My enormous thanks to Alainna at Orion for inviting me to participate in the launch celebrations for Keeping Mum by James Gould-Bourn. Not only do I have my review of Keeping Mum to share today, but I am thrilled that James has agreed to ‘stay in’ with me to chat all about it.

Published by Trapeze yesterday, 11th June 2020, Keeping Mum is available for purchase through the links here.

Staying in with James Gould-Bourn

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

Thanks for inviting me! It’s nice to get out of the house after being locked up for so long!

It’s been quite a few weeks hasn’t it? Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought along my debut novel, Keeping Mum. I wanted to bring this book because it came out yesterday and I’m incredibly proud of it.

I bet! Congratulations and a belated happy publication day. So what is Keeping Mum about?

It’s the story of a father and son learning to reconnect after an accident tears their family apart. It’s also about dancing panda bears. Yes, you heard that correctly.

Not quite the usual subject then James. What can we expect from an evening in with Keeping Mum? 

I don’t think I could say anything better than what readers have said already, so I’ll leave it up to them to tell you what to expect from Keeping Mum:

“I was hooked from the first page. I loved this incredible story of a father and son trying to navigate their way through grief, and trying to navigate their way back to each other. It was a delight to read and left me thinking about it long after I put it down. I definitely think this is a must read of 2020.”

“I really loved Keeping Mum. The quality of the writing, the depth of theme and the brilliant characterisation all combine into a smashing book that touches the reader and leaves them feeling happy and satisfied. What could be better?”

“This is such a sweet, heartwarming tale – it is sentimental without being sappy, funny without being corny and touching without being mushy.”

I’ve been really overwhelmed by how positive the feedback has been so far. It makes me incredibly happy to know that people are having as much fun reading Keeping Mum as I had writing it.

It doesn’t surprise me in the least that you’ve had such positive feedback James. I loved Keeping Mum and am sharing my review after our chat.

What else have you brought along and why? 

I’ve brought a homemade walnut cake, and anybody who reads the book will understand why. It’s my first attempt though so apologies in advance!

It looks pretty good to me! Pass me that slice.

I’ve also brought a little panda that my wife made for me. He’s a little scrappy and he doesn’t say much but he’s a mean dancer!

He’s absolutely lovely and perfect for Keeping Mum. Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about Keeping Mum James. Let me give blog readers all the details they need about the book:

Keeping Mum

Danny Malooley’s life is falling apart.

He’s a single parent with an eleven-year-old son, Will, who hasn’t spoken since the death of his mother in a car crash fourteen months ago. He’s being pursued by a dodgy landlord for unpaid rent and, to make matters worse, he’s just lost his job on a building site. Struggling to find work, and desperate for money, Danny decides to do what anyone in his position would do.

He becomes a dancing panda.

After seeing street performers in his local park raking it in, he puts all sense of pride aside and spends his last fiver on a vomit-ridden costume… only to discover that the humiliation of his terrible rhythm is worth it. Not because he’s flush with cash (quite the opposite) but Will has finally spoken to him for the first time since his mother’s death. The problem is Will is unaware that the panda is in fact his father, and Danny doesn’t want to reveal his true identity in case Will stops talking to him. But Danny can’t keep up the ruse forever.

A surprising, laugh-out-loud and uplifting story of a father and son reconnecting in the most unlikely of circumstances.

My Review of Keeping Mum

Danny and Will have a few problems!

What a lovely, lovely story Keeping Mum is. Before commenting on the narrative, I just need to say how apt the title is as Will elects not to speak after the death of Liz, his Mum, but as important is both Will and Danny’s desire to keep Liz’s memory alive. They need to keep Mum. Similarly, the cover has incredible poignancy once the book is read. I can’t say too much why as it would spoil the pleasure of the read, but that crumpled note book page is so fitting!

I hadn’t quite expected Keeping Mum to be as funny as it is. I rarely laugh aloud when I’m reading but James Gould-Bourn elicited several giggles along the way so that I felt uplifted and heartened as a result. There’s a fast pace with unlikely events that feel convincing and absolutely right for Danny’s life as it spirals out of control. With street performances, menacing landlords and sleazy dance clubs James Gould-Bourn takes the reader into places and situations they probably wouldn’t normally encounter and does so with verve and skill in a hugely entertaining manner.

I loved the cast of characters. Although she’s dead, it is Liz who is the catalyst for all the action and readers get a strong sense of who she is and why Danny and Will are as they are. There are those more minor people like the street performers, Mo, Reg and Mr Dent who provide a colourful backdrop, but it is Danny, Will, Krystal and Ivan who are just perfect creations. James Gould-Brown’s use of naturalistic dialogue, choice expletives, clear and vivid descriptions and the occasional touch of violence creates a visual and auditory journey that the reader takes alongside Danny in Keeping Mum.

However, although the characters are real and engaging, and the plot funny and entertaining, there is so much more to Keeping Mum than might be imagined and it is this added depth that made the book so appealing to me. The relationship between Danny and Will, their estrangement, their grief and their real underlying love for one another all combine into a touching and affecting read. With themes of bullying, self-worth, friendship, striving for the best and being true to yourself, Keeping Mum is a compelling and poignant tale as well as a diverting and amusing one. There’s a fabulous balance in the writing here too so that the narrative feels modern and yet timeless.

I really loved Keeping Mum. The quality of the writing, the depth of theme and the brilliant characterisation all combine into a smashing book that touches the reader and leaves them feeling happy and satisfied. What could be better?

About James Gould-Bourn

James Gould-Bourn was born and raised in Manchester. He is an award-winning screenwriter, and has previously worked for various landmine-clearance NGOs in Africa and the Middle East. Keeping Mum is his first novel.

