The Mother by Yvvette Edwards Reviewed by Frances Colville

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Margaret Graham

The Mother is Yvvette Edwards’ second novel. Her first, A Cupboard Full of Coats, was longlisted for the Man Booker prize and shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize. So I began reading The Mother with high expectations, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The story opens on the first day of the trial of Ryan’s alleged killer and is told through the eyes of Marcia, mother of Ryan who, aged 16, was stabbed to death. How would you feel if you had failed to keep your beloved and only child safe? How could you ever come to terms with the knowledge that you would never see him again, and that he had missed out on a full, long and happy life? And how do you deal with the guilt? In fact, as Marcia says – “as a parent of a child who has been violently killed, is it possible, ever, to completely absolve yourself of blame?”

Yvvette Edwards writes so compellingly and so fluently that it’s hard to put this book down. And it’s the sort of book which will stick in your mind long after you have finished it, especially if you are a parent.

The Mother is published by Mantle in hardback and eBook

The life of a Second Wife by Margaret Graham

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Frost is so pleased to see Elizabeth Buchan’s novel, The Second Wife picked out by Daisy Goodwin in her feature in the Daily Mail: Second Marriages – key novels to help you through the trickier times in life.

Daisy Goodwin discusses Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, Before She Met Me by John Barnes, and Sunday Times No 1 bestselling author, and patron of Words for the Wounded, Elizabeth Buchan, and her novel The Second Wife.

The Second Wife explores the world of the mistress who becomes the wife – overtones of Sir James Goldsmith who did just that, and thereby created a vacancy. Ouch.
According to Buchan the second marriage is a world that can be less than appealing, full of pitfalls and of course, baggage. Elizabeth Buchan, who spoke recently at the Words for the Wounded LitFest at Downley, High Wycombe, (Frost’s editor, Catherine Balavage spoke later in the day) examines Minty’s experiences of a second marriage sympathetically, but with her usual incisive wit and elegance. It is a compelling and heart-warming novel, as are her others, the most recent being the thought provoking and excellent I Can’t Begin to Tell You set in Denmark during the 2nd World War.

It’s great to see The Second Wife having another outing. Go on, give yourself a treat – it is very well worth reading.

Elizabeth Buchan’s latest book The New Mrs Clifton will be out in August 1016. Frost is looking forward to reviewing it.

The Second Wife                 published by Penguin
I Can’t Begin to Tell you        published by Penguin
The New Mrs Clifton             published by Penguin August 2016

Spare me the Truth by C J Carver Reviewed by Margaret Graham

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Margaret Graham

Simon Kernick says of this novel ‘it is right up there with the best.’ So is it?

I have become a picky reader. I become impatient at any hint of sloppiness by an author, my attention is on the whole, increasingly hard to hold. So is Simon right?

Yep, I couldn’t put Spare me the Truth down. I read until too late at night, which made me grumpy, but I picked it up again as soon as I could.

Spare me the Truth is clever. As an author myself I could imagine the intricacies of the plotting as Dan Forrester is approached in a supermarket by a woman to tells him everything he remembers about his life – and his son – is a lie. We are in Dan’s point of view, his body, and are rocked as he is by this news. We know nothing more than Dan. Is this a lunatic? Or is there something nudging at his memory.

We are led into the point of view of Stella Reavey who has so unsettled Dan, and begin to see that there is indeed something strange about Dan, some other life. What on earth has he done? Is he good or bad? And what about his wife? Is she who she seems?

We are as lost as Dan, but such is the writing that rather than feel confused and irritated, the reader totally buys into the mystery.

Then enter another character enters – stage left. , Grace Reavey who is Stella’s daughter, a doctor who has plans for her life, plans which are superseded by this tangled web that wraps itself around her, when her mother dies. Who is good, who is bad we ask again, and the what hell is going on?

A policewoman becomes involved, Lucy Davies – such a fascinating and complex character who shoves the book along.

This is a confident thriller, one that is written by an author who has a unique voice, a magical plotting ability, and a clarity of presentation that keeps us fully on track. I felt there was room for a series here. I do hope that is planned.

Brilliant. Read it, and lose yourself, and be glad you live in a simpler world.

Spare me the Truth Published by Zaffre, established in 2014 by Quercus founder Mark Smith. Available in paperback £7.99

ISABEL UPs & DOWNs | Down Syndrome Artist Uses Art To Cope, Brother Gets Her In Galleries

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Catherine Balavage

Sibling love is a beautiful thing. Isabel, a 33-year-old talented artist with Down Syndrome, has had her work displayed in galleries thanks to her brother Ryan. Isabel has used art to cope with her condition. Here is her story in the words of her brother.

“Isabel started painting as part of her therapy to battle depression and through this we noticed that she really has a talent for it. My family and I were concerned when she stopped painting, so I basically just shot my mouth off and promised her that’d I’d get her artworks seen in a gallery in London.

