I have been desperate for House of Secrets by Lynda Stacey to reach the top of my TBR pile ever since I was involved in the e-book cover reveal a year ago. Sadly, life (and death) has intervened and it still hasn’t got to the top but House of Secrets is now available in paperback and I’m excited that Lynda is on the blog today to tell me more about her central character Madeleine. I’m also thrilled to have an extract from House of Secrets for you too.

House of Secrets is available for purchase through the publisher, Choc-Lit, links here.

House of Secrets

A woman on the run, a broken man and a house with a shocking secret …
Madeleine Frost has to get away. Her partner Liam has become increasingly controlling to the point that Maddie fears for her safety, and that of her young daughter Poppy …

Desperation leads Maddie to the hotel owned by her estranged father – the extraordinarily beautiful Wrea Head Hall in Yorkshire. There, she meets Christopher ‘Bandit’ Lawless, an ex-marine and the gamekeeper of the hall, whose brusque manner conceals a painful past.

After discovering a diary belonging to a previous owner, Maddie and Bandit find themselves immersed in the history of the old house, uncovering its secrets, scandals, tragedies – and, all the while, becoming closer.

But Liam still won’t let go, he wants Maddie back, and when Liam wants something he gets it, no matter who he hurts …

Madeleine

A Guest Post by Lynda Stacey

On the 4^th July my novel House of Secrets was turned into a paperback and I couldn’t have been prouder at the moment I got to take it back to where it all began, the beautiful Wrea Head Hall hotel in Scarborough.

Lynda on the staircase at Wrea Head Hall

It was at this time, I got to look back at how I created Madeleine, the heroine of House of Secrets.

What happened to Madeleine before the story began?

Madeleine is a young, widowed mother. We meet Madeleine at a time in her life when she’s already overcome many obstacles, most of which she’d thought were her worst nightmare, that is until our story begins.

Madeleine fell in love at school with her childhood boyfriend, Michael. They married young, much to everyone’s disapproval and lived together in a second floor flat which they made into a home.

But, one morning Madeleine kissed Michael goodbye as he left for work. But it isn’t long before the police are at the door, Michael has been killed in a car accident and Madeleine is left widowed, while heavily pregnant. The shock sends Madeleine into early labour and Poppy is born so prematurely that Madeleine spends many a night sitting by her incubator, praying that she survives, whilst making promises to protect her and love her.

However, just a couple of years later, Madeleine meets Liam. He’s enigmatic, caring and falls into her life in a way that becomes all encompassing. But, Madeleine soon realises that she’s made a big mistake … and this is where our story begins …!

What makes a good heroine?

A good heroine is always someone the reader can relate to and identify with. I always give my heroines a history, a life and a family, after all, we all have parents, siblings and distant aunties, don’t we? So, the characters within a novel need to have that too.

I feel that by doing this, it gives them depth of character and a personality that can’t be ignored. They don’t necessarily have to be sexy, they don’t all have to be tall, blonde and straight out of a magazine. But, I do feel that they need to be a good person with dreams, hopes and wishes. They need to have a goal in life, something to achieve, something to aspire to and the novel needs to take them on a journey to achieve this.

But most importantly, the reader needs to feel that they are taking the journey with our heroine and that by the end of the novel, they’ve reached a good and satisfactory conclusion to the story.

Who would be the perfect Madeleine in a film?

I think Michelle Keegan would be the perfect Maddie. She’s very down to earth, normal and would bring a realism to the character that readers would identify with. Yes … Michelle Keegan would be my Madeleine.

An Extract from House of Secrets

From Madeleine’s point of view …

Madeleine covered her eyes in an attempt to shield them from the early morning sun. It burst in through a tiny slit in the bedroom curtains and shone directly at her. She lay for a few moments, waiting for her eyes to become accustomed to the light before peering across to where Liam slept.

She took a deep breath and inched her body between the crisp white sheets towards the edge of the bed in an effort to widen the gap between herself and her naked lover. Then she lay as still as she could, not daring to move, as she watched him sleep. She used to love watching the steady rise and fall of his chest, his deep, slow, untroubled breaths and the way he slept on his back with his arms spread outward, as though surrendering in a childlike, unconscious state. But he’d changed. Now, she didn’t know whether to love him or to hate him, at any given moment.

Holding her breath, she noticed his eyes flicker and knew that as soon as he woke, she’d have to quickly judge whether he was in a good mood or bad. Whether he’d want to make love or argue and, right now, she was tired and didn’t feel in the mood to do either. Closing her eyes, Madeleine lay back against the pillows, only to feel Liam’s hand pushing the sheets down to uncover her.

‘You awake, Maddie darlin’?’ his soft Irish tone mumbled in her ear.

