📖Book Review ~ HEROICA by Alison Morton

 

Even the strongest state is vulnerable to its past

2020, Roma Nova. Carina Mitela investigates a potential rebellion but discovers the long-buried secret that ignited the attempted uprising links directly to her own powerful family. 

1683, Vienna. As Europe struggles against the Ottoman onslaught, Honoria Mitela leads her troops into the desperate battle to save besieged Vienna. The fate of Europe – and of Roma Nova itself – hangs in the balance.

1849, Central Italy. Statia Mitela’s impulsive act saves one life but jeopardises Roma Nova’s very existence and threatens her descendants with public disgrace, financial ruin and permanent exile.

Three stories of the women of the Mitela family, descendants of the founders of Roma Nova, bound by blood and courage.

📖My Review ..

It’s always fascinating to return to Roma Nova and the alternate world which this talented writer has brought to life in a series of well written novels. This collection of three novellas allows us a glimpse into  three very different time frames which all have one thing in common, they all feature strong and decisive women of the Mitela family. The challenges faced in each of the three stories reaches out to both present and past but with a definite common denominator, that of strong women doing their best to survive and thrive in a complicated world.

The first story, Revolution introduces us, in 2020 to Carina Mitela, an officer in the Praetorian Guard Special Forces, who in the guise of a market researcher is looking into the threat of seditious rebellion however, in the course of the investigation Carina discovers an unexpectedly shocking link to her own family. 

The second story, Honoria’s Battle takes us into seventeenth century Vienna and introduces us to Honoria Mitela, who, in her role as chief intelligencer, interrogates a potential spy working for the Ottoman Empire. With the Siege of Vienna in 1683 as its focus the story cleverly integrates Roma Novan activity within a real period in history which has personal consequences for the Mitela family.

The third and final story, The Idealist, opens in the present with Carina Mitela being given a piece of secret family information which leads her to an ancestor, Statia Mitela in revolutionary Italy in 1849. As head of the family Statia is drawn into a difficult situation which will have far reaching consequences  for the a Mitela family well into the future.

HEROICA gives us three strong and decisive women in three fascinating novellas which feature the best of Roma Nova’s involvement in history and politics, all told with the authors fine eye for detail and a comprehensive understanding of how the Roma Nova world fits into this alternate narrative.Those who are familiar with this series will recognise Carina Mitela however, this fascinating trilogy of stories adds a little more flesh into how the Mitela family has been involved in political and familial strife throughout the whole of Roma Novan history.

About the Author

Author of the Roma Nova alternate history thriller series, historical fiction JULIA PRIMA (HNS Editor's Choice) and EXSILIUM and the Mélisende Doubles contemporary thrillers. Audiobooks available for the four of the Roma Nova series 

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📖 Blog Tour ~ The Santa Hat and Other Christmastime Short Stories by Rebecca L. Marsh

Purple Angel Press
25 September 2025

My thanks to the author for the book 
and the invitation to this blog tour

Rebecca L. Marsh’s collection of short stories will bring the joy of the Christmas season alive. As these ordinary characters, struggling through difficulties and past traumas, find healing and renewed hope, the essence of the season of miracles jumps off the pages.

The Santa Hat

Paige is skipping Christmas. Refusing to relinquish the unrealistic hope of returning to a life shared with her husband, she can’t face the holiday festivities. The only exception is a gift exchange with her best friend who gives her a Santa hat said to have a touch of magic. 

Family Tree

Ada and Hayden had a happy marriage until a tragedy tore them apart just days before Christmas. A year later, just as they are about to make their split final and go their separate ways, a mysterious phone call stops them in their tracks and offers them a newfound hope. 

Better than Diamonds

Fourteen-year-old Ruby is having a hard time finding the joy in the Christmas season now that her beloved grandmother is no longer with them. When her school break comes, her mother suggests she spend some time trying to solve the mystery of where her cat recently began disappearing to each and every day. Ruby begins an investigation. But she never expected the answer to mend her broken heart.

If you love stories that warm your heart and touch your soul, then this book is for you!

📖My Review..

This is a lovely collection of seven beautifully written short stories, each of which conveys a rather special message. There is a strong observational sense of people considering their choices and counting their blessings. Christmas is a time of reflection and I think that these lovely stories reiterate what’s important, namely family and friends, each with a theme of love, loss and the hope of second chances in warm hearted stories which leave you with a satisfied glow. They each remind us that there can be a way through sadness, despair and grief.

There is a definite sense of continuity throughout the seven stories and I won’t spoil any of them by giving the secret away but I am a firm believer in sometimes having help, or an extra push in the right direction, from something, or someone, that we can't always explain. The author brings the characters to life with gentle stories which wrap around you like a warm hug. I loved all of them especially Family Tree which is especially poignant and Better than Diamonds which made me smile as I often wondered what my cats got up when they went out for the day.

