Meet the Author - Lin Treadgold, Goodbye Henrietta Street

Goodbye Henrietta Street is a romance novel with interesting issues. It is set in the 1970s when there were no mobile phones or internet. This island story represents all the peace and quiet of a desert island—a great read during the lockdown. The islands are among the best in the world. Scilly has to be seen to be believed that you are still in the UK. There are palm trees and white beaches and excellent seafood. Each day is a new experience, There’s one drawback, you must book well in advance. The population is over two thousand people, and the number of houses for visitors are limited. The new helicopter is now running, and it is hoped you can fly by plane from Newquay, once the crisis is over. The ferry sails in the Spring and Summer.

My review:

Pippa, having lost a son, takes 3 weeks out of an awkward marriage to visit the Isle of Scilly from her home in Whitby. She meets Sven, a handsome Norwegian birdwatcher tour guide who shows her around Hugh Town and further afield.  Her best friends back home have their own marital problems as a secret affair comes to light.  Phone calls to her own husband brings little comfort although he receives news of a windfall and meets his biological family, but by this time Pippa is well smitten with the life-style and Sven, and is dreading going home.

 The ending is full of tension – will Pippa leave Henrietta Street or not?  Sven takes a trip to the mainland after complications with his ex-girlfriend.  Will she leave behind the gravestone of her son to pursue a new job prospect in Scilly?

 I loved this story, a five-star recommended read ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Interview with Lin:

Do you live in Whitby? If so, for how long?

I was born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, 20 miles from Whitby. Whitby is a historical town and popular holiday destination; Henrietta Street does exist. I walked down the famous 199 steps from the Abbey, and when I reached the bottom, I saw the street’s name. It seemed right to use that name for the book, even my character’s house exists along that street, but the reader has to go there and guess which one could be hers.

How many times have you been to the Scilly Isles?

I first discovered Scilly in 1969 on a day trip from Penzance. I was so taken with the place, I returned for two weeks’ holiday the following year. Scilly is lovely, and at my latest count, I have visited fifteen times. I have booked for September 2021 hoping that the Covid situation on the mainland will change. Many people have told me they remember the book’s landmarks or wish to go there on holiday. Scilly is somewhat dependent on tourism, and so my book has often influenced tourists to visit.

There are some serious life issues in your book – death, 3 lots of relationships gone wrong etc.  How did it make you feel writing these scenes?

As this was my first novel, I became emotional when writing it, but now I see things differently. I was keen to get the story written and through the editing process. However, I think a novelist has to have deep feelings for the reader to feel the same way.

Are you a birdwatcher/Twitcher?

Oh yes, most certainly. Nature has always been a part of me, and now that I live in Devon on the banks on the River Taw I need that peace and quiet to help me write. I watch dippers and kingfishers. I recently saw a goosander on the river.  I volunteered on a nature reserve when I lived in Holland and with the RSPB in the UK.

How long did it take you to write/get published?

From the beginning, I think it was about ten years. Like most new writers, I dipped in and out of ideas for a novel, wrote them down and never really thought about being a ‘famous writer’. I think if it wasn’t for joining the Romantic Novelists’ Association, I probably wouldn’t have got this far. They are a great bunch of like-minded people with lots of interesting ideas. I think if I’d done this earlier, I would have been published a lot sooner.

What previous experience in writing do you have, i.e. courses, career etc.?

I’ve always enjoyed writing since school. However, I studied a creative writing course whilst I was a driving instructor. I then became an instructor trainer and wrote my own training courses. I retired in 2001, after 25 years of teaching when I followed my husband and his job to The Netherlands.  After realising my skills as a teacher were transferable, I am now assisting new writers in moving ideas for a novel into something real and achievable. I can provide positive encouragement for them to become successful novelists. My time is on Zoom or email with the student, helping them understand the skills needed to make it all work.

The Viking was a stunning character – is he based on a real person/s?

Sven, (The Viking) is purely fictional. However, I’m aware that everyone loves Sven. Many of my readers have complimented me on this character. He’s caring, he loves nature, and he’s adorable. I suppose the idea of every woman’s dream man. Where I found him, I have no idea. He came to me one day in a flash of inspiration. I love him too.

What are you working on next?

I am now on my fourth book, The Trail to Freedom with my third one in the submission stage. It’s a WWII story based on letters my father wrote from a prison camp in Italy. Book No. 4 is a modern sequel with a working title of Sulmona, The Forgotten Years. My second book, The Tanglewood Affair, is set in the 1980s, a family romance saga, based on witchcraft and deceit.

Do you have any advice for would-be authors?

