It was a privilege to help reveal the cover for When Stars Will Shine a while ago and to be asked to participate in the blog tour for this important book as proceeds are going to charity. My thanks to Emma Mitchell and Shell Baker for inviting me.  Before I share my review on this closing day of the tour, I’d just like to repeat Emma’s message about When Stars Will Shine:

A Message from Emma Mitchell

As the blurb tells us, When Stars Will Shine is a multi-genre collection of Christmas themed short stories complied to raise money for our armed forces and every penny made from the sales of both the digital and paperback copies will be donated to the charity.

Working closely with Kate Noble at Noble Owl Proofreading and Amanda Ni Odhrain from Let’s Get Booked, I’ve been able to pick the best of the submissions to bring you a thrilling book which is perfect for dipping into at lunchtime or snuggling up with on a cold winter’s night. I have been completely blown away by the support we’ve received from the writing and blogging community, especially the authors who submitted stories and Shell Baker from Baker’s Not So Secret Blog, who has organised the cover reveal and blog tour.

There isn’t anyone in the country who hasn’t benefited from the sacrifices our troops, past and present, have made for us and they all deserve our thanks.

When Stars Will Shine is available for purchase on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

When Stars Will Shine

When Stars Will Shine is a collection of short stories from some of your favourite authors who have joined forces to bring you a Christmas read with a twist.

With true war stories that will break your heart, gritty Christmas crimes that will shake you to your core, and heart-warming tales of love lost, gained, and found, When Stars Will Shine has something for everyone. And with every penny being sent to support our heroes, you can rest assured that you’re helping our heroes, one page at a time.

From authors such as Louise Jensen, Graham Smith, Malcolm Hollingdrake, Rob Ashman, Val Portelli, and Alex Kane, you are in for one heck of a ride!

My Review of When Stars Will Shine

A charity collection of short stories.

When Stars Will Shine is an absolutely super collection. I thought I might just dip in and out of this anthology, but I read the first story by Rob Ashman, was immediately hooked and kept reading what I thought would be just one more until I had gulped them all, in order, in one go. I found them all completely compelling. That said, When Stars Will Shine would equally reward dipping into at random when the reader has a spare ten minutes or so and wants a satisfying and enthralling or enchanting read.

Each story is perfectly structured with every author having their own distinctive style and voice. When Stars Will Shine conveys the impression that real effort has gone into providing a wonderful reading experience for the reader with great care having been taken in the crafting of the stories. There truly is a tale to appeal to everyone regardless of their usual preferred reading genre in When Stars Will Shine and I thoroughly enjoyed reading both familiar, and new to me, authors.

I thought the topics and plots were inspired. There’s such a spectrum of subjects and themes from murder to altruism, love to hate, the supernatural to the most prosaic and When Stars Will Shine would be fantastic to share a few stories from around the fire on a winter’s evening.

I loved the real life family members, ghosts, neighbours, murderers and lovers that populate these stories – so much so I can easily envisage any one of them appearing in a full length novel.

Each story in When Stars Will Shine is a gem in its own right, but the collection as a whole really is greater than the sum of its parts, so that I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of being immersed in its pages. Fabulous stuff!

About the When Stars Will Shine Authors

Normally I include a short biography and author image but there are too many writers here to have a sensible length blog post. Instead I’m including the authors in the order they appear in the anthology with their story titles and Twitter handles and you can find out more by following the rest of the blog tour and finding the writers on Twitter.

Introductory poem by 11 year old Megan Steer: @tjsarcat15

Frederick Snellgrove, Private 23208 by Rob Ashman: @RobAshmanAuthor

Four Seasons by Robert Scragg: @robert_scragg (and New Year’s Resolution later in the book)

The Close Encounter by Gordon Bickerstaff: @GFBickerstaff

Believe by Mark Brownless: @MarkBrownless

What Can Possibly Go Wrong by Lucy Cameron: @lucycameron22

Mountain Dew by Paul T. Campbell: @PtcCampbell

The Art of War and Peace by John Carson: @JohnCarsonBooks

A Gift for Christmas by Kris Egleton: @Mouse6420

Free Time by Stewart Giles: @stewartgiles

Died of Wounds by Malcolm Hollingdrake: @MHollingdrake

The Christmas Killer by Louise Jensen: @Fab_fiction 

The Village Hotel by Alex Kane: @AlexKaneWriter

A Present of Presence by HR Kemp (No Twitter!)

The Invitation by Billy McLaughlin: @bilbob20

Brothers Forever by Paul Moore: @mooros69

Girl in a Red Shirt by Owen Mullen: @OwenMullen6

Pivotal Moments by Anna Franklin Osborne: @HomeOsborne

Uncle Christmas by Val Portelli: @ValPortelli

Time for a Barbecue by Carmen Radtke: @carmenradtke1

Christmas Present by Lexi Rees: @Lexi_Rees

Inside Out by KA Richardson: @KerryAnn77

Penance by Jane Risdon: @Jane_Risdon

Family Time by Graham Smith: @grahamsmith1972