Category Archives: Life & Style

Are You Watching? Book Review

Posted on by

Are you watching bookThis crime thriller from Vincent Ralph is that publishers dream: a YA novel that adults will love too. It is a modern novel with mixes social media and crime, and then combines it with skill and excellent pace. I raced through this book, practically breathless to get to the end. Full stars. 

A page-turning new YA thriller for the social media age, perfect for fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and One Of Us Is Lying.

Ten years ago, Jess’s mother was murdered by the Magpie Man.

She was the first of his victims, but not the last.

Now Jess is the star of a YouTube reality series and she’s using it to catch the killer once and for all.

The whole world is watching her every move.

And so is the Magpie Man.

Are you Watching is available here.

The Red Ribbon by Lucy Adlington: Reviewed by Natalie Jayne Peeke – West Country Correspondent.

Posted on by

 

The Red Ribbon by Lucy Adlington is suitable for Young Adults, but … but … it should be read by anyone of any age.

Rose, Ella, Mina and Carla – in another life we might all have been friends together. But this was Birchwood.

THE RED RIBBON. Copyright © 2017 by Lucy Adlington. Reproduced by permission of the publisher,

Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.

 

Ella, a kind and determined young girl  lives with her grandparents whom she adores. Her favourite pasttime is dress making with her grandmother – thank heavens, as things transpire.

Because, in the midst of world war two Ella, a mere fourteen years of age,   is snatched on her way home from school and  thrown into the place of horrors that is Birkenau . Leaving behind her life, her family and her freedom .

Adamant not to be a victim, Ella uses her skills  in order to survive and survive she determines she must.

Ella begins her first day at work in this appalling place by stepping into a world of beauty: silks, seams, scissors, pins, hems and trimmings. She is a dressmaker, but this is no ordinary sewing workshop. Hers are no ordinary clients.

Ella has joined the seamstresses of Birkenau-Auschwitz, as readers may recognise, and every dress she makes could mean the difference between life and death. Real life and death for this place is all about survival.

Increasingly Ella seeks refuge from reality, and from haunting memories, in her work and in the world of fashion and fabrics but again and again she is faced with painful decisions about how far she is prepared to go to survive. Is her love of clothes and creativity nothing more than collaboration with her captors, or is it a means of staying alive? Will she fight for herself alone, or will she trust the importance of an ever-deepening friendship with Rose?

Adlington’s inspired concept of weaving a red ribbon  through the colours of couture gowns and camp mud is masterly  – a red ribbon, given to Ella as a symbol of hope,  which to my mind is the theme of this engrossing important novel.
A beautiful story of friendship, morality,  bravery and most of all, the importance of hope, in the face of the horrendous truth of Ella’ s situation .

You will be cheering on Ella, laughing with her and crying with her. You will want to cut down those that abuse her and embrace those who care for her .

“I would survive ’til the end of the war , then I would open my own dress shop and never see ugly things again”
The Red Ribbon by Lucy Adlington is available on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com  in ebook hb, pb audio.

 

Some crime novels to see out the winter by Annie Clarke

Posted on by

Here we go, a fabulous clutch of crime novels in a variety of guises.

Departing Shadows by Paul Charles. Pub by Dufour Editions @ £18.99

A young woman is run over outside one of Regents Park’s foreign Embassy buildings. DI Christy Kennedy is on the case, and is sure it’s not your normal hit and run.

The victim, Gabriella Byrne, is soon discovered to be a closed book, and as she is in no position to tell all, Kennedy is soon on the trail to find out what’s what. However he is muscling in on the corridors of power, and these, of course, are also closed books, and steps will be taken to keep them unread.

Deceit and  intrigue, and yep a bit of love propel this novel to the denouement. I have longed for a successor to one of my favourites – Reginald Hill. I reckon I might well have found him in the books by Paul Charles.

 

Murder your Darlings by Mark McCrum pub by Severn House. Hb at £20.

I like McCrum’s gentle but none the less intriguing novels. They’re old fashioned in the nicest possible way, and with nostalgia every popular, are such a delightful read. This one is set on a creative writing course in Umbria, led by Francis Meadowes. A student is discovered, dead, in a sauna. Surely it wasn’t that hot?! Is this an accident – or NOT?

