Malla Duncan's Blog, page 4

Review: ‘Latitudes – A Story of Coming Home’

Here is a book beautifully constructed and crafted. Every sentence balanced, whole and relevant. ‘Latitudes – A Story of Coming Home’ by Anthony Caplan, evinces a poignant undertone of things lost and emotion suppressed; a story about a family separated by latitudes but never fully disconnected. On the separation of his parents, Will develops a steady cool exterior, a defensive distance between his circumstances and the behavior of his parents. Every event, however seemingly innocuous, can af...

Review: The Historian

‘The Historian’ by Elizabeth Kostova is a sweeping saga of the search for the real Dracula, delving into the mysteries surrounding his life, death and burial. It is a combination of historical fact and fantastic legend. Vlad Tepes, the Impaler, murdered more than 20,000 people. His father had been inducted into the Order of the Dragon by the Holy Roman Emperor – and hence Vlad’s name as Dracula, meaning son of the dragon. It was Bram Stoker’s novel that created the legend of the undead – and...

So what’s wrong with prologues?

So what’s wrong with prologues? I’ve read recently that prologues are in someway wrong (or perhaps old-fashioned?) I don’t know who decides these things but prologues are very much alive and well and used in many top writers’ novels, including the bestselling ‘The Secret History’ and ‘Game of Thrones’.

Prologues are often essential tools for supplying back story, tone and hints of what is to come. I often judge a book on the prologue because it gives me an insight to the story’s content, as we...

Momentary lapse

Well, I've just managed to delete my entire blog on Goodreads by the press of a wrong button! Have no idea how to get it back, so having to start again from scratch it seems. And connect up again to my Wordpress blog. Sigh. There always seem to be something else to do on social media that keeps me from completing my latest book. But be patient, I'll get this right again soon!

Catchee Monkey: An excerpt (just for fun)

Well, I’ve finally taken the advice of so many writers and decided to put up an excerpt from one of my novels on my blog as a way to alert interested readers to my content and style of writing. Perhaps a psychological thriller might just be your genre.

Excerpt: Catchee Monkey

At 3 am something woke me. I lay still. The house was silent. I could hear the faint rumble of intermittent traffic on Bayswater. Restless, I eventually slid out of bed and went to fetch a glass of water. Instead of going...

Indie writing: review ‘Moondrops and Thistles’

Romance is not usually my reading choice but done well it makes an emotional connection possibly unlike any other genre. Realistic romance is truly a slice of life up for inspection.

‘Moondrops & Thistles’ by LK Hunsaker takes you with detail, care and honesty into the private emotions of two people falling in love. I loved the main male character, Daws. He was the epitome of the strong, silent type – sure – but he became vibrantly real, a deep thinker, a caring person with old-fashioned value...

Indie writing. Review: Death and the Dream

I have just finished reading this superb collection of short stories by Indie author JJ Brown. For me, five stars plus one! Each story works around the concept of death – how it surrounds us in everyday life and affects us on all levels from the subconscious to dangerously close. The writing is haunting, poetic, graphic yet portrayed with an artist’s touch. There is an intriguing mix of science, New York City and characters whose minds seem to drift dream-like, a little out of touch with real...

Review: Elizabeth’s Women

Well, I know I said I would read a book a week and blog about it. And I know that was several weeks ago. But life is just not that orderly. Also, I know this is not an Indie book but I still like to buy and read traditionally published books. Yes, this is a paperback!

‘Elizabeth’s Women’ by Tracy Borman is just superb. A beautifully written, richly detailed tapestry of life in the 1500′s, full of intrigue, surprises and secrets. I had already read a considerable amount of material regarding El...

Indie writing: Review ‘Heart’s Promise’

‘Heart’s Promise’ by Jeanette Hornby is a deceptively gentle book about pre-adolescent and early teenage romance.

Through a series of frames of ordinary life, we meet Milly when she is only eleven years old and already feeling the pangs of attraction and shyness with regard to the boy next door. The reader is taken on that old, familiar roller-coaster ride of first love awakening, and reminds us how these experiences are often the fundamental lessons in honesty, integrity and family values.

Set...

Indie Writing: Review ‘Grimsley Hollow’

‘Grimsley Hollow – The Chosen One’ by Nicole Storey is first in a fantasy series for children. A key element which separates it from others in the genre is the lead character Gage, a young boy who is autistic. While this is a delightful tale entertaining in its own right – it has the unique angle of seeing events through the eyes of a boy who struggles to make friends in his own world, but achieves this easily in the magical world of Grimsley Hollow.

Written with passion and imagination, Grims...