Ingrid Hall's Blog, page 28

INDIE AND PROUD…CATS IN THE DRAWER

 

Hey,

This guest post by Beryl Belsky over at Yves Fey’s fab blog, is an absolute MUST for cat lovers!

Check out: http://yvesfey.com/premieres/4459

If you haven’t already done so, please like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/indieandproud

It’s a shame Lenora is in Spain, she would have loved this post!

 

Review of The Lightbearers by Nora M. Garcia

Nora M. Garcia is originally from New York but now lives in Southern California, where she works with an entertainment company.  She considers herself to be an artist, but says she feels a strong social responsibility to write…

This book has been on our review list for AGES, possibly the best part of a year!  I first started reading it around six months ago but struggled to get into it; however, the central theme of reincarnation was just impossible for me to  ignore.

The book is an extremely unconventional take on the tale of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaton and his Queen Nefertiti.  Together, they have been reincarnating for over three thousand years attempting to rid the world of evil and spread the word of the Lightbearers.  In theory, I should have absolutely loved this book, however, in reality it at times left me bemused, perplexed and yes, a little disappointed.

Apart from a few typos, the book is written to a decent enough standard; however, I found the author’s style to be extremely clinical and dispassionate – not good, when you are dealing with really emotive issues! I also really struggled with the evil Dr Adam Natas, a pantomime style villain who for some unknown reason was allowed to dominate the whole book. So, instead of a really interesting tale of an ancient King and Queen reincarnating, what we actually got was a whole load of “He’s behind you” style innuendo, with Akhenaton and Nefertiti, running across stage every now and again under various different names, in a bid to stop him taking over the world with his robots.

I liked the astral projection elements and thought the relationship between Akhenaton and Nefertiti in their various incarnations was touching, if at times a little contrived.

I just wanted to take this book and completely rewrite it!

You can find out more at:

https://twitter.com/NoraFarr

 

Review of Life Blood Aethereal Bonds #1 Cora’s Choice by V.M Black

We are seeing a flurry of romance reviews at the moment! Check out Luna’s review of this vamptastic paranormal romance over at http://lunaballantyne.wordpress.com

Catch you later

Ingrid xxx

 

 

Indie and Proud…

Yves Fey

Indie and Proud has been quieter lately than I would have liked, largely due to the fact that due to family illnesses and a devastating  family bereavement, I haven’t had as much time or energy to give it the attention that it deserved on top of keeping up with book reviews and my writing etc.

I am back now though and plan on putting some oomph back into the campaign!

The original idea was to run features/articles/reviews every single week on a Thursday, and starting this Thursday we will hopefully be doing just that!  We do have some slots available for various different dates in the year, which I am willing to extend to other indie authors that are not currently part of the collective…

So, if you are an indie author and have some advice to other authors…Or if you would be interested in reviewing a book as part of the campaign, or have another great idea, then contact me!  Please note that we are not interested in blatant self promos.  Your submission MUST have an edge to it and MUST be appealing to other indie authors or readers!

We will also be announcing the WINNER of the short story competition that we ran in conjunction with The Writer’s Drawer on April 30th.  We also have some giveaways coming up including one from the fabulous Barbara L.B Storey

You can find details of the amazing authors already taking part by going to the dedicated tab at the top of this blog!

[contact-form]

 

Jamie Marchant

Review of Love Unfeigned by Nadine C. Keels

Check out Luna’s new review of Love Unfeigned at http://lunaballantyne.wordpress.com

Cautionary note:  you might want to skip the review if you do not want to see your Christian beliefs mildly challenged on the Easter weekend.

Review of Hadrian’s Lover by Patricia Marie Budd

Patricia Marie Budd was born in Canada.  She has lived in Japan and England. Prior to writing her novels, Patricia’s earlier writing was more theatrical in nature, having one act produced in The Rhubarb Festival’s Special Event in 1984.   In addition to Hadrian’s Lover she is also the author of Although a New Dawn Rising.