In the run up to the Christmas holiday season it’s inevitable that we get caught up in all the frenzied hype and forget to take time out to relax and chill with a good book. The Santa Hat and other Christmastime Stories is the perfect antidote to stress as each story is just the right length to read comfortably with a cup of tea or relaxing with a mug of coffee in your favourite cafe.

About the Author

Rebecca L. Marsh is an award-winning author of women’s fiction and member of the Paulding County Writer’s Guild. She grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina, and now lives in Dallas, Georgia with her husband.  She is a Christian, a mother to a beautiful daughter, and an animal lover. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her family.

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📖 Book Review ~ Elemental : A Short Story Anthology

Breakthrough Books
2024

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

 

From the ephemeral to the earth beneath our feet.

From fire in the heavens to the water of life, from atoms and molecules to modern relationships, seventeen authors explore ‘the elements’ through the form of the short story.

Whether in the building blocks of the universe or the climatic conditions that sustain us, whether in the finer points of music and desire, or in the perfect conditions for creating wine and wonder, these are the fundamentals that shape who we are and how we live.

Playfully working with mystery and humour, poignancy and myth, futurism and the ancient past, the magic of fiction has the power to enlighten a deeper sense of truth.

📖 My Review..

This anthology has an imaginative theme with all the seventeen individual stories blended around an ‘element’. All the writers who have contributed to this set of stories have their own sense of style and whilst I won’t single out any story for particular praise, I will say that I found much to enjoy in all of them. It’s an easy book to dip into and out of which is I what enjoyed most and found that I finished it, quite easily, in a couple of sittings.

I sometimes think that short stories can occasionally miss the spot but it’s not so with this collection which showcases a talented bunch of writers who certainly bring skill to their stories. The writing is good, and each thought provoking story is imaginatively described, I’ve enjoyed reading them.

Contributors: Zena Barrie, Mark Bowsher, Stephanie Bretherton, Jamie Chipperfield, Sue Clark, Jason Cobley, Stevyn Colgan, Samuel Dodson, Elena Kaufman, A,B. Kyazze, Pete Langman, Virginia Moffatt, Ivy Ngeow, Penny Pepper, Eamon Somers, Nicole Swengley, Damon Wakes.

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X @BBookCollective

 

🎄 Festive Review ~ A Book for Christmas by Selma Lagerlöf

 

Penguin Press

7 November 2024

Thanks to the publishers for the opportunity to read this book

An enchanting selection of Christmas tales by the Nobel Prize-winning Swedish national treasure – now available in English for the first time

‘But what shall I do on Christmas night if nobody has given me a book?’

A little girl receives a gift to treasure; the creatures of the forest gather to celebrate the New Year; an evil noblewoman schemes against her beautiful niece; a cantankerous gravedigger dines with an unexpected companion on Christmas Eve…

In this enchanting selection of winter stories, now available in English for the first time, the beloved writer Selma Lagerlöf weaves together magic and miracles, Swedish folklore and timeless fables, darkness and light, heartfelt joy and festive wonder.

Translated by Sarah Death, Peter Graves and Linda Schenck

🎄My Review..

This charming anthology of nine Swedish stories brings all the magic of a long ago Christmas. Perfectly capturing the early twentieth century each self contained short story is a delight to read. Some recreate so beautifully like, in A Book for Christmas, the joyful anticipation of receiving a book to read on Christmas Eve, whilst Redbreast shares a poignant Christian message of how the Robin finally got his redbreast. Not all the stories are particularly festive but they all gel together so beautifully that it didn’t detract from the overall effect.

At just ninety-six pages long, this is a little book with a big heart and I can think of nothing better than to settle down on a wintery afternoon to read this lovely book of short stories. Each of the stories have a message which I think is in keeping with the fact that the author was once a teacher as  I can well imagine her reading these little stories to a class enraptured by the magic of her storytelling.

Complete with magic, folklore and fables this is a special book to treasure.

About the Author

Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was a teacher in a girls’ secondary school before she became a full time writer. She is known around the world for her classic children’s book The Wonderful Adventure of Wolf Holgersson and she was the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in 1909.

📖 Book Review ~ Sorry Men by Daniel Bird

 

Signal 8 Press
1 March 2024

My thanks to Cameron Publicity for my copy of this book

A father has his daughter’s crayon drawings tattooed all over his body so he can never lose sight of them. A commuter pretends to be Russian in an attempt to avoid being robbed. After a first date, a lovesick man plays it cooler than anybody ever has. The ex-husband of a lottery winner finds optimism in the numbers she chose. Two astronauts scour the solar system for a new home for mankind whilst pining for their exes. The world of Sorry Men is one of earnestness and desperation;fate and farce; hilarity and hopelessness. It absolutely will not restore your faith in men.

