The Bomb Girl Brides by Daisy Styles | Recommended Reads

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Frostie

The latest Daisy Styles novel
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It’s 1944 and Britain is a country at war. The young women of the Phoenix munitions factory are giving their all to the cause, but romance is beckoning . . .

The life of a Bomb Girl isn’t usually glamourous. But Maggie is getting married, so she is going to make sure her wedding day is – even if she does have to spend every other day slaving on the factory floor.

This blasted factory was not what Julia had in mind either. She had always dreamed of attending Oxford University rather than getting her hands dirty and the easy laughter of the other women intimidate her terribly.

But they are all here together in this munitions factory in a Lancashire mill town, sharing firsts, pitching in and getting on. Despite rationing, dangerous hard work and new situations these Bomb Girls are going to do their best at work, and in love.

Available here.

A day in the life of Felicity Trew – literary editor

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Margaret Graham

Newly appointed literary agent Felicity Trew describes a day in the life of one the top literary agencies, the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency.

By the time I get on the bus in the morning, I’ve already visited 50 different worlds… through my submission inbox. I never know where it’s going to take me.

I start my day meticulously trawling through the new manuscript adventures on an iPad, my portable office and library. I get hundreds of emails from hopeful authors each week with stories ranging from lovesick demons to 14th century political deviants. There is a lot that is not suitable for my list but every now and then I find a gem.

You can sum an agent in three words: talent-spotter, advocate and counselor. Our responsibility is to find the best authors and to bring out the best in them.
And book writing is 90 per cent idea, writing and 10 per cent editing that into something really rich and attention-grabbing.

So a substantial part of my morning is spent helping authors tighten their manuscripts into a powerful punch of literature for the publishers. Sometimes that can even mean sitting down with an author lost in a plethora of ideas and choosing the strongest option.

Most outsiders think the book world is a cosy industry of coffee cups and cupcakes, but it is a crowded business – which makes it tough but exciting. So after reaching out and responding to my clients, who come first, I tackle the contracts to get the day going.

The one reason a writer needs an agent is that legal document which exists for the lifespan of the book and controls everything from advances to film, TV, radio, theatre, eBook and merchandising rights. The contract can make or break an author. Get one sentence wrong and you’ve lost everything for a lifetime.

Agents feel a huge responsibility to give authors the best chance at carving out space on that cluttered bookshelf. But it’s also a dynamic dance with the publishers. My job is to make sure all sides are happy, that the terms are clear and fair.

Lunch breaks are rarely breaks. They are spent negotiating details with publishing houses and putting forward our best and newest work – as well as tapping into what publishers and readers want.

Right now the time-tested solid trend is the saga: it is a natural development, people don’t want to feel abandoned by the characters they have grown to love after just one book. Escapism in the form of traditional fantasy and historical fiction are both definitely on the rise. But I always encourage my writers to write what they know and love irrespective of market trends.

The afternoon is spent preparing for the book fairs and literary festivals.

The next big event on my calendar is the London Book Fair in April: a bustling marketplace of the international book world, where all the big deals are made and names forged. Every major publisher, book seller, literary scout and agent descends on the sprawling venue – which this year is Kensington Olympia – hoping to buy and sell their wares.
It’s months of preparation: chasing authors with their deadlines, helping them shape their work, building eye-catching presentations and then networking to set up those all-important meetings to make sure our authors get heard above the crowd.

But book festivals are my real love – as it’s a chance to meet writers face-to-face, which is ultimately why I do my job.

This year, I’ve been asked to give several talks: an opportunity to offer advice to new authors. The next is the Literary Festival in Wycombe in April at the Downley Community Centre, followed by the SCBWI retreat in May and Winchester’s Writers Conference in June.

The most frequent question I’m asked by new authors is how to approach a literary agent. The simple answer is: know your agent. Study their author lists, read their statements and their authors’ works, follow them on social media, find out what they are looking for and address that in your covering email. And do not send round robins or even worse accidentally address a rival agent (it has happened). Beware, the delete button beckons.

After a busy day rushing between appointments, lunches and meetings the long bus journey home is an opportunity to catch up on industry news, looking at the latest signings, best sellers and mergers.

And maybe – just maybe – I might just read book of my own.

A Day In The Life of Shelagh Mazey

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Margaret Graham

For years I’ve been a frustrated story-teller, never having the time or peace to be able to concentrate and hurtling through life from one crisis to another, but now every day is like a blank page, here in my thatched cottage in Somerset.

