It’s almost exactly a year since the spare room was festooned with packing cubes ready for our month long trip to India. Sadly, Covid put paid to that! However, it doesn’t mean I can’t travel vicariously through books and I’m delighted to welcome Gerald Hogg to Linda’s Book Bag today to take me what sounds as if it could be an exciting adventure as he tells me about his latest book.

Staying in with Gerald Hogg

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

Hi Linda thank you for inviting me for a night in with you, I am sure that we will have a great evening.

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

The book that I have decided to share with you tonight is the first book in the Thai Died Series of books that I wrote; Murder in Paradise…Coronavirus Has Arrived in Koh Samui But So Has Another Killer.

Gosh! That’s quite a title. I like the word play! What can we expect from an evening in with Thai Died: Murder in Paradise?

The book features Lieutenant Chai Son Sinuan of the Royal Thailand Police an incorruptible policeman in a police force that is deep rooted in corruption.

The book is set on the Paradise Island of Koh Samui, where a young English girl’s body is found posed looking out to sea on Bophut Beach. Her throat has been cut to near decapitation and Lieutenant Sinuan is handed the toughest murder case of his career. At the same time, Covid-19 has devastated Koh Samui’s and Thailand’s tourist industry and the government is putting pressure on Son to solve the case to save face with the international community. Son is in a race against time to solve the murder, but with most businesses, hotels, massage parlours, restaurants and bars now closed and with many potential witnesses having already left the island to return to their home countries or provinces around Thailand there are very few leads to follow. The investigation takes Son to Ko Pha-Ngan and the Island of Phuket and then back to Koh Samui as he untangles a crime with links back to the notorious gangsters the Kray twins the most feared, most ruthless gangsters in London during the 1950 and 1960s.

What a plot! How is the book being received?

The book has received some great reviews such as this one from Crime Fiction Lover:

Thai Died… Murder in Paradise by Gerald Hogg

Quite a few crime fiction lovers decide to write a crime novel when they retire, and Gerald Hogg is one of them. Thai Died is one of the first COVID-era crime novels we’ve come across and is set during lockdown in Koh Samui, a popular Thai beach resort. A young woman’s body has been found, and police lieutenant Chai Son Sinuan is on the case. In a police force that is often corrupt, Sinuan is an honest man swimming against the current. Carrying out an investigation with COVID restrictions is one challenge. Another is the strange link he discovers between the murder and organised crime in London during the 50s and 60s, including the Kray twins. See what you think, Thai Died is out now.

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

Before I retired to Thailand I was a chef and I travelled the world working in hotels in countries including Jamaica, Bermuda, Singapore, Australia and Papua New Guinea and I also worked on cruise ships for a good portion of my life. I’ve brought a couple of pages (Gazette and Gazette 2) your blog readers might like to see.

How exciting. I love travel and I’m pretty partial to a cruise too. Papua New Guinea was on our list but sadly Covid has put paid to that for now although we have visited the other countries you mention. I wonder if you’ve ever cooked for us?

Two years after I retired in Thailand I met a lovely Thai lady called Noy, who has taught me many of the secrets of Thai cooking so I have prepared Tom Yum Goong a Spicy Shrimp Soup cooked in coconut cream, with straw mushrooms, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, chillies, garlic and galangal. I lived much of my life in Australia and I consider Australian wines to be far superior to French wines so I have bought a bottle of ILR Reserve Semillon.

Oh, you can visit again. I love Thai food. It’s far too long since I’ve been there.

I was not sure what your taste in music might be but growing up in England in the mid-1960s I was lucky enough to be leaving school when groups like The Beatles The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Small Faces were at the pinnacle of their musical careers so I was quiet spoiled for choice and I now find much of the music of today quite bland. I have brought a self titled LP of my favourite band of around that time a band called Free. The reason that it’s my favourite is I went to school in my home town of Middlesbrough with the lead singer of Free, Paul Rogers, who in my opinion is the finest rock and roll singer ever to walk up to a microphone. So I hope that you have an old fashioned record player that plays 33rpm so that you can listen to it.

I think there’s one in the loft. I’ll get my husband to get it down.

I have brought a photo album as well and if we have the time I will go through some of my favourite photos with you.

That’s brilliant Gerald. Thanks so much for staying in with me. You serve up the Tom Yum Goong and I’ll give blog readers a bit of information about Thai Died… Murder in Paradise.

Thai Died… Murder in Paradise

On the Paradise Island of Koh Samui a young English girl’s body is found posed looking out to sea on Bophut Beach. Her throat has been cut to near decapitation and Police Lieutenant Chai Son Sinuan of the Royal Thailand Police is handed the toughest murder case of his career. At the same time, Covid-19 has devastated Koh Samuis and Thailand’s tourist industry and the government is putting pressure on Son to solve the case to save face with the international community. Son is in a race against time to solve the murder, but with most businesses, hotels, massage parlours, restaurants and bars now closed and with many potential witnesses having already left the island to return to their home countries or provinces around Thailand there are very few leads to follow. The investigation takes Son to Ko Pha-Ngan and to the Island of Phuket and then back to Koh Samui as he untangles a crime with links back to the notorious gangsters the Kray twins the most feared, most ruthless gangsters in London during the 1950 and 1960s.

