Alan Williams's Blog, page 77

Book Review: The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap by Paulette Mahurin

Synopsis:

The year 1895 was filled with memorable historical events: the Dreyfus Affair divided France; Booker T. Washington gave his Atlanta address; Richard Olney, United States Secretary of State, expanded the effects of the Monroe Doctrine in settling a boundary dispute between the United Kingdom and Venezuela; and Oscar Wilde was tried and convicted for gross indecency under Britain’s recently passed law that made sex between males a criminal offense. When news of Wilde’s conviction went...

Book Review: Silverbirch: Fall of the Epicenter by Robert Kaay

Fall of the Epicenter by Robert Kaay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second book in the Silverbirch series, and it takes up more or less where the first book ended. Rob Kaay has gone from strength to strength with the second book.

The first book was well written and this one is no exception. The characters have their unique voices and behaviours, and this time new characters are introduced but the mainstay is the character of Nudge. Whilst Nudge makes the story tick, some of the other minor...

Book Review: Amanda’s Story by Brian O’Grady

Synopsis:

In his national bestseller HYBRID, Brian O’Grady created a bracing and vividly realized tale of a virus gone out of control. At the center of that story was Amanda Flynn, a woman not killed by the EDH1 virus, but changed in frightening ways. HYBRID only hinted at the story of Amanda’s work in Honduras that led to her exposure and the ramifications when the American government sought to contain the damage. Now, that story can be told. AMANDA’S STORY is the heart-stopping tale of a wom...

Allotment January 5th 2013

Harvested parsnips and sprouts, not bad about two meals worth.

Weeded and rough dug ground they were in, still too wet to dig properly.

Doesn’t look like over-wintering onion sets have survived the wet weather.

Retied raspberry canes were string had broken.

Origins

I was born on 28th March 2010, at Netley Marsh in Hampshire. I’m a mongrel, or so my paperwork says. That means that my parents were two different breeds of dog.

My mum was a Border Collie, and my dad, a Jack Russell Terrier.

Alan says that I take after my mum for my colouring – black and white – and after my dad for my size.

Alan said from the first day that I came home with him that I would probably take after both my parents for my temperament – smart but stubborn.

When Alan and Ann came to se...

Rose Garden

Spent this morning clearing a wall in our garden to make way for some climbing roses.



Looks pretty uninteresting at the moment, but hopefully it will soon become a bit more colourful.

Roses (bareroot) have been ordered -Tess of the d’Urbervilles (Red)&The Generous Gardener (White).

Need to do a bit to the border in terms of some compost and also something along the wall for the roses to be able to climb up and be tied off to. This will be a bit of an ongoing project for a few weeks, but will hop...

What’s In My Bag?

Details of what’s in my office away from the office (my backpack), are featured today on Work From Home Wisdom.

Guest Post: Vincent Zandri author of The Disappearance of Grace

My guest today is Vincent Zandri, author of the Disappearance of Grace, as well as a number of other thrillers including the standalone Concrete Pearl and the Dick Moonlight series. I had a few questions for him about his latest book and also what his up and coming plans are. Here’s what he had to say:

Q: You really nailed Venice for the reader with the detail in The Disappearance of Grace. Did you decide to use the City before your recent visit or as a result of it? Was there somewhere else i...

Book Review: The Disappearance of Grace by Vincent Zandri

SYNOPSIS:

Now you see her. Now you don’t…

Captain Nick Angel has finally made a separate peace with the war in Afghanistan. Since having been ordered to bomb a Tajik village which resulted in the death of a little boy of no more than two, he’s been suffering from temporary bouts of blindness. Knowing the he needs time to rest and recover from his post traumatic stress, the US Army decides to send him to Venice along with his fiancee, the artist, Grace Blunt. Together they try and recapture thei...

Guest Post: Ethan Cross, Author of “The Prophet”

My guest on the blog today is Ethan Cross, author of The Prophet. I asked Ethan:

“Serial killers seem to capture the readers imagination. Why do youthink this is? A morbid fascination, seeking a thrill-ride or is it somethingelse?”

Here’s what he had to say:

Serial killers are like aliens among us. They think and act in ways that most

of us cannot begin to comprehend, which in turn makes them fascinating. When we

turn on the news and see headlines describing the deeds of a serial killer, we

immedia...