As we are now in that frantic run up to Christmas when time seems short and we can all begin to feel slightly stressed, it feels the perfect moment to be staying in with Sheree K. Nielsen for the evening to chat about one of her books.

Staying in with Sheree K.Nielsen

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Sheree. Thank you for staying in with me. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it? 

Linda, I have brought along Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits – An Emerson-Inspired Essay Collection on Travel, Nature, Family and Pets. It is the most recently published of my three books, and shows how tender and positive adventures and experiences can be in life, if we just keep our eyes open to our surroundings.

(I think we all need a book like Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits at times Sheree.)

What can we expect from an evening in with Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits?

In Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits, I’ll take you on a journey where you’ll encounter dolphins, sharks, sea-loving dogs, soul-searching, walks on the beach, the solitude of the underwater world, gentle pets that heal our hearts, family heritage, and our connection with kindred spirits.

This book is our wake-up call to respect every living creature.

(It sounds wonderful Sheree. I’ve swum with dolphins and sharks and love the underwater world. I also miss my pet cats so I’m intrigued to find out about Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits.)

What else have you brought along and why?

I’ve brought along memories of all things good and warm, like crackling bonfires on the beach, the feel of sand between your toes, and how important it is to find your own inspirational spot that gives you peace. For me, it’s the Kindred Spirit Bench and Mailbox near Bird Island, South Carolina.

(Wise words Sheree. Being out in nature is such a healing experience.)

I’ve also brought along the photo that complements the lead-in essay titled Finding My Kindred Spirit where I search for my own spiritual place where creative juices flow. The photo shows my husband sitting on the weathered bench, penning a letter to his friend Wil, who passed away suddenly. The flag waving in the background, the dunes, the color of the sky, the location of the mailbox, all help create the mood of the photo that ultimately led me to write the essay.

(That’s a wonderful memory captured by your camera.)

I love how Sandy Gingras, author/illustrator Walks on the Beach and Lessons of a Turtle says it perfectly in her endorsement of Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits:

Sheree Nielsen gets it. She’s a gatherer of details and lovely moments – of beachy beauty, of good people and their kind words, of gentle animals. She loves what should be loved in life. She honors what should be honored. She seems to live the way we all should live. Reading her essays reminded me how to live better.

(I think that’s a fantastic endorsement from Sandy. At a time when life can feel commercialised and meaningless, this is a very important message in Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits.)

My hope is that whoever reads the book can use these essays as a foundation to link the universal beauty to their own experiences, and find themselves, awaking the majesty of Earth within their soul!

You’ve certainly encouraged me to step back from the pace a little Sheree. Thanks so much for staying in with me and telling me all about Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits. I’ve really enjoyed our evening.

Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits

Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits is a reminder to be present in the moment, live life with abandon, invariably respecting nature, animals and people.

Join Sheree K. Nielsen, 2015 Da Vinci Eye Award Winner (Folly Beach Dances) on a journey as she awakens the wanderlust in her soul, defines moments of clarity while walking on the beach, finds solitude diving with sharks and dolphins, and befriends sea-loving dogs. She’ll reveal her strong connection to family and beloved pets, the beauty in a mimosa tree, and the kindred spirit that lives in all of us. A unique essay collection of all things warm and good inspired by the author’s love for Emerson. Complementary photographs by Sheree are included at the end of each essay, with a few seafaring friend’s photographs as well.

Location of essays include the Carolinas, Florida, Caribbean, and the Midwest.

Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits is available for purchase here.

About Sheree K. Nielsen

Sheree K. Nielsen is Author/Photographer of 2015 Da Vinci Eye Award Winner, Folly Beach Dances, a ‘healing’ coffee table book inspired by the rhythm of the sea and her lymphoma journey; coauthor of, Midnight, The One-Eyed Cat, a picture book about a sweet cat who learns to overcome her handicap, build confidence and discovers she’s okay just the way she is; and Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits – An Emerson-Inspired Essay Collection on Travel, Nature, Family and Pets – a reminder to be present in the moment, live life with wild abandon, invariably respecting, every living thing.

