I’m incredibly grateful to Peta Rainford for a copy of Isabella’s Adventures in Numberland in return for an honest review. Isabella’s Adventures in Numberland is published today, 14th November 2016, and is available for purchase from all good book sellers and from Amazon.

Isabella’s Adventures in Numberland

Isabella is back for her second adventure!

In this colourful, rhyming picture book, the accident-prone little witch falls through a hole in the ground and lands in Numberland – a place where nothing quite adds up (because all the numbers have disappeared!)

She makes new friends, encounters an old enemy and, though the odds are against her, finally saves the day. YOU CAN COUNT ON ISABELLA!

Readers of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland will see some parallels between Isabella’s Adventures in Numberland and that wonderful, crazy children’s classic.

Fans of Isabella, Rotten Speller will also love Isabella’s Adventures in Numberland. Peta Rainford has created a book that buzzes with vibrant, amusing pictures and interesting, funny, rhyming words. This book will encourage young children to think about the importance of numbers and how numbers are used in our everyday lives, while at the same time being very, very silly! A useful tool for parents and teachers and a fun story for early readers and younger children who enjoy being read to.

My Review of Isabella’s Adventures in Numberland

When Isabella falls into Numberand, something isn’t quite right – all the numbers have disappeared.

What a smashing children’s book Isabella’s Adventures in Numberland is.

I have to comment immediately on the quality of the illustrations. They are actually quite childlike and naive in style so that I think they will appeal to children instantly. There is plenty of colour and a lovely range of creatures from bugs to a dodo, giving lots of discussion points for parents and teachers to share with youngsters.

I really liked the way in which Isabella is a strong female and able to look after herself whilst making new friends – such important messages for children. Similarly, the story has a great plot with Isabella encountering evil that is outwitted by thinking, rather than force, so that children receive their happy ending, and positivity is rewarded.

The focus on rhyme within the narrative, and number as a central point to the plot, gives huge potential to enhance children’s literacy and numeracy whilst enjoying a super story in its own right. I also really liked the nods to Lewis Carroll through the white rabbit, playing cards, the tea party and the idea of being late and even to Macbeth with the cauldron and spells. This would be a lovely way in to sharing classic stories with children later. Similarly, other aspects could be developed beyond the simple enjoyment of a story well told. Cooking and measuring could be turned into games as a result of reading Isabella’s Adventures in Numberland and I think it’s a super book for children aged around 3-6. I really recommend it.

About Peta Rainford

Peta grew up on the Isle of Wight so long ago she can remember buying crisps from the school  tuck shop for 2½p. As a child she loved words, and loved drawing too, but she had no idea what she wanted to do when she grew up. She studied English at York University and then worked in London as a business journalist and editor for 14 years. She went to art classes and even studied fine art at St Martins, but she still had no idea what she wanted to do when she grew up.

Peta moved back to the Isle of Wight in 2006, and it was here that Peta, now balancing the roles of freelance writer and mum, decided to write and illustrate her first book for children. It was a revelation: a way of combining picture making with her love of words – not to mention an outlet for her awful jokes. It may have taken more than four decades, but finally, Peta knows what she wants to do when she grows up.

You can find out more by following Peta on Twitter and visiting her website.

Regular readers of Linda’s Book Bag know how much I love travel and Africa in particular fascinates me. Just over a year ago I visited South Africa so I’m delighted to welcome Miranda Sherry to the blog today as her book, Bone Meal for Roses, is set there.

Bone Meal for Roses was published by Head of Zeus on 8th September 2016 and is available for purchase in e-book and hardback here.

Bone Meal for Roses

A bittersweet, gorgeously written novel about a young girl with an abusive past growing up in the majestic landscape of South Africa.

Her mother destroyed her. The garden saved her.

Poppy was six years old when she was rescued from her abusive mother and taken to her grandparents’ farm to recover. There, under a wide South African sky, Poppy succumbs to the magic of their garden. Slowly, her memories fade and her wounds begin to heal.

But as Poppy grows up into a strange, fierce and beautiful young woman, her childhood memories start to surface. And then a love affair with a troubled older man explodes her world…

This is a lush, lyrical, bittersweet story about growing up, finding peace, and laying your ghosts to rest.

Setting A Story In South Africa

A Guest Post by Miranda Sherry

South Africa is a BIG country. For a kickoff, it’s geographically big. You can fit the UK inside it. Five times. As a result, it’s also pretty big in terms of climate: we have tropical, humid jungle-y stuff on one coast, arid desert and icy seas on the other, and a varied collection of mountains, gorges, forests, cities, farmlands and savannahs all hanging about in the middle (complete with some pretty big animals loping around and munching on the scenery).

South Africa, too, of course, is big in history (most of it ugly), big in controversy and political upheaval, and big in heart – its massive pulse driven by the hope of its human inhabitants, all trying to do the best they can.

With all this banging on about how ‘big’ the place is, it might strike you as odd that the story I’ve recently set here is really rather small. Bone Meal for Roses is an intimate tale, a gradual, sensual exploration of what it means to feel small in a big world, and how impossible it is to remain small when circumstances force you to find your strength.

Despite there being so many rich and diverse South African locations to pick from, so many moods and weathers to contain the story I wanted to tell, picking the spot was a no-brainer…

The Breede Valley, in South Africa’s Western Cape, is the perfect setting for a story about a child who is half-wild with neglect when the book begins, and then grows up with little real understanding of the world beyond the mountains. This story required isolation in terms of its setting. It wasn’t a tale about big important issues, or political complexities (although, of course, no South African story exists without those threads running deep throughout), it was about a small person and her inner world. It also required a bit of enchantment, and the Breede River Valley has that in spades. Named for the river that runs through it, and known for its prolific wine-production, the valley is beautiful, but it’s also a place of fierce opposites. Picture-book pretty vineyards and espaliered fruit orchards rub up against dry Karoo scrub bristling with scorpions and snakes, and where these worlds collide, something very special happens.

And so, I set Bone Meal for Roses in this valley, and as I worked on the book, this little corner of the country became so important to the story that, to me, it went from being merely a place, to a character. In its own right.

Perhaps it’s this very quality that makes South Africa such a complex place to set a novel. The environment is so intense, so all-encompassing, that it cannot but colour the lives and stories that happens within it, regardless of whether you want it to or not. But whilst all this can make things pretty complicated for a writer, the setting is also endlessly rich and moody and interesting. Just like the country itself.

