Anita Dawes's Blog: http://jenanita01.wordpress.com, page 25

review for Amy McGuire's trilogy...

The Hearts Discovery by Amy McGuire
I was half expecting a typical YA romance, but the fact that this was a trilogy in the making had me intrigued. Whereas this type of material is usually hard pushed to fill one novel substantially, Amy McGuire has created a classic romance that just grows on you from the very first chapter.As far as romance stories go, in my opinion The Hearts Desire has more depth than the classic Romeo and Juliet. They only had each other to worry about and it all seems a little flat compared to Amy McGuire's romance with all its complex relationships.There are more characters involved, more drama, more difficult choices to be made and agonised over. In short, it leaves you eager to read the sequel Worlds Apart.
 
Worlds Apart is the second book in the Hope Valley Trilogy, where the romance between Anjaline and Gabriel struggles to continue, despite their being so far apart.The clear distinction between their locations is well written. The reader shares the experience of being in two very different worlds, exploring all the facets of this long distance relationship.But complications inevitably arise when they each meet many new interesting and attractive people, subjecting them to temptation and despair. They are young and inexperienced, quite unprepared for the complicated jealousies that tend to grow out of uncertainty. They discover that writing letters in substitute for what they had shared, and that time has a way of dimming reality, making them doubt what they had and if in fact it was real. Will they continue to drift apart as the years pass, or is their romance doomed to die? Will they ever meet again?You desperately want them to, for despite all the twists and turns that life has thrown at them, you have the feeling they are meant to be together.The title of the last part of the trilogy  Dreams Come True   might lead you to believe that they do, but maybe not.For this trilogy is not just about Anjaline and Gabriel. There are a wealth of complicated relationships in these books and each and every one of them deserves a happy ending. But because of the complex romantic tangle that Amy McGuire has so cleverly devised you know this will not be the case for everyone...



Worlds Apart

Blurb:

You never forget your first love.
Even if it hurts your chance at second love.

In Ontario Anjaline realizes her dream of becoming a journalist for one of Toronto’s leading newspapers.
In Hope Valley Gabriel apprentices to become a skilled carpenter. Together they were two kids in love. Apart they have a chance to grow into the people they were meant to be. If part of that growth means taking a chance on new love, will they embrace it? Or will they cling to what they once had and miss out on what the future has to offer? And if they do take a second chance on love, does that mean they will never see each other again?
Maybe there is something even better in store for them both?
A Young Adult Romance

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Apart-Ho...
Smashwords Buy Link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
The Heart’s Discovery Smashwords Link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/146706
Amy McGuire

About the Author: 

Amy was raised in Africa by missionary parents and has gained a rich perspective of the world in her travels.  She has been writing stories since she could hold a crayon but was officially published in 2009 through Kindle Direct Publishing and CreateSpace.  A great reader of romance, it was a natural step for her to start writing it.  Amy lives in Toronto with her husband and young daughter.  Worlds Apart is her second novel.


Goodreads Profile Link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Website: http://www.shesanauthor.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShesAnAuthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAmyMcGuire
Blog: http://shesanauthor.wordpress.com/
 

 
Coming Easter 2014!  Dreams Come True
Back Cover blurb:
Nearly six ago, Anjaline promised Gabriel that she would make it back to Hope Valley, no matter how long it took.  Will keeping her promise mean a second chance for them, or just more heartache?
Shortly after ending her engagement to Tom Sawyer, Anjaline Rodriguez is given an assignment which leads her back to Hope Valley.  Over the past six years she has become Charity Sutherland, a reporter willing to set aside her dreams to protect her heart.  In becoming Charity she gave up with it meant to be Angie, a girl from Quito, Ecuador with a compassionate heart.  When she sees Hope Valley and her old friends again, she longs to return to being the girl she once was.  Gabriel finds her on the bridge where they first met and she can’t deny the spark of attraction.  Can that spark become a flame of true love?  Will she have the courage to say yes to her future and no to a past that has only caused her pain?  Will all her dreams come true at last?


 Giveaway Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/disp...