Liam’s hand started to move over her body in soft, gentle, caressing strokes. Madeleine felt herself relax. This was Liam in a good mood. For a moment she enjoyed the simple feeling of tenderness, along with the feel of his hand moving sensuously over her body. It was what she’d enjoyed so much at the beginning of their relationship and a small part of her wondered if he could change, if they could both change, and if once again she could have the loving and caring Liam, without the nasty side she’d experienced of late.

She inhaled deeply and then caught her breath as Liam’s hand travelled down to her thigh. There had been a time when she’d have felt waves of excitement, times when she’d wished for him to be closer and, more often than not, it had been her that had instigated their lovemaking. But that was before. Before she’d moved into his house with her daughter and before he’d taken control of everything she did. Madeleine thought back to when she had first met him, how generous, caring and loving he’d been, which made her wonder why he had changed, if the arguments were her fault and whether it was her that made him angry. Maybe he regretted allowing her to move in, or perhaps he simply didn’t like the fact that she was a mother, with a very young daughter.

About Lynda Stacey

Lynda, is a wife, step-mother and grandmother, she grew up in the mining village of Bentley, Doncaster, in South Yorkshire.

She is currently the Sales Director of a stationery, office supplies and office furniture company in Doncaster, where she has worked for the past 25 years. Prior to this she’d also been a nurse, a model, an emergency first response instructor and a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor … and yes, she was crazy enough to dive in the sea with sharks, without a cage. Following a car accident in 2008, Lynda was left with limited mobility in her right arm. Unable to dive or teach anymore, she turned to her love of writing, a hobby she’d followed avidly since being a teenager.

Her own life story, along with varied career choices helps Lynda to create stories of romantic suspense, with challenging and unpredictable plots, along with (as in all romances) very happy endings.

Lynda joined the Romantic Novelist Association in 2014 under the umbrella of the New Writers Scheme and in 2015, her debut novel House of Secrets won the Choc Lit & Whole Story Audiobooks Search for a Star competition.

She lives in a small rural hamlet near Doncaster, with her ‘hero at home husband’, Haydn, whom she’s been happily married to for over 20 years.

You can follow Lynda on Twitter and visit her website.

I’m so pleased to welcome David Jester, author of An Idiot in Marriage, to Linda’s Book Bag today. I do intend to finish writing my own novel one of these days so I’m always really interested in hearing how other writers have come to be published. David has a smashing post telling us how he went about getting his novels published.

An Idiot in Marriage is the follow up to David’s An Idiot in Love and was published by Skyhorse and is available for purchase in e-book and paperback here.

An Idiot in Marriage

Kieran McCall’s youth was a series of misguided attempts at love—a succession of sexual failures that always ended in disaster but somehow led to something worthwhile. As an adult, his failures looked like they were behind him. He married the love of his life and they had a child together, but chaos was never far away.

An Idiot in Marriage follows Kieran McCall as he learns to live with the strains of married life and parenthood, from dealing with incompetent babysitters and dirty diapers to neighbors from hell, stray ducks, and a best friend who still thinks with his dick.

Kieran McCall grew up, but he never matured and he never changed. He’s still a little immature, he’s still a little naïve, and he’s still massively incompetent. Kieran may be older, but he’s definitely not wiser. And if he doesn’t shape up, he may risk losing it all.

From Self-Publishing to Traditional Publishing: My Journey

 A Guest Post by David Jester

I tried to make it as an author for nearly 10 years before it finally happened. And it didn’t happen in the traditional sense, I just got so tired of rejections, of dealing with agents and publishers, that I decided to do it myself. In 2012 I realized I had finally written a book that I deemed to be perfect. I had seen so many flaws in my books before then, but I was 100% happy with this new novel. That’s a rarity for any novelist, so I knew I was onto something good.

Three weeks later I had been told by several different agents that the book, An Idiot in Love, was too niche and wouldn’t sell more than a few hundred copies. I couldn’t believe that and I certainly couldn’t accept it. So, I decided to self-publish. I knew nothing about the process, but I figured it out quickly and I sold over 10,000 copies in the first month.

I resisted the overwhelming urge to email those agents with an “I told you so” and an obligatory “nuh huh nah nah nah” and I went on to write and publish more books. Within two years my books had been downloaded nearly half a million times and then I made the decision to get into traditional publishing.

 Why I Did It

The first thing people ask when I tell them this story is, “Why?”. The truth is, I panicked. I was working around the clock to write, publish and market my books and I was alone. I had the support of a loving partner (who also helped to create my covers) but for the most part, it was just me.

The life of an author is a lonely one as it is, but when you’re a successful self-published author it’s even worse. You have to do everything. You have to deal with all of the stress and the worry yourself. I knew that at any minute my books could stop selling and I would have nothing again. It was because of this that I started to freelance, which also worked very well for me. In a few months I was freelancing full-time and earning a very good wage, but I was juggling so many different things that I would go days without sleeping just to stay on track.