About Miranda Sherry

Miranda Sherry was seven when she began writing stories. She then spent time as a puppeteer, a bartender and a musician before becoming a full-time writer.

Her first novel, Black Dog Summer, was published in 2014 and highly acclaimed. She lives in Johannesburg with her partner. You can follow Miranda on Twitter and find out more on her website.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

My enormous thanks to Diana Morgan at Ruth Killick PR for introducing me to the Macmillan’s Collector’s Library and arranging for two books, Ross Poldark and Demelza to be sent to me for review.

Launched on July 13th 2016, more details about the Macmillan’s Collectors Library and a variety of purchase links can be found here.

Macmillan Collector’s Library

Macmillan revives the tradition of beautifully crafted books with the launch of Macmillan Collector’s Library, a highly-collectable selection of some of the best-loved titles in the literary canon.

Not just beautiful to look at, but also to hold and to read

Publisher Harriet Sanders set out to create editions that would ‘feel special and do justice to the stories you treasure’, and the books do both look and feel beautiful, with gilt edges, sumptuous cloth bindings, ribbon bookmarks, and arts-and-crafts-style endpapers. At the same time the durable pocket-sized format ensures they are as handy and easy-to-read as paperbacks, because the editorial team were adamant they didn’t want them to be ‘just for on shelves, we want them to also be the books you’d choose to carry around with you to actually read, and look forward to seeing on your bedside table when you wake up.’

Not just admired classics, but classics to be cherished

Alongside many of the usual stalwarts of the literary canon, the final list also included plenty of titles not traditionally labelled ‘classics’, such as Bridget Jones, The Thorn Birds, and Clan of the Cave Bear.  So choosing titles for inclusion in Macmillan Collector’s Library was a daunting responsibility. Harriet was keen to include titles ‘people want to collect and own not just because they are admired classics, but because they mean something special to them, perhaps because they loved it as child, or simply that it made them laugh or cry at an important moment in their lives’, so favourites such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Poldark appear alongside David Copperfield and Emma.  This eclectic approach will continue over the years to ensure that Macmillan Collector’s Library truly reflects the nation’s favourite reads.

The books writers love to read

As an extra bonus, each book in the collection has its own introduction or afterword, each specially commissioned from a well-known writer, including writers such as Christina Hardyment, Liz Fenwick, Sara Paretsky, Paul Bailey, and Val McDermid.

Titles to be published in hardback including:

• Dairy of a Provincial Lady by E M Delafield
• My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
• Peter Pan by J M Barrie
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
• Ross Poldark by Winston Graham
• Demelza by Winston Graham
• A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
• For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
• Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope
• Classic Locked Room Mysteries
• Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Emma by Jane Austen
• Persuasion by Jane Austen
• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• Sanditon, Lady Susan, & The History of England by Jane Austen
• Collected Poems by W B Yeats
• The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
• Alice in Wonderland Everlasting Diary
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
• Dracula by Bram Stoker

My Review of Ross Poldark and Demelza

I can’t believe I’m about to do this in a so-called review, but apart from the afterwords by Liz Fenwick, I haven’t actually read Ross Poldark and Demelza yet. However, I am so enraptured by these gorgeous editions that I had to share them with you – especially with Christmas coming up as they would make the most fabulous gifts for any book lover. I know I’ll be putting several on my wishlist (especially the Thomas Hardy editions) to family and friends as well as buying them as gifts for others. I always read Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at Christmas every year so that’s going to be my first purchase.

Despite the desires of the publishing team that these are editions to be read, I really just want to stroke my copies. They are so beautiful. The slip covers feel silky to the touch and the gold writing and slip flaps convey quality and opulence. I love the William Morris style end papers and gilt page edges. It’s like holding a jewel in the hand. The addition of a ribbon bookmark takes the reader back to a time when books were to be cherished and not just bought as cheaply as possible to lie unread on an e-reader.

And these are indeed books to be read. Usually hard backed copies are bulky and heavy so that they are not especially portable. Not so with the Macmillan Collector’s Library. Each is a perfect size for a pocket or a bag so that it would be easy to take them on a commute or trip for example.

So, to the part I actually have read – the Afterwords by Liz Fenwick. Liz evokes the passion of Winston Graham’s writing, explaining the geographical, political, historical and literary links to the books with a wonderful dexterity so that, in  a few short pages, I felt I had a depth of understanding and had learnt more about the author and the books than the previous 55 years of my life had afforded. Having watched the original television series of Poldark as well as the more recent version, I had no idea that in the 1970s vicars were known to move their evening services to accommodate viewers!

I’m in love with these editions of Ross Poldark and Demelza and having browsed the books in the Macmillan Collector’s Library I want them all. I’m sure you’ll find something there to cherish too.

About Winston Graham

You can find out more on the official Winston Graham and Poldark website.

About Liz Fenwick

Writer, ex-pat expert, wife, mother of three, and dreamer turned doer….

Award winning author of The Cornish House, A Cornish Affair, A Cornish Stranger and Under A Cornish Sky. After nine international moves, Liz is a bit of a global nomad. It’s no wonder her heart remains in Cornwall.

Liz Fenwick’s novels can be found for purchase here.

You can follow Liz on Twitter, find her on Facebook and visit her website.

I’m delighted to welcome Karen King, author of I do?…or do I? to Linda’s Book Bag today. I do?…or do I? was published by Accent Press on 12th May 2016 and is available for purchase on Amazon, by following the links on Accent Press, from Waterstones, Book Depository and W H Smith.

Karen and I were discussing the merits of writing for both children and adults and before we knew where we were we had a guest post!

I Do?…Or Do I?

Local journalist Cassie is getting married to hot-shot lawyer, reliable Timothy, and his mother Sylvia, who Cassie has nicknamed ‘Monster-in-Law’, wants to plan the entire wedding. When Sylvia books the exclusive ID Images to take photographs of the extravagant do, Cassie has no idea what she’s walking into.

The elusive JM, ID Images’ newest photographer, just so happens to be Jared, Cassie’s first love and ex-fiancé, who broke off their engagement to travel and take photos of far-reaching wonders. He’s back to pay for his next wild adventure.