You can follow James on Twitter @JPGouldBourn.

There’s more with these other bloggers:

With almost 50 years between when I learnt to ride and the next time I got on a horse, it gives me great pleasure to welcome Roxana Valea to the blog today to tell me about her latest horse riding inspired book. My enormous thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in this blog tour.

Staying in with Roxana Valea

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

Thank you for inviting me, it’s a pleasure to be here!

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

I brought along my latest book, Seven and a half Minutes because it is a fun and easy summer read and not just for polo fans.

What can we expect from an evening in with Seven and a Half Minutes?

Fun, adrenaline and insights into a fascinating sport: polo. Seven and a Half Minutes is the third novel of The Polo Diaries Series but the first one in the timeline. It tells the story of a girl who is looking for love but unexpectedly stumbles upon polo and falls in love with the sport. She does not give up on love, although it becomes more and more difficult to find the right guy to date as polo starts consuming all of her time and resources.

Seven and a Half Minutes sounds just right for a summer read Roxana. Tell me a bit about the series.

The Polo Diaries Series are romantic comedies but all three books are slightly different.

While the first one, Single in Buenos Aires is a classical romantic comedy – think Bridget Jones goes to Argentina, the second book – A Horse Called Bicycle – is more of an introspection and coming of age novel. This one, the third and last book of the series is light hearted and very sports oriented.

I’m sure I’d enjoy them all. What else have you brought along and why?

I’ve brought two pictures, both from my polo times. The Polo Diaries are all inspired by true stories from my past as a female polo player.

How much is truth and how much is fiction in these novels? Well, I’ll let each of the readers take a guess!

Oo. Now that is intriguing Roxana. I’ll tell blog readers a bit more about Seven and a Half Minutes and then maybe you can tell me a few of your secrets! Thanks so much for staying in with me.

Seven and a Half Minutes

Before Roxy found herself “Single in Buenos Aires,” she was a single girl in London in search of true love. The third installment of The Polo Diaries series takes us back to that time, and we follow Roxy as she hires a love coach to help her navigate the dating scene. But the love coach comes up with an unexpected assignment: reconnect to a long-forgotten passion. For Roxy this means horses. Within weeks, she finds herself playing polo, thanks to a series of unforeseen events.

Torn between her desire to become the best polo player she can be and the dream of falling in love, Roxy steps fully into the exciting and demanding world of polo, where injury and recovery mix with hard training, and where celebrating the victory of a tournament comes at a high price. Will Roxy eventually become the polo player she dreams to be? And with polo being such a demanding sport, can there be any space left for love?

Seven and a Half Minutes is available for purchase on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

About Roxana Valea

Roxana Valea was born in Romania and lived in Italy, Switzerland, England and Argentina before settling in Spain. She has a BA in journalism and an MBA degree. She spent more than twenty years in the business world as an entrepreneur, manager and management consultant working for top companies like Apple, eBay, and Sony. She is also a Reiki Master and shamanic energy medicine practitioner.

As an author, Roxana writes books inspired by real events. Her memoir Through Dust and Dreams is a faithful account of a trip she took at the age of twenty-eight across Africa by car in the company of two strangers she met over the internet. Her following book, Personal Power: Mindfulness Techniques for the Corporate Word is a nonfiction book filled with personal anecdotes from her consulting years. The Polo Diaries series is inspired by her experiences as a female polo player–traveling to Argentina, falling in love, and surviving the highs and lows of this dangerous sport.

Roxana lives with her husband between England and Spain, and splits her time between writing, coaching and therapy work, but her first passion remains writing.

For more information you can follow Roxana on Twitter @roxana_valea, or find her on Facebook and Instagram.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

Lockdown has been a trying time for everyone, but when your long awaited debut novel is about to be launched and all the usual celebratory events are cancelled it must be devastating. Having received a copy of Gillian Harvey’s Everything is Fine from Alex Layt at Orion, I thought it looked super and simply had to invite Gillian onto Linda’s Book Bag to tell me a bit about her journey to publication – albeit, not necessarily the publication experience she was expecting!

I’m thrilled to have Everything is Fine on my TBR. I’ve been hearing excellent things about it from other bloggers and I can’t wait to read it.

Published by Orion on 28th May 2020, Everything is Fine is available for purchase through these links.

Everything is Fine

Jessica Bradley has it all: the perfect boyfriend; influential healthy-eating blog; successful PR company and wonderful daughter, Anna. Or at least that is what her thousands of followers believe.

The truth is, her boyfriend just broke up with her in four words on a post-it; her zest for healthy-eating has all but disappeared; her PR success is all reliant on her now not-so-honest online-life and she just got caught eating her daughter’s Coco-Pops.

So as they say: fake it ’til you make it. A few little white lies and phoney smiling selfies and Jess can keep up appearances. But when her real-life starts to spiral out of control how can Jess tell the truth from the lies? And will she be able to seize real happiness when it is right in front of her?

Making it

A Guest Post by Gillian Harvey

Does anyone remember The Garden Gang? If you’re my age (42) or thereabouts you might. They were a series of children’s books about living fruit – Percival Pea and Roger Radish to name but two – that I remember reading when I was about 9.

As well as enjoying the little tales of random vegetables, the books provoked another emotion in me – insane jealousy.  They had, I found, been written by a 9-year-old girl called Jayne Fisher. Which meant that someone of about my age had already achieved my dream of becoming published author.  How I hated her for it!

I’m not sure when my ambition to become an author started. I remember always loving books, and – as soon as I could – enjoying writing poems and short tales.  I must have been quite good at writing even then, as when I was seven I copied an Enid Blyton poem and passed it off as my own. The teacher was amazed, and the headteacher read it out in assembly. I spent the rest of the term wracked with guilt and sure I would be expelled.