I chose to go to a traditional publisher because I knew they would take a large chunk of that burden off my shoulders. I wouldn’t have as much control, I would be risking those sales and that success, but in the long run, it felt like a good decision. And thankfully, it was.

 Why I Prefer Traditional Publishing

It takes a lot to unnerve me and to stress me out. But it still happens. Writers are generally a very temperamental bunch. We don’t like being critiqued. We don’t like bad reviews. After all, we work alone, we submit alone and we publish alone. We put our hearts, souls and time into a project that is 100% us, and when that gets picked apart, it’s understandably very hard to deal with.

One of the benefits of traditional publishing is that you have the support of editors, publicists, designers and a sales team behind you. They will arrange for critical reviews and they will support you whether they are good and bad. They will help with the editing and the construction of your novel; they will get your book into newspapers, onto shelves and on all major retailers.

As an author I earn less now than I did then, there’s no doubt about that. But I work less, I feel better about it, and all of that extra time allows me to get involved with other projects, to freelance more and to put my skills to good use elsewhere.

If I had to make the decision again, I would do exactly the same thing. And I’d recommend that any successful self-published author out there does the same thing.

(How interesting David. I wonder what self-published and conventionally published authors think?)

About David Jester

David Jester is the pen name of a horror and comedy author living in the North-East of England. David has been working as a full-time writer since the age of 18, when he published his first short story. In his late 20s, towards the end of 2012, David self-published An Idiot in Love to great acclaim. Within 6 months this comedy novel had achieved Amazon bestseller status in the UK, US, Canada and Italy.

Throughout the next two years he published several other novels, novellas and short stories as David Jester. He also rewrote some of his older books and published these under a different pseudonym. In his spare time, David worked as a freelance writer, assisting with film scripts, comic books, novels, content writing, copywriting, and more.

In 2015, David began working with San-Francisco based agent Peter Beren, and together they sold all of his previously self-published books, as well as two un-released titles, to Skyhorse Publishing. In 2016, David began to spend less time on his freelance work and devoted more time to his role as an author.

You can follow David on Twitter @DavidJester, find him on Facebook or visit his blog.

What better day to review a book that includes Jane Austen than on the anniversary of her death? I was so lucky to have a fascinating guest blog from Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney on the publication day of A Secret Sisterhood: The Hidden Friendships of Austen, Bronte, Eliot and Woolf that you can read here. Today I’m sharing my review.

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

The Hidden Friendships of Austen, Bronte, Eliot and Woolf

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 them on Twitter via @emilymidorikawa and @emmacsweeney, and Emma has an author page on Facebook as well as a website. Emily’s website is here and her Facebook page here.

Earlier this month I reviewed The Detriment by David Videcette. You can see what I thought about this cracking thriller here. This got me thinking about where we draw the lines between what is morally right and wrong so I asked David if he’d write a guest post for me on that very topic and luckily he agreed. David has written a guest post every bit as interesting and thought provoking as his fiction.

The Detriment is the second book by David to feature Jake Flannagan after The Theseus Paradox and is available for purchase here.

The Detriment

“The truth costs nothing, but a lie can cost you everything…”

June 2007: a barbaric nail bomb is planted outside a London nightclub, a spy is found dead in his garden, and a blazing Jeep is driven into Glasgow airport. Three events bound by an earth-shattering connection that should have remained buried forever.

From the author of The Theseus Paradox, the smash-hit 7/7 thriller based on true events, comes the sequel about a real-life mystery that threatens to destroy a nation. Detective Inspector Jake Flannagan must uncover how a series of astonishing events are inextricably linked, before the past closes in on him.

We all have secrets we say we’ll never tell…

The Fine Line Between Right and Wrong

As a crime fighter turned crime writer, Linda asked me to write about right and wrong for her blog, which sounded nice and simple. Having spent a career in the police, you would think it would be a straightforward matter. Yet, the fine line between right and wrong is as indecipherably complex to me now as the day I started as a bobby on the beat twenty years ago.

As children, we are taught that we shouldn’t lie and shouldn’t be unkind, but the simple act of being told isn’t enough. We learn far more from our interactions with others. You don’t hit other kids, as they cry or hit back, creating a negative experience for us as individuals. You locate a lost ball and return it to someone, this results in a positive experience. We learn how to coexist. A form of social justice develops about what is acceptable and what isn’t. And this is where our early notions of right and wrong come from.

Animal instincts

In this respect, humans are like most other animals. Experiments with lots of different species have shown that all animals can differentiate between making good and bad choices.

Over time, an animal can learn that choosing A, gives them X amount of food, and choosing B, gives them no food at all. The reward is then their big driver in future decision making.