I met Margaret Graham years ago, at a writing circle in Yeovil. We have been friends ever since and good grief, the adventures we’ve had, as awe snatched moments from the home-front. I remember with fondness a trip across Ireland on a coach, enlivened by two America Baptist Ministers. We’ve seldom laughed so much, alongside absorbing the history of the place for a book Margaret was writing. It was here I kissed the Blarney stone. Perhaps that’s where the story telling began.

As time went on the sleepless nights with newborns; the back-breaking, lifting and chasing of toddlers; the homework of school years; the endless chauffeuring of teenagers, and the frantic the frantic worry of them prematurely experiencing the joys and heartache of the opposite sex, drunkenness, drugs and all-night raves became a memory.

No more renovating the derelict cottage sold long ago. No more rising at 6:30am to rush off to work as a practice secretary. At last my ship, with its rather bedraggled rigging, has sailed into a harbour of refuge. I am retired. Whoopee!

Now I listen as my husband leaves for work and lie in bed for a few more minutes, where in a state of alpha I’m able to dream. Then I soak in the bath, empty my mind and plan the trials and tribulations, love stories, intrigues, and let’s not forget the murders and rapes of my 19th century stories.

After breakfast I type out my bath-time plots. I usually write or research on-line, with a short lunch-break, until about 3.30pm and then I need to take a breather. I might do some gardening; mow the lawn, weeding or dead-heading just to breathe some fresh air.

Yes, my life has indeed reached peaceful harbour; my daughter-in-law takes the ironing each week and I take the grandchildren. I’m lucky, they’re lovely.

Of course, aside from the writing, I do have to participate in marketing the books and I’ve made many friends, particularly on Portland, through this. Every now and then I take a friend with me and drive down to the coast to deliver to my outlets there. We usually enjoy lunch at the Lobster Pot on Portland Bill.

The tales my father told, as a born and bred Portlander have inspired my writing, and my first two books are based around that area. Somehow it makes me feel closer to my parents.

I’ve now published two books with Matador. The first is Brandy Row (A love triangle and family saga set on Portland, involving smuggling and the preventive service).

The sequel is Dawn to Deadly Nightshade (continuing with the family, but adding witchcraft in Somerset to the mix).

My third novel is located partly in Dorset, Somerset, Tasmania and Australia. It tells the tale of the ex convicts who were transported to the antipodes and involves the excitement of the Victorian goldfields. I’ve finished the first draft and I’m busy doing the revisions. I hope to bring out Legacy of Van Diemen’s Land next spring.

I totally love my life now. I am a writer. It is my dream come true.

A Day In The Life of Author Frances Colville

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Margaret Graham

I’ve always been an organised sort of person; writing lists, making plans and generally achieving whatever I set out to achieve. Then I took early retirement and expected to devote hours to writing. But… But… There are, suddenly, all kinds of people making demands on your time. And there are so many things of interest calling to you.

All of this means I no longer have a typical day. But there are some typical elements.
I always make time to read. Have you ever worked out how very few books you can actually get through in a lifetime? A scary thought when there is so much wonderful stuff on my list and in my teetering pile. Then, if it is at all possible, I make time to walk down to the sea.

It takes me twelve minutes to reach my local beach of Seatown. I like it best when it is wild and stormy, when the waves crash in along the shore line and the cormorants have to battle to stay airborne. But whatever the weather, there is inevitably something different to see, something to provide writing inspiration.

And that is the other constant. I try each day to make time for whatever writing project is uppermost in my life This year there have been several main threads. I’ve organised a Story Slam in my local town of Bridport,

I’ve taken part in various performances and competitions, and I’ve been working on my Sixty List ( a project to do sixty new things in my sixtieth year and to write about them). But the biggest project and for me, the most satisfying, has been working on a local First World War story. I’ve researched it thoroughly, curated two exhibitions, talked about it on radio and TV, written about it for magazines and papers.

It’s the intriguing story of a young woman who contributed fresh eggs to the National Egg Collection for wounded soldiers and who decorated those eggs with paintings, poems and her name and address. In return she received thank-you letters from many soldiers. Now, as well as dealing with the factual aspects of the story, I’m trying to develop it as fiction.

So far, a couple of short stories have been successful and I’m working on a novel. But there’s a long way to go yet. And never enough hours in the day!

Book of The Month: Love on the Waterways By Milly Adams

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Frostie

New to Frost is the Book of The Month. We review a lot of books at Frost so picking one will be hard but we do not mind. It is our job to bring the best to our readers. The first ever book of the month is the latest from Milly Adams. The second book in her new saga, it is yet another corker.

THE SECOND NOVEL IN MILLY ADAMS’ BRAND NEW SAGA SERIES. Perfect for fans of Daisy Styles and Nancy Revell.

