Rereading Jane Eyre

#BookReview ‘The Rest of my Life’ by @SherylBrowne & Book Tour @BrookCottageBks

THE REST OF MY LIFE BY SHERYL BROWNE

Genre: Contemporary Romance : Release Date: 1st July 2015
Publisher: Choc Lit @ChocLituk

Recommended by the WH Smith Travel Fiction Buyer
Shortlisted for the LoveStories Awards 2015
A Being Anne’s Book of the Year 2015

Blurb

The Rest of My Life – When is it time to stop running?

“You can’t run away from commitment forever …”

Adam Hamilton-Shaw has more reason than most to avoid commitment. Living on a houseboat in the Severn Valley, his dream is to sail into the sunset – preferably with a woman waiting in every port. But lately, his life looks more like a road to destruction than an idyllic boat ride…

Would-be screenplay writer Sienna Meadows realises that everything about Adam spells trouble – but she can’t ignore the feeling that there is more to him than just his bad reputation. Nor can she ignore the intense physical attraction that exists between them.

And it just so happens that Adam sees Sienna as the kind of woman he could commit to. But can he change his damaging behaviour – or is the road to destruction a one-way street?

My Review

Adam is a flawed hero. He’s a bad boy, trying to forget, or get over, his traumatic past by drinking and embarking on multiple sexual relationships with married women, until he meets Sienna, an innocent virgin, who is running away from an abusive boyfriend. Adam tries to change, but his past exploits keep catching up with him, making new beginnings difficult. Adam’s previous lovers, and their husbands and other relatives, cause Adam some grief, including an arrest and a severe battering.

Plenty of other lively characters intervene in this whirlwind and intense romance, which takes place in approximately three weeks. Sienna and Adam’s best friends, Laura and Nate, alternately aid and obstruct the relationship. The arrival of Sienna’s father, confronting Adam, leads to some humorous moments to relieve the tension.

I had little sympathy for Adam at first, and I also thought Sienna needed to be more assertive, but they gradually grew on me, and I wanted to find out how it would all pan out. Unexpected events escalate towards the end of the novel forcing Adam and Sienna to decide whether their relationship is worth fighting for.

Especially for lovers of steamy contemporary romance with plenty of hurdles and a happy ending!

WATCH THE VIDEO!!

BUY LINKS
AMAZON UK
AMAZON US
Choc Lit

ABOUT SHERYL BROWNE

Heartache, humour, love, loss & betrayal, Sheryl Browne brings you edgy, sexy, poignant fiction. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Romantic Novelists’ Association and shortlisted for the Best Romantic e-book Love Stories Award 2015, Sheryl has seven books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies

Sheryl’s new contemporary romance novel was recommended to the publisher by the WH Smith Travel fiction buyer. THE REST OF MY LIFE comes to you from award winning Choc Lit.

Enter Giveaway

Win 1 ecopy of a Sheryl Browne book! You pick what book you want!!

I’d like to thank Brook Cottage Books and ChocLit for the opportunity of reading and reviewing this delightful novel.

#Author Spotlight Shani Struthers and #BookReview ‘Eve: A Christmas Ghost Story’

What do you do when a whole town is haunted?

In 1899, in the North Yorkshire market town of Thorpe Morton, a tragedy occurred; 59 people died at the market hall whilst celebrating Christmas Eve, many of them children. One hundred years on and the spirits of the deceased are restless still, ‘haunting’ the community, refusing to let them forget.

In 1999, psychic investigators Theo Lawson and Ness Patterson are called in to help, sensing immediately on arrival how weighed down the town is. Quickly they discover there’s no safe haven. The past taints everything.

Hurtling towards the anniversary as well as a new millennium, their aim is to move the spirits on, to cleanse the atmosphere so everyone – the living and the dead – can start again. But the spirits prove resistant and soon Theo and Ness are caught up in battle, fighting against something that knows their deepest fears and can twist them in the most dangerous of ways.