I had other, genuine, successes: the day in year 3 when my poem was made into a giant poster for a parents’ evening display, as well as the moment in year 4 when my story was read out to the whole year-group. I still remember both moments vividly.

But as you grow, realise how big the world is and how tiny and insignificant you are, these sorts of ambitions are put on the backburner and labelled ‘dreams.’ You are encouraged, by well meaning adults, to have something to fall back on.

I began to feel shy of my ambition – whenever I told people I was writing a book, I’d feel I had to add the rider “it’s probably not very good” or “I realise it probably won’t be published.”  I still scribbled novels – or novel attempts – whenever I could, and finished my first 80,000-word draft in 2002 when I was 24.  But I kept my dreams close to my chest.

I bought my first copy of the Writers’ and Artists’ yearbook – an enormous volume containing addresses of publishers and agents – the same year – not knowing it would be 16 years (and many copies) later by the time I actually got signed.

The years in between weren’t wasted – I wrote six further manuscripts, taught English at secondary schools, moved to France and had five children. In my spare time, I learned to craft my writing more, and began to publish pieces in magazines – my first in 2012.

As I matured as a human and a writer, I started thinking less about my artistic bent and more about my audience and what they might want to read. I tried different genres – from psychological thriller to rom-com; and finally found that while I could readily dip into my dark side, I actually had a bit of a talent for humour.

One day in 2017 I began to think about social media, and the fact that – to a greater or lesser extent – we’re all posting edited versions of our lives online.  The idea for my breakthrough novel was born.  After several drafts and redrafts, Everything is Fine was finished in 2018 – and accepted by my agent on its first submission. And in January 2019 after being turned down by a couple of publishers, I signed with Orion.

The time between signing and actually getting a book into the world was almost unbearable – I edited, and waited impatiently for proofs.  But by the time they were printed, the world had changed. Coronavirus had hit, my launch was cancelled, and it looked pretty unlikely my little novel would hit the shelves in any real sense as all the bookshops were shut.

Lockdown shook our world and for a time nobody could think about anything but keeping safe, and washing groceries with antibacterial spray.  But after a few weeks, I realised I’d have to put myself out there or risk my lifelong dream slipping away from me.

Ironically, it’s social media – the very thing I joke about in my novel – that enabled me to still reach readers through posts I put out on Twitter, or articles I wrote on news sites and in magazines.

And in May, I finally linked a champagne glass against my webcam and launched my book online.

It’s not the ideal time for anyone – and certainly not the best time to release a book. But still, I’ve done it.

It’s been a long journey, but I got there in the end!

Gillian Harvey

*

And from what I’ve been hearing about Everything is Fine Gillian, you’ve got a real winner on your hands. Huge congratulations. I can’t wait to read it. I hope it’s a huge success for you.

About Gillian Harvey

Former Head of Department and English teacher, Gillian Harvey, 40, began her freelance writing career in 2012, after a move to France. She has since written articles on a variety of subjects for national newspapers including Guardian, Telegraph, Sun and Times Educational Supplement, as well as magazines such as Prima, Living France, Woman’s Weekly and My Weekly. She contributes regular short stories to Take a Break Fiction Feast and My Weekly. Gillian also writes regularly for popular online health platform Patient UK, and has produced several pieces for Natwest and RBS’s customer site ‘Content Live.’ She was also columnist for Prima Baby magazine (2014-2015), Telegraph Expat (2015) and Living France magazine (2016-2018). Gillian lives in France with her husband Ray and their five young children.

You can follow Gillian on Twitter @GillPlusFive or find her on Facebook. Gillian has a super website too.

As most of you know, I used to work in education and a very long time ago I was a secondary English teacher. Consequently, when Fran Hill got in touch about her latest book Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? I simply had to invite her onto the Linda’s Book Bag to tell me all about it. Luckily Fran agreed to stay in with me.

Staying in with Fran Hill

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

It is my pleasure, Linda. Thank you so much for inviting me. Anyway, as we’ve discovered lately, staying in is the new going out!

It certainly is! As we’re in together this evening, which of your books have you brought along to share and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought my new book Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean?, published by SPCK Publishing on 21 May. It’s the first book I’ve had traditionally published.

How exciting.

My debut Being Miss was self-published. I did have interest from publishers but it was too short, being only a novella, and would have slid down the back of Waterstones bookshelves unnoticed, so I didn’t get a deal for that one. It’s had great reviews, though, and is still out there.

It is and is available here!

What can we expect from an evening in with Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean??

I suppose if my book were a dinner guest, talking about her experiences at school, you could expect plenty of laughs at the way children – and teachers – can misbehave, and the messes they get into. But then, perhaps just after the starter, you’d start realising there was a serious side to your guest as she starts opening up about her childhood and the troubles which shaped her adult perceptions, behaviours, and attitudes to her profession. There’d still be laughs along the way, but you’d begin to see another, darker thread emerging in her conversation. Much wine would be drunk, no doubt.

That sounds brilliant.

Reviewers have commented on the book’s combination of LOL moments with a moving, gradually developing back story and they’ve loved that.

I think Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? sounds perfect for me to read Fran.

What else have you brought along and why? 

Okay, so I’ve brought along a bathroom mirror. In the book, it features as a character, and its name is Mirror, which I thought astoundingly original of me.

It is. No-one has brought one along before. Why a bathroom mirror?

