Liza Pulman – The Heart Of It – show review by Paul Vates: “an intimate and fulfilling experience”

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at Riverside Studios (Studio 3), Hammersmith, London

“an intimate and fulfilling experience”

There is something beautifully old-fashioned, traditional, yet timeless about this show.

A compact sextet of incredible musicians, playing sumptuous music live and unleashed – sometimes supporting, other times taking the lead and letting fly.

Out front is the singer. She sparkles like the stars of old – Garland, Bassey, Streisand (especially Streisand). Performing ballads and blockbusters, at times sitting on the stool and pulling the crowd into her inner emotions, then belting out blockbusters – a variety of songs, some so well known they’re a part of our DNA, others unknown but glorious all the same.

It’s like being transported to one of those clubs you see in films, where the singer sings and the band plays on no matter what is happening. A jazz club vibe fills the studio and it’s an intimate and fulfilling experience.

Liza Pulman is the inaugural solo artist to perform in Studio 3 and the show is like a tribute to the Riverside Studios sumptuous history in entertainment, continuing the venue’s legacy. The Heart Of It is a well-oiled machine, a show that is slick and, at times, ever-so-slightly cheesy … which makes it all the more lovable.

With nodding heads, jiggling feet and drumming fingers, this show affects the audience in different ways. For me the spellbinding rendition of the James Bond theme Nobody Does It Better and the slow and jazzy version of the classic Happy Days Are Here Again stand out.

Liza is currently touring again with Fascinating Aida as well as performing this show, which launches her new album. The classic singer, the classic songs, the classic band. What more could you want…?

Photography Dom White – taken at Lichfield Festival

Performances until Saturday 30th April at 7.30pm

Location Riverside Studios, 101 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith,

London W6 9BN

Tickets £30, available from https://www.riversidestudios.co.uk/

and 020 8237 1010

Running time 2 hours inc interval

Remaining Dates On Tour with The Heart Of It –

4th & 5th July at Wilton’s Music Hall, London

On Tour with Fascinating Aida –

Touring until 20th May 2022 – www.fascinatingaida.co.uk/tour-dates

Stream The Heart Of It – slinky.to/TheHeartofItLizaPulman

The Heart Of It tour dates & tickets www.lizapulman.com/tour-dates

Facebook @lizapulmanofficial

Twitter @liza_pulman

Instagram @pulmanliza

Website www.lizapulman.com

Sheila O’Flanagan Five Books That Changed Me.

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THE JEEVES OMNIBUS by PG Wodehouse

I’d always loved the look of the hardback books on my father’s shelf, but was aware that they were for grown-ups and I was only ten. But one day, having finished all the adventure books I’d borrowed from the library, I decided I’d have a crack at this. I chose it because I loved the art-deco cover and because I had to look up the word Omnibus in the dictionary. I also had to look up words like valet and feudal, but despite not having the faintest idea of how the British upper class lived, I was absolutely enraptured by the wit and humour of the writing. PG Wodehouse is still my go-to author when I need my spirits to be raised, and when I need to be reminded that English is a language rich in vocabulary and nuance. The Jeeves Omnibus marked my transition from children’s books to books for adults, and my appreciation of elegant, flowing language in the written word. After reading it, I insisted on borrowing every single PG Wodehouse book in the library.

PRINCESS DAISY by Judith Kranz

Most of the books I read during my teens and early twenties were American literary novels by writers like Steinbeck, Hemingway and Fitzgerald. There was a part of me that believed reading for pleasure was somehow a lesser pursuit, and that unless a book was reviewed as a worthy classic, I shouldn’t really be wasting time on it. And then I picked up Princess Daisy in the airport on my way to my first holiday abroad. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting but it had a heroine you could root for, as well as buckets of glamour and larger-than-life characters, and it was an absolute page turner. I’d never been gripped by a novel in quite this way before, and even though the book got some scathing reviews, I loved how invested I was in it. It made me realise that my view of ‘good writing’ was limited by a literary concept of what that should be, and that good storytelling was equally important.