Animals can also learn that to do something wrong, results in a negative experience. For example, an electric fence encircling a field of cows says to the animals, “Don’t try to leave the field, as it’s going to hurt. Leaving the field is bad, it’s wrong.”

Choose your words carefully

Most of us can tell the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, or even between legal and illegal. But in doing so, we tend to rely on very simple, animalistic binary choices based on our learned experiences.

Even the language we use often only gives us binary choices. There is no third or even fourth option. We must choose one or the other. Right or wrong. For some people these simple choices are enough. They build their lives and environments based on one or the other. But there are certain people and situations where the simple rules of live or die; eat or starve; hunt or be hunted are much more complex and difficult to decipher.

A murderer is an evil wrongdoer

The police officer that catches him or her is good and righteous… easy.

But what happens when the murder is committed in revenge, or in a fit of rage? What happens when a drug dealer is tied to a chair, and watches a corrupt police officer torture his family, and rape his wife, in an effort to get the drug dealer to reveal where his drugs and money are hidden? What happens when that father and husband breaks free, hunts down the corrupt police officer, who he knows will never stand trial or face justice for what he did – and kills the police officer? Where are the boundaries of right and wrong, good and evil, legal and illegal now? Where are the simple binary choices that we learned as children? Where is the reward for doing the right thing?

How far would you go?

Imagine that you are a counter-terror officer. You’ve got a terrorist suspect in your custody. You are convinced he’s planted some bombs somewhere, convinced they are going to kill and maim hundreds of people, but he won’t tell you where they are hidden. Could you be tempted to intimidate or even hurt him, for the greater good, to save lives? Would you be happy to torture him, to get the answers you wanted?

The complexities of these decisions, of how to act, on what to do – have always fascinated me. They are issues which Detective Jake Flannagan, the lead character in my thrillers, has to face on a daily basis. They are what define us from the rest of the animal kingdom. No other animal would have these dilemmas; their decision making is completely binary. But as humans, we can be forced into a place where grey exists, where black and white is either side of us. Where lying becomes rewarding, where inflicting pain becomes acceptable, where the very basics of what we learned as children, is turned on its head.

Let’s go back to the scenario of you as the counter-terror officer, holding a terrorist prisoner whom you are convinced has planted bombs which will soon explode, killing and maiming innocent members of the public. How many of you thought that torture was acceptable here, for the greater good?

Let’s imagine you start with a little bit of punching in the face while he is handcuffed to the chair, stamping on his head, then you progress to some cigarette burning, then even to pulling his fingernails out, then perhaps some waterboarding. Now he begins talking, singing like a canary. You feel good. You did the right thing, even though it was wrong?

But when you go to the places where he said he’s planted the bombs, they aren’t there.

He lied to you. Not because he wanted to, but because it’s the wrong man. You picked up an innocent person. He lied because he learned that saying nothing resulted in more pain. You taught him that lying was good and the right thing to do.

I often wonder if this is why human language evolved, so that we could communicate further than simple likes and dislikes, beyond rights and wrongs. I wonder whether we are short changing ourselves by trying to see the world in black and white, like animals do, instead of shades of grey.

This is where I think natural justice comes into play, where humans can justify their decision making over and above the simple binary choices of animals. The thing we hold deep inside ourselves – is the knowledge that we can say, ‘I am happy with myself’ or ‘I can sleep at night.’

It’s the human state of being able to recognise the grey in the world, which no other animal appears to have. It is language and explanation that allow us to do this.

But as you will discover in my books, these choices for a detective are never simple.

Wrong can sometimes be right – and right wrong.

About David Videcette

David Videcette is the author of The Theseus Paradox and The Detriment – compelling detective thrillers based on true events.

With twenty years’ policing experience, including counter-terror operations and organised crime, David was a lead detective on the intelligence cell during the 7/7 London bombings investigation. As a Scotland Yard investigator, David has chased numerous dangerous criminals, searched hundreds of properties and interviewed thousands of witnesses. Now a security consultant for high-net-worth individuals, he’s also a regular commentator for the media on crime, policing and terrorism. David currently lives in London and is addicted to going to the cinema.

You can find out more about David on his website, by following him on Twitter and on Facebook or by checking out all his books on Amazon.

Who would have thought that when I began Linda’s Book Bag just over two years ago I would be posting my thousandth blog post today. I can’t believe it.

It has been such an honour to read fabulous books and meet wonderful authors, publishers and fellow bloggers both in real life and via the Internet. Blogging has brought me so much joy (and not a little stress at times when I STILL haven’t managed to get to a book I’ve promised to read and review) and introduced me to wonderful people I would never otherwise have met.

