Author Archives: Catherine Balavage

The GoodFather: Becoming a Dad For the First Time Without Losing Your Mind, Changing Your Identity, or Emigrating by Lee Price

Posted on by

The GoodFather: Becoming a Dad For the First Time Without Losing Your Mind, Changing Your Identity, or Emigrating by Lee Price

A humorous and well written book on becoming a father. Has some good advice- and some bad: like do not buy a nappy bin or wet wipes, seriously, do not listen to that part- and many great insights and advice. It will make you laugh. Buy it for the dad to be in your life, but have a flick through yourself as it is funny and has some great tips. 

Part-diary, part-guide, part-warning – The GoodFather is a light-hearted but invaluable look into the world of first-time fatherhood.

Detailing the author’s eye-opening path of discovery, the book charts his journey (alongside that of his partner and their baby) as he goes through pregnancy for the first time. The nuggets of information he picks up along the way, the tips to help smooth the process for all parties, and the precious opportunities to bank some brownie points, are all detailed.

This isn’t your typical lecture on pregnancy and fatherhood, rather a real, tangible, honest account of what will happen, and how to survive it.

In this book:

> Learn essentials such as key dates, what happens at maternity appointments, what to pack for the hospital, and how to avoid blowing your cash on needless baby tat.

> Dig into an A-Z terminology guide to help you navigate the ridiculous amount of jargon that comes with being an expectant father.

> Get up-to-speed on baby milestones and size guides, some painfully-learned maternity shopping advice, and the importance of good snacks.

> Oh, and a chapter about sex. Don’t get your hopes up. Seriously.

> This book also features regular ‘real parents tips’ from mothers and fathers whose comments haven’t been passed through some rose-tinted filter.

The Author. Lee Price is an award-nominated national print journalist and published sportswriter. Previously of Shoot! magazine, and a feature writer at The Sun newspaper, Lee is currently ‘PR & Mischief Champion’ at Paddy Power. Lee has written a number of previous titles including: FIFA Football: The Story Behind The Video Game Sensation, The Bundesliga Blueprint: How Germany became the Home of Football and Turning My Back on the Premier League.

The GoodFather: Becoming a Dad For the First Time Without Losing Your Mind, Changing Your Identity, or Emigrating by Lee Price is available here. 

Best Day Ever By Kaira Rouda Book Review

Posted on by

best day ever, kaira rouda
Best Day Ever ticks all of the boxes for what people want in a thriller these days: an unreliable narrator, domestic discord, and enough twists to keep you guessing. A tense domestic suspense novel, a zoomed through this novel at a quick pace, always wondering what was going to happen next. It is superbly written and keeps you hooked until the last page. The novel takes place over 24 hours and has an unreliable male narrator, two things which make it different. A great novel from USA Today bestselling author Kaira Rouda. Read it now. Our Day In The Life with Kaira Rouda is here.

 

Paul Strom has spent years building his perfect life: glittering career, beautiful wife, two healthy boys and a big house in the suburbs.

But he also has his secrets. That’s why Paul has promised his wife a romantic weekend getaway. He proclaims this day, a warm Friday in May, will be the best day ever.

Paul loves his wife, really, he does. But he also wants to get rid of her. And with every hour that passes, Paul ticks off another stage in his elaborately laid plan…

 

Best Day Ever is available here. 

 

 

Mindful Pregnancy & Birth: Nurturing Love and Awareness By Riga Forbes

Posted on by

mindfulness, pregnancy

This is a great book which gives you the inspiration to go through your pregnancy and birth with a mindful approach. As well as advice it also has meditative exercises and insights. A great, helpful book for mothers-to-be. 

Focusing on the entire journey; from pregnancy through to early parenthood, this guide to living mindfully for expectant mothers helps prepare you for birth and improve your wellbeing with the ancient practice of mindfulness. When we talk about making something, it usually refers to creating, manipulating, or forming a material. In pregnancy, our bodies are wrapped up in doing all of these things at once, and on a grand scale. But in the act of making space in ourselves through mindfulness, none of these things apply. In Mindful Pregnancy & Birth we engage in an act of “not doing”. Of not changing, but of simply “being” in the experience of ourselves. Pregnancy is a phase in which to reconcile what has been, with what will become. It is a process, a time of change, and even more so for a first-time mother. It is a recognition of our dreams for the future being in transit, in gestation, in the making.

