C.M. Gray's Blog, page 4

Book Review: Moobala Schmoobala by M.G. Wells

Moobala Schmoobala is a big-hearted, fun-loving alien from the planet Googala. He and his best friend, Boobala, visit Earth and have tons of fun traveling the globe meeting lots of new friends along the way. An artful, educational children’s rhyming picture book designed for children K-3.

I read this book with a friend’s five year old son, to include a true opinion from a child, as well as my own.

My little co-reader was interested in the book from the start, thanks to the bright, colorful pictures that immediately grabbed his attention. The rhyming title of the book was also a great attraction, and he loved saying “Moobala Schmoobala” repetitively.

We read the book on my Kindle, and today’s five year olds are incredibly tech savvy, which proved to be a slight problem as after a few pages, he really wanted to look at the pictures more than listen to the rhyming story, and could turn the page with just a finger. However, Ms. Wells provides enough detail in her beautiful illustrations to allow plenty of adult-child discussion about what is happening.

As an adult, I loved the illustrations, and I liked that the book is educational, sharing geographical information along with the animal kingdom, so children can learn where different animals are found around the world. I also really liked the little glossary of animals at the end of the book, split into real animals and imaginary ones.

If I was to find any complaint it would be that some rhymes needed to be read with an American accent, which might be a little disconcerting for Europeans. For example, ‘city’, ‘pretty’, and ‘giddy’ don’t rhyme in an English accent. However, the rhymes are short, sweet, and educational, and I don’t think K-3rd grade would even notice the dialects!

Moobala Schmoobala is available at Amazon

 

 

 

Daylight Savings and Creativity

Here in the USA we’ve made it through another night of reduced sleep (the UK has another two weeks before they’re forced to sacrifice an hour’s slumber.) You’d think an hour’s loss of sleep wouldn’t make that much of a difference, so why do we all feel so tired for so long after Daylight Savings starts?

Numerous studies have linked the loss of this one hour to various health issues (the number of heart attacks on the Monday after Daylight Savings increases by 25 per cent, depression goes up, and, for children, SAT scores drop dramatically!)

The problem is that the loss of this hour messes with our circadian rhythms, the 24 hour cycle in the physiological processes of all living things. While we, as humans, think we can manipulate time and nature, we actually can’t, and studies have proven that we never fully adjust to the hour forward throughout the entirety of the daylight savings period, up until the clocks go back in the autumn.

On the bright side (pun intended) it does mean longer days, balmy evenings of daylight, and warm summer months. As a writer, this means far less than it probably should. Like many authors, I’m at my most creative in the twilight hours. It doesn’t matter if it’s light or dark outside, my inner clock doesn’t change just because tradition says we need to switch the time on our social clocks.

My numerous pets won’t change their sleeping or eating habits either. They work solely on their circadian rhythm. They’ll wake at the same time, be hungry at the same time, and want to sleep at the same time; it’ll just be our physical clocks that say they’re doing everything an hour later.

So to every writer, musician, author, painter, and generally anyone who feels their creativity takes a knock over the summer months, you’re not imagining it, but it’s only six months till we’re back to where nature wants us to be!

Shout out to Awesome Authors!

Friday is Day of Awesomeness! 

In honor of this day, I’d like to give a massive shout out to all indie authors for being awesome!

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind is written large in his works.”  ~  Virginia Woolf

And that is why you’re all awesome!

If you’re an indie or self-published author, feel free to leave a mention of your book(s) below.

Reborn (Book One) and Reawakened (Book Two) are both available on Amazon.  Renewed (Book Three) is coming this summer.

 

A Day Without Women? Get Real!

First, a word of warning. I like being a woman. I like that men will give up their seats for me, or hold a door open, or carry my bags. I’m more than capable of doing it myself – I’m not feeble or pathetic – but I like being treated like a woman, because I am a woman. So, if you’re hoping for a strong feminist blog about the Day Without Women, you might want to skip the rest of this.

Like the majority of women, today has been a normal day. I got up, showered and got dressed. I kick-started my brain with a strong coffee while the kids had their breakfast, and once everyone was at their various schools, I started work.

