Tag: characters

My Books

Torture Charity Anthology

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Time is running out to grab your copy, this book is only available until the end of this month after that it is gone forever, although you may be able to get continued versions of some stories, I confess I am undecided at this point what to do about mine, but it will definitely be the last time you will be able to get all the stories in their original format together,

And if you need another reason to stick your hand in your pocket and buy then remember it is raising money for #AutismUK, as you all know my son is autistic and even though he is high functioning the last six months have been hard. I am lucky that I can manage his issues and we have coping strategies in place, I managed to get help when it was needed but for many others this charity is a lifeline, and we all know that in times where everyone is struggling charities are hit hard as no one has that spare cash to donate.

So don’t just donate, but a book, get it on kindle, read it on Kindle Unlimited and you get a great read and somewhere out there a family gets a helping hand.

mybook.to/Torture

1. Monday · Book Reviews

Book Review – Behind Closed Doors By Karen J. Mossman

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For transparency I received this book as a prize for being selected as the best story in the Dandelion Anthology’s Love Ever After which I am part of, it in no way has affected my review or influenced the final rating I give it…

We begin as always with the blurb taken from Goodreads.

Kerry tries to protect her sister but she can’t protect her mum or herself from Bill, her stepfather. He’s mean and volatile and likes to drink.

When she meets Tommy, they fall in love and she finds out his last girlfriend brought trouble to his nice normal family. Not wanting to jeopardise their relationship and do the same, Kerry tries to keep her secrets behind closed doors.

Eventually, the bruises and the lies tell their own story. She can’t hide the fact Bill is wrecking their family and deeper family issues threaten to destroy the best thing that ever happened to her – Tommy.

A coming of age story set to a backdrop of seventies music and fashion.

I was born in 71 so although my teenage years were spent in the 80’s there are many things that were not that different, Although there was no abuse in my house, I can certainly relate to a time where dad held all the family finances and mum received an amount of cash each week to pay the bills and take care of the house. I remember the cheesecloth tops, and my dad telling me I was not leaving the house when he judged a skirt to be too short, the reality for my generation as well as the previous ones was that it was normal for a parent to give you a backhander or a clip round the ear, that parents demanded respect and the phrase ‘living under my roof’ was one every teenager heard at some point,

Luckily Kerry finds a knight in shining armour, not a trope I normally like but I fully appreciate in this time it was almost impossible for a female to escape an abuse patriarchal figure alone. I was fully immersed in this book and read it in one sitting, however there were two small niggles.

First, was Howard, he is introduced as Kerry’s boring boyfriend, a complete contrast to the sexy hero Tommy, but within  few days of their break up he is suddenly at a house party thrown by friends of Tommy, it just jarred slightly because if he had been the party type Kerry might never have looked at Tommy (well okay she might still have had a sneaky peek but she wouldn’t have dumped Howard and flirted). The second was the Irish Issue, it is brought up that they are on opposite sides of the religious divide, yet neither set of parent raises this issue, and as Catholics I would certainly have expected Tommy’s parents to at least talk about it even if the were not practising Catholics, especially when he moves to join her in Ireland and proposes, this is the 70’s after the Bloody Sunday Massacre, so even if neither parent cared about their different religions they would certainly have been scared for them.

All that being said, these were not niggles that I thought about until after I finished the book, and let me say, it should have a warning on the front, telling you to grab the tissues befoer you start reading, because you are going to need them.

So the final rating is a blubbering five out of 5 stars.

3d rendering of 5 gold stars
6. Saturday · So it's Saturday

Saturday Weekly Round-Up – 24th October 2020

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A fortnight has passed but I have been busy writing, so let’s see what I have been up to this week…

Podcasts

This week I was really excite by a new podcast! The Minister Of Chance which I invested in as a Kickstarter Audio drama is back digitally remastered as a podcast, the Prologue dropped this week so sign up wherever you get your podcasts or check out this link for more info or follow Dan Freeman on Twitter to keep up with the latest news.

Music

This week I have listened to a little music and have to confess it was an 80’s playlist Spotify put together For me, I have to confess a few of those may have made there way into the playlist for the new book I am writing, mainly happy pop songs at the minute, it is interesting when it is a list someone else puts together how you find yourself listening to songs you had forgotten existed until they are in front of you so here is one…

I find it shocking now to think I could keep up dancing like that all night long lol. If you are on Spotify and want to check out my playlist at the minute it is listed as Christmas love story..