LIGHT A PENNY CANDLE by Maeve Binchy

This novel centres around the relationship between to lifelong friends. During WW2, Elizabeth is evacuated from London to stay with Aisling’s family in Ireland, and even when she returns to England the two girls remain friends. Like many Irish people, we also had family in England who would come and stay with us every summer. My cousin and I, close in age, used to write each other long, detailed letters about our lives, hopes and dreams in the months when she was back in England. I saw this reflected in Light a Penny Candle, and it was probably the first time a novel actually mirrored part of my own life. Until then everything I read was about people very different to me. Now I realised that ordinary readers could see themselves in books too.

ANGELA’S ASHES by Frank McCourt

‘Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood’. McCourts memoir is a record of his miserable Irish Catholic childhood but it’s told with humour and empathy and, although my Irish Catholic childhood certainly didn’t match his for misery, it made me see that there are many different backgrounds and upbringings and many different stories to be told. Also, like Maeve Binchy, Frank McCourt was writing about Ireland. I’d always imagined that nobody would be interested in books set in Ireland but the location is irrelevant when the story is brilliantly told.

THE POWER by Naomi Alderman

So often in novels and in real life, the world view is set by men, and women are the bystanders, people to whom things happen, rather than people who make things happen. The Power turns this on its head and imagines a world in which women have a force within them with which they can dominate men. As I like to write novels with women front and centre, and shaping their own futures, I loved how this book ramped up the idea of how women could behave if they were physically superior to men. It asks lots of really interesting questions and forced me to think critically about power and how it’s both used and abused.

What Eden Did Next by Sheila O’Flanagan publishes 28th April 2022 in hardback, priced £20.00 (Headline Review)

A Daughter’s Hope by Donna Douglas

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A Daughter’s Hope is the conclusion to the Yorkshire Blitz trilogy by Donna Douglas. I do hope it’s not the last we see of the MacGuire family who are a fantastic bunch of characters – or are they real? They seem like it when you’re reading. It’s like peering into a window and watching as their lives unfold. Matriarch Big May MacGuire leaps from the page, a strong woman in charge of her noisy, squabbling, good-hearted brood.

It’s Autumn, 1942; the Blitz has come to an end and the residents of Jubilee Row begin to get their lives back on track. Twins Sybil and Maudie join the WAAF to do their bit for the war effort. The girls may be twins but each has their own personality, and they face their own struggles when it comes to adapting to force’s life and discipline.  Will they be able to thrive in this new environment?

Back in Hull, 42 year-old Florence, the eldest of May Maguire’s daughters, has a good job as supervisor of a typing-pool but feels thwarted when a new manager joins the staff and threatens to undermine her authority.

May understands Florence least of all her children and Florence’s strong independence keeps her hovering on the edge of family life. The love and awkwardness, the misunderstanding between the two women was gently revealed from the first chapter and I really enjoyed the complex relationship between Florence and her mum.

There is humour and warmth,  and a strong sense of making the best of things – there’s never a dull moment among the folks of Jubilee Row.

I have to say that having read the others in the trilogy this is my favourite. The plotlines are deftly interwoven and the skilled writing and storytelling draws the reader along until the very last page. I was sad when it came to an end.

I hope there’s more to come from the MacGuires, but if there isn’t I eagerly await the next book from Donna Douglas.

A Daughter’s hope by Donna Douglas is published by Orion and available from all independent bookstores, Amazon, and other online retailers from 28th April 2022 .

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Joffe has cracking new books for us all, and the Book of the Week will have you biting your nails as you turn the pages.

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Joffe’s  book of the week is DEAD ON DELIVERY,  a really gripping new thriller from bestselling author Steve Parker — out now for the special launch price of 99p | 99c.

Featuring the ambitious young Detective Superintendent Ray Paterson, and Britain’s most foul-mouthed and irreverent detective, DI Johnny Clocks, this action-packed crime thriller is not one to be missed.

Once you start, you won’t be able to put it down, so take it on a long  journey or you’ll get grumpy at being interrupted. Lord, so many twists and turns. It’s the sort of book that makes you want to read any others by this author.

CLICK HERE TO BUY DEAD ON DELIVERY BY STEVE PARKER FOR 99P | 99C.
                           

 

The Village Mysteries by Margaret Mayhew   1-4  OUT NOW — ONLY 99P | 99C

Get FOUR lovely cozy murder mysteries in one box set. Very good value it is too. 

Discover Frog End, a beautiful English village with some dark secrets, in this bestselling series of enchanting village mysteries starring your new favourite amateur detective, The Colonel.