Wow, I don’t quite know where to start because Hadrian’s Lover is perhaps one of the heaviest and most disturbing books that I have ever read.  Set in Hadrian, a fictional futuristic country in what used to be Canada, Hadrian is a seemingly Utopian country created purely for homosexuals.   Heterosexuality has been outlawed, the population is tightly controlled, all embryos are screened and any showing heterosexual chromosomes are destroyed. Perhaps most disturbingly anyone caught engaging in heterosexual relations are sent to government correctional facilities to make them see the error of their ways…

The book is centered around a young man, Todd Middleton a closet “straight” and the struggles that he faces in what is in essence a very chilling and seriously fucked up world.

Living within a stones throw from the real Hadrian’s Wall, I was intrigued by her portrayal of life on the wall in the fictional world that she has created. The parallels between the real life ancient Scottish barbarians and her portrayals of the heterosexual barbarians attempting to breach the perimeters and defile their Utopian world was incredibly clever and well thought out.  I also get that the author was on a rather bold mission to create and bring to life the polar opposite of the heterosexual, Utopian ideal so often preached by right wing extremists, and in this mission she was undoubtedly successful in showing how both end of the intolerance spectrum are as vile as each other.

 The book is written in the present tense which jarred with me at times. I also found her style a little blunt and contrived in places and I think the book which is undoubtedly thought provoking and a must read would have been even stronger if the author had attempted to blur the lines and muddy the waters as in it’s current form it lacks nuance.

Patricia Marie Budd can be found at:

http://www.patriciamariebudd.com

Emails…

I am having problems logging into my emails this morning peeps.  Might have to consider switching email provider as this seems to be happening a lot at the moment, but switching would bring a whole load of challenges in itself…

I am busy for most of the day, I will try to log back in this evening, if not it will be tomorrow before I get a chance to reply…

Love

Ingrid xxx

 

Just a note regarding Young Adult/New Adult review submissions…

I don’t like putting up reviews of anything that I wouldn’t give at least a 3 star rating to, and I am receiving a lot of books in the YA/NA genre that I would give a 3 star rating to, but only just. I don’t like “only just!”

I love the YA/NA genres, but I think there must be a serious difference between how these are written/who they are aimed at in the USA versus the UK.   Either the kids over here are WAY more advanced in terms of their relationships, or authors over here are more willing to portray them realistically than authors in the U.S

Please DO NOT send books in this genre for review, if you are not going to portray realistic relationships, I don’t want to read saccharine portrayals of 20 year old ADULTS who are presenting more as 16 year old CHILDREN in terms of their behaviour and approach to sex and relationships. I understand that Religion/Faith is often a key factor in how books are written/presented, but sorry, these portrayals are just not for me!

It’s just personal preference and it will save us all a lot of hassle!

Love

INGRID xxx

Review of A Cure For Little B*****DS by Calum Mackinnon

Calum Mackinnon is the author and illustrator of A Cure for Little B*****ds. You can follow him on Twitter @crsmackinnon

First of all, I have to say that I absolutely love the premise behind this hilarious children’s book, which is packed with more than the occasional punch or two!  Desperate to help her brothers who are facing expulsion from school for their incredibly naughty behaviour, Gertie Goodbright attempts to come up with a cure for bad behaviour.  Does she succeed? You will have to read the book to find out!

Everything about this book is O.T.T but that’s what makes it so good! Everything from the names of the characters, to the story line.  The style of writing, kind of reminded me of the works of the legendary Roger Hargreaves, however because the book is aimed at older children, then I think the most apt way of describing A Cure For Little B*****DS would be to say that it is like the Mr Men meets Dennis the Menace.

There are a wide range of characters and a lot of the grown ups (including the teachers) are naughty too and I think the author’s depiction of the darker side of humanity, while gift wrapped in a way that is suitable for children is brilliantly done.  All too often, children’s books shy away from tackling subjects that Mackinnon charges at head on.

I am sure this book will be a winner with children and parents alike.  Particularly dads.  In fact, if the man in your life has a birthday coming up soon, buy him a copy! Whether he is a dad or not, it is guaranteed to bring out his inner child!

 

“Meet Ms Fix it – Manuscript Therapist!”

O.M.G

Thank you so much, Darlene Deluca for an amazing interview and feature!  Ms Fix it – Manuscript Therapist! I can’t stop laughing! I am going to use this on ALL of my promotional material from now on!

Check it out folks and while you are at it, make sure you check out Darlene’s books too!

http://www.threewritersofromance.com/1/post/2014/04/meet-ms-fix-it-manuscript-therapist.html