Cassie decides it’s best to pretend not to know him, but when she’s asked to write an article for her newspaper, she’s tasked with a column surrounding all things wedding related. When Cassie jokingly writes a column meant for herself depicting her situation, a co-worker submits it in place of the real article and it’s soon making headlines, with readers asking the age old question – Who Will She Choose?

A Mini Interview with Karen King

Hi Karen. Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag to chat about writing for adults and children.

Hi Linda. Thank you for inviting me on your blog to talk about the difference between writing for adults and children. This is an interesting topic for me, as you know I spent the first twenty years of my writing career writing for children but now write for adults too.

Who do you prefer to write for?

I love writing for children because they are happy to immerse themselves in a story and willing to suspend belief. For them, anything is possible. Providing your characters are realistic and the plotline credible you’ve got them hooked so you can give your imagination free reign. But I love writing for adults too, because I love exploring adult relationships and dealing with contemporary issues. The Millionaire Plan and ‘I do…or do I?’ feature heroines who are marrying for the wrong reasons then meet someone who makes them rethink so they have a tough decision to make. Whereas Never Say Forever and my next two novels (my next one will be published next Spring) feature heroines who don’t want to settle down in a serious relationship then along comes a guy they just can’t resist so they have this big emotional battle. That’s sort of what happened to me when I met my second husband a few years ago!

Do you think adult readers are more cynical than children?

I think adults are far more cynical and can find it difficult to suspend belief, not surprising as we’ve had more experience of the world than children. Whilst a child will happily believe in fairies, monsters under the bed and magical cars that fly you to the moon an adult obviously won’t. A lot of adults don’t believe in true love never mind magic! However, children have sharper eyes! If you have something in your story that’s wrong, a child will spot it, write to you and point it out. Even something as random as your T Rex dinosaur having too many toes!

Do children and adults read for different reasons?

I think that both children and adults read for the same reasons. Most readers choose a book either for escapism or because they relate to the main character and plot. Children whose parents have got divorced might like to read a story about a character whose parents are divorced/getting divorced so they can see how they cope with it. Similarly, we adults like to read about characters going through the same sort of stuff as we are. But we also like to escape from reality sometimes and read about characters in far-away exotic places, or a psychological thriller that keeps us hooked to the end.

Absolutely right Karen. As adults we can travel and experience life vicariously in pure escapism!

Is it more important to have a happy resolution for children than adults?

For young children, it’s important to have a happy ending, they need to feel that all’s safe with the world. Older children know that bad stuff happens, that things don’t always work out okay but you still need a ‘feel good’ ending, so that even if things don’t pan out your character is stronger and can now cope with what life deals with them. For all children, I think your story needs to end with hope. For adults, it’s different. I write romances so readers expect a ‘happy ever after’ ending to these but for other genres anything can happen at the end. Look at the end of Gone Girl and my favourite book of all time Gone with the Wind. For adult readers it’s all about the ride.

Who do you think gets the most joy from reading, children or adults?

It’s difficult to say. Children, once they learn to read, will devour books. I can remember reading as a child, so immersed in the story that I was oblivious to my surroundings. I used to literally laugh out loud at the Just William books. I don’t think adults immerse themselves so deeply but we still enjoy reading. It’s time out from our normal everyday life. For me reading is a treat to myself. When I’ve worked hard all day, curling up with a book for a couple of hours in the evening is payback. And if I’ve got a bar of chocolate too even better.

That sounds perfect to me! Thanks for being on Linda’s Book Bag Karen.

Thank you for having me Linda.

About Karen King

A member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Society of Authors and the Society of Women Writers and Journalists, Karen King writes sassy, contemporary romance just right for reading on the beach. ‘I do – or do I?‘ is her first chick-lit for Accent Press and has recently been nominated for the RONA. She has been contracted for two more chick-lit novels. In addition, Accent Press have republished her earlier romance novels, The Millionaire Plan and Never Say Forever.

Karen has also written several short stories for women’s magazine and had 120 children’s books published, many of which can be found here.

When she isn’t writing, Karen likes travelling, watching the ‘soaps’ and reading. Give her a good book and a box of chocolates and she thinks she’s in Heaven.

You can find more about Karen on her website, on Pinterest, Instagram and by following her on Twitter. Karen has a Facebook page for her children’s fiction here and one for her romances here.

One genre I really haven’t read enough of late is Young Adult (YA) fiction and I believe I’m missing out on some wonderful books. As a result I’ve invited Sherry Mayes onto Linda’s Book Bag to tell me a little about her YA novel Stop the World. Stop the World is available for purchase in e-book and paperback here.

Stop the World

 

She thought her life was over… but it was just beginning

Jody Angel Taylor believes her life is all mapped out: Glamorous, clever and popular, and due to marry her handsome boyfriend, she has it all. Until one night she has a devastating car crash, ending up paralyzed — and her perfect world collapses.

Committing media suicide and publicly blamed for her own accident, everything around her falls apart. She becomes a lonely recluse, feeling she’s lost everything including her legs — her boyfriend to her best friend, her father to an affair, her mother to depression — but above all she fears losing her mind. What she doesn’t know is that someone across the globe is about to throw her a lifeline. Can she find the courage to take it? Determined to love again and clear her name, she embarks on a new adventure that will transform her life beyond all expectations.

A Mini Interview with Sherry Mayes

Sherry, thank you so much for agreeing to tell me a little about Stop the World. Tell me,  why did you choose to write for a YA audience?

I never intended to write YA, but light bulb moments comes in many forms, and as a former journalist, I was inspired by a young girl called Jenny, who I interviewed over a decade ago for a magazine. She crashed her car driving home after meeting up with a friend, and ended up quadriplegic, paralysed from the neck down. I have a teenage daughter and couldn’t imagine how someone of that age would cope in devastating circumstances where many of us would assume any kind of normal life was over. But what intrigued me was her strength of character and that she still remained determined and feisty despite her circumstances – and she certainly became a catalyst for my novel.

How did you create Jody’s character given she is inspired by a real person?

I created a very different kind of character from the British girl I interviewed, imagining a sun-kissed, blonde Californian girl who has everything going for her – she’s gets top grades at school, and has a handsome boyfriend and rich parents. She’s also self-obsessed and vain. The kind of girl that would be very annoying to be around, because I really wanted to show transformation – how someone like that would respond to being in a wheelchair, thinking of herself as a ‘gimp’ or a ‘retard’, and losing the adoration she took for granted. I wanted to dismantle the mask and see what lay underneath when everything you rely on falls apart.

