Ten-year-old Ripley Allen has a unique gift . . . or affliction, depending on your point of view. She can see things. Things that haven't happened yet. Her mom, Lisa, says she can never tell anyone. Changing fates can have unexpected and far-reaching consequences. Lisa should know. She has the same gift. When she was fourteen, her foresight saved her best friend from dying in a terrible accident. But a week later, he committed an unspeakable act of violence. Lisa blamed herself for the ensuing death, having saved the life of a killer. From that day on, she swore never to interfere or try to change the future, and she has taught her daughter the same rules. In order to protect Ripley, the pair live a reclusive existence—until a death in the family forces them to fly home for a funeral. Then Ripley makes a mistake. She foresees a potential death on the plane and acts to saves a man's life. But unbeknownst to her, that man has been looking for someone with a gift just like hers. He travels far and wide in pursuit of special people. And when he finds them, he kills them. Five have so far perished at his hands. And now he has his sights set on Number Six.
Author
C. J. Tudor was born in Salisbury and grew up in Nottingham, where she still lives with her partner and young daughter. She left school at sixteen and has had a variety of jobs over the years, including trainee reporter, radio scriptwriter, shop assistant, ad agency copywriter and voiceover. In the early nineties, she fell into a job as a television presenter for a show on Channel 4 called Moviewatch. Although a terrible presenter, she got to interview acting legends such as Sigourney Weaver, Michael Douglas, Emma Thompson and Robin Williams. She also annoyed Tim Robbins by asking a question about Susan Sarandon’s breasts and was extremely flattered when Robert Downey Junior showed her his chest. While writing the Chalk Man she ran a dog-walking business, walking over twenty dogs a week as well as looking after her little girl. She’s been writing since she was a child but only knuckled down to it properly in her thirties. Her English teacher once told her that if she ‘did not become Prime Minister or a best-selling author’ he would be ‘very disappointed.’ The Chalk Man was inspired by a tub of chalks a friend bought for her daughter’s second birthday. One afternoon they drew chalk figures all over the driveway. Later that night she opened the back door to be confronted by weird stick men everywhere. In the dark, they looked incredibly sinister. She called to her partner: ‘These chalk men look really creepy in the dark . . .’ She is never knowingly over-dressed. She has never owned a handbag and the last time she wore heels (twelve years ago) she broke a tooth. She loves The Killers, Foo Fighters and Frank Turner. Her favourite venue is Rock City. Her favourite films are Ghostbusters and The Lost Boys. Her favourite authors are Stephen King, Michael Marshall and Harlan Coben. She is SO glad she was a teenager in the eighties. She firmly believes that there are no finer meals than takeaway pizza and champagne, or chips with curry sauce after a night out. Everyone calls her Caz.