They’ll need all their courage to succeed and the help of a little girl too – a spirit who didn’t die at the hall, who shouldn’t even be there…

My Review

Two psychic investigators, Theo and Ness, from Sussex, are called to a small village near Scarborough to solve a mystery, just before Christmas. The North Yorkshire market town of Thorpe Morton has been a sad place to live since Christmas 1899, when tragic events occurred in the village. Theo and Ness must find a way of helping the community recover their Christmas cheer.

Our Psychics meet plenty of spirits on their arrival, at the Market Hall where it all happened, in people’s homes, and in their guesthouse, as the two brave sleuths delve into the world of tortured and aggressive spirits. The inhabitants had become accustomed to the unfriendly and mischievous ghosts, but the arrival of the psychics, makes matters worse, seeming to anger the ghosts even more.

The characters, the village, and the events are so well drawn that we feel we’re actually there, which makes it more ‘scary’! I enjoyed the bond, which grew between the two women, and helped them overcome their own personal traumas and issues, as well as helping the ghosts in the town move on, and leave the world of the living, so that the townspeople could live happier and healthier lives.

The social condition of the workers, especially miners, and their struggle for fairer wages and working conditions is at the heart of the discontent of the original tragedy, because it was only the poorer people who died.

The two psychics used their abilities to discover what really happened, as the living are no longer a reliable source of information. They need to find out why the souls are trapped and angry, and why the village has been living in torment and sadness ever since.

Especially for lovers of scary, supernatural tales with happy endings.
This was a short introduction to Shani’s work, I’m looking forward to reading more of Shani’s ghost stories this winter.

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I asked Shani to take part in my weekly Author Spotlight so we can all get to know her and her work.

Author Spotlight

You’ve written three books of paranormal fiction, including International Amazon Bestseller, Psychic Surveys Book One: The Haunting of Highdown Hall, Psychic Surveys Book Two: Rise to Me, and your newest is Eve: A Christmas Ghost Story – the prequel to the Psychic Surveys series, which I’ve just reviewed. You’ve also written Jessamine, an atmospheric psychological romance set in the Highlands of Scotland and described as a ‘Wuthering Heights for the 21st century.’ Where does your interest in the paranormal stem from?

The paranormal has always been my preferred genre, right from a child I’ve been interested in it and would tend to prefer darker fairy tales as opposed to lighter ones. Ruth Manning-Saunders, an author no longer in print, used to take traditional fairy tales and twist them into much darker stories, I was addicted to her books and from thereon in that interest grew both in terms of literature and film. As a teen I devoured Stephen King’s books, Peter Straub, Dean Koontz and James Herbert. As an adult the lack of good ghost stories dismayed me, which is why I started writing them!

When someone says to you, ‘I don’t believe in ghosts.’ What’s your reply?

Lucky you! Seriously, that’s fine, it doesn’t bother me, as people are entitled to believe what they like. But… once you get talking about ghosts, even those who deny the existence of anything paranormal usually say ‘oh hang on, there was that time…’ and then they go away not quite as cynical as before. I ‘think’ I’ve seen ghosts, certainly I’ve had some experiences that could be considered paranormal but they were mainly as a child, as an adult I think we naturally tend to close off to the spiritual world as the material world just takes up so much of our time and effort.

Are your novels based on real events or people or are they purely imaginary?

I like to mix fact with fiction in all my books and so real events are included, either those I’ve experienced personally or those told to me by friends and friends of friends. The Haunting of Highdown Hall is based on a story told to me by a friend of a friend, about a house he inherited that used to be the home of a famous film star. She died there and her bedroom was kept thereafter as a shrine. Every time he walked into it he had to leave, there was so much anger and negativity, it was impossible to linger let alone think about redecorating! He had the whole place exorcised and everything was fine after that but it gets the imagination going: was she still there, why was she still there, what was preventing her from moving on? And so the first book in the Psychic Surveys was born.

Which of your novels would you recommend readers to start reading first? And why?

(This one’s for me really! I have several of your novels on my kindle to read next, and I was wondering if Jessamine or The Haunting of Highdown Hall!)