Get help as much as you can if you want to write a book. Ideas can always be turned into something exciting, and if you run it by someone who knows how to write and is published, it can save you a lot of heartbreak. I like to give confidence to the new writer. My role is not to tell someone their writing isn’t good enough or to judge how they write. It’s all about goal setting and learning techniques to make ideas work. I allow the writer to think for themselves and help them improve what they already have. My advice is not to struggle alone, get help, and your confidence will shine through.

Links for further information: https://itslinhere.wordpress.com

Twitter: @itslinhere

Publisher: www.silverwood_books.co.uk

 

A New Beginning

 A new beginning by Sue Flint©

 

The tiny bulb stretches.

The dark, deep down days were about to birth a new beginning;

The earth worm slithers past not noticing.

Slowly, so slowly her shoots extend

Reaching for light above the soil

Its hard work, but once begun

The bulb cannot stop the process of change.

 

Comfort of known existence changes to fear

Of the unknown world it is heading for.

Green stems break the icy cold surface

Its tips soaking up the light.

 

The stretching continues, air and freedom excites

Little roots go deeper, leaves pushing upwards with joy.

Day follows night and night follows day,

The soil warms and the bulb pushes out a stem

And then, a bud, and finally its energy is burst –

A white bell shaped petal opens up, delicate and beautiful;

Sparkling against the brown and green around it.

 

It shakes a little and blooms to its full capacity;

“A snowdrop,” the little girl shouts beckoning her mother

To draw alongside her.

Yes, my love, its telling us Spring is on its way,” she replies.

 

Writing for Wellbeing

with Leonie Martin.  A zoom group monthly writing group based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Uk but, as with any zoom, participants can be from anywhere in the world.  This month's meeting welcomed a lady from Singapore and whilst she looked sunny and cool, the UK participants were in winter woolies.  

Leonie is an author, freelance writer and facilitator of writing workshops, living with MS.  She guides the group into writing just a sentence at first and offering participants to read it out aloud to the group if we want to.  She is a natural encourager and we feel safe and more confident about writing in her care.  Next may be a 3 minute exercise writing about a picture relating to the topic of the month, this month was 'Beginnings'.  Again we read out our work and receive feedback from Leonie.  If it is particularly good others in the group may clap or write a comment in the chatbox.  The third and fourth exercises in this two hour group zoom is a five minute write, followed again by a sharing of our work.  It is lovely listening to other peoples interpretation of the same picture.

Leonie uses 'screen share' to show the group beautiful 'prompts' to aid our scribbles.  Here's two pictures and my stories that came from nowhere, such is inspiration!

No matter where I stood I could not find the coloney of penquins that I had filmed five years ago.  My heart was beating so fast that I thought it would burst within my chest.  I wasn't dressed for the ice today, I was being picked up by helicopter and transported back to concrete towns and busy offices.  

I pleaded to get just a glimpse; "I know their numbers have declined, but please God let them not have been wiped out."

Just as I heard the helicopter overhead, its blades whirring and the air around me stirring, a black and white head appears before me, then a body, then a jump and a waddle followed by another and another and another.  My heart leaps for joy as the helicopter lands behind me on firm ice.  Time to go home.

©SueFlint

The inscription on the back of the pocket watch told me it had been presented to Bill Middleton for 50 years service at M.C.H.  I 'googled' the name and workplace initials and gained a list so long it seemed an impossible task to find its owner.  'Perhaps I should just hand it in at the local police station?'

I decided to send a brief email to the first 20 Bill Middleton's and that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship with a local hero.  His son, by the same name, invited me to visit as his dad had just turned 90.  I spent days with him chatting about his work at M.C.H., his heroic act and how he lost his watch.

A few years later I was moved to tears to receive the watch in his will.

©Sue Flint

Feedback included the thought that I could continue to make this into a short story, readers/listeners wanting to know what the heroic act was.  

Hope you enjoyed my tit-bits of writing?  Comments are always welcome here or on Twitter @tweetsue13

One August Night

 

I have awaited this sequel to The Island for a very long time - it's been 15 years!  Having supported the Leprosy Mission charity for 40 years, The Island gave me a visualisation of the colony on Spinalonga, off the greek island of Crete.  Victoria Hislop is a favourite author of both myself and my husband - he has read all the books in between The Island and this one, so, newly published I felt it an ideal Christmas present - we don't read many hardback books, preferring paperbacks and receiving this newly published edition was a temptation too far.  I secretly read it first handling it with great care.  Shhh don't tell him....

Anna, having gone into depression after the birth of her baby girl, Sofia, began to recover when her husband arranges the christening and asks his cousin to be the Godfather.  She puts on a red dress and her affair with her sister's fiance continues.  The reader suspects he, Manolis, may be the child's father.  Her sister, Maria, has been away on Spinalonga in the Leprosy colony.  News is increasing that there is now a cure and people are being sent home.  Anna fears for her relationship with Manolis, she doesn't want to lose her lover.

