Jane Cable talks to Abby Endler about book blogging for love
1) What is your book-related job or business?
I run Crime by the Book, a crime fiction review website and its associated social media accounts. My largest platform is on Instagram (@crimebythebook), where I take photos of the books I’m reading and provide my audience with updates as I read them. I also use Instagram to link to my website, where readers can find reviews, author interviews, and more. Crime by the Book can also be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, and has a weekly newsletter as well. Crime by the Book is a passion project – while I would never write off the possibility of turning it into a business down the road, the goal is purely to share a love of books, and as of this moment I don’t make money from it.
2) What is the most rewarding part of it?
I would be hard-pressed to find an element of CBTB that is not rewarding, but if I had to narrow it down, the most rewarding part is the knowledge that I’ve connected readers with books they love. Whether that feedback comes from readers who have bought a book on my recommendation and loved it, or from authors who have seen the enthusiasm of my audience for their book, nothing could be more exciting to me than knowing I’m helping those books find great homes! There’s such an appetite for crime fiction out there, even on a platform like Instagram which is dominated by a younger audience, and I am thrilled and humbled every time I hear from my audience that I’ve helped spark their interest in crime fiction. Likewise, it’s extremely rewarding to hear from authors who are excited by the ways I’ve helped connect their book to those readers!
3) What do you consider to be your major successes?
The growth of my platform on Instagram has been a huge success. Crime by the Book just turned two years old, and also just passed 40,000 Instagram followers. As previously mentioned, Instagram does have the reputation of being dominated by a younger audience, so I consider it a huge success that I’ve found footing with a younger demographic! It’s very exciting to me, as a younger crime reader myself, to see my peers connecting with crime books. I also consider every single chance I have to interview an author a major success, whether that author is a big name (authors like Jo Nesbo, Sara Blaedel, and Clare Mackintosh have all appeared on Crime by the Book), or a debut author. No matter the author’s name-recognition, I’m honored to speak with and learn from every single author I interview. It’s a huge privilege!
4) Have you always loved books, and what are you reading at the moment?
I’ve loved reading for as long as I can remember. I started reading mysteries when I was very young – I started with Nancy Drew! And then as I grew up, I transitioned into Agatha Christie, James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell… and my love of reading crime books has just evolved and grown from there. At the moment, I’m reading ORDEAL by Jorn Lier Horst. This Norwegian crime book is part of his William Wisting series, and is the newest installment to be released in the US. I love this series for its detailed portrayal of police work, and its endearing characters.
Bio: Abby Endler is the creator and reviewer behind Crime by the Book, a crime fiction review website and its associated social media accounts. www.crimebythebook.com
Honestly, there’s no stopping this amazing author. First Dr Kathleen Thompson won The Words for the Wounded Independent Author Book Award, judged by literary agent, Felicity Trew of the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency last year, and now news is just in that she has won a Platinum Award for From Both Ends of the Stethoscope in the book category of the The Janey Loves 2017 Platinum Natural Products and Services Awards
Frost Magazine is not in the least surprised at Dr Kathleen Thompson’s success. Not only is Dr Kathleen the medical correspondent for Frost Magazine but the book is extraordinary. It is wise, funny and honest. Dr Kathleen has experienced breast cancer, and has turned the whole episode into a positive journey through the minefield of emotional turbulence, fear, hope, loneliness.
She reaches out and takes hold of her readers’ hands, and answers the questions that patients don’t even know they want to ask. It is accessible, compassionate, wise. This woman needs to write a novel because with her turn of phrase and insights it would be a similar corker.
If you have a friend, or are on the cancer journey yourself, this will be the present that will be of most value.
The Janey Loves 2017 Platinum Natural Products and Services Awards have a multitude of categories from Health and Well-being, Remedies, Food and Drink, Garden and Pet products, to books and apps. The judges are high calibre and include Zoe Ball, Carrie Grant and Janey Lee Grace who as you all know is a Radio 2 DJ.
Frost Magazine sends congratulations, bravos, whoop whoops to our lovely and talented friend Dr Kathleen Thompson. Great great news to see us through the week. Glasses of fizz raised all round.