📖 My Review..

I read through Sorry Men in the space of an afternoon, dipping into and out of the stories at whim. Some made me smile, others made me ponder and even one or two exasperated me but collectively this set of 35 shortish stories kept me entertained.

The author writes well and gets the gist of the story across with relatively few words something that is not always easy to do, especially in a story which sometimes lasts just a few pages. As with any collection there were definitely some stories which I enjoyed more than others but that's the simple beauty of a collection, if you don't like the story, you can just move on to the next one.

The premise of the story reads that It absolutely will not restore your faith in men which I think is fair comment as none of these stories show men in a particularly favourable way but at least you know what you are getting and it's a quirky read which may appeal to some readers more than others.

About the Author

Daniel Bird grew up in Dorset, England, where he never missed a day of his paper round. He studied Drama and Theatre Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London. His stories are usually comical, occasionally dark, and always short.

His work has appeared in Liars’ League Hong Kong; Litro; Reflex Press; Mono; Fragmented Voices, and Coffin Bell. He lives and works in Hong Kong.

His first book Sorry Men is now available in paperback and ebook.

Website

@CameronPRtweets

📖 Blog Tour ~ Extracting Humanity and Other Stories by Stephen Oram

 

Orchid's Lantern Press
2023

My thanks to Isabelle Kenyon for the invitation to the blog tour

In this remarkably perceptive collection, Stephen Oram blends cutting-edge science and tech with everyday emotions and values to create 20 thought experiments with heart.

Extracting Humanity is a skilful exploration of smart currencies, memorials, medical care, treatment of refugees, social networks, data monitoring, and justice systems. Always without prescription or reprimand, these stories are simply the beginning of the conversation.

From an eerie haptic suit that Tommy must call Father, to a protective, nutritious bubble that allows Feng Mian to survive on a colonised Moon; from tattoos that will earn their wearers a mini-break in a sensory chamber, to Harrie anxiously awaiting AI feedback on her unborn child… These startling, diverse narratives map all-too-real possibilities for our future and the things that might ultimately divide or unite us.

I'm delighted to be able to share this short story today from Extracting Humanity 

FAILING FATHERS

“I don’t want to beg, but we are best mates ‘n all that.”

“You have to be kidding. They’ll trace it so easily, and then where will we be?”

I shrugged and carried on tinkering with the code of the car that had been brought in to have its latest patches installed. I wasn’t paying proper attention to what I was doing, but then if they couldn’t pay me a decent wage, why should I?

I tried again, speaking loudly but not directly to him. “I have to buy food and heat the house and it’s the wife’s birthday. All I want is for you to do some shopping for me. I’ll pay you back straight away. I don’t see how they’ll know it’s for me and not you.”

“You’ve heard the rumours. Anything that smacks of reparation avoidance is swiftly dealt with. Shame laundering, isn’t that what they call it?”

I kept my eyes firmly fixed on the screen in front of me, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

“It’s only one weekly food shop.”

“Apart from the illegal bit, your lineage owes my lineage and until that’s done…”

He had a point, but he was wrong. It wasn’t my forefathers who stole stuff from other countries and locked it away in the British Museum.

I stared at him. “That genetic profiling is crap. Completely ignores the fact those elite fuckers were stealing from my sort at the same time as robbing the heritage of yours.”

He mumbled something I couldn’t make out.

“It’s too generic. It should be a class thing, not a country thing. No way does it trace those who were really responsible.”

Another mumble.

I looked away. “Still, we are where we are as my mother used to say. For better or worse we have programmable money, and it has rules.”

He came and stood next to me. “You’re my friend. I get that. And that’s why I know we’ll rise above this whole reparation thing. It only lasts until it’s all paid back.”

I nodded, unable to reply. He just didn’t get it.

“Not the sins of my fathers,” I muttered under my breath. I was innocent. My whole family line was innocent, and yet my Heritage Pound was worth less than his because the cost of re-balancing the abuses of other people’s ancestors fell to me and mine.

I continued talking while working. “I wasn’t asked about the British Museum being privatised. I wasn’t consulted about the contents becoming the asset behind the most widely used private currency. It wasn’t my decision to give it favourable interest rates and lower tax rates than the other currencies. It’s those bastards in charge of the Bank of England’s digital currency.”

I rubbed my temples and sighed. “I agree with the government offsetting the reparation obligations of its colonial past, but there’s a world of difference between agreeing with the what and agreeing with the how.”

He tutted and went back to his bench.

We ignored each other for the rest of the day, but as he left he called across. “I’ll see if the kids have any ideas.”

My teenage daughter met me outside, determined that I should buy her mother a birthday present.

“Just a small one,” she said.

I told her we couldn’t afford it and that her mother understood, but she insisted.

“Why don’t we use a different currency? One that works for us, not against us. Then we could afford it,” she said.

