I am extremely grateful to Isabelle Kenyon, editor and compiler, for a copy of Please Hear What I’m Not Saying in return for an honest review. Whilst this anthology is composed of poems from a range of poets, I have also been lucky enough to review Isabelle’s own work, This is not a Spectacle, here.

Please Hear What I’m Not Saying is available for purchase in ebook and paperback here and is published to support the mental health charity Mind.

Please Hear What I’m Not Saying

With over 600 submissions, poets from around the world put their pens to paper to create this anthology, enthused by a common goal to raise money for the charity, Mind. With poems focusing on mental health from a wide range of experiences, this book aims to continue the worldwide conversation about mental health.

The profits from this book go to UK Charity, Mind.

Trigger warnings by chapter:

Section One: References include war, depression, grief, alcoholism, bulimia, trauma, suicide

Section Two: Sexual abuse, self harm, suicide threat, Borderline personality disorder, electro shock therapy, razors

Section Three: Postpartum depression, hospital ward

Section Four: Anxiety, pills, Borderline personality disorder, eating disorder

Section Five: Poverty

Section Six: Alzheimer’s

Section Seven: Depression

Section Eight: Therapy

My Review of Please Hear What I’m Not Saying

With a wide range of topics covered, Please Hear What I’m Not Saying has a poem for every reader and every emotion.

As soon as I began reading I realised that Please Hear What I’m Not Saying is no ordinary anthology. There are eight sections and the reader is encouraged to give them titles themselves so that reading the poems is an active process rather than the passive one reading can be.

I love the idea that this collection has come from a wide range of poets in support of the charity Mind as I’m sure we all can appreciate the range of emotions displayed and the anxieties and real illness so many of the poets write about. I’m certain, for example, that there is both a Muriel and Maud (Two Women by Jan McCarthy) in all of us.

The themes explored range from, amongst others, post natal depression through self harm, drug dependency and anorexia, death and – ultimately in the final section, some hope. I felt these were not mere poems, but genuine experiences that illustrate the complex nature of modern life and its challenges. My heart went out to so many of the poets featured, even when they were not writing directly about themselves. There’s such emotion between the pages of Please Hear What I’m Not Saying.

I loved the range of techniques in these poems that help convey their messages. In The Sibilance of Depression by CR Smith, for example, the repetition of the letter s in almost every word echoes that very sibilance and creates a wonderful sense of evil arising from depression. Emotions are personified, repetitions and enjambement, endstopped lines, assonance and alliteration all contribute to the beauty of so many of these poems – and the emotion of them too. I thought the concept that for those struggling with mental health issues the world is like a Rubik’s cube that cannot be properly aligned as in Girl Outside by Alan Savage was inspired. Many of the poems, like Fragile by Kathryn Metcalf, refer to breaking glass, shattering and smashing so that the violence of these feelings is utterly clear to the reader.

However, although so much of the writing is about negative emotions, feelings and action (or, indeed stultifying inaction), that isn’t to say these poems are all miserable and bleak. I found humour and hope too. Rushing by Neil Elder made me smile and On Coming Across Sika Deer by Rachel Burns reminded me of the healing power of nature. Indeed, I agree completely with the sentiments in Catherine Whittaker’s Take Time Out that we all need to embrace the simple things in life, including nature from time to time.

Please Hear What I’m Not Saying is a brilliant anthology. I appreciated the incredible bravery of some of the poets in laying bare their innermost emotions and certainly admired their literary techniques. I felt I had been afforded an intimate glimpse into the minds of those featured so that it felt a privilege to read their words and I feel as if I have been educated as well as entertained. I was delighted to find mini biographies at the end of the anthology too so that I can now investigate further the poets I particularly enjoyed. Reading Please Hear What I’m Not Saying not only entertained and moved me, but it made me grateful for my own mental health and the life I have.

More importantly, however, I feel Please Hear What I’m Not Saying could be a fabulous boon to those with their own mental health problems as perhaps, through reading these poems, they will find kindred spirits and perhaps realise they are not alone.

About Isabelle Kenyon

Isabelle Kenyon is a poet, blogger and book reviewer. Her poems have published online for Bewildering Stories and as a Micro Chapbook for Origami Poetry Press. Isabelle has also featured in poetry anthologies such as Anti Heroin Chic, Literary Yard, the Inkyneedles anthology, Poetry Rivals, and the Great British Write Off. Isabelle has won awards and commendations from The Wirral festival of Music, Speech and Drama,the Festival of Firsts, the Langwith Scott Award for Art and Drama and the Visit Newark Poetry competition.

You can follow Isabelle on Twitter @kenyon_isabelle and visit her website. You’ll also find her on Facebook.

I am loving staying in with such a varied range of authors who transport me all over the world with their books and it gives me enormous pleasure to welcome Jennifer S. Alderson to Linda’s Book Bag today who is taking me to Amsterdam.

If you’re an author who’d also like to stay in with me to tell me about one of your books, please click here for more details.

Staying in with Jennifer S. Alderson

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Jennifer. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me and tell me about your writing. Which of your books have you brought along to share with me and why have you chosen it?

Hello, Linda! Thanks for inviting me to stay in with you tonight.

(My pleasure.)

I’ve brought my art mystery set in World War II and present-day Amsterdam, The Lover’s Portrait. American art history student Zelda Richardson finds clues to the whereabouts of a collection of masterpieces, secreted away in 1942 by a Dutch art dealer who’d rather die than turn his collection over to his Nazi blackmailer. Her discoveries make her a target of someone willing to steal – and even kill – to find the lost paintings. As the list of suspects grows, Zelda realizes she has to track down the lost collection and unmask a killer if she wants to survive.