A tragedy befalls the family whereby Anna's husband is imprisoned and her lover flees to mainland Greece.  Maria marries her doctor and they take Sophia in, raising the child as their own.  Manolis and Maria then become the main characters and the story unfolds with thrilling and graphically told events.

It is so exquisitly written, plain and simple to understand and follow; it's gripping.  The intermingled, intriguing relationships leads the reader to rush to the end.  I think it's the best book I have read all year. 

Sometimes hubby reads the last page before he gets to the end. I KNOW! Sacriledge.  However, if anyone else has this habit it will NOT give you an idea of what goes on between the beginning and end.  The end, however, does leave you wanting more.  Will a grown up Sofia trace her roots?  Will Manolis marry?  Will he ever return to Crete or mainland Greece?  What becomes of Maria?

Perhaps readers will not have much knowledge of Leprosy and think it is assigned only to biblical times.  Or perhaps they have some recollection of Princess Diana visiting such patients in the 1990's.  A cure for this dreadful, disfiguring disease was found in 1957 but it is still contracted in third world countries today.  It has been around since early 1900's.  Imagine 50+ years of Covid19!!  How fortunate we are that a vaccine has been made against the world-wide disease.  It doesn't mean Covid19 will disappear and neither has Leprosy.  I hope one day both will be irradicated.

The island of Spinalonga would be a place to visit now as an historic site, much like the war museums and underground hospital on Jersey.  Perhaps I should visit it when we are out of this pandemic; when flights and holidaying become safe again.  I know that this precious book will grace our bookshelves and be a favourite of both mine and my husband's (I will tell him I have read it when the time is right!)  There are not many books we would both read and Victoria Hislop is the only author that has inspired us both.

 

Reflections of 2020

There are SPECIAL MOMENTS in every year and as this crazy/sad/awful/surprising year of 2020 comes to an end I reflect here on moments that stand out for me. 

However, firstly I acknowledge the fact that the Virus, Covid19, has dominated the news, destroyed businesses, lives (66,000+ in the UK to date), relationships etc. I truely hope it has also taught us all lessons in kindness, endurance, what really matters and globally, I hope the environment and our way of living will be changed for the better. It highlighted our mental health, our NHS and keyworkers, our need to wash hands frequently, wear face masks and keep social distance. Being in the 'vulnerable' category I have never 'stayed home' so much but totally thankful I have a nice one, a garden and places to walk to. I am thankful too that I have a laptop and i-phone, have had on-line shopping delivered and partaken in many a Zoom meeting, Facebook live events, FaceTime calls and other platforms to keep in touch with family, friends and people in the world of writing/publishing. The blues didn't hit me until this month of December when the dark, dank days leading up to an unusual Christmas drained me of energy, happy hormones and excitement about the end being in sight with a vaccine on the way. Thankfully it only lasted a weekend and I remembered my mantra of: THIS TOO WILL PASS .

So now for the good news, my special moments, in this year that will go down in history.  Before the word 'Pandemic' reached our ears I took a winter break back in February to the Highlands of Scotland where I was fortunate to see wild deer at the foothills of snowy mountains and, due to Storm Dennis I led a Writing Group in the hotel where we were kept inside for safety.  This tale was later printed in the People's Friend magazine and I felt so proud of my courage to step up and amuse residents on a dismal day.

In March, just before things became worse, I was in Bournemouth having won tickets to the Russian Ballet.  It was a fabulous show and although tense about attending such a large gathering as the news was stepping up a pace, I enjoyed the time away from home in a B&B, eating meals out and taking a taxi to the pavillion and being engrossed in the ballet.  

Also in March I visited Chesterfiled to see a friend and saw this famous spiral spired church.

So then we were all into LOCKDOWN LAND and I spent time in the garden, planting and growing vegetables, creating window displays for cheering passersby and neighbours, celebrating VE day on the driveway and Thursday nights clapping the the staff of the NHS.  So proud of my nephew:

Wasn't May and the summer wonderful?  Sunshine, actual FRESH air (no pollution), appreciation of nature and a little respite before lockdown restrictions/tiers came into force again.  Hubby and I did manage a weekend away in the remote Derbyshire village of Castleton where we had some lovely country walks and an outside coffee stop.

As the year drew on I felt I was adapting well.  I took pleasure in the garden far more than ever and grew vegetables for the first time in over 30 years.  The cherry tomato plants produced so much; peas, potatoes, lettuce, raddishes and herbs were experiemental too.  The flowers bloomed giving colour and joy as well.

Bird watching was another joy - we had a regular robin visiting and numerous other varieties, but what an absolute treat that a pair of great tits used the bird box on my cabin to nest and raise their young which we anxiously awaited to see how many fledged.  There were five in all but sadly the last one didn't make it onto the nearby fence and perished overnight.