To celebrate this 1000th blog post I’m running a little thank you giveaway for all those who’ve supported my blog by visiting Linda’s Book Bag and sharing my posts, liking Linda’s Book Bag on Facebook, or following me on Twitter @Lindahill50Hill. Please take part and good luck!

Giveaway

For your chance to win a £20 or $20 Amazon e-voucher click here. Open internationally, the giveaway closes UK midnight on Friday 21st July 2017.

I’m delighted to welcome James Morris, author of Feel Me Fall, to Linda’s Book Bag today. James has kindly agreed to tell me a little about the challenges of writing a novel for the so-called young adult market and, like me, he doesn’t always find categories of books helpful.

Feel Me Fall was published by Inkspot Imaginarium on 2nd May 2017 and is available for purchase here.

Feel Me Fall

Secrets and survival in the Amazon

Emily Duran is the sole survivor of a plane crash that left her and her teenage friends stranded and alone in the jungles of the Amazon. Lost and losing hope, they struggle against the elements, and each other. With their familiar pecking order no longer in place, a new order emerges, filled with power struggles, betrayals, secrets and lies. Emily must explain why she’s the last left alive.

But can she carry the burden of the past?

Discover the gripping new adventure novel that explores who we are when no one is watching, and how far we’ll go in order to survive.

Writing Young Adult Fiction – Or Am I?

A Guest Post by James Morris

Feel Me Fall tells the story of Emily Duran, the sole survivor of a plane crash that left her and her teenage friends stranded and alone in the jungles of the Amazon. Lost and losing hope, they struggle against the elements, and each other. With their familiar pecking order no longer in place, a new order emerges, filled with power struggles, betrayals, secrets and lies. Emily must explain why she’s the last left alive.

Feel Me Fall is classified as young adult, but as a reader wrote, “It reads like an adult psychological thriller,” and that’s exactly what I wanted to hear. For me, writing young adult is no different than other genres. While the characters might be younger, the drama and stakes still have to be high. The plot must still be engaging. The dialogue has got to sound real. A relative of mine once asked me: “How can you write YA if you’re not a teenager?” The undercurrent was: What do you know about being a teenager today? (Let’s just set aside that thing called imagination.) To me, teenagers are the same, in every era. True, the technology might be different, but the worries about fitting in, identity, sex, and wanting to be independent while still being dependent, are universal. People will be writing teen stories hundreds of years from now. That’s what I tap into. Even if I came of age in the 80s, my struggles and worries were probably very much the same as a teenager today.

I do avoid slang, because like technology, that will date itself. And I’m careful not to be patronizing. I try my best to make my characters—no matter the age—as real and complex as possible.

I find it interesting that when I was growing up, there wasn’t a “young adult” category. It was just stories with younger characters. A lot now is about marketing. I had a person in publishing tell me that “it’s all about where your book sits on the shelf,” meaning: What category can they clearly market it to? I think the marketing side of things has taken away some of the surprises of a book. If it’s easily categorized, a reader knows a lot about a story before they even read it.

I don’t even like to say my books are “young adult.” I like my earlier definition; they are stories that just happen to have a teenager at the center. If anything, the phrase “young adult” can seem patronizing—as if the story has to be watered down because the reader isn’t adult enough to handle it. Maybe that’s my own opinion. That’s the danger of YA—riding that line between what’s acceptable in an “adult” book, and one that a younger reader might read. But I like seeing a recent trend where everything is not just safe characters, but more complex, more morally ambiguous, maybe even slightly uncomfortable. I guess it all depends on whether you read for pleasure, or to be challenged. And there are times for both.

I’d like to think Feel Me Fall does both: provide a nice rollercoaster ride for those who want one, while asking questions of us that might be hard to answer.

About James Morris

James Morris is a television writer who now works in digital media. He is the author of the young adult thriller What Lies Within, the dystopian love story Melophobia, the young adult suspense Feel Me Fall, and the upcoming young adult horror Screams You Hear. When not writing, you can find him scoping out the latest sushi spot, watching ‘House Hunters Renovation’, or trying new recipes in the kitchen. He lives with his wife and dog in Los Angeles.

You can find out more about James on his website, Goodreads and on Facebook and by following him on Twitter @JMorrisWriter. All of James’ books are available here.

As an ex-English teacher I have the utmost respect for those who are still in the profession and am delighted to welcome teacher Sonja Price, author of The Giants Look Down to Linda’s Book Bag today. I asked Sonja how teaching affected her writing and luckily she agreed to tell me more.

Published by Robert Hale, The Giants Look Down is available for purchase in ebook and paperback here.

The Giants Look Down

At the age of ten, Jaya Vaidya decides she wants to follow in the footsteps of her beloved father and become a doctor, much to the chagrin of her mother and her local community. It is the late 1960s and the family enjoy an idyllic life in the Vale of Kashmir, despite the area being riddled with conflict and poverty.