Thai Died… Murder in Paradise is available for purchase here.

About Gerald Hogg

Originally from the UK, Gerald migrated to Australia in 1974. Since then he has travelled the world working in hotels and restaurants, gold mines, cruise ships, Antarctic supply ships, custom patrol vessels, rig tenders, and oil tankers. In the capacity of his work as a chef Gerald has also lived in Jamaica, Bermuda, Singapore, the Falkland Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and the USA.

Gerald has now retired to Thailand where he lives on the island of Koh Samui and travels extensively throughout South-East Asia doing research for his travel books. To keep active and to pursue his love of travel he has written five travel books in his Retirees Travel Guide Series of books which are aimed at retiree and baby boomer market. Gerald has also written The Deptford Mask Murders and has recently published his first book in the Thai Died Series of books, Murder in Paradise. Gerald also self published his biography; You Will Never Amount to Anything. He is now finalising the second book in the Thai Died Series of books…Bar-Girl.

You’ll find all of Gerald’s books here and his blog about retiring in Thailand here. Gerald has just joined Twitter @GeraldHogg3 and you’ll also find him on Facebook and can visit his website.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Petra Quelch’s children’s book Lottie Sparkles’ Magical Discovery, reviewed here, I am delighted to participate in the blog tour for Petra’s latest book, Magic Marmalade. I’m sharing my review today. My thanks to Petra for inviting me to take part.

Published by Austin Macauley, Magic Marmalade is available for purchase in all the usual places including Amazon UK, Amazon US, Waterstones and directly from the publisher.

Magic Marmalade

Imagine you didn’t have to travel the ordinary way of transport. You could get from one place to the other quickly and without any delays. Wouldn’t that be fantastic?

Mabel Bloom doesn’t like to travel the ordinary way. She dislikes buses, cars, trains or even planes. But one day she receives a very important invitation from the Other Side of the world, so she turns to her grandpa for help. Grandpa sends Mabel a recipe which, when made correctly, will give her the power to travel a very unusual way. And Mabel’s extraordinary adventure begins.

My Review of Magic Marmalade

Mabel has an invitation, but how will she get to the event?

In the interests of complete honesty, I’ve one small quibble to get out of the way before my review proper – I personally prefer left, rather than centrally, justified text in children’s books!

That small detail aside I loved Magic Marmalade. It’s a lovely, exciting story with an important underlying message that if we believe in ourselves with a little bit of luck we can achieve anything. Mabel overcomes her difficulties and reaps the rewards in doing so, so that children can have faith in themselves as a result of this story. I liked the structure of the story over a week too.

With Mabel, Battina and Grandpa as central characters, Magic Marmalade encourages links between generations that I think are so incredibly important in the current world. This would make a fantastic bedtime story for a grandparent to share with a grandchild via Zoom. There’s adventure, and a little sprinkle of magic that makes Magic Marmalade very entertaining.

I thought the balance of text to image was perfect with language accessible enough for independent readers, but with sufficiently unusual words too, to enhance a child’s vocabulary. I especially liked the use of onomatopoeia.

The images in Magic Marmalade support the text brilliantly, helping less confident young readers gather meaning. They have a naïve charm that will appeal to children with plenty to look at as the story progresses.

Magic Marmalade is a charming story that has a lovely message.

About Petra Quelch

Petra Quelch is the author of Magic Marmalade and Lottie Sparkles Magical Discovery. Petra loves everything sparkly, glittery, magical and mysterious.

Aside from all the glitz and glamour, she is a collector of books, pens, tea sets and a huge fan of chocolate.

Petra has two little girls, also known as “The Little Book-Fairies with a BIG imagination.

Most days, she findsherself conjuring up stories for children or reading books in her favourite spot by the window.

You can find out more by following Petra on Twitter @ACaseOfBooks and Instagram and finding her on Facebook.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

My enormous thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for the poetry anthology Watery Through The Gaps by Emma Blas. I’m delighted to share my review today.

Watery Through The Gaps is available for purchase here.

Watery Through The Gaps

“A compelling collection that slips between the crevices of the skin and buries itself into your bones.”

Watery Through the Gaps is a book for those waking to the realisation that there is more outside than just us. It is for those of us who long to bridge the chasm between the human and earth experience. These poems are stepping stones leading us through the water. Following the river will lead us home and we will never be alone again.

In Emma Blas’ second collection of poems, she invites you into dialogue with the sea, taking you into the depths and leaving you wondering whether you can trust the current. Despite the terrifying tug of the undertow, we are exactly where we are meant to be.

If you like poetry that ripples through the depths of the self, against the mirror of the natural world, this book is for you.

“This book is as arresting as it is elegantly carved. There’s a power behind Emma Blas’ words. That power is Gaia.” Atulya K Bingham, author of Dirt Witch.

