Showing posts with label UK Author. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK Author. Show all posts

Sunday, 3 July 2016

#493- Letting in Light

Letting In Light

Letting In Light by Emma Davies

My rating: 5 of 5 stars







If I could rate it higher than five stars I would. It was the most beautifully written and carefully crafted story.

Emma Davies is an amazing author, weaving characters and setting into an evocative and compelling tapestry of the finest quality.

Setting the journey of the characters perfectly into a sinuous curve of well placed narrative with impeccable timing and pace.

Definitely an editor's pick for this year, and highly recommended.

Purchased as part of my Kindle Unlimited package on Amazon HERE, and read in one day as I couldn't put it down!



Highlights / Errors / Bug Bears:

No errors or bug bears, this was a piece of work with incredibly high production values.

A highlight:  'Room on the Broom' was mentioned.  Anybody who does that is a superb human-being.  It might of been the bedtime reading choice of my kids, but it was mine.

Author's website.


Happy reading.

Kay


xxooxx





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Wednesday, 17 February 2016

#476 ~ To The Grave

To the Grave (Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Mystery)To the Grave by Steve Robinson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars





Book #2



I don't want to give any spoilers for this one; it was really well written and the audio version was first class. I am definitely a Steve Robinson fan, and love JT. Recommended read.

Luckily, I am an Amazon Unlimited Kindle reader, so I paid not a thing for this book. Although, I am happy to admit that I would have been happy to pay the full asking price.

Kay

Wednesday, 30 December 2015

#474 ~ Circ

Circ

Circ by Simon Fairbanks et al

My rating: 5 of 5 stars








An interesting collaborative writing by Giselle Thompson ('Receiver of Stolen Words') et al.

Engaging, interesting and well written. A group of this size was always a risk working in collaboration, but they pulled it off completely.

I loved it ... a triumph of good writing, humour and application of craft.

You can find it HERE.

Happy reading.

Hugs

Kay xoxo





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#473 ~ In the Blood


In the Blood (Genealogical Crime Mystery, #1)In the Blood by Steve Robinson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars







#1 in the Jefferson  Tayte Genealogical Mystery Series




I've gone for 5 stars on book from Kindle Unlimited.

Overall whilst it was well written and kept my interest it was slightly on the predictable side as far as plot goes. However, the writing and grammar were accomplished (a refreshing change from some of the rot out there) and therefore I rounded up the 4.75 I'd allotted in my head to a 5 stars.

I have downloaded the others in the series, and will be interested to see how JT gets on finding his own family connections.


Hugs

Kay






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Wednesday, 14 October 2015

#472 - A Receiver of Stolen Words

A Receiver of Stolen WordsA Receiver of Stolen Words by Giselle Thompson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars















It's really rare to get 5 stars from me these days, but Giselle has managed. Obviously, there is a link as she has studied the Creative Module that I am currently doing, but it goes beyond just that.

She has a really fluid and lovely voice that is very recognisable, and is a mistress of the short story (a skill I envy). However within each of her pieces there are subtle variations in her style that make them a joy to read.

I'm a regular reader of her blog, and enjoyed the book that she collaborated on with 9 others, 'Circ'. Even though there were so many it was easy to distinguish talents from the other talented authors.

This is highly recommended if you are studying Creative Writing, or just enjoy differently told and well researched literature.

You can purchase a copy HERE, which is an absolute snip at £1.83; she is definitely selling herself short.

Happy reading.

xoxox



Monday, 31 August 2015

#9 ~ Scribblings of Freya



I started reading 'How to Write Poetry: A resource for students and teachers of Creative Writing' by Cynthia Sharp; another Kindle Unlimited Download.

In the chapter of two she talks about building an imagery file, which is actually something that I have done in a quite haphazard way for a few months.  I think I now need to go through my notebooks, and pull out the relevant bits and put them in one specific place.  She then went on to provide some imagery to use for either a Haiku, or 3 line poem.


'The diamond splatter of winter rain'

I used it to come up with a proper Haiku - that is to say, not one that is just 5:7:5 syllables, but that has a natural context.


Leaf

The diamond splatter

on winter rain on green leaf

jewel of nature free


(c) Freya Thorne 
31/8/2015
United Kingdom
All Rights Reserved



I then went on to play with it a bit further for a 3 line poem, it's quite freeing to not have to worry about syllable length.


