Is it me, or are baby toys getting cuter? I love these sweet ball-shaped animal rattles, suitable for babies from as soon as they can hold a toy.

The set of four balls, each with a different animal face and in different colours, will grab Baby’s attention for sure.  There is a cat, a rabbit, a panda and a bear – personally I love the rabbit, but I’m sure my grandson will enjoy the remaining three.

They are very light, so easy for Baby to hold, and nice and soft to chew or slobber over.  Each has a soft and distinct jingle when shaken.  They are made of a wipe-able fabric for easy cleaning and would make delightful additions to your cot’s soft toy community.

When Baby reaches the throwing stage they will continue to be fun too, hopefully without knocking over too many vases.

They are available at Baby To Love at just  £14.95 for the four.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

Paul Vates

Such a thrilling time – Dr Kathleen Thompson, Frost Magazine’s medical correspondent, and I travelled to Newcastle to see Voltemand and Cornelius are joyfully returned, a play ‘wot Paul Vates, our drama critic and professional actor, wrote’ and entered for the People’s Play Award  which, hurrah, hurrah won.

It was a stunning first night performance with all the ingredients of a prize winning play in evidence. Humour, underpinned by a darker belly, all imbued with tension and a tear or two. Oh, Paul Vates, what a triumph of acting, stage design, lighting and sound, the distant rat – a – tat of the machine guns was particularly evocative.

Frost Magazine asked him his thoughts on such a great outcome.

              Image courtesy of Steve Hewitt

‘It was thrilling to see these characters come to life, that have for so long have only existed in my head. Artistically, was I pleased with the company’s choices of staging/casting/direction? Well, overall it was ‘different’. I fully accept that the play’s performances will never quite match the images I have for it, but should (touch wood) there be future performances, my joy, like this run, is in seeing how different creatives interpret the piece.

I did love watching it, revelling in the audience’s laughter and tears. One lady, afterwards, came up to me and said she found it ‘interesting’. I jokingly said ‘Oh, can’t you find a better word? Interesting is like saying it’s nice.’ She thought for a moment, then said ‘It’s fucked me up! My mind is everywhere, full of questions.’ That’s more like it…

And now to Dr Kathleen Thompson, Frost Magazine correspondent and author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows, who asks, Competitions? Are they worth it?

I was so excited that our Theatre Critic, Paul Yates, had won the prestigious People’s Play Award, for Voltemand And Cornelius Are Joyfully Returned and couldn’t wait to add my twopennyworth when Margaret Graham, our editor asked me to relate my own competition experience.

Always happy to talk about, well, me, here we go.  Frankly, the only cons are the effort of sending off the competition entry. The pros are numerous.

First, some background, when I developed breast cancer, even as a doctor I needed to absorb copious facts pronto – not easy when in a state of shock. You need to make choices about your treatment; sometimes to speak out if things are going wrong with your care; you have to pick out the truth from fake news ‘facts’ and understand how life style can affect your chance of long-term survival. So I wrote an easy-to-read book to guide people through what they needed to know.

A great idea but did I achieved my aim? And how could potential readers know my book was worth reading at a difficult time?

Nowadays social media experts are king. The quality of their book or product may not be great, but they know how to disseminate and persuade, meaning people will favour their item over others. So how do you raise awareness of your product?

Well a competition can help. Judges are independent experts and a win is validation of quality. The prize itself may include further publicity, and a judge may be so impressed that they want to take your work further.  You should feature any wins on your book cover, as a visual endorsement for potential readers, as I did.

I was proud to win first prize in the Words for the Wounded  book award in 2016. This charity helps war veterans in a very personal and considered way. The founders are big names in the writing world, and have access to top-notch literary judges, including best-selling authors, publishers, editors and agents. What better way to get your book in front of influential people, and guess what – they have to read it.

I was delighted to win the Janey Loves Platinum Award in 2017.  Radio 2’s Janey Lee Grace has a special interest in natural, eco, and organic products and services. Her annual awards promote products and books which help people. The judging panel includes Zoe Ball, Carrie Grant and of course Janey herself.  It was great to meet other winners and the judges at the award ceremony and I was thrilled when Janey commented very positively on my book.