Reading

I have read a couple of books in the past two weeks I wont say too much about them now as I will be reviewing them but I have read the Filthy Trilogy by Lisa Renee Jones,, well the first two parts as I am about to read the third, I have also read Behind Closed Doors By Karen Mossman, one of these resulted in the use of several tissues, guess which one.

Watching – TV

I have actually finally decided to give Great British Bake Off on Channel 4, I watched it religiously what it was on BBC and was not really happy to see it sold off, however, one should not hold grudges and I do like Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding, and have to say four weeks in and I have really enjoyed it so far. And we managed to get through pastry week without a soggy bottom in sight!

Watching – Film

This is an old film, in fact it was an old favourite, however, watching it this time round I am struck that we have a love story that should have actually been a taboo, as it starts with both main characters cheating on their other halves. I know that some people will arguing that if there is nothing physical happening then it’s not cheating but I would argue if you are sneaking around behind your partners back, talking to people you wouldn’t talk to in front of them then you are cheating. I play on computer games and chat to a few people all over the world but there is not a single message that has ever been sent I have needed to hide from my boyfriend, in fact I have shown him quite a few. The thing is this carries on for quite a long way into the film, it’s not as if they just started talking and realised how bad their relationships are. Overall, it is quite a negative film, the big bad megastore does drive the little independent shop out of business, and he never really shows any actual remorse for destroying her business. There were some moments of nostalgia with the dial up modem, the clothes, and the fact you could exist without being connected to social media or be accessible 24/7.  I decided to go with this instead of the tradional trailer as it is closer to my feelings on this film now.

Watching – Netflix

I haven’t really watched Netflix in the last couple of weeks because it won’t work properly via the TV and I am trying to get some writing done on the computer but there are a couple of things coming up I am interested to watch so watch this space…

And that is it for this week, see you all back here next week.

Book Reviews

Book Review – The Vintage Coat By Chris Turnbull

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This book has been sitting on my desk waiting to be reviewed for a while but here it finally is…

 

So first up the Goodreads blurb…

Joseph Michaels is 25 and an accidental time traveller.

After losing his job Joe finds himself working at the local second-hand shop. One day whilst unpacking new stock Joe comes across an old military coat that he just can’t resist trying on.

Excited by the powers of the coat, Joe quickly takes it home where he discovers it allows him to travel between present day Alston, Cumbria and the same area during WWII

Joe soon finds himself in the midst of living a double life.

However, one night an unexpected air raid hits town and everybody is thrown into disarray; and Joe is faced with standing up for the ones he loves, even if it could cost him everything.

When I read the blurb for this book I was reminded of the TV programme where Nicholas Lyndhurst finds a way to walk through an alley way to start a second life in war torn London, but this is so much more. While the Tv series does touch on the realities of life it was a sitcom but this book takes you into the real lives of people trying to survive the best they can.

You are automatically invested in these characters and their stories, The plot is a delicately crafted web that draws you in until you cannot put the book down, but be warned there should be a warning on the cover that tissues will be required while reading this book, The dynamics of the time travel are well dealt with, the coat is of course the method of travel but that Joseph quickly gets to grip with how the passing of time in each dimension relates to the other is pleasing and because it is kept simple it does not require the reader to struggle with complex timelines that can take you out of the story.

I could not put this book down when I started it, and even now looking at it, I am tempted to go for a reread, which I must resist as I have so any others to read. So to the mark it’s an easy 5 out of five

3d rendering of 5 gold stars
6. Saturday · Me And Mine · So it's Saturday

Saturday Weekly Round-Up -10th October 2020

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This week I have been able to start moving around a little more I have even managed to do a little writing, fingers crossed another week or two I will be good to go.

Podcasts

This week I have been catching up on saved episodes of Welcome To Night Vale, it is a weird podcast/play and it does require being able to keep track of a number of threads but once you get a grip on it then you will love it you can find our more here https://www.welcometonightvale.com/

Music

I still haven’t listened to any music this week but I have started listening to the audiobook Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza you can find it here some of you may remember Robert from the days he was an Indie Author blogging here on WordPress and publishing his romcoms about Coco Pinchard, it is so nice to know that someone you know made it big with patience and perseverance.

Reading

I just finished reading Love Ever After the anthology I have been part of, if you haven’t grabbed a copy go get one http://mybook.to/LoveEverAfterDandelion

Watching – TV

This week I have found myself watching a couple of shows but the main one has been Pit Bulls & Parolees’, now I confess that especially with the meds I cry at anything at the minute both through sadness and joy but watching the story about these two pups definitely had me sobbing.