(This sounds extremely interesting!)

I choose to bring The Lover’s Portrait because I am immensely proud that I finished it! In 2004, I moved to Amsterdam to study art history and worked for several Dutch museums before my son was born in 2011. I’d been batting this idea for an art mystery around in my head for years, but didn’t work out the plot’s structure until I decided to stay home and raise him. I wrote primarily while he napped. Three years later, it was ready for publication. Writing about art, history and museums was also a wonderful way to stay in touch with my ‘adult life’ while raising a toddler.

(A brilliant way of defeating baby brain I think!)

It is so gratifying to see readers and reviewers responding so well to it. It recently won a Chill With A Book Readers’ Award, the Silver Cup in Rosie’s Book Review Team 2017 Awards in the Mystery category, was one of The Displaced Nation’s Top 36 Expat Fiction Picks of 2016, and came in at 14 in BookLife’s 2016 Prize for Fiction in the Mystery category. When I was writing away in a milk-splattered t-shirt, gazing at the screen through bloodshot eyes, I never could have imagined the warm reception it would receive and am quite grateful for it!

(How exciting. Congratulations on all your success Jennifer.)

What can we expect from an evening in with The Lover’s Portrait?

Expect to learn about modern and degenerate art, European artists, Dutch history, the plight of homosexuals and Jewish artists in Europe during World War II, daily life in occupied Amsterdam, and the complexities inherent to the restitution of artwork stolen by the Nazis. As one reviewer noted, The Lover’s Portrait is not just about stolen paintings, but also the lives that were stolen. My characters spend a lot of time in my favorite parks, museums and cafes, as well. I hope my descriptions of Amsterdam inspire you to visit this wonderful city I now call home!

(I haven’t been to Amsterdam for 25 years since my 10th wedding anniversary! The Lover’s Portrait could be a smashing way to travel there vicariously.)

Reviews are always a great way to decide if a book is for you. I am delighted to see more than 50 glowing reviews on Goodreads, Amazon worldwide, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and iBooks.

BookLife Prize for Fiction called it a “gripping mystery…the suspense is intensely magnetic and the characters equally captivating.”

According to IndieReader, it is “well worth reading for what the main character discovers—not just about the portrait mentioned in the title, but also the sobering dangers of Amsterdam during World War II.”

And Readers’ Favorite awarded it a 5 star medal, writing, “The Lover’s Portrait is a well-written mystery with engaging characters and a lot of heart. The perfect novel for those who love art and mysteries!”

(How brilliant!) 

I hope you sit back, relax and savor the art, history and setting. I would love to know if you solved the mystery before Zelda did!

(I’m really intrigued by The Lover’s Portrait.)

What else have you brought along and why?

For those who haven’t yet been, I wanted to share two photographs of Amsterdam. The first shot is of the Prinsengracht, one of my favorite canals. The tiny streets, many bridges, and stately homes make it so photogenic! I couldn’t resist including a photo of the Speigelgracht, a small canal close to where my fictitious art dealer’s gallery is located. You can also see the Rijksmuseum looming in the background. Several reviewers mentioned they loved ‘traveling’ to Amsterdam via The Lover’s Portrait. Those kinds of remarks really make me smile because I worked so hard to make the descriptions of my adopted hometown as accurate and inviting as possible.

 

(Those photos make me want to go straight back to Amsterdam.)

Here’s a pair of headphones, in case readers would rather listen to The Lover’s Portrait audiobook (available here).

A box of chocolate-covered cherries for the host is also in order. I can’t get enough of these little balls of chocolatey goodness – especially when editing!

Last but not least, I also have with me an early review copy of Rituals of the Dead, the third mystery in the Adventures of Zelda Richardson series. Art, religion, and anthropology collide in this thrilling artifact mystery set in Papua New Guinea and the Netherlands. I am SO excited about its upcoming release on April 6th; I’m sharing it with everyone I meet!

(How exciting! I’d love to go to Papua New Guinea so I’ll sneak in details about both books below.)

Thanks so much for staying in with me to tell me all about The Lover’s Portrait Jennifer. It sounds a fascinating read.

Thank you so much for this opportunity, Linda. It’s been fun chatting about Amsterdam, writing and chocolate with you. I’ve enjoyed reading about your previous guests’ books and am honored to now be among those ‘Staying In With’ you! All the best, Jennifer

(My pleasure!)

The Lover’s Portrait: An Art Mystery

When a Dutch art dealer hides the stock from his gallery – rather than turn it over to his Nazi blackmailer – he pays with his life, leaving a treasure trove of modern masterpieces buried somewhere in Amsterdam, presumably lost forever. That is, until American art history student Zelda Richardson sticks her nose in.

After studying for a year in the Netherlands, Zelda scores an internship at the prestigious Amsterdam Historical Museum, where she works on an exhibition of paintings and sculptures once stolen by the Nazis, lying unclaimed in Dutch museum depots almost seventy years later. When two women claim the same painting, the portrait of a young girl entitled Irises, Zelda is tasked with investigating the painting’s history and soon finds evidence that one of the two women must be lying about her past. Before she can figure out which one and why, Zelda learns about the Dutch art dealer’s concealed collection – and that Irises is the key to finding it.

Her discoveries make her a target of someone willing to steal – and even kill – to find the missing paintings. As the list of suspects grows, Zelda realizes she has to track down the lost collection and unmask a killer if she wants to survive.

Rituals of the Dead: An Artifact Mystery

Art, religion, and anthropology collide in Alderson’s latest mystery thriller, Rituals of the Dead, book three of the Adventures of Zelda Richardson series.