Splatter

The diamond splatter of winter rain on green leaf

Heavenly bounty displayed with majesty

A gift from on High to lighten the burden of my soul


(c) Freya Thorne
3/8/2015
United Kingdom
All Rights Reserved


I'm really pleased with how the development has worked out, and now I can feel something even longer bubbling away in my cauldron of creativity.

It's a bit disturbing where the poet in me sprang from.  I could understand it a bit more if A215 had actually started!  So, perhaps it is just something in me anyway ... my place, my calling, my destiny.

Happy rainy Bank Holiday Monday all.

Freya
xoxo


Bibliography

Sharp, Cynthia, 'How to Write Poetry: A resource for students and teachers of Creative Writing' 16 November 2014 Published by David Carlyle (Country Unknown) on Amazon UK and downloaded as a Kindle Unlimited book from HERE.

Sunday, 30 August 2015

#8 ~ Scribblings of Freya



Watching Monty Don this morning on Gardener's World, cocooned in the quiet before family life begins, I had the inspiration for a Haiku from a phrase he used.


Autumn

The velvet season

Glorious colours spill forth

Winter looming near

(c) Freya Thorne
30/2/2015
United Kingdom
All Rights Reserved


I like it so much, I think it might work in a longer piece, so I will mull over the possibilities.

Still no books from Open University, although to be fair to them, they aren't due for delivery yet.  It's just last year they arrived in July.  The two modules I'm doing are not due to start until early October, but I just need to get ahead, purely because I'm doing two modules this coming year; a huge amount of work.

Happy reading.

Hugs

Freya

Monday, 17 August 2015

#5 ~ Scribblings of Freya



Snivelling bitches, dirty little witches

How dare you ... talk behind a body's back.

Quick to point the finger, just horrible little mud slingers

How dare you ... be so false and go on a sneak attack

Snivelling witches, dirty little bitches

Have the courage of your convictions 

Don't sneak, don't peak ... 

be upright, ready for a fight

And discuss it without a disgusting malicious yellow streak.

Snivelling bitches, dirty little witches

Oh how you make me want to weep ... 

and bury you six foot deep.


(c) Freya Thorne
17 August 2015
United Kingdom
All Rights Reserved












Friday, 7 August 2015

#3 ~ Scribblings of Freya



I've been playing around with Haiku again:


Fill Your House for Free
Kirstie A's style on our TV
Junk to style devine

(c) Freya Thorne



I will need to do a lot of them over the coming months, so bear with me whilst I hone the skill.

Freya

xoxo

Monday, 3 August 2015

#457 - The Soul Conductor


The Soul ConductorThe Soul Conductor by Clair Susann Evans

My rating: 5 of 5 stars











I was really interested to read a debut novel from a fellow Open University Student, who had done the Creative Writing Module, and I wasn't disappointed at all with the quality of the writing.

It was, apart from one or two teeny tiny errors in the text that I cam across (detailed below) of a really high quality. The plot was original and kept my interest right to the very end. There was a conclusion, but it wasn't an outright happy ending ... in itself that is a refreshing change, as quite a lot of authors feel the need to wrap it up with a big bow, which can detract from the work as a whole.

There are still left questions unanswered, and hopefully there will be a follow up novel to move it on. Although I feel that Clair has it in her to really ramp up the writing and add more layers of twists and turns to create a truly stunning read.

High recommended.


I did stumble across the following errors on the Kindle file:

Loc 265:  As his body convulsed with of pain from ...

Loc 943:  ... pulled him along behind one of armoured horses ...

Loc 1331:  ... but the water for him bring up.

Loc 1737:  ... stayed in such good spirits and talk about it in such a carefree ...

Loc 1839:  ... trickled back his throat and ...

Loc 4772:  His heart leaped in expectation (I'm not sure about this one, I think it should be leapt).

Loc 5260:  ... Kilora agrees me very much.


As I said, they are minor, minor things, and definitely do not detract from a superb reading experience.  It is truly heartening to find an author that does not feel the need to use 'gotten', and for this alone I would have added a further star if the quality had not, in fact, been as exceptional as it turned out - it was a full on 5 star read.


