Christmas book ideas

Posted on by

 

The Penguin Book of Puzzles by Gareth Moore

This will appeal to many. The Penguin Book of Puzzles by Gareth Moore, is a compendium of conundrums stretching back to’way back when’ and a must for those who enjoy puzzling away.

Quite frankly, this is one to keep that certain someone quiet. Heavens, did I really say that? Well,  for those who like a puzzle it is a total treat. I’m hopeless, haven’t the patience and prefer to talk, but on the other hand, Him Indoors, would think ALL his Christmases had come together.

Such a good idea.

The Penguin Book of Puzzles by Gareth Moore. Pub Michael Joseph, £12.99

Devastation Road by Jason Hewitt

Jason Hewitt  has written an absolute belter and Devastation Road will not only keep you turning the pages, but will keep you thoughtful and engrossed. Written with empathy, imagination, perception,intelligence, and grace. Not once false note. I loved it.

Spring 1945. Owen wakes up in a field in a country he does not know. Injured and confused he starts to walk but without a memory of who, or what he is. This comes to him in fragments, and so it also comes to us, the reader, though we feel that we are there, alongside Owen, in the novel.

Great great novel and I strongly recommend it.

Jason Hewitt will be talking at the Words for the Wounded LitFest on April 21 2018.

Devastation Road by Jason Hewitt. pub. Scribner pb £8.99

Odd Man Out by Denise Beddows.

Another extraordinary book, this time, true crime by Denise Beddows.

I kept wondering how on earth Beddows found out all that she did about this 1948 Lancashire mill town murder. It is timely with gender fluidity being discussed.

Odd Man Out is the true and sad story of transgendered bus conductress Margaret ‘Bill’ Allen who barely knew the victim, and who was executed for the seemingly motiveless murder of an elderly woman. A woman who was described, even by her family, as abnormal.

It’s  a book that wonders whether the verdict of guilty was right, but if it was , why would she do this? It is a painstaking investigation, and threads are discovered, followed, and interwoven into some sort of an explanation.

Well written, absorbing, thought provoking.

Odd Man Out by Denise Beddows. Misbourne Press. Amazon.Co.uk pb £7.99

www.djkelly.co.uk Twitter: djkelly@djkellyauthor Blog: http://djkellyauthor.blogspot.co.uk/

Vera Lynn Keep: Smiling Through

My dad met Vera Lynn in the war when she put down at Karachi on that marathon tour to entertain the troops. He thought she was fabulous, as do millions of people, still.

As Vera says: ‘Sometimes I think that I never quite got over that period of my life. My memories of the wartime years are strongest when I think of Burma.’ Indeed, this is what comes over, that this tour was a defining moment for her, after which she thought about herself and the world differently.

Writing with Virginia Lewis-Jones, her daughter, this period comes to life, not just from Dame Vera’s memories but also from the perspective of the troops. It is a book that is valuable to us all, because that war and its aftermath of grim austerity and rebuilding defines many of us; our values and our loyalties, our strengths. This is definitely one for everyone. Lord, how she could sing and still can. Bless her.

Vera Lynn with Virginia Lewis-Jones: Keep Smiling Through. pub Century. £16.99

Two For Children

Posted on by

Children can be hard to buy for at Christmas but we think we have it sorted with two great gifts below.

Reindeer Cashmere Mix Jumper
£24.00

You need a Christmas jumper. It just would not be Christmas without it. This beautiful Reindeer jumper is made with cashmere for a very soft feel but is also machine washable. What more could you want? So adorable. .

Picnic Basket with Wooden Food
£32.00
The Frost toddler loves this picnic basket which comes with gingham fabric, a gingham blanket and wooden food. The sweet wicker basket is lined in gingham fabric and contains a selection of wooden food including cakes, fruit and bread, as well as plates and cups to dish up the picnic. It also has a little wooden knife so children can cut up the food. Perfect for hours of imaginative play.
Both available from http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk

25 Things Every New Mom Should Know: Essential First Steps for Mothers

Posted on by

This little book is full of lots of great information. Being a first time mother is very scary and this book will definitely help. It is American, so some of the vernacular is more for that audience. Some of the advice will not suit all mothers too, like the stuff on baby-wearing and co-sleeping. I did this but it will not fit into everyone’s life. I do recommend this however. It is well-written and  very helpful indeed.

Becoming a new mother is a time of joy, hope, and sometimes a little uncertainty.

In this warm and heartfelt book, America’s most-trusted childcare experts help brand-new moms meet the challenges and changes of motherhood with reassuring advice on how to bring out the best in their babies, and themselves. Above all, they encourage new mothers to trust their own instincts and thoroughly enjoy their new babies.

25 Things Every New Mom Should Know: Essential First Steps for Mothers 

 

Christmas Cocktail Ideas

Posted on by

If you’re planning on staying in this weekend why not gather some friends round, take out your cocktail shaker and try our simple Christmas cocktail ideas inspired by cocktail classics.