But after a devastating earthquake wipes out her entire family, Jaya is taken into the care of relatives in Delhi, who attempt to marry her off and keep secret from her the possibility that Tahir, her younger brother, has survived the earthquake.

After escaping from the arranged marriage Jaya is put through medical training in Scotland, as she had always dreamed, and where she develops feelings for her foster family’s eldest son, Alastair, who is engaged to someone else.

In the meantime, Tahir has been abducted by a band of Kashmiri freedom fighters, who have made him one of their own.

Jaya finally returns to her troubled homeland to find him and come to terms with the loss of her family. Alastair, who arrives in Kashmir to announce his love for Jaya, is kidnapped by the freedom fighters, forcing her to risk everything to get him back.

What Writers Learn from Teaching Others by Sonja Price

A Guest Post by Sonja Price

Teaching creative writing is a bit like reading. Reading is input into writing and writers usually consider reading both a pleasure and an investment. What you read accumulates and morphs in your subconscious, and can be as inspiring as any real life experience. On the downside it can influence your writing to such an extent that a crime writer I know avoids anything too similar when she has a deadline for fear of it influencing her style. Deadlines aside, I read all kinds of books, good and bad (but always entertaining), because I think they can stimulate and improve your style. Knowing what doesn’t work is as important as knowing what does.

And so it is with teaching writing. I get inspired, influenced and amazed by my students’ work. I love the interaction, the exploration of a theme that is central to writing. For technique I cover such areas as character, setting, dialogue, plot, telling not showing, voice, point of view etc. and by doing so hone my own craft. I often think: yes of course I must try that in my next story and reflect on what I did in my last story. I return to my work in progress with a fresh eye, my mind full of impressions of what my students have shown me.

Although you can teach technique, I believe you cannot teach creativity. This must come from within, but you can, of course, encourage and support what is already there. Writing lessons endeavour to unearth that gem buried deep inside a person. Courses can help mine that gem and facilitate a short cut to the final version. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel yourself to get to your destination. If you’ve got the talent, why not avail yourself of anything that might give you a little push? I try to give my students the space to be creative, and get them to go where they have never gone before. I am often bowled over by the result, the revelation of what has been slumbering inside these aspiring writers all the time. How did they come up with that? Where did they get that from? And of course I get some students who bravely open up about a personal experience which you never would have suspected they had gone through.

I rarely learn anything new regarding technique in the classroom, but I am lucky enough to witness flights of imagination which astound and thrill me. It’s not all roses though: I once gave a student a bad grade upon which he handed in a piece about killing his teacher. I had to think long and hard about that one, but came to the conclusion that he was entitled to write whatever he wanted. I made sure I wasn’t left alone with him in the classroom and told him in front of the others that he should be aware of the effect his words could have on the reader- in my case anxiety! This led to a discussion about whether there are any subject taboos and whether you should write about people you know such as family members.

The main thing a writer should do is write. Teaching can be as exhausting as it is rewarding. You cannot just walk out when you’ve had enough, but if you get the writing/teaching balance right, it can be a great enrichment. I know that if I didn’t teach, I would really miss both my students and their creativity.

About Sonja Price

Sonja is a lecturer for English and Creative Writing at Jena University in Germany and also offers courses in Somerset where she lives. Her debut novel The Giants Look Down was shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon Award.

You can follow Sonja on Twitter @PriceSonja, find her on Facebook and visit her website.

I’ve featured a few children’s books on Linda’s Book Bag because I’m so interested in literacy and promoting a love of reading in children. Today, therefore, I would like to thank Louise Lederman for review copies of Jungle Jam and Jungle Jam in Brazil in return for an honest review.

Jungle Jam is available for purchase in paperback here and Jungle Jam in Brazil is available here. They are the first two books in the Jungle Jam series and Jungle Jam in Spain will be released in August 2017. All the Jungle Jam books are also available for purchase here (and you can even get a Mikey monkey!)

Jungle Jam

Mikey is a singing monkey who embarks on a musical adventure to find global fame but discovers along the way that he must work with others to make his dream come true.

On his journey, Mikey the Monkey meets Larry the Lion, Ella the Elephant, Ziggy the Zebra and Gina the Giraffe, each of whom play a musical instrument they teach him about, and then invite him to sing with them. Each time he declines and continues on his journey to find fame. Finally he hears an incredible sound and sees all of the animals playing their instruments together and realises that when people work together, dreams can come true.

This sweet, captivating rhyming book is designed for young children from 0-5 as an introduction to musical instruments and sounds. It even has an activity page to show you how to make your own instruments at the end and also shows children how working together as part a team is always best!

Jungle Jam in Brazil

“The band is getting ready for their biggest show yet. They are going to Brazil in a jumbo jet.”

