How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry Review by Frances Colville

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Veronica Henry’s new novel How to Find Love in a Bookshop is a feel-good, happy-ever-after story, perfect for reading if you’re in need of a bit of escapism or light relief. It’s a quick, undemanding and engaging read and thoroughly enjoyable.

The central character Emilia Nightingale inherits a book shop in the idyllic Cotswold town of Peasebrook and initially struggles both emotionally and financially with the idea of keeping it going. But the local community rallies round, there are plenty of lovely characters ready to pitch in and help out and of course lots of budding relationships and love stories. All centred on a wonderfully atmospheric bookshop and interwoven with lists of book titles relevant to the content of the chapters. Having worked in a small independent bookstore myself, I was hooked the moment I read the title – and I wasn’t disappointed.

But I would like to know more about what happened to everyone. Is there going to be a sequel? I hope so.

How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry is published by Orion Books and available in hardback priced £12.99 from 16^th June 2016. Also available in ebook and audio.

My Bangkok Life – Loi Krathong by Alex Bannard our Bangkok correspondent

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Margaret Graham

I have lived in Bangkok with our family since the beginning of August. We arrived 6 months after my husband had started his new job here, after selling the house & finishing off the school year. We fell in love with it immediately, by far our best expat posting to date: lovely people, delicious food, fabulous weather, wonderful new friends, great community both at school & on the moobaan, interesting culture, I mean, what’s not to love?

One of my favourite evenings so far (& we have packed in a lot of fun nights already…but that’s another story) has got to be Loi Krathong. Loi Krathong is celebrated on the full moon of the 12^th lunar month in the Thai luna calendar – this year it will be November 15^th. The festival, one of the most popular in Thailand, celebrates the water spirits & basically means to float a basket.

Baskets are traditionally made out of banana tree trunks or spider lily plants & elaborately decorated with folded banana leaves, flowers, incense & a candle which are lit & floated on a river or lake as wishes are made.

The kids were allowed to dress up for school. I was so excited for my 4 year old daughter, having the chance to wear one of the beautiful intricate Thai costumes. She had other plans: she wanted to be a Disney Princess. I explained patiently numerous times that it wasn’t fancy dress it was Loi Krathong & we had to wear traditional Thai costumes. Eventually I managed to persuade them both to wear t-shirts from Chatchuk market & as I was reading in my daughter’s class that day I also got dressed up much to the teacher’s surprise.

Our moobaan annually hosts a Loi Krathong party. All around the pool were street-style food stalls offering an delectable array of Thai treats: Pad Thai, chicken satay, fish soup, green curry, pork on a stick, you name it, it was there. The pool was decorated with lights & both Thai & expat families mingled to enjoy the festivities. It was fabulous.

The kids couldn’t wait to light their Krathongs, which were being floated on the baby pool in lieu of a more natural water feature. My daughter had changed into her maxi dress dismissing my objections with ‘it IS a party, Mummy’. Before I knew it, she had thrown off her dress & was cavorting around in the baby pool in her knickers. She was having a ball but her resultant Tsunami waves were capsizing or drenching all the Krathongs. As incense & candles fizzled out, her little face glowed in the pool lights with pure delight. I was horrified, goodness knows what that has done to our karma for 2016.

Ascension by Jeannie van Rompaey Reviewed by Frances Colville

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Planet Earth is depleted and rendered unlivable by its inhabitants. New satellite stations are built to house those with the money or good connections to get themselves there and the rest of the (now mutant) population of ‘humanoids’ is condemned to a restricted and closely monitored life in compounds built on Earth and surrounded by ‘the wilderness’. Can this be a happy-ever-after situation? What happens when the status quo is questioned and challenged? Jeannie Van Rompaey in her new book Ascension, the first in the Oasis trilogy, follows the lives of both mutant and ‘complete’ humanoids and explores what happens when they begin to connect.

Not the most original storyline perhaps and not at first glance a book which appealed to me – not being an avid fan of sci-fi. But it turned out to be worth persevering. Ascension has its roots firmly set in 21st century environmental concerns and failed political systems, and it asks questions about what we are doing to our planet, what the consequences are likely to be, and how people will cope if/when we do end up destroying Earth as we know it. I found it intriguing and more than a little worrying.