My biggest special moment was when one baby tit flew into the open door of my cabin and allowed me to rescue him, hold him in my hands for a short while before freeing him to fly again.  Not sure I've ever had that priveledge in my life before.  

Another special moment was my great-niece's first birthday.  Thankfully we were able to have a small family gathering to celebrate but no hugs were shared (something I've missed dreadfully). 

There have been many special moments of meeting friends outdoors, walking, chatting, finding a bench and sitting apart with a flask and cake.  Being outdoors and walking has helped keep me positive and this tree hug was for all the people I love.  Tyson the Bengal cat came to stay to keep us company for a few weeks and he wanted to be part of my window display!  Doorstep visits have been appreciated but so unnatural not to ask people in, especially our lovely daughter.

We made the big decision to put our home of nearly 30 years on the market but to date we have been disappointed with very little response.  However, we are in no hurry so I guess the timing is not right just yet.  Another highlight of this year was that I, at last, received my pension and bus pass.  I join the Senior Citizens rank not feeling as though this is real, but having waited six years for my pension it is very welcome.  

My other passtimes have been card crafting, knitting, reading novels and writing. Those who follow me on Twitter (@tweetsue13) or Facebook (Sue Flint, Author) will know that as I write this blog my manuscript is out for appraisal and novel 2 has been harder to be disciplined about.  However many zooms have been extremely helpful and hopefully I will spring back into writing action again very soon.  Here's my knitted snowmen - I managed a small amount of the 1,000+ that the local church wanted to spread cheer in the Parish of Wigginton; and just a few of all the Christmas cards I made.   

 

Sadly we lost the son of our dear friends, to that other dreadful disease - Cancer.  John was such a big hearted young man, aged 41, who was an inspiration to all who knew him.  Funerals this year have been so different from the 'norm' and John had made arrangements for his own way of people 'saying goodbye' which was close family celebrating his life on a nearby beach.  We paid our own respects by

planting trees through the woodlandstrust.org.uk in his memory.

And now as the year comes to an end we have news of the first vaccinations against Covid19 being administered here in the UK giving us all hope that next year will see the relief of Lockdowns, Tiers and closed venues of enjoyment.  I guess it will take us all sometime to feel 'safe' again but this at least is a step in the right direction.

Special moments are there in every day, every month, every year if we but notice them.  I hope you have many stored in your memory bank and that you draw on them whenever life throws a curve ball.  Thank you for reading my blog, comments can be made below or on Twitter @tweetsue13 or email: sueflint13@hotmail.com. 

May your Christmas and New Year celebrations be safe and wishing you all the best for 2021.

                           

 

 

  

Guaranteed to get you singing....

How lovely to be transported from a dismal year to the beautiful scenery of the Swiss mountains and villages.  Let it Snow by Sue Moorcroft will certainly delight you and get you feeling seasonal. 

❆❆❆

Lily learns that her mums both had baby girls by different methods which leads her on a quest to meet up with biological half-brothers.  In a temporary bar job in Middledip she ponders on whether she will ever tell her boss Tubb they are related.  There is much conflict between her sister, her mums and her own heart too.  

She has a trip to Switzerland with her other job for the Food, Lifestyle and Health show and arranges to take the Middletones choir with her to help promotional work.  Singing well known British carols will attract attention to her stall.

❆❆❆ 

Isaac, having broken up with his girlfriend Hayley, moves into the flat above the pub and soon finds Lily attractive.  An accident to Lily's hand prevents her from driving the mini bus of excited members of the Middletones, so Isaac steps in to save the day.  Doggo the dalmation joins the trip too.  However, a tragedy with his ex has him dashing back to the UK just as he and Lily are finding love.  Will they hook up back in the UK or was it to be a holiday romance? Will Lily's brothers accept her into the fold?  Will she manage driving back with her injured hand?  There is a lot of tension, drama, health issues and family relationships to keep you turning the pages.

The trip to Switzerland has it all - snow ❅, lights🎄, expensive gifts🎁, romance, work, play and singing 🎸.  It is Christmas in text, fueling the imagination and reminding us of better times.  I don't think I'll ever hear Michael Buble singing 'Let it Snow' without thinking of this book and its contents.  

❆❆❆

Well done Sue Moorcroft, five star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.  Looking forward to reading this years' Christmas novel - Christmas Wishes. 

 

Who doesn't love a toy panda?

 Pandemonium

By Gail Aldwin

I was asked by the author to review her book and it was a priviledge to do.  I think it will make an ideal Christmas or Birthday present - this beautifully illustrated book is aimed at children between the ages of 2 – 7 years.

The adorable purple Panda will warm hearts as each page captures a scene even without the words.  An adult reader can point out other elements to the growing child – where is Peta, what else is in the picture, who else is in the picture, what are they doing, what colour is Peta the Panda?  Conversations the story evokes can be interesting and encourage the child’s imagination to build more into the story.  It will be one they remember when they are older.

