Words for the Wounded Independent Author Book Award Part 2

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Margaret Graham

As I said last week, The Independent Author Book Award has been a revelation. There are just so many good writers out there, which made our task hugely enjoyable, if difficult. At last we decided on commended, highly commended, and then – the winners. In the end, our decision was unanimous. Great books all three of them. Thank you all so much for entering – rest assured that 100% of the entry fees go to the wounded.

Last week we highlighted First Place achieved by Jane Cable with The Cheesemaker’s House, in the recent competition. Today we have the second place winner, Janet O’Kane.

Thank you, Palamedes PR for sponsoring a professional press release for the winner, and the opportunity of a discounted press release for 2^nd and 3^rd. Thank you Frost Magazine for publishing a review of the top three.

The great good news is that Felicity Trew, of the highly respected Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency, is now representing the winner, Jane Cable.

We’re totally delighted to reveal that Felicity Trew will also be our final judge for the 2015 Independent Author Book Award. The WforW team is so excited.

2^nd Place.

No Stranger to Death by Janet O’Kane

Zoe Moreland is a GP who stumbles upon a corpse. Set in the Scottish Borders, her own life experience is revealed, alongside the unfolding crime story.

No Stranger to Death Janet O’Kane

Judges’ comments. A crime novel must grab you from the first sentence. This one does: “Zoe Moreland saw her first dead body at the age of twelve … “ You also need a reason for the person to be consulted or somehow involved with a dead body, especially if you want to keep open the possibility of a series. Tick number two: she’s a GP. This sets everything up well for a crime novel and the other necessities for any novel, including interesting setting described with a vivid sense of place (the Scottish Borders) and rounded characters with distinctive personalities and back stories which appear gradually, are all here. Tick, tick, tick. We particularly liked the way Janet O’Kane lets facts and personalities emerge naturally, by incremental details rather than through the dreaded information download. She credits the reader with the ability to put details together. This crime novel has a well-constructed plot with interesting characters and we look forward to reading the next one in the series. Well done.

When Janet O’Kane outgrew Enid Blyton’s books she moved on to what her Mum liked reading: crime novels. And despite occasional dalliances with other types of fiction, that’s where she has happily stayed.

Her career before turning to writing full-time included selling underpants to Roger Moore in Harrods of Knightsbridge and marketing nappies for Boots the Chemist. It was when she helped run a GP surgery that she decided a doctor would make an excellent main character for a series of crime novels.

Janet lives in the Scottish Borders with her stonemason husband, a cat, two dogs and far too many chickens. She is now writing the sequel to No Stranger to Death and learning to tap-dance. She’s delighted to have been placed second in a competition which raises money for such a good cause.

Month 5 of my Reading Challenge by Frances Colville

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Margaret Graham

When I first started out on this project, I rather naively thought I was being original. Of course I wasn’t and it has since become apparent that not only have others done the same thing, but they have also gone on to write books from the experience. So this month I’ve looked at a couple of those books. The first, Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill, was the result of the author’s decision not to buy books for a year but to read from her existing library. Many of the books she read turned out to be books I have already enjoyed, but I was also able to compile a long list to add to my ‘to read soon’ pile. I was bewildered by a throwaway comment disparaging Khaled Hosseni (author of The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns and And The Mountains Echoed) but on the whole her choice of books and her commentary on them and on her life as a reader worked well for me. So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson (similar theme of focusing on a year of reading) was less interesting to me because as an American her book experiences were very different from mine. But I enjoyed her writing style and the way in which she wove comments about her life into her discussion of books and authors. I have yet to read The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books Saved my Life by Andy Miller but it is definitely on my list.

I don’t know whether Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote counts as a short novel or a long story. Either way it seems to me to be a brilliantly crafted piece of writing, with no words wasted, and perfectly located in time and place. My copy has the added benefit of including three short stories. There is an obvious connection between this and my next read To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. The two authors were childhood friends and in fact Lee bases Dill, one of the characters in her book, on Capote. I’ve read To Kill a Mocking Bird before (who of my generation hasn’t?) but was very happy to have the opportunity to re-read when it came up as a book group choice this month. One of my top ten of all time books, it’s a beautifully written portrayal of life in the southern USA during the 1930s depression, told from the point of view of the unforgettable 8 year old Scout, and focusing on a court case in which a white lawyer (Scout’s father Atticus) defends a black man charged with rape. It is of course the 50^th anniversary of the book’s publication this year and there is a new edition available for anyone who can’t get hold of one of the original copies. The only other book ever published by this author Go Set A Watchman is about to be released. One more for my list.