Why did you choose such a difficult subject matter?

I love to hear about feel-good stories; people that achieve happiness against the odds, because it reminds you that the hurdles of life can be overcome, and it raised many questions for me: How life can blow up in your face and change everything you think you stand for. What it’s like to be popular and pretty and then find you’re in wheelchair with a response perhaps of pity or sympathy instead of attraction. How do friends and family now perceive you, and how do your values and perceptions then change? I wanted to focus on how challenging events can deconstruct us, force us to reflect on who we are – and we all go through tragedy in our lives even if it’s experiencing the death of a loved one. Jenny’s story reminded me that we all a choice, to fall apart or focus on what can be achieved and writing this was cathartic in many ways.

(Having just experienced the death of a loved one I can fully empathise with this concept.)

What were the challenges and benefits of presenting such an emotional subject to this audience?

The challenges were really about getting under the skin of a teenager, understanding what a young girl would feel going through something so traumatising. Many girls of that age are so preoccupied with appearance, popularity and social media, so there was a lot of research involved. I had Jenny’s interview to draw from and a teenage daughter, but I also researched many case studies on the internet. The novel is written in first person, from my character, Jody’s perspective and I wanted to ensure that teens related to her as well as adults. I actually found getting her voice easier than I thought, despite the fact that I made her American. I wanted the story to reflect the prejudices many disabled people are faced with and also how important it is to develop resilience to difficult circumstances given the amount of depression amongst teenagers – so I tested the book on many teenage and adult beta readers who gave their feedback to ensure Jody’s voice felt right.

Do you think there are ethical aspects to consider when fictionalising a true event?

Certainly in fictionalising true events you would have to get signed agreement from the subject and ensure your facts are correct, but I didn’t fictionalise Jenny’s life through Stop the World as a true life biography – this is a fictionalised story, and like many stories there is always someone or something that inspires you to write it. Jenny was a British teenager with a loving family who supported her throughout her recovery. After eight months of rehab and with time to kill being stuck at home feeling trapped, she went back into an online chat room that she’d been on previously, and got talking to a guy on the other side of the world – and quite simply within weeks they fell in love, despite her disability, and went on to form a relationship and have a baby.  Novels, though, do need cycles of conflict and resolution to work, and so I created a different kind of story about Pageant Queen, Jody Angel Taylor who lives in Cedarville, a remote desert town in the North-East corner of California. Her family life falls apart and her boyfriend runs off with her best friend, so it’s very different. You might ask why I chose the US as a location, but I wanted to set the story there simply because that’s where the ideals of beauty are paramount – school pageants and regional beauty contents are the norm. My protagonist is the spoilt only child of wealthy parents who lives and breathes social media, constantly uploading selfies and checking her thousands of followers. We all know someone like that, and I wanted to understand what happens when someone is enmeshed in that social media world and then has a crises. Do the thousands of friends they think they might have on social media really care or get in touch?   

So, how has your journalistic background affected and impacted your fictional writing?

I focused on human interest stories writing for national newspapers and magazines – everything from a woman whose husband disappeared to someone who adopted a Roman orphan.  They were emotional mini-biographies and I got to witness so many events where people found inner strength and overcame challenges. So that kind of writing really helped me to get inside a characters mind when writing fiction. The truth is crazy things happen in everyday life – painful events – betrayal, adversity, grief and murder – and we are fascinated to read about them because every human being feels pain. We can live vicariously through those characters, perhaps even empathise, and get another insight of life.

Do you believe that life is ultimately positive despite what it throws at us at times?

I do believe that life is what you make it and that you can’t help what happens to you but you can decide how to react to it. Stop the World is about so much more than a teenage girl who becomes disabled; it’s about showing how we can find inner strength, accept ourselves, and still love and be loved regardless of what we look like or what circumstances we are in.

Thank you so much Sherry. These are fascinating insights into how Stop the World came about.

About Sherry Mayes

Sherron, also known by her nickname, Sherry, has worked as a journalist for over twenty years. She has also written two self-help books, which were both published as paperbacks in January 2003 and 2004 by Hodder & Stoughton.

Her first YA novel, Stop the World was inspired by a true story.

Originally from Somerset, she currently lives in Berkshire, United Kingdom.

You can find Sherry Mayes on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

I’m a 60’s baby, so the decade has a fascination that can never quite be shaken. When I discovered one of my favourite publishers, Urbane, had published The Speech by Andrew Smith which is set in the 1960s, I had to invite Andrew onto Linda’s Book Bag to tell me more.

The Speech is available in e-book and paperback from all good booksellers, here and directly from Urbane.

The Speech

His words threatened rivers of blood…and they fought him with hope….

On April 20th, 1968 Enoch Powell, Member of Parliament in the English town of Wolverhampton, made a speech that shook Britain to its core. The ramifications of what some labelled a ‘racist diatribe’ changed forever the way in which race was viewed and discussed in the United Kingdom.

The Speech follows the lives of a group of characters – including Powell himself – living in Wolverhampton over a ten-day period before and after his speech.

Mrs. Georgina Verington-Delaunay is a volunteer working in the Conservative riding office of Enoch Powell. It is through her interaction with Powell, now at a critical point in his political career, that we get to know him intimately. Frank and Christine are art students inadvertently caught in an undercurrent of intolerance. Nelson and his aunt, Irene, are Jamaican immigrants striving to make a life for themselves in an atmosphere of turbulent emotions and polarised opinions concerning Britain’s immigration policies.

A violent crime brings these disparate characters together as they struggle to find their places in the swiftly changing society of 1960s Britain. Set against a background of ‘subversive’ music, radical fashions, and profound change in ‘moral values’, they attempt against all odds to bring a fair conclusion to an unjust investigation. As they work together against murky elements of self-interest and bigotry, they’re forced to confront their own consciences and prejudices.

