The Five Feathers (The Filey Chronicles, Book 2) by Janet Blackwell: #BookReview.

The second book in the proposed trilogy of The Filey Chronicles continues the story begun in The Bridge and the Butterflies, which I read and reviewed after being introduced to the series by a writing friend.The story carries on the fast-moving, emotionally challenging trip of adventure combined with multiple life questions. Meg, the main player, …

Continue reading The Five Feathers (The Filey Chronicles, Book 2) by Janet Blackwell: #BookReview.

WIP First Draft Complete!

On 28th February I announced the start of a new novel and revealed I’d completed the first chapter at 1,725 words. It was on 26th March I updated progress with words reaching a total of 48,079. And on 4th April I let you know I’d completed 70,169 words but had run into a constructional problem …

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Enduring Love by Ian McEwan: #BookReview

A thriller written by a master of the language. Not for the faint-hearted or those lacking in education, this story relates the series of events that lead up to the stalking of the main character by a seriously disturbed and potentially violent would-be lover. The stalker is obsessive and deluded and follows the pattern of …

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A Seasonal Short Story for You. Enjoy!

The picture above is by Larry Krause, on Flikr It is replicated using the Creative Commons License The story is entirely free and posted just below this brief intro. I have a free seasonal story on my site already, but it’s a humorous piece about New Year, and has been on there for some years. …

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Houses Borders Ghosts, from The Fiction Desk: #BookReview.

Nine short stories from contributors to The Fiction Desk appear in this, the 14th anthology published by this independent publisher of short stories and edited by Rob Redman.This is an eclectic collection of tales on no particular theme or treatment. It seems unnecessary to individually review these stories, and to synopsise them would be to …

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Between Before and After, by Jessica Stilling: #BookReview.

If you’re seeking an emotional see-saw you could no better than try this book. The ups and downs are so beautifully handled, and the characters so wonderfully drawn, I was engaged from the very beginning, and remained so to the end.On the surface, this is the story of a filmmaker, one of the ‘arty’ types, …

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#MABLE: Author Interview with Meghan Purvis

Meghan Purvis You’re all cordially invited to join in the fun of the Massive Autumn Book Launch Event (#MABLE) organised by my publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing. The books in the event are hugely discounted, so it’s a great opportunity to try some new and exciting fiction. It began on 17th September and runs to 31st …

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#MABLE: Author Interview with Stuart Aken

Stuart Aken You’re all cordially invited to join in the fun of the Massive Autumn Book Launch Event (#MABLE) organised by my publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing. The books in the event are hugely discounted, so it’s a great opportunity to try some new and exciting fiction. It begins tomorrow, 17th September, and runs to 31st …

Continue reading #MABLE: Author Interview with Stuart Aken

The Wages of Dying, by Meghan Purvis: #BookReview.

Set in prohibition America, around the start of WW1, this vampire novel has all the horror, tension, gore, and folklore lovers of the genre will desire from a story. But it has much more than these expected elements.We follow Ruby, somewhat of an enigma that, to avoid spoilers, I won’t explain, and the reluctant doctor, …

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Why That Title? – Partings.

Titles for works of fiction can cause authors a good deal of soul-searching. Ideally, we want to give potential readers clues about content, theme, style, and storyline. Not easy with only one to maybe a dozen words to play with. Of course, the best titles are revealed as obvious choices once a book’s been read, …

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Shadeward: Expiation, by Drew Wagar: #BookReview.

The story concludes. And what a conclusion! Drew Wagar has created a masterpiece with this quartet of fantasy/sci-fi books set on a distant world in a not-too-distant future. In keeping with the social structure and history of the people starring in this series, he has kept the technological aspects as brief as possible, including only …

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Perilaus II, by Mark P. Henderson: #BookReview.

312 pagesUrban/Thrillers A book underpinned by scholarship, this crime thriller-cum-psychological thriller-cum-literary novel works on many levels. But how to review it without even hinting at spoilers?I think it’s safe enough to let potential readers know the ‘author’ of a crime novel is about to commit himself to the method and occasion of the murder at …

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Horse of a Different Colour, by Melodie Trudeaux: #BookReview.

112 pagesRiding & Horsemanship/Gen Sprots Hobbies & Games/Teen & Young Adult This intriguing and humorous adventure story for children, especially those who love horses, involves a little magic in the form of role play that suddenly becomes real! It becomes potentially rather dangerous for young Megan, able to swap places with Jack, the old and …

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The Prophet Paradox, by Danny Tuttle: #BookReview.

424 pagesFantasy/Religion/Politics/Paranormal? What is this remarkable book about? The clue is very much in the title. But it is about much more than that. The author has researched extensively into numerous subjects to bring alive this extraordinary and complex tale dealing with humanity’s inability to deal with truth. We encounter a lost monastery filled with …

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The Reviews Continue to Come In!

Had another couple of reviews of ‘An Excess Of…’ so far this month. As writers and readers will know, reviews are never easy to get, unless you’re willing to spend a fortune on them, but paid for reviews have never struck me as a genuine way to discover the true value of a book.I’ve copied …

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