Fancy Some Fantastic New Books, Free?

The imaginative and generous independent publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing, is launching 9 new titles during the period 14th October to 4th November. There are books for all tastes here. But the point of this post is the competition accompanying the launches. You can win copies of all these books quite simply. You merely have to …

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Lady Hartley’s Husbands, by Andrea Emblin #BookReview.

A real saga of a novel in which we travel through the life of the female protagonist, Irene, known to her friends as Reene, from her 16th birthday life-changing event to…well that would be spoiling the story. Let’s just say we leave her in her more mature years. There is, as the title suggests, more …

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A Suggestion in Space, by Alan R Paine: #BookReview.

Good fiction is mostly about relationships among the characters portrayed in the book. There is an underlying attitude held by some readers that science fiction is all about rockets, space wars, and/or alien beings. It’s a shame such false bias exists, since much science fiction is actually about relationships amongst people. A Suggestion in Space …

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Death By Column Inches, by Penny Kot: #BookReview.

Having read previous works by Penny Kot, under her other pen names, I expected to find a complex plot, with many twists and turns, populated by a cast of varied and credible characters. I was not in any way disappointed. In fact, this novel is probably her most convoluted story so far. Able to convincingly …

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Elusive Folk Tales of the Peak District, by Mark P Henderson: #BookReview.

Having read Mark’s novels, Perilaus II and Con, I was keen to see what this collection might have to offer. I was not disappointed. The variety is wide-ranging from the darkest and most murderous to the lightest and most laugh-out-loud humour. I read this under a hot sun in Greece, but could feel the damp, …

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The Umbrellas of Hamelin, by Sue Knight, Reviewed.

Literature? Fantasy? Science Fiction? Magical Realism? All of these appear in this anthology of remarkable short stories. Sometimes the style borders on the surreal, sometimes stream of consciousness is employed, but all the tales are imaginative and thoughtful, managing to capture mood and emotional turmoil, some are terrifying cross-genre pieces that stir emotions and ideas. …

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Riding the High Road, by Penny Frances: #BookReview.

Through the varied voices of Pat, a mother with a difference, her son, Gethin, and Jez, a young woman with a troubled past, we take journeys both intertwined and separate as they try to come to terms with their own lives. This is a turbulent ride where love, gender, complex relationships, drugs, and alcohol all …

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Do You Remember the Barn Owl? by Barbara Lorna Hudson: #BookReview.

This collection of short stories, which vary in length and style, reflects the skill and themes of interest to the author. It’s a diverse array, well-written and constructed, and includes some stories that have been previously published in various literary journals. There is great variety here, with many subjects and themes explored, always with emotional …

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Is Amazon’s Book Search Algorithm Deliberately Rubbish?

This is an update on a post I placed on Medium called ‘Searching On Amazon’ I’d found a book on Goodreads that seemed something I might be interested in, so I used Goodreads’ buying link to take me to it on Amazon. It took me nowhere near the book I wanted.  So, I searched for …

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Tatty Cat and the Wonderful Whiff, by Mella May, Illustrated by George Utton: #BookReview.

74 pages, Children’s Books A riotously illustrated book for children telling a hilarious tale of mischief in rhyme that works surprisingly well.Children will love this story of the tatty cat in pursuit of a whiff of such tempting delights he’s willing to risk all sorts to get to the source and dine on it. The …

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Makeover, by Barbara Lorna Hudson: #BookReview.

304 pages, Contemporary Romance. Insightful, and based on personal knowledge of the areas covered in her writing, the author explores themes of academic snobbery, domestic abuse, insecurity, and the search for love in an uncertain world. Having experience in both social care and academia, Barbara brings reality and honesty to this tale of the search …

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Wolf Road, by Alice Roberts: #BookReview.

This wonderful story was written for children, but I read and enjoyed it as a man of 75 years because it is so well written. An absorbing, intelligent, imaginative adventure informed by the science the author has lived with and her experience of life in appropriate lands. I’ve followed Alice Roberts’ career with interest ever …

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The WIP is Done.

At the end of Friday, 11th August, I posted here on the progress of the WIP. At that stage, the book was on chapter 30 and the word count was 71,521. Yesterday I completed the WIP with chapter 33 and a total of 80,799 words. Now I need to do some detailed research for events …

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The WIP is Growing!

My Books, and Others Containing My Stories. Three weeks ago, I posted about my progress on the WIP. I’m re-writing to the extent that the current work is essentially a second ‘first draft’, in that I’ve made many changes to the content and the style of presentation. At that point, I’d reached 32,427 words in …

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Black Harry, by Mark P. Henderson #BookReview.

Subtitled ‘Glossopdale’s Elizabethan folk hero’, this is a fascinating account of the life, actions, attitudes, courage, and determination of a man who can probably be held responsible for significantly improved changes in the relationships between landowner and tenant.The book is set during the reign of Elizabeth I at the time when she incarcerated her cousin, …

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