blog, Review

Book Review

A WOLF SO GRIM AND MANGY by Caroline Noe

Buy now in eBook and Paperback from AMAZON

Follow Caroline Noe on Instagram, Facebook, Website.

What a joy to read! A WOLF SO GRIM AND MANGY by Caroline Noe was certainly one of the most fun and entertaining books I have read in a very long time.

An epic fantasy of a kingdom of changers – wolfs, bears, snakes and Eagles, and a regular world-weary woman from London. All cleverly woven together by the very talented Caroline Noe into one hilarious, touching and thrilling read.

The author gives us a brilliant cast and fabulous world-building, with a refreshing heroine Edi, who is definitely not your normal young and perky, perfect princess but bored, miserable and middle-aged. After receiving a regifted secret Santa present, a mysterious book, Edi finds herself marooned atop a frozen mountain in a strange land. With her reluctant, grumpy and ‘mangy’ rescuer, Curt, Edi finds her power of storytelling could be the key to sorting the strife of this waring world.

This book is utterly brilliant and completely unlike anything I have ever read. It’s well-written, funny and compelling, with danger, strife, and a refreshing romance.

Full Review of Amazon and Goodreads.

blog, Remember To Love Me

AUDIOBOOK Now live!

Click the links below to listen to the sample.

UK links Amazon & Audible / US links Amazon & Audible

I’m proud to announce the new Audiobook of Remember to Love Me is now available just in time for the festive season. This Best Selling romantic ghost story is set in 1900 and modern-day. It’s a tale of ghosts, family secrets and reincarnation. The audiobook is narrated by the wonderful actress Joanna Swan.


When death comes suddenly, and grief sits thick, secrets hide, and ghosts remain.

After moving back to her ancestral home with her parents, April finds more than just her beloved grandmother waiting for her. For more than a century, the rural Suffolk house has been waiting, guarding its secrets.

Discovering a lost photograph of a mysterious young woman, fate draws April deep into her family’s history and the life of her great-great-grandmother, Annabelle.

Through visions, dreams, and Annabelle’s diary, April finds grief, secrets and family loyalties that stretch beyond even love’s limits.

Piecing together memories and her connection to the past, April must unfold the mystery of her family legacy and lay the ghosts to rest.

blog

Erinsmore by Julia Blake

20180909_144908.jpgErinsmore is the 7th book release from indie author, Julia Blake. With its release back in May, it has been one fantasy I was itching to dive into. This is one author who never fails to deliver, with release after release, she’s a prolific force to be reckoned with.

So… Are you ready for a quest? Prepared to be carried off on an adventure of a lifetime? A tale of magic, good versus evil, epic battles? This is a tale with its inspiration firmly planted in Arthurian legend, with a quest and mythical creatures to delight even the most discerning Narnia fan. Then sit back and step inside the pages of Erinsmore.

Unsuspecting sisters, whilst on a family holiday to Cornwall find themselves stepping into another world. One of magic, swordplay, legend, chivalry, love, and a host of evil to match… But with a prophecy that will change the lives of young Ruby and her older, more cynical sister, Cassie, forever.

Two shall fight for freedom 
Defend the dragon’s throne
Two shall walk the dark path
And one return alone

The fate of Erinsmore lays at their feet. They cannot ignore, refuse or forget its plight for the fate of our own world is in danger.

This book delivers it all. Once you open the book you are quickly enticed into the pages, being carried off into Ruby and Cassie’s adventure in one massive leap, making Erinsmore an addictive page-turner.

Don’t be misled, although the author was obviously inspired by the likes of C.S Lewis (what fantasy writer isn’t), Erinsmore is in no way a pastiche or rework. The world of Erinsmore, and all those who dwell within its pages, good and evil, are unique, well-formed, credible, and spellbinding.

With the author’s effortless writing style, she lures you into this new world, so you settle there as if there is nothing fantasy about it; a clever ability, allowing the reader to be utterly transported.

Erinsmore, though may fall into the YA fiction genre, delivers so much more than you may first expect. There is nothing immature about this book, in peril or plot. The author has in no way simplified or altered her craft for the younger reader, the prose is clear, clever, artistic and beautifully crafted for the adult reader, fulfilling all the requirements for a fantasy adventure for all ages. For the young curious minds, it offers to nurture and cultivate, no doubt feeding a new generation of fantasy readers with a lifelong love of swords & chivalry, as once Lewis himself did.