Winning these awards reassured me that my book achieved what I worked for – confirming that it was well written and helpful, and should be out there.  If you have written a book, or play, or have an innovative product I would recommend competitions such as these – they are fun, provide validation and help promote your product.

Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q  http://faitobooks.co.uk

Jane Cable, Frost Magazine’s contributing editor, who won the inaugural  Words for the Wounded Award talks of a different competition

During the filming of the final of the Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist Competition I remember looking around the studio and thinking ‘enjoy this – it might be as good as it gets’. In terms of media profile I was probably right, but having reached the final and therefore being able to call on a cover quote from Jeffery Archer made all the difference to the level of interest when I self published the book two years later.

But the most important lesson from the whole experience was another of the judges, Sophie Hannah, taking me to one side and telling me although I had a great authorial voice the book needed a great deal of work. Up until that point I was completely untutored and I thought it didn’t matter – but it did, and because of those very special few words I’ve been able to up my game as a writer considerably.

Another You,  by Jane Cable published in June but available for pre-order.

Tracy Baines one of our favourite magazine short story writers and book reviewer for Frost Magazine also comments.

Being placed anywhere in a competition gives you a boost. It’s not your mum and dad, granny or best friend telling you that it’s good; it could be an industry professional, a published author or someone of influence that has validated your work.

The first writing competition I entered was one run by Carole Mathews in conjunction with Ford cars. The winner got the use of a Ford Fiesta (I think it was) for six months and the runners up received a collection of Carole Mathews books. I’ll never forget the day the box of books arrived, along with a card and a lovely letter from Carole. It was my first success with a short story.

Sales to magazines soon followed. A couple of years later I was one of six finalists for the Daily Mail Opening of a Novel competition. I won book tokens (oh joy!) but more importantly was invited to London for a winners’ lunch. We met at the HQ of DM and then went to lunch with Fay Weldon, James Buchan and Deborah Moggach. There were also editors and agents present and it was a chance to mix with industry professionals and realise they didn’t have three heads and scales. It was a networker’s dream and it was a massive boost to my confidence. I went home with a handful of business cards, and invitations to send my manuscript.

Comps are great because they give you many things – most importantly a deadline. They also provide a chance to hone your market knowledge. All comps have different judges, genres and audiences, they may even have a given theme.  If you do your homework you can up your chances. These things are important  to focus on when it comes to writing novels- you must know your audience and work to deadline.

It’s been great to have on my CV and it’s a way of catching the eye of agents and editors. Your writing must be of a certain standard to get placed.

Some people balk at paying entrance fees but if they were playing tennis, golf or doing a craft they would have to pay out for equipment, clothing etc. I’d say give yourself a budget of £50 – £100 per year (whatever you can afford) and use it to enter competitions. You are investing in your career and you’re worth it. There are also plenty of free comps to enter, so there’s no excuse.

If you win you can truthfully put that you are a prizewinning author on your website. Ok, so it might not be the Booker or the Whitbread but it’s a prize all the same.

Tracy’s debut saga will be published early next year by Ebury.

So there we have it. These illustrious writers have shared their experiences with you, and I, Margaret Graham/Milly Adams/Annie Clarke (who am I – who knows) endorse their hurrahs for the value of competitions..

When I was a green writer, working away on the kitchen table, though I still work on the very same table a great many years, and books later, I entered the Constable/North West Arts novel award. I wasn’t first, second or third, but I was one of the 22 best entries. I decided I was fourth, so plodded on. Finally that book was taken by my lovely agent, who saw the competition result on my CV, and had a look at my tatty, cut and pasted manuscript typed up on my Olivetti portable job, without a button for the O. She sold it to Heinemann. So so thrilling. Later, Barry Unsworth who won the Booker twice, reviewed it generously and kindly, and also made it his business to find out my position in the best entries.

Dear readers, far from being fourth, I was in fact, twenty second. So I nipped in just before the gate closed. But crikey, it was important to my confidence, and to those who received my appallingly presented manuscript. How could I? But I did.

My latest, Girls on the Home Front, written under the name of Annie Clarke, is published by Arrow next week.

The unanimous verdict is, enter, keep entering, to be placed even at number 22, it raises you above the parapet.

Baby to Love is building a reputation for original, innovative and trend leading products.

