Today, Saturday 16th January, Showboat TV is hosting a live-streaming on-line Literary Festival. There will be interviews with a host of authors, and you can watch for free by linking here: http://www.showboat.tv/2021/live.html
The short sessions start at 10:30, with Judith Barrow interviewing Angela Johnson, Greg Howes, Alex Craigie, Colin R Parsons (Jake Ridge), Jan Baynham and Jill Barry, and Will Macmillan Smith. At 12:50, if Judith has any voice left, I shall be interviewing her. Gail Williams will talk about editing and proof reading at 1:10, I am on at 1:30, and then I shall be taking over the interviews from Judith, talking to Cheryl Rees Price, Sara Gethin (Wendy White), Angela Fish, Alex Martin, Kate Murray, Helen May Williams and Nicola Dean.
Today, Saturday 16th January, Showboat TV is hosting a live-streaming on-line Literary Festival. There will be interviews with a host of authors, and you can watch for free by linking here: http://www.showboat.tv/2021/live.html
The short sessions start at 10:30, with Judith Barrow interviewing Angela Johnson, Greg Howes, Alex Craigie, Colin R Parsons (Jake Ridge), Jan Baynham and Jill Barry, and Will Macmillan Smith. At 12:50, if Judith has any voice left, I shall be interviewing her. Gail Williams will talk about editing and proof reading at 1:10, I am on at 1:30, and then I shall be taking over the interviews from Judith, talking to Cheryl Rees Price, Sara Gethin (Wendy White), Angela Fish, Alex Martin, Kate Murray, Helen May Williams and Nicola Dean.
I have read some amazing books in the last twelve months and I would like to share them again with you, updated with the authors most recent releases and their biography.
Today I am sharing my review from February 2020 for Carol Balawyder – A psychological thriller – Warning Signs: A novel about Obsession.
About the book
Eugene’s research into his criminal mind is not about the why, but how to prevent his horrific crimes. Angie, a young woman starving for passion sees Eugene as her saviour from a lonely life of caring for her heroin addicted mother. How far is she willing to go in order to save her relationship with Eugene and his promise for a future together?
Detective Van Ray is out on a vindictive mission as he attempts to solve the murders of young girls in Youth Protection.
I’ve already introduced Alex Askaroff. But here’s a reminder. When I was researching for the background of The Heart Stone https://bit.ly/3kOpZYO, and needed to know the technical details for the manufacturing of sewing machines, I knew there was only one person to contact. The man who knows all is Alex. As the emails flew back and forth ( and I wondered how long it would be before he became fed up with my constant and often boring – I’m sure – questions), I realised that there seemed to be nothing he didn’t know. But I also knew he is a story teller – a multi genre writer: https://amzn.to/3pM7vLX . So I asked him to tell a story aboutone of his days…
Over to you, Alex…
After a lifetime in the sewing trade you would think that I had seen it all. No. Today, Crazy Chloe was going to show me how to abuse a sewing machine in a completely new way.
In the October sunshine I rolled down the hill from Friston Forest. The sun hung low in the bright sky as sheep enjoyed nibbling on the last lush grass that had sprung up in the dewy autumn fields. I was on my way to Honeycrag Close in Polegate and my second customer of the morning. I was a bit wary because I knew Crazy Chloe all too well. She had a reputation in Polegate that actually scared the villagers. She once screamed and threw a bag of dog poo at a dog walker when she saw them leave it hanging on a tree branch. She chased the manager of Barclays Bank up the High Street, shouting about her overdraft. Boy, that woman was tough and knew the value of a penny!
I pulled up outside her pretty bungalow. Her garden was plastered with tiny garden ornaments from her local discount store and looked great. I took a deep breath, no turning back now! Shortly after I rang the doorbell I could see her tiny frame and massive wild curly hair moving towards the door. Last chance to run I thought. “Chloe, how lovely to see you. How are you?”