I explained as best I could how difficult it was to be accepted by any other currency. Their rules of interaction with the CBDC were predicated on how risky their customer base was, and we were in one of the highest risk brackets.

She pushed hard. “Why not do what Sasha’s dad does? He owns shares in art that’s worth more every day. Non. Fungible. Tokens. Get it?”

“Fine for him”, I explained, “but we don’t have any capital to begin with.” She huffed and puffed, throwing one superficially thought-through solution after another at me. It was as if she considered me to be stupid. As if she thought I’d not explored all these options.

She made that disgusting sound with her tongue.

“It’s crap.”

“I know,” I said. “You’re right. It’s the very people whose ancestors were responsible for the appalling past of our country who use the other currencies. They escape any consequences of the national reparation.”

She was fuming, and with the familiar cry of every teenager, she pointed out that it wasn’t fair. All I could do was agree with her. Replying with the age-old parental response that life just isn’t fair.

I told my mate about it the next day, and despite the seriousness of the situation, I found myself laughing along with him about the idealism of youth. We reminisced about our own teenage years and how we’d been certain that we knew how the world worked and how it could be a lot better. It was good to be back on jovial terms, and he was trying to tell me something his daughter had said, but talking about our kids behind their backs made me feel uncomfortable.

I ignored him until he stood by me, looking pleased with himself. “Here, give me your phone,” he said, grabbing it from my bench.

I frowned, but with curiosity. He swiped the screen and then held his own close to it.

“There,” he said. “You’ll never guess what. My daughter’s been using her Heritage Pound advantage to invest in that new youth currency. Know the one? She’s made a mint out of limited-edition skins in those games she’s fixated with. And… wait for it… she wants to gift your family some shares.” With a thumbs up he added, “It’s allowed.”

I was speechless. What a brilliant mate, and what a great father.

About the Author

X/Twitter @OramStephen

@kenyon_isabelle

📖 Publication Day Book Review~The Naming of Moths by Tracy Fells

 

Fly on the Wall Press
10 November 2023

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Stories of myths, mothers and monsters.

THE NAMING OF MOTHS features stories of magical realism, myths and legends re-imagined, where all the characters are undergoing transformation or facing a pivotal moment of change in their lives. People and animals interchange their shapes. Story landscapes flit from fairy-tale woods to urban homes. Here love, hope and kindness weave between the realities of man’s endless talent for cruelty.

📖My Review..

Sometimes it’s such a treat to sit back and relax into a set of well written short stories and this debut collection of eighteen short stories certainly captured my imagination with well written tales which cover the central theme of transformation. Cleverly put together I found much to like and spent an enjoyable couple of hours dipping into the book, reading stories which appealed to me by their title and gradually getting drawn into the magical world of this author’s clever imagination. In particular, I enjoyed the eponymous The Naming of Moths, an interesting story with a clever twist, The Frost Hare which had quite an eerie feel to it and Gretel and the Chocolate Wolf which stills roams in my imagination.

Clever, imaginative, and quite compelling, The Naming of Moths, with its interesting blend of magical realism, is the perfect read for an autumn afternoon by the fire.

About the Author

Tracy Fells was the 2017 Regional Winner (Europe and Canada) for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Her short fiction has been widely published in print journals and online, including Granta and Brittle Star. She has been shortlisted for the Bridport and Fish Fiction prizes. She is a regular reader for several international story competitions and leads writing workshops on short fiction. Tracy also writes novels and was a finalist in the 2018 Richard & Judy ‘Search for a Bestseller’ competition. Her debut novella-in-flash Hairy On The Inside (published by Ad Hoc Fiction, 2021) was shortlisted for the 2022 Saboteur and International Rubery Book Awards.

X @theliterarypig.

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📖 Book Review ~ The Virago Book of Witches by Shahrukh Husain

 

Virago
8 September 2022

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

Beware the women who are called witches, or those who claim the name for themselves…

Banshees – a howling night-witch and harbinger of death; She-devils – Lilith and her daughters; or Bitches – Hecate, whose chariot is drawn by dogs.

Alluring women, enchantresses, seekers of revenge, wise old women and badly-behaved girls. As Shahrukh Husain says, witches are ‘womanhood in all its complexity’.

Over fifty stories of crones and nixies, shape shifters and beauties are here, including the loving fox witch of Japan; Italy’s Witch-Bea-Witch; Scotland’s Goodwife of Laggan; Biddy Earl and the terrifying Kali and Baba Yaga who comes in many forms to haunt, entice, possess, transform and challenge.

From every corner of the globe, with tom-foolery, fun, strife and victory, these folklore and legends celebrate women who step out of line.

📖 My Review..

