into a world that is usually reserved for the upper echelons of society.
Whether she is chasing after naked students, drinking copious amounts of tea or getting embroiled in quaint, polite murders, Deputy Head Porter is never far from adventure.
A wonderful blend of absurdity, intrigue and a humorous laugh out loud poke at elitism.
Don’t take my word for it though; check out the reviews on Amazon and, since you are there, take a punt and give it a read.
PorterGirl on Amazon UK Edition
PorterGirl on Amazon US Edition
And now a sneak preview of the sequel.
I asked Lucy to give me a heads up on “The Vanishing Lord” and this is what came back.
The final edit has since been signed off and the next book is expected to be released towards the end of June 1017.
PorterGirl – The Vanishing Lord
By Lucy Brazier June 2017
There’s nothing quite so annoying as having the police arrive just as you are trying to work out how to cover up a crime that may or may not have happened…
Having barely drawn breath from clearing out the bodies that resulted from the unpleasantness of last term, our heroine Deputy Head Porter once again finds herself facing another crisis at Old College. One of the oldest and most esteemed establishments of the British academic elite, Old College had a long and bloody history before the arrival of the very first female Deputy Head Porter, so perhaps she shouldn’t be so surprised.
Her first academic year in her illustrious new role (Porters are not the carriers of bags, but the keepers of keys) saw her tackle a vicious and shadowy secret organisation, several murders and the assorted whims of College hierarchy. Now, faced with the unexplained disappearance of a priceless painting and the unexpected death of local dignitary Lord Bernard, there is nothing for it but to don her trusty bowler hat and embark upon another eccentric investigation.
Only slightly hindered by the assistance of an increasingly erratic Head Porter – whose personal life gets more complex by the day – and the terrifyingly unpredictable Dean of College, Deputy Head Porter is soon chasing clues, picking up red herrings and juggling extraordinary adventures with the day-to-day running of Britain’s most exclusive educational establishment.
Tenacious detectives, ill-advised disguises, saucy medieval literature and Russian spies conspire to confuse matters further. While great efforts are spent unravelling a horrible misunderstanding, far darker machinations go almost unnoticed…
Further Information About the Author
Lucy is amazing, beautiful and talented. Always a honor to read her work.
Not much I can add there John! Many thanks for the comment and I’m sure Lucy will see it shortly too 🙂
A wonderful and kind woman.
Hi Gary,
I remember Porter Girl. We were in touch when I first started blogging. Stumbled!
Janice
Thanks Janice, if I missed your post today my apologies, it was too sunny to sit beyond my self imposed deadline today! Lucy is trading time here and engaging to write her next book, we’ll get it ready for publishing next month 😊
Hi! Now this sounds really interesting, thanks for highlighting Lucy and her writings. I’m off to check out her blog – the whole idea behind PorterGirl sounds fascinating.
I should say so; it started purely as a blog thing and then became the book. The other thing to track down on her site is “Who Shot Tony Blair” which is a post Brexit Dytopia. All a good hoot and fun! Thanks so much for the comment too 🙂
That sounds exactly my type of thing 😊 really looking forward to having a good old nosy of her blog once the kidlets are in bed!
Brilliant, I’m sure you’ll find a fair few chuckles! She also posts quite regularly too; which always amazes me!! I really need a better blog schedule!!!
Nice reading a little more insight behind the vision of PorterGirl, it’s author, as well as other wonderful works like Old Colege This is quite an intriguing and entertaining blog site. I’m always honored when I receive occasional visits knowing how busy the works here might keep you. Thanks for the support! I wish you much success on your journey to inspire, motivate, and entertain other!.
Between you and I (no peeking Lucy) I hope to do a bit more behind the scenes when I big up her next book The Vanishing Lord due in June. Author Spotlights are a new thing I’m keen to continue with too. Very kind of you to offer such positive feedback too and with knowing behind the scenes with writers there is a fine balance between blogging too much and not actually getting the day job done!! I also feel blogging is a fabulous tool to help inspire and motivate others too so thank you for that as well 🙂
Lucy’s blog is a hoot and a wonderful reflection of her cheeky self. Her books are fun – I highly recommend them!
I can’t really add much to that round up Noelle! You said it all. Thank you so much for commenting 😊
This sounds great. Really interesting. Thanks for bringing the book to my attention.
Lucy’s blog is the starting point for PorterGirl. The blog became the book so to speak, so you can find a heap of things there to get a feel for her writing. Not just PorterGirl either, there’s a neat chunk on a dystopian post Brexit Britain which is what I call ludicrous funny 🙂 Thanks for popping over from the FB shuffle 🙂
Excellent!
Reblogged this on writerchristophfischer and commented:
I’ve been following Lucy’s wonderful blog for some time now and love her sense of humour. This book is on my tbr pile. Enjoy!
Thank you so much Christopher. So have I too; in fact Lucy was one of the first people I got to know here when I started blogging just over a year ago. Best get reading as the sequel is imminent too 🙂
Terrific spotlight and great news about the new book coming up soon. congratulations..