Guest of the week...Chris Hill

This week we have as our guest the wonderful writer of 'Song of the Sea God', a very unusual book that I enjoyed reading very much and will probably read again.Hello Chris, and welcome!
                                    ~*~*~
Thanks for having me along to your blog Anita, it’s a delight to be here and always a thrill to talk to other writers and readers. You were asking about my book Song of the Sea God and how I came to write it. It’s an interesting question for any author I think - partly because in some ways it is such a hard thing to pin down.
As a writer it can feel as though you start with a blank page and finish with a book on the shelf and you are not quite sure how you got from one state to the next. Perhaps this is because a book doesn’t leap fully formed onto the page.“Where did that come from?” you might reasonably ask yourself. Even though you know you did the planning and the notes and the research and the hours in front of the laptop and the rewrites - it still seems strange that you have produced this finished artifact - this book, as if from nowhere.
It’s especially the case with Song of the Sea God I suppose, in that it’s an unusual book with an element of the supernatural about it. It has one foot in reality and another in a world which exists only in the book.So how did it come to be? I suppose the most honest thing to say about Song of the Sea God is that the idea for the novel kind of evolved over time. Song of the Sea God is a book about a man who comes to a small island off the coast of northern England and tries to convince the locals he is a god. In some ways I suppose it’s a book about the nature of religion - what it means to people, how it works.


 

I’m not particularly religious myself and I suppose I’d call myself an agnostic, but just because I don’t claim to know the mysteries of the universe, doesn’t mean I think there are no mysteries. I think what inspired me to write the book was that I wanted to examine that ‘god-shaped hole’ people have in their lives.I’d like to think there’s humour in the book, particularly in the narrative voice, but it’s quite a dark book as well, it delves into some quite murky places.I’m thrilled by the reaction it’s had so far from readers - people seem to think of it in different ways, it’s dark or comic or lyrical, and so on. That’s great because I was aiming to write something rich and layered and hard to pin down.
I know very well where the setting for the book came from, because the island is the place where I grew up, Walney Island of the coast of Cumbria in the UK. I used the geography because I know the place well and I think it helps if you have a book where slightly unreal things are going on if you can set it somewhere which feels very real - it helps to anchor it and I think a strong sense of place is a fine thing to have in a novel. But I always say, that though the island is based on Walney, the people in the book are definitely not the people who live there! The characters I suppose developed partly from people I have known over the years, partly from the needs of the story.
A lot of what happens in the book was based on research. I did a lot of reading into all sorts of things from ancient religious beliefs to magicians tricks, and from outsider art buildings to communities who live on rubbish tips. It all informed the finished book I hope and lent depth to the story.So it’s that cocktail I suppose of imagination and research, and then developing ideas as you write.I hope that’s given you some kind of insight as to how Song of the Sea God came about and anyone who wants to take a look at it can find it on Amazon here and you can read the first few pages to get a feel for it. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Song-Sea-God-Chris-Hill/dp/1908011556/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349468028&sr=1-1I also have a blog, where I talk about writing and lots of other stuff, here: http://songoftheseagod.wordpress.com/Thanks again for having me on your blog!



You are more than welcome Chris, you can drop in any time you're passing!

See you all next week...

Jaye

Reflections...

Reflections
Last week there was a welcome chink in the awful weather we have been having. The sun made a stunning come-back and actually came out!A quick inspection of my bonsai revealed the emergence of tiny green buds and the sweetest of cherry blossom on one of them. This inspired me to do a bit of gardening for I am always surprised at this time of year at how much suddenly needs to be done. How can this be, I think, Mother Nature has been asleep for months and the minute she starts to wake up, everything needs tidying up?
my favourite bonsai
Anyway, for a day or two I enjoyed myself. No writing was done; it was like having a mini holiday, sneaked when no one was looking. Sadly it didn't last long. Soon the rain returned and brought cold cruel winds with it, so it was time to return to the keyboard which welcomed me back like an old friend.Mother's Day came and went, a day I'm not too fond of as I haven't been one for a long time now. I need no reminders of that time either, really I don't. But Anita is still very much a mother, surrounded by her offspring, so it is a ritual we solemnly observe, marked by a family get together and dinner for which I had planned a glorious roast, like always. Only to have a plaintive request from youngest grand daughter, 'Could we possibly have a meat pie?'Well, I don't mind what I cook, and everyone else liked the idea, so it was humble meat pie for Mother's Day dinner.
Not much progress to report on my book 9Lives, though I seem to have been doing a lot of work on it. It suddenly occurred to me that at least two of my characters were a bit one dimensional and could do with more back story. This involved an awful lot of back tracking, so thank God for the Windows ability to 'find' things making names, sequences and dates so much easier to find.Just when I was deep in the swing of things, the printer ran out of black ink, and guess what, every other colour in the box but not one black. Why had I not noticed that before? So no more printing until supplies arrive.
I have made another monumental discovery as I wrestle with my new laptop. It is a totally different kettle of fish compared to my computer, made a thousand times more complicated because it runs on Windows 8. This bears absolutely no relation to Windows 7, of which I am inordinately fond. Why on earth is it so different? What were they thinking?I thought progress was supposed to make life better; at least that's what I have always assumed. Guess I was wrong to think that, so I sent for the Which guide for laptops which was supposed to sort me out. But it didn't, turned out to be less helpful than the scanty leaflet that came with the laptop. This might just might turn out to be the one bridge too far, or even the straw that breaks the camels back.Obviously, I must have been out of my head to even contemplate getting a laptop. Me, I hate computers, remember?I tell a lie. There was one I didn't hate, not once I had figured out how to use it at any rate. My old Amstrad. It was only a word processor, which lets face it, is all we really need, isn't it? It never used to crash or swear at me in PC language (and I could play solitaire). Spring is here!