A few niggles. I was annoyed by the use of words such as bunku instead of bunk, compu instead of computer, even humanoid instead of human. What was the point, I wondered. Then there are too many things which seem implausible and which therefore need further explanation. The lack of originality continued to be an issue throughout the book. Even as an infrequent reader of science fiction and dystopias I felt that this had all been done before. And yet Ascension has something very compelling about it – and perhaps that is at least in part the knowledge that this type of scenario could indeed happen. And probably will if we don’t pay more attention to the lives we lead.

By the end of the book we are left with many unanswered questions. But that of course is the way it always is with a first book in a planned trilogy. And I can honestly (and rather to my own surprise) say that I am looking forward to books 2 and 3. Who knew??

The Oasis Series:Ascension is published by Clink Street Publishing and available in paperback (£8.99) and as an e-book.

Under Italian Skies By Nicky Pellegrino Reviewed By Frances Colville

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Frost writer Jan Speedie reviewed Under Italian Skies, now Frances Colville giver her opinion.

Stella, in her 40s, divorced, no children, loses a friend and a job she loved, and decides to embark on an adult gap year beginning with a house swap from her London flat to a beautiful old villa in southern Italy. As she settles into her new life, makes new friends, explores new ideas and falls in love with Italy, she maintains an email exchange with the owner of the Italian villa, builds an idea in her mind of what he is like and wonders if she will ever meet him in person. And of course if she does, will the reality live up to the image she has created of him in her head?

That Nicky Pellegrino knows Italy well and is passionate about the country and the people who live there is obvious on every page of this book. The story flows, the characters are easy to identify with and the descriptions of lifestyle and food just make the reader want to be there, living the dream. The sort of book that you can read purely for pleasure, Under Italian Skies is perfect for taking on a summer holiday – or for that matter enjoying with a glass of wine and a box of chocolates on a cold winter’s evening. Either way you won’t be able to help feeling warm and happy

Under Italian Skies is published by Orion Books and is now available in paperback £12.99 and as an Ebook at £6.99

A Day In The Life of CJ Carver

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Being an author, people think I get up around midday, go for a long lunch and return home to bang out a few pages before pouring myself a glass of wine and finishing for the day.

Hmmm. Nice thought. If only it didn’t take me quite so long to bang out those pages . . .

Today I’m woken by the bin men at seven-thirty. Eyes closed, I’m lying in bed listening to them crashing and banging down the road when, seemingly out of nowhere, an idea begins to form about the next book. I let it drift. I don’t try and pin it down. Gradually it takes a firmer shape and I study it carefully before letting it drift again.

It is this state between waking and sleeping that I find the most valuable for creative thought. It’s almost like meditation, but not quite, because instead of being clear of thought my mind is occupied with the story I’m trying to tell. By the time I’m fully awake, I’ve made a handful of notes and am ready to leap into the day.

After a shower, breakfast and a brisk walk, I get stuck in to emails, wanting to clear my mental desk before I start writing. I’m working on the sequel to Spare Me The Truth, or at least I was until my postie arrives and hands me three parcels, each containing a brand-spanking new hardcover book. They all look fantastic and although I know I have to read them – I’m on several panels at CrimeFest in Bristol this year with the authors – I really shouldn’t start now. Or should I? I flick one open and am immediately captivated by the first page. This sort of temptation is ever present being self-employed, and I have to force the books away and out of sight.

Credit: Steve Ayres

Soon, I’m completely absorbed in my work and don’t notice the time passing until my email pings. It’s from a psychologist who is helping me research the psychopathology behind serial killers. Another arrives, this one from a detective inspector in Manchester. I know it drives the police crazy when writers get things wrong, so I do my utmost to get my facts right, but I have to be careful with research as it can be so riveting, I never get any writing done.

I work on my manuscript until early evening when I have a quick look at Twitter (another terrible distraction) before deciding whether it’s cold enough to light the wood burner. Or shall I go to the pub? Writing is a solitary occupation and aside from the postie, I haven’t spoken to anyone all day. I’d better go to the pub, I decide, and talk to someone or I might go quite mad.