But then another death presents itself. Oh lawks. Commissario Marti Moretti leads the charge with her flamboyant local police, but it is up to Francis Meadowes to solve things, and probably get back to the serious stuff of teaching students how to ‘stay in the moment’ and keep the tension up. The author, McCrum, does both rather well. Bravo.

Nightingale Point by Luan Goldie, a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick.pub HQ. pb £8.99

This is the debut novel from the winner of the 2017 Costa Short Story Award.

Good to see a short story writer tackle very successfully the rather difficult beast – the novel.

Set back in 1996 Nightingale Point is a pretty normal residential area, with the usual extraordinary characters presenting as ordinary, as we all do. For we all have pasts, shadows, baggage. In this case, the sun goes down on Nightingale Point and sets something alight, (not really, I’m waxing metaphorical) and as the flames of drama roar, the residents must endure, but not just that, they must  find their way back to the safety of one another.

This is a confident emotionally intelligent debut novel, with pace.

Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza pub by Sphere. hb ebook and audio available

Bryndza, the author of the extraordinarily successful Detective Erika Foster Series, is heading for similar success again with a new series, featuring Kate Marshall. Marshall is a detective with integrity and potential in the Metropolitan police force. She is tasked with capturing the Nine Elms serial killer, but things don’t go quite to plan, for she narrowly escapes adding her name to the list of victims.

After a gap of 16 years, now living a quiet life on the English coast, Kate Marshall hasn’t quite put the past behind. Unknown to her, neither has her nemesis. One day she received a letter … Arghhh.

This is well worth reading, pacey, nail biting, hide behind the sofa time. Let’s give it another – Arghhh.

Annie Clarke is the author of the Home Front Girls series pub Arrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living with Alzheimers – A New Challenge for 2020 by Chris Suich

Posted on by

new challenge for 2020 Bob Suich Chris Suich

Welcome to the New Year 2020! Christmas came and went. We had a pleasant enough one without incident. Can’t say that of the new year though.

The first few days of 2020 were a bit of a challenge. I noticed Bob’s ankle was a bit puffy after his bath. I’ll have to keep an eye on that, I thought. Perhaps his sock was too tight around his ankle, but I thought I’d put on his open topped non-elastic ones.

The next day his lower left leg was huge and his foot resembled a block of lard. No understanding or pain noted from Bob.  It was Saturday, no GP available. I went on the NHS website to check and rang 111 just to make sure I wouldn’t be wasting anyone’s time if I took him to the ’Walk in Care’ at the local hospital. I realised it probably was a blood clot as the answers pointed to that. The lady rang me back from the NHS helpline to tell me I’d got an appointment for 8.30pm and to take him in. We were seen by 11.30pm.

It was an endurance test for us both. Bob wanted to go to bed, he’d been saying this every two minutes since 3pm and was getting more and more distressed.

‘Let’s do a runner,’ he whispered conspiratorially. It crossed my mind. Then he’d ask everyone if they were a doctor and that he thought it was ridiculous that there were no doctors there. If someone spoke loudly or a child squealed it upset him.

There was a blood clot. He had a scan to confirm on the following Monday. We had to go in again on the Sunday and Monday for an Injection of blood thinner in his tummy; another endless wait.

Finally, I think the penny dropped that waiting for hours for a two minute injection was stressful for Bob and the waiting audience of patients. I was presented with 10 injections, a safe needle disposal box and told to get on with it. Nurse Suich at your service!

Poor Bob. I was now the baddy, hurting his tummy every night. What fights we had getting that needle in – and how close did I come to getting it in me, not Bob.  A Carry On film comes to mind.

I still feel though the physical side of caring isn’t the hardest part: the hardest part is the loss of freedom, the absolute tie, the relentlessness of the duty, the repetitive nature, the hyper vigilance of constant watching, the fact you can no longer call your life your own.

BRAVE, BEAUTIFUL AND BARING IT ALL by RHYANNA WATSON: Reviewed by Mary Cooper

Posted on by

 

 

When I first picked up Brave, Beautiful and Baring it All, by Rhyanna Watson, I instantly judged her; questioning her motives for using naked and semi-naked photos of herself throughout the book, for sharing her experiences with strangers, deriding it, not taking her seriously.