The Speech: Writing A 1960s Novel

A Guest Post by Andrew Smith

It’s said that “if you remember the ’60s you weren’t there.” The implication being that those who were truly immersed in the decade’s counter culture, were too stoned and/or blissed out to remember the social and political revolution raging around them. “Write what you know” is another often quoted maxim for authors. I was indeed present throughout the 1960s, but too young for most of the decade to partake in any mind-altering substances or strident demonstrations. During the earlier years I hovered on the sidelines from the unwanted safety of my parents’ suburban, drug-free house. But I watched, avidly and longingly, the shenanigans happening in the world outside. It was only for the latter couple of years of the decade, when I moved into a grungy flat with student pals, that I was able to throw myself wholeheartedly into the action. Even then my euphoria came from my new-found freedom rather than from any artificial stimulant. So I do remember the era … vividly. As a consequence it was relatively easy, and hugely enjoyable, to write large sections of my socio-political novel, The Speech, set in 1968 — I already “knew” a lot of what I was writing.

The remarkable thing about the 1960s was that everything visual — clothes, furniture, cars, anything that involved design — was distinctive and quite specific to the decade. It was easy and fun for me to recall and describe my characters’ clothes. Here’s a description of art student Christine:

With one deft tug she pulled off the black cape she habitually wore. When her copious honey-coloured hair fell languidly back into place over the shoulders of a body-hugging sweater, Frank’s gut fluttered. His eyes glided over knees caught in fishnet tights. His stare slid between shapely thighs to a tantalizing shadow cast from the hem of a black leather mini-skirt.

And here Frank is eyeing an advert for kitchen appliances:

In the coloured photograph a hip young housewife lifted the lid of a red-enamelled casserole while a bevy of her friends, all dressed in the latest fashions, stood around a canary yellow Formica countertop. The women wore mini dresses, the men sported satin shirts with gargantuan collars, some with ruffles.

These descriptions of coloured kitchen utensils, plastic furniture, and outrageous clothes may seem like small fry in a full-length novel but they’re the kind of details that, peppered throughout the book, add atmosphere and— most importantly — absolutely pinpoint the era.

The political scene in the 1960s was almost as fraught as it is at present. The huge difference being that the population in general, the young in particular, were far more vociferous. Demonstrations and marches were daily events in the 1960s — especially for students. I have to admit I was too busy enjoying my newfound freedom to be particularly proactive. Some of us were more like Frank as I describe his lack of commitment to any particular cause.

The issue of the day could be racial injustice, the war in Vietnam, or the price of beans on toast in the college cafeteria — Frank couldn’t give a toss.

But I observed others who were much more typical of the times, people deeply passionate about expressing their outrage. And then, in my research, I came across a photograph of a 1960s student demo where hand-made placards were being angrily brandished. From that I created this scene — doubtless typical of colleges and universities of the period — where Frank watches a fellow student prepare placards for a demonstration against Enoch Powell in protest over his racist and extremely controversial speech given in April, 1968, and from which the title of my novel springs.

Frank was sitting on the stairs watching a young woman mop red paint off the black-and-white-tiled floor in the hallway when Christine arrived. A dozen placards were stacked up against one wall. A large black and white photo of Enoch Powell, obviously ripped from an old campaign poster, had been mounted onto one of the placards. Earlier Frank had watched as the girl with the mop had daubed a toothbrush moustache and fringe in black paint onto the photo. Then she’d drawn an armband featuring a bright red swastika. The likeness to Hitler was startling and the armband stood out like a beacon.

Atmosphere is key to adding veracity to any novel, but when the story is set in a period as unique and distinctive as the 1960s I count myself lucky that I had such a rich bank of remembered as well as researched details on which to draw.

About Andrew Smith

Andrew Smith was born in Liverpool, but was too young to gain admittance to the Cavern Club to witness the birth of the Beatles. A year or so later he couldn’t  forgive his father for taking a job in the British Midlands and moving the family at the height of the Mersey Sound era to Wolverhampton, where there was no sound at all, Slade being still in short trousers. But Smith did witness the local reaction to Wolverhampton MP Enoch Powell’s Rivers of Blood speech and, apart from the occasional ‘lost weekend,’ he remembers most of the brouhaha during that time.

Smith has published numerous short stories, some of which won awards. His novel Edith’s War won a gold medal for fiction at the Independent Book Publishers’ Awards. His latest novel, The Speech, was published in October, 2016 by Urbane Publications. Examples of Smith’s short fiction and other writing can be found on his website. You can also follow Andrew Smith on Twitter.

With so many Christmas books on the market, it’s good to find one that isn’t only all about snow. K.R Murray’s novella The Christmas Heatwave avoids this with an unusual premise! The Christmas Heatwave was published on 25th October 2016 and is available in e-book here.

Today I’m interviewing K.R. Murray to celebrate a change in the genre.

The Christmas Heatwave

“On the radio today someone was saying this is the end of the world.”
“Well, this wouldn’t be a bad last day on earth would it?”

On Christmas day, Tom, Jessie and Olive each wake up alone. But they’re not too distracted by their own problems to overlook that there is something a bit different about this Christmas.

While the rest of the country reels at the news of a severe heatwave hitting the UK, the change in season brings a change in fortune for these three outcasts…

An Interview with K.R. Murray

Thank you so much for agreeing to answer some questions on my blog about your writing and your novel The Christmas Heatwave.

Firstly, please could you tell me a little about yourself?

I’m in my twenties and I live in London. I moved here about six years ago. I know it’s cliché to say but it’s quite a unique place, so I don’t think you ever really get used to it! Which means it provides lots of fodder for writing – lots to see and lots to do for inspiration.

Tell us a bit about The Christmas Heatwave too.

I had the idea for this story over two years ago and have been developing it very slowly – mainly because it is the first full(ish) length thing I’ve ever written. The whole idea started with an image that appears a couple of times throughout the book. I won’t give anything away but it involves a Christmas wreath…

The main idea was to flip the usual ideas and images we have of Christmas on its head – part of this was just a fun ‘what if’, but the real aim was to strip away the ‘decoration’ and see what the sort of ‘essence’ of the season is. Like all Christmas stories really.

When did you first realise you were going to be a writer?

I think telling this story has been a turning point for me because it made me realise that all the little day dreams I had, notes I made, symbols and patterns I noticed in life that caught my imagination could be harnessed by writing. Which is a really nice feeling. I wouldn’t say writing is always a comfortable thing but I definitely feel like I’ve found something that fits me – or that I fit.