Frost Magazine asked our prime ‘tester’ Miss Delilah to give her considered opinion. Now. Miss Delilah, heading towards 2 years old, is not backward in coming forwards with an emphatic no, so  we’re all pretty scared when the product displeases. Arghhhh – head for the hills.

No such problem this time. She found Jean the Toucan in the garden, having flown in overnight from the rainforest, flap flap, then a glide. (They’re not very good at flying apparently). She also found Jean easy and manageable to handle with her tiddly hands. In part due to the size, but also Jean’s soft texture and rounded shape. The musical box toucan, is, to be scientific, squidgy, much like Miss Delilah in a good mood. Gulp.

The music is tucked away inside Jean, and the tune is Over the Rainbow – very appropriate for a toucan when you think about it. In fact, this is a hallmark of Baby to Love – the thought that goes into these products.

To produce the music, someone with bigger hands has to pull the cord which is situated, if one might be indelicate, at the bottom of the toucan. Miss Delilah hadn’t the strength to pull it, but perhaps it’s as well, or it would have been going all day.

Each animal has a different melody, but all are tranquil to keep things under control, and clearly this range of music boxes is helpful for sensory development: vision, hearing, and tactility. I think too, that it stimulated Miss Delilah’s curiosity, and we found a toucan in a book, which she was able to relate to.

All in all, a thumbs up, from our rather scary tester – phew.

Do think of one for any new babies on the horizon, or that one year old birthday present. One of these animals will be sure to please. The packaging, incidentally is gorgeous, with a carrying handle, and wallpaper ‘innards’ displaying all the animal music boxes. Light to send as well.

Designed and developed in France Baby To Love are committed to the quality and safety of their products, to achieve only the best results.

The Musical Animals (Madeleine, Jean, Achille, Luca and Vincent) will be available buy online for £30.95 https://www.babytolove.co.uk/product/jean-the-toucan/

Baby to Love 

Annie Clarke’s new series, The Girls on the Home Front is published by Arrow on 29th May.

Aimee Sinclair is that face in the crowd , you recognise her but not too sure where from .

Aimee is a actress and pretending to be someone else is all she has ever known . As a young girl she adopted a new name , birthday , home and even new parents.

In the present she is unhappily married to Ben Bailey, he is jealous and cruel not to mention jealous of her acting career .

One day Aimee comes home to find Ben gone: his keys , phone , wallet and even his coat remain . Aimee calls in reinforcements in the shape of the police. Only to learn that her bank account containing thousands of pounds has been emptied, by none other than Aimee herself . She would remember closing her bank account. Surely ?

More and more incriminating evidence comes to light, even footage of Aimee, but is it truly her? Is she suffering from stress Induced amnesia?

A highly addictive read, you are left to question everyone and everything . And just when you finally think you know how the story is going to end , everything gets thrown on its head.

Published by Harper Collins
Paperback- £7.99
eBook- £1.99
Audio- £12.99

Natalie Jayne Peeke: http://www.thebookwormmother.co.uk

The Beauty of the Wolf by Wray Delaney

This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, reversing the gender roles of the original fairytale. It will no doubt appeal to many with such topical themes such as gender, sexuality and body positivity.

In the age of the Faerie Queene, Elizabeth 1 a period of ruffles and lace, velvet and satins two newborn babes are cursed, one with beauty, one a beast.

But can beauty be a curse? Only if people can’t see past it to the real person: Beau, in this case, a lad. Meanwhile the beast, the girl, is locked away, out of sight.

An interesting take to suit today’s readership.

Pub. by HQ. hb £12.99/eBook/audio

Killing  State by Judith O’Reilly

A pacey thriller published by Head of Zeus whose authors often come up with belters.

Michael North, assassin and spy for hire is good at killing bad ‘uns. But what if his boss, lurking in the shadows in post-Brexit British government, orders him to kill a good ‘un, and a women what’s more… He falters. Will he, won’t he?

But let’s get to the heart of the matter: why is she the target?

Honor Jones MP has started nosing about, asking leading questions, and we all know where that gets the good ‘uns…

So I ask again, what will  North do?  Lovely Frederick Forsyth thinks this author will stick around. So do I.

Pacey, gritty but empathetic. I like it. Bravo Judith O’Reilly.

pub Head of Zeus. hb £14.99

The Lost Ten by Harry Sidebottom

Another pacey offering.