Sylvia Plath wrote a poem called Mirror which I think both funny and tragic and I never tire of it. I’ve used it to teach children that writing about inanimate objects can give you insights into yourself. Inanimate objects have thoughts, personalities, angst and attitudes, just as humans can, and they often get the raw end of the deal. Have you ever wondered how your fridge feels when you leave a leaking, mouldy cucumber in it? Or how your mobile phone feels about you only using a tenth of its capacities? Or how a teddy bear feels when no one sews up its torn clothing?

Erm. No. I haven’t. But I will now!

In Mirror, Plath describes how the mirror feels because a woman never stops complaining about the way it reflects her. I’m only doing my job, the mirror says, and it feels aggrieved. Its owner is so unreasonable and her expectations ridiculous. The poem ends, brilliantly and dramatically, ‘In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman/Rises towards her, day after day, like a terrible fish.’

In my book, which I’m beginning to call Incomprehensible because, honestly, who has the TIME, the character Mirror represents my worries about ageing although I’m not quite at ‘terrible fish’ stage. Yet.

Spending day after day in front of fresh-faced youngsters takes confidence. Mirror is joined by Bathroom Scales in the book and their reactions to me are not exactly sympathetic.

Oh I know exactly how those to inanimate objects behave Fran!

I’ve also brought you some cake. Cake features a lot in school staffrooms and comes to represent kindness in the book – one of the characters is always feeding others and it’s a kind of camaraderie or solidarity. As you can guess, the frequent cake-eating and Mirror are also connected.

I bet! I think Miss, What Does Incomprehensible Mean? sounds such a good read Fran and I wish you every success with it. Thanks for staying in with me. You cut the cake and I’ll give blog readers the details they need:

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.

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.

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.

When Isabelle Flynn from Gallic Books got in touch to tell me about A Hundred Years and a Day by Jean-Baptiste Andrea I thought it sounded just my kind of book. It is, and I’m delighted to share my review with you today. My enormous thanks to Isabelle for sending me a copy in return for an honest review.

Published on 11th June 2020 by Gallic Books, A Hundred Million Years and a Day is available for purchase through these links.

A Hundred Million Years and a Day

Stan has been hunting for fossils since the age of six. Now, in the summer of 1954, he hears a story he cannot forget: the skeleton of a huge creature – a veritable dragon – lies deep in an Alpine glacier. And he is determined to find it.

But Stan is no mountaineer. To complete his dangerous expedition, he must call on loyal friend Umberto, who arrives with an eccentric young assistant, and expert guide Gio. Time is short: the four men must descend before the weather turns. As bonds are forged and tested, the hazardous quest for the earth’s lost creatures becomes a journey into Stan’s own past.

A Hundred Million Years and a Day is a mesmerising story of nature, adventure and of one man’s determination to follow his dream, whatever it may take.

My Review of A Hundred Million Years and a Day

Stan is hunting for a rumoured dinosaur fossil.

I’m going to struggle a bit with this review because I have too limited a supply of superlatives to articulate what an absolute stunner A Hundred Million Years and a Day is. It is utterly flawlessly translated by Sam Taylor so that it wasn’t until I had finished reading that I actually realised it was in translation. The rhythms and flow of the book are sublime, natural and wonderfully written. I loved it unreservedly.

In essence, the plot is quite simple with Stan heading to the mountains with friend and colleague Umberto, guide Gio and assistant Peter, to search for a ‘dragon’ or dinosaur from an old man’s story, but that simplicity belies the depth of feeling, the uncovering of Stan’s past and childhood and the super depiction of humanity presented. I know it is going to sound ridiculous to say so, but I found reading an almost physically painful experience because I felt its emotion so distinctly. I’d love to say more about the literary nature of the writing, the hints that become clear as the narrative progresses and the sense of self-discovery, but I fear that would spoil the read. Let me just say they are fabulously woven into the story.

A Hundred Million Years and a Day is beautiful in its descriptions. The personification of the mountain illustrates just how completely Stan finds his dragon and the settings transport the reader to the heart of the action. I saw the beauty and terror of the mountain and the snow in all their glory as if I were standing alongside the characters on the mountain itself.

I found the characterisation pitch perfect too. Stan’s first person account is intimate, honest and moving. He’s egotistical, impatient, flawed and at the same time vulnerable, sensitive and lonely. His relationships with his parents and Umberto particularly show the reader just how much we are shaped by our parents and our past. I so wanted him to succeed in his quest because he was vividly real to me.

A Hundred Million Years and a Day is an enormously affecting narrative about life, loss and love that transcends the ordinary into a book that is one of hope and human understanding. It is, quite simply, intoxicating. I adored it.

About Jean-Baptiste Andrea

Jean-Baptiste Andrea was born in 1971 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and grew up in Cannes. He is a director and screenwriter. He wrote his first English-language feature film Dead End in 2003, to critical acclaim. His first novel, Ma Reine, was published in France in 2017 and won the Prix du Premier Roman and the Prix Femina des Lycéens. For two years he travelled to more than 50 cities, in France and abroad, meeting readers, booksellers and librarians. Now he is leaving behind the cinema for literature.

About Sam Taylor

Sam Taylor is a former Observer journalist and the award-winning translator of novels including HHhH, The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair and Lullaby.

For more information, follow Sam on Twitter @samtayl66360996 or visit his website.

I’m very fond of historical fiction and am delighted to share my review of The Strange Adventures of H by Sarah Burton for the blog tour. My thanks to Lucy at Legend Press for inviting me to participate.

Published by Legend Press on 1st June 2020, The Strange Adventures of H is available for purchase here.

The Strange Adventures of H

Orphaned young, H is sent to live with her doting aunt in London. H’s life is a happy one until her lecherous cousin robs her of her innocence, and the plague takes away the city and the people she loves. H is cast out – friendless, pregnant and destitute – into the rapidly emptying streets of London under quarantine.