From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: by Dr Kathleen Thompson. Paperback and download.
Hape make the most adorable trains and this trio of insect trains are no exception. This is a three piece set lead by an adorable ladybird train. The other two are a caterpillar and a bee. Children love them because they not only look fun, but are exciting. The ladybird has some fun little balls inside and the other two have fabulous wings. Fun and sensory: we can highly recommend this train set. It is just too cute for words.
The Lucky Ladybug and Friends Train from Hape makes a lovely first train. The adorable ladybug theme, complete with magnetic pieces to connect together, is guaranteed to delight your toddler. A brilliant set that works with other Hape wooden train sets.
I was a young fledgling gardener when I first came across The Cottage Garden Society. I can’t even remember where now. Maybe a magazine article or a piece on the telly box? I was in East London, in a tiny city garden, desperately dreaming of blowsy borders, gnarled old apple trees and roses around the door, and The Cottage Garden Society seemed like a place to plant my dreams.
Of course I soon found out that The hardly anybody has the ideal cottage around which to place their cottage garden, and most people are making do in narrow city spaces or dodgy plots around new builds. It turns out you don’t have to live in a cottage, or even in the country. The traditional, informal style lends itself to any situation, rural or urban, large or small. What we cottage gardeners all share is the same desire for colour and beauty, a love of plants and a certain sense of informality. (Possibly too much in my case, according to my husband).
The Cottage Garden Society (CGS) was founded in 1982 when cottage garden plants were becoming ‘unfashionable’. Those starting the Society wanted to protect this vanishing planting style. They were concerned that, in the move towards easily maintained gardens, hard landscaping was becoming more important than the plants, still a potential worry today.
Interest in the Society soon grew and from small beginnings with the founders based in North Wales and Cheshire, there are now about 3,000 members, and over 35 regional groups spread throughout the UK. Most of these groups meet monthly for talks, garden visits, seed swaps and plant sales and to enjoy the extra benefits of mixing with like-minded gardeners in their own area. Some groups also have stalls at major shows.
The Society also has a great quarterly magazine full of inspiring (and often funny) articles and book reviews. Always a great joy the day it plops through the letterbox and everything is put aside for a cup of tea and a read. The Society also runs a seed exchange. There is something very special in sowing seeds generously collected by a fellow member you may never meet from hundreds of miles away, and then growing the flowers in one’s own garden.
I may never have a cottage in the country with roses round the door, but I am definitely a Cottage Gardener. Are you??
Join now and get two months free membership (renewal Oct 18).
The London Foodie Supper Club hosts an extraordinary and glorious tour around Italy this week and he wants you all to join him. For four days only, beginning on the 12th July, guests will be able to immerse themselves in 10 exquisite courses prepared by Danilo Cortellini, Head Chef of the Italian Embassy in London. The evening will be hosted by The London Foodie, Luiz Hara who himself is a cordon bleu chef and successful food writer who has a passion for gastronomy and a want to share the very best with the World.
Your evening will start at 6:30pm with Canapés and a welcome cocktail followed by dinner at 7pm. The dishes will be comprised of 10 small signature plates taken from Cortellini’s debut book and will pay homage to the dishes of Abruzzo region which represent Cortellini’s heritage.
To give you an idea of the banquet the menu includes;
A traditional Cocktail made with Pecorino wine from Abruzzo
Canapés of Sicilian red prawn tartare marinated with red sweet chili with fresh burrata mousse.
Marinated mackerel with fresh buffalo mozzarella and asparagus
‘Pallotte cacio e ova’ (rustic cheese and bread balls served with pepper and tomato sauce with grated cheese)
Veal cheeks ‘pizzaiola’
Tortelli Multicolore with tomato and fresh marjoram.