Thank you so much for reading Eve and your review of it. Eve: A Christmas Ghost Story is the prequel to the Psychic Surveys series but can be read as a standalone. I’d recommend reading Psychic Surveys Book One: The Haunting of Highdown Hall next, which is not a horror but a paranormal mystery. Although be warned, the sequel, Rise to Me, gets darker, much darker! Jessamine is a stand-alone novel set in the Highlands of Scotland and is essential a romance with a touch of the supernatural. Jessamine is actually my favourite of all the novels I’ve written and, as you do with your wonderful Eyre Hall series, I drew inspiration from the Bronte sisters whilst writing it. The fact that some readers have said it puts them in mind of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights whilst reading it (in tone rather than story) is a huge compliment.

What are you working on now?

I’ve just sent off Psychic Surveys Book Three: 44 Gilmore Street off to my publisher so I’m waiting for the editing process to begin on that. Also, I’ve just written the first draft of The Venetian, which is Book One in the ‘This Haunted World’ series. This new series will be a set of stand-alone novels taking place in and around the world’s most haunted locations and the first is set in and around Venice as well as the island of Poveglia, in the Venetian lagoon, an island with a shocking history that dates back centuries. Like my Psychic Surveys books, they will be a mix of fact and fiction and what links them this time is not the characters but the haunted locations.

What would you like readers to know about you? Brief bio?

I live in Brighton with my husband, three kids and four cats – life is always hectic but in it I’ve made time to indulge my passion, which is novel writing, something that is rapidly becoming the day job! I’ve also been a freelance travel writer for many years, love eating, drinking and being merry as well as travelling the world to places haunted and not so haunted. Yep, even I need a break from the spooks sometimes!

How can readers find out more or contact you?

Facebook Author Page:
Twitter:
Blog:
Goodreads:
Website:

Where can readers buy your novels?

Psychic Surveys Book One: The Haunting of Highdown Hall
Global Link
Psychic Surveys Book Two: Rise to Me
Global Link
Eve: A Christmas Ghost Story
Global Link
Jessamine
UK

Thank you for visiting my blog, Shani. It’s great to meet an author who writes paranormal and ghost stories, so convincingly. I’m looking forward to reading and reviewing the rest of your books by the fireplace in dark winter evenings 🙂

Pride and Prejudice: The Plight of Indie #Authors #IWSG

This article is written as part of the monthly group posting of the Insecure Wtiters Support Group.

Today my insecurity is due to the prejudice against independent authors, from within and without the publishing industry.

Prejudice means disfavouring or disliking something without an objective or fair reason for doing so. Pride, on the other hand, can be a good thing if it means respecting yourself and feeling that you deserve to be respected by other people, however, it can be a very negative quality if it means feeling that someone considers they are more important or better than others.

When pride is coupled with prejudice, the latter meaning is implied, as in Jane Austen’s classic novel, in which love was denied and lives almost ruined due to unreasonable pride and unjustified prejudice.

My point today is the pride and prejudice endured by published authors, like me, who do not have a traditional publishing house or agent to back them, that is, Independent or Self-Published Authors.

If a traditional publisher acquires an author’s work they make most of the decisions and take on all the expense involved with producing the work. On the other hand, independent authors make their own decisions about when to publish on one of the digital self-publishing platforms, or in paperback. Indie authors have to make all the decisions and cover all the costs, such as hiring freelance editors and proof readers, cover artist, book formatter, and publicist, or they can do it (or part of it) themselves.

Why are independent authors listening to unfair criticism and dismissal by readers who say, ‘I don’t read self-published authors’, booksellers who say, ‘we don’t stock self-published authors’, and other writers who say, ‘self-published authors are lazy writers taking short cuts’ (Sue Grafton).

I wonder if they would dare say the same of independent film producers, musicians, or artists, who are usually respected by critics and the public.

Who are the gate keepers?

Why is it that most self-published titles are not given the same respect or consideration, by readers, book-sellers, and writers, that traditionally published writers receive?

I’ve seen plenty of traditionally published novels, some are even big names, with negative reviews and very low sales ranks, proving that traditional publishers and agents aren’t doing their jobs as well as they like to assume.

Perhaps authors who would have approached an agent or publisher are preferring the independent route, sidestepping the traditional gatekeepers.