Mindful Pregnancy & Birth: Nurturing Love and Awareness By Riga Forbes is available here.

The Waterway Girls By Margaret Graham | Recommended Reads

Posted on by


Frost likes to think we know what we are talking about when we recommend books, and, the fact is: we do. Written by writers and authors, we read hundreds of books every year. So Frost editor Catherine Balavage here to recommend The Waterway Girls By Margaret Graham. You can read the review here. Milly Adams also writes for Frost and we are very proud of that.

THE FIRST NOVEL IN MILLY ADAMS’ BRAND NEW SAGA SERIES. Perfect for fans of Daisy Styles and Nancy Revell. 
War lands them in the same boat. Can they pull together?

October 1943, West London
Nineteen-year-old Polly Holmes is leaving poor bombed London behind to join the war effort on Britain’s canals.

Stepping aboard the Marigold amid pouring rain, there’s lots for Polly to get to grips with. Not least her fellow crew: strong and impetuous Verity, whose bark is worse than her bite, and seasoned skipper Bet.

With her sweetheart away fighting in the RAF and her beloved brother killed in action, there’s plenty of heartache to be healed on the waterway. And as Polly rolls up her sleeves and gets stuck into life on board the narrowboat – making the gruelling journey London up to Birmingham – she will soon discover that a world of new beginnings awaits amid the anguish of the war.

 

 

ZeroWater Really Cleans Up | ZeroWater Review

Posted on by

zero water filter

Lead and other heavy metals in our waters is a major concern. However, bottled water is bad for the environment and the costs add up. Never mind that the plastic is not very good for you. So water filters are big business and rightly so. Every home should have one. Not all water filters are equal however. When Frost read the press release for ZeroWater we were very impressed. ZeroWater is the only water filter brand that delivers the equivalent to purified bottled water into your home. Developed a pour-through system, with an aim to deliver the best filtration possible with their premium five-stage ion exchange technology, this filter removes virtually all total dissolved solids (TDS), a claim which no other filter can say. 

Well you can see why we are impressed. So we reviewed it. And…it is brilliant. It looks great, is easy to use, and makes great-tasting water. It gets the Frost stamp of approval.

ZeroWater is the only gravity-fed filtration system to match the TDS levels found in purified bottle water. This breakthrough filtration system from ZeroWater is certified by NSF International for the reduction of Lead and other heavy metals such as Chromium 3 & 6 and Mercury. The Good Housekeeping Research Institute have also revealed that ZeroWater removes more total contaminants from water than a regular Brita filter, making it a must have for all homes in the UK.

zero water

ZeroWater’s 12-cup Ready-Pour™ pitcher is the first in its class that has a sealed lid and reservoir, making it possible to pour water that has already been filtered without spilling water that’s still filtering. This means the reservoir can now be kept full, adding a full two cups’ capacity to the existing 10-cup design. It also features a one-hand, pull and pour button spout for easy bottle filling.

The 12-cup Ready-Pour™ uses the patented ZeroWater filtration system, which combines FIVE sophisticated technologies that work together to remove virtually all dissolved solids from your water. The result is great-tasting water, straight from the tap, and the only pour-through filter pitcher on the market that’s certified by the NSF to reduce lead. ZeroWater’s first layer of filtration, activated carbon and oxidation reduction alloy, removes the chlorine taste you are accustomed to with tap water. The Ion Exchange stage removes virtually all dissolved solids that may be left over from public water systems or even leached into your water from piping, such as aluminium, lead, zinc, nitrates, and more. Three additional stages are included to remove other impurities and ensure your water receives the appropriate amount of treatment time to deliver a “000” reading on the included laboratory-grade Total Dissolved Solids meter.