 Blood Kin  by Matt Hilton only £1.99/$ 1.99

If you love Reacher, or books by Dean Koontz, David Baldacci or Lee Child, then you’ll devour this action-packed thriller from the bestselling author of the Joe Hunter series.

Murder at Abbey Head by Roy Lewis   only £1.99 / $1.99

Local history buff turned amateur sleuth Arnold Landon explores the murky depths of an ancient sea cave, uncovered by a violent storm.

Arnold stumbles on something impossible. A heap of human remains. Along with a tiny silver ID badge. Whoever killed the owner— twenty years ago — found the ultimate place to hide their crime. But how did they do it? Someone out there will stop at nothing to keep their secret.

A BOOK OF MURDER BY VICTORIA DOWD

Joffe are very excited to give  us an early look at A BOOK OF MURDER, the page-turning and as they say effortlessly entertaining new whodunnit by award-winning mystery novelist Victoria Dowd, available for pre-order now for 99p | 99c.

“I am over the moon to be publishing a new title in Victoria Dowd’s brilliant series. Victoria’s Smart Women are as clever as they are catty; and few authors are so adept at deploying such fiendish twists.

I absolutely love the set-up of this one: placing us right at the start of the court case following the murder, before diving into that murderous past is just fantastic.”

— Editorial Director Emma Grundy Haigh

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER THE BOOK OF MURDER BY VICTORIA DOWD FOR 99P | 99C.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH AN EXCLUSIVE COVER REVEAL FOR THE BOOK OF MURDER BY VICTORIA DOWD.

And click here to see all that Joffe Books has to  offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sleepers by K M Kelly, a wow of a novel. Hang onto your hat, don’t read it just before bed, you’ll need the light left on …

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Wow what a book. Couldn’t put it down.

A time bomb is ticking—but what if that time bomb is you? A chilling novel of intrigue, terror, and a man and woman in a race against the clock 

Sylvie is running , or is she being chased by the memories of a terror attack in London she experienced as a child, a catastrophic event in which her brother died? She is running, or is she similarly being chased by her abusive boyfriend? She IS absolutely running from a warning, given to her on a station platform in Nantes: someone is trying to kill her.

Corran is not what he seems. What is he then? He’s working deep undercover to infiltrate the political organisation that looks set to win the upcoming British election—a group that doesn’t appear to have existed a few years ago. Corran has been sent to find out who they are, who is ‘working’ them, and what on earth is their agenda?

All he has is a list of names, Sylvie’s included. Only with time does he begin to see the connections to the victims of the terror attack. But that was 10 years ago. So why does it seem they are being taken out, killed, cancelled?

As the field of living victims is steadily reduced, Corran and Sylvie work together, albeit reluctantly and head into the vortex, uncertain, scared, but hell bent on  not only exposing, but neutralising the threat, one which could explode at any minute ….

Sounds a great novel, but is it really?

Well, frankly, talk about clinging to the edge of your seat, or hanging onto your hat, it’s a hell of a ride, let me tell you. A Wowzer as we say in my family! Wow-zer, such a fab page turner.

The  plot is strong, intricately and empathetically planned, and it lives,  which is a great start because  thrillers, mysteries, and any sort of crime is dependent on a rip roaring plot, one with peaks and troughs, obstacles, successes, one step forward, perhaps two back …  If the author can include believable  characters, believable settings, a sense of being in the moment, then the reader is hooked. As you readers know, we have to believe that this is our problem, our battle, we are in the scene, taking each step the character takes. If all these are present,  then this is a grand novel.

But finally there is the need for a theme,  one that gives the novel depth, and a raison d’etre, and if this resonates with the reader, then the novel is a triumph. The theme of The Sleepers was, for me, the need to run towards, not away. In other words – take back control. Put all this together and mix it up with excellent writing you have, in The Sleepers, that rare thing, a triumph.

Read The Sleepers, it’s a wow of a novel. Thank heavens the author has dipped her toes in the adult pacey thriller world, leaving children’s writing for a moment. She knows her craft, her imagination is on fire. Bring on the next please, K M Kelly.