Art history student Zelda Richardson is thrilled to be working at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam on an exhibition of bis poles from the Asmat region of Papua New Guinea – the same area where a famous American anthropologist disappeared in 1962. When his journals are found inside one of the bis poles, Zelda is tasked with finding out more about the man’s last days and his connection to these ritual objects.

Zelda is pulled into a world of shady anthropologists, headhunters, missionaries, art collectors, and smugglers – where the only certainty is that sins of the past are never fully erased.

Join Zelda as she grapples with the anthropologist’s mysterious disappearance fifty years earlier, and a present-day murderer who will do anything to prevent her from discovering the truth.

Jennifer’s books are available through Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords. You can also visit Jennifer’s website for direct links.

About Jennifer S. Alderson

Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. Her love of travel, art, and culture inspires her ongoing mystery series, the Adventures of Zelda Richardson. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels.

In Down and Out in Kathmandu, Zelda gets entangled with a gang of smugglers whose Thai leader believes she’s stolen his diamonds. The Lover’s Portrait is a suspenseful “whodunit?” about Nazi-looted artwork that transports readers to wartime and present-day Amsterdam. Art, religion, and anthropology collide in Rituals of the Dead, a thrilling artifact mystery set in Papua New Guinea and the Netherlands.

You can find out more about Jennifer via her website, on Facebook, and Goodreads or by following her onTwitter @JSAauthor.

Having so enjoyed Felicity at the Cross Hotel by Helena Fairfax (my review of which you can read here) I am thrilled that Helena has agreed to stay in with me today to tell me about another of her books.

If you’re an author who’d also like to stay in with me to tell me about one of your books, please click here for more details.

Staying in with Helena Fairfax

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Helena. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Thanks so much for having me, Linda. I’m excited about a night in!

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve chosen A Year of Light and Shadows. The reason I’ve chosen it is because it’s my dad’s 90th birthday this year, and he told me it was his favourite book of all those I’ve written 🙂 He loves a mystery and so I can see why it appeals to him. The story begins in a fictional country – a tiny place in southern Europe. Montverrier is a beautiful country – I have the opening scene full of sunflowers, like a van Gogh painting – but it’s a place full of treachery where nothing is ever what it seems. My heroine, Lizzie Smith, is asked to stand in for the country’s princess. She finds the only person she can rely on is her bodyguard, Léon…or can she?

There are a few twists in the story, and so I can’t say too much without giving things away…!

(What a wonderful reason for selecting what sounds a fantastic book. I’m sure your Dad is right!)

What can we expect from an evening in with A Year of Light and Shadows?

A Year of Light and Shadows is a suspense novel that you can read in one evening, and as the shadows fall I hope readers can lose themselves in the mystery, as well as the romance at the heart of it. I try to transport readers out of themselves by creating a beautiful and mysterious setting. I love the way Mary Stewart does this in her romantic suspense novels. I find an atmospheric setting adds to the suspense, as well as making the perfect backdrop to the developing romance. If you’re having a night in to read, there’s nothing better than totally losing yourself in a story and imagining yourself in a wonderful place, and I hope I succeeded with this book. One reviewer said: ‘Anyone with a romantic heart should enjoy this one. I found it a terrific surprise.’

(I can’t wait to read A Year of Light and Shadows. It sounds so good.)

What else have you brought along and why?

First – and most important! – I’ve brought some Scottish shortbread and a bottle of red wine. My heroine is Scottish, and my hero is from the Italian coast. I think they’d both appreciate it!

I’ve also brought some photos of the places that inspired the setting. My fictional country of Montverrier was inspired by a trip to Monaco. Léon gives the heroine a lift on his motorbike, and they follow the winding coast route along the Mediterranean. It reminds me of a similar journey I made several years ago.

I have some photos of Edinburgh, too. Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities in the world. It’s beautifully atmospheric, with a long, sometimes bloody history. The perfect place for a romantic suspense!

Thanks so much for staying in with me, Helena, to tell me all about A Year of Light and Shadows. It sounds a wonderful read.

Thanks so much for having me, Linda. I love the idea of staying in with a book. I hope you enjoy the wine and shortbread!

I can’t drink wine as it makes me ill but I’m afraid the shortbread seems to have disappeared!

A Year of Light and Shadows

From a beautiful Mediterranean palace to the atmospheric, winding streets of Edinburgh, A Year of Light and Shadows will take you on a journey of mystery and romance. Perfect for fans of Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt and Daphne du Maurier.

When actress Lizzie Smith is asked to play the role of a genuine princess, her decision to accept thrusts her into a world of intrigue and danger. Alone in a glittering palace by the Mediterranean, isolated from her friends, Lizzie is forced to rely on her quiet bodyguard, Léon, to guide her. But who is Léon really protecting? Lizzie…or the princess?

On her return to Scotland, Lizzie begins rehearsals for Macbeth – and finds danger is still stalking her through the streets of Edinburgh. Lizzie is once again forced to turn to Léon, for help…and discovers a secret he’d do anything not to reveal.

A Year of Light and Shadows is available for purchase here. 

About Helena Fairfax

Helena Fairfax writes engaging contemporary romances with sympathetic heroines and heroes she’s secretly in love with. Her novels have been shortlisted for several awards, including the Exeter Novel Prize, the Global Ebook Awards, the I Heart Indie Awards, and the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme Award.

Helena is a British author who was born in Uganda and came to England as a child. She’s grown used to the cold now, and these days she lives in an old Victorian mill town in the north of England, right next door to the windswept Yorkshire moors. She walks this romantic landscape every day with her rescue dog, finding it the perfect place to dream up her heroes and her happy endings.

You can find out more about Helena by visiting her website, finding her on Facebook, or following her on Twitter @HelenaFairfax.

