Today my author spotlight is on Liv Thomas....

I am delighted to welcome to the blog

Liv Thomas

Co-Author of 

Published by Choc Lit
August 2013

Jack Stewart thought he'd put the past behind him. On the surface, he has everything success, money, a big house and he is never short of an attractive woman by his side, but a tragic road accident shatters Jack's world. 

Raised as an Irish Traveller, Luke Kiernan hasn't had it easy, and when he wakes in a Dublin hospital to find the man he's hated since childhood at his bedside, he's hungry for revenge.Two very different worlds collide, bringing new dangers, exposing past deceits, and unearthing dark family secrets buried long ago. But from tragedy springs the promise of a fresh start with two women who are intent on helping Jack and Luke mend their lives.

Can new love heal old wounds, or are some scars there for good?

***

 Liv ~ welcome to Jaffareadstoo and thank you for taking the time to answer our questions about your book 

Beneath an Irish Sky

Who or what inspired you to become an author?


For as long as I can remember, I used to write stories, create characters., so I think the inspiration came from within, but was perpetuated by writers like Enid Blyton when I was a child, and in more recent years by Patricia Scanlan, Lesley Pearse, Maeve Binchy...could go on forever.

Do you write stories for yourself, or other people? 

I write the kind of stories I'd like to read. I don't know if it could work any other way? So I guess I write for people who like the same kind of stories I do, but I do also write for myself.

What is it about your book that will pique the reader’s interest?

I've seen quite a few novels where there's a Gypsy hero, but I don't think there are many that have an Irish Traveller in that role. And I think the clash of cultures and class can be interesting.



What was the writing process like, and how long did it take you to write Beneath an Irish Sky? 

It took over five years to complete. There were delays caused by the distance between us, especially the time difference, but we initially wrote a novel that was 240k words, because we thought there was a minimum length, not a maximum one! We had to lose half of it, which resulted in a virtual rewrite.



Do you have a special place to do your writing? 

 No - just in the living room with my laptop, often with the tv on. I did used to write in a separate room, but I find it makes no difference. I don't go out to cafes to write.

It's been a real pleasure to host this interview with you Liv - Jaffa and I wish you much success with Beneath an Irish Sky.

About the author

Isabella Connor is the pen name of the writing duo Liv Thomas and Val Olteanu


I recently reviewed Beneath an Irish Sky for romantic fiction online

And now here's your chance to win a copy of this lovely book - and Liv has promised to sign a copy for one lucky UK winner

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review ~ A Fatal Likeness by Lynn Shepherd

Random House Publishing Group
Bantam Dell

We began before thick in autumn fog; we open now in the fury of a west and winter wind. 

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, is the premise of this latest book in the Maddox series of Victorian crime novels by Lynn Shepherd. In A Fatal Likeness the author has again used the rather meandering style of narration which takes us by the hand and leads us this time through the intricacies of the convoluted story of Percy Bysshe Shelley, his deceased first wife Harriet, and his second wife Mary, author of Frankenstein. Young detective, Charles Maddox is once again swept into a mystery of mammoth proportions which threatens the very core of the elite of Victorian literature. However, with his usual tenacity, and with a supporting cast of rather splendid characters, who flit into and out of the narrative with accustomed ease, Charles sets out to discover the truth behind the Shelley mystery.

Beautifully reminiscent of London in the 1850s, the story abounds with an almost Dickensian fervour, from the darkness of mental illness, to the sorrow of infant mortality; the whole gamut of human endurance can be found closeted within the obsessive culture of Victorian morality.

Whilst it is entirely possible to read A Fatal Likeness as a standalone mystery, from a continuity perspective, it would be better to start the stories from the beginning of the Maddox series, with Murder at Mansfield Park, and Tom-All Alone’s also known as The Solitary House (Corsair 2012) .

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group , Bantam Dell for this review copy

This book featured on my Friday Book Beginnings on 30 August 2013

Review ~ Mr Lynch's Holiday by Catherine O'Flynn

Published by Penguin Books UK
1 August 2013

Retired bus driver Dermot Lynch arrives in Southern Spain on his first trip abroad, ostensibly to spend quality time with his son Eamonn. But all is not well in this southern paradise, and very soon cracks begin to appear, not just in the idyllic landscape, but also in the rapport between father and son.

Beautifully observed throughout, Catherine O’Flynn has certainly captured this slightly quirky look at human relationships. With her usual self confidence, she captures the diffidence and awkwardness which comes out of a parent and adult child relationship, where neither parent or child really know each other very well.

The cloistered world of the Spanish expatriate community really comes to life, and clearly shows that to live the dream one must also have an idea of the type of dream you are chasing.

