We are delighted to welcome Rob D. Young, author of Broken Glass. Rob has stopped by to offer some useful advice on finishing a novel. 6 Tips for Finishing Your Novel Writing a novel can feel like staring into your own open grave: You know, with certainty, that you’ll be swallowed up by it. Even after the(…)
Books
Book Review: Me Before You – Jojo Moyes
Review: Me Before You I hadn’t read any of Jojo Moyes’ work previously and I’ll confess that when I picked up Me Before You I expected something pretty fluffy and fun. That in itself would have been fine – I enjoy chick lit and a bit of gushiness. Me Before You, however, goes way beyond(…)
Guest Post: CHOP WOOD AND CARRY WATER – Irving H. Podolsky
We are delighted to welcome Irving H. Podolsky, author of the Irv’s Odyssey books. Irving has stopped by to share his thoughts on the importance of real experience of the world in writing the best possible stories. Guest Post: CHOP WOOD AND CARRY WATER – A Writer’s Guide to the Real Thing I’ll admit it. In real life(…)
Book Review: 3 Heads & a Tail – Vickie Johnstone
Review: 3 Heads & a Tail Ever wondered what our pets are thinking? Vickie Johnstone attempts to get into the mind of a dog, Glen, in this highly amusing comedy romance. The story focuses on Josie who moves into a house with two new friends – Ben and David. It isn’t long before we have(…)
Book Review: Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops – Jen Campbell
Review: Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops This is a book that should come with several warnings, including making strange “Nooooo!” exclamations in public, not being able to breathe for laughing and regularly wanting to smack yourself upside your head with the book to see if you really are still in the world you thought(…)
Book Excerpt: Cherokee Talisman – David-Michael Harding
Today David-Michael Harding stops by to share an excerpt from his book, Cherokee Talisman. Excerpt from Cherokee Talisman Autumn comes late in the Carolinas. Summer willfully drags her feet which pleases some and riles not but a few, including the trees which are anxious to change their hues, rid themselves of summer’s trappings and rest in(…)
Book Review: Thursday at Noon – William F. Brown
Review: Thursday at Noon (2012) William F. Brown’s Thursday at Noon begins with two men – Landau and Yussuf – infiltrating an abandoned RAF base in Egypt in 1962. The base is awash with activity and while Yussuf waits by the perimeter fence, Landau returns briefly but has to quickly go back, wanting to take(…)
Classic Reads: What Makes a Classic Read? #NewClassicReads
First of all, thank you to Christine Nolfi, Molly Greene, Rachel Thompson and Terri Giuliano Long for hosting this fantastic event. From the moment I heard about Classic Reads I have been both excited about it but also dreading it. I wanted to write something, of course, but in conveying what a classic read truly(…)
Book Review: Why are Orangutans Orange? – New Scientist
Review: Why are Orangutans Orange? (2011) Why are Orangutans Orange? is yet another instalment in the popular Last Word series from the New Scientist. I say yet another as this is a series that could go on endlessly, given science never runs out of questions. Thankfully these questions and answers are entertaining and therefore that(…)
Book Review: Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey – Lori Perkins (ed.)
Review: Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey (2012) I have no desire to read Fifty Shades of Grey but it’s in the media and social media so much at the moment that you can’t escape it. I am really interested to see what people think of Fifty Shades of Grey and that’s the reason(…)
Book Review: The Uninvited – Liz Jensen
Review: The Uninvited (2013) Hesketh Lock is an anthropologist with remarkable talents. He isn’t good with relationships but he’s incredibly good at spotting and analysing behavioural patterns. Therefore, when he’s called to investigate corporate cases of whistle-blowing in Taiwan and sabotage in Sweden, he’s looking for the individuals’ reasons for their actions. What he finds is(…)
Book Excerpt: The Midwife’s Revolt – Jodi Daynard
We are delighted to welcome Jodi Daynard to the blog today. Jodi has stopped by to share an excerpt from her book, The Midwife’s Revolt. Excerpt from The Midwife’s Revolt Before we knew it, Christmas was upon us; a carriage arrived for Martha—presumably from her brother, Thomas. By this time, I had grown attached to Martha(…)
Guest Post: The Ongoing Debate over Female Characters – Nancy Madore
We are delighted to welcome Nancy Madore, author of The Hidden Ones. Nancy looks at the debate on what makes a great female character in a book. The Ongoing Debate over Female Characters What makes a great female character? This question was particularly important to me when writing The Hidden Ones, because the story revolves around three(…)
Book Review: Surviving Emily – Laurie Bellesheim
Review: Surviving Emily Young lives that are cut short is never an easy subject to write about. You can speculate forever about what might have been for those that have been lost. In Laurie Bellesheim’s Surviving Emily we have two narratives running concurrently of two people struggling to pick up the pieces following the death(…)
Book Review: Life on Air – David Attenborough
Review: Life on Air Sir David Attenborough is one of the true British greats. His voice is known worldwide and his vast array of work, including many memorable wildlife documentaries, have long since cemented his place as one of the finest presenters. An amusing but modest man, Attenborough kindly shared an autobiography of his life(…)
Book Excerpt: Treason – S. M. Boyce
Today S.M. Boyce stops by as part of her Blog Tour to share an excerpt from her book, Treason. Excerpt from Treason In the hidden world of Ourea, there are too many beautiful places to name: rose-covered cliffs tower miles over the valleys and forests below, cities thrive in submerged ecosystems(…)
Book Review: Wicked Wives – Gus Pelagatti
Review: Wicked Wives Femme fatales often make for appealing crime thrillers and some of the women in Gus Pelagatti’s Wicked Wives could qualify for that description. Based on a true story of murder scandals in Philadelphia in 1938, Pelagatti recreates a complex network of lies, deceit, greed and murder but is it any good? This(…)
Book Excerpt: The Awakening & Other Stories – Emma Meade
Today Emma Meade stops by as part of her December Blog Tour to share an excerpt from her book, The Awakening & Other Stories. Excerpt from End of the Line In the distance, the familiar, white light appeared, cutting through the dark of midnight. She’d watched it come before, but always from the sidelines, imagining(…)