I’m thrilled to be part of the paperback release celebrations for A Secret Sisterhood: The Hidden Friendships of Austen, Bronte, Eliot and Woolf by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney today.

I’m delighted to link back to a wonderful guest piece from Emily and Emma that featured on Linda’s Book Bag here, all about their own modern day friendship. I’m also sharing my review again and sneaking in a link to another of my reviews – this time of Emma Claire Sweeney’s Owl Song at Dawn here.

A Secret Sisterhood: The Hidden Friendships of Austen, Bronte, Eliot and Woolf is published by Arum Press and is available for purchase here.

A Secret Sisterhood

A Secret Sisterhood uncovers the hidden literary friendships of the world’s most respected female authors.

Drawing on letters and diaries, some of which have never been published before, this book will reveal Jane Austen’s bond with a family servant, the amateur playwright Anne Sharp; how Charlotte Brontë was inspired by the daring feminist Mary Taylor; the transatlantic relationship between George Eliot and the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe; and the underlying erotic charge that lit the friendship of Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield – a pair too often dismissed as bitter foes.

In their first book together, Midorikawa and Sweeney resurrect these literary collaborations, which were sometimes illicit, scandalous and volatile; sometimes supportive, radical or inspiring; but always, until now, tantalisingly consigned to the shadows.

My Review of A Secret Sisterhood

I have to confess that it has taken me some time to read A Secret Sisterhood as there is so much information to absorb I needed time to reflect and consider what I’d read. The style of the book is very accessible and balances quotation and research with original writing perfectly. At times this is more like reading a narrative than an academic study and it just goes to show what wonderful writers both authors are. Their own friendship shines through the pages.

The quality of research that has gone in to A Secret Sisterhood is impeccable. Whilst several facts are already well documented, Midorikawa and Sweeney present them with a fresh eye. They also include new material and occasionally some conjecture so that the reader is left to form their own opinion too. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book and the details of quotidian life really bring the text alive. I also really appreciated the understanding of feminism that underpins much of the book and the debunking of so many stereotyped views of these women. They come to life between the pages of A Secret Sisterhood so that they are no longer the conventional creatures we have known for so long.

A Secret Sisterhood is a must read for any fan of Austen, Bronte, Eliot and Woolf, but equally for anyone interested in history, society and literature. The bibliography and footnotes make for fascinating reading and again, it took me ages to read the book because I found myself following up some of these independently. A passing reference to Roger Fry had me looking up his paintings, for example. I think A Secret Sisterhood is a book to be savoured and returned to frequently over the years.

About Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney

Writer friends Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney are the authors of A Secret Sisterhood: The hidden friendships of Austen, Brontë, Eliot and Woolf. They also co-run SomethingRhymed.com, a website that celebrates female literary friendship. They have written for the likes of the Guardian, the Independent on Sunday and The Times. Emily is a winner of the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, Emma is author of the award-winning novel Owl Song at Dawn, and they both teach at New York University London.

You can follow both authors on Twitter via @emilymidorikawa and @emmacsweeney, and Emma has an author page on Facebook.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

I’m so pleased to be featuring Little Pink Taxi by Marie Laval today and sharing an extract with you. Not only have I met Marie in person, but I have been able to interview her here on Linda’s Book Bag.

Little Pink Taxi was published by ChocLit on 20th February 2018 and is available for purchase through the links here.

Little Pink Taxi

Take a ride with Love Taxis, the cab company with a Heart …

Rosalie Heart is a well-known face in Irlwick – well, if you drive a bright pink taxi and your signature style is a pink anorak, you’re going to draw a bit of attention! But Rosalie’s company Love Taxis is more than just a gimmick – for many people in the remote Scottish village, it’s a lifeline.

Which is something that Marc Petersen will never understand. Marc’s ruthless approach to business doesn’t extend to pink taxi companies running at a loss. When he arrives in Irlwick to see to a new acquisition – Raventhorn, a rundown castle – it’s apparent he poses a threat to Rosalie’s entire existence; not just her business, but her childhood home too.

On the face of it Marc and Rosalie should loathe each other, but what they didn’t count on was somebody playing cupid …

An Extract from Little Pink Taxi

Oblivious to the rain running down his face and soaking his hair and coat, he walked back along the road and cut through the undergrowth towards the pine tree where the woman had been standing. A huge raven, perched on a nearby treetop, stared down at him with beady eyes. The woman, however, had gone.

Puzzled, he peered through the shadows and walked into the woods. If there was a path, he couldn’t see it. He breathed in mixed scents of rain and rotting vegetation. Above him the raven flew off with a shrieking call and a loud flapping of wings.

‘Monsieur Petersen? Are you all right?’ Rosalie Heart called from the road. She had put her hood up so as not to get drenched.

He turned and walked back to her. ‘She’s gone, and yet I was sure she needed help.’

Rosalie Heart smiled. ‘If it was who I think it was, she does indeed need help, but not of the kind you, or anyone of us, can give her.’

‘What are you talking about?’

She sighed. ‘Forget it. You won’t believe me.’

‘Try me.’

She took a deep breath. ‘You just saw the ghost of Isobel McBride.’

He narrowed his eyes, and dug his fists into his coat pocket. His shoes were soaked and muddy. Icy water trickled down his face, his neck and the collar of his coat. He had the migraine from hell. And this small woman dressed in marshmallow pink was babbling about ghosts?

‘Are you serious?’ he asked, between clenched teeth.

She nodded, turned away and walked back to the cab, leaving him behind. The woman was making fun of him, that much was obvious. He followed her back to the taxi, slung the door open and sat down. His wet clothes stuck to the pink plastic seat with squelching sounds. Water dripped from his coat and trousers and pooled at his feet. The windows steamed up, and it was like being enclosed in a cosy bubble of gum.