What are your writing routines and where do you do most of your writing?

I often write in my lunch breaks at my day job, in bustling cafes. I find it helps keep procrastination at bay – writing in little bursts with people around stops me being too intimidated by silence on top of the blank page in front of me.

When you’re not writing, what do you like to read?

It’s a real mix. I’m making a conscious effort to read female writers, or at the very least stories that have a female lead. It helps me to find my voice and visualise my place in the world, and the world of writing in particular.

The last book(s) I devoured were the Neopolitan series by Elena Ferrante. They were on a whole other level of storytelling, I felt. At the moment I’m reading The Muse by Jessie Burton, and I’m also battling with Tess of the D’Urbervilles. I have to take little breaks from it because I find it hard to read, not just for the rape scene near the beginning, but all of the forms that coercion and a lack of agency you see Tess experience. Despite it being set so long ago it feels depressingly familiar still.

Oh, and I also have a Barabara Pym on the go. She is hilarious.

(You must keep going with Tess – it’s my favourite classic book of all time!)

Do you have other interests that give you ideas for writing?

I occasionally do life drawing, which gives me that same feeling of concentration and creativity but also a strange relaxedness that writing does. In my day job I work in the charity sector, which I love, and it inspires me: sometimes in sad ways, learning about struggles people face day-to-day, but also the in good ways, because of the people that work so hard to get themselves or others out of difficulty. It’s a very human area to work in in many ways.

So, why did you decide to shy away from snow and log fires to set your Christmas novel in a heatwave?

I think the idea came before I had a real awareness of the Christmas book as a sort of sub-genre. It was just an idea I had. I was reflecting a lot on the sort of bittersweet feelings I get around Christmas. I love the season but I do think it brings out extremes: part of me dreams that it will snow, and the other part thinks of people sleeping rough or without proper heating and thinking ‘No! Please, please don’t snow.’ And that was sort of the kernel for the story.

I wanted the heat to be a sort of ‘gift’ to the people whose needs and wishes at Christmas deviate from the set narrative. That includes people facing difficult circumstances at the time, like the main characters. But also for everyone to a certain extent – I think for most people our realities don’t match up to the Christmas ‘ideal’. I believe the key function of stories is to help people feel less alone, and that’s what I hope this one does that for anyone reading it.

Problems form the heart of The Christmas Heatwave. How far do you think problems are a traditional part of Christmas?

I think they’re an enormous part of it, for most people – if not everyone to varying degrees. Christmas magnifies everything. For some people it can really bring your problems or sadness to the fore, while for others it can be a way to distract from or put them to one side for the sake of the season. Either way, I think our problems are quite a significant driver for how we experience Christmas. And of course it’s a very particular time of year, so each year it will remind you of other Christmases you’ve had, good or bad – that’s something I touch on in the book.

Which aspects of your writing do you find easiest and most difficult?

I think the easiest – or most fun – thing is walking around in someone else’s shoes. Sometimes it can be tough to bring that person to life, but I think when you work at it you hit on ideas or insights and you think ‘Wow, where did that come from? How can I possible know what it feels like to be that person?’ But it feels true somehow.

The hardest thing, I think, is battling with doubt. I read something the other day (I’ve no idea who said it or in what context I’m afraid) but it was something along the lines of ‘To write you will have to fight yourself.’ And I find that’s really true. It’s doubt in my abilities.

But there’s a more tricky voice to work with that I suppose is a sort of political correctness. It’s the voice that imagines how someone may feel offended or misrepresented by your writing or characterisation. This may be that I am a product of my generation, who – thanks to the internet – have access to so many more opinions and perspectives, ones they may not even have imagined existed (which I think is a good thing). And I certainly feel this voice has its place: I believe writers have to write responsibly, and that a crucial part of the work is doing justice to the intricacies of the human experience and people’s identities. But I’m working to keep that voice in check so it doesn’t completely paralyse me with fear. I think if you really tried you could take offence at anything anyone writes!

How then did you manage juggling a narrative from three perspectives in The Christmas Heatwave?

The thing I struggled with was giving them their own ‘voice’, or at least a unique atmosphere to each of the three different strands. I didn’t want the voices to vary drastically because these characters do have an affinity with one another, so they are similar in some ways. But I wanted the reader to be able to ‘feel’ they were with Tom or ‘feel’ that they were with Olive. I have no idea if I’ve succeeded! I hope I have.

The cover of The Christmas Heatwave isn’t what we usually expect for a Christmas read. How did that image come about and what were you hoping to convey (without spoiling the plot please!)?

That’s a great question. The reality is that this book isn’t the usual Christmas Novel in that there’s not much snow in it, for obvious reasons! In some ways, looking at all of the gorgeous festive book covers that are out there, I feel a little sad about that. But I didn’t want to miss-sell the book, and for people to be disappointed because it doesn’t match their expectations.

The second practical reason is that, because I designed and made the cover myself there was a limit to what I could do. I wanted to make use of the wreath image I mentioned elsewhere but just didn’t have the skills.

One thing I wanted to convey in the story is that the heat is this agent of benevolent mischief. I studied Ancient Greek civilisations, so I like this idea of forces working behind the scenes to bring about a twist in the fates. The cheeky splashes of orange and pink (hot colours) were meant to capture that.

And of course there’s the Christmas tree ice cream. The story is about Christmas turned on it’s head (literally in the image!) but if you look hard enough, the Christmas aspect is still there – just less obviously recognisable.

If The Christmas Heatwave became a film, who would you like to play Tom, Jessie and Olive? 

Another great question! I actually thought about this as part of my method for writing, as I find that sometimes the physicality of my characters shifted slightly depending on the parts of my imagination I was tapping into, a little like happens when you’re dreaming.

They obviously aren’t exactly the characters as I imagined, but who would best represent them? I would say:

Tom: Sam Caflin
Jessie: Anna Shaffer
Olive: Somewhere between Eileen Atkins and Julia McKenzie.

Great choices! Thank you so much for your time in answering my questions today and good luck with The Christmas Heatwave.

You can follow K.R. Murray on Twitter.

As an aspiring author I’m fascinated by the writing process, so I’m delighted to be welcoming collaborative writers uncle, Paul, and niece, Tors (Victoria) to Linda’s Book Bag today to tell us a little about their unusual partnership and how they came to write Highlanders’ Revenge.