An award-winning author, poet and photographer, publications include AAA Southern Traveler, AAA Midwest Traveler, Southern Writers Magazine, South and North Brunswick Magazine, Long Weekends, Missouri Life, Breaking Sad, Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, and many other anthologies, newspapers, and websites across the nation.

She’s dove with sharks, dolphins, stingrays, turtles, had her toes bitten by iguanas, met Triple Crown winning jockeys, participated in David Copperfield’s disappearing act “13”, survived Tropical Storm Jerry on a liveaboard, and walked on a disappearing sand bar.

When not writing, she’s usually discovering new beaches and coffeehouses with her husband, and two goofy dogs. Four content cats round out her family on three acres in Missouri.

She has an uncontrollable dependency on dark chocolate.

You can find Sheree on Facebook and Instagram, follow her on Twitter @ShereeKNielsen and visit her website.

Having been quoted on the front cover of one of her previous books, The Development, I can’t begin to tell you how delighted I am to be part of the cover reveal for Jackie Kabler’s latest novel, Am I Guilty?, in her new signing with Killer Reads at Harper Collins. I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy these more psychological books as I’ve so enjoyed her previous writing.

Am I Guilty? will be released in e-book on 19th April 2019 and in paperback on 27th June and is available for pre-order here.

Let’s find out all about the book:

Am I Guilty?

A mother’s job is to protect her child…

But everyone makes mistakes sometimes

Gripping, exciting and emotional, this book will grab you from the first page and refuse to let you go until the final chapter!

I never thought it would happen to me…

One moment I had it all – a gorgeous husband, a beautiful home, a fulfilling career and two adorable children. The next, everything came crashing down around me.

They said it was my fault. They said I’m the worst mother in the world. And even though I can’t remember what happened that day, they wouldn’t lie to me. These are my friends, my family, people I trust.

But then why do I have this creeping sensation that something is wrong? Why do I feel like people are keeping secrets? Am I really as guilty as they say? And if I’m not, what will happen when the truth comes out…?

Am I Guilty? is perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty, Shari Lapena and Lisa Jewell.

*

Well, I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Am I Guilty?

Don’t forget that you can pre-order Am I Guilty? here.

About Jackie Kabler

Jackie Kabler is the author of the Cora Baxter Mysteries, a series of murder mysteries set in a television newsroom. Jackie worked as a newspaper reporter and then in television news for twenty years, including nearly a decade on GMTV. She later appeared on BBC and ITV news, presented a property show for Sky, hosted sports shows on Setanta Sports News and worked as a media trainer for the Armed Forces. She is now a presenter on shopping channel QVC. Jackie lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, who is a GP.

You can follow Jackie on Twitter @jackiekabler, visit her website and find her on Facebook and Instagram.

I’m delighted to welcome Earik Beann to Linda’s Book Bag today. As you know, I’m cutting back on blog posts after Christmas to concentrate on reading and reviewing and I think I may have found a new favourite author in Earik as he’s persuading me to read a genre I don’t usually read.  I’m so pleased he’s staying in with me to tell me about one of his books. It feels particularly apt to welcome Earik after the recent terrible fires in America as you’ll see…

Staying in with Earik Beann

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

Thanks, Linda! It’s great to be here!

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

I’ve brought Killing Adam, my science fiction novel. The idea for this book came about through a fight I had with Siri, the virtual assistant on my iPhone. Seems weird to say I had a fight with a computer program, but that’s totally what happened. I was just trying to get her to add some milk to the grocery list, and she was being completely snarky with me. I don’t know if I interrupted her Facebook time or what, but she just refused to cooperate, and it was a completely maddening experience.

(I love that insight into the inspiration for Killing Adam – makes me want to read the book! I’m so glad it’s on my TBR.)

Anyway, I found myself thinking: I’m a smart guy, and she’s a smart program, maybe the trouble here is that we just have communication issues since we have to go through the whole voice recognition part of it. Wouldn’t it be better if she was just a chip in my head, and I could simply think these thoughts right at her? And if that were the case, wouldn’t it be cool to be networked up with everyone else who had a chip in their heads too? And what would happen to social media in that context? And in that scenario, with every human having chips in their head all networked together to form a gigantic supercomputer, wouldn’t it be crazy if that’s how machines finally became sentient? And after I had that, it was impossible not to sit down and write the whole story down.