A frantic rescue attempt deep behind enemy lines … Sheer adventure. Think Strike Back on the TV but without the bottoms heaving about the place, or Bravo Two Zero. But a different time, and a different place.

Valens a junior officer in the Roman Army joins a crack squad of soldiers on a dangerous mission – to rescue the young Prince Sasan in the inaccessible Castle of Silence.

The junior office soon finds himself in charge  and as he begins to suspect treason in the ranks it appears the mission is not so much one of rescue but suicide. Much like Sharpe in the first of Bernard Cornwell’s novels featuring Richard Sharpe he has to earn his men’s respect before he can do anything else. Pacey, interesting, visual.

Pub by Zaffre hb £12.99

Annie Clarke’s novel Girls on the Home Front (Arrow) is published 29th May.

Currently in the best-selling category Gin Lane 1751 Victoria Pink Gin is in the pink. Oh, I’m sorry, this pink gin truly doesn’t deserve flippancy, but it’s a pink gin that hits the spot, and having sampled, and then again, I’m feeling full of beans.

So, why Gin Lane – 1751?

The British Gin Act of 1751 is an important landmark in the history of gin production, marking the beginning of the long journey towards becoming the reformed spirit of the 21^st century. Basically, gin was – shall we say – being over consumed. The act was brought in to solve this problem. It restricted those who could sell it, and raised the tax on gin, and therefore the price. At the same time the drinking of tea was encouraged. Well… Tea? TEA?

However, it did indeed cut the out-of-control (hence the nickname – mothers’ ruin) drinking.

But time moved on, and in the 19^th century bitters were given to sailors in the RN as a treatment for sea sickness. As you can imagine bitters might actually add to the problem unless – yes, you’ve got it, they were made more palatable –  tra la la… bring on the gin.

So, let us raise a glass to the seasick sailors who unbeknown to them created the classic pink gin cocktail.

I can remember it as a drink my parents enjoyed but then its popularity lapsed until – here we are again, enjoying today’s popular pink gin trend.

GIN LANE 1751: ‘VICTORIA’ PINK GIN is of a well crafted Victorian style originating in an age when there was a predominance of juniper berries with hints of liquorice. Add to that other botanicals: cassia bark, angelica, Sicilian lemon, coriander, orris Root, seville orange, star anise, blend well and here you have it, this deliciously smooth uplifting gin.

Try it over the Bank Holiday.

Blended by the eighth generation London distiller, Mr Charles Maxwell.

Let’s hear it for Mr Charles Maxwell – very well done, sir, the sailors on the Royal Naval ships would have been delighted, but not as much as we are at Frost Magazine.

www.ginlane1751.com

Available from Aldi, Amazon, Co-op, thedrinkshop.com, Selfridges.  RRSP: £19.99

Annie Clarke’s novel (pub Arrow) will be published on 29th May: Girls on the Home Front

In the Blood by  Ruth Mancini

A new voice in crime fiction published by Head of Zeus

A new mother is accused of poisoning her own child, and leaving him to die. But though Ellie is a difficult person, after a troubled upbringing, is she capable of murder? Well, is she?

Sarah Kellerman, a criminal defence lawyer with her own child – one who is disabled, sets out to answer this question. But strangely, her own child becomes unwell. So what exactly is Kellerman caught up in?

This is not unlike a Wire in the Blood I caught up with last night, which I had to watch between my fingers. I find fiction of any sort involving the harming of children not my thing, but others on the team enjoyed this novel and declared it a page turner. So, here we have a page turner from an author who ‘knows of which she speaks’ for Ruth Mancin is a criminal defence lawyer, with a disabled son. Good luck to her as her writing career progresses.

In the Blood. Ruth Mancini. pub Head of Zeus. pb £8.99

Twisted Prey by John Sandford.

I more than enjoyed this latest in the Prey series. Lucas Davenport – such an engrossing lead character, so human – confronts an old nemesis, now a powerful U.S. senator. They’ve met before, oh yes, indeed. Taryn Grant is a psychopath who slots effortlessly in to the Senate, (well a psychopath would into the political world) and Lucas expects another murder from her, to add to the three he is convinced she has already committed.

And, readers, there is… Roll of drums.