“Emma Blas writes poetry that is all power and poise. It is precise and poignant. Beauty bathed in something both soft and still, yet capable of leaving you breathless. She is a master of using nature themes to evoke emotion that you didn’t even know you were capable of feeling. In her second book, watery between the gaps, she once again delivers a compelling collection that slips between the crevices of the skin and buries itself into your bones. It is both dark and light, brilliantly weaving the two into a masterpiece that leaves you wanting more of her exquisite lines.” Ashley Jane, author of All Darkness and Dahlias.

My Review of Watery Through The Gaps

A collection of watery poems.

Watery Through the Gaps is an intense, textured and captivating collection that I really enjoyed. It’s not actually an easy read, making Emma Blas’ words all the more powerful because the reader needs to concentrate, to read and reread just to scratch the surface of these multi-layered and beautifully written poems. Images and meanings swirl like the sea’s tides and I have no idea if my interpretation and responses are what the author intended, but I found this entire collection utterly fascinating. I think Watery Through the Gaps epitomises the power of poetry as the reader can bring their own meanings to the work, making it a very personal reading experience.

As Watery Through the Gaps might suggest, water, and especially the sea, is a recurring image in the writing. It’s frequently destructive or obfuscating as the poet comes to terms with her identity and sense of loss, but water here also reminded me of birth, creation and possibility so that amongst the bleakness there is hope in wonderful writing. Similarly, there are iterative images of burning and conflagration so that Watery Through The Gaps feels nuanced and balanced.

I loved the physical representation of many of the poems on the page because that representation illustrated meaning so effectively. The lack of upper case letters, especially a capital I, suggested to me the poet’s loss of, and search for, identity, as did the fragmentation of some of the work on the page. That said, I was also reminded of the patterns of the ocean and the boundless nature of the sea where poems meandered across the white space in wavelike patterns. I also found a disturbing sense of suffocation, as if the poet feels she is unable to express her innermost thoughts and emotions, displayed through images of stopping up a mouth. At the same time, Emma Blas explores the relentless and voracious appetite of humanity as it consumes the natural world. Emma Blas employs natural images with sensitivity so that even something small like an ant becomes an effective metaphor for life – or indeed, for destruction, as one of the themes in Watery Through the Gaps is the impact humans have on the planet.

I’m not entirely sure I’ve done justice to Watery Through the Gaps as a reader. I found the collection affecting, moving and thought-provoking, but I fear I have only scratched the surface of the collection’s potential. This is no criticism of the writer, but of my own inability fully to appreciate the nuances of the writing and the range of themes to discover. I shall be returning to Watery Through the Gaps on many occasions in the future as I thought it was excellent and it keeps calling to me.

About Emma Blas

emma blas lives near gijón in spain. her poetry explores transitions, shifts of phase and form in the natural world. you will find her at the beach, walking through the dramatic landscape of asturias, or with her hands in the soil, trying to learn from the earth. it is these crossing points between the physical, psychological and imagined states of life that are painted in her poetry.

You can find Emma on Instagram or visit her website for further information and there’s more with these other bloggers:

One of the joys of blogging is being in at the start of an author’s journey and supporting smaller publishers as well as the big hitters. I have always loved every book I’ve read from Legend Times imprint Legend Press and am delighted to welcome their debut author Suzanne Harrison to stay in with me today to tell me about her brand new book.

Staying in with Suzanne Harrison

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Suzanne and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

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

Firstly, thank you for staying in to talk books.

It’s my pleasure. What could be better than a bookish evening?

Secondly, it would be remiss of me if I didn’t bring along my debut novel, The Colour of Thunder, released by Legend Times on February 1 after a brief delay due to Covid.

Congratulations on your debut Suzanne. That’s a stunning cover. So, what can we expect from an evening in with The Colour of Thunder.

I wanted to write something that I wanted to read, something fast-paced and a little edgy with colourful characters. I was living temporarily back in Australia when I started writing this a few years ago, and that’s what drove me to explore the Hong Kong I know and love.

Oo. I’m so glad to have The Colour of Thunder on my TBR. I was due to go to Hong Kong on my way back from the Philippines but the typhoon scuppered us and we were unable to go. What kind of book is it?

To put it into a genre, the novel is a modern-day thriller set in Hong Kong featuring a diverse cast of troubled characters from around the world, all seeking to solve mysteries from their past, either by running from it or digging deep into what really happened. At times, their lives intersect – and not always in a particularly pleasant way. At the final hour, there’s a violent anti-government protest staged during what becomes the storm of the century. Conversely, the truth is starting to emerge and tempers are flaring.

It sounds brilliant Suzanne.

One reviewer said this: “It is a story in which the main characters are working through issues from their past and it is this intrigue and the flowing style of the narrative that I found most absorbing. I felt gripped from the first page and as the mystery unravelled.”

That’s a great comment and makes me think The Colour of Thunder will be exactly my kind of read.

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

One of the best things about Hong Kong – where I have lived for 20 years – is the food. So, let’s start with a steaming plate of Har Gao, my favourite prawn dumplings. Fantastic comfort food. Of course, I’d like to polish that off with a bottle of Tsingtao beer and perhaps we could add in a plate of clams with black bean sauce, my favourite dish at the Po Toi Island restaurant off Hong Kong and the setting for a romantic scene between Wang and Alice, two main characters in the book.