This is my normal routine, and I’m neither inclined, nor in a position to do it differently just because a group of feminists tell me I should. For starters, as a single mother, I’d be leaving my kids parentless for the day, and that isn’t happening.

The fact is, the ideal behind the Day without women was flawed before it even got started. American women aren’t as a whole oppressed; individuals have their challenges but overall, American women have it pretty good. My value as a human has nothing to do with my sex organs. The people who matter (friends, family etc) know and appreciate what I do, and where they’d be without me. Those who felt inclined to march should maybe first look closer to home if they’re struggling with their value.

Today, the news has reported schools that have closed as teachers have chosen to march, waiting times at hospitals are triple as female medical staff have taken the day off, and parents who aren’t partaking in this feminist action are struggling to find childcare.

In the meantime, the economy hasn’t tanked, men haven’t begged and pleaded for the return of their womenfolk, and anyone who shirked off work today can look forward to a heavier workload tomorrow while they catch up.

There’s cause to protest against everything these days, even if there’s no real reason to. As Hillary Clinton said last year, “If you tell people something long enough, with great passion, they get perhaps inclined to believe it.”

The irony is, American women aren’t oppressed, but they are being manipulated by extreme American women to think they are…and isn’t that very manipulation what today is meant to be protesting against?

 

The Hardest Critics…Nailed It!

Often books are targeted at a certain age group, and although the Reborn Trilogy is officially Young Adult, it’s being enjoyed by people of every age, from young teens to people in their fifties.

I’ve had loads of feedback since Reborn was first launched in October last year, and I’m incredibly grateful that it’s all good, but the toughest critics for any author are often their your own children. That’s why I love this picture so much. Not only are my teen girls thoroughly engrossed in Books One and Two, they’re also cuddled up together on the sofa reading them without squabbling!

The first in the trilogy, Reborn, is available on Amazon at the discounted price of $0.99, (click here for Amazon.co.uk) and Reawakened, Book 2, can be downloaded for free on Kindle Unlimited (also available in the UK at Amazon.co.uk).

Read an E-book Week: Reborn Trilogy

This week is Read an E-book Week, encouraging people to take some time out and enjoy a digital book or two.

It also (quite coincidentally) coincides with the launch of Reawakened, the highly anticipated Book 2 in the Reborn Trilogy. If you haven’t read the first book, it’s on special offer on Amazon at just $0.99 – less than the price of a cup of coffee (or tea!) – and well worth downloading to take part in this fun week!

“Eagerly anticipating the next book!” – Fiona

“Waiting with great anticipation for the next in the series. It’s an absolute must for anyone teen to adult!” – Tasha

“Such a great read – kept me turning the pages right from the start.” – WTP

More reviews available at Amazon. Happy reading!

 

 

Grammar Day (Not Bad!)

Today is Grammar Day. Not Bad Grammar Day, just regular Grammar Day. I am a self-confessed grammar pedant, so this could be one of the best days of the year for me.

As an author, editor and proofreader, I have more than a passing interest in the correct use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and admittedly find common grammatical mistakes particularly irksome, akin to having a stone in my shoe.

According to a research study released last year, I, along with millions of fellow grammar pedants, am also an introvert. Psychologist Hans Eysenck explains, “highly introverted individuals find themselves overstimulated by things.” Yeah, like apostrophes in plurals, and dangling modifiers!

So, today is the day when everyone takes time to recall what they learnt in primary school, and takes pity on those of us who can’t help mentally correcting social media posts and status updates.

Lent – What Are You Giving Up?

Since moving to the US over ten years ago, I’ve embraced the American way of life, but there are still some traditions from back home that I cling to. Things like Boxing Day (over here it’s just the day after Christmas), rugby and football (not of the American variety), and pancake day.

Today is Ash Wednesday in the liturgical calendar, and the first day of Lent, a shortened form of the old English word Lenten  meaning ‘Spring’. Ash Wednesday always follows Shrove Tuesday (or pancake day) when traditionally foods like milk and eggs were used up in preparation for the 40 day fast of Lent.