Today, thanks to the digital revolution in publishing, and the growth of publishing platforms, readers are the new gatekeepers. We should all be concerned with reaching readers and giving readers a quality product, which is well written, well-edited, proof read, and formatted, whether it’s erotica, historical, crime, dystopian, literary, or whatever genre.

Most indie authors sell their novels at 2.99 and occasionally at 0.99. When a big name author publishes at $16.00, they have to prove their novel is 16 times better value for money than an independently published novel, and quite honestly, it’s often not worth it.

I’ve been an English teacher all my life. I’ve read most of the classics, in English, French, and Spanish, and taught English literature from Anglo-Saxon verse to spoken word poetry. I still reread the classics regularly, but 90% of what I read today are other self-published authors in an attempt to support the brave and hard-working writers, who are walking up the down staircase in a very competitive industry, and in spite of this producing good quality work. consequently, I’ve had the pleasure of reading dozens of well written self published books last year. You can check out my reviews on this blog.

Don’t be proud or prejudiced, and don’t let anyone tell you what to read. Read whichever style or genre you prefer. Check the blurb, skim through some of the reviews, and read the first 10%, it’s free, and then decide whether you want to read the rest of it or not.

Time-Travelling #Angels #SoCS

This post is written in response to Linda Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS) prompt

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “an-” Use it as a word or find a word that starts with the letters “an” and make it your post’s theme. Have fun! Everyone’s welcome. Join in if you like! Just let your mind go there…

Angels

When I was a child, I went to St Joseph’s Primary School, a convent school where I was taught among other things to believe in angels; invisible spirits sent by God on a mission to accompany me and help me make difficult decisions, especially regarding good and evil.

As a child, evil was never anywhere near my mind, and I never actually felt I needed an angel for that purpose, although I would have appreciated someone to talk to, like an older sister, or a sympathetic adult, but that didn’t happen, so I’m repairing that situation now, with my time-travelling angel.

I’ve become my own angel. I’m the sympathetic adult who listens to the confused child and tells her what a wonderful life is waiting for her. I’m helping the little girl I was, become the self-confident and happy adult I am.

How do I heal the insecure, shy, and scared child I once was? How can you do it?

Easy. Here’s my method.

It all started with an old school picture, which I placed in a frame on my landing some years ago. I’m about seven or eight years old. Every time I saw myself, I smiled and said, sometimes out loud and sometimes in my mind, something positive. ‘You look great!’, ‘Lovely smile!’, ‘Clever girl’, etc… and I realised it made me feel good.

It grew from there.

Later, with or without the picture prompt, I remember events, which happened, sometimes just a normal, boring, or sad day, and I mentally chat to the little girl, reminding her that she’s preparing herself for the future, and that wonderful experiences and events await her.

I tell her about something that has happened or is happening years later, like: ‘You’ll publish your novel in the end,’ or ‘you’ll travel to such a place or meet such a person…’

I also advise her about how she should behave, like, ‘read as much as you can,’ or ‘don’t waste time with people you don’t like,’ or ‘look after yourself’ etc.

I also listen to how she feels. I have a sort of interior dialogue and I help her think things through. I feel much better after our ‘conversations’.

I’m sure it works, because I feel happier in my skin the older I get.

Who’s your angel?

#Author Spotlight Linn B. Halton & #BookReview A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love for @BrookCottageBks

This Friday’s Spotlight is for BY LINN B. HALTON author of A LITTLE SUGAR, A LOT OF LOVE

Genre: Chick Lit
Release Date: 15 January 2016
Publisher: Choc Lit

Blurb: A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love

Life isn’t all love and cupcakes …

Katie has had her fair share of bad luck, but when she finally realises her dream of opening a bakery it seems things can only get better.

But the reality of running a business hits Katie hard and whilst her partner, Steve, tries to help she begins to sense that the situation is driving them further apart. Could Katie be set to lose her relationship and her dream job?

Then, one winter’s day, a man walks into her shop – and, in the space of that moment, the course of Katie’s life is changed.

But nobody finds happiness in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it takes two Christmases, three birthdays and a whole lot of cake to get there …

Previously released as Sweet Occasions by the author. Revised and edited by Choc Lit December 2015.