Against my better judgement, I have begun a sort of a countdown to my birthday on May 2nd. Never thought I would make it this far and it seems significant to me although I'm not sure why. I really don't feel that old, but in just 27 days I will be 70 years old. (or young!) 70 years I have been on this planet, years full of all those people and things I have loved and hated, endured and enjoyed, lost and found. Most of them all gone now and barely remembered. Perhaps that's what is supposed to happen as you get older, things fade away or get forgotten. Best thing for most of it, I say.
Before I sign off, I have a message for mothers everywhere.To all of you brave, fearless and long suffering, patient and wonderful women, it is only right that you have a special day, a day when you are revered and treated like a queen. Just don't expect to see me there anytime soon.
Best wishes, see you soon,Jaye

Journeys of Wonderment!

Journeys of Wonder started out as a way of making just a few short sci-fi and mystery stories available to the reading public, and because these stories were so brilliantly written, and ever growing fan base was created and it ended up becoming an amazing trilogy.

I love the spooky, the scary and the macabre and all of these stories did not disapoint. Well written by many talented authors, each and every one would be well at home on 'The Twilight Zone'. I loved them all, and each time I thought I had found my favourite I was wrong, and ended up changing my mind several times over.

Volume One has five unusual, intriguing and very different stories.
Volume Two is another five stories, again different and unusual but with a faster pace.
Volume Three has another five stories, but these are cleverly edgy, perhaps a little more sophisticated.

All three volumes are amazingly brilliant, many of them could be developed into full length novels, they are that good.






Featured in the First Volume:

The Door: Six people are stuck in a room with no memory of how they got there, while a fear of the unknown keeps them from opening the only exit they have. 

Blackout: The terrifying tale of a young woman whose memory is shattered and a creepy neighbour who is not all he seems.

Infinity:  Two brothers, forced to travel through time to save the world from an unspeakable evil, have little idea of what they have actually gotten themselves into.

Eye of the Wolf: A young girl struggles against the power of the full moon as she tries to hide her deadly secret from her family.

Afterdeath:  In a future where our journey beyond death is no longer a mystery, the promise of eyeternal love awaits, unless you break the rules.
Add Journeys of Wonder – Volume 1 to your Goodreads ShelfAuthor Links:Ian KezsbomLisa Gail GreenLeslie S. RoseDeborah D. PasachoffMatt Filer






Featured in the Second Volume:

Cal: A young man challenges his father after falling in love with a cybernetic life form.

The Terrible, Perfect Duet:  Cicadas, insomnia and High School. What could possibly be more horrifying?

Helios:  As humanity flees the wrath of Earth's dying sun, a daughter's quest to claim her birthright jeopardises the chance to escape.

Encrypted:  Spies. Codes. Murder. A thriller about a man on the run - hiding a secret that others would kill for.

Lighting the Sacred Way:  Set during the time of the Roman Empire, a woman tried to vanquish the evil spirit residing within her. One that arrived on the day her husband was murdered.

Add Journeys of Wonder – Volume 2 to your Goodreads Shelf
Author Links:Ian KezsbomLisa Gail GreenLeslie S. RoseDeborah D. PasachoffTrysta A. BissettS.P. SipalSuzanne O’Dell



Featured in this volume are:

 Tooth and Nail: by Trysta A. Bissett. "I yanked off my last remaining fingernail, crying out. My ragged toothless gums, my bruised fingertips, the calloused ends of my toes ached in response. There was nothing left to give. This would be the last time."