The fifty, or so, stories which form the basis of this anthology take the reader on a fascinating journey into the myths, legends and folklore which has so long been associated with witches and witchcraft. With a comprehensive preface and introduction the author gives a lengthy explanation of how women have, over many centuries, been persecuted for witchcraft often with no evidence of wrongdoing.

This is definitely a book to savour, not to read quickly, but rather to become immersed in the variety of stories on offer, so with that in mind, I dipped into and out of the book at whim, picking stories here and there which piqued my interest. The stories, from all around the globe, are immersive and quickly take you into a forgotten world of superstition, intrigue, magic and mayhem. Some were more compelling than others but all of them took me on an intricate journey in the best tradition of keeping the story telling art alive in the imagination.

Recently re-issued with a stunning new cover The Virago Book of Witchcraft is one of those wonderful anthologies which is happy to sit on your book shelf content to be taken down regularly and each time to find something new to read and enjoy, especially if you have an interest in global folklore and legend.

🍷Best read with…a comforting cup of warm chocolate

About the Author

Shahrukh Husain was brought up in Pakistan and has studied myth and folklore from around the world. She is the editor of The Virago Book of Witches, author of Women Who Wear the Breeches, Temptresses :The Virago Book of Evil Women, a novel, several children's books and a play for children. She also writes screenplays and created the TV drama Beecham House. A practicing psychotherapist, she is married with two children and lives in London.

Twitter @shahusain  #TheViragoBookofWitches

@ViragoBooks @LittleBrownUK

👻 Halloween Read ~ Spooky Ambiguous

 

Crumps Barn Studio

15 September

My thanks to the publisher and Daphne Denley for my copy of this book

Spooky Ambiguous: ghost stories and poetry, fangs and fairy tales

Ghosts and vampires, zombies and werewolves. A mirror with danger at its heart. A child is delighted to discover she is a witch, and a village disappears under a fairy curse. Then a selkie finds her way back to the waves, before a blood moon rises, bringing its own secrets ...

Full of the spooky and the gothic, fairy tales and poetry, this is a brilliant and intriguing collection where nothing and no one is as they seem.

👻 My Review...

I do like to have a book set aside for Halloween. There's something about settling down in a cosy corner, with a cup of hot chocolate and a few creepy stories to set the mood for the time when ghosties, ghouls and witches make their annual appearance.

This lovely collection helps to set the mood and with a nice blend of short stories and expressive poetry the book can be comfortably read in one sitting or read in snatched moments when you just need to escape the world. The fifteen short stories and poems caught my attention and the whole collection is brought to life with eleven eerie illustrations which help to create a sombre mood. The writers who have contributed to this set of stories vary in style but collectively they all work really well. I won't single any out for particular praise as that would be unfair but suffice to say I found much to enjoy in this creepy set of Gothic stories and poems.

  

☕ Best Read with... a cup of frothy hot chocolate

FeaturedAuthors

Penny Ayers, Michael Bartlett, Patrick Booth, Amaris Chase, Holly Anne Crawford, Ivor Daniel, Amanda Jane Davies, Daphne Denley, J. J. Drover, Harriet Hitchen, Rebecca McDowall, Jane Phillips, Angela Reddaway, Joe Robson and Margaret Royall, with illustrations by Lorna Gray.

Each of the authors who have contributed to this collaboration brings a unique voice to the genre. Whether dealing with life and loss, love and laughter, or stepping beyond into the danger of the supernatural, each of these short stories and poems evokes the true essence of the Gothic – its power to draw upon emotion.

Twitter @CrumpsBarn #SpookyAmbiguous

📖 Book Feature ~ The Penguin Book of French Short Stories edited Patrick McGuiness

 

Penguin Classics
27 October 2022

The short story has a rich tradition in French literature where, since its genesis, the form has been playfully expanded and subverted. Here are decadent tales, 'bloody tales', detective stories, war stories, fables, puzzles, fairy tales, and family histories. They are stories about the self and the other, husbands, wives and lovers, country and city, rich and poor. Curated and introduced by Patrick McGuinness, Professor of French and Comparative literature at Oxford, this collection brilliantly balances famous names such as Proust, Colette, and Zola with lesser-known French writers ripe for rediscovery.

Volume One begins with a bawdy, innuendo-laden tale from Philippe de Laon's One Hundred New Tales, written between 1464 and 1467. The final story in Volume Two dates from the early 2000s, written by Virginie Despentes, one of the most thrilling and taboo-breaking contemporary French writers. In between, this anthology crosses both genres and borders with writing from the formidable Guadeloupian writer Maryse Conde, and the greatly overlooked Senegalese poet and member of the Négritude movement Birago Diop. Far from apolitical, the collection reckons with France's complicated political and colonial history in a way which only the short story is able, as McGuinness tells us: "The short story is a pragmatic, nimble genre, responsive and topical, reaching the parts of a culture other genres cannot, and reaching them fast. Where the novel stretches across our days and accompanies us through them, the short story thrives in the busy ecosystem of everyday narratives and everyday reading habits."