(That sounds quite mind blowing in more ways than one…)

Machines becoming sentient and turning on humanity should be a familiar concept to most sci-fi fans, but the interesting twist in this case is that the machines aren’t necessarily separate from us. They’re part of us, and they live through us. They need us. You can make a bit of an argument that social media in general is like a giant sentient being. It creates a virtual world for people to live in where they want to spend every waking hour, and by doing so, social media feeds itself. So the people give life to this thing that wouldn’t exist without them, and when you look at it in aggregate, Facebook (or Twitter, or Instagram, or whatever) ends up ultimately acting in its own interests, and driving its own narrative and agenda. This book takes that same fact of modern life and just cranks it way up to an insane level.

(I agree wholeheartedly about that social media agenda Earik. I think Killing Adam sounds fascinating. You’ve persuaded me to read a genre I usually ignore!)

What can we expect from an evening in with Killing Adam?

One of my biggest goals with this work was to write something that I would enjoy reading myself, which means no boring parts! My taste in literature tends to be science fiction and fantasy, and I can’t tell you the number of trilogies I’ve read in those genres. I get why authors do that, because if you can get someone hooked on book 1, you then have a built-in audience willing to buy books 2 and 3. The problem is that most stories aren’t really complicated enough to warrant a length of 1,000+ pages, and the result is that there are huge sections where nothing happens. I’ve become very good at speed reading for this reason, and find myself flying through half the trilogy just to get past the filler. So when it came time to write Killing Adam, I told myself no filler! Only interesting, fun chapters. I’ll leave it to the readers to let me know how successful I was, but it’s something I was really focused on when writing this book.

(Ha! You’ve just described my usual frustration with the genre, Now of course I have to read Killing Adam to see whether you achieved your aim!)

What else have you brought along and why? 

I’ve brought along a picture from a year ago, back in October 2017. That’s me and Oscar, my dog, standing in front of our house in Santa Rosa before going on a patrol around the neighborhood. That’s an important picture for me, because I can trace my writing career right back to that moment in time.

On October 9, 2017, California suffered one of the most destructive fire in its history. The Tubbs Fire burned 5,643 structures and killed twenty-two people in Sonoma County. The fire department was completely overwhelmed and was so busy trying to save lives that they had to let many houses burn rather than waste resources in trying to protect them. We had to evacuate our home at 3 a.m., and we drove out through flames and smoke.

(What an ordeal. That must have been terrifying.)

But the very next day, nine of us snuck back into our neighborhood in the mandatory evacuation zone and formed a vigilante fire force. We called ourselves the Pointe Patrol, and saved our neighborhood, as well as an apartment complex across the street from certain destruction.

(My goodness!)

As if the fires weren’t enough, we found ourselves in the midst of anarchy, with looters running unchecked through the streets. We chased them out of houses with shovels, confronted them when they showed up in disguise, and patrolled the area with Oscar, who is a completely over-the-top Doberman. The other neighbors who had evacuated organized themselves into our support network and supplied us with food and equipment, which they passed through to us across the police lines.

It was an epic, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and being part of that nine-person team along with my wife changed my life in many ways. One of the most significant impacts happened because I had the incredible urge to write down our adventures in a memoir, which was released earlier this year. It’s called Pointe Patrol: How nine people (and a dog) saved their neighborhood from one of the most destructive fires in California’s history.

Check out the cover:

I’m donating all proceeds from this year’s sales of this memoir to fire victims that have been touched by the more recent fires in California, like the Camp and Woolsey Fires. Maybe what Pointe Patrol did during the Tubbs Fire can have a bigger reach than just my own neighborhood.

(What a lovely thing to do Earik. I can’t imagine how so many must be feeling to have lost everything recently. Linda’s Book Bag Readers might like to know Pointe Patrol is available for purchase here.)