 Early readers will enjoy the bold lettered short sentences.  There are new words to learn the meaning of – Pandemonium and haberdashery – explanations again encouraging conversations between the child and reader.  Also an opportunity to tell young readers about breaking big words down into syllables to make reading and spelling easier – the cover is a good ‘showing’ example.

 As the book progresses Peta’s purple is disguised to make her look like the other Panda’s but her peers mock her which makes her unhappy.  Lessons on how to deal with unhelpful comments from friends at school could take place from this page and how Mama Panda rescues Peta by undoing the disguise, freeing her and encouraging Peta to be herself.  Conversation about love could be had here and how being accepted as we are makes us happy.

 I love the messages –

• It’s ok to be different
• It’s ok to have fun
• It encourages and affirms
• Love and acceptance help us be true to ourselves

 It is also sweet and cute.  It will appeal to lively children and make quiet children laugh at Peta’s antics.  Ideal for girls or boys, schools, parents, grandparents, childminders, nursery nurses, etc etc.

Five star rating.  Well done Author Gail Aldwin and Illustrator Fiona Zechmeister.

Available from www.victoriapress.com and https://www.waterstones.com/book/pandemonium/gailaldwin/fiona-zechmeister/9781999369675  pre-order now, publication December 2020.

Other reviews can be found on https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55315976-pandemonium

You can follow the author on Twitter @gailaldwin or Facebook: Gail Aldwin, Writer

 

A Year to Remember?

                                       

 Pandemic.  Covid19.  Masks.  Washing hands.  Social Distance.  Death rates.  Covid Cases.                        Prime  Minister's announcements.  Lockdown.  Job losses.  Economic Crisis.  Stay Home.                         Cheer for the NHS.    Food banks.  Captain Tom.  Fundraising.  Regional lockdowns.                                 Black lives matter.  Herd  immunity.   Schools & University returns.  Social bubbles.                                    Pubs close early.  Elderly.  Virus carriers.    Mental Health matters.  Sanitizer.

These words and phrases are just some of the things that have been in my brain, and probably everyone else's thoughts, since about February this year.  2020 will be written in the history books of the future.  As a compulsive writer I started a new notebook in March and wrote in it each day thinking this event was too big to cope with.  Writing my thoughts down has long been a way of  safeguarding my mental health - once its on paper it's out of my head and therefore I can get on with the day.  I have now begun a second notebook as the situation has continued far longer and devastatingly than I could imagine.  But adapting to a new way of being, I turned days into opportunities to rest, read, write and walk.  My four favourite pastimes.

Zoom's, Skype and FaceTime have become a 'norm'.  Ordering food and any other needs on-line I am now adept at.  You may have thought that as a writer I would have by now become a published author.  I have not been idle, everyday new challenges abound and both novel 1 and 2 have been attended to.  I have also had on-line workshops to attend.  Here's my progress report -

• I had a letter printed in The People's Friend Magazine and a book review published in the SWWJ journal.  Yay.
• I have read and reviewed lots of books on this blog site, Goodreads and Amazon.
• Novel 1 - I had a very good meeting with Laura Williams, Literary Agent via Blue Pencil Agency zoom conference.  Having sent Novel 1 to several publishers/agents over previous years, this zoom inspired me to revamp my synopsis and covering letter which, together with the first 50 pages, has gone off to her for her consideration to accompanying me onto publication.  
• Novel 2 - that fact that I've sent Novel 1 off to several publishers/agents and received rejection letters has not put me off.  However the time it takes to do each submission delays me getting on with Novel 2.  Each submission is unique.  Each covering letter, synopsis and manuscript has a unique requirement from the publisher/agent.  So many words, include this, single/double spaced manuscript, first three chapters, first 5,000 words, first 50 pages etc. etc.  So work on Novel 2 gets delayed.  However, I can report I am back on it and up to 40,000 words.  Ideas are scribbled on notepaper and although I pencil in times to be in my garden cabin to write, other things creep in and now I am having to limit my zoom workshops as, as useful as they are, they are a distraction to ACTUALLY writing.

Here's some of the zoom meetings I have attended:

•     Tamworth Writers - weekly
•     Writing for Wellbeing - monthly
•     Facebook Live & Tamworth Bookclub - meet the author events
•     Society of Author events
•     Society of Women Writers & Journalists events
•     Writing West Midlands events
•     Writers & Artists events
•     Swanwick Writers Summer School events
•     Birmingham, Derby & Bristol Literary Festival events

The advantage of Zoom meetings is not having to travel to venues!  But of course the downside is that you don't meet people in person and I'm quite a sociable person.