About ZeroWater

  • NSF Certified to REDUCE LEAD
  • Removes 99.6% of all dissolved solids
  • Purest tasting drinking water
  • 12 cup capacity = 10 cup pitcher + 2 cups in reserve
  • Immediate pouring ability
  • One-hand “push to dispense” spout to fill any bottle or cup
  • Convenient space-saving design
  • Certified* to reduce Lead, Chromium, & Mercury
  • Premium 5-Stage Dual-Ion Exchange filtration system
  • Ion-Exchange system that removes virtually all dissolved solids in your water
  • The FDA requires the TDS level in PURIFIED bottled water to reach 000-010ppm. ZeroWater is the only filter in its class to achieve this level.

The ZeroWater 12 cup ready pour costs £39.99 from Zerowater.co.uk and amazon.co.uk, smaller jugs start from £24.99.

 

Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After Out On Audiobook

Posted on by

Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After, the compelling memoir from Heather Harpham about her journey from the bliss of young love, to handling a shock-pregnancy alone, to the earth-dropping learning your new-born has an incurable blood disease – narrated by the author herself. Lyrical, heart-breaking, loving and hopeful, the book has been phenomenally well-received in the US

A shirt-grabbing love story that follows a one-of-a-kind family through twists of fate that require nearly unimaginable choices.

Happiness begins with a charming courtship between hopelessly attracted opposites: Heather, a world-roaming California girl, and Brian, an intellectual, homebody writer, kind and slyly funny but loath to leave his Upper West Side studio. Their magical interlude ends, full stop, when Heather becomes pregnant – Brian is sure he loves her, only he doesn’t want kids.

Heather returns to California to deliver their daughter alone, buoyed by family and friends. Mere hours after Gracie’s arrival, Heather’s bliss is interrupted when a nurse wakes her: ‘Get dressed. Your baby is in trouble.’

This is not how Heather had imagined new motherhood – alone, heartsick, an unexpectedly solo caretaker of a baby who smelled ‘like sliced apples and salted pretzels’ but might be perilously ill.

Brian reappears as Gracie’s condition grows dire; together, Heather and Brian have to decide what they are willing to risk to ensure their girl sees adulthood.

The grace and humour that ripple through Harpham’s writing transform the dross of heartbreak and parental fears into a clear-eyed, warm-hearted view of the world.

Profoundly moving and subtly written, Happiness radiates in many directions – new, romantic love; gratitude for a beautiful, inscrutable world; deep, abiding friendship; the passion a parent has for a child; and the many unlikely ways to build a family. Ultimately, it’s a story about love and happiness in their many crooked configurations.

 

The Happiness audiobook will be available at Audible.co.uk from Thursday 7th September, £18.99.

 

Highlights of National Poetry Day 28 September 2017

Posted on by

Wakefield: Poetry on the no 59 Bus

Departing from Wakefield Bus station at 11.21 and travelling along the route to Barnsley
Take your seat for a ride of poetic musing, revolutionary songs and live music from The Merrie City to Tarn and back. Jump on board Bus 59 with The Ukulele Lady and her Boy, musician Jacqui Wicks and poet Ralph Dartford, and experience a journey like no other. All you will need is your fare. This event is part of the Hear My Voice Barnsley Project in collaboration with Wakefield Lit Festival, funded by the Barnsley TUC Training Ltd and supported by Stagecoach.

https://www.wakefieldlitfest.org.uk/events/332-national-poetry-day-on-the-no59-bus

 

 

Jill Abram presents Stablemates: A Poetry Salon with Roger McGough, Malika Booker and Kathryn Maris from Penguin Modern Poets

Foyles, 107 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0DT

 

 

To celebrate National Poetry Day, we’ll be joined by presenter of BBC Radio 4s Poetry Please Roger McGough, Douglas Caster fellow Malika Booker and Pushcart prize winning Kathryn Maris. The evening will comprise of the poets in conversation with Jill Abram, Director of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen, and reading from their work.

 

http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Events/Detail.aspx?eventId=3431

 

 

Poetry Breakfast at L’Escargot

L’Escargot  Restaurant, 48 Greek St, Soho, London W1D 4EF

 

Poet in the City’s legendary Poetry Breakfast is back, with a twist. This year we’re transforming Soho’s iconic L’Escargot into a trove of poetic treasures.  Behind door number 1, you might find yourself sitting down for coffee with 2016 Forward Prize-winner Vahni Capildeo, maybe you’ll be meeting Jo Shapcott, 2011 recipient of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry; or perhaps you’ll be sharing a croissant with Sabrina Mahfouz, the award-winning poet and playwright behind With a Little Bit of Luck (2016) and literary anthology The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write.