After working on that memoir, I fell in love with writing again. I had always wanted to be a writer, and used to spend my summer vacations in high school writing fantasy books. I ended up launching a financial software company and being an entrepreneur instead of a writer, and had sort of forgotten about my writing career, so there was a long 25-year detour that I took around the financial industry before finding myself in the middle of writing Pointe Patrol. That book put me back in touch with all of my early dreams, and directly led to me writing Killing Adam, which was a blast to work on. It was definitely a roundabout path that I took to get here, but I’m very grateful that it all happened the way it did, and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.

I should hope not Earik. It really has been a fascinating evening staying in with you to chat about both Killing Adam and Pointe Patrol and I wish you every success with both books. Thanks so much for being here.

Killing Adam

The world runs on ARCs. Altered Reality Chips. Small implants behind the left ear that allow people to experience anything they could ever imagine. The network controls everything, from traffic, to food production, to law enforcement. Some proclaim it a Golden Age of humanity. Others have begun to see the cracks. Few realize that behind it all, living within every brain and able to control all aspects of society, there exists a being with an agenda all his own: the singularity called Adam, who believes he is God.

Jimmy Mahoney’s brain can’t accept an ARC. Not since his football injury from the days when the league was still offline. “ARC-incompatible” is what the doctors told him. Worse than being blind and deaf, he is a man struggling to cling to what’s left of a society that he is no longer a part of. His wife spends twenty-three hours a day online, only coming off when her chip forcibly disconnects her so she can eat. Others are worse. Many have died, unwilling or unable to log off to take care of even their most basic needs.

After being unwittingly recruited by a rogue singularity to play a role in a war that he doesn’t understand, Jimmy learns the truth about Adam and is thrown into a life-and-death struggle against the most powerful mathematical mind the world has ever known.

But what can one man do against a being that exists everywhere and holds limitless power?

How can one man, unable to even get online, find a way to save his wife, and the entire human race, from destruction?

Killing Adam is available for purchase here.

About Earik Beann

Over the years Earik has been involved in many small businesses, including software development, an online vitamin store, specialty pet products, a commodity pool, and a publishing house. You could say he’s got a bad case of serial entrepreneurism. But above any beyond all that, Earik’s original love has always been writing and telling stories.

As a teenager, he wrote two fantasy novels during summer break. Neither was published—which is probably for the best!—but he loved working on those books, and learned a lot by writing them. Later, Earik authored six technical books on very esoteric subjects related to financial markets. Those were meant for an extremely niche audience, and would be insanely boring to anyone outside that specific group of people.

In October 2017, Earik found himself at ground zero in the middle of the Tubbs Fire. A group of nine including Earik snuck back into our neighborhood in the middle of a mandatory evacuation zone, formed a vigilante fire fighting force, and saved their block (and an apartment complex!) from certain destruction. Working on his memoir of those experiences brought Earik back to those summers as a teenager spent working on his fantasy novels, and rekindled a deep love for writing that he had somehow forgotten about. Now writing is all Earik really wants to do.

Earik lives in California with his wife, Laura, and their Doberman and two Tennessee barn cats. When not thinking of stories, Earik enjoys practicing yoga, riding his bike, and playing the Didgeridoo.

For more information you can find Earik on Facebook and Instagaram and follow him on twitter @EarikB.

I have to say I’m ever so slightly beside myself today. I have been so lucky to meet Milly Johnson on a couple of occasions (one of which you can read about here) and I’m thrilled that she will be one of the guest speakers next May at The Deepings Literary Festival where I live. I so enjoyed Milly’s book The Perfectly Imperfect Woman, reviewed here, that I am delighted and honoured to be starting the blog tour for her latest novel The Mother of all Christmases.

I have a smashing guest post from Milly all about three Christmas wishes.

Published by Simon and Schuster, The Mother of all Christmases is available for purchase through the links here.

The Mother of all Christmases

Eve Glace – co-owner of the theme park Winterworld – is having a baby and her due date is a perfectly timed 25th December. And she’s decided that she and her husband Jacquesshould renew their wedding vows with all the pomp that was missing the first time. But growing problems at Winterworld keep distracting them …

Annie Pandoro and her husband Joe own a small Christmas cracker factory, and are well set up and happy together despite life never blessing them with a much-wanted child. But when Annie finds that the changes happening to her body aren’t typical of the menopause but pregnancy, her joy is uncontainable.