The fact that the shelter owner gives both pups and people the chance for a fresh start is heart warming but I have to be honest I much prefer the four-legged cast members even though some of their stories are heartbreaking.

Watching – Film

I finally got round to watching a film that I was nervous about watching and I was right to avoid it.

I am sorry, for me David Suchet is Poirot but I also love the verison with Albert Finney

The cast of big stars overwhelms the story and they do not fit the original characters the way I have them in my head thanks in part to the pervious productions, but to remove the touch of ridiculousness which makes people underestimate Poirot is a step to far, there was a reason Agatha Christie wrote him the way she did and a reason she made the books about him so successful/

Watching – Netflix

I did watch this once before, I was about to start watching the second series when I realised I couldn’t remember who had won.

The thing I love about this show is they are all so over the top, I have to be honest as well there was one contestant in this first series I really could not stand and was willing to fail at every step which always makes things more interesting.

 

Well that’s it for this week see you back here next week for more TV and podcasts.

Book Reviews

Talk to Me by Roseanne Beck

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The last thing Laura wants is a relationship.

The only thing Austin needs is his independence.

Sometimes love sneaks up on you when you least expect it.

Austin’s car accident shattered his life and his leg. His main focus is on proving his independence. Figuring out how to shut up the new voices in his head would be an added bonus. They like to converse at the most inopportune times.

Laura’s built a wall around her heart. Everyone she loves ends up leaving her. She’s still reeling from the death of her brother and business partner. Seems like he might not be ready to completely give up the ghost yet, though.

And then there’s Aunt Marge, a world-class meddler with a penchant for oversharing. Can she manage to nudge Laura and Austin toward each other? Or will her recipe for love fall flat?

If you like sparkling, witty banter and strong characters with a hint of the paranormal, you’ll fall for TALK TO ME, because humor and love conquer all.

 

I flew through this book, it was easy to read and fun. The main characters are relatable and likeable, you find yourself rooting for them even when you get a little exasperated with them.

The plot is interesting and the paranormal twist adds to what is more or less a rom-com. This is a great choice for a beach read, or would be if anyone were getting near a beach this year, however, it will work just as well sat out in the garden. I read it on Kindle which I find myself doing more and more lately with these sorts of books, it is not a book you are likely to read over and over again, so buying the paper version is not a must.

I give this 4.5 stars out of five, the only reason for the drop of half a point is that it has been a while since I read it and it really did not stick in my mind enough for me to write this review without going back for a quick scan through.

Book Reviews · Monday Musings

Book Review: The Killing Place By Tess Gerritson

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Something terrible has happened in the snowbound village of Kingdom Come, Wyoming. Twelve eerily identical houses stand dark and abandoned. Cars still parked in garages. The human occupants have vanished, seemingly into thin air.
this is the unsettling place where Maura Isles finds herself trapped during a snowstorm.

 

This book is the 8th in the Rizzoli & Isles series but if you are a fan of the TV series please bear in mind that the timelines are different and not all elements of their personal lives are necessarily the same. I first read this back before I ever watched the TV series so was lucky enough to go into it with just the literary narrative in place and I really do enjoy this series.

This book deal with various social issues all threaded through a crime story, there are the more base motives of greed but what is more interesting is the world of belief, cults, abuse and the damage caused to those who may have physically escaped but are forever mentally scarred. In a world where we like to think that things are harder to cover up in it revealing to understand how human nature colludes to pervert justice for personal gain.

The characters are well written as always although I will accept that for anyone picking this up as a first book it may be confusing to understand some of the dynamics between some of the individuals. While it is possible to read and enjoy it as a standalone read the reader will get so much more from it by taking the series in order.

I have no problem giving this book 5 out of five stars but do recommend reading the other books first if you can.

3d rendering of 5 gold stars

Book Reviews

Book Review – Beautiful Freaks by Katie M. John

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The edition I purchased came in two books and the cover is different to the one pictured below…

we begin as always with the Goodreads Blurb…

**** A PARANORMAL GOTHIC DETECTIVE TALE ****

From the Amazon bestselling writer of ‘The Knight Trilogy’ comes the stand alone novel fans have been waiting for. ‘Beautiful Freaks’ is a decadent tapestry of all things fairytale, dark and murderous.

Between these pages you will find yourself transported back in time to the high Gothic. Victorian London.