You can obtain e-book of The Sleepers by K M Kelly here

CARIADS’ CHOICE: APRIL 2022 BOOK REVIEWS

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Pamela Hartshorne’s Time’s Echo, reviewed by Georgia Hill

What a fabulous read! Itchy-footed Grace goes to York to sort out a house that has been left to her. She’s immediately drawn into the story of Hawise who lived in the city over 400 hundred years before and who met a tragic end. There are twists and turns galore, some truly evil baddies, a theme of drowning which is cleverly explored and some gentle romance. The Tudor details are assured and you just know Pamela really knows her history. It’s all concluded in magnificent style. I absolutely loved it and, for me, it ranks with books from the mistress of the timeslip, Barbara Erskine.

 

Carol Thomas’ A Summer of Second Chances reviewed by Jane Cable

A genuinely heart-warming book, full of wonderful  characters, both human and animal, at times I actually laughed out loud.

But at the core of this book is a gorgeous love story . When Henry returns to Dapplebury on his father’s death he hopes he will meet the girl he left behind. But with so much water under the bridge, will his childhood sweetheart Ava give him a second chance? Will her protective friends even let her?

What I especially loved is that every character, however small their part, is beautifully drawn which made the village come alive around the story. Definitely recommend as a book to curl up with.

 

Carol Drinkwater’s The House on the Edge of the Cliff, reviewed by Jessie Cahalin

The House on the Edge of the Cliff had me on the edge of my seat throughout the narrative. The contrast between Grace as a teenager and as an older woman is wonderful: innocence and experience are artfully conveyed with layers and layers of emotions.

I loved the excitement the frenzied Paris Riots that opens doors to Grace, but the wild beauty of Provence lured me and Grace. I stepped into the mesmerising blue of the sea and the sky.

‘I was a girl climbing out of a closed box for the first time, happening upon a sky that was not blue but BLUE, vigorously tinted, fervently, thrilling blue.’

The novel moved clearly from the past and the present and tension clattered along at great speed.  I longed to discover the truth of the secret Grace and Peter buried long ago. Tempting ripples of tension dropped into the novel, but my assumptions crashed on the rocks.  Wow!

Another tempting narrative from Carol Drinkwater.  The emotions and tension kept me on the edge of my seat.  And the beautiful tapestry of language did not disappoint.  I always enjoy travelling to France with Carol Drinkwater and engage with her characters.  A thrilling read!

 

Georgia Hill’s The Great Summer Street Party: Sunshine and Cider Cake, reviewed by Morton S Gray

I loved the characters in this book, which made me want them all to have happy outcomes. Berecombe definitely sounds like somewhere I would like to live and be part of the community. I would no doubt spend a lot of time in Millie Vanilla’s café if I did. (I was excited to realise that there are other books set in this fictional village and will definitely be reading those too).

Who doesn’t love a heroine with a past to battle and overcome like Ashley? A nice light uplifting read that was perfect distraction for me when I was recently unwell. The living history project aspect of this book was of great interest to me. I now have to go and buy part two of this story as I am intrigued to find out what happens to Ashley, Eddie and of course the backstory of Ruby and Chet.

Lovely read.

 

 

 

 

 

SUNDAY SCENE: SUSAN BUCHANAN ON HER FAVOURITE SCENE FROM SIGN OF THE TIMES

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Travel is a major passion of mine, but without question, Bibbiena in north-east Tuscany is my favourite real setting in my books. The hilltop town set in the Casentino Valley is surrounded by lush greenery and vineyards. I have a natural love of Italy and all things Italian – I studied Italian at university and Bibbiena was the setting that inspired me to write my first book, Sign of the Times, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in March. I’d never been to this corner of Tuscany and it was one of those random lucky finds, but it will stay with me forever.

Probably the best way to do it justice is via an excerpt:

‘Holly’s thoughts returned to Dario as she padded down the windy road and up the hill to the centre of Bibbiena. It was a little as she had expected: bumblebee-striped canopies and green chairs stacked on top of tables, at what she could only assume was one of the restaurants on closing day. A group of teenagers stood around chatting and flirting. Holly strolled past them and spied twenty or thirty stalls with canvas awnings ahead of her. So, there is a market. Continuing, she passed a bar on the opposite side of the road, where four elderly men were playing chess. Holly watched them for a few minutes and then, conscious they had stopped chattering and were looking in her direction, waved then moved on.