Downstage: by Leslie S. Rose. "I would sell my soul to the hot angel of freakin' death to have Bonita back here next to me in the dark. Another chance to push her. I'll show her real acting when I weep and scream as she drops."

The Edge of Insanity: by Ian Kezsbom.  "We tried to fight, but how can you fight something with no form, with no body? We tried to run, but there was nowhere to go. All we could do was hide."

Skin on Skin: by Lisa Gail Green. "A split second to him becomes a liftetime for me. The first thing that comes clear is the rage. Intense. Consuming. My body shakes with it. My vision blurs."

Transformations: by Martina A. Boone.  "The more he considered the odd shafts of light, the more he was sure it wasn't a coincidence that he was seeing them on the equinox. And if that was the case, they meant something. Pointed to something."


Add Journeys of Wonder – Volume 3 to your Goodreads Shelf
Author Links:Trysta A. BissettIan KezsbomLisa Gail GreenLeslie S. RoseDeborah D. PasachoffMartina A. BooneJenny Ceja Lee


Buy the Journeys of Wonder Volumes:Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D...

Website: www.journeysofwonder.com Twitter: @journeyswonder Blog: www.journeysofwonder.com/blog Fuzzbom Publishing Profile Fuzzbom Publishing was started by Ian Kezsbom and his wifer, Debra Pasachoff.
Their first books were the Journeys of Wonder anthologies, which came to life with the help of their writing partners Lisa Gail Green and Leslie S. Rose. Their first novel, The Binding Stone by Lisa Gail Green - a YA Paranormal, was published this past year to excellent reviews.  
 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C...).

 Giveaway Info:
The prize:  an ebook or print book (Winner’s Choice) of Journeys of Wonder – Volume 1
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/6289a722/

A Moment of Madness

A Moment of Madness...

I did something stupid today. In fact it began a few weeks ago, when the tiny germ of an idea slipped into my mind and wouldn't go away.It was something my friend Bru (February Grace of http://februarywriter.blogspot.com) had said about how she often wrote and blogged from the comfort of her bed. The poor girl has days when she is too ill or uncomfortable to get up, but still wants to do what she loves most, which is writing. I have this mental picture of her, snug and comfy in her pyjamas, ensconced in bed with her trusty laptop, and the idea just took root in my head and began to grow.


Not that I want to write in bed, but with my ever increasing workload, I have to make even more time available to me. Who knew the writing and self publishing world would create this much work, I certainly didn't in the beginning.For a long time now I seem to spend most of my evenings with puzzles and Sudoku while the family watch television. I love most of the programmes and it is good to relax at the end of the day, but find it increasingly hard to see them properly as my distance glasses make me so very giddy and ill I cannot wear them. Consequently I find myself just listening and limit my eyesight to things I can do on my lap as my reading glasses are fine.I have discovered that I cannot read while the television is on, but can manage other things, like writing notes. You can see where I am going with this, can't you?The thought of having a laptop has interested me ever since the family members bought theirs, but always dismissed the idea as pretty stupid as I am basically a technophobe. You know, someone who hates technology with a passion, usually because we are hopelessly unable to grasp the basics, let alone all the clever stuff.I have struggled to learn how to use a computer, my mind obviously not properly equipped with the necessary bits to understand or implement the information that I do eventually manage to discover.This is where it has paid dividends to be one of the most stubborn people on the planet. Something I am more than proud of, as because of this, I have achieved much more than I think I would otherwise have done.Computers are brilliant but confusing, time saving but frustrating, and I am more than sure they lead to insanity, at least in my case.But... I have mastered my computer, how hard could a laptop be?
I have found loads...


I saw one I like the look of, a combined laptop with a tablet which made it very versatile. Just what I needed to make better use of my evenings.It arrived yesterday. As I unpacked it, the shiny red alien exterior gleamed in front of me. I looked at it and thought, 'Now what do I do?'The instructions were sketchy to put it mildly, apparently all the information is on the machine and you learn as you go. (That's if you get as far as switching it on) I was instantly terrified. What on earth had I done?I ignored it for over an hour and went about my business, but found myself sneaking looks and wondering if I could possibly...To cut a long story short, I did finally pluck up the courage to turn it on, and for several hours I blundered about, pressing this and swiping that, until I had a rough idea of what to do. What made it worse for me I think was that it came with Windows 8, where I am used to Windows 7, but having said that, it is a marvellous piece of equipment and I should be able to accomplish a load more work with it.Once I have ironed out all the wrinkles, both its and mine of course!