The year is 1899 and both the century and the Queen are dying. As the London populace is gripped by a terrifying series of paranormal murders, eighteen year old Kaspian Blackthorne finds himself on a decadent journey of self discovery.

Victorian London is a place where appearance is everything, but sometimes
appearances can be deceiving. Behind the grand houses, carriages and silks, London is a dark labyrinth of sorrow and violence. Amongst the gambling dens, dancehalls, and brothels you’ll find No 7, known to its members as Eve’s; the most exclusive club in London, infamous for its ‘Palace of Beautiful Freaks’. Each exhibit has a history, each their own unique story.

First, I would like to discuss how this is written, there is, of course, an overriding arc, however, it is the detail given to each individual story within the narrative which really brings the Gothic feel to the fore. This book could have easily have been printed back in Victorian times as a Penny Dreadful or as a series as favoured by Dickens.

The individual tales based on various myths and legends are each well written and each given equal attention, over the top of all this you have the main detective story, though it could equally be described as a love story, the author weaves together love, lust, obsession, and death in a dark journey through alleyways and boudoirs alike.

I highly recommend this book, the chapters make it easy to pick up and put down without losing track of where you are but the reality is you won’t want to put it down.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

3d rendering of 5 gold stars

My Books

Voices Across The Void Review

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I am going to begin getting the posts back in order next week but I wanted to share this awesome review I got on Goodreads.

If you’re into mystery, suspension, with a touch of scary then ‘Voices Across The Void,’ is the book for you. This book will give you all of that, and some surprise emotions as well.
There were several stand-out stories for me; The Cottage is one of them, this is a story about redemption, closer, and self-evaluation. At least, that’s how I felt when reading it. The Hospital was another; although tragic, it was beautiful at the same time. Finally; The Bluebell Woods, I don’t have enough woods in me to express how this story made me feel, the emotions I felt while reading it surprised, and shocked me a little. I went from fear to anger so fast that I stopped reading the book for a while. I knew that I had to finish The Bluebell Woods just so that I could have some peace, that story stuck in my head! My worst damn nightmare as they say! I cried, became bitter, laughed, and rejoiced finally at the conclusion of the story.
This was a great book; it kept me entertained during the holidays and cold, blustery days and nights. I would read this author again, just to see if she can pull that emotion from me again!

it is always such a good feeling to get good reviews but even better when you know you evoked such strong feelings with your book. If you have not had chance to read this book yet you can find it here myBook.to/VoicesAcrossVoid and remember it is free to read on Kindle Unlimited.

 

Resolutions 2018
Resolutions 2018

Resolutions 2018

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The start of a new year means one thing! Yes, it is time to make a load of resolutions that I will fail at during the year! To be fair last year we a strange year and though I failed to meet my goals for the year I did learn a lot about myself, I also learnt not to dwell on the failures so rather than rounding up last year I shall focus on the positives, things like I did my first book signing and I became a grandma, those two things meant more to me than anything else that happened last year so let’s get straight on with our new goals and look to the future.

1.  Release Queen Of Ages Book Two; Reawakening

I have already begun work on this book and am hoping to get it finished quickly, I did get distracted at the end of last year by the arrival of my grandson but now I need to focus on getting back into a set writing routine and meet my aim of three books per year, I am really excited to get this series out there especially after the reviews and feedback I have been getting from the first book.

2.  Lose four stone in weight

I know I said this last year and while I did not lose weight last year I didn’t put any more on. I need to start doing this not for how I look but for my health I am getting older and obviously the more weight you carry the greater the strain on your bones and organs, I am aiming to take it slowly and yes, I need to lose more than the four I have stated but I want to do it at a rate where not only does it have a better chance of staying off but it also reduces the risk of ending up with baggy skin after. Plus I bought some awesome suits   in the next couple of sizes down that I want to be able to get some wear out of 😀

3.  Blog at least four times a week consistantly

I tend to either blog every day or not blog at all so for this next year I am going to take the pressure off myself a little, Mondays will still be book/audiobook/dvd reviews, I hope to get back to throwing some author interviews in there as well once more. Tuesdays will be the posts about events and my experiences with the writing/publishing experiences, these will also include my personal feelings about my writing journey. Wednesdays will be WIP in progress and my book promotion days, I will share reviews on the books I have already published as well as discussing the books I am working on and my ideas for future works. Fridays will still be vlog day though I am looking to make changes there as will be discussed later. Sundays will be lazy sunday posts where I will just chat with you fill you in on my week and a little more or my personal life, of course if you want to know more of my day to day goings on my Faceook page or Instagram are probably the best places to keep up with me.