Penguin Classics
27 October 2022

The second volume takes the reader through the tumultuous twentieth century in the company of writers including Simone de Beauvoir and Maryse Condé, Patrick Modiano and Virginie Despentes, covering world wars, revolutions, and the horrors of the motorway service station. Along the way we meet electronic brains, she-wolves, a sadistic Cinderella, ancestors, infidels, dissatisfied housewives and lonely ambassadors, all clamouring to be heard. Funny, devastating and fresh at every turn, this is the place to start for lovers of French literature, new and old.

Edited and with an introduction by Patrick McGuinness, academic, writer and translator.

****

Thanks to the publisher, I've been lucky enough to read a sample section of the stories within these two volumes and from what I have seen, so far, I can heartily recommend both volumes. The stories vary in length from one page, to several pages, and each are perfectly written to entice and entertain. In my sample copy I enjoyed The Panther by Rachilde from Volume One and from Volume Two I enjoyed reading The Winter Journey by Georges Perec.

The Penguin Book of French Short Stories, edited by Patrick McGuiness, was published on the 27th October by Penguin Classics.

About the Editor

Patrick McGuiness is Professor of French and Comparative Literature at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of St Anne's Collge. Born in Tunisia and raised in Belgium, he is a poet, prize-winning novelist and translator.

Twitter @PenguinRandom

@padrigmcg

📖 Featured Book of the Month~ A Sliver of Darkness by C J Tudor

Michael Joseph
29 September 2022

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

The debut short story collection from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man, featuring ten bone-chilling and mind-bending tales

Timeslips. Doomsday scenarios. Killer butterflies. C. J. Tudor's novels are widely acclaimed for their dark, twisty suspense plots, but with A Sliver of Darkness, she pulls us even further into her dizzying imagination.

In Final Course, the world has descended into darkness, but a group of old friends make time for one last dinner party. In Runaway Blues, thwarted love, revenge, and something very nasty stowed in a hat box converge. In Gloria, a strange girl at a service station endears herself to a cold-hearted killer, but can a leopard really change its spots? And in I'm Not Ted, a case of mistaken identity has unforeseen, fatal consequences.

Riveting and explosively original, A Sliver of Darkness is C. J. Tudor at her most wicked and uninhibited.

📖 My Review

Eleven twisted tales seems like the perfect idea for a book which is due to hit the book shops in the month of Halloween when our minds inadvertently turn to the lure of the macabre. It has to be said that I enjoy this author’s work immensely and to have set of short stories, something she hasn’t released before, is an extra special delight.

Beautifully imaginative, each of the tales are perfectly proportioned to read in one sitting and the opening story, End of the Liner certainly gets the collection of to a cracking good start in a cleverly contrived little story about a cruise ship where none of the passengers can ever leave. The other ten dark tales are just as fascinating and I also found the introduction to each of the tales just as thought provoking as the author shares her thoughts on what inspired her to write the story to come.

Written during the pandemic which, as the author explains her introduction, was a particularly difficult time for her, the collection allows us a tantalising taster of her work before her next novel is published in 2023. A Sliver of Darkness is everything I wanted from this talented author, mysterious, macabre, spooky and deliciously dark it kept me entertained from start to finish and that is why I have no hesitation in making it my Featured Book of the Month for October.

📖 Best Read with… cereal, toast and seasonal fruit 

Twitter @cjtudor #ASliverOfDarkness

@MichaelJBooks

📖 Blog Tour ~ Newport Writers ~ An anthology of poetry and prose

 

2021

Welcome to our first anthology.

Since the group started, it has always been Tony’s vision to put together a collection of stories and poems penned by our members.

Please proceed with caution – these short stories and poems will introduce you to the alternative side of Newport: ghostly grandparents, a displaced porpoise, a little bit of Welshness, two philosophical security guards, a child whose food plays music, the awesome side of autism, a woman who made teddy bears in a concentration camp, and much more.

Take a whirlwind tour through bereavement, love, regret and parenthood. Laugh and defy fate as you run the gamut of life’s experiences – seen through the eyes of a bunch of writers who celebrate their individuality.

You will meet a diverse group of people who enjoy what they do and want to share it with you.

We invite you to sit back with a cuppa or maybe something stronger, relax and enjoy what promises to be a whirlwind ride.

📖 My Thoughts..

I am always in awe of people who find time in their busy lives to put pen to paper and this collection of stories has been penned by folk who find the time to write for the pleasure it brings to them and despite doing other things, they find time to meet and share ideas.