My next book – Daughter by Jane Shemilt – was a good read and a fast-paced one. Having once started it, I found it hard to put down. Both a family story and a crime novel, it is narrated by a GP working full time in a pressured job, while trying to be a good mother to her three teenage children, a good wife and at the same time keep her own identity and free up time to indulge her love of painting. It seems inevitable from the beginning that something will go wrong and of course it does. But this is not a predictable story; there are several twists and turns in the plot and I was kept guessing until the end.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion has been on my pile for some time, having been recommended by my daughters. Another good read. Again I didn’t want to put it down, and I found myself willing the narrator (an undiagnosed Asperger’s sufferer) on to success in his endeavours. It’s funny, insightful and interesting. And yet it left me feeling a bit uncomfortable. I’m not quite sure why, but I think perhaps it’s because the view of autism it portrays is over-simplistic and too generalised. Still well worth reading though, and if you enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-time by Mark Haddon, I think you will enjoy this too. There is also a follow-up entitled The Rosie Effect.

© Frances Colville

Words for the Wounded Fiction/Memoir/Poetry Prize Results

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Words for the Wounded Fiction/Memoir/Poetry Prize Results by Margaret Graham

Words for the Wounded have had a wonderful time reading all the entries for the Fiction/Memoir/Poetry Prize – 400 word maximum 2015.

It was a tough call because as always the entries were many and varied. In the end our decision was unanimous, and we thank everyone who entered, as every penny raised goes to where it should because the organisers absorb all the costs of the charity.

1st: Next of Kin. Sue Hawkins
2nd Worms Hannah Froggatt
3rd A Soldier’s dream of glory. G. Mortensen

Highly Commended

The Call of the Merman. F. Colville
The Factory Machine J. Elford
Heart’s-ease. C. Elstow
Adeline on Tuesday Morning C. Givern
Colour K. Hood
The Undressing J. Moran Neil
Piano Legs and Loose Knickers. M.Rowan.
Lost and Found. A. Taplin
One Day D. Waite.
The Solicitor’s Letter M. Wright

Commended

Under the Hen’s Bottom W. Breckon
Clipped Wings A. Campbell Kearsley
Ephraim Climbs Mount Kilimanjaro P. Heath
Two little faces C. Hewitt
Mr Percy Flint T. Loader
No Secrets T. Oswick
Pickled Turnips M. Pieris
Ronald Dawe J. Pollinger
The Beatles: My part in their rise to fame C. Tolson

The great good news is that Felicity Trew, of the highly respected Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency, is now representing the winner of WforW Independent Author Book Award Jane Cable run at the same time.

Further: Felicity Trew will be judging next year’s Words for the Wounded Independent Author Book Award – open for entries on 11th November 2015.

www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk to read the short prize entries and judges’ comments.

The Faerie Tree Book Review

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

I loved Jane Cable’s first book, The Cheesemakers House. It was her debut novel and won the suspense & crime category of the Alan Titchmarsh Show People’s Novelist competition in 2011. You can read the Cheesemakers House review here. Cables new novel is even better than the first. Her grasp of human emotion and character description is something to behold. She is a naturally talented writer, destined for even greater things. Cable captures the human condition perfectly, you have the feeling that she could write the phonebook and make it fascinating.

Frost is very proud that Cable is one of our writers and wrote a great series on the making of The Faerie Tree. This in no way influences my review, The Faerie Tree is an enjoyable book of depth. Robin and Izzie are great characters and everyone can relate to a lost love. But will they be reunited? Buy The Faerie Tree to find out.

How can a memory so vivid be wrong?

I tried to remember the first time I’d been here and to see the tree through Izzie’s eyes. The oak stood on a rise just above the path; not too tall or wide but graceful and straight, its trunk covered in what I can only describe as offerings – pieces of ribbon, daisy chains, a shell necklace, a tiny doll or two and even an old cuckoo clock.
“Why do people do this?” Izzie asked.
I winked at her. “To say thank you to the fairies.”

In the summer of 1986 Robin and Izzie hold hands under The Faerie Tree and wish for a future together. Within hours tragedy rips their dreams apart.

In the winter of 2006, each carrying their own burden of grief, they stumble back into each other’s lives and try to create a second chance. But why are their memories of 1986 so different? And which one of them is right?

Easterleigh Hall At War Book Review

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

Many authors write about war. Some do it well and others not so much. What sets out the good writers is always the same thing: research. Talent matters of course and Margaret Graham has it in abundance, but she also puts in the valuable research time. Which is why the books she writes that are set during wartime are not only so captivating, but also so educational, So worthy of your time and attention. The characters are wonderful, you want to know more about them and what happens in their life, but the obvious attention to detail brings Easterleigh Hall At War up yet another notch.

