Jennifer Page's Blog, page 2

August 29, 2023

Useful YouTube Videos for Authors

I used to love technology.

Not many people know this but the first money I ever earned was from a magazine publishing a computer program that I wrote when I was 14. I think I earned the princely sum of 12 quid. And 12 quid was quite a lot back in those days. My pocket money at the time was only 2 quid a week!

My job at the BBC was quite techy – I did a lot of camera work myself and even a bit of editing. And then when I left, I went onto teach music technology in the school.

But althoug...

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Published on August 29, 2023 03:51

August 22, 2023

Board games featured in The Little Board Game Cafe

By popular request, here’s a short guide to all the lovely board games mentioned in The Little Board Game Cafe.

Can’t Stop

This is the first game Emily plays in the book, and it’s an easy first game for anyone who’d like to get into board games. It’s a ‘push your luck’ game involving rolling dice and advancing up columns. It sounds easy and it is; the skill is in knowing when to end your turn. If you fancy trying this game, you can play it on the website Boardgamearena.com and you can also...

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Published on August 22, 2023 09:40

August 4, 2023

Book Review: The Last List of Mabel Beaumont

Blurb

The list he left had just one item on it. Or, at least, it did at first…

Mabel Beaumont’s husband Arthur loved lists. He’d leave them for her everywhere. ‘Remember: eggs, butter, sugar’. ‘I love you: today, tomorrow, always’.

But now Arthur is gone. He died: softly, gently, not making a fuss. But he’s still left her a list. This one has just one item on it though: ‘Find D’.

Mabel feels sure she knows what it means. She must track down her best friend Dot, who she hasn’t seen si...

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Published on August 04, 2023 01:30

August 2, 2023

Book Review: Was It Good For You?

Blurb

If you’re not a ten on Sophie’s spreadsheet, you’re never getting her between the bedsheets…

No aspect of Sophie’s life goes unrecorded in her Excel spreadsheets, so when she accidentally sends it to her entire contact list instead of just her best friend, Sophie has a lot of uncomfortable explaining to do.

First on the list? Dr Michael Adams. After a disastrous first date, Michael scored a ‘3’ on Sophie’s ‘love life’ tab, but when she shows up to apologise for sharing his result ...

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Published on August 02, 2023 01:22

July 25, 2023

Book Review: The Start of Something Wonderful

Book Review: The Start of Something Wonderful

Autumn Laine has lost her creative sparkle. After losing her grandad and her job as an illustrator in quick succession, she is at a crossroads in life and needs a break. Spending time with her parents in Paris, even in the artistic community of Montmartre, doesn’t appear to be the answer.

So when her penpal, Rosie, invites her to stay in the Lake District, Autumn jumps at the chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of Paris. After all, where ...

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Published on July 25, 2023 00:22

July 21, 2023

Book Review: An Invitation To Seashell Bay

To grow her craft business, Nancy is in desperate need of two things: help and money. So when a potential investor she’s looking to impress recommends an assistant, she jumps at the chance to secure both.

Freddy Astley-Davenport is a notorious playboy with zero work experience. He’s poised to inherit his family’s estate in sunny Seashell Bay – but only if he can hold down a job for six months first. His plan is to take the assistant role in name only, then do the least work he possibly can.

...
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Published on July 21, 2023 00:19

July 8, 2023

Book Review: Escape to Tuscany

Romituzzo, 1944

Just fourteen, Stella Infuriati is the youngest member of her town’s resistance network – a secret she keeps even from her parents. She works alongside her brother Achille to relay messages, supplies and weapons to partisan groups in the Tuscan hills. Fuelled by courage and a fierce sense of purpose, Stella braves incredible danger and survives… but when peace comes in 1945, she vanishes.

Florence, 2019

Writer Tori MacNair arrives in Florence. Fleeing an emotionally abus...

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Published on July 08, 2023 01:21

July 4, 2023

Book Review: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

I’m delighted to be part of the blog tour for The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Suzy K Quinn, organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.

My review

5/5

The blurb didn’t give away much and from the title, I was expecting a conventional romance book.

This is not a conventional romance book. Far from it.

From the very first page, it reminded me of one of my favourite books ever, The Rosie Project. The protagonist Michael Lamb reminded me so much of Professor Don Tillman in the Rosie P...

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Published on July 04, 2023 01:18

June 2, 2023

Book Review: The Palm Tree Swingers Island Band

Take a tiger, an orangutan, an elephant, an eagle, a rhino, a dragon, a spider, and a turtle. Mix with music till loud – you might want to stand back.

I’m delighted to be part of the blog tour today for the wonderful children’s book, The Palm Tree Swingers Island Band by Lily Lawson, with illustrations by Gustyawan.

It was the lovely VW campervan on the front cover that initially attracted me to this colourful book. Love those campervans! But as soon as I opened it, I realised it was a ver...

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Published on June 02, 2023 00:50

January 31, 2023

My favourite board games

Last week, someone asked me about my favourite board games. What a tricky question!

When I was growing up, we played the usual family games. Scrabble on Wednesday night when the neighbours used to visit, Monopoly or Cluedo on Christmas Day, and occasionally draughts with my dad who almost always beat me.

It wasn’t until I met my husband, who is a real board game afficionado, that I realised that there are there are thousands of games out there now, with themes from bicycles (Flamme Rouge)...

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Published on January 31, 2023 11:53