Forced to fend for herself, she is determined to gain back the life she lost. H will face a villain out for revenge, find love in the most unexpected places, and overcome a betrayal that she never could have foreseen. Weathering it all, can H charm, or scheme, her way to the life of freedom and independence that she longs for?

My Review of The Strange Adventures of H

Being orphaned sends H on a lifetime of adventure.

Before beginning my review proper, I have to mention the superb cover design for The Strange Adventures of H as it is reminiscent of the ring-a-ring-a-roses we associate with the plague which features heavily in the narrative, and the blurring of skull and flower illustrates perfectly the precarious balance between life and death that resonates in H’s story.

I very much enjoyed Sarah Burton’s often surprisingly sexual presentation of the life of H. There’s no romanticising of the truth, but neither is there such hardship and difficulty in H’s life that there is unremitting misery. Instead The Strange Adventures of H is a really well balanced and thoroughly entertaining read. In fact, I found some of H’s comments very funny so that I frequently found myself laughing with her. And it is with her because her narrative voice is very strong, especially through the occasional direct comments to the reader. The Strange Adventures of H reminded me of Sterne’s Tristram Shandy in many ways, but for my money with a much more attractive protagonist!

The sense of the era is fabulous. Every sense is catered for, so that The Strange Adventures of H is a very auditory and visual book that transports the reader back to the early 1600s extremely clearly. The level of research that underpins this narrative is exemplary and I really appreciated the historical depth and the theatrical and literary allusions because they added a depth I wasn’t expecting.

Whilst there’s plenty of history for those who enjoy this genre, it was the vivid, colourful characters who made The Strange Adventures of H so engaging for me. I think this book would translate into a fabulous television series just as well as any Hardy or Dickens. H is a brilliant character.  Her feisty ability to reinvent herself and survive the vagaries of her environment is incredibly rewarding to read. Her relationships, and the way they illustrate society’s morality and prejudices, make her adventures ring out with both entertainment and authenticity. Many aspects of her life and character, whilst being firmly rooted in the era, are equally relevant to today so that The Strange Adventures of H feels both historical and modern.

Indeed, what I enjoyed so much about The Strange Adventures of H is the manner in which a very female version of history is presented, and one which is not about the higher echelons of society, but rather the ordinary person, H, whose adventures could have been those of any woman fallen on hard times in her era.

The Strange Adventures of H is a cracking romp of a read that I found hugely diverting. I really recommend it.

About Sarah Burton

The Strange Adventures of H is Sarah’s debut novel for adults. Sarah was the course director of Cambridge University’s MSt in Creative Writing. She has written for BBC History Magazine and reviews for the Times, Spectator, Guardian and Independent.

You can follow H’s adventures on Twitter @AdventuresOfH1.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

It gives me very great pleasure to welcome Samantha Rose to Linda’s Book Bag today as part of her blog tour organised by Kelly at Love Books Group. Samantha is going to stay in and tell me all about her very first book.

Staying in with Samantha Rose

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Samantha 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?

I have brought with me The Very Real World of Emily Adams. It is my first novel and man, it has been quite a journey getting it here, so I’m pretty excited to share it with you.

Congratulations. You must be thrilled to be in print. What can we expect from an evening in with The Very Real World of Emily Adams?

The Very Real World of Emily Adams is a dark yet uplifting story about a suicidal girl who meets a magical musician/motivational speaker, who likes to doll himself up in makeup and a dress on Ladies Night. There’s a portal, man-eating monsters, aliens, pop-culture references and an elevator with a personality.

Crikey, that’s quite a cast and plot!

Despite its dark themes, early readers have told me how much they have laughed—literally out loud—throughout the book, which is important to me, because I feel like laughter is a life-saving medicine in dark times.

It certainly is!

This novel is about finding your way again when you feel lost, and when things don’t work out the way you hope. If you can just find the strength to hold on through those times, you will find joy on the other side that is as deep and real as has been your despair. I really believe that, as it’s a lesson I’ve learned from experience, and one that I just had to share with people.

That sounds perfect for today’s world.

Here are a few reader reviews:

“I fell in love with Rain and Emily right away.”

“I have been hooked on every chapter! … It’s suspenseful, it’s romantic. Perfect story! Perfect ending!”

“I loved it. I still have [the characters] on my mind.”

“Not saying I neglected my children or anything, but…. [that’s] a testament to the quality of the book. The only time I get like that with a book is when I can’t put it down.”

Those are fabulous Samantha. You must be thrilled to get such a response.

What else have you brought along and why?

I have brought with me The Green Mile by Stephen King, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

In The Green Mile, John Coffey is this beautiful character with remarkable empathy and the ability to heal others. Because of prejudice, he ends up on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. I read it in high school, and it has always stayed with me. There was such a dark, beauty to that story. Stephen King has been my hero ever since, and so much about that book has inspired The Very Real World of Emily Adams.

As an ex high school English teacher, I love the idea that reading in school had led you to writing Samantha.

However—let me now present The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s really not dark, other than the fact that the Earth is demolished to make way for an intergalactic bypass. The humor in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is just amazing. There were moments where I was in tears, I was laughing so much. And I just thought, “I want to do that. I want to write like this.” Throughout writing The Very Real World of Emily Adams (her last name is a nod to Douglas Adams, by the way), I’d hoped to try and marry the things I loved and had learned from these heroes of mine.

The Very Real World of Emily Adams is not your typical urban fantasy and I was concerned about that, but these authors have given me courage. I feel like both Stephen King and Douglas Adams are very brave in their writing. They are completely unapologetic, and that’s what makes them so inspiring and timeless.