Evie is the protagonist, a spunky young woman with ambition but also kindness in abundance. Evie is a wonderful character: a role model for anyone, even in the modern age. The Forbes family and the Brampton family are forever entwined: the Forbes are ‘downstairs’ and the Bramptons are ‘upstairs’, as it were. I don’t want to give too much away but this book is the second book in the series. Yes, a series. So you can really get stuck in and, trust me, you will want to. Margaret Graham is one of my favourite writers. So much so that she is now the contributing editor of this very magazine. I have read many of her books. Grab this one and the first Easterleigh Hall book if you have not yet read it. Then wait with baited breathe for number three. This book is prefect for lovers of Downton Abbey. Someone send Julian Fellowes a copy quick, it will be his next hit.

Easterleigh Hall at War is available here.

The second novel in a compelling new series set in County Durham just before and during the First World War.

England is at war and Easterleigh Hall has been turned into a hospital for the duration of the hostilities.

With its army of volunteers and wounded servicemen, cook Evie Forbes is determined that everyone will be properly provided for, despite the threat of rationing and dwindling supplies.

All the while she waits for letters from her fiancé and beloved brother, fighting on the Western Front.

Then the worst happens – a telegram arrives with shattering news. And Evie wonders if she’ll have the strength to carry on…

You can read A Day in The Life of Margaret Graham here.

Month 4 of My Reading Challenge by Frances Colville

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Rather slim pickings this month, partly because some of the books I chose took time to read and think about, and partly because it’s been a busy month anyway and time for reading has been in short supply.

First, to tie in with my plan to read some less current books this month, I picked up Persuasion by Jane Austen (my copy Wordsworth Classic 2000). I’ve been intending to re-read it for some time because I live near Lyme Regis where parts of the book are set. And then to my surprise I found that I hadn’t actually read it before. What a treat! So I took my time and reveled in every page, and then felt bereft when I’d finished it.

Next something completely different. A book called Nothing To Envy: Real Lives in North Korea (Granta Books 2010) recommended by a member of one of my book groups. The author Barbara Demick is an American journalist who has spent many years living in South Korea and China. Getting accurate and credible information about what daily life is actually like for North Koreans is almost impossible. But she managed it by interviewing dozens of defectors currently living in South Korea and then focusing on the life stories of six of them. The result is a well written and readable book which is both informative, believable and harrowing in the extreme. Before I read it, I had not fully understood just how repressive a society this is, and I certainly hadn’t appreciated the extent of isolation and the horrors of famine and poverty which the people of North Korea endure. For me, this is one of those books everyone should read. And it reminded me of other books I now want to look at again – The Siege by Helen Dunmore (a novel set during the siege of Leningrad), If This Is A Man by Primo Levy (depicting his life in Auschwitz) and of course George Orwell’s 1984. My list grows ever longer!

I needed a bit of light relief after that so I turned to the latest Katie Fforde book to appear in paperback – The Perfect Match (Arrow books 2014). An easy read and very enjoyable, as are all her books (and yes – I have read them all), but I wonder if I’m alone in preferring her earlier books which just seem to have a bit more substance? Not that I will let that stop me reading her next – and the one after that!

My final choice for this month has been Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd (my copy is Macmillan Papermac 1969). Like many of my generation, I first encountered Hardy novels at school and distinctly remember preferring The Trumpet Major because it was short! But Far From the Madding Crowd wasn’t far behind in my estimation. Many years later I came to live in Dorset and have enjoyed visiting Hardy’s Cottage and Max Gate, his home in later years. A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the preview of the new Far From the Madding Crowd film and spent a wonderful evening at the Electric Palace in Bridport enjoying both the film itself and the delights of spotting familiar locations. The new adaptation is an excellent one in my opinion. But having seen it, I felt the need to return to my copy of the book and check out the accuracy of the film. And of course to appreciate anew Hardy’s wonderfully poetic language, his portrayal of the countryside I love and above all his ability as a story teller. Both book and film highly recommended.

So that’s it for another month. And now time to think what I want to read next. It’s not easy to choose.

Tedium or Inspiration? By L.J. Brown

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Have you ever read a book where the plot was so dreadful, you couldn’t even bring yourself to finish it? As an avid book consumer, with over 700 books in my e-library, I can definitely say I have.

After reading over 80% of one particular book (which shall remain unnamed) and wishing a sudden explosion would kill off the entire dreary cast; I put the book down, never to be picked up again and decided to see if I could write my own.

The only problem was finding the time. With a small family and a full time job, writing a novel was challenging but, not one to be deterred, I found a solution. Instead of taking a walk, browsing the internet or picking up my latest fiction during my lunch breaks; I opened a word document and began typing, lifting my head occasionally to walk and admire the tranquillity of the countryside. Two years later and after many lunch breaks ignoring my colleagues, I had my first draft.