Highlanders’ Revenge was published by Matador on 27th July 2016 and is available for purchase in paperback here.

Highlanders Revenge

Highlanders’ Revenge tells the story of Mash, the nickname Highland soldiers give to an Englishman in their ranks.

Scarred both from the retreat before the Blitzkrieg advance across France and from the murder of his first love, Mash has to integrate himself into a new section that is wary of the sullen and secretive ‘Mash Man’ – an outsider in their midst. Together they journey to Egypt where they encounter a way of life that tests them to their limits. Scorched by day, frozen by night and plagued by insects, they have to learn how to live and fight in the desert as they prepare for one of the greatest battles of the Second World War. They are then cast into the thick of the fighting at El Alamein and the Allies’ tumultuous battle to break through the Axis defenses…

Highlanders’ Revenge combines the fast-paced action and intrigue of a military novel with the real-life exploits of the 5th Camerons, an extraordinary unit that saw action in most of the major battles in North Africa and Western Europe. As a result, the book is both a riotous story of battle and life, and also an insight into the world of this little-known, but fierce, fighting unit. It will appeal to fans of military fiction who also appreciate historical accuracy.

Collaborative Writing

A Guest Post by Paul Tors

Beginning

Paul: I had this idea for a book about World War II, but, though I have a passion for military history, I had no idea how to write a book? Fast forward to a family wedding; my niece, Victoria (Tors), tells me she’s working as a journalist but sees her future as an author. Perfect! An agreement is reached to start work quickly and I need to provide a storyline and an outline for the book.

I start by looking at the major battles in World War Two. A name keeps coming up, the 5th Camerons, who seem to have been in every major engagement in Europe and North Africa and who have a history that is better than fiction.

The storyline and research is sent over to Tors and she likes it. We hold a brainstorming session where we come up with lots of good ideas. The next stage is for me to flesh out the military side and research various ideas. Tors is going to work on the characters and write a draft chapter.

Tors (Victoria): Paul’s suggestion to write a book came out of the blue, but I jumped at the chance. However, I wasn’t entirely sure how some aspects would work. We live a few hours away from each other, so couldn’t meet regularly. But, after one weekend of planning together, we then communicated by email and phone, which worked perfectly.

I was a bit worried about writing from a male perspective, and about a subject which is generally thought of as male interest. My favourite genres to read are crime and historical fiction, and, although military fiction is an area I’m not as familiar with, putting a character in a difficult and tense situation was something I could do. Also, I don’t believe in splitting books into male and female interests; if this were real then I’d only read Chick Lit (my least favourite genre) and the occasional celebrity biography.

Paul suggested that I base the main characters on people I knew. I drew on a group of my male friends and how they interacted; once I had them in my mind I was away.

Writing Process

Paul: We divided chapters into three groups: I’d write history or battles while Tors would take on characters and relationships. For those that had both elements, I’d have first go to give the structure and then Tors would cast some of her magic touch.

There were no arguments; if we had different ideas we’d agree to try it one way and if that didn’t work then we’d try it the other.

Tors: After writing a section it would be sent to the other to read and edit, and vice versa. This broke the writing process into more manageable pieces. We each played to our strengths; I tended to check for spelling mistakes and Paul checked the historical accuracy, but we both found that we could read through and see where parts weren’t working or needed more editing.

Editing

Paul: Then came the editing process; reading and re-reading drafts, endless editing and checking. Whilst Tors took on the bulk of it, the process took months and was undoubtedly the low part for me.

Tors: Poor Paul, I don’t think he realised how big a job editing would be! This was my area of expertise so Paul had to wait while I went through chapter after chapter and then sent him my changes. It can be time consuming and disconcerting, especially when you’re also trying to plan a wedding which I was at the time (I would take writing a novel over planning a wedding any day!), but working with the system we’d set up, we finally completed Highlanders’ Revenge.

The Finish

Tors: Completing a whole book is an amazing feeling. When the project felt too huge or difficult, I persevered as I knew Paul was relying on me and it was something that we had undertaken together. All our work was rewarded when we received our books from the printer.

Paul: Our story started with a wedding and, for now, it ends with a wedding; Tors’ wedding. I stood in the sun, champagne in hand, talking to a relative who had read the book. Even though she didn’t think it would be her sort of thing she really loved Highlanders’ Revenge. When I first thought of the book I imagined it would be for a mainly male audience; but this kind lady was repeating a message that I’ve been hearing a lot – the book appeals to a wide range of people – male and female, young and old.

About Paul Tors

Paul Tors is the pen name of uncle and niece team Paul and Victoria Richman, who combined their skills and expertise to create Highlanders’ Revenge. Paul is a retired successful businessman whose passion is military history. Victoria is a Creative Writing graduate who works as a freelance journalist.

You can find out more by following Paul Tors on Twitter and visiting their website. You’ll also find them on Facebook.

I’m delighted to welcome a new to me author, Sheree Smith, to Linda’s Book Bag today. Sheree is telling me all about her cross-genre romance thriller Dark Obsessions.

Darkest Obsessions is available for purchase in e-book and paperback from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Darkest Obsessions

All Sadie wanted was a normal life and when her ex-boyfriend, Matthew, was finally sent to jail she thought she could start that normal life in a little village on the Scottish Borders.

Tom, a small county veterinary had spent the last five years just surviving. A tragic accident had left him riddled with guilt. But when the beautiful Sadie Buchanan waltzed into her parents cafe, his meaning for life is questioned. Now he has to overcome his demons before he can start living again.

But Matthew has already hurt Sadie before, would he allow Sadie to have the happiness she always longed for…….

Cross-Genre Writing

A Guest Post by Sheree Smith

My name is Sheree Smith and I am the author of Darkest Obsessions, a romantic suspense set in the Scottish Borders.  Firstly a little about myself, I spent my childhood in Doncaster, UK, and then after meeting my husband in 2000 I moved to Nottingham (Robin Hood Country).  Last year, we both decided that our lives were far too stressful and so we decided to leave our jobs, sell our house in Nottingham and move to the North East of England, to a village in Northumberland with only a few hundred inhabitants – compared to the big city of Nottingham! During this time, I thought it would be the ideal opportunity to do what I’ve always dreamed of – writing a novel.