See you soon,
Jaye

Jaye Frances, an unusual writer of unusual stories.

This week I am reviewing The Beach by Jaye Frances, an interesting author who lives in Florida, USA. I personally think that her books are usually subtly different and a bit quirky, always an interesting read, I find.
Beautifully written as an allegory, The Beach subtly emphasises man's controlling obsessions and the consequences, obsessions that will ultimately destroy us all, if we are not careful.
A powerfully raw psychological story about the harsh realities and consequences of exploitation, I am glad I read it. Over to you Jaye...
Jaye FrancesGuest Post:
One of my favorite places to vacation is the beach. And I’m not alone. There’s something very special in just the right combination of sand, sun, and surf that makes the shoreline the perfect spot to spend a holiday—or in the case of Alan, the main character in The Beach , a lifetime.
When I began to develop Alan’s personality, I realized he was not going to fit into the majority of beach-goers who made their annual summer pilgrimage to the shore to bake in the sun and play in the temperate waves. Alan was a loner, a staunch individualist who preferred the empty beaches of winter, favoring a jacket over sunscreen. As Alan matured, he quickly became more than the simple sum of his parts. True, he could be brash and defiant, and easily written off as a reclusive non-conformist. But he was also intelligent and perceptive, able to rationalize his antisocial attitude as a response to what he saw happening around him, a defense of last resort over a situation he was powerless to prevent.
In the following excerpt, Alan is preparing to hang and display a curious object he picked up from the shoreline the previous afternoon. After gathering the tools he needs from a storage shed, he heads back into his house, ready to secure a nail into one end of the item. But the unusual material is resistant, and as Alan wonders what the container’s purpose really is, some odd things begin to occur . . .
Here’s an excerpt:
The next morning brought a clear blue sky and a warm breeze—the kind of weather that always drew people to the seashore. He didn’t want to think about it. Grabbing his light-bending novelty from the kitchen counter, Alan walked out the back door toward an old ramshackle storage shed. Providing minimal protection for a half-empty bag of potting soil and some replacement roof shingles, Alan also used it to store a few tools and some loose hardware.
He welcomed the opportunity to be outside, to be on the beach with purpose. Not to enjoy the tickle of the sun on his skin or to hear the soothing rhythm of the waves, but to revel in the sadistic pleasure of confrontation, to direct his pre-emptive arrogance at them, answering their questions before they could ask: No, you can’t use the bathroom. No, I don’t have any water. No, you can’t use the hose to wash off the salt. And no, I don’t know what time it is.
“Somewhere under the bottom shelf . . .” he mumbled.Peering into the rusted-out coffee can, he stirred the collection of loose hardware—mostly nuts, washers, and bolts—with his fingers. “It can’t be too big, might split the thing wide open.” Finally locating a few finishing nails, he dropped them into his shirt pocket.
Brushing aside a thick blanket of cobwebs, he began rummaging through an old plastic paint bucket, pulling out a plunger, paint roller, and a broken hacksaw before finding the hammer.
The lack of a decent working area forced Alan to return to his kitchen. He sprawled on the floor. I’ll seat the nail an eighth of an inch or so before driving it deep with a full strike.
Estimating the center of the cylinder’s flat end, he marked it with a pencil, set the nail, and gave it a light tap.
Instead of penetrating, the nail bounced off the surface.
What the hell? Must be hardwood, maybe walnut or cherry.
He brought it up for a closer inspection. Although the nail-point had failed to scratch the finish, the impact had definitely affected its integrity. He could hear a soft hissing, as if the interior had been under pressure and was now equalizing with the ambient altitude.
“Probably been under water a long time. Got to let off some steam.”
Re-positioning the nail, Alan swung the hammer again. This time the strike was solid, with plenty of force. The metallic ping of the nail ricocheting across the floor was suddenly lost to the sound of escaping air. Alan jumped to his feet, concerned the thing might explode, or that the rush of leaking gas might be filling the room with dangerous—even deadly—fumes.
“Maybe it’s some kind of high-tech fire extinguisher, or a CO2 dispenser for making wine spritzers.” It was mere speculation and both possibilities were doubtful, especially since a puncture to either type of pressurized container would have sent the cylinder skittering across the floor.
With no reasonable explanation for its unusual behavior, Alan wanted it out of the house. Grabbing a broom he drew back, preparing to whack it—hockey style—through the open door. He focused on the target.
The sight made him lower his broom.

