Book after Book

Welcome to my date on the Mr Doubler Begins Again blog tour! I am so happy to be part of this and to be able to introduce you all to this incredibly heart-warming and inspiring novel, which was published by HQ on January 24th. I will soon be sharing my thoughts more in depth in a separate review but today I have something special… a Q&A with the author herself, Seni Glaister ! Hi Seni! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of Mr Doubler Begins Again ! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: Thank you!   The novel is the story of an isolated potato grower whose only real contact with the world is through his daily lunches with his housekeeper, Mrs Millwood. But it is only when she stops visiting that he realises how much he depends on her companionship. The novel explores themes of friendship, legacy, family and, yes, new beginnings. Did you have the plot entirely figured out when you started writing the book or did it take ...

Hi Laura! I have recently read A Hidden Hope , the first book in the Romancing the Page series, plus its short prequel, A Frozen Night , both of which I immensely enjoyed! Can you please briefly tell us what the novel is about? A: A Hidden Hope is about two former writing critique partners a few years after a massive falling out. It’s an enemies to lovers romance set over the weekend at a science fiction and fantasy convention in London, though both of the leads are American. It’s geeky and sweet and sexy. Ca n you please describe your journey to publication? A: I’ve been a trade published author since 2013 and have released five books under the name Laura Lam (which is my actual name): The Micah Grey trilogy ( Pantomime , Shadowplay , Masquerade ) and near future thrillers False Hearts and Shattered Minds . I self-published some short stories and novellas that tie into my SFF novels over the past few years, and I enjoy the control and access to data. When I decided to write...

By Jessica Duchen Published by Unbound Digital Synopsis: When a swan crashes through her window at the height of a winter storm, journalist Mitzi Fairweather decides to nurse the injured bird back to health. But at sunset, the swan becomes a woman. This unexpected visitor is Odette, the swan princess – alone, adrift and in danger in 21st-century Britain, entirely dependent on the kindness of strangers. Bird by day, human by night, and with no way to go home, she remains convinced, to Mitzi’s distress, that only a man’s vow of eternal love can break her spell. Mitzi is determined to help Odette, but as the two try to hide the improbable truth, their web of deception grows increasingly tangled. Can they find a way to save Odette before it’s too late? How did this book end up in my hands? I have read the online serialisation of this novel via The Pigeonhole in December. Was it a page-turner? I would have loved to have a copy of this book to devour in one sitting as having...

I am in a pickle! I enjoyed so much writing ' My top 5 books in 2017 ' post last year that I thought I'd do that again. I didn't read a lot in 2017, though, and picking my top 5 books was a breeze. If you've come across 'My 2018 in books' post last week, however, you know that I had a stellar 2018 when it comes to reading. There is no way I can do a Top 5 list. I tried. I failed. I refuse to try again. As I don't think anybody would survive a 'My top 70 books in 2018' post, I have therefore settled for a Top 10 instead. Just as hard but more doable. What I am NOT attempting is ranking these books in order of merit, enjoyment or any other classification. The numbers purely help me tidy up the page. In my heart, they are all in first place! So here it goes… And please do let me know in the comments below or on Twitter whether you also have loved some or all of these! 1) The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech If you haven't experienc...

Hi Neil! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of The Darkness Around Her , the second book in the Dan Grant trilogy! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: Thank you very much, Silvia, and for the invitation to your blog. For those who don’t know, Dan Grant is a defence lawyer in a small northern town, some forgotten place in the hills, who does what lawyers do: he defends the innocent. Or at least those he hopes are innocent. His investigator is Jayne Brett, a former client acquitted of a murder after her boyfriend was killed and she was holding the knife. The Darkness Around Her had as its inspiration the rumours of a serial killer stalking the Manchester canals. The so-called “Pusher” who keeps on getting press attention. What intrigued me about the canals, as the setting for a murder novel, was the peace of the water, the barges travelling at a crawl, grasses trailing along the surface, but someone can travel unseen, unmonitored....

By Marianne Power Published by Picador Synopsis: Marianne Power was stuck in a rut. Then one day she wondered: could self-help books help her find the elusive perfect life? She decided to test one book a month for a year, following their advice to the letter. What would happen if she followed the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ? Really felt The Power of Now ? Could she unearth The Secret to making her dreams come true? What begins as a clever experiment becomes an achingly poignant story. Because self-help can change your life – but not necessarily for the better… How did this book end up in my hands? I saw this book mentioned on Twitter and it sounded intriguing so when I found the audiobook version on the BorrowBox app, I jumped right in. Was it a page-turner? I took my time to listen to this book to make sure I absorbed whatever I could. I have never read self-help books so this was my way of letting someone else do all the work for me… hehe! I probably would...

Before January 2019 comes to an end, I thought I'd take a quick look back at my 2018 in books, with most of the graphics kindly provided by Goodreads. To be honest, I don't know why I've never used this website before. Apparently I registered back in 2010 but I only started adding past books and keeping track of current reads this year. Do feel free to connect here as I love seeing at a glance what others are reading! Plus, the 'compare books' function is amazing! Before I get too sidetracked, here's my 2018 in books: I had set myself a reading target of 50 books and I was super pleased to reach a grand total of 76, which more than doubled my reading activity of previous years. I have been in the grip of the worst reading slump ever between 2011 and 2017 and I can't even think of all the books I've missed out on. Resuming my blog at the end of 2017 was the best decision ever as the bookish community has been a great motivator and support netw...

Hi Tabatha! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the upcoming publication of Bitter Leaves ! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A:   Bitter Leaves is a uncompromising examination of maid abuse in Singapore but one of the major themes is how women survive in very brutal circumstances – how that changes them and how it effects their relationships with other women.     Can you please describe your journey to publication? A: Loooooooong. It wasn’t until I was properly medicated for my Bi-Polar that I was able to focus enough to complete my first novel. Writing has become much easier since then and my published body of work has grown. I first put up an extract of Bitter Leaves on the writing platform, Authonomy, and met many writers who are still very good friends. From there I subbed to 4 agents (1 polite dismissal, 2 interested but not publishing ‘this’ sort of fiction and the other one I never heard from again!). Then I saw a frien...

By Oyinkan Braithwaite Published by Atlantic Synopsis: When Korede's dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what's expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This'll be the third boyfriend Ayoola's dispatched in, quote, self-defence and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede's long been in love with him, and isn't prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other… How did this book end up in my hands? It didn’t. Well, not in a physical form anyway. I joined this book’s serialisation on The Pigeonhole and enjoyed both the narrative and the other readers...