Newport Writers brings together the work of a group of writers whose passion for writing comes across. Throughout the collection there is an interesting mix of styles and topics, some are funny and made me smile, whilst others are a little more thoughtful and made me stop to consider. As with any collection there were pieces which I felt worked better than others, some short stories left me wanting more whilst a couple could have been developed a little further but overall I think that the collection works well. 

I always like to have a mixed collection of short stories and poems in my arsenal of stuff to read in an emergency - namely those times when you find yourself whiling away the time in a coffee shop or waiting for an appointment and this collection would be a great distraction for just those moments. 

This eclectic mix of short stories, flash fiction and poetry have been penned with a great deal of enthusiasm for the simple joy of writing and for the pleasure of sharing their thoughts with a wider audience.

About the Writers

We are a diverse group from south Wales with over 20 members, covering a broad age range and a variety of styles within the sphere of writing. We include poets, novelists, writers of flash fiction and short stories, plays and film scripts.

We published an anthology in February 2020 entitled Newport Writers – An anthology of poetry and prose. Available from Amazon in paperback and for Kindle.

We met on Zoom during the pandemic, but have now found a venue in central Newport where we can get together with plenty of space for social distancing.

We hold an Open Mic night once a month at popular Newport coffee shop Horton’s, and in the summer of 2021 we participated in several spoken word events.

Some members of our group are available to read and offer critique, and we have a proofreader among our membership. 

Email us at newportwritersgroup@gmail.com

Facebook: Newportwritersgroup

Twitter: @NewportWriters

@RandomThingsTours

📖 Blog Tour ~ Liberty Terrace by Madeleine D'Arcy

 

Thrilled to host a stop on this blog tour today

Doire Press
October 2021

My thanks to the publishers and Francesca at Midas PR for my copy of this book
and the invitation to the blog tour. 

Liberty Terrace by Irish fiction author Madeleine D’Arcy is a collection of short stories set in a fictional area of Cork City between 2016-2020, capturing the highs and lows of everyday life in the lead-up to and during the pandemic. 

Featuring a wide cast of characters from a Garda Superintendent and a young homeless squatter to a philandering husband and the mother of young autistic child – the residents of Liberty Terrace’s lives ebb and flow around each other, prompting readers to consider what it means to be human and be part of a community. Madeleine has poured herself into this book. As the mother of an autistic child herself – and a former Census Enumerator to boot – she brings her remarkable empathy and unique life experiences to life through the characters of Liberty Terrace.

📖 My Thoughts..

Liberty Terrace is an interconnected set of short stories which takes us, between the years 2016-2020, into the fictional heart of this small corner of Cork City and into the lives of those inhabitants who call this place home. Each story is perfectly self contained and yet as you read through the collection there is a distinct sense of continuity even though the stories are many, and varied, just like the characters.

Wryly observant, with a fine sense of time and place, I read through each of the stories in sequential order. Interested to see just what would follow next, I found that I liked all of the stories equally and the author's clever writing ensures than none of them outshine each other in terms of content and impact. The author has picked up on the nuances of everyday behaviour, with a few quirks thrown in for good measure, especially in light of the characters completing the obligatory census return form. I enjoyed how each story had its own definite identity so although there is a common theme of community, there is also individuality of people and place. Touching on the months of the global pandemic we come right up to date with how some characters deal with the oppressive nature of lockdown and about how the pandemic was turning everyone into nervous wrecks.

Liberty Terrace is an interesting, observational anthology, with some great stories which, collectively, highlight the highs and lows of everyday life.

About the Author

MADELEINE D’ARCY is an Irish fiction writer. A former solicitor, she lived in the UK for 13 years before returning to live in Cork City with her husband and her son in 1999. Madeleine’s first Doire Press short story collection ‘Waiting for the Bullet’ was awarded the 2015 Edge Hill Readers’ Prize’ from Edge Hill University in Ormskirk. In 2010 she received a Hennessy X.O Literary Award for First Fiction as well as the overall Hennessy X.O Literary Award for New Irish Writer. Her stories have been short-listed and commended in many competitions, including the William Trevor/Elizabeth Bowen Short Story Competition, Fish Short Story Prize, the Bridport Prize and the Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Competition. Madeleine has been awarded bursaries by the Arts Council of Ireland and by Cork City Council. Madeleine was a scholarship student on the inaugural MA in Creative Writing 2013-2014 in University College Cork. Waiting for the Bullet is Madeleine’s debut collection of short stories.

About the Publisher

Doire Press was founded in the autumn of 2007 in Connemara by Lisa Frank, with skills and experience in editing and publishing, and by John Walsh, who had just received a publication award from the Galway County Council Arts Office to publish his second poetry collection, Love’s Enterprise Zone.

Since then, Doire Press has continued to blossom, finding its niche in publishing new and emerging writers who give voice to what it means to be Irish in a changing Ireland. Authors include Madeleine D’Arcy, Edward Boyne, Gerry Galvin, Susan Millar Du Mars, Adam White, Breda Wall Ryan, Willian Wall, Eamon Carr, Stephanie Conn, Simon Lewis, Amanda Bell, Annemarie Ní Churreáin, and Rosemary Jenkinson.