Palma Collins has agreed to act as a surrogate, hoping the money will get her out of the gutter in which she finds herself. But when the couple she is helping split up, is she going to be left carrying a baby she never intended to keep?

Annie, Palma and Eve all meet at the ‘Christmas Pudding Club’, a new directive started by a forward-thinking young doctor to help mums-to-be mingle and share their pregnancy journeys. Will this group help each other to find love, contentment and peace as Christmas approaches?

Fairy Godmother Wishes

A Guest Post by Milly Johnson

If I were a Fairy Godmother these are the three wishes I’d grant.  (And you’ll excuse me from doing the obvious ‘world peace/curing disease’ ones – because they’d be top of all our lists but they’re a bit monotonous to read, so let’s pretend we have to ignore those.)

The first would be to grant my kids the love of reading.  They don’t read and it breaks my heart because I get SO much from books and I want them to have all the pleasure I’ve had from them too.  And you can forget all that rubbish the baby books tell you about exposing kids to literature when they are young to engender that love because there was no more ‘booky’ house than mine.  Books everywhere.  Even things that weren’t books were in the shape of books – fake-book tables, remote control holders, cupboards, tins… you name it.  And I read to them and they loved storytime… but pick up a book and read it themselves?  Nope.  And you can’t force them to do it because then you will REALLY put them off.  So one has to cajole gently and just hope that maybe one day they will turn to a book and fall into the pages.  And enjoy.

The second would be to wave my wand and get my mum and dad on a cruise.  I almost got my dad to book one once but at the 11^th hour, he threw down the brochure and said ‘I haven’t got a suit.’  ‘Dad, they sell black jackets in Asda for £30!’ I said.  But nope.  He won’t go.  And I think they’d love it.  So that’s my second wish – to make the amenable to the idea of a cruise.

Thirdly… I’d like to wave my wand over Steven Spielberg and make him think that he really should do a film about a place in England called York-Shire.  So then he would Google Yorkshire authors and lo and behold, my name would be right there at the top.  And he’d check me out, think ‘Hey, she looks like a likely candidate’, request my full catalogue, pore through them and realise that one of these books had wings.  Then he’d find my number, ring me up, ask me if I’d be up for trip to Hollywood to discuss terms, money and leading men (Liam Neeson – obviously) and would I like a bit part in this film in the same scene as the leading man (Er…what do you think, Steve?).  I couldn’t have all the powers of a flipping Fairy Godmother and not give myself a wish, come on!  Anyway.  Steven would make an absolute fortune out of the film so it would really be a worthwhile wish granted for him primarily.  Honest.

(All the very best with those three wishes Milly – though I think some might be easier to grant than others!)

About Milly Johnson

Milly Johnson was born, raised and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. As well as being a prolific author, she is also a copywriter for the greetings card industry, a joke-writer, a columnist, after dinner speaker, poet, BBC newspaper reviewer, and a sometimes BBC radio presenter.

She won the RoNA for Best Romantic Comedy Novel of 2014 and 2016 and the Yorkshire Society award for Arts and Culture 2015.

She writes about love, life, friendships and that little bit of the magic that sometimes crops up in real life. She likes owls, cats, meringues, handbags and literary gifts – but hates marzipan. She is very short.

You can follow Milly on Twitter @millyjohnson and Facebook. Milly has an excellent website too where you can sign up for her brilliant monthly newsletter with exclusive, news, offers and competitions.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

I couldn’t quite believe my luck when this invitation dropped into my inbox as I really enjoy Orion’s fiction so I was thrilled that I was actually able to attend. My goodness, what an afternoon it was. It was wonderful to catch up with authors, bloggers and publishing folk I already knew like Erica James and to meet new ones such as Richard Roper, but I was especially delighted finally to meet Fanny Blake whose books I’ve loved for ages.

There was a smashing Christmassy feel to the event with a tree bedecked in bookish baubles in keeping with the theme of All I Want for Christmas is Books!