Tickets are priced just £50 and must be purchased directly through Luiz at luizhara@hotmail.com
Frost loved Sally Gardner’s first adult novel, An Almond for a Parrot so we are very excited to bring you an extract. An Almond for a Parrot follows London’s most famous courtesan, Tully Truegood, from her childhood of neglect in the 18th Century London to an upper-class brothel where decadent excess is a must. Now she is awaiting trial for murder, for which she expects to hang. This is her truth, a letter written to the man she has loved and fears lost…
Chapter One
Newgate Prison, London
I lie on this hard bed counting the bricks in the ceiling of this miserable cell. I have been sick every morning for a week and thought I might have jail fever. If it had killed me it would at least have saved me the inconvenience of a trial and a public hanging. Already the best seats at Newgate Prison have been sold in anticipation of my being found guilty – and I have yet to be sent to trial. Murder, attempted murder – either way the great metropolis seems to know the verdict before the judge has placed the black square on his grey wig. This whore is gallows-bound.
‘Is he dead?’ I asked.
My jailer wouldn’t say.
I pass my days remembering recipes and reciting them to the damp walls. They don’t remind me of food; they are bookmarks from this short life of mine. They remain tasteless. I prefer them that way.
A doctor was called for. Who sent for or paid for him I don’t know, and uncharacteristically I do not care. He was very matter of fact and said the reason for my malady was simple: I was with child. I haven’t laughed for a long time but forgive me, the thought struck me as ridiculous. In all that has happened I have never once found myself in this predicament. I can hardly
believe it is true. The doctor looked relieved – he had at least found a reason for my life to be extended – pregnant women are not hanged. Even if I’m found guilty of murder, the gallows will wait until the child is born. What a comforting thought.
Hope came shortly afterwards. Dear Hope. She looked worried, thinner.
‘How is Mercy?’ I asked.
She avoided answering me and busied herself about my cell. ‘What does this mean?’ she asked, running her fingers over the words scratched on a small table, the only piece of furniture this stinking cell has to offer.
I had spent some time etching them into its worm-eaten surface. An Almond for a Parrot.
‘It’s a title for a memoir, the unanswered love song of a soon- to-be dead bird. Except I have no paper, no pen and without ink the thing won’t write at all.’
‘Just as well, Tully.’
‘I want to tell the truth of my life.’
‘Better to leave it,’ she said.
‘It’s for Avery – not that he will ever read it.’ I felt myself on the brink of tears but I refused to give in to them. ‘I will write it for myself. Afterwards, it can be your bedtime entertainment, the novelty of my days in recipes and tittle-tattle.’
‘Oh, my sweet ninny-not. You must be brave, Tully. This is a dreadful place and…’
‘And it is not my first prison. My life has come full circle. You haven’t answered my question.’
‘Mercy is still very ill. Mofty is with her.’ ‘Will she live?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘And is he alive?’
‘Tully, he is dead. You are to be tried for murder.’
‘My, oh my. At least my aim was true.’
I sank back on the bed, too tired to ask more. Even if Hope was in the mood for answering questions, I didn’t think I would want to know the answers.
‘You are a celebrity in London. Everyone wants to know what you do, what you wear. The papers are full of it.’
There seemed nothing to say to that. Hope sat quietly on the edge of the bed, holding my hand.
Finally, I found the courage to ask the question I’d wanted to ask since Hope arrived.
‘Is there any news of Avery?’
‘No, Tully, there’s not.’
I shook my head. Regret. I am full of it. A stone to worry one’s soul with.
‘You have done nothing wrong, Tully.’
‘Forgive me for laughing.’
‘You will have the very best solicitor.’
‘Who will pay for him?’
‘Queenie.’
‘No, no. I don’t want her to. I have some jewels…’ I felt sick.
‘Concentrate on staying well,’ said Hope.
If this life was a dress rehearsal, I would now have a chance to play my part again but with a more favourable outcome. Alas, we players are unaware that the curtain goes up the minute we take our first gulps of air; the screams of rage our only hopeless comments on being born onto such a barren stage.
So here I am with ink, pen and a box of writing paper, courtesy of a well-wisher. Still I wait to know the date of my trial. What to do until then? Write, Tully, write.
With a hey ho the wind and the rain. And words are my only escape. For the rain it raineth every day.
So The Cornish Writing Challenge 2017is done and Frost wants to thank Vikki Patis for including us. Frost’s own Jane Cable and Catherine Balavage were two of the judges. Along with Vikki- of course, and Cornish author Angela Britnell. We are now proud to publish the winner: Christopher Joyce.