Rosalie Heart pulled her hood off and shook her curly brown hair. As it tumbled around her shoulders he caught the scent of the rain and a deeper, fruity fragrance. She smiled again, and he couldn’t help but notice she had a very attractive smile indeed. In fact, he thought, looking at her properly for the first time, she was rather pretty with her eyes a warm chestnut colour, and her cheeks glowing pink from the cold.

‘It’s a long time since anyone reported seeing Lady Fitheach,’ she remarked in a thoughtful voice as she started the engine.

‘Lady Fitheach? I thought you said her name was Isobel McBride.’

‘Fitheach is Scottish for raven. People call Isobel Lady Fitheach because of the raven that never leaves her side. You saw the bird, didn’t you?’

There had indeed been that huge raven staring down at him from a nearby branch. He dismissed it with a shrug. ‘It’s a wood. There’s bound to be all kinds of birds there.’

She gasped. ‘So you did see it! When I tell everybody at the Stag’s Head you’ll be so famous you won’t have to pay for a single pint for the duration of your stay.’

‘There’s nothing to tell. It was a rambler, that’s all.’

He probably would be the talk of the local pub before long, but it wouldn’t be because of Isobel McBride’s ghost – or whoever had been standing by the side of that forest road.

‘It was Isobel,’ she insisted. ‘You said she had a hooded cloak, didn’t you? That’s what she always wears. Actually that’s all she ever wears. Apparently she is stark naked underneath.’

He sighed, impatient. Did the woman actually believe this nonsense? ‘I don’t believe in ghosts. It was a hiker, or some new age hippy … or some Isobel McBride ghost impersonator.’

She burst out laughing. ‘Now you’re being funny.’ She glanced at him and grimaced. ‘No, you’re not … Anyway, I hope you don’t see her again.’

‘Why?’

‘Men who see her more than once usually end up drowned in the loch.’

He shook his head. This had to be the silliest conversation he’d ever had. ‘They probably had too much to drink.’

‘Well, that too.’ She reached out to switch the radio back on.

‘No.’ His sharp voice stopped her in her tracks. ‘No music, no singing, and no more talking.’

She glanced at him in surprise. ‘Don’t you like music?’

‘I like civilised music, not what you’ve been playing.’

‘And what do you call civilised music, Monsieur Petersen? No! Let me guess. You like classical music and jazz, am I right?’

He looked surprised. ‘How did you know?’

(Argh! And now I want to know what happens next!)

About Marie Laval

Originally from Lyon in France, Marie has lived in the beautiful Rossendale Valley in Lancashire for a number of years. A member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors, she writes contemporary and historical romance. Her native France very much influences her writing, and all her novels have what she likes to call ‘a French twist’!

You can follow Marie on Twitter @MarieLaval1 and find her on Facebook.

One of the joys of this series of Staying in with… is that it is affording me the opportunity to ‘meet’ new to me authors and travel the world. Today I’m delighted that Inga Batur is transporting me to Scotland!

If you’re an author who’d also like to stay in with me to tell me about one of your books, please click here for more details.

Staying in with Inga Batur

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Inga. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I have chosen my first romance novel, Faodail, a Scottish word for a lucky find. It is set in Altnaharra, a fictional remote island far in the North of Scotland, where the weather is moody and everyone knows everyone’s business. I might not be objective but I hope this book offers pure escapism. It gives a reader a chance to join the lead character, Sophie as she trades a corporate job in busy London for an uncertain future in the middle of nowhere.

(Ooo. Sounds great. And I understand congratulations are in order as Faodail was only released a couple of days ago.)

What can we expect from an evening in with Faodail?

Expect to fall in love with Scotland and book a next flight up there. All kidding aside, I actually got the idea for the book, when we were in the North of Scotland on holiday, staying in the small whitewashed cottage overlooking the cliffs and the sea. Not wanting to leave, I figured if I write about it, I can keep returning there in mind over and over again.

But I think that the story of Sophie, a young woman stuck in her corporate job but dreaming of an adventure is something we can all relate to. Of course, she never planned for what happened next, reminding her and all of us of the saying: ‘Be careful what you wish for.’

(Wise advice indeed!)

She learns her one night stand with Aiden, an up and coming chef resulted in pregnancy. Her life is turned upside down, when she decides to keep the baby, quit her job at the bank and follow the reluctant Father-to-be to his hometown on a remote Scottish island. The stay on the island is only temporary, Aiden promises, while Sophie vows to keep him at a distance. But once on the island, things don’t go as planned.

(I love the sound of this narrative Inga.)

What else have you brought along and why? 

I’ve brought along some coffee in lovely porcelain cups and still warm fruit scones. That is the other thing we did on our holiday in the North of Scotland. We explored the beaches and moors and then we’d go for a cuppa and some scones in the local tea rooms. Sophie can’t live without coffee and great coffee and food help her see the good side of the island and Aiden. I must admit it felt great feeding my lead character with all the sweets and great British classics such as fish and chips, Shepard’s pie, etc. I could indulge in it as well with no guilt about the many calories.

(I love scones and a good cuppa! You’re really talking my language here!)

I also brought along a photo of the whitewashed cottage where I put Sophie and Aiden. I bet you want to stay there too.

That is just beautiful. I’d be off like a shot to stay there. Thanks so much for staying in with me Inga to introduce your lovely sounding books and for transporting me to beautiful Scotland.

Faodail

Sophie Moore has her eyes set on a promotion at a bank in London City and not on Aiden, an up and coming hot chef. Then she learns her one night stand with Aiden resulted in an unplanned pregnancy.