If you’re going to bring food like that Suzanne, you are welcome back at any time!

I’ve also got an old Nokia phone – you have to read the book to understand that one, as without those phones, the crime may never have been solved – and a photo of Shek O Village, where I have lived since 2000. This is also a regular setting in the novel.

Last but not least, I have brought a yellow umbrella with me, in case it rains on the way home. If you know about the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong, you will also know that yellow ones became a symbol of the protestor’s fight for full democracy in Hong Kong. This is a fight still raging, although with many arrests and Covid there now, protests have all but stopped.

Indeed. I wonder if I’ll ever make it to Hong Kong now Susanne but at least I have The Colour of Thunder to take me there vicariously. Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat all about it. 

The Colour of Thunder

One small island, six troubled lives, and the storm of the century is on its way.

In one of the world’s most vibrant international cities, present day Hong Kong, the lives of six people become irreversibly intertwined. The past is catching up with those running from it, while the futures of others hangs dangerously in the balance. But who knows the most? And what will they do to keep it that way?

Published by Legend Press on 1st February 2021, The Colour of Thunder is available for purchase here.

About Suzanne Harrison

Suzanne Harrison is a journalist who has worked for the South China Morning Post since 1999. Originally from Australia, she has lived and worked in the media in the US, London and mostly Hong Kong, writing everything from business to news, lifestyle features and most recently, an investigative piece about an alleged Hong Kong-based con woman. Suzanne is now working on another novel and hopes to have that up and running by mid-year.

For more information, follow Suzanne on Twitter @suzannej123. You’ll find a podcast with Susanne here and can find her on Instagram too.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

It is some months since I stayed in with Fran Hill to chat all about Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? in a post you can read here. After our conversation I knew I’d enjoy reading the book and was delighted when Fran sent me a copy, but as ever, my TBR got the better of me. With fewer blog tours accepted and a short lull in books I need to read for them, I finally got round to Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? and I’m so glad I did.

Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? is available for purchase in most large book shops, on Amazon in paperback and ebook and from the publisher directly.

Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean?

A funny, life-affirming memoir, in diary form. Set in the manic world of a busy teacher, and based on real experiences, Fran Hill’s account of one typical year shows it’s not just the pupils who misbehave.

English teacher ‘Miss’ starts the Autumn term beleaguered by self-doubts. She’s mid-menopause, insomniac, and Mirror and Bathroom Scales are blisteringly unsympathetic. Her pupils make her laugh, weep, fume and despair, often in the same lesson. Her unremitting workload blights family time and she feels guilty for missing church events to catch up on marking. After all, God-lady is watching.

Meanwhile, the new Head of Department seems unreachable, an Ofsted inspection looms, her sixth formers (against school policy) insist on sitting in rows, and there’s a school magazine to produce …

When childhood secrets demand attention Miss doesn’t want to give them, life gets complicated.

My Review of Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean?

A year in the life of a secondary school English teacher.

Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? is an absolute cracker of a book written in the form of a term time diary. I loved every moment of being immersed in its pages and I was so entertained by Fran Hill’s writing that I simply gave up my plans for the day and read it in one sitting, right through my meals – rather like the author does with her marking in the book.

Reading Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? like having Victoria Wood, Miranda Hart and Dawn French in my sitting room for a private stand-up gig. It’s a long time since I have laughed so hard and so long and reading this book was exactly the tonic I needed in these trying times. I genuinely felt as if Fran Hill had somehow inhabited my body and it was me returning to the classroom to teach Wilfred Owen’s poetry or Shakespeare. The author’s self-deprecating style, her wrangles with Mirror and Bathroom Scales, her love of Bailey’s, the never ending plie of marking, the threat of OfSTED, all resonated so completely that I felt as if I’d made a new best friend through my reading.

Fran Hill’s writing style makes for an effortless read. Her ability to convey meaning in the briefest of sentences, balanced against longer passages is just wonderful. Direct speech is natural and engaging and I genuinely cried with laughter at some of Mirror’s comments. If I say that I kept my husband awake the night after reading Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? because I kept giggling over some of the phrases I’d read I hope it will convey how brilliant this book is.

But Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? is more than just hilarious. It’s a realistic and tender insight into the narrator’s life, her difficult past and her humane, sensitive understanding of those in her care. I confess to a lump in my throat when Zak read his Christmas story and the faces of vulnerable youngsters from my own teaching career came flooding back. Fran Hill explores challenging themes of over ambition, long term guilt, excessive diffidence, stress, and others that will reveal themselves should you read the book with subtlety so that they only really hit home when reflecting on the back after reading. The skill in writing this way is astonishing.

Utterly joyous, sensitive, witty, hugely funny and the perfect tonic for anyone needing a boost but with a serious undertow, Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? is glorious. I absolutely adored it, and could not have enjoyed it more.  Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? has gone straight on my Books of the Year list.