Christopher Joyce from Chichester in West Sussex has been a teacher, waiter, once made Venetian blinds and has worked in a steel works. He is best known for his series of children’s books, ‘The Creatures of Chichester’, where the city’s animals solve the problems created by the Twolegs living there. See www.creaturesofchichester.comfor more information.
Read his excellent winning entry below.
Mama’s Gonna Float The Gypsum
“Hello, what service do you require?”
“All of them. Police, ambulance; there’s someone trapped in the car. Maybe fire brigade. I dunno – send them all!”
I slammed down the phone after giving my directions and threw up in the phone box. I was amazed it was still working as locals had turned it into a mini library. Thank God I was able to get through.
The stench of petrol filled the air mixing with the musty smell of autumn. They’d be here soon.
Breathe, relax.
It had started out quite a normal sort of day. I’d had a delicious lunch at the Waterside restaurant in Flushing, opting for the catch of the day as always. The plan was then to go for a walk along Trefusis Point. We had a lot to talk about.
Kelly was late. She was always bloody late. It drove me mad. After university we’d moved down to Cornwall to run a small pub. It failed miserably in the recession of 2017, but if I’m honest it would have failed anyway. We just didn’t want the same thing anymore. We tried running a mobile coffee shop that toured the festivals, which just drove us even further apart. Being with Kelly twenty-four hours a day was not the answer to resolve our differences.
I checked my watch. 2:35, Where the hell was she? The waiter brought me the dessert menu for the fifth time and I once again pushed it aside. He looked offended. Well, tough. Get over it. I’ve got more to worry about than your tip pal. He muttered to his manager and I wanted to go over and punch him in the face there and then. I counted to ten. Breathe, relax. That’s what the anger management person had taught me. She was as useful as a chocolate teapot. Kelly loved her of course. In fact it was Kelly’s idea. Typical of her new found, hippy-dressing, cosmic-ordering sort of view on life.
The spotty chinned waiter returned again. This time with a piece of paper folded in half. “There’s a message for you, sir,’ he said. I didn’t like the way he stressed the word sir, but I let it go. Another whinging apology from Kelly, no doubt. I opened it and read:
Mama’s gonna float the gypsum.
What sort of bollocks was that? I turned it over and even held it up to the light, half expecting to see a message from Kelly written on the other side, but that’s all it said. Mama’s gonna float the gypsum. Was she playing stupid games? We’d arranged this meeting weeks ago, after endless blocked text messages and unanswered calls she’d agreed to stroll around the headland to talk things through. I bet one of her trendy therapists had put her up to this. I could hear them whispering in her ear. Challenge him. Surprise him. They made me sick.
I didn’t have time for these stupid games. I had to get back to the garden centre. It’s not that I was the boss or anything, but since the break up I’d found some peace amongst the clematis and hydrangeas. I seem to remember that gypsum was a plant food of some sort. It was supposed to improve acid soil. Was she trying to make a reference to my work? That would be typical. She never wanted me to be successful. Ever since I got a first at uni and she got a Desmond. She hated me referring to her 2:2 like that. Yes, she’d studied soil sciences. I bet it’s something to do with that.
Or maybe it’s an anagram? When we first met we’d spend hours in bed going through the puzzle page in the local paper. I rummaged through my backpack for a pencil. There were so many zipped pockets. Why was it always the last one you looked in? I checked my mobile phone in vain. Still no sign of life. I shoved the half eaten peppermints and loose change back into the bag and drew a circle on the piece of paper. I arranged the letters in a random order around the circle. It’s just the sort of thing Kelly used to do. Oh God, I’ll be worshipping bloody crystals next.
After ten minutes of scratching my head. Nothing. Not a Scooby. I stormed out of the restaurant and headed for the woods. It was only when I was half way to the beach that I realised I hadn’t paid my bill. Well, sod him. He shouldn’t have brought me her ridiculous note in the first place.