Proud of my accomplishment, I handed my manuscript to my family for their unbiased opinion but what family member would tell you something you had worked so hard on was terrible? Obviously they wouldn’t and to show their support, my dad entered and won a charity silent auction through the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil on behalf of Words for the Wounded which was for Margaret Graham to critique the first three chapters of my novel. Margaret, who is not only a best-selling author but an editor and tutor, gave knowledgeable and experienced advice and her suggestions were invaluable. I can safely say that that kind of assistance and commendation is priceless and I would recommend every new and hopeful writer finds a professional opinion for their works. With Margaret’s feedback and the mind-set to succeed I re-edited, reworked and pulled in a couple of contacts to get the cover designed. Finally Scarred Soul was complete and just waiting for my courage to put it out there for the world to see.

Deciding to go the route of self-publishing I took the plunge and in January 15 sent my book into the Ethernet and by March, although slow, was seeing my book sell with good feedback from people avidly awaiting the sequel.

And so I would like to thank the unnamed writer. Although your work was not to my taste I will be forever grateful to you for inspiring me to do as you did and put fingers to the keyboard. No matter how my book is received, I am proud of the accomplishment of completing it as I hope you are with yours and, as I plan to do, hope that you continue writing and enjoying the freedom and inspiration writing can give.

www.smashwords.com/books/view/519378

Planning Tips For Your Dream Wedding

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

Many women have dreamed of their wedding day since they were little girls. Although I didn’t and had no idea what I wanted on my big day after getting engaged. I had to start getting some ideas together and make what felt like a million decisions. It was fun but it was stressful. To cut down the stress for other brides I wrote my wedding planning book. Hopefully it will make the journey easier for other brides. In the meantime, here are some tips for creating your dream wedding.

Your Dream Wedding: Wants And Compromises.

You may have a specific idea of your wedding in mind but the reality will probably be different. This doesn’t need to be a bad thing. Just choose the things that you are not willing to negotiate on. When you know what is most important and worth spending money on you can focus on that and then look at cheaper options for other things. Or rope family and friends in. Most will be happy to help.

Budget.

This is the tough one but you need to work out what it is and then you need to stick to it. Enquire if any family members can help and then sit down with your fiancé and have a proper discussion about what you can and cannot afford. There is no point in going into debt for a wedding or taking out a loan. It is only one day of your life, an important one, but one day. You can have an amazing wedding on a small budget. No one should start their married life in debt. Watch out for the ‘W’ bomb. As in ‘wedding’. The W word makes everyone vastly put their prices up.

Guessing cost.

Always overestimate. That way you won’t be left short. Always remember VAT. Some venues and suppliers will be coy about whether VAT is included but ask them and get a direct answer and then make a note of it.

How much it will cost.

This is the question. The answer is: quite a bit. My husband and I managed to get married for less than £10,000. We paid for the majority of this ourselves but did have some family members contribute. Not bad when the average wedding costs £21,000. Spreadsheets are your friend. Negotiating will also be your friend. Try to get money off everything. Don’t take the first quote and rope family and friends into the planning if money is tight.

Controlling Costs.

This is very important. Watch out for VAT and always account for everything. Use a spreadsheet if you can. Keep an eye on the small things as they can all add up.

Dealing With Suppliers.

When dealing with suppliers always remember that you are the customer. Be polite but always be firm. Read the small print and make your wishes clear. More importantly, don’t pay any final invoices until everything has been checked. One supplier charged us for VAT despite the fact they said they wouldn’t. Hmm. Always be careful.

Hatton Gardens.

Hatton Gardens is the area in London where all of the jewellers are located. You can get a very good deal here.

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are your friend. If you don’t know how to do one then quickly brush up your skills. They will be your saving grace. Have one for your wedding budget and one for your wedding guest list. For the wedding guest list one, leave space for information such as dietary requirements, RSVP received, gift given and thank you card sent.

Organisation Tips

Have everyone’s contact details to hand. Use spreadsheets and have plenty ‘to do’ lists. Make sure your partner pulls his or her weight. Weddings are hard and stressful to organise, don’t go it alone.

Wedding Planner: To Go It Alone Or Hire Help.

If I had the money I would have hired a wedding planner in an instant. However, they are expensive and you don’t really need one. I am not saying that in a rude way, they will save time and probably a lot of money but weighing up the cost is important. Your venue might have a wedding planner or venue coordinator onsite. If so, this is a tremendous bonus.

If you get a wedding planner make sure you check their recommendations and also have a clear idea of what you want. It is their job to take your ideas and make them into the wedding of your dreams. Don’t accept anything less, budget permitting.

If you are getting married then get your hands on a copy of The Wedding Survival Guide: How To Plan Your Big Day Without Losing Your Sanity. It has great advice on planning your perfect wedding and is written by our editor, Catherine Balavage. It is also available in Ebook format and is a great guide for wedding planning.

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