So, I started sending out emails with high res snaps of Isabel’s works and eventually she was selected for an exhibition at the Menier Gallery in London Bridge. Through this, two other galleries have offered exhibition space. Until a few years ago she was a bubbly, outgoing young woman Recently, her mental state has deteriorated substantially and she has been fighting a string of terrible behavioural patterns like obsessional washing, self-harming and now has a severe depression along with very low levels of self-esteem. My mother takes her to a psychiatrist once a week and painting forms a substantial part of the therapy. Through this we discovered Isabel’s passion and talent. Unfortunately, Isabel thinks that there is no point in her continuing to paint, since nobody will ever appreciate or look at the works of a Down syndrome person. I am determined not to let her talent go to waste and to show her that there is an audience out there. To motivate her to carry on, I promised that I’d find a way of getting her work seen in galleries and this has become a huge source of motivation and joy for her.”

Ryan has already succeeded in helping Isabel, who lives in Berlin. Why not give your support? Click on the links below to get involved.

facebook.com/isabelupsdowns

http://www.isabel-ups-downs.org/index.html

The Prime Minister Who Dodged Tax

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Catherine Balavage

I know what you are thinking. It’s Dave, right? Well, no. There is no evidence Prime Minster David Cameron has avoided tax. Not so one of his predecessors. In fact, one of the most well thought of Prime Ministers earned a fortune and used his power to dodge tax.

Winston Churchill made a substantial amount of money but he conspired with the chairman of the Inland Revenue to cut his tax bill. The Inland Revenue have two thick files on Churchill, but no one found out about his tax dodging when Churchill was alive. In fact, the only newspaper I have read about it in is the amazing Sunday Times. In an article written by David Lough, author of No More Champagne: Churchill And His Money.

You only have to read Churchill’s archive to find out that Churchill was not as patriotic as one would think. He was happy to pay tax for the first 40 years of his life, even supporting Lloyd George’s introduction of a super-tax. But as soon as he was rich enough to be affected by it he seemed to change his mind.

When Churchill was Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1924 he owed £400,000 in todays money but could not pay. He personally called on the Inland Revenue Chairman Richard Hopkins who sorted the issue out for him. Hopkins went off and found out that if Churchill retired as an author on the last day of the tax year, fees paid the following year could be treated as capital receipts not income. Capital receipts were not taxed. Churchill did so.

This was not the last time he called Hopkins to his office and Churchill resumed writing. He dodged much more tax and the Inland Revenue barely put up a fight. In 1945 he made £6 million from selling film rights to his books, all of which went untaxed. The IRS would not have any of it however, and Churchill’s executors had to settle with the American tax authorities after his death.

What do you think? Did you know that Churchill dodged tax?

The 2016 Sunday Times Rich List

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Catherine Balavage

ROLLING STONES WEALTHIEST BAND – WITH £630 MILLION,

AHEAD OF U2 – JOINTLY WORTH £500 MILLION

ADELE’S FORTUNE GROWS BY £35 MILLION T0 £85 MILLION

DJ CALVIN HARRIS HAS £95 MILLION FORTUNE

Adele, who has added £35m to her personal fortune in a year, tops the Young Music Rich List of performers aged 30 and under. The 27-year-old singer is now worth £85m, and rises to 30^th place in the overall 2016 Sunday Times list of the wealthiest of performers and composers in Britain and Ireland.

The Music Millionaires top 50 is released today, ahead of the 28^th annual Sunday Times Rich List to be published this weekend. Adele, Britain’s richest ever female musician, has benefited from the worldwide success of her long-awaited third album, 25, released last November. The London-born singer/songwriter is now hard on the heels of Ireland’s wealthiest female performer, Enya, who is worth £91m, up just £1m on 2015.

The Rolling Stones – Sir Mick Jagger, worth £235m; Keith Richards, £220m; Charlie Watts, £120m; and Ronnie Wood, £55m – with combined fortunes of £630m, up £40m on 2015, are the wealthiest band in Britain and Ireland, ahead of U2 with a joint fortune of £500m, an increase of £69m on the 2015 Sunday Times Music Rich List. U2 was the highest-grossing rock act last year selling 1.29m tickets worth £66m for 76 concerts.

The 2016 Sunday Times Music Rich List is headed by Sir Paul McCartney, who with his wife Nancy Shevell, shares a joint fortune of £760m, up £30m on last year. American-born Shevell has a £150m stake in her father’s New England Motor Freight trucking operation.

Calvin Harris, the Dumfries-born international DJ, who writes, sings, records, remixes and produces his own music, has seen his personal wealth leap by £25m in a year to rank him at 27 in the 2016 Top 50, worth £95m.