About Fran Hill

Fran Hill is a writer, blogger and English tutor from Warwickshire, England. She has written and published many stories, poems and articles over the past 20 years and was selected for the 2016-17 prestigious Writing West Midlands emerging writers’ development programme. She sometimes performs her work on stage and, more recently, since public stages became not so popular, on Facebook Live.

For more information, visit Fran’s website, or her blog, find her on Facebook or follow Fran on Twitter @franhill123.

Regular visitors to Linda’s Book Bag will know why I’m absolutely delighted to help reveal the cover of the latest book by Amelia Henley – The Art of Loving You. Amelia Henley’s The Life We Almost Had was my joint book of the year in 2020 and I stayed in here with Amelia here on the blog to discuss it, having shared my review here.

The Art of Loving You will be published by Harper Collins imprint HQ on 22nd July 2021 and is available for pre-order here.

The Art of Loving You

Perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle, Josie Silver and Sophie Cousens.

* * * *

They were so in love . . .
And then life changed forever . . .
Will they find happiness again?

Libby and Jack are the happiest they’ve ever been. Thanks to their dear friend, eighty-year-old Sid, they’ve just bought their first house together, and it’s the beginning of the life they’ve always dreamed of.

But the universe has other plans for Libby and Jack and a devastating twist of fate shatters their world.

All of a sudden life is looking very different, and unlikely though it seems, might Sid be the one person who can help Libby and Jack move forward when what they loved the most has been lost?

The Art of Loving You is a beautiful love story for our times. Romantic and uplifting, it will break your heart and then put it back together again.

Doesn’t that sound fabulous? I can’t wait to read The Art of Loving You.

About Amelia Henley

Amelia Henley is a hopeless romantic who has a penchant for exploring the intricacies of relationships through writing heart-breaking, high-concept love stories.

Amelia also writes psychological thrillers under her real name, Louise Jensen. As Louise Jensen she has sold over a million copies of her global number one bestsellers. Her stories have been translated into twenty-five languages and optioned for TV as well as featuring on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestsellers list. Louise’s books have been nominated for multiple awards.

The Life We Almost Had was the first story she’s written as Amelia Henley.

You can follow Amelia on Twitter @MsAmeliaHenley and find her on Facebook.

You can find out more about Amelia writing as Louise Jensen by visiting her website, finding her on Facebook and following her on Twitter @Fab_fiction.

I’ve long been impressed by the quality of books provided by DK (Dorling Kindersley) and when Abi Walton sent a couple along for me to review I couldn’t have been more pleased. I’m delighted to share my reviews of both Look Out Leonard! by Jessie James and with illustrations by Tamara Anegon, and Dragon World by Tamara Macfarlane, illustrated by Alessandra Fusi today.

Look Out Leonard! will be published on 4th March 2021 and is available for pre-order through the links here.

Dragon World will also be published on 4th March 2021 and is available for pre-order through the links here.

Look Out Leonard!

Meet Leonard the clueless shrew in this hilarious story about getting lost in the jungle.

It’s moving day for the Shrew family, so Mrs Shrew has asked them to all hold on to each other’s tails tightly so that nobody gets lost! They set off in a long line, but wait, where’s little Leonard?

This picture book will have you on the edge of your seat as you follow Leonard, who manages to grab on to anything and everything that isn’t a shrew tail!

My Review of Look Out Leonard!

It’s moving day!

What a lovely, lovely book for pre-school and nursery age children. The central message in Look Out Leonard! of keeping close to your family and not getting lost is an important once but it is told with humour in a manner that leaves young children educated but not traumatised! I can imagine young children giggling as the tiger is hit on the head with a coconut.

The story is an excellent length to share with a child in a quiet moment and is exciting too as Leonard travels through the jungle trying to catch up with his family. Children learn about animals as Leonard encounters the different tails, as well as the importance of family. Literacy and language learning are supported through onomatopoeia, repetition, alliteration and lots of questions so that children can respond actively in the reading.

Numeracy is also subtly included with numbers up to seven as the family count they are all present before setting off for their new home.

The illustrations in Look Out Leonard! are wonderful. Bright, vibrant and with a quirky cartoon style children will enjoy, they enhance the story completely.

Finally, I loved the fact Leonard wears glasses. As someone who has struggled with my sight since childhood, I found it reassuring that the hero of a story could wear spectacles.

Look Out Leonard! is a smashing book I have no hesitation in recommending.

About Jessie James and Tamara Anegon

Jessie James likes to walk through the hills and woodlands of the South Downs and dream up ideas for children’s books. She has written for New Frontier, Skyhorse and DK as well as Simon and Schuster under another guise.

Tamara Anegon attained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2008. Following this, she studied for a masters degree in art, creation and research, specialising in children’s and picture book illustration. She has illustrated several children’s books: Waggers (Sky Pony Press, 2014) and The Big Stink, Level 11 (OUP Oxford, 2017). You can find Tamara on Instagram,. or visit her website for further information.

Dragon World

Meet the fire-breathing beasts of mythology in this beautifully illustrated book brimming with scaled behemoths.