Apologies for the delay in replying; got caught up in reality!! Many thanks for that; I really appreciate your feedback on the spotlight 🙂 Should be popping up another once the release date is, well, released !
Great let me know and I will do a promotion for you here. Sally
Certainly will Sally; I’m hoping to continue with author spotlights now too; compliments my own designs on publishing at some point! At the moment I’m trying to persuade a pensioner friend of mine to let me run his book. If you like music then this one is full of hilarity. He writes to pop-stars questioning the meaning of lyrics. Started as a hobby then he got known for it and they are writing back. The results are hilarious. Really hope he’s up for it as I am certain bloggers would enjoy this one 🙂
Thank you very much for the review.
Askimet caught this one for some reason so I’ve just found it in my spam folder. Really sorry about that. Thank you so much for popping over and commenting!
Reblogged this on Sue Vincent's Daily Echo.
Fabulous Sue. Highly appreciated and extremely kind of you 🙂
A real pleasure, Gary.
Thanks Sue – you are such a legend!
That makes me feel ancient, Lucy 😉
Oh no! I meant you are super great! 😀
I know…but hey 😉
On my kindle tbr list. Looking forward to catching the entire thing in one go 🙂
Top man; it’s certainly worth a go and full of fabulous witticisms and… (no more spoilers lol) Will be shouting out the release date for the next one too which should be soon. Thank you so much for the comment 🙂
Oooh that means so much!! Thank you! Sending hugs 🙂
Reblogged this on newauthoronline.
Thank you so much; really appreciate it 🙂
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
Learn a little more about Lucy 😀
Thank you Chris; really appreciate spreading the word about Lucy and her book(s) 🙂
Welcome, Gary 😃
Reblogged this on firefly465 and commented:
from https://fictionisfood.com a great interview with our very own Lucy Brazier
Thank you Adele; really appreciate the shout out for Lucy 🙂
😀 xx
Here, here, she’s sharp as a pin and pens real cleverly!
– Esme applauding upon the Cloud
Very much so… or mad a as Hatter, but for me… that works too 🙂 Thanks for the comment and I’m sure she will reply now I’ve started processing the moderated comments…my bad!!
Also mad as a lorry – don’t forget that!
Sending hugs to the Cloud
‘Mad as a lorry’ – Hahahahaha. That one is new to me *pockets it and hugs her back*
– Esme keeping her load in check upon the Cloud
Use it widely! I got it from my mum, so it’s probably made up 🙂
Best ones usually are!
– Esme laughing upon the Cloud
Is that a Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry… or was that an 80’s goth band? Strange word association really. Used to inhabit a house not far from me in Headingley in Student times.. the band, not a word association… I digress..
It’s one of my mum’s phrases, which is why it doesn’t make much sense 🙂
A bit like “It’s a bit black over Bills mothers.” One of my grans comments about impending storms; no idea who Bill was mind, or why his mums house moved each time a storm came from a different direction…
I’m going to use that phrase 🙂
Ha, ha, I must research it and see if there is a know origin of said phrase. I mean, you don’t just invent something like that…do you ???
If she’s anything like my mum, then… yes!
hmm, can’t really counter that point; she outlived two husbands and was a mine of strange sayings…and éclairs; there were always cream éclairs when visiting!
LOVE Lucy and her writing – and I was hoping from the title of the post that it was the announcement of her next book in the PorterGirl series. Drats – I must endeavor to be patient (not my strong suit).
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to educate a world!”
Ha, ha; fear not; I am going to linkup with Lucy again and do another one helping to big up the publishing date when its set. I expect Lucy will also reply here to you here now too 🙂
Oh yeah – Lucy never sleeps – she comments everywhere! lol. Thanks, Gary, for responding.
xx,
mgh
I hear you on that; I’m already replying in all the wrong order here now too!! Always respond to comments Madelyn… unless…there’s a power cut, in which case I don’t 🙂
I’m pretty good with response too – go down the comment thread from the top of the notifications blogroll. But there are a few days when I must be out in the world and cannot, since I do everything from a computer in my home office (large monitor and clicky keyboard, since I am a touch typist and need the feedback). Plus, everybody deserves a bit of time off occasionally – even bloggers.
Also, with well over a million link-spam (Akismet counter on sidebar) – I must approve ALL comments. So unless I am at the computer, nothing shows up under the post.
xx,
mgh
I so am with you on that! I need to ensure I take time outs to recharge; I find too much social media affects things I should be doing elsewhere; such as writing new posts or even writing my actual writing!! I’ve set my moderation to let through people I have previously approved too. Its not caused any issues yet, although I ought to check my spam folder more because occasionally it traps comments it shouldn’t!!! In fact I will do that right now lest I forget x
When you get as much spam as my blog, digging though the trash is just not practical. I already spend too much time blogging, commenting, etc. – I’d have to give up sleeping!