David Bowie’s widow and his filmmaker son by his first marriage to Angie, Iman Abdulmajid and Duncan Jones, join this year’s list with a joint family fortune of £90m, based on the £70m from Bowie’s will, their own wealth and royalties from the chart success of Bowie’s music after his death.

THE SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST 2016

THE TOP 50 MUSIC MILLIONAIRES IN BRITAIN AND IRELAND

2016 rank	2015 rank	Name	2016 wealth	Wealth increase, unless indicated
1	1	Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell	£760m	£30m
2	2	Lord Lloyd-Webber	£715m	£65m
3	3	U2	£500m	£69m
4	4	Sir Elton John	£280m	£10m
5	5	Sir Mick Jagger	£235m	£10m
6=	New	Olivia and Dhani Harrison	£220m	£20m
6=	6	Keith Richards	£220m	£10m
8	8=	Ringo Starr	£200m	£20m
9	7	Michael Flatley	£198m	£3m
10	8=	Sting	£185m	£5m
11=	11	Eric Clapton	£160m	£5m
11=	12=	Rod Stewart	£160m	£10m
11=	10	Roger Waters	£160m	No change
14	12=	Sir Tom Jones	£155m	£5m
15	12=	Sir Tim Rice	£150m	No change
16	15=	Robbie Williams	£145m	£10m
17	17	Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne	£135m	£5m
18=	18=	Brian May	£120m	£10m
18=	18=	Charlie Watts	£120m	£10m
20	21=	Roger Taylor	£115m	£10m
21	18=	Phil Collins	£110m	No change
22=	21=	George Michael	£105m	No change
22=	23=	Jimmy Page	£105m	£5m
24	23=	Robert Plant	£103m	£3m
25=	27	John Deacon	£100m	£15m
25=	25=	David Gilmour	£100m	£10m
27	30=	Calvin Harris	£95m	£25m
28	25=	Enya	£91m	£1m
29	New	Iman Abdulmajid and Duncan Jones and family	£90m	–
30	43=	Adele	£85m	£35m
31=	33=	Gary Barlow	£75m	£10m
31=	30=	Mark Knopfler	£75m	£5m
31=	29	Nick Mason	£75m	No change
31=	30=	Pete Townshend	£75m	£5m
35	33=	Engelbert Humperdinck	£70m	£5m
36=	28	Noel and Liam Gallagher	£65m	Down £12m
36=	43=	Brian Johnson	£65m	£15m
36=	39=	Chris Martin	£65m	£13m
39=	35=	Barry Gibb	£60m	No change
39=	35=	John Paul Jones	£60m	No change
41	37=	Sir Cliff Richard	£58m	£3m
42=	39=	Guy Berryman	£55m	£3m
42=	39=	Jonny Buckland	£55m	£3m
42=	39=	Will Champion	£55m	£3m
42=	37=	Kylie Minogue	£55m	No change
42=	46=	Ronnie Wood	£55m	£10m
47=	46=	Jay Kay	£50m	£5m
47=	43=	Sir Van Morrison	£50m	No change
49=	46=	Peter Gabriel	£45m	No change
49=	50	Mick Hucknall	£45m	£5m
49=	New	Ed Sheeran	£45m	New
49=	46=	Bernie Taupin	£45m	No change

Britain and Ireland’s wealthiest young band, with all the members aged under 30, is One Direction, with a combined wealth of £132m. The four musicians in the One Direction line up, Niall Horan, aged 22, Liam Payne, 22, Harry Styles, 22, and Louis Tomlinson, 24, have each added £8m to their personal fortunes in a year and are individually each worth £33m, up from £25m last year.

Former One Direction member Zayn Malik, 23, has added £5m to his personal wealth, now worth £30m, helped by the success of his debut solo album, Mind of Mine, which topped the sales charts in the UK and the US this month.

Sam Smith and Florence Welch, who were new entries in the Young Rich List in 2015, worth £12m, have both added £8m to their personal wealth to join the Young Musicians Top 10 – each with fortunes of £20m.

THE SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST 2016

THE 10 RICHEST YOUNG MUSICIANS

IN BRITAIN AND IRELAND (Aged 30 or under)

2016 rank	2015 rank	Name	2016 wealth	Wealth increase
1	1	Adele	£85m	£35m
2	7	Ed Sheeran	£45m	£25m
3=	2=	Niall Horan	£33m	£8m
3=	2=	Liam Payne	£33m	£8m
3=	2=	Harry Styles	£33m	£8m
3=	2=	Louis Tomlinson	£33m	£8m
7	2=	Zayn Malik	£30m	£5m
8=	New	Sam Smith	£20m	£8m
8=	New	Florence Welch	£20m	£8m
10	8=	Ellie Goulding	£17m	£4m

THE SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST – 148 PAGES ON APRIL 24

The 2016 Sunday Times Rich List – the definitive guide to wealth in Britain and Ireland – is published on Sunday, April 24. The 148-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine is the biggest issue of the Rich List ever published since it first appeared in 1989. It charts the wealth of the 1,000 richest people in the UK and the 250 richest in Ireland. The list is based on identifiable wealth, including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies. It excludes bank accounts, to which the paper has no access.