©CJ Carver 2016

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz Reviewed by Margaret Graham

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Margaret Graham

This is the road trip to beat all road trips…

Lisa Lutz, the New York Times bestselling author of the Spellman Files, has written, in The Passenger, a thriller about murder, secrets and increasing desperation as Tanya flees the scene of her dead husband’s accident.

But is she Tanya, and is his death an accident? Such are the questions that slowly, and irrevocably are answered as the novel proceeds and the miles unfold. Tanya, or is it Debra, and what about Sonia, drives from danger, but is it to safety? Nah, nothing so easy. She reaches a temporary sanctuary each time, and huddles beneath its roof, and the umbrella of another new identity but that’s as far as it goes.

The miles seem to put no distance between her and the past, but instead, through numerous encounters carefully managed by Lutz, she edges towards home, and a startling denouement, for her, and for us.

The Passenger shows the loneliness of the ‘long distance driver’, someone who has left a life, and all ties behind, who does not even own her own name. It reveals the depths of fear, pain and desperation of someone wanting, or needing, to disappear.

Written with verve, plot twists, and cleanly etched characters, but does it work?

On the whole, yes though I found I was hoping about halfway through that things would start coming together more quickly than they actually were. But this could have been me. I’m getting picky in my old age.

The layer upon layer of revelation, and consequences built the tension as I left the slight sag behind and soon I was hanging on for grim death as we roared, with a g force I admired, round hair pin bends of revelation towards the finishing line.

Should you read it? Yep, and prove me wrong about the sag and anyway, I really enjoyed it. It was thought provoking.

The Passenger Liza Lutz Titan Books. Paperback and ebook

Furious Folly by Mark Anderson

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Furious Folly, created by Mark Anderson, takes place as night falls in a no-man’s land on the battle front. Audiences of up to 2,000 people per night find themselves immersed within an open-air collage of sound, light, pyrotechnics and performance.

Commissioned by 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary, Furious Folly is one of 27 new commissions exploring how the Great War has impacted on the society we live in now.

Anderson, a specialist in multi-media and site specific performance leads a team of artists, who draw on the anti-war spirit of the early 20th Century Dadaist movement. Furious Folly challenges the inhumanity and senselessness of conflicts past and present.

Twice Turner Prize-nominated artist Richard Wilson, who has collaborated with Anderson on a number of projects, comments, Anderson has spent his professional career creating audio visual alchemy that uses light, heat, vibrations, electricity, oscillating chemicals and paraphernalia to dazzle our eyes and startle our imaginations.

This immersive experience will take place in Oxford, Birmingham and Stockton – all chosen for particular local resonances with World War I and the themes of the show.

Created at 101 Outdoor Arts Creation Space. Produced by Corn Exchange Newbury and OCM in association with Oxford Playhouse, Birmingham Hippodrome, Oxford Festival of the Arts and Stockton International Riverside Festival. Co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW and Stad Poperinge.

Furious Folly by Mark Anderson 17th – 18th June. School Field, Magdalen College School, Cowley Pl, Oxford OX4 1DZ

8th – 9th July Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham

4th – 5th August 2016 Preston Park, Stockton on Tees

Free but must be reserved in advance

https://www.1418now.org.uk/commissions/furious-folly/

Moment of Despair by Jenny Falcon

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Margaret Graham

I know nothing of their lives

They know nothing of mine

I can try to imagine

They cannot even begin……

Big, beautiful beseeching eyes

Searching for comfort

Yearning without knowing it

For a life they will never have

Not without the love of parents,

Struggling to keep them alive

Beyond indignation, too tired

To question their destiny

Too hot, too cold, too hungry

No strength to play, to laugh

Just misery is the norm

How can this be? – what shame

Completely helpless I observe

Desperate to end their pain

Knowing with grim certainty

It would take a miracle

As Western life envelops

I know it can’t be right

The help that is in place

Will never ever be enough

I want to see them smile

Not in a newsreel pose

But with the joy of a child

Carefree, hopeful, cherished

I want them all to know

They have done nothing wrong

The world does not condemn

Their fragile innocence

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