Katie has had her fair share of bad luck, but when she finally realises her dream of opening a bakery it seems things can only get better.

But the reality of running a business hits Katie hard and whilst her partner, Steve, tries to help she can’t help but feel that the situation is driving them further apart. Could Katie be set to lose her relationship and her dream job?

Then, one winter’s day, a man walks into her shop – and, in the space of that moment, the course of Katie’s life is changed.

But nobody finds happiness in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it takes two Christmases, three birthdays and a whole lot of cake to get there …

My Review

Katie and Steve are both unsatisfied with their lives, for different reasons. Katie is running her small bakery creatively, making delicious and original celebration cakes and cup cakes, but her partner, Steve, wants the business to grow financially. She gives in, but isn’t happy with the impersonal way it’s being run.

Adam, on the other hand has recently lost his wife, and is bringing up his daughter on his own. He’s lonely and worried about his grandmother, who is becoming older and more frail.

Katie amd Adam’s lives cross for the first time when he’s on his way to buy a cake for his grandmother. Although they establish an immediate connection, Katie is in a relationship, and they each have their own busy lives. They meet again several times, due to her cakes, which he buys for his grandmother and daughter, and although the bond grows, neither seems able to take their relationship any further.

Steve, is such an unpleasant character, that I was hoping Katie would realize, she’s sacrificing her happiness, and giving in to his demands, overlooking her own. At times it annoyed me that Katie was too nice and condescending to undeserving Steve. Adam was also, too restrained. It was his grandmother, an endearing character, who finally pushed them on, with some supernatural help!

The romantic suspense is gradually built up, as it takes a long time for the couple to realize that they’re meant for each other, but it’s no secret that this will eventually happen, as it’s a HEA, sweet romance.

It’s told from alternating points of view, which are clearly included in the chapter titles. I like the way we get a variety of opinions of the events, and peek into the characters’ motivations and doubts. It was a pleasure to read, because although I expected a happy ending, it was easy to keep turning the pages and find out how the story gradually unfolded to its satisfactory ending.

Especially for lovers of very sweet romance.

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON UK
AMAZON US

ABOUT LINN B. HALTON

“I’m a hopeless romantic, self-confessed chocaholic, and lover of coffee. For me, life is about family, friends, and writing. Oh, and the occasional glass of White Grenache…”

An Amazon UK Top 100 best-selling author with A Cottage in the Country in November 2015, Linn’s novels have been short-listed in the UK’s Festival of Romance and the eFestival of Words Book Awards. Linn won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction award. Linn writes chick lit, women’s contemporary fiction and psychic romance for Choc Lit, Harper Impulse and Endeavour Press.

Website/blog: http://linnbhalton.co.uk/

Twitter: @LinnBHalton

Facebook: Linn B Halton Author

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/LittleSugarLotOfLove

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Contest Open Internationally – No Purchase necessary
1st Prize – £25 Amazon Voucher
2nd Prize – Cupcake themed Swag Bag

Enter the Rafflecopter here

Carrot Ranch #FlashFiction ‘Oliver and Trip’ A Tribute to Charles Dickens

This Flash Fiction was written in response to Charlie Mills at Carrot Ranch’s weekly prompt

January 20, 2016 prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about a boy and his dog, showing the value or benefit of such a relationship. Be creative, uplifting and demonstrate that such a relationship has merit. If the prompt takes you somewhere darker, know that writing into the dark often retrieves the light. Let it have a purpose.

This week’s prompt has taken me to Victorian England. Those of you who know me will not be surprised!

Dogs feature prominently in Dickens’ work. He was a dog lover all his life. More about Dickens and his dogs here

Dickens took long walks in the afternoon, ten miles or more, with the dogs as his sole companions. Illustration from Princes, Authors, and Statesmen of Our Time, Henry Bill Publishing Co., 1885

In my flash the boy and the dog will grow a bond because, sadly, they’re both given the same food to eat, and both wish to ‘join forces’ and escape from their cruel ‘owners’.

It’s inspired by an episode in my beloved Oliver Twist, but more later. Here’s my flash!

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Oliver and Trip

An Undertaker’s Cellar. London, 1837.