Synopsis:
Alan loves the beach. More than a weekend respite, it is his home, his refuge, his sanctuary. And for most of the year, he strolls the sand in blissful solitude, letting nature—and no one else—touch him. But spring has given way to summer, and soon, the annual invasion of vacationers and tourists will subdivide the beach with blankets, umbrellas, and chairs, depriving Alan of his privacy and seclusion—the fundamental touchstones of his life. Resigned to endure another seasonal onslaught of beach-goers, Alan believes there is nothing he can do but prepare for the worst. 
But fate has other plans.
Delivered to him on the crest of a rogue wave, the strange object appears to have no purpose, no practical use—until Alan accidentally discovers what waits inside. Now he must attempt to unravel an ageless mystery, unaware that the final outcome will change his life, and the beach, forever.
In the companion novella Short Time , you’ll meet a respectable but bored middle-class executive, who exchanges his future for six months of excess and extravagance, only to find out the price he must pay for his hedonistic indulgence is beyond anything he could have imagined.
Amazon link for The Beach:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008X76CD6                        Goodreads link for The Beach:   http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15824616-the-beach 
Jaye Frances
About the Author: Jaye Frances is the author of the adult erotica series, World Without Love. Book One, titled “Jewel’s Reluctant Surrender” will be released Summer 2014. Her other works include The Beach , a sci-fi supernatural tale about the possibilities—and horror—of wishful thinking, The Kure , a paranormal-occult romance novel, The Possibilities of Amy , a coming-of-age romance novella. and Love Travels Forever , a collection of poignant short stories. Born in the Midwest, Jaye readily admits her life’s destination has been the result of an open mind and a curiosity about all things irreverent. When she’s not consumed by her writing, Jaye enjoys cooking, traveling to all places tropical and “beachy,” and taking pictures – lots of them. Jaye lives on the gulf coast of Florida, sharing her home with one husband, six computers, four cameras, and several hundred pairs of shoes.
Website:  http://www.jayefrances.com
Blog:  http://blog.jayefrances.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jayefrancesauthor
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/www.jayefrances.com
Goodreads Author Page:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5232105.Jaye_Frances
 FYI:  “The Beach” is going to be offered at a reduced price during the entire blog tour as a Kindle Countdown promotion through Amazon.com . Normally priced at $2.99, it will be only $1.99 from March 17 through the 23rd.
GIVEAWAY CODE:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/6289a720/

Review of the Week...

Eric is Awake   by Dom Shaw
I read about this book and something struck me about how different it seemed to be, so I volunteered to review it here and on Goodreads and Amazon.  And I was right to be interested as 'Eric is awake' demands respect from the very first page. It is definitely worth reading and once you have, keep it safe, as you will want to read it again.
∞∞∞
As one man dies, another lives. Nothing special about that you might think, it happens all the time.But not when time separates the two men and one of them happens to be George Orwell, aka Eric Arthur Blair.
Written in two threads, one a diary from Orwell's old life and an interesting blog from his new one, past and present separated by different fonts, but unnecessary in my view as the characters clearly tell you where they are.
Dom Shaw has a surprisingly strong and powerful writing voice and style, considering this is his first novel. I was expecting a story that a novice might write, full of promise of what could come later, but I was surprised by the sheer strength of his writing skill. Surely Dom Shaw has been writing fiction for years?
Far from being a depressing tale of another downtrodden world, acknowledged by the very person who envisaged it, this uncomfortable story makes you think and appreciate the subtle differences.
If you have ever wondered what a man like Orwell would make of our world, this book answers so many questions, but leaves you in no doubt that he would be at home here, for it is possibly how he imagined it would be.
From time to time you have to remind yourself that this was not written by Orwell himself, so strong and familiar is the voice in this book. It could very well be the proof that reincarnation or something very similar is at work here and I am more than glad I read it.
anonpresspublishing@gmail.comwww.ericisawake.com

I wanted to take the week off, but...