Gina the Giraffe loves being part of the Jungle Jam band but she is nervous about leaving her home and trying new things. Follow Gina on her courageous journey and learn about the fabulous music and culture of Brazil. Following Jungle Jam, Jungle Jam in Brazil is designed for young children as an introduction to new sounds, cultures and musical instruments. Jungle Jam in Brazil shows children that they can do anything they want if they simply try their best and be ‘brave and strong’.

My Review of Jungle Jam and Jungle Jam in Brazil

Mikey the Monkey is looking for something special in his life – to be a singer in a band and have adventures.

These two Jungle Jam books are utterly wonderful and whilst they are designed for pre-school children, older children will love them too as there is so much to explore and entertain them.

Apart from the excellent overall quality of production with wonderful illustrations, Jungle Jam and Jungle Jam in Brazil have outstanding educational value. Firstly, there is a wonderful rhythm alongside the really well structured rhyme scheme so that the musical cadence of speech is underpinned by the narrative. The musical references are accessible through onomatopoeic words so that music becomes a natural part of the experience of reading these two books, affording both unconfident adults and children alike to enjoy the musical element. The use of alliteration and unusual words for children will expand their vocabulary as well as their understanding of how language works, as will the couple of easy Spanish words; especially when the rhythm of breaking them into syllables is used. Syllabification is such a useful tool when learning to read. The advice to adults at the end of Jungle Jam about reading with children is very useful too.

However, the really perfect aspect for me in Jungle Jam in Brazil in particular is the underlying message of friendship. Gina the Giraffe lacks confidence but she is well supported by her friends to try new experiences, new places, new foods and new people – all parts of life that can overwhelm some young children so that they receive the message that it is safe and exciting to try new things.

I really liked the activities included at the end of the books. In Jungle Jam there are musical instruments to make and in Jungle Jam in Brazil there is an observational activity as well as some facts about Brazil so that as well a captivating story, children have other activities as a result of reading these books.

I am astounded by the educational value of Jungle Jam and Jungle Jam in Brazil and think they are must buy books for any parent.

About Louise and Noam Lederman

With a strong belief in the importance of music in a child’s development, husband and wife team Louise and Noam Lederman decided that, if there weren’t books available to share a passion for music with children, then they had better write their own and so the Jungle Jam books were born.

Noam is an educator, musician and author and Louise has spent many years working in marketing, PR and events, mostly for charity organisations.

To find out more you can visit the Jungle Jam website, and follow Jungle Jam on Facebook and Twitter.

I’m delighted to be part of the launch celebrations for Half A Sixpence by Evie Grace with my review. Half a Sixpence is Evie’s first novel in her Maids of Kent trilogy. Half a Heart and Half a Chance will follow.

Half a Sixpence was published on 13th July by Arrow Publishing, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and is available for purchase in e-book and paperback here. As well as my review of Half a Sixpence, I’m thrilled to have a character profile of Pa and Ma Rook from Evie too.

Half a Sixpence

East Kent, 1830

Catherine Rook takes her peaceful life for granted. Her days are spent at the village school and lending a hand on her family’s farm. Life is run by the seasons, and there’s little time for worry.

But rural unrest begins sweeping through Kent, and when Pa Rook buys a threshing machine it brings turbulence and tragedy to Wanstall Farm. With the Rooks’ fortunes forever changed, Catherine must struggle to hold her family together.

She turns to her childhood companion, Matty Carter, for comfort, and finds more than friendship in his loving arms. But Matty has his own family to protect, and almost as quickly as their love blossomed their future begins to unravel.

With the threat of destitution nipping at her heels, Catherine must forge a way out of ruin . . .

Joint Character Profile of Ma and Pa Rook

A Guest Post by Evie Grace

I’m very grateful to you for hosting today’s stop on my tour with Half a Sixpence, the first book in a new series, a Victorian family saga that follows the fortunes of three generations of women from the hop gardens and orchards of East Kent to the squalid slums of Canterbury and brickfields of Faversham.

Half a Sixpence is the story of Catherine Rook, a country girl born in 1817, who lives at Wanstall Farm in the village of Overshill with Pa and Ma Rook, and her older brother, John. Catherine’s other siblings have moved out. Her sister Ivy is married to Overshill’s blacksmith, and her brother, Young Thomas Rook, farms some land that Pa acquired in payment of a debt.

Pa grows barley, hops and apples at the farm, and also decides to introduce a small flock of sheep. He is so dedicated to improving the farm and keeping the tenancy in the Rook family that he even makes notes when he is at church on Sunday mornings. He is one of the pioneers in the mechanisation of agriculture, and invests in new machinery in the hope that it will impress the squire, and improve the lives of his family and labourers. Sometimes it seems – to his wife anyway – that he is too generous with his favours towards the Carters whom he employs to work on the farm.