Her life is turned upside down, when she decides to keep the baby, quit her job at the bank and follow the reluctant Father-to-be to his hometown on a remote island in Scotland.

The stay on the island is only temporary, Aiden promises, while Sophie vows to keep him at a distance. But once on the island, in a whitewashed cottage by the Ocean, things don’t go as planned.

Faodail is available for purchase here.

About Inga Batur

Inga lives in the city with her husband, who makes sure she looks great on all the photos and two kids. She dreams of moving into a cottage in the most remote corner of Scotland, where she can write steamy contemporary romances, stare at the Ocean and eat scones. Her daughters aren’t impressed.

She loves to write as much as she loves to travel. She combines the two in her novel and on her award-winning family travel blog Coolkidzcooltrips. You can find her sitting at the computer before dawn and on the playground every afternoon chasing her girls and thinking of the next plot twist.

She also loves to hear from her readers and you can find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @coolkidscooltri.

I was thrilled to meet lovely Holly Cave at a recent ‘Warming the Blood’ event and so I’m delighted to welcome her to Linda’s Book Bag today as part of the launch celebrations for her novel The Memory Chamber. Today Holly shares three very personal memories that make perfect sense when you’ve read The Memory Chamber. I am also sharing my review.

Published by Quercus, The Memory Chamber is available for purchase from Amazon and through the publisher links here.

The Memory Chamber

You are going to die. You can preserve a handful of special memories for ever. Which ones would you choose?

True death is a thing of the past. Now you can spend the rest of eternity re-living your happiest memories: that first kiss, falling in love, the birth of your children, enjoyed on loop for ever and ever.

Isobel is a Heaven Architect, and she helps dying people create afterlives from these memories. So when she falls for Jarek, one of her terminal – and married – clients, she knows that while she cannot save him, she can create the most beautiful of heavens, just for him.

But when Jarek’s wife is found dead, Isobel uncovers a darker side of the world she works within, and she can trust no one with what she finds…

The Memory Chamber is a thrilling and original story which vaults the reader into a world that is terrifyingly close to our own, where we can avoid everything we fear – even death itself. But can we ever escape the truth?

Three Things I’d Like To Find In My Heaven

A Guest Post by Holly Cave

A sunny autumn day’s walk with my dog

One sunny autumn day, I was walking my dog in the fields, gathering blackberries from the hedgerows – something I’ve always taken such quiet pleasure from. Everything felt so perfect, and I thought to myself ‘this is what heaven would be like.’

By the end of that walk, I had the idea for the novel, and Isobel’s character was solidifying in my mind. So, this memory would make the cut, and in fact it features in the book, when Isobel first starts to describe her own Heaven (‘the footpaths of my Heaven are lined with blackberry bushes’) in Chapter 17.

Dancing at my wedding

I’d love to relive the emotional high I felt, spinning around the dancefloor with my new husband at our wedding. It was a few minutes of sheer joy. But I’d ask Isobel and Jess to do their best to merge two memories for me, so that I could dance with my baby son on my hip even though he wasn’t born until three years later.

The last phone conversation with my Dad

During their second meeting, Isobel tells Jarek that ‘true happiness is only cast from shadows.’ So, I would have to choose a sobering memory to help colour the joyful ones.

It might have to be the breathless phone call I made to my Dad after I first met the woman who would become my literary agent. I can clearly remember walking along Regent Street, telling him that she wanted to sign me, my excitement echoing in his own voice. I’d choose to remember that it was the last proper conversation we had, that I lost him three weeks later.

Oh Holly! What glorious memories and what an emotional final choice.

My Review of The Memory Chamber

Isobel Argent creates memories for perfect heavens for after we are dead, but she cannot know the full extent of what she is doing.

I thought The Memory Chamber was an exceptional book. I have to admit that I didn’t much enjoy the sensation of reading it because it’s so well written, so plausible and so terrifying that I read it with a knot of tension and fear in the pit of my stomach that made me feel real anxiety. It’s the potential reality of a book set in the not too far off future against an ominous threat of international war that has such impact. Holly Cave has identified our modern day fears and distilled them into a read that compels and terrifies in equal measure.

I’m not usually enamoured of futuristic narratives but The Memory Chamber was just brilliant because I could picture myself living in the London of its setting so easily. Holly Cave writes with such skill. She has a fabulous balance between pared down prose and vivid detail that conveys exactly how Isobel is behaving and feeling so that it’s like being in her mind. It was this that also made me feel very uncomfortable. I didn’t especially warm to Isobel as a character and yet I found myself almost becoming her which was a very disturbing effect of reading The Memory Chamber. I felt quite manipulated by the writing in the same way Isobel finds herself manipulated by events and other characters.

The plot is wonderfully intelligent with the science underpinning its effects and processes giving real authenticity. There’s a compelling murder mystery, but more important is the questioning of how we behave as humans, how we manipulate our own realities and of what should happen when we die. It felt quite nihilistic at times but equally left me feeling it is the life we have now, in our living present, that is so important and meaningful. The themes of truth, identity, technology and science are interwoven effortlessly so that The Memory Chamber is a book that I truly believe will resonate across several decades, not just as a cracking thriller for 2018.

A chilling and compelling book, The Memory Chamber really is ‘electric’ and I urge you to read it, but be prepared to have to question some of your fundamental beliefs and opinions.

About Holly Cave

Holly Cave was born in Devon, UK, in 1983. She has a BSc in Biology and an MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College London. She spent four years working at the Science Museum in London. After a career break to travel the world, Holly became a freelance writer and now writes about science and technology alongside her fiction work. She lives in Bedfordshire with her husband, son and dog.

The Memory Chamber is her first novel with Quercus UK. She self-published The Generation in 2015, and also wrote a number of unpublished works with her father on his typewriter in the 1990s.