My next blog will be about the walks I have done during this year - A Year to Remember.  But in the meantime here are two 'pause for thought' pictures:

   

THE BEACH HUT

I so L O V E  beach huts.  My bathroom is 'beach hut' themed with white towels that are embroidered with navy and red beach hugs, a Snug Rug mat with light blue beach huts on it and a variety of seaside ornament decorate the window sill including a mini row of beach huts.  I even have mini beach huts and light house on sand around the base of a fuchsia bush in my garden.  I have taken many photographs of places I have visited that have beach huts - favorites would be Holkham beach, Norfolk and Bournemouth.

Somewhere in my brain is a very distant memory of a beach hut on Looe beach, Cornwall.  We used to go there as a family when I was a child.  We would meet up with Aunty Olive, Uncle Bing and cousin John; my paternal grandparents and sometimes my father's cousin Roy and his family or his brother Jack and my cousins Christine and Ann.  I have black and white photos of us eating ice creams on the beach.  We would all sit in deckchairs in the same place each visit which was in front of a beach hut (who it belonged to I can't recall) where we children were sent to change into or out of our swimming costume although I do remember trying to do this with mother's help behind a large towel on the beach which was embarrassing and sandy.  I guess my love of the shape of beach huts: the wood and the colours came from this early life experience.

Before the Pandemic of Covid-19 struck I attended a book event where someone criticized books with beach huts on the front cover and I was incensed by the comments.  Not usually brave to reply, I found myself defending such books, speaking up and saying how some of us like these type of books.  The critic's voice rankled for months afterwards so when I saw Veronica Henry's novel I gladly bought it knowing I would not be feasting my eyes on a beach or row of beach huts this year.  The virus spreading has put paid to any holidays in 2020 as the message 'Stay Safe, Stay Home' rings out.

So I dip into fantasy land and on the pages of this book am instantly transported to a place that reminds me of Branksome Chine.  This little book promises a big heart as I am soon introduced to Everdene Sands, North Devon and the owner of a beach hut that has been in the family for 50 years.  It quickly became a torrid affair between a young innocent typist and an acclaimed author.  Passion and innocence clashed and the author's manuscript and Jane disappears for 50 years

Soon I was reading about Harborne and Hagley - familiar places having been born in Birmingham.  However the book progresses with different tales in different beach huts - an affair, a one-off fling, a marriage, two children, financial commitments and status, property and a beach hut.  

I loved going to the nearby pub - The Ship Aground - and wondering if Jane would connect with her first love - the author.  It captivated me to the end and it was hard to put down; the ending uplifted the soul.

I so enjoyed it and wanted to stay by the seaside a while longer so I purchased another by Veronica Henry - 

For those of you who, like me, love the beach and especially beach huts, I can't recommend these books highly enough.  They are a sublime escape from the reality of this Annus Horribilis year, where days are sunny and carefree, where the waves in the sea are inviting and the friendships and relationships work through issues to find happiness.

5 star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.  

Escape to Giddywell Grange

Book ReviewThis book is a charming tale of how life can change due to circumstances beyond your control, a perfect read during a pandemic which forced us all to stop and reconsider life.  Enforced stopping, taking stock and going with the flow of whatever each new day brings is good for the soul.  Maddy reconnects with the importance of friendships, family and caring for your community.  Dog lovers will find delight in these pages too.  Sometimes things happen for a reason and when Maddy finds a tin in her Mum’s loft it opens up a whole new way of thinking about who she is and where she comes from.  A previous relationship too gets under her skin – should she reconnect with Jamie?

There is romance, hospital visits, new home and loving family ties.  It will make you miss your mum more if you have lost her or want to spend more time with her if she is still around for you.  During our lives, when work and home life are busy, we often neglect those closest to us and don’t really know them at all.  A holiday break for Maddy and her mum brings them very close and there is more to her mum than she realises.  

The men in the book are charming, sexy, hunky and two cause Maddy to have quite a dilemma on her hands.  You will be willing her to make the right choice.  

There are some very tender moments that will pull at your heartstrings and have you reaching for the tissues.  

I am usually a very slow reader but I amazed myself by reading this lovely book in less than a week – a record for me I think!

Well done Kim Nash.   *****

The Gift book review

 

This Lockdown year is certainly helping me get through my TBR (to be read) pile and I was ready to have a change of genre and open The Gift.

Louise Jenson is a very talented writer.  Having read The Sister I was aware of her style and knew I had to be in a good head space to read another of her psychological thrillers.  Being rested and relaxed due to the enforced 'stay home' of Covid19 pandemic I reached a place of 'coping well' and was able to read the twisting episodes of this novel.  Her books are ones you never forget, the telling of the story being cleverly weaved through the pages like a tapestry - the whole picture/story not becoming clear until near the end of the book.