And it sounds as if you’ve learnt from them to make for a highly entertaining read in The Very Real World of Emily Adams Samantha. Thanks so much for staying in with me to tell me all about it.

The Very Real World of Emily Adams

Emily Adams has reached a breaking point. Her boyfriend pushed her down the stairs, breaking her arm, and now she’s found herself in an unfamiliar city with fifteen cents in her pocket and nowhere to go. She’s decided that all that’s left for her, is to take matters into her own hands and put an end to her misery…

Until an encounter with a magic man in a dress changes everything.

In a story full of humor and heart, The Very Real World of Emily Adams shows that there is hope in darkness, triumph in tragedy, and the moment when things are at their worst is when you hold on the hardest, because you never know what good things are waiting for you on the other side of despair.

The Very Real World of Emily Adams is available for purchase here.

About Samantha Rose

Samantha Rose is a forever-student at Utah State University, who will one day have her Masters Degree in Psychology. She wrote her first novel in permanent marker on her sister’s vanity chair when she was three-years-old. It wasn’t well received.

She currently resides in the mountains, in a little house full of toys, where she’s enjoying her happily ever after with her Prince Charming and three adorable, little bears.

You can follow Samantha on Instagram.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

It’s always a delight to find new to me authors and I’m delighted to welcome Eliot Parker to the blog today to stay in with me as part of his blog tour and tell me about one of his books. I’d like to thank Isobel of Blackthorn Tours for putting us in touch with one another and inviting me to participate in this tour.

Staying in with Eliot Parker

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Eliot 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?

The book I am sharing is called A Knife’s Edge. This is a sequel to the book Fragile Brilliance, featuring Charleston (West Virginia) police sergeant Ronan McCullough. I have chosen it because Ronan is my favorite character. I love getting to set a story in my hometown of Charleston, West Virginia. A Knife’s Edge was an honorable mention in Thriller Writing from the London Book Festival in 2019 and received the Pinnacle Award for Thriller Writing from National Association of Book Editors (NABE).

How wonderful. You must be really pleased about that Eliot. Congratulations. Tell me, what can we expect from an evening in with A Knife’s Edge?

If readers spend an evening with this book, I think they will find that it is a classic thriller novel full of murder and intrigue. Readers that love a great mystery and believable subplots will also enjoy this book. One of the strongest traits of this book is the characters. As readers move through the novel, they will have a chance to get to know the characters quite well on an introspective, personal level. I think that allows readers a stronger understanding of why the characters do and say the things they do and say in the story. For example, the protagonist, Ronan, is a prickly sort. He can difficult with anyone from his bosses to his calm supportive partner Eric to his kind, good-hearted boyfriend Ty. Speaking of Ty, Ronan constantly lives in fear that his homosexuality will come to light. “A gay police sergeant working for the municipal police department in the state right in the heart of Appalachia was unfathomable.” Inexorably intense, Ronan presses forward with an investigation that links together numerous murders all connected in one way another to the mysterious and well-funded BTech Company.

I love a character driven narrative. I like the sound of A Knife’s Edge.

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

I’ve brought some photos. The first picture is a picture of Mike and Chris, two Charleston Police Department officers who helped me get all of the details of police work right and helped me mold and shape Ronan into a character.

I hear a lot about the research that goes into writing but rarely do I see the people authors are in contact with.

This is the police badge of the Charleston Police Department, which is attached to the shoulders of each officer’s uniform.

The third picture is a sample blood testing machine that BTech uses in the book to manipulate blood samples. This machine is just a prototype and is not actually used by any law enforcement agency.

It looks as if it could be. Now, of course, Eliot, I want to know what happens with that blood testing machine! Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about A Knife’s Edge and good luck with the book!

A Knife’s Edge

Six months after a drug cartel infiltrated Charleston, Ronan McCullough continues to fight the drug war that plagues the city.

His investigations are halted when the body of a mutual acquaintance, Sarah Gilmore, is found in the trunk of a burning car.

In an investigation that takes him deep into the professional and personal life of the victim, McCullough discovers secrets lurking in her past, and a tangled web of personal and professional conflicts, suspicion, and betrayal.

Was Sarah killed for those reasons or something larger?

As Ronan seeks answers, his life and the lives of those closest to him are used as pawns in a deadly game that has no ending.

A Knife’s Edge is available for purchase here.

About Eliot Parker

Eliot Parker is the author of four novels, most recently A Knife’s Edge, which was an Honorable Mention in Thriller Writing at the London Book Festival, and is the sequel to the award-winning novel Fragile Brilliance. His novel Code for Murder was named a 2018 Finalist for Genre Fiction by American Book Fest. He is a recipient of the West Virginia Literary Merit Award and Fragile Brilliance was a finalist for the Southern Book Prize in Thriller Writing. He recently received with the Thriller Writing Award by the National Association of Book Editors (NABE) for his novels.

Eliot is the host of the podcast program Now, Appalachia, which profiles authors and publishers living and writing in the Appalachian region and is heard on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network and Blog Talk Radio. A graduate of the Bluegrass Writers Studio at Eastern Kentucky University with his MFA in Creative Writing and Murray State University with his Doctorate in English, he teaches English at the University of Mississippi and lives in Oxford, Mississippi and Chesapeake, Ohio.

You can find Eliot on Facebook and Instagram and follow him on Twitter @E4419 or visit his website for more information.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

There are some people in the world of publishing who are just a delight and Kim Nash is one such lady. As a result, I’m thrilled to be part of the launch celebrations for Kim’s latest book, Sunshine and Second Chances. Kim’s staying in with me to chat all about this latest book.