In the UK, most people grow up ‘giving something up’ for Lent, and there’s usually a lot of fun and chatter leading up to the period of abstaining from a particular vice in the weeks before Easter. Not so much Stateside, where Lent isn’t widely observed outside of religion.

I decided last week I’d probably give up drinking tea. To be fair, it was a bit of a cop-out. Coffee is the hot beverage of choice here, and even those who do make tea don’t make it properly (sorry America but that’s a fact) and serve it up with cream! Anyway, the result is I only drink tea at home, so chances of slipping up were pretty low. Or so I thought until I remembered today is Ash Wednesday – as I was downing my second cup of the day! Yes, my Lent sacrifice lasted all of six and a half hours.

So, I’m re-evaluating what I can give up, thinking about what haven’t already indulged in today that I might miss enough to make it a suitable sacrifice.

Ideas welcome!

Book Review: Walls of Silence by Helen Pryke

Living in the mountains of Sicily, Maria has the perfect childhood until the fateful day of her First Communion, when her life changes forever. The events that follow will take her away from her home town to the streets of Milan. Will she ever be able to trust anyone ever again? Set in turbulent 1960s Italy, Walls of Silence is the story of a girl who must find the courage and strength to survive her family’s betrayal and the prejudices of her country.

Walls of Silence is the debut novel by screenplay translator Helen Pryke. It’s set in Italy in the 1960s, and deals with the difficult topic of violence against women in a frank, often raw manner.

The book is written retrospectively from the main character, Maria’s perspective. An idyllic childhood becomes a nightmare leading to a cascade of traumatic circumstances.

From the beginning, Ms. Pryke beautifully describes 1960s Italy, making the small village and large towns equally alive so that the reader can easily get lost in the settings. More noticeably, however, the author draws the reader into Maria’s reality with excellent character development, and vivid descriptions of events that guide her story. So much so that there are parts that are quite difficult to read, and if you’re looking for a feel-good book, this isn’t it.

Although the story is primarily Maria’s story, the author cleverly introduces a side-storyline which allows the book to have a lighter tone, and while it felt a little unrealistic compared to the harsh reality of Maria’s circumstances, it thankfully serves to leave the reader hopeful rather than despaired.

Ms. Pryke’s writing style makes Walls of Silence easy to read, even if the subject matter is difficult, and I would recommend this book to anyone willing to take an honest look behind the ‘walls of silence’ built up by women who are caught in a violent situation.

Walls of Silence by Helen Pryke is available on Amazon, and the author is donating part of sale proceeds to a woman’s shelter in the UK.

Book Review: The Secret Community by J. Meverington

Terri woke up in a strange place with no idea of who she was or how she got there. The worst thing was, nobody seemed to take her memory loss seriously.

With a stroke of luck, she bumped into Damion, a London bar owner. Thankfully he took her in and was determined to help her. On further investigation, he could not find any evidence of her existence.

Damion became suspicious and dug deeper until he uncovered a sinister secret. But did this have anything to do with Terri’s memory loss? He couldn’t be sure, and worse still, he didn’t know who he could trust.

The Secret Community is a clever, light-thriller debut novel from J. Meverington, that opens with a young woman, Terri, waking up with a terrifying complete amnesia, and then takes the reader through a series of twists and turns to find the answers to who she is, why she’s lost her memory, and what her past is all about.

This book is a light read, and even though it’s not plot heavy, it contains enough mystery and twists to keep the reader guessing and questioning throughout. With a bit of romance thrown alongside the intrigue, suspense, and a healthy dose of the darker side of humanity, this book has something for all readers.

The characters are varied and interesting and, unusually, I found myself liking, and caring about the secondary characters more so than the protagonists. As much as I wanted to like Damion, I found myself more irritated by him, and his excessive ending sentences with ‘hey?’ I also couldn’t like Terri as much as a reader wants to like a protagonist, because her eating habits are so disgusting, and kudos to the author for her use of some incredible descriptive writing to make me feel this way.

Overall, this is a clever story that will grip you from the start, if only to see if you’re guessing correctly. Everything ties up nicely at the end, so I was somewhat curious to see the author is writing a sequel. I’ll definitely be looking out for it to see how this story progresses.

The Secret Community by J. Meverington is available on Amazon