March 1944, West London: it’s been five months since Verity Clement fled home for a life on Britain’s canals and she could never have imagined how tough it would get. Yet hauling cargo between London and Birmingham is far easier to face than the turbulence she’s left behind.

When Verity’s sweetheart returns unexpectedly from the front line, she dares to dream of a brighter future. But life aboard the Marigold is never smooth sailing. New recruit Sylvia is struggling with demons from her past while crewmate Polly must carry on in the wake of devastating news. Verity does her best to help, but a shocking discovery is about to turn her own life upside-down.

As the realities of war begin to take their toll, the waterway girls will have to pull together if they are to survive the uncertain times ahead…

Available from Amazon.

The Ancient Celts Second Edition Book Review

Posted on April 30, 2018 by Frostie

Fierce warriors and skilled craftsmen, the Celts were famous throughout the Ancient Mediterranean World. They were the archetypal barbarians from the north and were feared by both Greeks and Romans. For two and a half thousand years they have continued to fascinate those who have come into contact with them, yet their origins have remained a mystery and even today are the subject of heated debate among historians and archaeologists.

Barry Cunliffe’s classic study of the ancient Celtic world was first published in 1997. Since then huge advances have taken place in our knowledge: new finds, new ways of using DNA records to understand Celtic origins, new ideas about the proto-urban nature of early chieftains’ strongholds, All these developments are part of this fully updated , and completely redesigned edition.

Cunliffe explores the archaeological reality of these bold warriors and skilled craftsmen of barbarian Europe who inspired fear in both the Greeks and the Romans. He investigates the texts of the classical writers and contrasts their view of the Celts with current archaeological findings. Tracing the emergence of chiefdoms and the fifth- to third-century migrations as far as Bosnia and the Czech Republic, he assesses the disparity between the traditional story and the most recent historical and
archaeological evidence on the Celts.

Other aspects of Celtic identity such as the cultural diversity of the tribes, their social and religious systems, art, language and law, are also examined. From the picture that emerges, we are – crucially – able to distinguish between the original Celts, and those tribes which were ‘Celtized’, giving us an invaluable insight into the true identity of this ancient people.

This book is an excellent and thorough look into the lives of the ancient Celts. It is both accessible and well-researched. Recommended.

The Ancient Celts is available here.

Anatomy of a Miracle: A Novel* By Jonathan Miles | Recommended Reads

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Frostie

This imaginative book may be a new genre: a real life novel. About real life US army veteran Cameron Harris and how he miraculously learned how to walk again. Original and gripping.

A profound new novel about a paralyzed young man’s unexplainable recovery—a stunning exploration of faith, science, mystery, and the meaning of life

Rendered paraplegic after a traumatic event four years ago, Cameron Harris has been living his new existence alongside his sister, Tanya, in their battered Biloxi, Mississippi neighborhood where only half the houses made it through Katrina. One stiflingly hot August afternoon, as Cameron sits waiting for Tanya during their daily run to the Biz-E-Bee convenience store, he suddenly and inexplicably rises up and out of his wheelchair.

In the aftermath of this “miracle,” Cameron finds himself a celebrity at the center of a contentious debate about what’s taken place. And when scientists, journalists, and a Vatican investigator start digging, Cameron’s deepest secrets—the key to his injury, to his identity, and, in some eyes, to the nature of his recovery—become increasingly endangered. Was Cameron’s recovery a genuine miracle, or a medical breakthrough? And, finding himself transformed into a symbol, how can he hope to retain his humanity?

Brilliantly written as closely observed journalistic reportage and filtered through a wide lens that encompasses the vibrant characters affected by Cameron’s story, Anatomy of a Miracle will be read, championed, and celebrated as a powerful story of our time, and the work of a true literary master.

Anatomy of a Miracle: A Novel* By Jonathan Miles is available here.

Dark in Death By J.D Robb | Recommended Reads

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Frostie

The latest book in the popular series. Perfect for fans of crime fiction.

There’s always a reason for murder. But when a young actress is killed in a swift and violent attack at a cinema screening, that reason is hard to fathom – even for Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her team.

It’s only when bestselling crime writer Blaine DeLano arrives at the precinct that the shocking truth is revealed. Someone is recreating the murder scenes from her latest series, book by book. With six more novels left in the series, Eve now knows how the killer will strike next. But why has DeLano been targeted? Could her abusive husband be involved?

As fiction is transformed into bloody reality, Eve will need all her skill and experience to solve this unique case. Luckily for her, husband Roarke happens to be a fan of DeLano’s work. And he’s more than happy to work side by side with his brilliant wife – no matter how dark things become..

Dark in Death By J.D Robb is available here.

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