Chocolat Luxe Gold

Made with: Baileys Chocolat Luxe
Inspired by: The White Russian
Perfect for: After Dinner.

We love this indulgent and silky dark chocolate version of Baileys

Ingredients:
30ml Baileys Chocolat Luxe


70ml Hazelnut milk

Gold edible colouring and edible gold leaf

0.5 units per serve

Method:
Shake in a cocktail shaker and fine strain into the glass.

Finish by garnishing a simple sheet of edible gold leaf.

If you’re feeling fancy, pre-dip a raspberry in edible gold colouring to add an extra touch of glam.

Gordon’s Pink Spritz

Made with: Gordon’s Pink Gin
Inspired by: Wine Spritzer
Perfect for: Cocktail Reception

The Gordon Pink Gin has a natural sweetness from infused strawberries and raspberries.

Ingredients:
50ml Gordon’s Pink Gin


50ml lemonade


25ml Prosecco


Garnish of cranberries and pomegranate

2.1 units per serve

Method:
Fill a prosecco glass with ice and add everything together

Garnish with pomegranate and cranberries.

Cadbury Christmas 2017

Posted on by

 It is not Christmas without chocolate and these treats from Cadbury are perfect for getting into the festive spirit.

Cadbury unwraps moments of festive joy as the most magical time of the year gets closer and closer. And this season, Santa’s sack is full to the brim with joyful and delicious treats. To delight chocolate lovers all over the country, the range includes the much-loved favourites alongside new and exciting products, sure to put a smile on everyone’s face and spread joy far and wide this Christmas. So what are you waiting for? With a plethora of fun and novel chocolate delights, the countdown to Christmas has never been more fun.

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the Cadbury Dairy Milk Advent Calendar, the best way to count down to the most magical day of the year. If you can’t get enough of the delicious Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate, this advent calendar will keep the festive excitement growing this holiday season. Complete with a tantalising assortment of milk chocolates, and milk chocolates with vanilla flavour fillings, everyone will want a piece. 200g RRP £4.99/ 90g RRP £2.19

For a jolly way to treat family and friends during the festive season, Cadbury Dairy Milk Jolly Santas are perfect as they come in packs containing five pocket sized Santas, each presented in fun wrapping. Santa has had a makeover and there are now seven cheerful looks to be discovered. Kids will surely love them! RRP £2.99

Make your tree even sweeter with Cadbury Dairy Milk Tree Decorations. There are different designs and shapes for everyone in the family to leave their sparkly mark on this year’s decorations. Available in 84g (RRP £2.13)packs.

The Cadbury Dairy Milk Santa Gift Box – filled with delicious chunks of Cadbury Dairy Milk – is the perfect stocking filler. To spread the excitement and magic this Christmas, why not treat a loved one to this cheeky chappy and tuck into the delicious delights from Santa’s sack. RRP £2.99.

We also loved the Cadbury Snow Bites:

We have reviewed all of this chocolate for you and can highly recommend it. Merry Christmas.

 

Merry and Bright: A Christmas Novel By Debbie Macomber

Posted on by

A delightful festive novel. Just what you need when it is cold outside. The book equivalent of a fun romance film. Perfect to get lost in for a few hours. 

 

A novel about first impressions and second chances.

It’s Christmas, the season to be snowed under.

Merry Smith is overworked. Between family responsibilities, preparing for Christmas, and staying out of the crosshairs of her boss there’s room for little else. Her social life is the last thing on her mind, much less finding love.

Jayson Bright is feeling the pressure. Christmas is his most stressful time of year. Deadlines are looming, the holidays are coming, and employees are winding down. He’s the one left in the office pulling late and lonely nights.

Luckily for these two, their friends and family take matters into their own hands, and Merry and Bright are about to discover that love can be found where you least expect it . . .

Merry and Bright: A Christmas Novel By Debbie Macomber is available here. 

 

THE BUSINESS OF BOOKS: TWITTERQUETTE – Jane Cable’s personal foibles

Posted on by

Twitter is looming large in my mind this week. Not just because the potential to be rude to each other has doubled with the letter count, but because Chindi Authors has launched its pre-Christmas social media campaign. Normally we have an event where we sell festive books but this year we’ve chosen to do the same thing online and of course we’re tweeting about it like crazy.

Twitter is a great forum for authors. It’s a place we meet each other, form into street teams and groups (both formal, like @RNATweets, and informal), link up with readers and bloggers, and generally share news about our books. We all have our own styles, but if I was making the rules they would go something like this.