The undertaker’s wife pushed me down the stairs into the coal-cellar, where I almost tripped over a shaggy dog.

‘Oliver, you can ‘ave what Trip’s left on his plate. Probably found himself a big fat rat last night, so ‘e ain’t hungry this morning.’

She kicked the animal viciously. ‘Don’t be greedy and let the little beggar eat some o’ them bits o’ meat!’

Trip backed away and growled, but I was so hungry I decided to risk it and put my fingers on his food.

‘We’ll get out of here together,’ I whispered as he licked my hand.

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This flash is inspired by some characters and events in Oliver Twist, published by Charles Dickens in 1837.

Just in case you think I’m exaggerating in my Flash Fiction, there follows an extract from Dickens’ novel, where a similar event is described.

Oliver had just been ‘brought’ or ‘bought’ from the poor house to work at an Undertaker’s and he is given the dog’s food to eat, which he devours hungrily.

Notice also how, in the passage, Dickens, ardent and active social campaigner, directs his wrath at a ‘well-fed philosopher’, no doubt some contemporary politician/s, who will never witness the ‘ferocity of famine’.

Here’s the extract from the end of Chapter IV (The undertaker, Mr. Sowerberry, who has just collected Oliver from the workhouse is speaking to his wife, Charlotte. Trip is their dog.)

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‘Here, Charlotte,’ said Mr. Sowerberry, who had followed Oliver down, ‘give this boy some of the cold bits that were put by for Trip. He hasn’t come home since the morning, so he may go without ‘em. I dare say the boy isn’t too dainty to eat ‘em—are you, boy?’

Oliver, whose eyes had glistened at the mention of meat, and who was trembling with eagerness to devour it, replied in the negative; and a plateful of coarse broken victuals was set before him.

I wish some well-fed philosopher, whose meat and drink turn to gall within him; whose blood is ice, whose heart is iron; could have seen Oliver Twist clutching at the dainty viands that the dog had neglected. I wish he could have witnessed the horrible avidity with which Oliver tore the bits asunder with all the ferocity of famine. There is only one thing I should like better; and that would be to see the Philosopher making the same sort of meal himself, with the same relish.

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It pains me to listen to some critics/readers, both his and our contemporaries, say Dickens’ writings were ‘too melodramatic’. I’d reply, ‘You weren’t there. You didn’t walk down the cellars, or inside the chimneys, or live in the poor houses. Don’t you dare classify abuse and suffering as melodramatic!’

There can be no doubt in our minds that this ‘piece of fiction’ happened often enough to be described by Charles Dickens. We’ve come a long way, partly thanks to Mr. Dickens’ honest descriptions of cruelty and exploitation in Victorian England.

This is why I believe literature is more enlightening than history to understand our past. History tells us the facts, whereas literature tells the real story of what happened to real people, not only the names of the Kings and Queens who reigned or the battles fought.

Writers are telling the real story, so please keep writing, all of you!

#Author Spotlight Georgia Hill & #BookReview ‘While I Was Waiting’ for @BrookCottageBks

Today I’d like to introduce you to Georgia Hill, author of a While I was Waiting, a unique novel which combines contemporary and historical romance set in the English countryside.

Genre: Historical/time-slip romance
Release Date: 2/7/15 (e-pub) 10/9/15 (print)
Publisher: Harper Impulse

Blurb

Tired of her life in London, freelance illustrator Rachel buys the beautiful but dilapidated Clematis Cottage and sets about creating the home of her dreams. But tucked away behind the water tank in the attic and left to gather dust for decades, is an old biscuit tin containing letters, postcards and a diary. So much more than old scraps of paper, these are precious memories that tell the story of Henrietta Trenchard-Lewis, a love lost in the Great War and the girl who was left behind.

BUY LINKS
AMAZON UK
AMAZON US

MY REVIEW

While I was Waiting combines sweet, contemporary romance as well as historical fiction, revealed through letters and a memoir written by the previous, deceased owner of Clematis Cottage, where our main character, Rachel, is now living.

After moving away from London to Herefordshire, Rachel, an illustrator, moves to rural England, and finds romance in Gabe, a local builder’s son, who is working on her run down cottage. At the same time, she becomes obsessed with Hetti’s incomplete story, which she aims to discover.