Lurking in every corner of the earth, from the deepest depths of the oceans, to the tips of the tallest mountains, even tucked beneath the very ground that you tread on, dragons watch and wait. They take many forms – sea monsters, serpents, wild cats, eagles, and they represent many different things; Gods to be revered, evil kings to be feared, wise friends and fierce foes.

Dragons have breathed fire into our minds since we could first imagine, but why do they exist in stories from every land in the world? Come in and explore Dragon World. Look into their lairs while they make shape-shifting mischief, playing with the weather and protecting earthly treasures. Soar across continents into tales as old as time. Prowl through the pages to discover rare dragon species. Find clues to track them and master how to draw them. Behold the earthly dragons of today!

My Review of Dragon World

An exploration of dragons.

What a glorious book! Dragon World is a high quality, sumptuously illustrated, beautifully presented book that will appeal to children of all ages. Indeed, the illustrations are stunning artworks in their own right and there is even a tutorial at the end of the book exemplifying how to draw a dragon yourself so that Dragon World supports art as well as reading and enjoyment.

Divided into four section exploring dragons, Dragon World is packed with dragon facts, vocabulary, brand new stories, myths and legends so that there are multiple layers of enjoyment for older children. I can see Dragon World fascinating independent readers and encouraging the less confident to do some dragon research on their own because the quality of stimulus is so interesting.

Although it is the concept of dragons that is obviously the focal point of Dragon World, so much more is packed into these pages. There’s nature and gemology, geography and history, evolution, language and art. I thought including an index so that children can learn how to access non-fiction books at the same time as enjoying Dragon World was an inspired touch. The unifying presentation of facts about appearance, dwelling, powers and traits also supports this. There’s sufficient content in Dragon World to support an entire term’s worth of learning in a KS2 classroom and to inspire and entertain individual children in the home.

I thought Dragon World was fabulous.

About Tamara Macfarlane and Alessandra Fusi

Tamara Macfarlane is the owner of the award winning Tales on Moon Lane Children’s Bookshop, Moon Lane Education and Moon Lane Ink CIC. She has over 15 years’ experience working with children and schools, and combines running the two bookshops with writing children’s books. She currently has series with Hodder, Simon and Schuster, Troika Books and Puffin. Tamara has judged many high profile book awards (Costa, British Book Award, Muslim Young Writers Award) and has given talks at Bath, Oxford, Sharjah, Chengdu and Hay literary festivals. Whilst setting up Moon Lane Ink CIC in 2017, Tamara was mentored by the University of Cambridge Judge Business School’s Social Ventures. She is part of a diversity steering group for Booktrust, and has contributed to the Booksellers Association’s new diversity guide. Moon Lane Ink CIC is dedicated to raising equality in children’s Books: equality of access, representation and roles in the publishing industry.

You’ll find Tamara on Instagram and you can follow Moon Lane on Twitter @moonlanegroup.

Alessandra Fusi was born in Rome in 1984, where she attended the IED Institute of Art and Design, graduating in Illustration and Multimedia Animation in 2006.

Since then, she has worked as an illustrator of children’s books, puzzle games, and stationery products. As a painter, she has exhibited her work in various solo and collective art shows across Italy, Europe, and the United States.

She has a true passion for animation and loves all things illustration, so she’s always learning new things, as well as teaching them, through the courses and workshops that she organizes for her cultural association “Imagoblu”, based in Bologna.

Currently, she lives and works in Bologna, with her two loved ones: her boyfriend and her chubby ginger cat, Rino. She loves fairytales, tea, music, swing dancing, and cats (of course).

You’ll find Alessandra on Twitter @alessandrafusi and can visit her website for further information.

It’s been my absolute pleasure to attend several wonderful evenings at Simon and Schuster thanks to Sara-Jade Virtue and TeamBATC where I’ve had the privilege of hearing Santa Montefiore speak and read from her books, but until now I’ve never got round to reading one. I’m delighted to rectify that omission today by sharing my review of Here and Now. My grateful thanks to SJV for providing me with a copy of Here and Now in return for an honest review.

Here and Now is published by Simon and Schuster and is available for purchase here.

Here and Now

Peopled with wonderful characters, it’s funny, sad, poignant and heart-warming, a tough subject tenderly handled. Have some tissues handy’ Choice Magazine

Faced with losing everything, all that matters is Here and Now . . .

Marigold has spent her life taking care of those around her, juggling family life with the running of the local shop, and being an all-round leader in her quiet yet welcoming community. When she finds herself forgetting things, everyone quickly puts it down to her age. But something about Marigold isn’t quite right, and it’s becoming harder for people to ignore.

As Marigold’s condition worsens, for the first time in their lives her family must find ways to care for the woman who has always cared for them. Desperate to show their support, the local community come together to celebrate Marigold, and to show her that losing your memories doesn’t matter, when there are people who will remember them for you . . .

My Review of Here and Now

Marigold keeps forgetting things.

I am absolutely furious with myself for not having read Santa Montefiore before because Here and Now is an absolutely perfect example of women’s fiction and it brought me total joy to read it.

