A Winning Book

I was lucky enough to be one of the winners of Sharkbyte's competition before Christmas, and she sent me the book in which she chronicled her treks along the North Country National Scenic Trail from 1991 to 2005. It was waiting for me inside my letter box when I got back from two weeks away at my daughter's over the holidays.

Over the last few years, I have been really impressed by Joan's meticulous and creative way of expressing herself in her books and her blogs. This is the only book of hers I haven't read. and it makes more dense reading than the others, but broken up in chapters that could almost stand alone. I've already made a start on it, and not been disappointed, but will take my time to savour the pages and  the scenery and episodes she describes so well.

Since this trail is in another country on another continent, and I am well into my dotage, I don't expect to be able to experience it for myself, but perhaps I'll be inspired to walk further afield around here.

I did once do a three day hike on The Ridgeway, dropping down to a couple of interesting B&Bs on the way, but that 30 or so miles can hardly compare with the 2300+ covered in the book. I just remember how good it felt to be walking on the high ground and viewing the wonderful panorama of countryside spread out below.

You can see more info about this book and others by Joan Young here.

A Good Dog Book

I bought this book at the Pound Puppy Rescue fundraising bazaar on Saturday and it went to the top of my to be read pile immediately. Tomorrow I will pass it on to my dog minder who asked if it was making me cry. At the time I was not even half way through and I said, "No." But that was premature. It did have some parts that made this softie well up a bit.

The author, Jon Katz, relates the trials and tribulations of introducing a wild, two-year-old border collie  to his placid household and a very long suffering but luckily understanding neighbourhood. At times it seems that they will never properly bond, and you will have to read it to find out how it comes about.

I have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone who loves dogs. My only gripe about it is that the sweet picture on the cover can't be of Devon when Jon first got him, because he was then two years old.

When I checked  Amazon, I found it still available along with a number of other doggie books by this author. Apparently this one was a catalyst for him writing in the genre (if you can call it that). I'll probably start buying them for my Kindle when my to be read list is depleted.

Another Dead Mule Swamp Book

If you read any of Joan Young's blogs, especially Shark Bytes and Tales, you probably know her series of Anastasia Raven mysteries. I've been a fan since the first one came out, bought the next two, and have been awaiting the 4th, which I am delighted to say is now available at Amazon and is sitting on my Kindle as I write. It's now in my reading list, and I don't know how long I'll be able to resist pushing it up to the top.

Book Reviews

I've recently written a couple of Amazon reviews. I only do this for books that really impress me. This time I was  inspired by one, and then remembered others I've been meaning to write about. So here they are.

House of Silence by Linda Gillard

This is the second book by Linda Gillard that I've read on my Kindle. In both I have been impressed by the author's command of English and the lack of any errors to distract me from the content. I bought the House of Silence because I had so enjoyed Emotional Geology, the previous book of hers that I'd read, and I wasn't disappointed. The emotion and psychology in both books was one of the themes, and I suspect it will feature in all her work. Another element common to both books was textile craft, which was woven into the story with an apparent in-depth knowledge and passion. But there was so much more in House of Silence: a mystery on many levels that kept me reading far into the night. I recommend it to anyone who likes to get into the head of the characters in a fascinating story.

The Chocolate Egg Murders by David Robinson

I do love the STAC mysteries. They are light enough for reading them to be a great way to unwind in bed after a tough day. The mysteries keep me guessing, but over the course of the series I’ve got to know the characters so well that they are pretty predictable now. I must admit that I was a little surprised when Jo got into bed with… no I won’t be a spoiler. In the The Chocolate Egg Murders, the club outing is Easter weekend in Weston Super Mare and it was a perfect follow on from the last one. In fact, the books in this series seem to get better and better. The author knows his cast well and keeps them perfectly in character throughout. For me, the main three have become like family now. I’ll be looking out for the next book to see where STAC is off to next, and how Jo solves the crime with the help of his two employees. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes crime fiction that is not too dark.