4.  Release Queen of Ages Book Three: Redemption

As with the first resolution I am determined to up my output this year and get into a pattern of two to three releases each year, this year I am aiming to get the remaining parts of this trilogy out and possibly look into a hard back ominbus edition for the festive period next year however that ties in with other resolutions so it remains to be seen what the options are.

5.  Walk 50k steps per week

Previously I had the target of 10k steps a day totalling 70k for a week however I am now being more realisitic, I struggle on work days to fit in all my steps at times so by giving myself more leeway I believe that this goal is more achievable I am also determined to use the apps on my phone, xbox and my cross trainer more to increase the amount of exercise I am doing and try to add in doing one of my dance/exercise videos once a week.

6.  Publish four Quarterly newsletters

I swapped from monthly to quarterly because I was struggling to get the content worth sending out, now I have changed to quarlerly I just need to iron out the timing for the newsletters in terms of tying in with live events which I may wish to utilise in terns of the giveaways be that either collecting things to put in the prizes or offering chances to win tickets.

7.  Release Dragon’s Mark, Book One of the Raven Seer Chronicles

This would be the third release of the year and to be fair it is a quarter done already. I had initially intended to do this as a stand alone book however as I worked on it I realied the potiential for this to be an on going fantasy series.

8.  Vlog once a week

Like the blogging I have been hit and miss with the vlogs so my goal is this year to not only produce one a week but to also include more footage from my week and make them more interesting, not just me sat talking at a screen for five minutes unprepared. I also want to increase the production quality of the vlogs and make them more exciting for those who supoprt me by watching them.

9.  Write 1k fiction every day

This year I attempted NanoWriMo and failed miserably, yes there were other things which affected my writing time but if I want to make this my living then I need to focus and make it happen. By writing just 1k per day I could easily write three books a year, the only person stopping me is me.

10.  Fix Office hours for my writing and stick to them

I tend to get distracted, I turn FB on or stop to get up and go do other things so the answer is simple I need to set up my office hours and stick to them, now to be fair they cannot be the same every day as I work different shifts and have other commitments, and once my daughter goes back to work I will also have extra childcare considerations but I have a timer I use which uses the Pomodoro method, work thirty minutes on and then a fifteen minute break so when I have blocks of time I can sit at the computer I will use the timer and only look at FB etc during the fifteen minute breaks, I will also use that time as well to get up from my desk and move around trying to fit in a few extra steps each hour.

11.  Work on reducing the minus balance in my accounts

Right now if I were trying to exist purely on my writing as a business I would be bancrupt, thankfully the day job is still there to pay the bills but I need now to step up my writing game. As I increase the number of signing events I wish to attended the greater the expense so it becomes all the more important to start making them pay, this means more books to sell, more swag for sale and working out better ways to do giveaways and swag etc. I am realistic enough to know this does not happen over night, I am just over a year into a five year plan, I might not be in as good a shape as I would like but I have learnt lessons and am working on it, I am still positive my long term goal is possible.

12.  Set up Ravens Rest Press

Using Createspace has many positive and negative points, one of the harder pills to swallow is the cost of shipping books from the US I have no idea why they cannot print them in the UK as they print the books bought via amazon here on demand, the main thing about using other outlets is the fact you buy your own ISBN numbers  which means you can set up your own print imprint and get your books into libraries and book shops easier. You can also get expanded distribution networks for the books you have with them, I believe there is also the possibility of hardback issues which I would love to be able to do for the trilogy and maybe special editions of other books.

13.  Update all published works edits and biograhies regularly

I have got into the habit of updating all my social media posts to match, what I have failed to do is go back and update the also by this other sections of my previous books, alter the odd typo that I find and update the images in the books, this is something that I need to get into the habit of doing more often so that when I have a new book come out I know that the others will only require the minimum of alteration.

14.  Meet someone special

So this one is one I cannot actually make come true, and at the minute I am not really in a position to actively seek someone but rather this is more about allowing myself to be open to the idea of meeting someone, to not send out negative vibes when approached and to be open to the idea that a relationship does not have to be negative. I finally feel like I have shed the emotional baggage from my previous relationship, and while it will still take someone very special to make me invest my emotions in them I am not totally averse to that idea any longer, for me that is already a huge step.