Rachel has many personal issues such as lack of trust, insecurity, and a controlling and sometimes obsessive personality, which make it difficult for her to make lasting relationships with men. Gabe has problems of his own, which he’s not willing to share either, so their relationship will have a few ups and downs. It’s a HEA, so they manage to sort it out in the end, with the help of a puppy called Piglet, time, and sharing their real feelings.

I liked the way the author was able to give the reader a feeling for life in a small rural village, from an idyllic, as well as a realistic perspective, as the residents have to cope with the devastating impact of Foot and Mouth disease.

It’s not only a sweet romance, the novel also delves the reader into the trauma and suffering caused by the First World War, and the way cancer affects a family.

The secondary characters, the Estate Agent, the Vicar, Gabe’s parents, Stan and the locals at the pub, etc. are believable, added to the plot, and made the story more varied and interesting.

It was pleasant and easy to read, and had a very English feel to it. Especially for lovers of sweet romance.

ABOUT GEORGIA HILL

I used to live in London, where I worked in the theatre. Then I got the bizarre job of teaching road safety to the U.S. navy – in Marble Arch!

A few years ago, I did an ‘Escape to the Country’. I now live in a tiny Herefordshire village, where I scandalise the neighbours by not keeping ‘country hours’ and being unable to make a decent pot of plum jam. Home is a converted Oast house (Old agricultural building used for drying hops), which I share with my two beloved spaniels, husband (also beloved) and a ghost called Zoe.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel widely, though prefer to set my novels closer to home. Perhaps more research is needed? I’ve always wanted to base a book in the Caribbean!

I am addicted to Belgian chocolate, Jane Austen and, most of all, Strictly Come Dancing.

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AUTHOR LINKS
FACEBOOK

TWITTER

BLOG

Lovely to have you on my blog today, Georgia.

It was a pleasure to read and review your novel for Brook Cottage Books, and learn more about you.

#1000Speak #Forgiveness

This post was written as part of #1000Speak for Compassion. Speaking for GOOD on the 20th of every month. The topic to reflect upon this month is Forgiveness.

Forgiving and Asking for Forgiveness

All of us who have thought about forgiveness, read about it, and talked about it, know that we forgive others, not because they ask for it, or even deserve it, but because we deserve to free ourselves from the burden of hate and resentment. When we stop hating someone, they no longer have the power to hurt us.

‘Learn the lesson and move on’. You can’t go back. You can’t change what happened, but you can forgive and move on. Notice I didn’t say forget, because if you forget you don’t learn from the experience. Although I’ve noticed that once I forgive, I tend to forget, or at least not think about what happened.

The two most important things I’ve learnt and have made me a happier person are 1) Forgiveness and 2) Don’t sweat the small stuff.

That doesn’t mean I ignore the small stuff, it means I sort it out immediately, if I can, so it doesn’t get out of proportion. If it really doesn’t matter, I ignore it. Most of the time, if you address ‘small’ issues at once, life gets simpler. In fact, most big issues were once smaller. Don’t ket them grow!

Asking for Forgiveness

I’d like to combine ‘asking for Forgiveness’ and ‘Sweating the Small Stuff’, because I’d like to talk about ‘the small stuff’, the little things we do that we need to apologise for, and how to actually make sure the apology is accepted, so the event is in fact forgotten, or at least doesn’t cause us undue aggravation.

I learnt about this method in a self help book (I can’t remember which one), but it’s very useful for those little things that happen, and often cause friction between friends, colleagues, family, etc.

This is about how to say you’re sorry and ask for forgiveness for those ‘minor’ but annoying things we all do occasionally.

Three magical words: Reason, Regret, and Repair.

You need to give a reason for your improper/inconvenient action, you need to say you’re sorry, and you need to offer to make it up to the person in some way. It’s the best way to get your apology accepted.

For example, if you’ve arrived late to work, or for lunch with a friend.

Reason: I overslept / missed the bus
Regret: I’m sorry I arrived late / made you wait
Repair: Can I work overtime tomorrow to make up for it? / Buy you lunch?