The Sunday Times Rich List is compiled by Philip Beresford and Robert Watts, and edited by Ian Coxon. The complete list will be available to all the paper’s digital members and will be fully-searchable online at thesundaytimes.co.uk/richlist

With thanks to The Sunday Times Rich List

The Chalfont St Giles and Jordans Literary Festival by Denise Beddows

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Margaret Graham

The theme of this year’s exciting Chalfont St Giles & Jordans Literary Festival (10-22 May) is ‘Lives in Words’. Sharing their insights into their own or others’ lives will be a stellar line-up of guest speakers.

Participants will include Professor (Sir) Robert Winston, examining ways in which science may increase our happiness, and diplomat Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, sharing his experiences as a British Ambassador.

Anna Jacobs outlines the background to her best-selling novels, whilst poetry lovers will be well served by the wit of award-winning poet Wendy Cope. American poet Robert Frost will be the subject of a discussion led by Gabriel Woolf and Linda Hart, and Claire de Carle and Dr Sarah Rutherford will discuss Capability Brown.

Ffion Hague examines the relationship between Robert Walpole and poet Thomas Gray, and Vernon Bogdanor describes the constitutional crisis of 1936 caused by Edward VIII’s relationship with American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

In a joint presentation entitled Spooks & Spooks, Denise Beddows, aka author DJ Kelly, explores our county’s 600 year history of spooks of the spy variety, as featured in her book Buckinghamshire Spies & Subversives; Catriona Troth describes the inspiration for her book Ghost Town and the way The Specials’ chart-topping song of that name eerily reflected the 1980’s urban decay, unemployment and racial violence, and Margaret Whittock recounts the spooky circumstances leading to her discovering the Gallipoli graves of her two great uncles and to her novel Ghost of Gallipoli.

With coffees, teas, homemade cakes and books on sale, readers and budding writers are invited to pop in to browse books and seek writing and publishing tips from 8 published authors at the Writers’ Café and Pop-up Book Shop (10-1pm Sat 21^stMay in The Reading Room, High Street, Chalfont St Giles – admission free). See:www.chalfontstgilesliteraryfestival.org.uk

5 Tips To Improve Your Blog

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Catherine Balavage

I have now been blogging for more years than I care to admit to. In those years I have picked up a lot of knowledge. I will now be sharing this knowledge with the readers of Frost. To get started here is my five top tips for your blog.

Avoid Duplicate Content.

Google penalises duplicate content and it will affect your SEO. If you want to put the same post on your blog, or as a guest post service on another site then give it a rewrite. In traditional publishing articles are ‘topped and tailed’ and then resold to different publications. You can do the same by keeping the essence of your article, but rewriting it. If you have writers ask them not to cross publish their articles. Original content is best.

Engage With Your Readers.

You should engage with your readers in two ways: emotionally and physically. Most writers write to connect with people and tell stories. And people read to feel connected with the world and other people. It is also important to respond to readers. If someone tweets you or makes a comment under your post, thank them and respond.

Share Your Post on Social Bookmarking Sites and Social Media.

So many people write a great post and then expect people to be able to find it. If you do not share your post then people will not know it exists. Sure your regular readers will go to your home page, but not everyone will. Share your post on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, Google + and Pinterest. You can use a plugin which shares your post to certain sites automatically. I recommend this as it can be time-consuming. After a while focus on the sites which give you the most traffic and drop the others. Ask your writers to share their posts. Also: encourage your readers to share articles.

Don’t Just Copy and Paste Press Releases.

There is nothing wrong with publishing press releases. Frost does sometimes when we think our readers will be interested in the story, but do not fill your site with them. It is also a good idea to personalise them. Whether or not you completely rewrite them is up to you. Some people think they should be rewritten but I think a tweak is fine. Tailer it to your site and make sure it does not end up as duplicate content (see above) and then you have some free copy. When it comes to press releases resist the urge to just bung one up to add content. No new post is better than a subpar post which brings down the tone of the entire site.

Be Authentic.

You are unique. You have a voice: use it. No one else can do what you do. Always be your authentic self. You can use your experiences to connect with other people who have been through the same thing. Write from the heart and people will connect with you. Never sway from your beliefs or do something solely for money. As Bob Dylan says, ‘Your reputation is something that you can sell, but that you can’t buy back’. Bob knows his stuff, listen to him.

You can buy The Ultimate Guide To Becoming a Successful Blogger here.

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