  1. Be nice to each other. Social media can make it very easy for some people with bullying tendencies to be rude. It’s cowardly in the extreme. Don’t do it. I will block you. Twitter should ban you.
  2. Retweets should be reciprocal. While likes and thank yous are nice to have they aren’t the same. If I’m retweeting you the chances are that you’re an author so our followers are likely to be bookish people. They will be as interested in my tweet as my followers will be in yours.
  3. Use pinned tweets. For those lovely, lovely people who do retweet, please make it easy for me to return the favour. I’m not lazy but I’m time poor and I don’t have hours to scroll through pages and pages of your generous retweets looking for your own original content. So please pin it. And change your pinned tweet regularly.
  4. Use a picture. Just because tweets are more noticeable that way. If the picture tells your story, so much the better. That goes for page headers too. There are no excuses – even I can make them using Canva.
  5. Your profile includes a space for words. If you don’t tell me who you are, how can we connect?
  6. Don’t play follow back. This one’s going to be controversial but I only follow back for other RNA, SoA and Chindi members. Otherwise I will thank you for the follow in a personal way which I hope you’ll respond to. Then we can connect properly and share common ground.
  7. Don’t blitz me with the same tweet over and over again. I think we can all be a bit guilty of this but I’m more likely to click through to interesting content such as a blog you’ve written or a review. I’ve actually had to block some accounts which pre-programme the same tweets to fire like bullets. My publisher did it with Another You when it was on free offer and I was more embarrassed than pleased.

    Although these are my personal foibles my fellow @ChindiAuthors contributed to the debate. So thank you @carol_thomas2, @chirosie, @angela_petch, @julia76871430 & @michael_parker.

Write From The Start: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Professional Non-Fiction

Posted on by

Write From The Start: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Professional Non-Fiction by Caroline Foster

Becoming a writer is hard. To go from beginner to professional means you will need all of the help you can get. This book has a wealth of advice on becoming successful in non-fiction writing. Practical and thorough, it has plenty of advice to help you become a non-fiction writer. Recommended for anyone who wants to write professional non-fiction from a woman who knows her stuff.

 

Do you want to become a writer? Would you like to earn money from writing? Do you know where to begin?

Help is at hand with Write From The Start – a practical must-read resource for newcomers to the world of non-fiction writing. It is a vast genre that encompasses books, newspaper and magazine articles, press releases, business copy, the web, blogging, and much more besides.

Jam-packed with great advice, the book is aimed at novice writers, hobbyist writers, or those considering a full-time writing career, and offers a comprehensive guide to help you plan, prepare, and professionally submit your non-fiction work. It is designed to get you up-and-running fast.

Write From The Start will teach you how to explore topic areas methodically, tailor content for different audiences, and create compelling copy. It will teach you which writing styles work best for specific publications, how to improve your chances of securing both commissioned and uncommissioned work, how to build a portfolio that gets results, and how to take that book idea all the way to publication.

Comprised of 16 chapters, there is information on conducting effective research, book submissions, writing for business, copyright and plagiarism pitfalls, formatting, professional support networks, contracts and agreements, the value of humour, ghostwriting, and much more…

By the end of this book – full of practical advice and proven results – you will be well on your path to writing success!

> Discover how to write not just good copy but great copy
> Learn the submission techniques that will increase your chances of publication
> Develop ways to earn money by writing about your skills, experiences, and hobbies
> Understand how to write for magazines, the web, businesses, and books
> Master freelance content writing for sites such as Textbroker
> Explore traditional publishing, self-publishing, and eBook options for books you write
> With additional contributions and guidance from other writing industry experts


Publisher Insists Author Writes Her Own Press Release

When author Caroline Foster’s first book, Write From The Start: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Professional Non-fiction was published by Bennion Kearny, she was somewhat surprised when they asked her to write her own press release.

Bennion Kearny, a publisher of specialist non-fiction titles, explained their logic, ‘Caroline’s book is a comprehensive guide to writing non-fiction; its content contains everything novice and improving writers want to know about writing in this genre, including how to write your press releases and market your book. It seemed an obvious notion – given Caroline’s knowledge and experience in this field – that she would want to write her PR.’

In response, Caroline said, ‘To be fair, I know Bennion Kearny have a team of first class marketing professionals who will do their best to market not just my book but those of my fellow authors on their lists. I understand their reasons for asking to me write my own press release and given the content of my book is about writing, I probably would have been slightly miffed if they hadn’t!’

Write From The Start: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Professional Non-fiction is a practical must-read guide for newcomers and aspiring writers to the world of non-fiction. Not only does it cover writing, marketing, and publishing books including memoirs, autobiographies, and titles on specialist topics, its chapter list includes writing for magazines, for online markets, and for businesses. Readers will also learn ‘how’ to write and submit great copy that will attract editors and publishers.

 

About Caroline Foster. Caroline Foster is a writer with more than 20 years of experience writing for national and regional publications on a variety of topics. She is also one of the founding partners of a successful Copywriting, PR and Digital Marketing company based in East Anglia.

 

Write From The Start: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Professional Non-Fiction is available here.