“Oh, don’t ask. I’m only alive because I can’t afford the coffin! Come in darlin’, I’ve got work for you. Don’t mind the mess. The cleaner broke last year and he doesn’t get out of bed till lunchtime now!”
Chloe showed me into her messy life. We made our way around countless obstacles to a table piled high with junk mail. It was post that she could not bear to throw away. Chloe shoveled a hole with her hands, creating a space on the table. I heaved up her old New Home into the space. “Seized solid!” Chloe announced. “Bloody thing, it’s ‘ardly been a year since the last time I paid you.” I quickly interrupted her with a little correction. “Actually it was three years ago Chloe, and last time you paid me it was with half a pot of honey and two marrows. Not exactly a king’s ransom.”
“Ah, but there were lovely marrows weren’t they? Not that I grew them mind,” she threw in with a wicked smile. “Now down to business. My baby has seized up solid. Won’t make a bloomin’ stitch. She was running slow, so I oiled her like you told me to, but then it got even worse, then stopped altogether!”
Sewing machine seizures fall into several categories: lack of oil, thread jamming, bearings tightening, gears stuck, shafts out of line and so on. The worst, so I thought until today, is a main top bearing seizure. The top bearings are the largest on a sewing machine and when they go it can be hard work. I could try for a month and they would still never run properly. “Any chance of a nice cuppa, Chloe?”
“Only if you have one sugar! Last time you caused a sugar shortage in Polegate! I’m surprised you’re not type four diabetic!”
“I don’t think there’s no such thing,” I laughed back.
“Well there should be!” She added, muttering something else under her breath as she went. I sat in front of the old machine and tried to turn it. It was locked. I mean LOCKED. There was no movement at all, not even the slightest wiggle. I let out a deep sigh and surveyed my cluttered prison. I knew Chloe would not let me out of the house until her machine was purring like a pedigree kitten. As I looked across the table I saw a half empty bottle of fabric glue. A sudden feeling of dread came over me. I called Chloe.
“Um, Chloe, what oil did you use on your sewing machine?”
“It’s right there on the table you pillock. Lost your eyes hav’ ya’!”
“Chloe. That’s glue!”
“Don’t be such an idiot,” she said grabbing the bottle. She held it up at an angle to the light and tried to read the label. Then she toddled off to find her glasses. I could hear her swearing like a drunk sailor in the other room. She sheepishly returned. “Do you think that is the problem?”
“I’m pretty sure it is, Chloe. The reason it slowed in the first place is that you had the motor switched to half speed. I suspect you then glued the moving parts together to make sure it never works again!”
“NOOOOOOO.” She howled. “NOT MY BAAABY. You have to save her,” she wailed in desperation. “Look I’ll give you two sugars, no, three. I’ll give you the whole bag. I’ve got loads!”
“Let me see what I can do Chloe. Now if you can get me four sheets of kitchen roll. Not one piece cut into four like last time, I’ll get to work.” I had seen she had not managed to get the top and bottom off so she could only have ‘glued’ the side needlebar assembly. Chloe shuffled off as quickly as a witch on bonfire night and I got down to work.
An hour later the New Home was stitching like new. I had taken the needlebar out and scraped every last bit of glue away. Then I had carefully reset the whole machine, including the half speed setting. I left with a large muddy pumpkin, a jar of blackberry jam, half a pot of oil, sorry, fabric glue, and yes, you guessed it, some sugar poured into a plastic Chinese take-away container (I knew I’d never get a whole bag). No mention of money was made or forthcoming. I did not have the guts to ask for any. Visions of the Polegate bank manager running for his life always stopped me from trying.
Chloe waved me away with the words. “I ‘ope I don’t see ya’ again luv’. Enjoy the pumpkin. I nicked it from the allotments the other night! Same as your marrows last time.” She howled with laughter and slammed the door.