I pulled up the collar of my down jacket as the ferry from Falmouth spewed out the last remaining emmets with their selfie sticks and iPads already in their hands. I strode on into Kilnquay Woods kicking up the beech mast and relaxing a little as the smell of pine needles and salty sea air filled my lungs. Before long I was clambering along the rocks on the shore line towards the cave where Kelly and I had frolicked in better days. My shoulders relaxed and I undid my jacket. The beach always had this effect on me. I felt at home. I pulled out the scrap of paper from my jacket and read the message again. Mama’s gonna float the gypsum. Was it an old folk song? I vaguely remember a school trip to a gypsum mine in Redruth. Were there once shanty songs sung by full-bosomed lasses as they loaded the gypsum on to boats bound for distant lands? I doubted it.
The sun was dipping below the horizon when I left the shore. The views of Falmouth across the crystal clear water and the sight of kids searching the rock pools for crabs had lifted my spirits. I didn’t care what the note was supposed to mean. I had to admit that although she drove me mad at times I still could not get her out of my head. I decided to stroll back into town and have a long cold pint of Gold Cyder at the Seven Stars.
The cold, golden liquid cleared my mind and I felt the happiest I’d been in months. It was time to put the past behind us and start again. I was on my second, or maybe third pint when I heard the screech of brakes followed by the unmistakeable thud of metal crushing bones. I leapt to my feet knocking the table and half finished cider on to the floor.
‘For God’s sake call an ambulance,’ I screamed at the top of my voice. Nobody moved. The red-headed barmaid continued to flirt with the young men at the bar. The family of four by the door carried on ignoring each other with their eyes glued to their mobile phones. The guys playing darts chalked up another score.
I ran out into the street alone. A woman’s body was crushed in the front seat of the mangled Fiesta. Just her legs with torn tights covered in blood were visible though the smashed windscreen. Another body was slumped beside her, a male in his late twenties, clearly dead at the scene. A young girl pushed her bike down the street as a lady in her later years nervously crossed the road hugging an ugly pug to her chest.
For Christ’s sake what’s wrong with these people. I dashed to the phone box hoping beyond hope that it was still working. It was piled high with books; there was a laminated note stuck to the wall.
This phone box was decommissioned in 2014. Please help yourself to these books dedicated to Kelly and Simon Edgerton, dear to this village. New books are added on a regular basis. This month:
Mama’s Misbehaving (not suitable for children) J Stone
Gonna Make You Mine (young adult) Kay Littleham
Float Fishing for Pike. S B Carter
The Gypsum Mines in the UK Andy McNarble
Over half of parents vote for Corbyn as political baby names become hot new trend
53% of parents find it ‘very hard’ to choose the right name for their baby – and a third disagree with their partner over what to pick
70% believe children are judged by their name
23% say political names are on the rise with Corbyn and Cameron the top picks
Surge in popularity of Muslim names used by non-Muslim families
Wacky new naming trends include ‘unicorn names’, ‘tough names’ and even ‘text message names’
7% of families regret their child’s name
New parents are electing to name their children after politicians – with Corbyn the hottest new baby-naming trend, a new poll by video parenting website www.channelmum.com reveals.
After the Labour leader’s post-General Election popularity surge, over half of parents (52%) would consider using the name Corbyn for their child. The name has already soared 50 percent in popularity between 2014 and 2015, but is now expected to see an even sharper rise.
Overall, political names are one of the fastest-growing new UK baby naming trends with 23 percent of mums and dads seeing more politically-inspired names in their area.
Interestingly, while 38 percent of parents would consider the name May, only four percent would use Theresa for a newborn. Cameron was the next most popular, liked by a third of parents, followed by Jeremy, enjoying fresh popularity with 15 percent of families.
However, only five percent would name their baby Boris or Diane, six percent Donald and just one percent believe Nigel will become a fashionable name again. But Nicola was especially popular in Scotland, where 13 percent of mums and dads report its popularity is increasing, and 12 percent of Welsh parents are seeing more Leannes locally.
Across Britain, 1,305 parents were asked which names were increasing in popularity in their local area. The poll revealed a huge 70 percent of parents believe people judge a child by their name – and as a result, seven percent ‘regret’ their choice of baby name. However, three quarters of parents (75%) would be upset if their child wanted to change their name.