It was so lovely to be made to feel special with a personalised name tag too:

The tables were absolutely groaning – first with gorgeous food so that, along with several glasses of champagne, I think I ate my own bodyweight in scones:

But more importantly, there were so many fabulous books as well as other edible treats to bring away in our goody bags. I would have liked a copy of everything but that would have been too greedy even for me.

I wonder whose champagne that is…

All the publicists must have put in ages to organise this afternoon so brilliantly and I would like to thank each and every one for making me so welcome, for being so passionate about their authors and books and for giving me so many wonderful books to bring home to read.

This is the selection I received:

Some of them are so new that they don’t even have pre-order links or final covers yet but they include:

The Year That Changed Everything by Cathy Kelly

Three women, three birthdays, one year that will change everything…

Ginger isn’t spending her thirtieth the way she would have planned. Tonight might be the first night of the rest of her life – or a total disaster.

Sam is finally pregnant after years of trying. When her waters break on the morning of her fortieth birthday, she panics: forget labour, how is she going to be a mother?

Callie is celebrating her fiftieth at a big party in her Dublin home. Then a knock at the door mid-party changes everything…

Out on 22nd February 2018, The Year That Changed Everything by Cathy Kelly is available for purchase through the links here.

Louis and Louise by Julie Cohen

ONE LIFE. LIVED TWICE.

Louis and Louise are the same person born in two different lives. They are separated only by the sex announced by the doctor and a final ‘e’.

They have the same best friends, the same red hair, the same dream of being a writer, the same excellent whistle. They both suffer one catastrophic night, with life-changing consequences.

Thirteen years later, they are both coming home.

A tender, insightful and timely novel about the things that bring us together – and those which separate us.

Out on 24th January 2019 Louis and Louise by Julie Cohen is available for pre-order through the links here.

Maid by Stephanie Land

‘My daughter learned to walk in a homeless shelter.’

As a struggling single mum, determined to keep a roof over her daughter’s head, Stephanie Land worked for years as a maid, working long hours in order to provide for her small family. In Maid, she reveals the dark truth of what it takes to survive and thrive in today’s inequitable society.

As she worked hard to climb her way out of poverty as a single parent, scrubbing the toilets of the wealthy, navigating domestic labour jobs as a cleaner whilst also juggling higher education, assisted housing, and a tangled web of government assistance, Stephanie wrote. She wrote the true stories that weren’t being told. The stories of the overworked and underpaid.

Written in honest, heart-rending prose and with great insight, Maid explores the underbelly of the upper-middle classes and the reality of what it’s like to be in service to them. ‘I’d become a nameless ghost,’ Stephanie writes. With this book, she gives voice to the ‘servant’ worker, those who fight daily to scramble and scrape by for their own lives and the lives of their children.

Out from imprint Trapeze on 24th January 2019 Maid by Stephanie Land is available for pre-order through the links here.

Bring Me Sunshine by Laura Kemp

Charlotte Bold is nothing like her name – she is shy and timid and just wants a quiet life. When her job doing the traffic news on the radio in London is relocated to Sunshine FM in Mumbles, she jumps at the chance for a new start in Wales.

But when she arrives she discovers that she’s not there to do the travel news – she’s there to front the graveyard evening show. And she’s not sure she can do it.

Thrust into the limelight, she must find her voice and a way to cope. And soon she realises that she’s not the only person who finds life hard – out there her listeners are lonely too. And her show is the one keeping them going.

Can Charlotte seize the day and make the most of her new home? And will she be able to breathe new life into the tiny radio station too…?

Out on 7th February 2019 Bring Me Sunshine by Laura Kemp is available for pre-order through the links here.

Swallowtail Summer by Erica James

It was the summer it all ended . . . It was the summer a new story began.

Linston End has been the summer home to three families for several decades. The memories of their time there are ingrained in their hearts: picnics on the river, gin and tonics in the pavilion at dusk, hours spent seeking out the local swallowtail butterflies. Everyone together. But recently widowed Alastair is about to shock his circle of friends with the decisions he has made – and the changes it will mean for them all… Can these friends learn to live life to its fullest?