Recommended.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books UK for my advance copy of this book.

Review ~ The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler

Gallery Books
August 20th 2013

Esme Garland is a young English woman studying the history of art in New York. She has a well ordered and interesting life until her rich boyfriend Mitchell van Leuvan abandons her when she becomes pregnant. Taking refuge in The Owl bookstore in Manhattan, Esme learns that life, love and the power of stories really can make a difference when all hope is lost.

This is an interesting and witty debut novel, with its quirky array of characters and an abundance of literary references; it caught my attention from the beginning. And even though at times I was slightly irritated by Esme’s naivety, overall, she was well placed to find her own personal fulfilment. Overall, for me, what made the difference was the description of The Owl Bookstore and the people who inhabited its world. I have never been to New York but if I ever do, I would love to find that the shabby chic of a Manhattan bookstore could more than live up to my expectations of The Owl.

I look forward to more books from this new author.

My thanks to NetGalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for my digital copy of this book.

Review ~ Mistress of the Sea by Jenny Barden

Random House Uk
Ebury press
20 June 2013

Mistress of the Sea is set in 1570 against the background of Elizabethan England when glorious sea voyages led to the allure of prosperity, and the magnetism of inscrutable sea captains gave the illusion that foreign wealth was there for the taking. Abandoning her mother, two enthusiastic suitors and a wealthy home amongst the merchant class of the port of Plymouth, Ellyn Cooksley stows away on board Drake’s ship bound for Panama. But also on board Drake’s ship, The Swan, is Ellyn’s sickly father and Ellyn’s erstwhile admirer, Will Doonan, whose primary reason for the voyage is to avenge the fate of his lost brother Kit. However, Will is horrified when the stowaway is revealed and this knowledge will put his loyalty to the test, not just to Ellyn and her father, but also to his sea captain.

Taking as her inspiration, Sir Francis Drake’s first great endeavour, the attack on the Spanish 'Silver Train' in Panama, the author has weaved together a story which abounds with nautical intrigue, and with meticulous care and research has produced a realistic historical adventure, complete with rollicking high seas, the lure of Spanish bounty and a frisson of romance.

Nicely written and with an obvious fine eye for historical accuracy, this is a commendable debut novel and the launch of a new talent in historical fiction.

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Ebury Publishing

Book Beginnings on Fridays...

Hosted by Gilion at Rose City Reader

Book Beginnings on Fridays as stated by the host was started:

 "to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires."

You can share on Google + and social media , please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings

and there's also a Mr Linky on the host's blog.

Book Beginning: A Fatal Likeness by Lynn Shepherd

A bit of blurb

thanks to Goodreads

A mystery that explores the dark lives and unexplained secrets of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and his wife Mary, author of Frankenstein....The story of the Shelleys is one of love and death, of loss and betrayal. In this follow-up to the acclaimed Tom-All-Alone’s, Lynn Shepherd offers her own fictional version of that story, which suggests new and shocking answers to mysteries that still persist to this day, and have never yet been fully explained.

One 

The West Wind

We began before thick in autumn fog; we open now in the fury of  a west and winter wind. Above us high loose clouds drive across a steep grey sky, and beneath our feet the dead leaves are driven before the unseen air like ghosts from an enchanter......

Without doubt this is my favourite genre..dark Victorian Gothic with a hint of doom and long buried secrets...

Review ~ Never Coming Back by Tim Weaver

Penguin
August 29th 2013

The précis of this novel about a retired Police Detective investigating a missing family for a female friend set out an interesting story to come, but between jumping from past to present and first person to third person, it proved difficult to settle into a smooth read, requiring too much adjustment of reading style and not inconsiderable thought process to weave the progress of the story into a coherent path.

Over-elaborate descriptions of simple tasks, flowery language and too much information made for a rough, overcomplicated narrative and I found myself having to stop, reassess and occasionally even backtrack in order to put events into order. This proved not the best way to try and follow what should have been a gripping investigative thriller where the plot, twists and turns slowly unravelled to reveal the real story.

The characters were quite believable but had too much background information clouding their current places in the story. There was far too much incidental detail throughout, and I found myself skimming through weather details, descriptions of houses and areas, graphic geographic detail, and non-relevant personal information of characters to try and keep the pace of the unfolding story alive.

As the plot unwound, the narrative fell to first person only, which tended to make the previous third person storyline irrelevant, and eventually the main character became just too perfect in his role, escaping from impossible situations whilst seamlessly knitting together a very convoluted plot far too easily, resulting in an improbably happy ending.

My thanks to Real Readers for an advance proof copy of this book and to JDB who kindly provided this guest review.