I put my stolen goods on the passenger seat and pulled out of Honeycrag Close. Sweet Lord I love this job. No money, countless crazy customers, and the most life affirming, soul fulfilling way to grow old. I knew that as sure as the sun rises it would not be long before Crazy Chloe did something else stupid to her baby and I would be back!
Welcome to Kyrosmagica! It is wonderful to have you over for a chit chat, Sally.
Lovely to be here Marjorie and thank you for the invitation.
MJ: I’m delighted to be reading Life is Like A Bowl of Cherries, Sally, the title is so beguiling, particularly as I do love fruit, and cherries are a favourite!
MJ:Sally,I’d love to hear more about your nomadic life. I believe you have lived in many countries. Which of these places has a special place in your heart and why?
A great collection of writers covering many different genres – both Traditionally and Indie Published. Representatives of Romantic, Historical, Crime, Domestic Noir, Family Saga, Sci-Fi,, Children’s, Fantasy, Contemporary and Psychological Fiction. And Poetry.
After their interviews the writers will be in Room Three for Meet the Author. Your chance to interact with them all. So make a note of those you would like to chat with and Zoom in!
And here you may find the stray writer/ author/poet wandering around – your chance to chat with them about all the interviews, books and readings that have taken place and been discussed over the day.
Room One: The Video Presentations
Although this and many of the video presentations are free to watch on Showboat tv, there are opportunities to see much more: See these here: http://bit.ly/3s9agYV
Showboat tv is an Internationally watched stationand is also available on Roku: https://bit.ly/39fH2z3.
In the years before 2020, I taught creative writing to adults under the Lifelong Learning Scheme, run by Pembrokeshire County Council.
The following is a short story written by one of my students, from an exercise I gave the class in 2018. That student is Trish, who writes under the name of Alex Craigie. https://amzn.to/3bwdhwu
I’ve copied and pasted the post I wrote in 2018 – this is the original link:http://bit.ly/2DdlYI9
The Introduction to the post…
Some of you may know, as well as holding private creative writing workshops, I also tutor creative writing for the local council. Tutoring adults can be rewarding (discovering wonderful writers), chaotic (my lesson plans are rarely followed – someone will inevitably take things off at a tangent) hilarious (the undiscovered comedian/ the completely unaware comedian) and thought-provoking (especially with memoir writing) Every now and then I like to share some of their work. Here is a piece written by Trish Power (you may remember her as one of my students whose previous work, Enigma, I posted here
This is what she wrote…
AND THIS IS THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED
We study the expansive hall, wood buffed to a mirrored finish reflecting the framed dignitaries set at precise intervals around the walls. At the start of the tour we had chatted and laughed in between our guide’s flawless documentary. But a hush has fallen over us now as we take in the enormity of the events leading to this point. Joleen assesses us. Practised as she is in her art, she is attuned to our mood and knows when to intervene.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, shall we move on?’
She walks ahead towards the end of the hall, stopping at one of the wall panels. When everyone is assembled and she has our attention she reaches out an immaculately manicured finger and pushes on a piece of the gold scrolling.
There’s a collective intake of breath as that section of the wall swings silently inwards exposing a carpeted stairwell lit by bright, rectangular lights recessed into the edge of the ceiling.
‘Please hold on to the rail; the treads are quite steep.’
She takes a step back and ushers us ahead with a sweep of her arm.
We arrive at an area where the lighting is dimmer. Six doors lead off from a central square. There is a shuffling as we make way for Joleen to move through us to the middle door on the right. This is what we’ve been waiting for.
We enter in total silence.
In front of us is a large, rectangular table surrounded by leather chairs. In front of each chair is a file of what appears to be documents. Behind us is a huge, wall-mounted screen.
At the head of the table is a taller chair with a studded back and embellished on top with a golden eagle. There are four phones in different colours set in an arc around a rectangular metal box containing a keypad and a large, red button.
There are other things in the room but for now our focus is on that button. The red button.