Not listening to what I was reading, I cast it aside.

Luckily, I picked it up again and opened it: page seventy-two, Befriend your inner critic.

I was horrified to realise that I had been hyper critical of Rhyanna Watson, and her book before I had even read it.

What would I say to her if she was standing in front of me, if she was a friend? Would I be so critical of what she had chosen to share with me? Would I scoff at her photos? No, I would not. I would tell her that she is brave and that I wish I had her courage.

I am so glad that I went back to the beginning and, closing my critical eye, read as if she were a dear friend.

The difference was astounding.

I began questioning my inner voice; asking myself the reason behind feelings, reactions and my blind responses to them. And although I know with a certainty that as a sixty-four year old grandmother with a mummy tummy, it is very unlikely that I will bare my body to the world, but I do intend to listen honestly to what people are saying to me, and think honesty about what I’m going to say before I open my mouth.

Didn’t someone say that whatever we focus on becomes stronger?

Brave, Beautiful and Baring it All, is an exciting self help book which incorporates yoga teachings and meditations, it encourages us to stop and take stock from time to time; to focus on the good in others and how wonderful life is.

Rhyanna Watson, you are a brave, beautiful and honest human being.

Brave and Beautiful is available here.

 

SISTER SCRIBES: CASS GRAFTON ON WHY WRITING IS A NEVER-ENDING ADVENTURE

Posted on by

For me, pursuing a career as a writer is not just a journey; it’s an expedition into a world I’m still discovering. It’s ‘the world inside my head’ meets ‘the world out there’, and they are only on their third date. It seems fair to say, therefore, that I’m not only a writer but also an explorer.

I’ve been published since 2013, a combination of solo and co-writing across seven novels, some indie published and some with a publisher, Canelo Escape. Everything I’ve written so far has had, at its core, a love story —I love romantic storylines.

So, how is my writing career now on its third ‘date’? It’s to do with the genre of romance and the many categories that further define it. I’ve published in two of these ‘sub’ categories: historical romance (Regency era) and time-travel romance. These were the first two ‘dates’, and they went quite well—I’m certainly going to be seeing them again—but for now I’m rather excited about my upcoming third. This date is with contemporary romance.

When I was young, I dreamed of writing love stories, but always in the present day. No breeches and fluttering fans; no flitting to and fro through the centuries courtesy of a charmed necklace. My dream was of writing modern romances—relatable, believable and with characters doing everyday things, but always, ultimately, falling in love.

I’ve been toying with the idea behind The Cottage in a Cornish Cove since the days when my hair was a box-shaped perm, my shoulder pads needed scaffolding to support them and keeping in touch with non-local friends was done by a landline phone or with good old pen and paper.

Although the story I’ve now written bears little resemblance to those initial ideas other than the inciting incident that sets the plot in motion, I view it with the affection of an old friend, one of those worlds inside my head that simply took a long time to emerge and meet the world outside.

So what’s it about, I pretend to hear you cry?

It’s a heart-warming tale of discovering all you never wanted is exactly what you need.

Much of Anna Redding’s happiness as a child came from the long summer holidays spent with an elderly family friend, Aunt Meg, in the charming village of Polkerran.

With Aunt Meg’s passing, Anna is drawn back to the West Country, relocating to the Cornish cove where she was once so happy. Settling into her new life, and enjoying her work for the older, reclusive and—to be honest—often exasperating Oliver Seymour, Anna is delighted when Alex Tremayne, an old crush of hers, reappears in Polkerran and sweeps her off her feet.

The stars finally seem to be aligned, but just as Anna thinks all she’s ever wished for is within reach, a shock discovery reveals she’s living a dream that isn’t hers…

 

As for those other dates, is the adventure over? Definitely not! They are part of my on-going expedition, my journey as a writer, so I won’t be deserting them. Ada Bright (my co-writing partner) and I still have a third time-travel romance up our sleeves, and I have two Regency romances in the works, which I hope to finish soon.