The excuse would look something like this:

‘I missed the bus, and the next one took ages, I’m so sorry I made you wait. How can I make it up to you? What about I get you coffee and dessert…’

As a teacher, I always tell my students to use the same strategy. Tell the teacher your excuse, apologise, offer/ask for/negotiate a compromise.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t hand in my homework. I’ve been feeling run down / upset / unmotivated lately / had to help my mother look after my grandmother who is unwell. Could I hand in my essay next week?

If it happens with your partner.

‘I’m under a lot of pressure at work, I’m sorry if I snapped at you, It won’t happen again. Let me cook dinner for you, today.’

It’s actually harder to do than it seems. If we’re honest with ourselves, it makes us think about our reasons, and that’s not always easy. We have to apologise, and we have to offer a compromise.

It isn’t enough to just apologise, you have to make the person offended understand your reasons, and feel that you’re prepared to make an effort to change or compensate in some way, and that’s a lot!

It doesn’t always work, but it’s worth a try!

#BookReview: Twelfth Night at Eyre Hall

I know I should stop doing this, but I can’t.

I’m so overjoyed when I receive a positive review of Twelfth Night at Eyre Hall that I just have to share it, especially in this case when the reviewer is also a talented writer and expert reviewer.

Thank you, Noelle for such a thorough and thoughtful review💖

Source: Book Review: Twelfth Night at Eyre Hall

‘Once Upon a Time’ Carrot Ranch #FlashFiction

This week Charlie Mills at Carrot Ranch has prompted us to write 99 words about ‘once upon a time’ by 19th January.

Here’s mine:

Once upon a time, there was a little girl, who loved listening to stories of knights in shining armour, princes and fairy godmothers in faraway places, who rescued beautiful princesses in distress.

Years later she discovered that knights, princes, and godmothers needed saving, too, so she became a teacher and told her students stories about people who needed help, and how ordinary children who aren’t princes, princesses, or fairy godmothers rescue each other every day, in small ways, like saying; NO FAIL ‘Next Opportunity! It’s your First Attempt In Learning!’ and this isn’t the END because ‘Effort Never Dies!’

****

Great prompt and flash, Charlie! I absolutely agree with you that fairy tales are mostly sexist, unrealistic, and often pass on dated cultural values. I wonder why it’s mostly men who told the stories? Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Lewis Carroll, Wilhelm Hauff, Charles Perrault, Alexander Pushkin, Carlo Collodi, and I’m pretty sure the Arabian Nights weren’t written by a woman. More info here.

History is no doubt told by the victors, and fairy tales by men. It has left the women with the losers. I like to think/imagine things are changing and women’s voices are heard at last, in some parts of the world, in some sectors of society. Sadly not enough and not everywhere. It’s an ongoing struggle for equality, in which every mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, son and daughter must participate.

Teachers also have an important role to play in the transmission of culture and values.

How can we ‘teach’ or help children and future generations to be less sexist?

I’m a teacher. I know ‘teaching’ does not always lead to ‘learning’. You can’t ‘teach’ children to be less sexist, just like you can’t make a horse drink. We all know you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.

Children aren’t vases to be filled, or lights to be turned on, if they’re not actively involved and willing to learn, they won’t. Of course they can pass exams, and even memorise stuff, but they won’t learn.

Learning is an ongoing and lifelong process which changes our perception of the world, enables interaction with our surroundings, and our understanding of the events that occur around us. It gives us the tools, methods and knowledge to reflect on what is, and imagine what could or should be, in an effort to improve our lives and make the world a better place for everyone, but especially for each one of us.

Parents can’t do it on their own. Teachers can’t do it on their own, because we all know..

The village is global now, so we’re all responsible! Let’s do it!

****

Would you like to take part or read some of the other flash fiction? Respond by January 19, 2016 to be included in the weekly compilation. Rules are here. All writers are welcome! Where you take the fairy tale is entirely up to you. Your character can break the traditional mold, or your ending can be less than happy. Elements of fairy tales include magic, predicaments, villains, heroes, fairy-folk and kingdoms. How can you turn these elements upside down or use them in a realistic setting? Write your own fairy tale here

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