‘As you all are aware, ladies and gentlemen, this is where the Secretary of Defense and a united cohort of military advisors attempted to dissuade him from his plan of action. They pointed out the likely consequences for the world but were silenced by his declaration that he was Commander-in-Chief and outranked them all. He wasn’t going to stand by and let someone say things like that about him, even if they were an ally.
‘The video cameras were checked to make sure that they were still running as he insisted on the codes being tapped into the keypad.
‘Again, he was urged not to carry on.
‘But, like a child determined on having his way, he gave a triumphant grin and stabbed a stubby finger down on that button.
‘There were sighs of resignation but the way forward was clear now. He had failed their test and proven himself to be a danger to the free world. The Secretary of Defense gave a nod and two men approached, one of them carrying something rolled-up under his arm. They slipped behind the still-smirking president, reached forwards and slipped his arms into the straightjacket.
‘And so, ladies and gentlemen, the president of the most powerful country in the world was taken into protective custody in order to safeguard our planet – and this is the room where it happened.’
Hi, SE ers John here. Today I’m going to kick off a four-part series of posts on co-authorship. I will begin the subject by discussing the elements of co-authorship. Then on January 15th Gwen will explore the idea of creating a shared vision. I will return on January 27th with a view of writing coherency. Gwen will wrap the whole thing up with a summary and conclusion on February 3rd.
Now that you have the plan, let’s jump into the subject of co-authorship.
You may wonder what is co-authorship? You’re probably aware that screenplays are often written by committees. It’s not uncommon for non-fiction books to be written by two authors (or more). We are all familiar with ghostwriters. So, it is not surprising that fiction writers are increasingly partnering with another writer to develop, outline, and bring a story to…
Welcome to the Wednesday Cafe and Bookstore update with recent reviews for authors on the shelves.
The first author today is D.L. Finn with one of the early reviews for her YA mystery Dolphin’s Cave.
About the book
The dream always begins the same way for fifteen-year-old Coral Dover. She enters the ocean alone and ends up in a cave on the back of a dolphin. It’s happened every night for the last eight years since her parents disappeared. Coral longs to visit the place where her parents’ plane went down, and she finally gets her wish when her aunt takes her on a working vacation to Hawaii. When Coral notices unusual things happening around her, only one other person believes her. Will they discover the secret that could change everyone’s lives? Can Coral keep her family safe as she pursues her dream?
Sometimes you find a niche where you know you just fit. That’s how I felt when I joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association and then the RNA Saga Writers group on Facebook. I was made very welcome and, in fact, was interviewed:on the Write Minds blog https://bit.ly/2VhEPg7, run by two of the members:Francesca Capaldi Burgess and Elaine Roberts.
I wanted to discover how and why, like me, they wrote family sagas, with a little romance thrown in. So I asked if any of them would be interested in discussing that. I certainly received some fascinating answers.
This is the sixth of my interviews with a Romantic Saga Author, and today I’m so pleased to be withRosie Hendry
Rosie Hendry
When you started writing your book, did you intend to write a family saga – or series of stories rather than one story?
The Mother’s Day Club, was always intended as the first of a new series called Women on the Home Front, as I wanted to explore how the second world war affects a family and the village community in which they live. Each book will bring new characters and challenges to the family as the course of the war progresses. The plan is to write more stories stretching across the years of wartime following the lives of the family.
Which do think is more important, the family story or the romance?
Definitely the family story in these books. There are romances but they are woven in amongst everything else that’s going on.
How important do you think it is to research the historical background, locations, features of the era, your characters live in?
Absolutely essential. I always think the wartime situation is like another character, having a huge effect on the story and the challenges faced by the people. It’s important to get the historical details right, and having not lived through those times myself, the only way to ensure that what I write is as correct as I can make it, is to do lots of research. Luckily, I really enjoy that aspect of writing historical fiction, especially discovering the social history of that period and how people’s lives were affected in so many ways. I especially love finding out snippets which didn’t make the history books but were important to people. It’s a wonderful feeling when I discover a forgotten gem of historical fact which inspires my storytelling.