Twitter @MadeleineDL #LibertyTerrace

@Doirepress @Midaspr

📖 Book Review ~ On A Distant Ridgeline by Sam Reese

 

Platypus Press
14 September

My thanks to the publishers and Isabelle Kenyon for my copy of this book

In his second collection, on a distant ridgeline, Sam Reese creates twelve vivid and tenderly drawn tales with moments and memories that linger just out of reach. Between the past and present and potential reconciliations —and with a keen eye on the subtle balance of human connection—relationships and their fractured qualities are central to this new gathering of stories.

📖 My thoughts...

On A Distant Ridgeline is an interesting collection of twelve short stories which are easy to dip into and out of at whim. I enjoyed the finely balanced style of writing and the creative use of language which the author offers in each of these creatively written short stories. There is much to consider and reveal but I won't spoil any of them by recounting their content except to say that I found something to enjoy and consider in each of the individual stories.

Sometimes, in my experience, short stories can be a little disappointing, containing just one or two good ones, with the rest making up the word count, but not so with On A Distant Ridgeline as all the stories deserve equal recognition and show the author's skill in making each story flow so beautifully. The author has an interesting way of saying much in a few words and blends and controls everything with fine skill.

I think the concept of small, considerate connections is what I will take away from this finely written anthology of short stories.

About the Author

Hailing from Aotearoa, Sam Reese is an awardwinning writer, critic, and teacher. Currently a lecturer in creative writing at York St John University, he is the author of the short story collection Come the Tide and non-fiction books on jazz, literature and loneliness, American short fiction, and Cold War politics.

Twitter @Svhreese #onadistantridgeline

@platypuspress

@kenyon_isabelle

📖 Featured Book of the Month ~ The Penguin Book of Spanish Short Stories Edited by Margaret Jull Costa

 

Penguin
24 June 2021
My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

Showcasing alluring hairdressers, war defectors, vampiric babies and talismanic mandrake roots, this daring new collection celebrates the richness and variety of the Spanish short story.

From Emilia Pardo Bazán and Leopoldo Alas, through Mercè Rodoreda and Manuel Rivas, to Ana Maria Matute and Javier Marías, it brims with romance, horror, history, farce, strangeness and beauty.

Featuring over fifty stories selected by revered translator Margaret Jull Costa, it blends old favourites and hidden gems – over two thirds of which have never before been translated into English – and introduces readers to surprising new voices as well as giants of Spanish literary culture. Ordered by date of birth to give a sense of Spain’s turbulent history from the nineteenth century to the present day, it is a treasure trove both for hispanophiles and for those new to Spain’s greatest storytellers.

📖 My Thoughts..

I am delighted to have as my featured book of the month this wonderful collection of Spanish Short Stories which collectively make the perfect way to spend a pleasant afternoon just dipping into and out wherever your fancy takes you, and with over fifty stories to choose from there's bound to be something to please every taste. 

The stories are cleverly arranged chronologically from the date of the author's birth and range from the mid-nineteenth century, through to the last featured author who was born in the mid-nineteen eighties.  Though I wasn't familiar with any of the authors that really didn't matter as each story has a short snippet of biographical information at the start so that it is easy to place into context when the story was written.  

As with any anthology there are bound to be stories which appeal more than others but my interest was well and truly piqued by the opening story entitled The Novel on the Tram by Benito Pérez Galdós a clever little story which combines a touch of fantasy together with an authentic sense of time and place. Some of the stories are longer than others so take a little longer to read whilst others are just a couple of pages long and can be read in the time it takes to make a coffee. What comes across is that they all entertain on their own special level and there's a good index to peruse so that it's easy to find something to enjoy.

The pop art inspired cover of the book is particularly striking, it conjures a beautiful summer day by a pool with the opportunity to sit and relax and that's exactly what this fascinating book of short stories offers, it's a chance to escape from the mundane banality of day to day chores and step into the imaginative writing of this impressive group of Spanish authors.

I am delighted to make The Penguin Book of Spanish Short Stories my Featured Book of the Month for July.

Incidentally the cover illustration is taken from Dreamed House by Alejos Lorenzo

About the Editor

Margaret Jull Costa has translated the works of many Spanish and Portuguese writers, among them novelists: Javier Marías, José Saramago and Eça de Queiroz, and poets: Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Mário de Sá-Carneiro and Ana Luísa Amaral. Her work has brought her numerous prizes, most recently, the 2018 Premio Valle-Inclán for On the Edge by Rafael Chirbes. In 2014, she was awarded an OBE for services to literature.

Twitter @PenguinUKBooks