In the meantime, though, if you’re up for a bit of eavesdropping on my third date, come and join us in gorgeous Cornwall, wallow in the quaintness of Polkerran, get to know the locals and fall in love with romance all over again.

The Cottage in a Cornish Cove will be released on 11th February 2020.

 

SISTER SCRIBES: JANE CABLE ON PLANNING FOR CREATIVITY

Posted on by

It’s the first morning of the decade and I’m making plans. Or rather I’m ordering dreams and prioritising my wish list, licking them into some sort of order. But shouldn’t the magic of creativity just be allowed to flow?

To my mind that’s a ridiculously self indulgent approach when you have chosen writing as a career. Having some sort of plan is so much better than sitting at a crossroads scratching your head. I have so many ideas for books I’ll probably never write them all – but which should I be following up? And what else needs to be done to make them successful?

Over the last few years I’ve developed a plan for planning – an easy ‘to do’ list for January 1st (or thereabouts), which keeps me on track.

  • Scrawl a quick review of the previous year in two sections – what went well, and what didn’t. Coming straight off the top of your head helps focus on what’s been important to you; what you need to do more of and what needs putting right.
  • Consider how you’d like to develop your writing life this year in each and every direction. For me the most important things are to understand more about (and hopefully write!) books with stronger hooks, and to find out more about winning at Amazon. Once you’ve worked out what your priorities are, allow yourself to dream a little – where would you like to be in five years’ time? How will this year’s plans help you to get there?
  • Now you have the basics you can set out your goals for the year. In my business life I had many clients who used the SMART system (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely) and they’re a pretty good rule of thumb for writing too. Except I quibble a little with ‘attainable’ here, because I like to think in writing we continue to grow beyond our current skill sets – and what’s wrong with stretching ourselves anyway?
  • Next write down what you’re not going to do this year. It may sound a bit negative, but most people are prone to a bit (or a lot) of time wasting so cutting the draining tasks from your life is actually one of the most productive things you can do. One of my weaknesses is volunteering for too much so I’ve promised myself nothing new this year.
  • Then write down what you are going to do – the things that will make the biggest difference to your reaching your goals. What works in your writing life? What makes you feel good about it? What do you have to do more of to succeed?
  • The last part of my plan is to break down my goals and put them on a timeline. I do a rough quarterly guide, then an action plan for the first few months of the year. This will develop as projects move on. I also use quite small boxes for each month so I’m not tempted to overfill them and tackle too much too soon. I have a tendency to want everything to happen now, so this is very useful in spreading the workload. And, of course, it leaves room for some all important flexibility. Because even in the most ordered of worlds, real life happens.

So all this comes with a caveat: you can only plan everything when you are in control of everything. And in writing, as with most careers, you’re not. I was expecting my next book to be out by now, but it isn’t. Nobody’s fault – just one of those things. And I suspect when I look back this time next year there will be other things that haven’t happened too. But without any plan at all, I wouldn’t even know where to start.

 

 

A woman is no man by Etaf Rum reviewed by Natalie Jayne Peeke

Posted on by

 

 

Palestine 1990

Seventeen-year-old Isra prefers reading books to entertaining the suitors her father has chosen for her. But, succumbing to her parents’ wishes, the naïve and dreamy girl finds herself betrothed and married to a American man. Before long she is living in Brooklyn, a strange land, becoming a mother to four daughters and her life changed forever.

Brooklyn 2008

Eighteen-year-old Deya, Isra’s oldest daughter, must meet with potential husbands at her grandmother’s insistence, though her only desire is to go to college. But fate has a will of its own, and soon Deya will find herself on an unexpected path that leads her to shocking truths about her parents, the past, and her own future.

A truly eye-opening journey from Palestine to Brooklyn, Etaf Rum’s sublime debut is steeped in culture, history, courage and most importantly friendship. It is easy to take picking up a book or popping to the local shop for granted. For Isra her life is a living nightmare, one she must escape by any means necessary.

Eighteen years later her own daughter is heading down the very same and miserable path to live a life that she does not want, with a man that she does not love until a unexpected family member returns to keep Deya from her doomed fate and will leave her questioning everything she thought she knew about her parents.

Published on 12th December 2019

Paperback £8.99

Available in eBook and Audiobook