How do you manage to keep track of all the characters in your book/s over a stretch of time?
I’m a planner – this helps me keep track of all the characters and what’s happening with them. I have a notebook where I record each characters’ details like eye and hair colour, family details etc, which I can refer back to.
I use different colour post-it notes on a board to plot out the story scene by scene, giving a set colour to each character. This helps me keep a balance of different characters viewpoints within the story, so that no one has a lot more than the others. I found this is the best way for me to write a multi-viewpoint story and weave the different strands together.
A saga demands change, both in its characters and its world, how important is the time period to the development of your narrative.
Writing books set during the Second World War gives me a time period against which to set the story. I will hang characters’ storylines on different events from the wartime, so the factual events act rather like a scaffolding. I choose events carefully so they are appropriate to my characters’ lives, but which will also challenge them.
When I’m plotting the story, I print out calendars from the wartime and mark on the historical events that I want to use to ensure I keep the story’s timeline accurate to the time period. One thing I love about writing the Second World War stories is how women’s lives were challenged, and they were required to step outside of their comfort zones and do things they would never have been asked to do during peacetime. It makes perfect fuel for storytelling!
Blurb for The Mother’s Day Club –
Norfolk, 1939
When the residents of Great Plumstead, a small and charming community in Norfolk, offer to open their homes to evacuees from London, they’re expecting to care for children. So when a train carrying expectant mothers pulls into the station, the town must come together to accommodate their unexpected new arrivals . . .
Sisters Prue and Thea welcome the mothers with open arms, while others fear their peaceful community will be disrupted. But all pregnant Marianne seeks is a fresh start for herself and her unborn child. Though she knows that is only possible as long as her new neighbours don’t discover the truth about her situation.
The women of Great Plumstead, old and new, are fighting their own battles on the home front. Can the community come together in a time of need to do their bit for the war effort?
I live in West Wales – have lived here for more than 35 years, and I find it easy to use as a setting for my domestic noir novels. But just to season the brew I have also made use of the town where I was born and lived for nearly 30 years. Luton, Bedfordshire, 32 miles north of London, on the M1, trains to St Pancras and, of course, Luton airport. A town squeezed into a gap in the Chilterns, chalk downs that I still miss.
Luton is not an obvious setting for intense domestic drama or gritty urban thrillers – at least it wasn’t when I left it, back in the 80s. Might have changed by now, of course. The Luton I remember was a town that went out of its way to be non-descript, the epitome of suburban, too close to London to establish an identity of…
I’m so pleased today to be with Jan Sikes, author of Ghostly Interference. Welcome Jan.
Thank you, Judith lovely to be here.
Please tell us, how did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
That’s such a great question, Judith. I was so green writing and publishing my first book. I knew absolutely nothing about self-publishing, but I had a story that begged to be told. The editor I hired was not a professional, but I didn’t know that at the time. The first clue should have been when he consistently misspelled my name. So, two years ago, I pulled the book down off Amazon and re-edited it. I was ashamed to have my name on that first version. It was not an easy decision, but my reputation as an author had started to blossom. I had learned so much in the process of writing four books. So, while it was not easy, it was worth the effort. That year, “Flowers and Stone” was chosen as the book of the year by the Rave Reviews Book Club, a large international organization.
So, in answer to your question, writing that first book was a huge learning curve. Not only the process of writing, editing, and publishing, but marketing about which, by the way, I knew nothing. I joined various writing organizations in Texas and learned more about marketing through conferences and connecting with other authors.
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
The most difficult part of my artistic process is time management. Finding and allocating dedicated time to writing is hard for me. The story ideas flow, and especially when I keep my mindset in that creative vein. Transferring the story I see in my mind to the written word is sometimes challenging. I tend to be wordy and end up cutting lots of extras from the manuscript once I finish and go back to clean it up. But by far, the most challenging aspect of the artistic process is dedicating time to it and sticking with that no matter what. I am very OCD about my Email Inbox and can’t stand for it to be over twenty-five or thirty. So, in the process of cleaning out emails, I can lose precious time going down rabbit holes.