I have always loved romance novels along with the odd thriller and so Darkest Obsessions came into fruition.  It is a romance story between two people who meet up in the fictional Scottish Border village of Pelancy.  Both of them have their own issues.  Sadie has recently gone through a traumatic time with her ex-boyfriend/stalker touching on how this affects a woman and mental abuse.  Tom has feelings of guilt for the sudden death of his wife and so both of them reach for each other in their time of need.  However, things always do not go to plan and when Sadie’s past comes back to haunt her in the form of her ex, Tom and Sadie have to start to reassess what they have together.

This is my first novel and so I wanted to create a scene whereby the characters are both equally challenging yet also have some depth and humour to them.  I did not want to write a novel which would be dark and gloomy and so I’ve tried to add in a little light humour here and there and I hope you find some of their antics quite amusing.  Something which I feel always makes the story and characters more realistic. We all go through good and bad, sad and funny moments and so I tried to put this across in the story and with each of the characters.

Even so, I tried to mingle the story with enough intrigue to keep the reader guessing how the story will end.  In my book, Sadie’s ex (Matthew) returns and even though he has gone through his own torment, he is still fixated in his lost love for Sadie.  I found writing Matthew’s story the easiest; I especially liked the bitterness he portrays and the conflict he has inside.  I also particularly liked entwining the love story of Tom and Sadie, trying to make their characters as true to life as possible yet trying to make the reader also feel for them eventually bringing the love triangle to an exhilarating conclusion.

I hope you enjoy reading my book as much as I enjoyed writing it. I am currently writing my next romance novel also set around Northumberland which will be out in 2017.

About Sheree Smith

Sheree Smith was born in Doncaster and lived in a small mining village called Harworth until she was 22 years old. She married her husband, Dean and moved to Nottingham where she lived for a further 15 years. They both now live in a beautiful part of Northumberland where Sheree enjoys walking, reading and of course, writing books. You can find out more by visiting Sheree’s YouTube page. You’ll also find her on Facebook.

Being married to a Welshman who hails from Neath, not far from the Gower Peninsular, I’m delighted to be celebrating Wales in a guest post by Mary Grand, author of Hidden Chapters.

Hidden Chapters was published on 24th August 2016 and is available for purchase in e-book and paperback here.

Hidden Chapters

Whoever said time heals all wounds is a liar…

Haunted by the death of Aled at Worm’s Head, his sister Catrin returns to prepare the family home for sale, accompanied by her adopted Deaf daughter, Bethan. A web of lies and secrets spun by Catrin’s father slowly starts to unravel. Catrin, facing a crisis in her marriage, discovers that she must face this past if she is to heal and take control of her future.

Nobody expects to meet Bethan’s birth mother, Elizabeth, who they think is dead. Her arrival at a memorial for Aled sends shock waves through the family.

This is the beautifully told story of a family struggling with ghosts from the past.

The Importance of Place

A Guest Post by Mary Grand

“..A secret that people hug to themselves” Wynford Vaughan Thomas

This is a quote about The Gower Peninsula, the setting of my novel Hidden Chapters. It could be said of many places in Wales.

The setting of my novels is not simply a backdrop but is like an essential character, the story weaves itself around it. Wales is where I was brought up and although I now live on the Isle of Wight, it is in me, part of my DNA. It was natural for me to set my novels there.

My first novel Free to Be Tegan is the story of a woman recovering from her upbringing in a psychologically abusive cult in London. The setting is the amazing Cambrian Mountains. I created a fictitious village here and the place, as much as the people, become part of her healing. This is Tegan’s initial reaction on arriving at the cottage in the mountains.

“Tegan turned and looked into the distance at the mountains painted with white gloss snow. She stepped off the track on to the grass, which felt soft and springy under her feet, and stood spellbound. Out here nature ran riot: no fences, and no boundaries. Nature adapted to survive: the daffodils were short, the trees all bent in the same direction, sculpted by the wind. In the London parks people were in control, with organised paths and borders, each tree and flower planted and preserved for a purpose.

As Tegan looked she felt an inexplicable deep feeling of sadness. It was too much freedom, too much beauty. She didn’t know what to do with it. “

Hidden Chapters, my new novel is set on Rhossili Bay, a place of stunning beauty and packed with so many myths, legends and history.  On the beach wrecks tell stories of love lorn sailors, smugglers, pirates. The name of Worm’s Head, the tidal island off the bay, originates from ‘wurm’ a Viking word meaning dragon. In my story the island is the site of the death of Aled, the brother of the central character Catrin. It becomes a symbol of the past, the hidden chapters in Catrin’s life that she wants to forget.

For the novel I created a fictitious village hidden in the downs. When she arrives Catrin has such mixed feeling about the place.

“Catrin  … turned and looked up for the first time since she had arrived… The sea air stroked her face and the sea reflected the brilliant blue sky, the sun glistening on its surface like stars. She closed her eyes, and the stifling heat of the car and her father’s harsh words were briefly blown away. She could smell the salt, the gorse, the heather. The air was filled with an undercurrent of sound, the shushing of the waves washing the line of pebbles and shells at the water’s edge way down on the beach.

 For a brief, wonderful, spellbinding, moment the place hugged her. It became real; she saw it in colour…But then she looked further into the distance, and saw it. Stretching out, cold and solitary: ‘the dragon’. She shuddered. It would always be there, silently haunting her. “

Wales has places of extraordinary beauty and a rich heritage of stories, myths and legends. I love the way people speak: even when they are speaking English their voices sing. As for the Welsh language, where else would you find words like cariad, (love, darling, sweetheart) cwtch (cuddle)?  Wales is a place where people can be chatty, intrusive and where emotions are close to the surface. It is a privilege, a gift, to set stories there.

About Mary Grand

Mary Grand was born in Cardiff UK and has retained a deep love for her Welsh roots. She worked as a nursery teacher in London and later taught deaf children in Croydon and Hastings. Mary now lives on the beautiful Isle of Wight with her husband, where she walks her cocker spaniel Pepper and writes. She has two grown up children.

Free to Be Tegan (available here) was her debut novel. The second Hidden Chapters is set on the spectacular Gower Peninsula. Mary has also published a book of short stories Catching the Light (available here).

You can find out more about Mary by following her on Twitter and finding her on Facebook.