Just resting!This has turned out to be a funny old week, lots of plans, plotting and determination all scuttled by yet another virus. Reminding me that if I miss my annual flu jab again this year, I should be taken away and shot!
For some reason I kept putting it off last year and never got around to it for the first time since I turned 60. I don't know if it's supposed to combat all viruses, but it certainly seems to.
So this is the second virus that has sought me out in the space of just a few weeks and this one was pretty nasty. At one point I was shivering so much, I just couldn't get warm, so my temperature must have been through the roof.Consequently, nothing much was accomplished that day. On day two, all I wanted to do was sleep, but I did manage to check my emails only to discover that Story Cartel had rejected my upload. Apparently, converting my Word doc. file to a mobi had not been successful. I had a look and saw immediately what they meant. There were huge gaps everywhere, not good at all. What on earth had the converter done to my file?So I reformatted the file and tried again. Same result. I decided I was far too ill to bust my brains with it and went and had a nap.
Day three brought another email from Story Cartel suggesting several different solutions, which I dutifully tried to no avail. This is the point where I normally give up, wishing for the millionth time that my PC had an idiot button especially for dummies like me.On a lighter note, I was browsing Goodreads and noticed that Book and Blog Tours were being talked about a lot, so I joined the discussion, realised what an opportunity they could be and ended up volunteering. I can write reviews and even host authors on our blog, so what could go wrong?You never know, if I am any good at it I might end up having one myself! That's if I ever finish my book 9Lives !
I also had another, more depressing email from Richard and Judy (the book club). I had submitted 9Lives in the hope that if it was good enough it would be shortlisted, but it wasn't. Their email was very nice though. I haven't allowed myself to be downhearted; all it means is that I will have to do some careful revising. You can tell that I am a half full sort of person, can't you?


Day four found me staring at the mess that was camouflaging my desk, realising that I needed to do some organising. I have trouble working in chaos, so forsaking my book yet again, I tried to tidy up. But it didn't take me long to realise that a simply tidy was not going to achieve anything. Radical organisation was needed to create some kind of filing system for the huge pile of notes that I have been hoarding.
I was feeling better by then, and so was the weather, so I walked down to my local office supply shop, (I think they call themselves Stay-shon-ary) to see if they had any solutions. I had a vague idea of what was needed, based on my old life as an administrator. You simply had to keep on top of everything in that job, for if you didn't, all kinds of trouble would ensue. I always kept a small flip top box with index cards, which made following up and checking important details very easy and quick!  And I never forgot anything important!
I found just what I needed, so hopefully sorting out my pile of chaos would be just as easy. So although I have not followed my regime of at least 500 words a day for almost a week, I might just have achieved something usefull. After all, there's not much point making lots of useful notes, if you can't access the information quickly so I don't feel too guilty...See you all next week...
Jay

The Week from Hell...

I have just had a week from hell...



They say that everything comes to those who wait...
But do we ever get what we really need?
Do we even know what that is?
Why is it that some people seem luckier than others... getting rewards without really trying, while others strive until their fingers bleed... and still not achieve much?This week I have been battling what appeared to be a multitude of problems and frustrations, diluted here and there by moments of glorious inspiration, followed by what seemed to me at the time, a major achievement. Some of these achievements however turned to dust as I realised that I had not accomplished any way near what I had hoped for.
The most frustrating one was my attempt at entering Scarlet Ribbon on Story Cartel, the book review site. The first obstacle I came across was that the book file had to be in .mobi format. Several attempts later (and you have no idea the trouble I have doing anything complicated with my PC), I managed to upload all of Story Cartels requirements. Relatively happy, with a small glow of competence beginning to reassure me that I was not completely stupid after all, I moved on to something else.
At least I was having more joy with my writing. Ideas were flowing and a lot of plot revision was being done. All in all I was quite pleased with my progress. 45,000 words and rising, I was beginning to feel like a real writer!
Then followed two days of attempting to solve a delivery problem. I had returned some cushions bought to replace the saggy ones in our couch, as they had sent the wrong ones, but they were adamantly stating that parcel had not been delivered. I sent it with Hermes, who I have used many times before and thought were pretty efficient. It turns out I was mistaken, as the only security measure they take with a delivery, is that someone scrawls their signature on one of Hermes funny little machines. No name of this person on record. Obviously not good enough for a parcel insured for £100!After many telephone calls and filling in of forms, I now await the result of my claim, wondering if the firm I bought cushions from in the first place was in the habit of doing this. It was beginning to seem quite likely.