I applaud the research Louise will have done for the storyline.  The Cellular Memory and Secondary Traumatic Stress disorder educates the reader into a world within the mind not many of us will have experienced.  On the other hand many of us will have had thoughts and doubts that are sometimes irrational.  I did, on occasion, have to put the book down to process what I was reading and remind myself it was fiction, using facts to make the story realistic.

The story grips you and pulls you into a scenario that is scary, tense, weird, realistic, fascinating and the characters all jump out like its a pop-up book.  To say I 'enjoyed' it would be the wrong word for me - it was after all a traumatic and tragic tale of a heart transplant with serious repercussion.  It was however a wonderful piece of fiction, so believable and another I will never forget.  It really should be televised or made into a film - although for me, I would be pressing the pause button to catch my breath with it.  It's fast paced and yet there's a steadiness too, going back and forth through time reaching a combining of past and present in a clear way through a mine-field of events.

The protagonist, Jenna's life, is consumed by Callie, her donor, as the search for the circumstances of Callie's death is sought.  Her new heart feeds Jenna's dreams and mind which opens a can of worms for Callie's family, friends and Jenna's workmates and boyfriend.  She follows her instincts and finds answers to everyone's questions and reveals unspoken issues.  A thrilling seaside beach scene opens up; the drama is tangible and it is heart-pounding reading as you gallop towards the end.

Thankfully the conclusion settled my buzzing mind and I could be pleased I had read The Gift.

Ps readers:  It's a love story too, so have tissues at the ready.

Well done Louise Jensen.  *****

The Summer Getaway

Still stuck in Lockdown Land (Day 102 or thereabouts!) very few of us are getting away this summer.  However, through reading books I have travelled to Malta with Sue Moorcroft, USA with Michelle Obama, places in the UK and more recently to France with Tilly Tennant.  No planes, no suitcases, no foreign currency.  Just me, my back garden, a sun lounger and birds tweeting.

There is power in reading - getting lost in imagination, escaping the reality of Covid19; people flooding beaches and leaving litter behind, riots, stabbings, murders and all that is bad in the news at the moment can be blotted out as you are transported to another place, another world, another time.

Published by Bookouture, The Summer Getaway sees two families collide whilst staying in neighbouring holiday homes for a week.  The connections reveal secrets, joy, love, fun, excitement and fear.

Romance blossoms for the single parents and their teenage girls form special bonds too.  Ashley and Haydon's relationships turn into real complications.  Being at a birthday party for a 100 year old French lady turns into a nightmare and opens a can of worms.  The teenagers go missing and caring family and friends help the search which is fraught with anxious thoughts and tense with fears.

Leaving France for the UK brings about a dilemma of how the relationships will continue but the reader is left feeling sure of a happy ending.

Well done Tilly Tennant - a lovely novel that is hard to leave behind.  Where will I go next, I wonder?

A Malteser anyone?

Book Review – Summer on a Sunny Island by Sue Moorcroft



The first pages of this book transported me back 40+ years ago when I took my first holiday abroad.  I stayed in Mehelia Bay, Malta and visited both of my penfriends – one on the mainland and the other on the island of Gozo.  This memory came flooding back as I vividly remembered the scene Sue Moorcroft was describing of Sliema.



Before long I was swimming in the sea with Rosa and Zach as they and the local youth were on a plastic clearing mission.  As it was a very hot day I sat on a sun-bed in my garden during whatever day it was of this seemingly never-ending lockdown, I realised how much I was missing donning my swimming costume and being immersed in cool water.  The thought of holidaying abroad this year has long gone but even to go to my local leisure centre is curtailed for now.



So I read on with delight having visited Mosta, Valletta and Sliema I could imagine the streets, sounds, smells and tastes that Rosa and Zach would be experiencing, along with the tingling of a budding new relationship.



As the weather in my garden warmed up to the hottest May since records began so too did this sunny island tale.  Romance had not been on Rosa’s agenda when she escaped the broken relationship with Marcus in the UK.  A career break, with her mother who was engaged in making delicious food and writing a cook book, gives Rosa time to think about her future.



The apartment block in the book where Zach and his sister and niece live too, is very much in keeping with my penfriend’s home and every time the stairs and balconies were mentioned I was back there meeting Mary’s family, going up onto the roof space and having lunch with them in a dining room in their apartment.



Even when Zach’s other family members turn up I was transported back 20 years when on a New Year’s eve in Cyprus where I was living in a similar two bedroom apartment, like Zach, I had to find beds for friends and family members who had made a ‘surprise’ visit, which actually was more of a shock than surprise for me!



Weaved through the book is a character of suspect, a young man Zach cares about.  He turns up in unexpected places and holds an air of mystery.  He’s elusive and seems to be playing into the hands of an unsavoury gang leader.



