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Grammar Free in the UK – Derek & Dave Philpott
The Lockdown Letters – bonkers correspondence to and from U.K. punk artists during 2020 by D & D Philpott The Book & The Authors For over a decade, ‘Team Philpott’, as their followers fondly refer to them, have been on a quite bonkers crusade, writing old-fashioned letters to punk, pop and rock stars, picking up on genuine ambiguities within their lyrics or often deliberately misunderstanding them for comedic effect. The letters are eminently publishable in their own right, but what makes this project especially deserving of attention is that it has achieved a feat never before attempted or probably even thought of. The artists quite unexpectedly started to reply, writing…
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The Long Walk – Stephen King
Mini Review As someone who owns Stephen King’s On Writing, who loved the series, Haven (based on the short story, ‘The Colorado Kid’), reading more of Stephen King’s prose was long overdue. I started with this little gem and I loved it. You can feel the tension building on that long road to… perdition? The longer they continue, the more miles they make, the more it feels like it. I was gripped by the horror and inevitability of it all but most of all by the friendship between Garraty and McVries. I forgot their ages, especially McVries seemed wise and someone who’s seen it all – who has lived it…
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Raven – Paul Leatherdale
Book Blurb Raven is the story of four teenage boys growing up in the Suffolk countryside who enlist to fight in the First World War. One of the boys falls in love with an enchantingly beautiful, blue-eyed, dark-haired, local, young girl of the same age before going off to war, but she is clearly not of this world and has a supernatural secret. The raven is her companion, a mysterious, red-eyed bird who accompanies her wherever she goes. The bird is powerful and strong and highly intelligent and has endured across the ages. The book spans three distinct periods, modern-day 1985, the turn of the century, and the 17th century.…
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Termination – Richard T. Burke
Decimation Trilogy #2 Book Blurb Antimone Lessing returns in book two of the ground-breaking Decimation trilogy Nearly twenty years after the Orestes virus swept across the earth, finally there is hope. Women are no longer dying within seconds of giving birth. For the first time in two decades, the global population is on an upward trend. As the world returns to normal, Antimone is back on the athletics track and a single race away from achieving her lifetime goal of winning the Olympic 1500-metre Wheelchair gold medal. But a deadly new threat has emerged, one that could reverse the fragile recovery and spell the end of humanity’s time on the…
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Catch as Catch Can – Malcolm Hollingdrake
‘Catch as Catch Can’ is the first book in Malcolm Hollingdrake’s new Merseyside Crime Series, and I for one, am already hooked! Love it! Merseyside Crime Series #1 Book Blurb A mutilated body apparently washed up on a windswept beach… A violent criminal gang preys on moped riders across the area… A teenage girl desperate to escape sexual exploitation… It’s a tough introduction to Merseyside for Detective Inspector April Decent, who’s just arrived from her native Yorkshire. Together with new colleague Skeeter Warlock, Decent quickly discovers there’s a sinister link between them all, one that will bring them face-to-face with some uncomfortable home truths. Catch as Catch Can is the first…
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Backstories – Simon Van Der Velde
Fascinating. Intriguing. Compelling. I loved loved ‘Backstories’, to figure out who it was we were allowed to see a bit of the background of people we have all come to know throughout the times. Imaginative and sometimes shocking, but oh such a great read! Book Blurb These are people you know, but not as you know them. Peel back the mask and see. CAN YOU FIND THE FAMOUS PERSON HIDDEN IN EVERY STORY? Dreamers, singers, heroes and killers, they can dazzle with their beauty or their talent or their unmitigated evil, yet inside themselves, they are as frail and desperate as the rest of us. But can you see them? Can you…
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Fragments – Malcolm Hollingdrake
DCI Cyril Bennett and INSPECTOR (!) Owen are back in Fragments, the long-awaited, brilliant tenth book in the Harrogate Crime Series The Harrogate Crime Series #10 Book Blurb If you spend too much time remembering the past, you are likely to lose your way in the present. DCI Cyril Bennett is where he belongs, at the helm in a case involving multiple murders. The sudden deaths of the elderly victims are seemingly from natural causes with no suspicious circumstances. All are male and belogn to a private social media group representing various areas of the educational establishment, developed after various meetings and reunions. The team battles to solve the crime…
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The Housewarming – S.E. Lynes
What a fab thriller! S.E. Lynes’ The Housewarming is a book that will have you gripped to the pages while being consumed with all sorts of emotions – you cry with Ava and feel for her, and fear for little Abi. With Ava, you are grieving and searching for the truth, with Ava, you cannot let go until you’ve unravelled it all. The Story A child goes missing, a nightmare for the parents. Mother Ava blames herself, can barely continue her life but she had to, for her baby boy. Will he ever see his older sister? Will Ava and Matt ever come to know what happened to little Abi?…
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American Spartan – Jason Beech
City of Forts II An all-American anti-hero carrying the world on his shoulders Ricky has killed before. And he will again. But he has a conscience. And he’s a cop. Not by choice but it seemed inevitable after he was shot by Vale, the man whose son Ricky killed. Now Ricky is a cop with a conscience on a deadly and dangerous mission. Harry Vale owns the town. Ricky’s partner is what Ricky would call a bastard. Hellier is a corrupt bully and gets away with it. It seems no one has the guts to stop him. Ricky despises him. What can he do though? He’s got his mother and…
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Who needs a consigliere – Simon Van der Velde
Today, I’m delighted to present you Simon van der Velde, an award-winning author who also provides critiques and mentoring services for both individuals and organisations. Simon has written an article about bad critiques – and how to deal with them. Without further ado, I give you… Simon van der Velde. Who needs a consigliere Bad critiques can kill our stories, undermine our confidence and poison our passions. Where once there was light and truth, there will be fear and doubt. And make no mistake. Fear and doubt are our mortal enemies. There is no room for sentiment. This is a struggle of Darwinian ruthlessness. Truth is at the core…
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