October Madness!

On the publication of my new collection of short stories 'Thirteen', I'm offering four individual stories FREE until 20th October.  If you want more - there are eight previously unpublished stories in my new collection, priced at just £1.99.

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£1.99

In the meantime, get your FREE stories here.  There's something for everyone:


'Peaches in the Attic' is a disturbing tale involving a grandmother and her granddaughter.  Forget the usual cosy image of sitting on your grandmother's knee listening to fairy stories.  This time the story is not so sugar sweet.  What's more, it's difficult to know where imagination ends and reality begins.

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FREE

'Angels' is a suspenseful and atmospheric story.  A mother is driven to revenge after the death of her daughter, provoked by bullying at school.

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FREE

'Strings' is for those who enjoy science fiction, end of the world scenarios. Will anyone believe Maddy's visions?  What do they mean?  And will there be time to take action?

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FREE

'Flying' is my newest short story.  Nelly lives at the foot of a mountain and loves to watch the gliders soaring the ridge.  Her parents have divorced and she deals with the emotional fallout in her own magical, childlike way.

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FREE

My French Life

Woke up early to empty almost dead hoover and ensure it still worked.  Today is cleaning day chez moi.  I have help.  Together, Aline and I move like Jagger might if he knew about spray wax and limescale remover. In French.

My jobs are bathrooms and toilets (under all rims), on the basis that I wouldn't want to clean anybody else's, so why should I ask Aline to clean mine.  My sister says I shouldn't pay a cleaner and then clean myself.  We ain't going to agree on this one.

So, with blue sky, sunshine and military jets zooming by outside, we turned up the volume and danced through the housework.

All fairly routine by now.  Won't bore you with it.  No events to report.

The nice part came at 12.30 when Al (my husband) swept me off my feet with a lunchtime proposition. We popped next door to eat at our local restaurant.  Tuna salad followed by cod with leeks and mushrooms, followed by a café gourmand.

 I couldn't manage all mine due to the fact that I've lost ten kilos and my stomach is now the size of an apple.  Al, my husband, was delighted to 'share'.

Back to work on my latest novel, which is in its umpteenth draft.  I'm approaching 'the trial', which (after hours of research) needs to be re-written because Al says the verdict is unreasonable.  He's right.  I have my laptop, my notes and annotations, and two hours to spare before I have to be somewhere else.  Hence my sudden interest in writing a blog post.  I shall soon be making tea, putting on the washing and nipping to the post office.

 Thought you'd like to see my logs.

Happy Days

Welcome to my #FridayFiveChallenge

(Original idea from Rosie Amber  at https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/)

 Me, Christmas 2014, wearing a dress not made to accommodate a Christmas Dinner (random pic)

Why not try out this excellently random way of choosing your next read?

Get yourself a cuppa (or a glass of something) and give yourself 5 minutes. (Use your own pic or copy mine or anything else like a clock/ stopwatch etc)

In today's online shopping age, readers often base their buying decisions from small postage stamp size book covers (Thumb-nails), a quick glance at the book description and the review. How much time do they really spend making that buying decision?

AUTHORS - You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

My Friday Five Challenge is this..... IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES....

1) Go to any online book supplier,

2) Randomly choose a category,

3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,

4) Read the book Bio/ Description for this book,

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

(then write a little analysis about your decision)

Here's my selection for this Friday:  Extinct by Ike Hamill

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Product description

Channel Two predicted a blanket of snow for Thanksgiving weekend--unusual, but not alarming for the little Maine island. What comes is a blinding blizzard, and a mass disappearance of nearly every person Robby Pierce knows. He and his family flee, trying to escape the snow and the invisible forces stealing people right from the street. 
*** Join the mailing list at http://www.ikehamill.com to receive Ike's next book free. *** 
Miles away, Brad Jenkins battles the same storm. Alone, he attempts to survive as snow envelops his house. When the storm breaks, Brad makes his way south to where the snow ends and the world lies empty. Join Brad, Robby, and the other survivors as they fight to find the truth about the apocalypse and discover how to live in their new world. 

I stuck in 'science fiction'.  Because I like science fiction.  Not very original, but this is my first attempt at the Friday Five Challenge, so I'm playing safe.

The cover was simple and I liked the cheesy 3D effect coupled with cheesy footprints in the snow.  Makes me equally cheesy, I suppose.

The product description - not bad.  I like a disaster as much as the next person.  Not too sure about the alien abduction slant...  Don't know whether I want to sign up to a mailing list.  But - hang on a minute, it's free at the moment.  

Reviews look good 4.2 with 44.  Seems as though more editing is required (from readers' comments).  That's a shame.  But, if the story's as good as it sounds, I'll put up with a few typos.

My verdict for this one: BUY  (Who knows - Mr. Hamill might turn out to be a favourite.)

PS  This took more like fifteen minutes - I'll be quicker next time.

"This clever story twists and turns...

...moving from Greece to London and back again, and is full of surprises.The wonderfully well drawn character of Joyce Shackleton will make you gasp. I became completely absorbed in the plot and couldn't put the book down."   Amazon reviewer

I'm offering 'A Good Day for Jumping' at the very popular price of 99p until 7th October.  For my American readers it's just 99c.
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I lived on the island of Crete for two years and this is the setting for a drama that plays out between millionaire Steve Firth (born Stephano) and the people he comes into contact with along the way.  He may be rich and handsome, but he has a lot to learn about the human condition and, indeed, his behaviour is morally reprehensible to most people. However, he is still susceptible to integrity, if it hits him between the eyes. When he comes into contact with Roula, he finds himself fascinated by her.  She is poor but ambitious, and willing to sacrifice her dreams for her family.