The plot is so deftly handled that each strand combines into a wonderful read. I loved Daisy’s secondary story particularly and was desperate for her to have a happy life of her own but it is Marigold’s narrative that is the most affecting. Touching upon a difficult and emotive subject as Marigold’s condition worsens, Santa Montefiore gives absolute control to Marigold by presenting her thoughts and experiences directly to the reader. We do find how Marigold’s memory loss impacts others, but instead of diluting her experience or presenting it only from the perspective of those around Marigold, instead we get a humane and sensitive insight into how it affects her from her individual experience. I found this approach incredibly touching, very realistic and enlightening. Not only is Here and Now an entertaining story, I think it would bring solace to those whose lives are similarly affected because it allows those like Marigold to retain their dignity and identity and provides some practical tips for their loved ones woven subtly into the story.

There’s a smashing set of characters. I often find community based reads quite tricky to retain each individual in my mind but in Here and Now, each was clear and recognisable. The small feuds that arise in such a setting, the larger (and smaller) than life characters, the gossips and nags, all reminded me so much of the small, landed gentry controlled, villages where I grew up that reading Here and Now, ironically, reignited my own memories. 

I loved Marigold’s family. Nan could quite easily be my own mother and I laughed aloud at some of her comments. Dennis was so like my own Dad that I loved him from the very first moment I met him and although it took me a while to warm to Suze, I thoroughly enjoyed her development through the plot. Again, however, it was both Daisy and Marigold who held my attention and my heart throughout.

The theme of duty versus independence in Here and Now had particular resonance for me and I felt comforted and inspired by Santa Montefiore’s words. Marigold’s Dad had a phrase that appears iteratively throughout the story which hit me like a bullet, giving the title of the book incredible resonance. It was as if Santa Montefiore had given me a gift that will take me through my life. Equally affecting were the themes of love and family, friendship, grief and loss. It felt to me as it Hear and Now was a rich, textured read that brought incredible satisfaction.

I found Here and Now an emotional read that touched me deeply. It’s one of those books that those scorning or eschewing women’s fiction should read because Santa Montefiore presents life and humanity with empathy and skill that warms the heart and touches the soul. I loved it and recommend it most highly. 

About Santa Montefiore

Born in England in 1970, Santa Montefiore grew up in Hampshire. She is married to writer Simon Sebag Montefiore. They live with their two children, Lily and Sasha, in London.

Santa Montefiore’s books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages and have sold more than six million copies in England and Europe. 

You can follow Santa Montefiore on Twitter @SantaMontefiore and visit her website for further information. You’ll also find her on Facebook and Instagram.

My enormous thanks to the folk at Viper Books for sending me a surprise copy of The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward in return for an honest review.

Published by Sceptre imprint Viper on 18th March 2021, The Last House on Needless Street is available for pre-order here.

The Last House on Needless Street

This is the story of a murderer. A stolen child. Revenge. This is the story of Ted, who lives with his daughter Lauren and his cat Olivia in an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.

All these things are true. And yet some of them are lies.

You think you know what’s inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you’ve read this story before. In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, something lies buried. But it’s not what you think…

My Review of The Last House on Needless Street

Good gracious me. I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to review The Last House on Needless Street because I’m not quite sure what it is I’ve just read! Part horror story, part thriller, part psychological exploration, this is a book that defies categorisation but that is utterly spellbinding. I thought it was stunning. Indeed, I found it such a mind blowing concept that reading it felt like being on some kind of fairground ride where you don’t quite know where you are or what perspective you’re viewing. I had to keep pausing so that my brain could catch up with my eyes as I read. Catriona Ward’s writing is so brilliant that The Last House on Needless Street is a book that feels like a malevolent, sentient being in its own right and yet it has compassion and empathy threaded throughout it in a heady blend.

The plot in The Last House on Needless Street is astonishing. Akin to the Russian dolls on Ted’s mantlepiece that have many layers, in the narrative strata and meanings are complex and varied, adding layer upon layer of interest and captivating the reader completely. There is a linear timeline, especially through Dee’s subplot as she searches for her sister, but it is interspersed with elements that make it kaleidoscopic, shifting perceptions and providing an absolutely mesmerising reading experience. Much of the time I wasn’t quite sure what was going on, which meant I was compelled to continue reading to see if my theories were correct and to find out how the book might be resolved. This illustrates real power in the writing and I have a feeling The Last House on Needless Street will resonate with me for a very long time.

Ted’s character is so well drawn. He exemplifies a horrifying potential in all of us. It’s not possible to say too much about him as this would uncover too much of the heart of the book and spoil the read for others. If I say I hated him, I loved him, I feared him, I wanted to protect him and rail against him you’ll perhaps get some idea of the complexity of human nature Catriona Ward builds into him.

Similarly, it isn’t fair to other readers to articulate too much about theme, but identity, love, guilt, truth, loyalty, fear, control and so much more are woven by Catriona Ward into this complex, touching and enlightening story. The Last House on Needless Street is not so much a book to read as one to experience. It left me stunned.