Voices in Paperback

Voices is definitely my favourite novel by my pal, David Robinson. I read it on my Kindle, and it kept me riveted and wondering all the way through. And the final climax is really spectacular. I understand he is planning a sequel, and I can't wait.

Now it's out in paperback, launched by Crooked Cat Publishing today. You can buy it on Amazon, of course.

You can also find out hot this story idea came to David over at his blog. I check this out too from time to time. It's always good for a laugh.

A Charity Horror Story Anthology

Although I don’t have any books to be published at the moment. I’m in the Facebook group for Crooked Cat Publishing which is for both authors and readers. Many of their authors are virtual mates of mine and I often buy the Kindle versions of their books. Crooked Cat has only been off the ground for a short while and has just ventured into paperback publishing in addition to its previous e-book offerings.

Wednesday this week sees the launch of their charity anthology, Fear, in two volumes. Its horror stories are all written by members of the group. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to submit one – or perhaps it’s not so unfortunate because horror fiction is way out of my comfort zone.

Anyway because the authors contributed their work for free, all royalties from sales will go directly to the international charities, Barnardo’s and Médecins Sans Frontières. You can order your copies on the Crooked Cat website. Happy reading, and hope we don’t get too scared to go to sleep.

When Dreams Come True

This is another launch of a book written by a virtual friend. It's aimed at pre and early teens but knowing Rebecca's writing, I'm sure people of all ages will enjoy reading and take something from it. Go to Rebecca's blog to see who else is taking part in this blog hop.


The Blurb:
Charlie is happiest when biking with Max and Toby, or watching films with Allie. But when Charlie reaches year nine (age 13), everything begins to change.

As her friends develop new interests, Charlie's dreams become more frequent and vivid, and a family crisis tears her away from her friends.

How will Charlie react when old family secrets are revealed? Will her life change completely when some of her dreams start to come true?  




Where to Buy
When Dreams Come True is now available to order via any bookshop or online in various places including:
The Book Depository 
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com
Smashwords 
Barnes and Noble
Diesel 
Lulu 
Kobo 
& via Apple iBooks 

Harrowing Work and a Wonderful Read

This week, I've been researching and writing about different types of brain injuries and how much money is needed to cope with the aftermath and make life as good as possible. Harrowing stuff. It's amazing and dreadful what can happen to people and I'm certainly counting my blessings.

In my spare time I've read a rather harrowing book, which I found just wonderful and thoroughly recommend. I picked up the The Horse Dancer by Jojo Moyes at the library, really because I was attracted by the title and the cover picture of a horse and rider silhouette paddling at the seaside. I'm a sucker  for anything with horses in it.

But this book is about so much more than a girl and her horse. I don't want to spoil it for any other reader by giving the story away, so I'll just copy the blurb on the back.

In a hidden corner of London Henri Lapachelle is teaching his granddaughter and her horse to defy gravity, just as he had done in France, fifty years previously. But when disaster strikes, 14 year old Sarah is left to fend for herself. 


Forced to share a house with her charismatic ex-husband, her professional judgement called into question, lawyer Natasha Macauley's life seems to have gone awry. When her path crosses Sarah's, she sees a chance to put things right.


But she doesn't know that Sarah is keeping a secret... one that will change all their lives for ever.


This book kept me reading long into the night. It was one of those un-put-downable gripping reads, where you just have to keep going to find put what happens next.

I'll certainly be looking out for more by Jojo Moyes.

Another Book Launch

Today I'm taking part in a web splash for another author. I'm actually writing this ahead of time and unfortunately won't be able to join in the celebrations because I'll be on my way north for a funeral that takes place fairly early tomorrow morning.

Today is the date of the official publication by Grimoire Books of New Beginnings by Rebecca Emin.

Join her and her friends over on Rebecca’s blog Ramblings of a Rusty Writer to find all of the details of how she is planning to celebrate today, or you can read some reviews of the book itself on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

You may like to visit some of the other blogs helping Rebecca to celebrate today too.