The other thing that I sometimes struggle with is research. I get impatient when I can’t find what I need right away. But, with the new story I’m working on, I visited a local horse sanctuary, and that kind of research was fun!
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Not necessarily. I like to leave small hints about future events in the story, but not so much that the reader can guess. (Or at least that is my goal.) But I can’t say I’ve hidden secrets that would be hard to find.
What was your hardest scene to write?
By and far, the most difficult scenes for me to write are sex scenes—the scenes when they’ve moved beyond kissing and are now in the bedroom. There is a fine line between a well-written sex scene and erotica, and mostly it’s the language. I took a class on writing sex scenes a couple of years ago, and the instructor said, “If the sex scene you are writing doesn’t turn you on and get you hot and bothered, most likely it won’t affect your reader.”
I thought that was a pretty good gauge. Mostly, I focus on the emotions of the lovers rather than the act itself. Sex scenes can be a great way to show more about a character. It can show insecurities or, on the flip side, ego. I like to use sex scenes to advance the story, especially in a romance.
What did you edit out of this book?
Really, not much. Mostly just my wordiness. Learning to say more with fewer words is my goal. Substituting powers words is the key. I can’t say I’ve accomplished it yet.
Have you ever had reader’s block?
I think we can all say we’ve experienced times where the ideas didn’t flow, but somehow I never think of it as reader’s block. I think of it as a dormant time when things need to simmer on the back burner or seeds need to germinate. During those times, I find that watching movies, listening to music, walking on the treadmill, or reading always helps me get back on the right track.
GHOSTLY INTERFERENCE
BOOK BLURB:
Jag Peters has one goal in his quiet comfortable life—to keep his karma slate wiped clean. A near-miss crash with a candy apple red Harley threatens to upend his safe world. He tracks down the rider to apologize properly. Slipping into a seedy biker bar, he discovers the rider isn’t a “he”, it’s a “she”, a dark-haired beauty.
Rena Jett is a troubled soul, who lives in a rough world. She wants no part of Jag’s apology, but even while she pushes him away, she is attracted to him. When he claims to see a ghost—her brother—can she trust him? And could her brother’s final gift, a magical rune stone with the symbol for “happily ever after” have the power to heal her wounds and allow opposites to find common ground—perhaps even love?
Welcome to the Cafe and Bookstore update with new releases and reviews for authors on the shelves.
The first author today with a recent review is Ritu Bhathal for Marriage Unarranged.
About the book
It all started ended with that box…
Aashi’s life was all set. Or so she thought.
Like in the Bollywood films, Ravi would woo her, charm her family and they’d get married and live happily ever after.
But then Aashi found the empty condom box…
Putting her ex-fiancé and her innocence behind her, Aashi embarks upon an enlightening journey, to another country, where vibrant memories are created, and unforgettable friendships forged.
Old images erased, new beginnings to explore.
And how can she forget the handsome stranger she meets? A stranger who’s hiding something…
Happy New Year.. and welcome to the first of the Blogger Daily posts for the year and some posts I thought you might enjoy.
It is all about books today and the first post is from Amy Reade with a great selection of reads for her December Round-Up
It’s almost 2021! This is my last reading round-up for 2020, and pretty soon this year will be just a memory. Though 2020 brought lots of changes and more than a few blessings to my family, I know that’s not the case for millions of people all over the world.
Reading has always been a great escape, and my belief is that books have been more important than ever during the past nine tumultuous months. I hope you’ve enjoyed my reviews and that you’ve been inspired to read and review a few books of your own. I look forward to continuing my…
Caz Greenham's World of Books ~ Welcome to my website! Here you will find details of my books, a selection of articles and various pages of interest. Contact me via the links ~ browse and enjoy...Caz
Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash 