I loved Kim’s debut novel Amazing Grace and you can read my review of that book here. I was equally impressed by her next, Escape to Giddywell Grange. You’ll find my review of that book here.

So, let’s see what Kim has to say about Sunshine and Second Chances.

Staying in with Kim Nash

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Kim. It’s far too long since we got together in person so I’m delighted to see you here today. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

I know the answer, but which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’m bringing my latest book Sunshine and Second Chances.  People are describing it as a gorgeous summery read and who doesn’t fancy a trip abroad right now?

Absolutely! What a gorgeous cover. And congratulations are in order as I know Sunshine and Second Chances is out today. Tell us a bit more about what we can expect from an evening in with Sunshine and Second Chances?

In all of my books, this is my third, you will find strong female friendships. In Sunshine and Second Chances, four friends from University, all with different issues in their lives, and all either already celebrated or about to celebrate their 50^th birthdays, go on holiday to a gorgeous villa in The Algarve where they rediscover their hopes and dreams.  There’s sunshine, laughter, a little love, and that strong female friendship that I’ve been lucky enough to experience in my life.

How lovely to have a set of ‘older’ characters to read about. My next birthday will be my 60th so I shall look forward to reading about women I can relate to. I’m so pleased to have Sunshine and Second Chances on my TBR. 

This is what readers are saying so far, Linda so I hope you enjoy it too:

‘The perfect, feel-good, life-affirming summer read.’ Nicola May, No1 bestselling author of the Cockleberry Bay series

‘Sunshine and Second Chances is a gorgeous summery read about finding yourself.’  By the Letter Book Reviews

‘An outstanding summer read!’  Robin Loves Reading

‘Just gorgeous – perfect summer read.’ Being Anne

‘Such a fun, uplifting and inspiring read – you’re never too old to follow your dreams!’ Crime Book Junkie

“It’s just lush! I love it!” Crooks on Books

“My favourite book so far!” Stardust Book Reviews

“I couldn’t put it down! Full of feel-good fun, hope and friendship…” StefLoz Book Blog

You must be thrilled with those responses Kim. 

What else have you brought along and why?

Well, as the book is set in The Algarve, I’m going to take you to Vilamoura and we’re going to sit at one of the marina-side restaurants, where we can sit in the glorious sunshine and watch the world go by.

I think a carafe of Portugese Rosé would be in order, and I’ll be bringing along my friends Liv, Debs, Samantha and Fiona, and will introduce you to my gorgeous Portugese men, Eduardo, Bernardo and Josep.

Now THAT sounds a plan!

Last August myself and the fabulous bestselling author Nicola May spent a few days doing exactly this! And this is one of our very happy Portugese memories! My son Ollie and I have also had some gorgeous Algarge holidays and there are a couple of other snaps from those holidays too!

As it’s one of my favourite places in the world, it seemed the right location for me to whisk my readers away to.

I think it sounds perfect. Thanks so much for staying in with me Kim. All the very best with Sunshine and Second Chances. You pour the rosé and I’ll tell blog readers a bit more about the book!

Sunshine and Second Chances

It’s never too late to be offered a second chance at life.

Tim Walker has featured frequently on Linda’s Book Bag; last time introducing PERVERSE – a collection of short prose and verse, and sharing a poem with us in a post you can see here.

Another time Tim shared an extract from Arthur Dux Bellorum here and he has introduced his book Uther’s Destiny in a post you can see here, as well as previously writing a fabulous guest post about fiction and fear when the second book in his A Light in the Dark Ages series, Ambrosius: Last of the Romans, was published, and you can read that post here.

However, Tim and I have never stayed in together so today we are putting that right as Tim brings another of his books to share with us.

Staying in with Tim Walker

Welcome back to Linda’s Book Bag, Tim. 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?

Hi Linda, thanks for inviting me to showcase my new book, Arthur Rex Brittonum, on your ‘Staying in with’ feature.

Published on 1^st June, Arthur Rex Brittonum is my new telling of the story of King Arthur, the legendary British king of Camelot fame. However, my Arthur does not live in a magical castle called Camelot, and there is no shining armour, as he is a rough-and-ready early sixth century warlord, busy organising armed resistance to the creeping colonisation of England by the Anglo-Saxons.

That sounds a bit different Tim. Tell me more about what we can expect from Arthur Rex Brittonum.

He is not distracted by the search for the Holy Grail, nor embroiled in a love triangle with Guinevere and Lancelot – although Guinevere does qualify as she is a character associated with Arthur in early Welsh folklore. Lancelot is excluded from my story because he was added to the legend by French poet, Chretien de Troyes, around the year 1180. The Teutonic (Germanic) Knights may date back as far as the latter years of the Western Roman Empire, and therefore I have included the rank of Knight in my story.

I have been researching what little is known about Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries, a period known as the Dark Ages, due to the paucity of hard facts about events and key people. What I have learned is that some historians believe that Arthur was a real historical character, upon whose shoulders a fantastic legend was built by a succession of Middle Ages writers, starting with Geoffrey of Monmouth in 1136.

Arthur is mentioned by Welsh chroniclers and some early church clerics, including the monk Nennius, writing around the year 820, who attributes twelve winning battles to Arthur. The Welsh Annales place Arthur at the Battle of Mount Badon around the year 519, and tell us his final battle was in the year 539 at Camlann, ‘where Arthur and Medraut (Mordred) fell.’ From these vague glimpses of a historical Arthur, I have built my story, including other historical characters, such as known tribal kings, to imbue it with as much historical realism as possible.

This sounds like a lifelong passion Time. It must have been fascinating to research. Why did you choose this subject?