About New Beginnings

Sam Hendry is not looking forward to starting at her new school. Things go from bad to worse as the day of truth arrives and all of her fears come true... and then some.

When Sam meets a different group of people who immediately accept her as a friend, she begins to feel more positive.

With her new friends and interests, will Sam finally feel able to face the bully who taunts her, and to summon up the courage to perform on stage?

About Rebecca

Rebecca Emin lives in Oxfordshire, with her husband and three small children. New Beginnings is her debut novel, but she has finished writing her second novel When Dreams Come True, which is also for older children.

Rebecca also enjoys writing flash fiction and short stories and has had several flash fiction stories included in fundraising anthologies. A Knowing Look and Other Stories is a collection of her short stories which was published in November 2011.

She is also an author for Ether Books who publish short stories and essays to mobile devices via the Ether app.

Trevor Belshaw's Books

I've just bought my copy of Tracy's Hotmail.  I've read snippets of it before and know it's good for a laugh. These grey days we need something to cheer us up. 

I've been meaning to buy it for ages as it's by Trevor Belshaw, one of the authors I met at Writelink, and a brilliant writer to boot. Today is a good day top buy it though, because it was recently snapped up by the Crooked Cat publishing company, and the book launch is today. You can read Trevor's hilarious take on that in his blog, and judge his writing ability from that. I bet you'll want to read his book.

If you're quick, you could win a copy from the publishers, who are holding a competition. Get an entry in before midnight UK time and you could be one of three lucky winners. Go to the Crooked Cat site for the details.

Incidentally, Trevor also writes children's books under the nom de plume, Trevor Forest. I recently got three signed copies for my grandaughter and I'm going to visit her next week, so she'll get them then. I read them all to make sure they'd be right for her, and I'm sure she's going to love them. No doubt you'll read more about them here when I get her reactions.

Books to Be Won

My pal, author David Robinson, has an exciting new contest for bloggers and readers. Anyone who reviews one of 5 of his titles on Amazon or Smashwords will be entered into a draw to win the whole series in paperback, with other prizes of e-books offered for the next winners.

The picture shows one of the covers. Head over to his site to find out more.

Musings on Australia

100 Stories for Queensland should have gone to press today.  I've got a story in this anthology which is going to be sold to raise money for the flood victims.  Can't wait for it to be available.

Still on the subject of Australia, I've just learnt that The Buzz insurance company was the first to offer Australians the online method of buying and managing their car insurance, and in 2010 it was awarded the Australian Business Award for Innovation. 

Here in the UK, we can get multiple car insurance quotes and pay premiums on the internet, but it seems this is the only company down under that offers car insurance Australia that way.  It's part of the Insurance Australia Group (IAG) which also owns Equity Red Star, the UK's fifth largest vehicle insurance operator.

I always use the internet for my car insurance, although sometimes I need to check something I can't find, so I  have tom make a phone call.  The telephone number is always displayed on the website, so thta's not a problem. When you are on The Buzz site, you can use their live chat facility so you don't even have to use the phone.  I must remember to tell my Aussie pal, Annie, about  this.

Books, Books, Books

I do hope you have enjoyed the holidays and New Year celebrations.  The holiday time seems endless this year.   I enjoyed Christmas with my husband and son at home, then took a train to visit my daughter and granddaughter, attending a pantomime and a family party before coming home to see the New Year in with hubby.  It all seems very distant now, yet still it's holiday time and I have to wait till tomorrow to make some urgent appointments.

Anyway, I decided now to look back on some of the highlights of 2010, and found this picture taken during our October holiday on the Welsh border country.