Pa is short and quick-witted with a wiry-body, tanned complexion and hooked nose. In contrast, his wife is well-spoken but sometimes slow of thought. She was born and bred to be a farmer’s wife, although she does aspire to better things, one of her aims being to arrange for Catherine to marry up. She churns the best butter in the parish, runs her household with the help of a maid, and carries out visits to the poor and the sick with the vicar’s wife.

While Pa Rook prefers to plough any money they receive back into the farm, his wife complains that she would like new clothes so as not to let the side down while she is out doing her ‘good works’ around the parish. Although they have their differences, the couple are fond of each other and fiercely protective of their family’s reputation.

It was while I was thinking about Pa Rook’s character and what his life would have been like as a conscientious tenant farmer who cared about his labourers – people who lived on the breadline and then lost their jobs with the arrival of the threshing machine – that I came across the colourful Sir William Courtenay, and the Battle of Bossenden in 1838, the last armed uprising on British soil. I decided I could use this quite shocking historical event in Half a Sixpence, and show what effect it would have on the Rooks and Wanstall Farm.

I hope you enjoy getting to know the Rooks in Half a Sixpence!

x Evie

My Review of Half a Sixpence

The events of the 1830s will impact on Catherine’s life more than she could ever think

I have a confession to make about Half a Sixpence. I didn’t really like the protagonist Catherine. I thought she was too proud, often too rash in her attitude to others, and at times she really annoyed me. However, I think it proves the quality of Evie Grace’s writing that I still cared about what happened and by the end of the book I was desperate for Catherine to have some good luck in her life!

Indeed, there’s a smashing cast of characters and Evie Grace writes with such visual dexterity that I could picture them all and they came alive as I read. I have a feeling I may have met a few Mattys in my life! I really hope someone picks up this book for television as I think it would make a fabulous series.

The settings are so vividly depicted so that there is a real sense of rural Kent in the 1830s. I loved the way in which the society of the time was so cleverly woven into the story so that there is a real feeling of credibility and era when reading Half a Sixpence. It is a book that manages to inform and educate without the reader realising at the same time as being hugely entertaining.

Half a Sixpence has a plot that romps along at breakneck speed. There are so many twists and turns in Catherine’s life that I didn’t like to put down the book in case something happened when I wasn’t looking.

Half a Sixpence is the perfect embodiment of an historical novel. Readers who are looking for a tale of peril, love and history will adore it.

About Evie Grace

Evie Grace was born in Kent, and one of her earliest memories is of picking cherries with her grandfather who managed a fruit farm near Selling. Holidays spent in the Kent countryside and the stories passed down through her family inspired her to write Half a Sixpence.

Evie now lives in Devon with her partner and dog. She has a grown-up daughter and son.

She loves researching the history of the nineteenth century and is very grateful for the invention of the washing machine, having discovered how the Victorians struggled to do their laundry.

You can follow Evie on Twitter @eviegrace2017 and find her on Facebook.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

I’m very pleased to be featuring another fabulous Legend Press book today; Rain Falls on Everyone by Clár Ní Chonghaile.

Rain Falls on Everyone is published tody, 15th July 2017, and is available for purchase here.  However, if you’re a UK reader there’s a chance for you to win a paperback copy of Rain Falls on Everyone at the bottom of this blog post too.

Rain Falls on Everyone

Theo, a young Rwandan boy fleeing his country’s genocide, arrives in Dublin, penniless, alone and afraid. Still haunted by a traumatic memory in which his father committed a murderous act of violence, he struggles to find his place in the foreign city.

Plagued by his past, Theo is gradually drawn deeper into the world of Dublin’s feared criminal gangs. But a chance encounter in a restaurant with Deirdre offers him a lifeline.

Theo and Deirdre’s tender friendship is however soon threatened by tragedy. Can they confront their addictions to carve a future out of the catastrophe that engulfs both their lives?

About Clár Ní Chonghaile

Clár Ní Chonghaile was born in London but grew up in An Spidéal, County Galway. She left Ireland aged 19 to join Reuters in London as a graduate trainee journalist. Clár has been a reporter and editor for over 20 years, living and working in Spain, France, the Ivory Coast, Senegal and Kenya.

She now lives in St Albans, England, with her husband and two daughters. Her debut novel, Fractured, was published by Legend Press in 2016.

You can follow her on Twitter @clarnic and visit her blog.

There’s more about Clár Ní Chonghaile with these other bloggers too:

Rain Falls on Everyone Giveaway

UK only I’m afraid, but for your chance to win a paperback copy of Rain Falls on everyone by Clár Ní Chonghaile click here. Giveaway ends at UK midnight on Friday 21st July. Good luck!