My mission is to take the real Arthur out of the shadows of the romantic Mediaeval legend and locate him where he belongs – fighting Saxons in the early sixth century. He is one of British culture’s most revered legendary figures, together with Robin Hood and Saint George the dragon slayer. They are legends because their existence has not been categorically proven to the satisfaction of historians. Yes, I know that Saint George is an established historical character – a Roman soldier, who died in the year 303 AD. But George the dragon slayer is a legendary invention, perhaps based on an early English folk tale of Gaarge who slayed a ‘giant worm’ and freed a maiden. I believe two stories have been intertwined to create the legend.

It is my dream that in time (hopefully, in my lifetime), archaeologists and historians will uncover enough evidence to take Arthur off the ‘legend’ shelf and place him alongside real, historical, heroic figures like Alfred the Great and Richard the Lionheart, where he belongs.

My goodness. That’s quite a wish. So, what else have you brought along and why?

I have brought along four photographs of me visiting Roman sites that are connected to my books. I wanted to stand in places where a real, historical Arthur may have lived or visited, and soak up the atmosphere. Also, I wanted to get a sense of proportion and perspective, and imagine what life would have been like in post-Roman Britain. The Welsh folk tales that form The Mabinogion have King Arthur based at the town of Caerleon (‘Caer Legion’ in the post-Roman era).

Here I’m standing in the amphitheatre at Caerleon. I am attracted to the theory that Arthur ruled from ‘Caer Legion’ and the round amphitheatre was a pace where he held his council meetings – could ‘Arthur’s Roundel’ be the protype for the round table?

I bet it could. Where’s this next image from Tim?

Standing beside the wall of the Roman Museum in Caerleon, next to a skilfully made tiled mosaic of a Roman legionary.

An historian, Graham Phillips, makes a case for Arthur being a King of Powys and being based at the former Roman town of Viriconium (Wroxeter), near Shrewsbury. Archaeologists and historians confirm that the walled town was continuously occupied and part of it rebuilt in the two hundred years after the Romans left Britain, and it may have been a base for the kings of Powys.

I love this period of history Tim and you’re making me very jealous with your visits.

Here is a picture of me standing in the entrance that connected the Basilica to the Bathhouse in the ruins of Viriconium – the tallest standing Roman interior wall in Britain.

This picture is of me and my daughter standing in front of a section of Roman town wall at Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester) on the Hampshire/Berkshire border. Note the herringbone stonework pattern, a design that is intended to be earthquake-resistant.

How brilliant. I’ve loved hearing about Arthur Rex Brittonum, Tim. Thanks so much for staying in with me to tell me all about it. I’ll fetch my collection of Roman coins and you can see if any fit the period you write about!

Arthur Rex Brittonum

From the decay of post-Roman Britain, Arthur seeks to unite a troubled land

Arthur Rex Brittonum (‘King of the Britons’) is an action-packed telling of the King Arthur story rooted in historical accounts that predate the familiar Camelot legend.

Britain in the early sixth century has reverted to tribal lands, where chiefs settle old scores with neighbours whilst eyeing with trepidation the invaders who menace the shore in search of plunder and settlement.

Arthur,only son of the late King Uther, has been crowned King of the Britons by the northern chiefs and must now persuade their counterparts in the south and west to embrace him. Will his bid to lead their combined army against the Saxon threat succeed? He arrives in Powys buoyed by popular acclaim at home, a king, husband and father – but can he sustain his efforts in unfamiliar territory?  It is a treacherous and winding road that ultimately leads him to a winner-takes-all clash at the citadel of Mount Badon.

Tim Walker’s Arthur Rex Brittonum picks up the thread from the earlier life of Arthur in 2019’s Arthur Dux Bellorum, but it can be read as a standalone novel.

Fans of Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden and Mathew Harffy will enjoy Walker’s A Light in the Dark Ages series and its newest addition – Arthur Rex Brittonum.

Arthur Rex Brittonum is available for purchase through Amazon US and Amazon UK.

https://amazon.com/dp/B087C983WQ

About Tim Walker

Tim Walker is an independent author living near Windsor in the UK. He grew up in Liverpool where he began his working life as a trainee reporter on a local newspaper, The Woolton Mercury. A media career ensued, including a stint overseas in Zambia.

His creative writing journey began in earnest in 2013, as a therapeutic activity whilst recovering from cancer treatment. He started an historical fiction series, A Light in the Dark Ages, in 2015, following a visit to the near-by site of a former Roman town.The aim of the series is to connect the end of Roman Britain to elements of the Arthurian legend, presenting an imagined history of Britain in the early Dark Ages.

His latest book is Arthur, Dux Bellorum, a re-imagining of the story of King Arthur, published in March 2019. Book four in the A Light in the Dark Ages series, it won two book awards in April 2019 – One Stop Fiction Book of the Month and the Coffee Pot Book Club Book Award. The final book in the series, Arthur Rex Brittonum, is due out in June 2020.

The series starts with Abandoned (second edition 2018); followed by Ambrosius: Last of the Romans (2017); and book three, Uther’s Destiny (2018). Series book covers are designed by Canadian graphic artist, Cathy Walker. Tim is self-published under his brand name, timwalkerwrites.

Tim has also written two books of short stories, Thames Valley Tales (2015), and Postcards from London (2017); a dystopian thriller, Devil Gate Dawn (2016); and two children’s books, co-authored with his daughter, Cathy – The Adventures of Charly Holmes (2017) and Charly & The Superheroes (2018) with a third in the pipeline – Charly in Space.

To find out more you can visit Tim’s website.  You can follow Tim on Twitter @timwalker1666 and you’ll find him on Amazon and Facebook.