Good luck approving once, then automatic. Spammers are clever. My spam went up dramatically when I tried that.
xx,
mgh
True; I figured if it happens then I will end up moderating everything. At the moment I’m only a year in so still rather an unknown entity on the grand scheme of what would be the point having a pop here. That said; I don’t approve every comment. I tend to vet them quite heavily 🙂
I’ll approve anybody who seems legit – on topic or off – but if I’m unsure I edit first to remove their link. I also do NOT approve “names” that are websites or marketing – and I check to see if sites are real. Time-consuming, but better than having a bunch of link-spam on the site.
xx,
mgh
All very solid methods in my opinion. Had a similar discussion not so long ago in a blogging FB group about people commenting saying hi, nice post, check out mine and leaving a link. The members were unanimous in not liking that trait!
As soon as I know, you will know my lovely!
xx
Hahaha – I just responded to Gary’s response, commenting that you are everywhere – and here you are! Magic.
xx,
mgh
Excellent (think Monty Burns rubbing hands together for the pronunciation of that). Can’t wait 🙂
Reblogged this on Secret Diary Of PorterGirl.
Go you 🙂
Yay go me!
Go back down the list as I’ve now approved more comments and reblog notifications. Hope the colds getting better too x
I will reply to as many as I can! I am literally dying over here… just a few more hours and there will be wine and chocolate… there had BETTER be wine and chocolate… x
Early night and the fabled chicken soup; although I suspect wine and chocolate has far more appeal! Still good for blood sugar, and you do need to feed a cold yes 🙂 x
Chicken soup makes me want to vomit, whereas chocolate and wine has never let me down! x
ahh, that was another one of my Grans sayings; not sure why it had to be chicken soup though! Best avoid that one and go for the vino 🙂
Very nice spotlight Gary, and by the way am really enjoying reading Porter Girl. Lucy has a very entertaining, and amusing writing style. I’m past the halfway mark… Good luck with The Vanishing Lord Lucy.
Thank you Marj. I think I will be looking to do more now. Good way to make connections and possibly look for reciprocation once I’m published too. I’m hoping to do another for Lucy once publication is imminent too 🙂
Yes, i will be doing some more soon too. And I’m going to be interviewing some of the characters in my book. First up is Shadow the cat! That will be fun… Tee hee. 🙂
Lol…not thought of trying that sort of interview!! Mind you can’t see my antagonist being keen. The answers there might not be wise to put in a post !!!
Oh, yes antagonist answers can be tricky….. I reckon my antagonist would refuse to answer any probing questions but a cat is the perfect observer!
Actually, they might be fun to do before starting writing a book. A virtual interview to find out who they are and then a post book one to see how it all went! Err was perfect (purrfect) a deliberate pun lol
Thanks, Marje! I rally appreciate your kind words – and of course taking the time to read the book! I am excited for the next one, I feel I have more a handle on writing novels, now.
I think you had the gift right from the beginning Lucy, judging by book 1… and it’s lovely to read a book set in Cambridge. As my writing is set here too… Does the Tin Teapot exist? Or is that fictional?
You are kind – I think I am now able to bring a bit more structure to my writing now, I feel this next one works better as a novel – the first one still feels very much like and extended blog. That’s not to say I’m not proud of it, but I think there is a definite progression and polish going on now 🙂
The Tin Teapot is actually the Copper Kettle on King’s Parade! And The Albatross is The Eagle!
(Don’t tell anyone, but Old College is really Queens’… shhh!)
I think my book 2 is much better but keep that to yourself! Lol… Ah, I did wonder I passed by The Copper Kettle yesterday and had this could this be moment, I have this uncanny tendency to be a little psychic…didn’t realise about The Eagle – that features in my book too (in Book 2.) Queen’s hey…. shhh!
I love the Copper Kettle, I always take my mum there when she comes to visit – and The Eagle is my favourite Cambridge pub. Lovely food, relaxed atmosphere and a good ghost story too! How funny it appears in both our books – just goes to show what a super place it is 😀
I must try out the Copper Kettle never been. And yes The Eagle is great, I’ve been there often for a pub lunch, or a drink and that’s how I got the idea for incorporating it into a short scene in the book. Eating and drinking is good for inspiration! 🙂
It is the very best inspiration! 😀
Hmm, does this mean I need to investigate this place of many authors now 🙂
Ha ha! Cambridge is just bursting with us… 🙂
You aren’t kidding! I thought it was such a sleepy town; bit of punting on the Cam and such like. Never knew it was a blogger/author hive 🙂
This looks great. Can’t wait to read.
Apologies for the delay. I found this message in my spam folder. No idea why! Normally they go straight to the moderation queue. Thank you so much for the kind comment 😊
Great review – definitely an author I will follow up on, thank you very much 💎😺😺
Thank you Samantha; I’m sure Lucy will be well pleased to hear that 🙂
Thank you, Samantha – this is very kind of you! 😀
Oh my goodness! This sounds wonderful! I am excited to read more from Lucy Brazier. Gary, as always, thank you for showing me something new and cool!
You are most welcome and have a look at her blog too. There is a great deal of info on PorterGirl and a good few other things. Very witty lady. I’m hoping to be up to speed soon and will pop across for a peruse 🙂
Already Following 🙂
You really are very kind! Thank you! 😀
I happily proclaim good writing when I see it. I am eager to read more.
Luckily, I am eager to write more, so we are both happy!