How's this for a bookshop?  It's the Castle Bookshop in Hay on Wye.  There is another way in from the other side of the building, but if you enter through a gap in the wall from the main street, this is what you see.  All of this lower area has bookshelves around the walls, and you can select any book and leave the money for it in a collection box.   Then you can go up the steps and into the bookshop proper, through the open door you can see in the picture.  There are several dusty rooms crammed with secondhand books about everything under the sun, or so it seems.  I could have spent hours just browsing if hubby hadn't been waiting for me to move on.  The photo is a lovely reminder of that day.

International Women's Day

I only discovered on the blogosphere that today is International Women's Day. It's a bit of a coincidence though as I have been on a two hour train journey and reading a book called Amenable Women written by Mavis Cheek, a woman I was at college with many moons ago.

As I'm only half way through the book, I don't yet know how it ends, but it's about a contemporary English woman who has lost her husband and discovered he cheated on her. She is investigating the life of Anne of Cleves, who was the fourth of Henry VIII's six wives. Poor Anne was rejected by Henry when she was brought to England and, although he went through with the marriage, it was annulled afer only a few months. This Queen has been much maligned over the centuries and nicknamed The Mare of Flanders.

The controversy of the Holbein portrait which first attracted Henry to her, how she actually appeared in the flesh, and how historians have referred to her ever since is making quite a good read so far.

And she is certainly an international woman.

A Fishy Story

Salmon pic is from Wikimedia Commons by Joe Mabel

One day I was browsing a secondhand bookstall and my eye was caught by that extraordinary book that everyone was talking about last year. (Or was it the year before? Quick check to find publication date was 2007.)

Anyway that’s how I came to be reading Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday.

This must be the funniest, yet most deadly serious book I’ve ever read. It’s about: politics and civil servants, international relations, spin, power at the top, power of the media, love and marriage, money and high finance, science, war, terrorism, assassination and accidental death. Oh yes, and salmon. And it’s absolutely HILARIOUS.

I'm not going to spoil the story by telling you any more about it. If you’ve read it already, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If not, go out and find it as quickly as you can.

If you read quickly enough, you could always pass it on to someone else as a present for Christmas or whatever you celebrate.

Children's Books That Stand the Test of Time

I've been writing about writing for children, and had to think of some memorable children's authors. Of course I came up with all the popular ones from my own childhood, like Enid Blyton, who is not considered politically correct nowadays.

But I also thought of the writers of some children's books that are still popular today and were written a century or so ago. Did you know that Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was first published in 1865?

And Beatrix Potter self published The Story of Peter Rabbit in 1901. After it was then picked up by a publisher it became the first of a series that has been reprinted over and over again, complete with her wonderful illustrations.

I imagine J K Rowling's Harry Potter series is going to stand the test of time too.

What a wonderful legacy these authors leave to the world.

That Inspirational Book

As I am one of Jenaisle's blogging authors, I'm now delighted to fulfil a commitment to her and give this book a mention. Isn't this a great cover? And do you notice that it doesn't have Jen's name on it anywhere?

Unless you are a real rookie blogger, you must have come across Jenisle before. Her name pops up all over the blogosphere and everyone sings her praises. And it is well-deserved, for as well as maintaining her many blogs, she is always courteous, kind and helpful, and - words fail me. I'll just say I'm proud to be able to call her my on-line friend.

This book is not only an ambition fulfilled for her, it has also needed a huge investment of her time and money in order to showcase other people's work. I do hope lots of people will buy it and show her she is appreciated. You can buy it on several of her blogs: this one for example.

This is also something new for me, having my by-line in a book, rather than in a magazine, web site or e-zine. My copies should arrive soon. I can't wait.

A Dedicated Gardener

You may remember this photo, which I posted here early last summer after visiting the walled garden of Mottisfont Abbey.

I’ve just discovered the name of the rose. It happened that, yesterday, I was catching up with some reading while sitting on the throne. In my National Trust magazine I suddenly came across a very similar photo that was unmistakably the same rose. It’s called ‘Graham Thomas’ after the consultant gardener who set up the rose collection there when the Trust took over the care of the walled garden in 1972.