Hugs, and happy reading


Kay






Thursday, 23 July 2015

Freya Thorne, Author

Hi all

I thought I'd share some of my scribblings here on the blog ..., Toodles Book Club has kindly let me move in as a roomie until I get a home of my own.

First though, let me introduce myself.

I'm Freya Thorne and am undertaking the A215 Creative Writing Module with this Open University this coming academic year in the hope that it will kick start the many novels hanging around in my head.  My favourite genre is historical romance, but it's going to be all about extending myself with this module, and so it could well be anything from crime to chicklit to poetry that will be coming to a keyboard during my year.

Some of my free writing I can share, and some has to wait until the module has finished. I'll also try to share extracts from the novel as I go along.

A writer's lot is not always a happy one with words sometimes insisting on being dragged slowly and painfully from the depths, and at other times springing fully formed with no apparent assistance from me ... hopefully it will be an entertaining journey.


Hugs

Fraya

xoxoxox




Thursday, 18 July 2013

My Daily Selection for Free Kindle Download at Amazon




Kindle Store > Books > Fiction > Contemporary > Romance > Suspense
*Introducing a New Author to the Blog*


I am delighted this morning to introduce to you a British Contemporary Author, Trisha Pyle and her book Too Far Too Fast:

Arriving at her Greek holiday apartment, secretary, Abby Grainger, finds the corpse of a strangled man lying on her bedroom floor and sexy, millionaire stockbroker, Jensen Stone, mopping blood from a head wound in her bathroom.

Jensen is concussed and cannot remember how he came to be in Abby’s apartment.


He recognises the dead man as being his first officer. He remembers leaving his yacht with two crew members but everything after that is a blank. He does not believe that he is capable of murdering one of his crew members and needs to convince the gorgeous girl staring at him, her lovely green eyes filled with fear, that he is no killer.

I've downloaded my copy already, but get yours HERE (Amazon UK) and for Amazon.com HERE, and lets she if we can do her proud with our support.

Normally I'm never sure how long it will be available for free download, but Trisha let me know it will be until 21st July 2013.

More about Trisha in her own words:


A voracious bookworm who is a romantic at heart, I read anything that has a good love story as its base.  If the story also sizzles with passion; has a large portion of life threatening danger, and is garnished with humour so much the better.
Married at 18 I had a lovely house and two wonderful sons by the time I was 23.  I started writing stories when the boys were in bed.  My first efforts, painstakingly hammered out on a battered typewriter, made me realise that I required typing and shorthand skills to allow my fingers to keep up with my imagination.  A couple of years, and a draw full of secretarial certificates later, I acquired a second hand computer and set out to write my first historical novel.
Working full time as a sales administrator/office manager and running a home was stressful. I had to squeeze my writing and research in where-ever I could.  When I also became a single mother my, ‘me time’ dwindled to a few hours a week.  I never gave up.  My novel got thicker and thicker and I realised that I had enough material for a trilogy.
A new husband, Brian, came with another two lovely boys.  Understanding my need to write, Brian actively encouraged me and fed me when I became too engrossed in the plot to remember to eat.  Recently, after selling my Post Office and Newsagents, purchased in 2003, I sat down to write my first contemporary romantic suspense novel, An Exclusive Affair.


* * * * *



Details about her Books, both contemporary and historical can be found on her website by clicking HERE and other bits of gossip on her Blog HERE.  I really want to get my sticky paws on her other work now too.

I had a super time at the WI last night, and met some lovely ladies.  Many thanks to Maria, Dawn and Kate (I think that was her name, so sorry if I'm wrong), who made me so very welcome.  I've also joined the Hailsham Book Club and am looking forward to next week's meeting.

I was quite shocked ... only one of the Book Group ladies has a Kindle (apparently other ebook readers are available!) .... and I demonstrated my Baby to a couple of them last night ...... maybe I can lure them to the dark side mwahhahahahahahaha.

My interview also went well yesterday afternoon, and verbally they've indicated I should get a place, but will be biting my nails down to the quick waiting for official confirmation.

On Amazon today my rating is (<) 3,549. I suppose that I'm still heading in the right direction, but very slowly now. I would love to get to the top 1,000 Reviewers' some day ....... so if you find the Daily Kindle Downloads info useful please go over to my Reviews on Amazon and leave me some positive feedback  on some of my reviews (which helps my rating, and will earn you my grateful thanks).



Hugs

Kay