These roses were a gift from a loved one, right when I needed something beautiful to contemplate. They are very unusual in as much as they don't look much like roses, but beautiful none the less. And they did cheer me up a lot!
Then I received an email from Talia at Story Cartel. Apparently Scarlet Ribbon failed to upload, as format was wrong and there were what they called 'hard returns'. She might as well have been speaking a foreign language. Well, when it comes to me and computer speak, most of it is a foreign language!So much for that idea, as it now seems far too complicated for my old brain. Oh well. That's another thing, there have been far too many 'oh well's' this week. I am fast approaching the time when I can see myself giving up all this marketing and promoting lark, as I am obviously no good at it!Something usually stops me from doing this, for without some kind of promotion your books will go nowhere and you might as well give up writing. But I am enjoying writing too much to give it up, so it is a shame that I cannot manage to learn to do something that would help.
I do thank God for the words what if and maybe. They always seem to pop into my head just when I'm on the verge of giving up...
Hopefully I will have a better time of it next week,

Jay

Would You Like a Perfect Life?

                                   Would You Like a perfect life?
Who wouldn't? 
But could you describe in great detail the perfect life you would have if you could create it yourself?
First, you have to decide on the basics, the where, what and when.  Then you will need to create a pros and cons list to help you compare your life now with one you want to create. List all the things/people/ scenarios that need changing and why.
Make a list of exactly what you would need to do to make it work. Then make another list detailing how nothing would change if you do nothing.
Do you believe in your dream and yourself enough to make it happen? Or do you intend to wait until everything looks easy?Consider what would need to be done and if you could actually do it?Do you trust yourself enough to make these judgements?Do you find yourself making bargains with yourself - If I can do this then thatis possible?

Once you know, really know what you want to do, are you brave enough to do it? Or will it be just a daydream, a constant torment of what you cannot have?
How do you get past the lifelong notion that good things only ever happen to other people? Have always happened to other people, like in the movies?
How do you get around the idea that you are too old to entertain any of this? Simply writing things down does not make things happen or fears go away.  Does it? No it does not.
If what you want to do or change is so huge, can you test yourself and the theory with a smaller goal? What else do you want or need, or is this just another stalling mechanism?
Maybe you should focus on something beyond your capabilities. (overreach yourself.)This is something I do all the time.  I never think 'I can't do that'. Being a bit of an crafts person, I look at something I like, usually expensive or unattainable and think, 'can I make one of those? and I have a go.
You know, most of the time what I come up with is pretty good, even if I do say so myself.  Maybe I was a forger or counterfeiter in a former life.  I think the moral is that you have to try, as you don't know what will happen. (and it can be a lot of fun!)

  
                                         
My Not So Perfect Life
Throughout my life, disasters of one kind or another have befallen me, both before I was old enough to do something about them and afterwards.
I never made lists of the things I wanted to change, of all the things, people, events that were wrong in my life.
No, I just got on with life (such as it was) and soldiered on, changing what bits I could and keeping my mind on everything else that I wanted to be different.Some things I have never been able to change, and it has not been for the want of trying! But my mind never lets go of the idea of my perfect life. My Shangri-La.But again, nothing changes. Same old hopes and dreams and frustrations.I know what I want, but something stops me from doing anything about it. So what the hell is it?
I have always resisted new things, but usually have the courage to do what is necessary. But this time, what I want is seemingly selfish and will upset a lot of people.Is it worth it?Will I regret it?Do I still want to do it anyway?
We have to stop putting up with things- out of duty, guilt, pity- or simply the dislike of change.You have to recognise what you no longer need. They say if you haven't used something for a year, you no longer need it, so throw it away. (and that can apply to anything, believe me)
Start with little things and build up to the big stuff. Somewhere along the way you will get braver. (Hopefully)
Mark bad days on the calendar and at the end of the month count them. Were there more bad days than good? If there is,  something needs to be done and soon.
There are more bad days than I would like on my own calendar, but not as many as there once were. For not only have I changed a lot over the last few years, my acceptance levels are different too. I no longer yearn for what is obviously impractical and I'm afraid that has a lot to do with my advancing years. They say that youth is wasted on the young and I guess that's right. I sure as hell wasted a lot of mine, but what is done...
See you all next week
Jay