Also sprinkled throughout the book are glimpses of castles, beaches, harbours and restaurants.  Zach gives Rosa a tour of historic places and explains their 16^th century lives or gruesome story of long ago battles.  I had thought they might have visited Mosta’s domed church where, in the centre, was an unexploded German bomb – no doubt made safe – and enclosed behind railings.  A sight I will never forget.



I slowed my reading towards the end as I didn’t want to leave Malta or the families I had got involved with.  Zach and his family get into quite a tangled mess and Rosa has some hard decisions about her future to make.  I crept towards the ending which certainly doesn’t disappoint.  You know when you cry at the end of a film you’ve been watching? - well it was like that for me.



Thank you, Sue Moorcroft, for another fabulous read.  2020 will be remembered not only for the Lockdown but for a fictional re-visit to Malta in a Summer on a Sunny Island.



 

Becoming, Book Review

Becoming by Michelle Obama

I forgot to write about this fabulous book when I finished reading it as the Corona Virus Pandemic struck our country and all normal thoughts and actions went to pot! So 12 weeks later when calm and

a new normality has settled in (#stayinghomestayingsafe) I can now recommend that you will be

heart-warmed by this openly written and an inspiring book.

Michelle had humble beginnings and learnt to play the piano by the sound of a stream of students visiting her aunt for lessons in the apartment where her family all lived together.  In early years she experienced racism and fearmongering but her mother taught her to rise above it.  From early life and teenage years the reader will find a really nice girl who is full of ambition, good morals, decency and fun.  An independent girl and proud of her parents and brother.

When I read that her school had taught her in a class of like-minded students, regardless of age, so that they could set their own goals and work speeds, I was thrilled.  This hooked into my own 'beef' about our education system - one size does NOT fit all.  Working independently rather than corporately is SURELY better for students. (Perhaps this time of LOCKDOWN has confirmed that and the Education system will change!)  It was school lunchtimes that Michelle formed a solid girl-friends group taking them home for mum-made sandwiches.  Again I identified with the need to be part of a small group rather than the whole school playground of peers where trouble brewed, gossip and teasing occurred with boys and girls of all ages mixed - the older ones racing around being inconsiderate of young frightened kids who were new to the whole regeme of 'school'.

This book proves that no matter who you are, where you are from, what colour your skin, or how different your name - if you are clean living, hard working, goal focussed, have faith in your own ability, love justice and your family - you can achieve anything you want from a low paid or voluntary job to a high powered position; from being single to married and family life.  'Making a difference' is both singularly and as a couple, what Michelle and Barak's lives are about.  They mastered the art of living separate lives together, maintaining their individuality whilst remaining married.

I felt very close to this wonderful (now former) first lady of the USA when she described having had a miscarriage and in attempt to raise a family used the drug Clomid unsuccessfully, which I did too.  The heartache and confusion ones own body can give you when a much wanted child is not conceived is hard to put into words.  I also identify with her saying, "Being with children.... was balm for my spirit." She of course went on to have two lovely daughters and I have one for which I am truly grateful for.

When I read that she and Barak disliked Les Miserables, the way I did, I was pleasantly surprised.  I thought everyone but me liked that play or film.  They left the theatre half way through and found relief from the gloom.  Yes!

Her visit to England and meeting the Queen was worded with such realism that you can imagine the scene - either from your own recall of the news or on the pages it is described.

My favourite of all her quotes, one I will never forget, is "When they go low, we go high."  I have huge admiration for this lovely lady.  Do add this book to your wish list, to be read list, Christmas or Birthday present list, you will not be disappointed.

You can follow Michelle on Twitter @MichelleObama and see her on YouTube with Oprah Winfrey, Instagram etc.

5 star review.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Review 2 during Lockdown 2020

It was great to connect again with characters from The Lemon Tree Café through interaction around the main character of this book, Gina.  

The story begins with an ending - I know that doesn't sound right - but it is comical and sets the tone of Gina's ex-husband, Eric.  His derogatory comments about Gina's future spurs her on to prove him wrong and be proud of herself for trying something bigger than her current childminding career she is so good at.  

Living in rented accommodation she sets out to purchase a larger property to expand her business and wants to include her elderly neighbours in the venture too.  Not having any grandchildren of my own, and having been a childminder myself a very long time ago, I identified with Gina doing the school runs and making sure all her charges/mindees are well looked after.  I warmed to the twin girls especially and was quite envious of Bing, Delphine and Violet having small children visit them regularly.  

With a 'Flint' in the book it made me smile especially as our (great-nephew) Dexter is not yet a handsome young eligible bachelor - he is still at junior school! When Gina meets Dexter Flint her life goes on a roller-coaster ride of emotions as he seems to be blocking her course and churning her passions at the same time.  It is an exciting ride, a great read and highly enjoyable way to while away the hours.

Well done again, Cathy Bramley.  

Reviewed also on Goodreads.