Aware that I have hardly scratched the surface of The Last House on Needless Street because I don’t want to give away too much, I must mention the overall quality of the writing. It is beautiful. Even at its most brutal or horrific it is exquisite. The senses zing from the page so that the reader is transported into Ted’s world and particularly Olivia’s. There’s a visual quality that is filmic too so that The Last House on Needless Street can be experienced by the reader in many ways.

I thought The Last House on Needless Street was original, hypnotic and, for a story that is quite brutal, incredibly tender too. I loved it and really recommend that you read it to discover its secrets for yourself!

About Catriona Ward

Image courtesy of Robert Hollingworth

Catriona Ward was born in Washington, DC and grew up in the US, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco. Her debut Rawblood won Best Horror Novel at the 2016 British Fantasy Awards, and was a WHSmith Fresh Talent title. Little Eve won the Shirley Jackson Award, was a Guardian best book of 2018 and won the Best Horror Novel at the 2019 British Fantasy Awards. She lives in London and Devon.

You can follow Catriona on Twitter @Catrionaward. You’ll also find her on Facebook and Instagram.

I so loved interviewing Claire Dyer and sharing my review of her novel The Last Day in a post you can read here, that I was delighted to be asked by Anne Nolan at Two Rivers Press to help launch Claire’s latest poetry collection Yield on publication day. I’m very much looking forward to the online launch for Yield later today. My enormous thanks to Anne for sending me a copy of Yield in return for an honest review.

Published by Two Rivers Press today, 21st February 2021, Yield is available for purchase here.

Yield

• Born from the poet’s own experience this collection charts the journey, from a mother’s perspective, of the transition of her younger child from boy to girl
• A powerful blend of poetic and narrative art from an accomplished storyteller
• Three senses of the word ‘yield’ underpin the poetry: to bring forth, to give way, and to gain something valuable

Three definitions of the word Yield give meaning to the odyssey undergone in Claire Dyers third collection: a journey which sees a son become a daughter, and a mother a poet for both of them.

Charting these transitions, the poems take us through territories known and familiar landscapes of childhood, family and home into further regions where inner lives alter, outer ones are reimagined. Whether evoking clinic visits, throwing away old boyhood clothes, grieving over what’s lost, these honest and unashamed poems build to celebrate that place at the heart of motherhood where gender is no differentiator and love the gain.

My Review of Yield

A collection of personal poems.

Yield is an intimate, intense portrait of a mother’s profound, unconditional love for her child, even when circumstances are challenging. I found this multi-faceted collection interesting, beautifully written and utterly inspiring. Claire Dyer writes poetry that tackles a modern concept – a son transitioning into a daughter – with freshness and innovation whilst drawing on the traditions of poetry that give the entire work gravitas and depth. So many times when reading Yield I was reminded of the poetry of Gerald Manley Hopkins, Emily Dickinson or Dylan Thomas, because of the intricately crafted lines, the natural references and the depth of feeling behind the poems.

I don’t know whether Claire Dyer paints as well as writes, but I found Yield a highly visual collection. Blues and yellows abound and there is a painterly eye for detail that makes the poems vibrate with meaning. In Saturday, for example the lines read akin to setting detail in a play so that I could envisage Claire Dyer moving through her day so vividly. I loved the iterative references to foxes in many of the poems, representing, to me, depth of colour, pain, fierce protection, man’s intolerance and cruelty – all the elements that the writer experiences in her own life.

As the son transitions to become a daughter, all manner of emotions are conveyed through Yield. Claire Dyer is unafraid to express her sense of loss and grief as well as her sense of pride and intense love. Images of shattering, blood and pain reveal the ways she comes to terms with her child’s life and, although I don’t have a maternal element in my body, the final couple of lines of Bearded moved me to tears which I think is testament to the power of the writing. Similarly, the physical structure of the poems represents so magnificently the meaning conveyed. Fractured lines and words, the use of enjambment, compound adjectives alongside images of prosaic reality all show the swirling, sometimes difficult emotions Claire Dyer is feeling.

I confess to having read Yield several times and every time I have found new aspects to admire. I loved the way Easter Break, for example, unites male and female identities at a time we usually associate with death and rebirth. I have a feeling that Yield, taken with the first meaning Claire Dyer presents in her collection, will give up more and more, the more times I read it.

Yield is a magnificent anthology. It is a multi-layered, emotive and resonant presentation of what it means to be a mother. Reading Yield feels as if I have been given privileged access to the innermost thoughts and emotions of a hugely talented writer. I feel privileged to have read it.

About Claire Dyer

Claire Dyer’s novels The Moment and The Perfect Affair, and her short story, Falling For Gatsby, are published by Quercus. The Last Day is published by The Dome Press.

Her poetry collections, Interference Effects and Eleven Rooms are published by Two Rivers Press. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London and teaches creative writing for Bracknell & Wokingham College.

She also runs Fresh Eyes, an editorial and critiquing service.

You can follow Claire on Twitter @ClaireDyer1 and visit her website. You’ll also find Claire on Facebook and Instagram.

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