She crossed the road a little further along and turned up into the village centre, following the sign for the church. The reddish-brown buildings were of rough-hewn stone and Holly guessed they were eighteenth century. Today she wanted to absorb the atmosphere, without having to remember she had to write about it. She passed a tabacchi, a lawyer’s office, an accountant’s, until finally she came across a bottega. As she peered through the glass in the door, the owner sprang to open it, and she fell forward into the shop, almost colliding with him.

‘Scusi, signorina.’

Holly waved away his concern and then picked up jars and bottles, examining the contents and ingredients. The bottega was filled with mouth-watering goodies; pickled vegetables, zucchini, red peppers and cherry tomatoes filled with anchovies. The upper part of one wall consisted only of wine and the lower half entirely of olive oil. Holly had never seen so many different kinds of olive oil. Next to the cassa and the beaming shop owner lay a wide assortment of cold meats and cheeses. Holly wanted to buy up the whole shop. Then she clapped eyes on the counter of fresh pasta…mmm. Ricotta-filled ravioli, pumpkin stracci…’

Holly’s subsequent conversation with the shop owner, Giampiero, reveals much about small-town and village life, not least the warmth and friendliness of the people. He knows where she is staying, and when she tells him her landlady has invited her for dinner, he calls the butcher to ask if Viviana, the landlady, has been in, and if so, what she ordered. He gives Holly the story behind the prize-winning bottles of olive oil and once he knows what they’re having for dinner, he helps Holly pick out the perfect wine.

The villa on the cover is a representation of the one I stayed at, and the house in the distance, one I could see from my villa, and the location of a wedding in the novel.

After a ten-year break from writing about Bibbiena, I can’t wait to return to it in 2023. If you haven’t been to this gorgeous corner of Tuscany, please do. You won’t be disappointed.

 

www.susanbuchananauthor.com

 

 

 

 

Switching genre, from children’s author to thriller writer by acclaimed author KM Kelly

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Ten years ago I wrote the words ‘The End’ on my children’s novel, sent it off to my then agent and waited with excitement as she started submitting it to publishers. At the time I thought that this was the beginning of my journey as a children’s author. But it wasn’t to be. Instead, ten years on and my first adult thriller is about to be published.

The publishing industry, and children’s publishing in particular, is very much at the mercy of fashions and trends. I was fortunate that Red Rock, a science fiction thriller set in a world beset by climate change, caught the tail end of the popular wave of dystopian fiction. But that trend was coming to an end. Suddenly dystopias were out of favour. My publisher declined my second book. My agent let me go shortly after.

So there I was. Back where I started.

At first I was sad. I felt I had failed. But then I realised that I was free. I could now write whatever I wanted. I could write the story that I wanted to read. What at first seemed like a bad thing was in fact liberating.

I have always enjoyed thrillers. It’s probably my favourite genre, although I still love a decent bit of science fiction. As a result, it seemed natural that I would try my hand at writing in this genre. And it was such fun to do. My first effort was a mix of science fiction and thriller which I absolutely loved writing. I sent it out to agents and publishers and received a lot of positive replies. But they all said the same thing. It didn’t fit squarely into either genre. It was too speculative for a thriller but not enough Science Fiction for SF.

Once again I was at the mercy of market forces. Several publishers told me that if I wrote a straight thriller they would be interested in hearing from me again.

And I thought – why not. I sat down and wrote a new novel, another thriller, and this time I toned down the speculative aspects (although it’s still there, in the background if you look hard enough). I drew on my love of espionage and conspiracy theories and the result was The Sleepers. Since Bloodhound Books had responded positively to my earlier novel I decided to skip trying to find an agent and put them top of my list.

Needless to say they offered me a contract and The Sleepers will be out on April 26th 2022.

Thrillers are such fun to write, as well as being hugely popular at the moment. So for now I’ve found my niche. I’m halfway through penning another thriller.

I guess in a way I’ve let my writing be directed by the market, and I think all writers face this choice at some point. Do you write solely for yourself, in which case you can do whatever you like, or do you want a publishing deal. For me it is the latter.

It’s not uncommon for authors to switch genre. Many authors write in more than one, often using a pen name to do so. Writing under a pen name can be a good way of separating your writing identities. So I decided to change my name, ever so slightly and reinvent myself as KM Kelly, thriller writer.

I look forward to sharing The Sleepers with the world, and hopefully many more books to follow.

Obtain The Sleepers here