Rhoda Baxter's Blog, page 35

The Truth About The Other Guy – release day!

It’s formal release day for The Truth About the Other Guy – a short story set at a New Year’s Eve Party. [image error]

When I was a kid, we used to go to Christmas parties organised by my Dad’s old college. They were always held in a cricket stadium in the outskirts of Colombo. My memories are rather hazy but I remember the saris and jewellery of the aunties and, as the night wore on, the dancing. There were always fireworks at midnight (sometimes we little ones fell asleep and were woken up to watch). I...

Goodreads Book Review: Wedding Bells by the Creek by Janet Gover

Wedding Bells By The Creek: A Coorah Creek Novella by Janet Gover

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love the Coorah Creek series (nearly all of them have made me cry – in a ‘good book cry’ kind of way) so, when I heard there was going to be a new novella – with a wedding in it, no less, I asked the author if I could have a review copy.

In this book we meet up with Ed Collins again (grumpy old bugger from Coorah Creek Christmas) who is a significantly happier man now that he’s reunited with his estran...

Bestsellerdom and the power of mailing lists

A couple of my books – Please Release Me and Girl Having A Ball were reduced to 99p over Easter on the UK Kobo site. Amazon was (still is) price matching. And then, earlier this evening, this happened:

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Which means I’m a bona fide bestseller (in fantasy, if not romance). The book has a ghost as a main character – hence the fantasy listing.

Girl Having A Ball, on the other hand, is languishing much further down the charts.

What made the difference? Kobo included the cover of Please Release Me...

Inheritance Books: Lynne Shelby

This week on Inheritance Books, I’ve got fellow romance novelist, Lynne Shelby. Welcome Lynne, why don’t you make yourself comfortable while I get a brew on. Help yourself to Easter eggs. While I’m doing that, why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself.

[image error]I’ve always lived in or near North London, apart from three years as a student at Leicester University, studying history. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer, but over the years I’ve done a variety of day jobs, including...

Goodreads Book Review: The Summer of Impossible Things by Rowan Coleman

The Summer of Impossible Things by Rowan Coleman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m a sucker for a time travel novel and this one’s a good ‘un.
While visiting her late mother’s home town, Luna starts experiencing these weird episodes where she’s transported back to the 1970s at a crucial point in her mother’s life. She could save her mother from a terrible event in the past (which in turn could save her mother’s life in the present). However, in doing so, she would erase herself from existence.

The...

Dear Microsoft: absolutely not.

As those of you who’ve read Doctor January will know, I agree with most of this. Science is often a confrontational sexist place.
I now work in academic support, which gives me the double whammy of being female and not being an academic. I once had a physicist try to mansplain genetics to me. I had to correct his knowledge at one point. Bless (rolls eyes).

monica byrne

And it has nothing to do with your software. It has to do with your new ad campaign, which I happened to see while I was at...

Inheritance Books: Lesley Cookman

This week, I’m beyond excited to have Lesley Cookman visiting Inheritance Books. I’ve put extra cushions on the sofa in celebration. Hi Lesley, welcome to Inheritance Books. Please make yourself comfortable. Tell us a bit about yourself while I go make some tea.

[image error]I’m an ex-actor, feature writer, model, night club DJ, editor and a current mother of four and grandmother of two. I live with two cats and an occasional boomerang child on the Kent Coast.

Which book have you inherited from the genera...

Goodreads Book Review: Generation Decks by Titus Chalk

Generation Decks: The Unofficial History of Gaming Phenomenon Magic the Gathering by Titus Chalk

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I saw this on Netgalley and picked it up because I used to play Magic back when I was at uni (in the mid 1990s) – not at any professional level, just sitting on the floor of my friends’ rooms. So when I saw a history of the game, I was intrigued.

The book is part chronicle of the journey of Wizards of The Coast from start up to global behemoth, part memoir/love letter to th...

Book Review: The Little Teashop of Horrors by Jane Lovering

Little Teashop of Horrors by Jane Lovering

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m a fan of Jane’s books – I like the mixture of comedy and darkness. I wasn’t expecting a teashop book from her, to be honest. Anyway, we have a book about a tea shop. In Yorkshire. So there are scones and fairy cakes and raspberry crunch. There are also birds of prey. Owls! Hooray!

The heroine, Amy, had grown up being told that she’s nothing much to look at and not terribly good for anything. She has a pretty best friend, w...

An Evening Out at the RoNA Awards 2017

This post is a bit late, but hey, better late than never. As I may have mentioned before, my book Girl Having A Ball was shortlisted for Romantic Comedy of the Year in the 2017 RoNA awards. I was delighted with this. The RoNAs are run by the UK Romantic Novelists Association and are a pretty big deal. They’re the UK equivalent of the RITAs. Also on the shortlist were some well known authors – Cathy Bramley, Penny Parkes, Ali McNamara and Joanna Bolouri. Here we are (minus Joanna, who was poor...