You can follow Holly on Twitter @HollyACave and visit her website. You’ll also find Holly on Facebook.

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I do an awful lot of travelling, but I never really think about what might be happening in the airports I go through. Consequently, I’m delighted to welcome AP McGrath to Linda’s Book Bag today as I have a feeling staying in with him will make me more thoughtful as I fly off to my latest destination!

If you’re an author who’d also like to stay in with me to tell me about one of your books, please click here for more details.

Staying in with A P McGrath

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, AP. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought along the only book I’ve managed to publish so, I’m afraid, I have little choice. However, it’s a book I’m very proud of. It’s called A Burning in the Darkness. In some ways it could have been called ‘A Light in the Darkness’ because the central character, Michael Kieh, is a good man who is falsely accused of murder, but he attempts to prove his innocence without breaking his principles or, more importantly, his belief in love. It is a thriller/crime romance and takes place in one of the world’s biggest airports where Michael is one of several full-time faith representatives –which is a politically correct way of describing a priest or an imam or a rabbi. Michael is a Roman Catholic priest.

What can we expect from an evening in with A Burning in the Darkness?

After a struggle with doubt, Michael is about to set out on a new life when agrees to take one last confession. The penitent confesses to a murder, but evidence and circumstances point to Michael’s guilt. Michael refuses to betray the identity of the murderer because he still believes in the Seal of Confession and what it represents. The question I wanted to explore is: what kind of person and what circumstances would lead someone to sacrifice their liberty for the sake of their beliefs?

(Sounds really intriguing AP.)

When he was a child, Michael witnessed appalling abuses of power, including the killing of a missionary priest who refused to betray young Michael. But there was a first love that he left behind in the brutal confusion of war. When she and Michael cross paths once more, they battle to prove his innocence in a foreign, hostile country, where ultimately, love  carries the day.

The characters are sympathetic and complex. The settings are cinematic and expansive. I studied English and philosophy, but I work as a cinematographer, so I wanted to create a character-driven, page-turning, visual story.

(I’ve found authors who used to work in visual media write highly effectively so I’m sure A Burning in the Darkness would be visually interesting too.) 

I’ve brought some food and wine as these are almost essential for a good conversation. I would have cooked a slow-cooker casserole. I also do a tasty chocolate bread and butter pudding. Winter food that tastes just as good in the summer, or anytime of year. I hope the conversation wouldn’t only be about novels, but also about family and the state of the world.

Oh my goodness. I adore bread and butter pudding but I’ve never had a chocolate one! I think that could lead to some serious discussions to finish our evening AP. Thanks so much for staying in with me to tell me all about A Burning in the Darkness.

A Burning in the Darkness

A compelling crime drama and poignant love story about a devoted man who must confront the painful legacy of his war torn childhood when he is wrongfully accused of murder. Michael Kieh’s struggle to prove his innocence leads him on a charged journey that pitches the pursuit of justice and the search for love against the instinct for revenge.

Michael is the chief suspect in a murder at one of the world’s busiest airports where he is a full-time faith representative. A series of brief encounters with a soul mate has eased his loneliness and together they come close to uncovering a past major crime, but ultimately he chooses to protect a young witness who could prove his innocence.

When he was a child, Michael witnessed appalling abuses of power, including the killing of a missionary priest who refused to betray young Michael.

But there was a first love that he left behind in the brutal confusion of war. When she and Michael cross paths once more, they battle to prove his innocence in a foreign, hostile country.

Can they solve the mystery before it is too late?

A Burning in the Darkness is available for purchase here.

About AP McGrath

AP McGrath was born and grew up in Ireland. He now lives in London and works in TV. He is a single father with three beautiful children. He studied English and Philosophy and then post-graduate Film Studies.

You can visit AP Mcgrath’s website and follow him on Twitter @apmgrath1234.

I’m absolutely delighted to be part of the launch celebrations for Only Child by Rhiannon Navin and would like to thank Jess Duffy at Pan Macmillan for inviting me to participate.

Published by Mantle, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, Only Child is available for purchase here.

Only Child

We went to school that Tuesday like normal.
Not all of us came home . . .

Huddled in a cloakroom with his classmates and teacher, six-year-old Zach can hear shots ringing through the corridors of his school. A gunman has entered the building and, in a matter of minutes, will have taken nineteen lives.

In the aftermath of the shooting, the close knit community and its families are devastated. Everyone deals with the tragedy differently. Zach’s father absents himself; his mother pursues a quest for justice — while Zach retreats into his super-secret hideout and loses himself in a world of books and drawing.

Ultimately though, it is Zach who will show the adults in his life the way forward — as, sometimes, only a child can.

My Review of Only Child

A school shooting has repercussions that reverberate throughout the community and especially the life of Zach.

That’s it. I am officially broken. I’ve found it difficult to shake off the total feelings of devastation, grief and, yes, hope, as a result of reading Only Child.

Let me be honest. I don’t much like children. I’m never very keen on children as protagonists and I usually find their appearance contrived or unrealistic. I avoid books where they play too great a role.

And I am utterly wrong.

Zack in Only Child is sheer perfection. He has wrapped his fists round my heart and I am not going to forget him. The manner in which Rhiannon Nevin conveys Zach’s innocence and his wisdom is nothing short of genius. He is completely and utterly real so that it is impossible not to be caught up inescapably in his story.

I found Only Child gut-wrenchingly emotional. I was so glad the chapters were short as I had to keep stopping for a break as I couldn’t tolerate the intensity of the emotions it created in me. I experienced the grief of Zach’s family. I experienced deep love. I experienced white hot rage. I think the fact that I read Only Child just after the latest totally futile shooting of children in America made me feel every moment, every nuance so that I wish all those in favour of guns would read it too. Whilst Rhiannon Nevin illustrates the absolute devastation such events have on those left behind, she does so without sentimentality, but rather lays bare the very souls of those affected. So powerful is her writing that I felt I had lost Andy myself.