 

http://www.poetinthecity.co.uk/show-event/?pc_event_id=337

 

 

Pop Up Poet Session in Glasgow

Mitchell Library, North St, Glasgow G3 7DN

In celebration of National Poetry Day, live poetry sessions will be held by one of the Pop up Poets from the St Mungo’s Mirrorball. Come along and have a coffee or some lunch and hear some poetry from 11.00am – 1.30pm at the Mitchell Library.

 

Betjeman Poetry Prize

John Betjeman statue,  St. Pancras International Station, London

 

The Betjeman Poetry Prize celebrates the fantastic achievement of this year’s six young finalists at St Pancras International, on the Upper Councourse, by the statue of Sir John Betjeman. Awards presented by the poet Rachel Rooney and the illustrator Chris Riddell, with readings from the young poets. Event starts at 2pm.

 

https://www.betjemanpoetryprize.co.uk/

 

 

Contains Strong Language

Various locations, Hull

 

A major new national spoken word and poetry festival in Hull

 

Starting on National Poetry Day, Thursday 28 September, Contains Strong Language will welcome local, national and international poets, in a celebration of new and existing word craft inspired by our literary city.

 

https://www.hull2017.co.uk/whatson/events/contains-strong-language/

 

 

What do you think?: A Collection of Poems Extract #nationalpoetryday

Posted on by

poetry, poetry book, poems, women authors, Scottish writers, poetry book, female writers,To celebrate National Poetry Day here is some extracts from my poetry book What do you think?: A collection of poems. I hope you enjoy them.

 

Thieves

Littered broken hearts

One million men

Tearing me apart

Vestiges of

What I used to be

Leaving behind

All different parts of me

Traces

Chunks

Bits

Intellectual property

All stolen from me

And I will never be complete again

And the waiter came around with decapitated roses

 

 

When women are mean girls

Another barb

To bring a smile to your face

You think it wounds

Not quite

But I will confess it grates

How a woman can act like a mean girl

Time and time again

Her insecurity and bitterness

Coming out in bitchy comments

I guess I should feel sorry for you

That your life has led you to this

Vile and wrapped up in your own bitterness

But woman like you give women a bad name

Lashing out, attacking, trying to cause pain

I know you just don’t like my happiness

That it causes you pain

That your jealousy is like your other face

Sneering, ugly and plain

I take it as a compliment

That you can’t just keep quiet

That you cannot become the adult you are

That you have to let your hate perspire

I move on, of course

And I smile as I do

Because although you bore me and disappoint me

I am happy, because I am nothing like you

(This was written in 2016. I wish it wasn’t as relevant as it is. I do have to point out that men can be bitchy too, but sometimes it just hurts more when it comes from another woman).

 

 

Motherhood

They say that after this I will be a woman

But I feel I already earned that long ago

Long before the waves and the pain

My dues long paid up

Unlike those other dues

This one will be worth it

They say this will change me.

And it irks me that they are not wrong

One bouncing baby

To change the melody of the song

Half a stone of giggles and crying

To bring a joy

That could bring back the dying

 

 

Loved person

Broken promises I knew you could not keep

You only ever tried to love me and in gratitude I lay at your feet

Because I was in love too, but my love was different

My love was the notion of life, a good one

All I wanted from ear to ear; a smile from my own mouth

It did not work

You loved me so selflessly I could not leave

Although I know now it was only through your love for me that I loved you

You lost your own identity

You chose mine but I wanted mine to keep

Still. Here I am

This time only crying at your ever loving feet

I owe you too much to leave

So for the rest of my life. If I never find the courage

I will be the living, loved dead

Even though I see

Your love in an otherwise cruel world binds me

Forgive me. I doubt for all that I was ever worthy

 

 

All poems taken from What do you think?: A Collection of Poems by Catherine Balavage is available from Amazon.