A third of couples quizzed admitted they disagreed and even rowed over naming their baby, with 53 percent admitting choosing a name is ‘very hard’. And while two thirds (65%) eventually settled on a name while still pregnant, 19 percent wait until they see the baby’s face when born – and an indecisive four percent wait six weeks until the legal limit for registering the baby’s birth and name.
The study also found that while over a third (35%) of parents use family names to honour relatives, one in five (20%) opt for unique spellings no-one else has to ensure their child stands out.
And with over 62,000 different baby names used annually in the UK, there are a number of wacky new baby-naming trends starting to break through.
The fastest-growing up-and-coming trends revealed by the poll include traditional Muslim names going mainstream, with six percent of the parents quizzed seeing more non-Muslim families using Muslim names. The most commonly-used Muslim monikers include Zane, Zahra, Ayesha, Farah, Anila, Omar and Jana.
One in ten has seen an increase in babies with ‘tough names’ including Axl, Maverick and Diesel, and by contrast, Unicorn names including Rainbow, Twinkle, Sassy, Sparkle and Princess are also beginning to gain popularity (4%).
Football ace Paul Pogba and Towie star Sam Faiers have helped to repopularise the name Paul, with one in 25 parents seeing it used again. There is also renewed interest in 1970s names including Michelle, Susan and even Gary is making a comeback.
And Viking and Scandi names are on the march, with Magnus, Agnes, Linnea, Freya, Annika, Astrid and Britta more popular, according to 13 percent of parents.
Meanwhile, the more bizarre name phenomenons include text message abbreviation names like Ily – meaning I Love You – spotted by one percent of parents – and three percent who have seen US place names including Texas, Miami, Arizona and Tennessee used as baby names.
However, the most common current trend is surnames as first names. Two thirds of parents report this is on the rise in their area, with top names including Cooper, Grayson, Parker, Quinn, Jones, Carter, Mason, Jackson, Hunter and Riley.
Traditional but not twee English names are undergoing a revival, with 61 percent of parents embracing monikers includingSarah, Penelope, Emma and Lucy.
The rise of gender-fluid culture means Gender Neutral names are becoming more popular. Alex, Charlie, Elliott, Ellis, Max and Sydney are among the names spotted more often by 41 percent of parents.
And while it may be the least-used letter of the alphabet, X names are in-vogue, with Jaxxon, Xanthe, Xander and Jaxton the most picked for new babies, and voted more popular by 35 percent of parents.
Meanwhile, 16 percent of mums and dads have seen a flood of babies with water names including River, Lake, Delta and Coast, while 13 percent report meeting tots named after the cast of the film Frozen, such as Elsa, Kai, Anna and Olaf.
However, the study also showed the most disliked baby name trend is text-message names, shunned by 71 percent of parents, followed by double-barrelled names such as Lily-Mae, which half of parents refuse to use.
A further 44 percent wouldn’t name their child after a sports team while 38 percent loathe unusual or unique spellings. And the Kardashian trend of using the same first letter for each child was turned down by 27 percent of families.
Siobhan Freegard, founder of ChannelMum.com said:“What’s in a name? Well rather a lot. Names reflect both changing fashions and our changing society, such as the rise in use of many beautiful Muslim names. With 70 percent of families believing their child is judged on their name, a vast amount of love, care and attention is poured into picking the right moniker.
“Corbyn is the stand-out naming trend this year, and we expect to see lots of babies conceived at Glastonbury or over the election period named after the Labour leader.
“But remember a week is a long time in politics and your child will have that name for a lifetime, so do consider the effects of naming a child after any politician.”
HOTTEST UP AND COMING TRENDS
Political names (23%)
Viking / Scandi names (11%)
Tough names (10% are seeing an increase in this)
Non-Muslim families using Muslim names (6%)
Unicorn names (4%)
70s names (4%)
US place names (3%)
Text abbreviation names (e.g. ILY for I Love You) – 1%
MOST POPULAR CURRENT NAMING TRENDS
Surnames as first names (66% have seen an increase in this)
Jane Cable talks to Abby Endler about book blogging for love