The reverberations in the aftermath of a school shooting are poignantly and acutely displayed. The breakdown in relationships, the family dynamics and interactions, the response of the media and society, the desire for revenge and the need for forgiveness are flawlessly explored so that I experienced every moment first hand and not just as a reader one space removed.

I finished Only Child through a blur of unstoppable tears, mirroring those of the characters between its pages. I applaud Rhiannon Nevin for her utterly beautiful, heart rending and impassioned writing. I’ve not encountered anything quite like it. I cannot express what an important, moving and terrifyingly too familiar story this is. We all need to read Only Child and campaign to stop the madness.

About Rhiannon Navin

Rhiannon Navin grew up in Bremen, Germany, in a family of book-crazy women. Her career in advertising brought her to New York City, where she worked for several large agencies before becoming a full-time mother and writer. She now lives outside of New York City with her husband, three children, two cats, and one dog.

Only Child is her first novel.

You can follow Rhiannon on Twitter @rhiannonnavin and visit her website. You’ll also find Rhiannon on Facebook and Goodreads.

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I’m so thrilled to be staying in with Anne Stormont today because I feel as if I’ve ‘known’ Anne forever. She has been such a wonderful supporter of Linda’s Book Bag that I’m delighted to welcome her here today.

If you’re an author who’d also like to stay in with me to tell me about one of your books, please click here for more details.

Staying in with Anne Stormont

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Anne. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me as I feel I’ve known you for ever.

Which of your books have you brought along to share with me and why have you chosen it?

I’ve chosen Displacement. I chose it as I still feel very close to it and its characters. This could be because I’m currently writing its sequel, Settlement. And I’d like to introduce readers of this blog to the main characters Rachel and Jack and their story.

(Brilliant – so blog readers can soon get their hands on two books featuring Rachel and Jack.)

What can we expect from an evening in with Displacement?

You’ll be transported to the beautiful and wild landscape of the Isle of Skye and then to the heat and edginess of the contested land of Israel-Palestine.

(Crikey – that’s some journey!)

You’ll spend time with former Edinburgh policeman Jack, and with children’s book writer, illustrator and crofter Rachel. And you’ll follow the growing relationship between this – on the face of it – mismatched pair.

The supporting cast should prove good company too. They include Jack’s six-year-old granddaughter Poppy, and Rachel’s good friend, Morag, who are keen to see Jack and Rachel get together. Then there’s Jack’s friend and sometime lover, Bridget, and Rachel’s Israeli suitor, Eitan, who’d like to keep them apart.

Because the theme of the book is displacement, you’ll be prompted to think about certain political issues such as the plight of refugees and the consequences of war, but you’ll also be confronted by personal issues such as bereavement and divorce. All-in-all you can expect an emotional and hopefully heart-warming time in two relatively unusual settings – from a book that’s probably best described as contemporary fiction in the romance-plus genre.

(I love the sound of Displacement Anne. I think it sounds a perfect book for me.)

What else have you brought along and why?

Two things:

I’ve brought a bottle of Talisker malt whisky from the distillery on Skye. This is a favourite drink of Jack’s and I’m rather partial to it myself. I’ll pour us a wee dram each and we’ll say the Scots Gaelic toast – Slainte Mhath (pronounced slanje va) which means Good Health –  before enjoying this smoky, peaty flavoured amber liquid.

(I’m not a big spirits drinker Anne but this does sound delicious.) 

And I’ve also brought along some delicious Middle-Eastern snacks. There are olives, homemade hummus and falafels and some tasty bread. They actually go rather well with the whisky. Enjoy!

(Now you’re talking. I love Middle-Eastern food!)

Thanks so much for staying in with me to tell me all about Displacement Anne. It sounds a wonderful read.

Displacement

A story of love, courage and hope

Divorce, the death of her soldier son and estrangement from her daughter, leave Hebridean crofter, Rachel Campbell, grief stricken, lonely and lost.

Forced retirement due to a heart condition leaves former Edinburgh policeman Jack Baxter needing to take stock and find a new direction for his life.

When the two of them meet in dramatic circumstances on a wild winter’s night on the island of Skye, a mutually supportive friendship develops between them, despite their very different personalities.

But with Rachel due to be in the Middle East for several months and Jack already in a relationship, it seems unlikely they’ll get the chance to take their relationship any further – much as they might want to.

Set against the contrasting and dramatic backdrops of the Scottish island of Skye and the contested country of Israel-Palestine, this book tells a story of love, home and heritage and what happens when these are threatened at a political and a personal level.

Displacement is available for purchase on Amazon UK and Amazon US

About Anne Stormont

Anne Stormont writes contemporary women’s fiction. So far she has published two novels Change of Life and Displacement. She is currently working on a sequel to Displacement which will be out in 2018. She has also written a children’s novel called The Silver Locket published under the name of Anne McAlpine.

Anne is a Scot and she has recently moved from the Isle of Skye to the Scottish Borders. She has travelled the world and has visited every continent except Antarctica –where considering her penchant for penguins she really must go. Anne was a primary school teacher for 36 years and is also a wife, mum and grandma.

She says she is a subversive old bat but maintains a kind heart.

You can find out more about Anne on her author websites: Anne Stormont and Anne McAlpine. She has an excellent Blog. You’ll also find Anne on her Facebook Author pages: Anne Stormont and Anne McAlpine and can follow Anne on Twitter @writeanne.