This is another triumphant novel from Julia Blake, a step away from her, till now, normal genre of contemporary and romantic suspense, and she seems very at home here. Though, we have experienced a taste of this world-building creativity in Eclairs of Tea, her collection of short stories and poems.

Her writing speaks volumes of how natural, how very at ease she feels within the realms of knights and dragons. I have a feeling Erinsmore will settle Julia Blake fast and firm into the fantasy genre, I for one can’t wait to read what’s next. It’s no surprise that Erinsmore deserves no less than 5 Stars!

You can follow Julia Blake at her website, social media, as well as finding all her books at Amazon.

Official WebsiteInstagram, Facebook, GoodreadsAmazon

 

author thoughts

Fate or Folly?

Author Thoughts

Hello again, here you go, take your favourite chair and let’s enjoy coffee and a chat *sips coffee*

I have a thought for you to mull over. You may well have an immediate opinion or strong point of view. It’s one of those subjects *winks*

I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few days about fate, do I believe, or is it just a load of old phooey? A friend posed the question a little while ago and since then it’s been hovering in the back of my mind, pouncing to the forefront every so often. I think the trouble is, it can be quite a romantic notion, and if nothing, I am an old romantic in many ways.

How many books have you read where the plot line is very much ‘fated’ ‘written in the stars’ ‘meant to be’…? Perhaps it’s our need for a happily ever after, instilled into our subconscious by those childhood fairy tales. After all, the thought that out there, we all have someone waiting for us, our life paths being mapped out in front of us can be quite consoling, don’t you think? But in all honesty, do we actually believe it? Do our cynical brains kick in, that need to question everything, that need for free will, the fear that we have no control, or not being able to take anything on faith? So where do you fall, or are you sitting on the fence… Fate or folly? 

Well, let me tell you a little story. Are you sitting comfortably *sips coffee and winks* then I’ll begin…

About 14 years ago, the days before this life, the days with another’s surname, I started writing a novel. It was not something I had planned on doing, I hadn’t been thinking of writing a book until that morning I woke up. You see, it was literally that quick, by the end of that first day the whole story plot had firmly established itself. Now all I had to do was write it! I hadn’t written a story since I was about ten or eleven, until that point my writing had been freelance, non-fiction for blogs, columns, and magazine articles, those factual pieces of writing a million miles from where I am today. I’m digressing *rolls eyes* Within a couple of days, I knew all the characters, all their physical attributes, needs, desires, all their little foibles… Including one particular character, a fair-haired, quiet soul, James Wright. 

*grins* You can see where I’m going with this, right?

I finished writing my novel, having it published in 2008. Sadly, soon after my life crumbled drastically, with a complete crash, and I say completely in the fullest sense of the word; every aspect of my life changed. I found myself a single mother, needing to work fulltime, my writing career had gone straight out of the window. A year or so passed, having moved to a new location, I had a lovely new position as a hotel receptionist. I was revelling in all the newest. My second day I found myself looking up from my desk to see some lovely blue eyes gazing down at me. During this brief moment of exchange, the fair-haired chef placed his hand in mine, introducing himself as James Wright.

Now, I admit, it didn’t hit me, not then, my previous life had been firmly stashed away under strict lock and key. It wasn’t until almost a year later when ‘fate’ (did you see what I did there *giggles*) took a hand in matters and James and I moved into our own little cottage, that the similarity began to settle. Not only did he share the same name, but also the very same physical, emotional characteristics that I had bestowed upon my fictional James.

Now, the rest they say is history. Apart from adding that I republished the novel, Remember to Love Me in 2016, under my new name of Becky Wright. 

I know, I know, I can hear your thoughts, it’s a case of coincidence, a curious case, a lovely romantic one, but a coincidence all the same. But is it? Do we sometimes have a tiny glimmer of our fate slice into our normal everyday life, every so often giving us a little glint of the future? It’s a lovely thought, and to be honest, I don’t really know where I stand… maybe I am just too happy to sit here on this proverbial fence, glancing over into the golden light fate has to offer, watching those shooting stars.

Sit back, another coffee? *offers a top-up* I’ll leave you to ponder… fate or folly?

Becky x

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