Steven Firth has a tangled history.  His mother is Greek and his father an advertising tycoon.  The love of his life, May, cannot hold him.  Fast cars and fast women have always been easy options.  Crass, and resolutely egocentric, he may trample on the very people who can help him in his subconscious quest for genuine emotional attachment.

Click on one of these links to look inside and read how Steven Firth's story begins:

UK   http://tinyurl.com/cl3eex3

  US    http://tinyurl.com/cnf4fyt  

Review: The Experimental Notebook of C. S. Boyack

This is a most intriguing collection.  Reminiscent of Poe’s ‘Tales of Mystery and Imagination’ with a hint of Asimov.  The genres range between science fiction, fantasy and paranormal.  They are dark for the most part, which I like, but each story is highly individual.  There are robots, ghosts, and a fearless little girl who lives near a forest making cabbage soup when she’s not ridding the village of monsters ('The Soup Ladle of Destiny' is my personal favourite, and the funniest of the stories).  All the stories have a twist.  Mostly these are unexpected – although you do catch the mindset of the author after reading a few.  This didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the stories, though.  It just made me wonder what was coming up. 

In the middle of the collection, the author includes an ‘intermission’, where he addresses the reader in person.  I must admit that this is the first time I’ve come across such an approach.  But C. S. Boyack (Craig – if you visit his Amazon Author Page) has an engaging style, and I find the personal touch here adds to my enjoyment of the stories.  It made me click on his author page!

There is an excerpt from one of his YA novels (Will O’ the Wisp) at the end of the collection.  I read this too.  Another charismatic set of characters and a glimpse of an intriguing plot.

I recommend this author.  He’s a real spinner of yarns. 

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Everyone likes a Whodunnit!  

In a small English town, a girl is found murdered in the park.  And she's not the first.  There has been a spate of unusual killings and Chief Inspector Hanson is not used to such high drama.  With the help of his able young colleague, Detective Simmonds, he sets out to track down a criminal who must be stopped before someone else is harmed.  Hanson is particularly touched by the latest murder - a bright young local girl.  He needs a break. There must be something he's missing.  Simmonds finds a lead and Hanson begins to follow a trail that may well lead him to the killer.  Hanson's Hunch. Where will it take him?

Free until Friday 11th September.

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Reviews welcome!

Let's hear it for reviewers!

It's not the first thing you think of when you put down a book you've enjoyed reading.  I'm the first to admit that before I published my first book I'd never left a review on Amazon or anywhere else.  I'd tell my friends if I liked something enough, and they'd probably forget the title or the author, or both. Reviews are a more permanent record of a reader's reactions - for better or for worse!

Needless to say, I always make the effort to leave a balanced review these days.

I'm actually reading 'The Apple Yard' at the moment, alongside 'The Constant Gardener'.  I looked at a couple of reviews for both of these last night.  Curiosity, I suppose.  The first is a thriller, top ten bestseller (so it states on the cover), by Louise Doughty.  The second, a classic by John le Carre.  Both have a fair percentage of one-star reviews with comments surprisingly similar: 'sorry I paid money for this book'  'boring' 'unbelievable'.  My favourite: 'John le Carre has lost it.'

I reminded myself that the star rating used by Amazon ranges from 'I hate it' to 'I love it'.  Fair enough. If you need to hate something, I suppose a book is a harmless target for your venom.  Some of the reviews are articulate and make valid points, some are flippant, some downright rude.  What really does intrigue me is how someone can be so totally negative about a book.  How they can hate it so completely.  Perhaps the ending is a let down, but surely there are passages they have enjoyed, characters they have empathised with to some extent?

The Apple Yard is going passably well.  I do agree that the protagonist and her lover are rather cold fish, but there is tension to the plot and a solid grounding in the value of mediocrity in everyday life and relationships.  We can't all be thoroughly beautiful beings leading extraordinary lives all of the time.  I like the ordinariness of the woman who feels good about her freshly washed hair and her new, rather sexy boots that make her feel less middle-aged.  If the ending is 'disappointing' and the affair 'unbelievable' I won't mind that much.  After all, we all look for an ending that is largely unattainable. We want definitive, we think.  We're not sure about an 'open-ending'.  Endings should perhaps be multiple...  Choose the one you like best.

In my view, the Constant Gardener is a gem of a book in terms of beautifully written prose and totally engaging characters, some petty, some naive, some heroic.  Sandy is a triumph of smug bigotry and I cringe when he gives himself away so utterly as a man who has no idea of how much others despise and deride him. There is masterful use of irony, and imagery which is both surprising and which resonates so precisely it can interrupt your reading while you savour its effect.  The plot is secondary for me, although that's not to say I dislike the action.

The review system is perhaps a little too 'throw-away' for the average reader, who is, in Amazon's eyes, a customer.  And, as we all know (except if, like me, you live in France...), the customer is king.  If he wants to complain, let him.  If he wants to offer a wholly negative point of view, that's his prerogative. And long may it be so!

One-star reviews are only hurtful to the author.  But, the odd jolt can be beneficial in many ways.  I have to mention one I received for 'One Summer in France'  It read simply: To stupid.  Made me laugh for ages.

Anyway, I've had my say!  I started this post with the intention of directing as many people as possible to a couple of new reviews of my recently revised novel, 'The Undertaker's Son'.  I'm grateful for such support and hope that it will encourage people to download and enjoy (at least some of) my book.  To make the decision easier, I've made it free on 7th and 8th August.  Obviously, if you would like to give your personal and honest opinions in a short review I would be happy to read and digest them.

With special thanks to Rosie Amber and her fabulous book review team: Rosie Amber

Here's the link to Alison Williams' review:  Review of 'The Undertaker's Son'

My book is also featured on Olga Nunez Miret's blog today: Review of 'The Undertaker's Son'

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Thank you for visiting my blog!  Comments welcome.