I long – as I review crime novels – to find an author as richly erudite as Reginald Hill (Dalziel and Pascoe), and as amusing, and quirky, who creates characters so real you know them. And do you know, I am increasingly feeling with John Sandford I might have found one. I sank into it, turned the pages, grinned, turned a page and needed to turn the next one – quick as the tension built. Read it – I insist.

Twisted Prey by John Sandford. pub Simon and Schuster UK

Cradle by James Jackson

An historical crime set back in America, Virginia, in 1608.

An intriguing novel, as Intelligencer Christian Hardy protects this new possession on behalf of Prince Henry, heir to the English throne.

But he faces not only the natives, but internal sabotage, and the forces of King James 1 and his spymaster Robert Cecil, desperate to prevent war with Spain.

Add to all this, the starvation the settlement is having to endure, then you have a live or die battle on your hands.

This area of conflict seems popular at the moment, and Cradle not only has a great jacket, but historical knowledge and a whacking pace. Enjoy.

Cradle by James Jackson. pub Zaffre. pb £7.99

Full Wolf Moon by Lincoln Child

This New York Times bestselling author is back with a new thriller, which finds Jeremy Logan, the renowned investigator of the supernatural and fantastic on the trail of a killer, who cannot exist.

The first question is, do werewolves exist as a mauled body is found on Desolation Mountain when Jeremy Logan joins a writers’ retreat to finally get to grips with his book? But he has to get to grip instead, with a real life mystery. Well, that’s procrastination for you.

With the discovery of the body, the question is posed – has the savagery proved that the legend has been made manifest – that werewolves abound?

Child packs in action, tension, interesting locales, controversial science so strap on your seat belt as the roller coaster of a ride takes off. Not a dull moment. Give it a go.

Full Wolf Moon by Lincoln Child. pub Corsair. £8.99

Milly Adams, writing Annie Clarke has a new novel Girls on the Home Front pub by Arrow  out on 30th May.

But suggests that maybe you should leave your maiden aunt (or uncle) behind

If Lisa Minnelli wearing a bowler hat and heavy eye liner is your idea of Cabaret, then be prepared to think again, with a stunning show entitled Bernie Dieter’s Little Death Club, running at the Underbelly on the South Bank, London until the 23^rd of June.

Transforming a Circus Tent into a sensuous art nouveau performance space is no mean feat, but only the first of many such feats that skilfully creates the kind of show that is more often associated with the Weimar Cabaret of the 1930s in the heart of Berlin.

In the true spirit of cabaret there are several acts: musical, comedic, artistic and downright mind blowing.

MCeed by the talented Bernie Dieter, whose fantastic voice is matched only by her wicked sense of humour, completely sets the scene. Not only that, but she has written all the original songs which she delivers with a fabulously dry wit.

The evening is an exotic mix of eye-liner, feathers and furs, veils and sequins and yes, a degree of partial and full nudity, but always tasteful, never salacious.

There is a frisson of danger, as some of the acts select members of the slightly petrified if enthusiastic audience, to become a part of the show, but it is done with such good nature that no one seems to object.

Miss Myra Dubois, a drag queen who takes no prisoners, plays with her audience, first with some well- timed banter and then to encourage an inspired  sing a- long of an Elaine Paige/Barbara Dickson duet.

The contortionist gymnast, Beau Sargent, wearing spangled shorts and little else, performed an eye watering athletic and balletic routine that had many gentlemen in the audience sucking in their stomachs.

Later an aerialist, swathed with gossamer wings performed a seamless routine suspended only by her hair as she twirled above our heads. Shedding her wings, she appears naked in a series of breathtakingly beautiful movements, set seamlessly to the music. A special mention here to the house band, ‘Little Death Club,’ a running gag on ‘La Petite Mort’

The Mime artist who did so much more than break the fourth wall, had all of us in fits of laughter as he discussed his performance angst.

If you have ever been on a Roller Coaster ride that lasts a couple of minutes, but feels as though the world has just flipped upside down, this could well be the theatre experience for you. With a running time of only an hour there is time to have a meal afterwards and I guarantee there will be plenty to discuss.

Images courtesy of Alistair Veryard Photography

All details:

http://www.underbellyfestival.com/whats-on/little-death-club