The magazine ran a feature about the remarkable work of this man who died in 2003 at the ripe old age of 94. He became the first gardens adviser to the NT early in 1955 and twenty years later the Queen recognised his service by awarding him an OBE. He worked tirelessly at a wide variety of properties to restore, develop and conserve the gardens as they were meant to be viewed.

Thomas also wrote many horticultural books and illustrated them with his own drawings and paintings. Wikipaedia lists 13 of them. His work was his life and he told a colleague that he had never had time to marry (according to the magazine feature).

I’m actually quite proud of my photo. I think it’s just as good as the ones in the magazine and on Wikipaedia. But Shutterstock turned it down for having no commercial value.

PS I'll be away for the next few days and don't know if I will be able to post or drop my EC card. Back to normal next week.

Writing Places

I am currently reading The Writer’s Idea Book by Jack Heffron. Like the books by Julia Cameron and Dorothea Brande that I’ve read recently, this one discusses the environment for writing. His views converge from the other two, however, as he must always write privately and not in public view. They all suggest different writing places, as well as sitting at your computer in your office, the two women talking of getting in touch with the muse at a table in a coffee shop. But Heffron feels he would be inhibited in such a place, although he doesn’t rule out a park bench.

I incline towards the private myself, so I was reassured to find an author that agreed with me. I have written on a train, which was public enough but didn’t seem to draw glances. Other places include hotel rooms, where there was just me with time to fill when I’ve been away on business, and holiday homes when hubby has left me in peace. But mostly I write in my study, which is the use I have made of our third bedroom.

For a break, I get up, stretch and walk two paces to the window. Here are a couple of moods of the view I can see.

The rainbow was taken in the autumn of 2007. The snowy one was just yesterday.

I’d love to hear about other places to write, and where your muse kicks in.

PS. The books I’ve been reading are:

Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande, first published 1934
(my version with foreword by John Braine written in 1983)
PAPERMAC – ISBN 0-333-34673-4

The Right to Write by Julia Cameron, 1999
Macmillan – ISBN 0-333-78203-8

The Sound of Paper by Julia Cameron, 2004
Penguin – ISBN 0-141-01869-0

The Writer’s Idea Book by Jack Heffron, 2000
Writer’s Digest Books – ISBN 0-965-09505-3

PPS. I’ve been tagged by http://greysandthings.today.com. Do come back on Friday to read my responses.

On Reading and Books

Reading is a great escape from what’s going on around me. I read for pleasure for at least an hour a day - in bed. Thirty minutes when I get into it at night and thirty minutes before I leave it in the morning. I get through a good few books that way.

While I love reading and often find it hard to put a book down, it also helps me with my writing. I can be critical about the way sentences are constructed, and think I must take care not to make that mistake myself. Or I can be admiring of a turn of phrase, or how something is expressed differently, or how a new element is introduced in a story. All these things will get me thinking about how to improve my own work.

Last night I finished a novel, Sea Otters Gambolling in the Wild, Wild Surf, by John Bennett, published in 2006. I give this date because I learnt from it so much more about how young people today think and interact. It was also a highly original, but believable adventure story, set in the here and now (well, a couple of years ago) and making use of all the technology available to us. The flash back technique was used to really good effect as well. The book was completely different from any I’ve read before and I thoroughly recommend it.

Since I always have a book on the go downstairs, for those odd moments I find myself at leisure – eating alone, or waiting for the washing machine to finish its cycle, or some such – I’m also into a non-fiction travel story by Josie Dew. Saddled at Sea is her story of a 15,000 mile journey from France to New Zealand on a Russian freighter. Apparently she normally writes about cycling and her plan was to cycle round New Zealand once she arrived, but this is the story of how she gets there. I’m up to page 209, and she is still mid Pacific but keeping me entertained with her ruminations about pirates and drowning, her discoveries about the ship, the sea and its flora, fauna and flotsam, and her interactions with the crew and the five other passengers.

Only about 60 pages to go. I’ll definitely seek out a cycling story after this.