Out on 7th March 2019, Swallowtail Summer by Erica James is available for pre-order through the links here.

An Italian Affair by Caroline Montague

Love. War. Family. Betrayal.

Italy, 1937. Alessandra Durante is grieving the loss of her husband when she discovers she has inherited her ancestral family seat, Villa Durante, deep in the Tuscan Hills. Longing for a new start, she moves from her home in London to Italy with her daughter Diana and sets about rebuilding her life.

Under the threat of war, Alessandra’s house becomes first a home and then a shelter to all those who need it. Then Davide, a young man who is hiding the truth about who he is, arrives, and Diana starts to find her heart going where her head knows it must not.

Back home in Britain as war breaks out, Alessandra’s son Robert, signs up to be a pilot, determined to play his part in freeing Italy from the grip of Fascism. His bravery marks him out as an asset to the Allies, and soon he is being sent deep undercover and further into danger than ever before.

As war rages, the Durante family will love and lose, but will they survive the war…?

Out on 21st March An Italian Affair by Caroline Montague is available for pre-order through the links here.

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

Queenie Jenkins can’t cut a break. Well, apart from one from her long term boyfriend, Tom. That’s definitely just a break though. Definitely not a break up. Stuck between a boss who doesn’t seem to see her, a family who don’t seem to listen (if it’s not Jesus or water rates, they’re not interested), and trying to fit in two worlds that don’t really understand her, it’s no wonder she’s struggling.

She was named to be queen of everything. So why is she finding it so hard to rule her own life?

A darkly comic and bitingly subversive take on modern life, Queenie will have you nodding in recognition, crying in solidarity, and rooting for this unforgettable character every step of the way.

Out on 11th April 2019, Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams is available for pre-order through the links here.

Cape May by Chip Cheek

Cape May, New Jersey 1957.

Newlyweds Henry and Effie arrive from Georgia for their honeymoon. It’s the end of the summer season, and as they tentatively discover each other – walking on the deserted beach overlooking the vast, darkening Atlantic, clumsily making love in the dusty rooms of a distant relative’s house – they begin to realize that everyday married life might be disappointingly different from their happy-ever-after fantasy.

Just as they get ready to cut the trip short and leave Cape May, a light goes on in one of the houses on their street. In that one moment their destiny is altered forever.

A glamorous set suddenly disrupt their newly-formed married life and sweep them up into their drama: there’s Clara, a beautiful socialite who feels her youth slipping away; Max, a wealthy playboy and Clara’s lover; and Alma, Max’s aloof and mysterious half-sister, to whom Henry is irresistibly drawn.

The empty town becomes their playground, and as they sneak into abandoned summer homes, go sailing, walk naked under the stars, marvel at the power and beauty of their bodies, experiment with love and sex, and drink massive amounts of gin, Henry and Effie slip from innocence into betrayal, with consequences that reverberate through the rest of their lives.

Out on 30th April 2019, Cape May by Chip Cheek is available for pre-order through the links here.

And last but by no means least – the only man in the room and with apologies for the image but I couldn’t find it yet as it’s so new:

Something to Live For by Richard Roper

Sometimes you have to risk everything to find your something…

Andrew works with death for a living. Searching for people’s next of kin and attending the funerals if they don’t have anyone, he’s desperate to avoid the same fate for himself. Which is fine, because he has the perfect wife and 2.4 children waiting at home for him after a long day. At least, that’s what he’s told people.

The truth is, his life isn’t exactly as people think and the little white lie he once told is about to catch up with him.

Because in all Andrew’s efforts to fit in, he’s forgotten one important thing: how to really live. And maybe, it’s about time for him to start.

Out at the end of June 2019, Something to Live For by Richard Roper is available for pre-order here.

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So you can see what a busy reader I’m going to be. I feel absolutely spoilt and honoured to have so many wonderful books on my TBR and I would like to reiterate my thanks to authors and publicists and everyone in between for creating such brilliant books and allowing me to read them

I also brought home a copy of Orion’s Spring Catalogue (which has had me stroking the pages and sighing since – you can see it already looks well-thumbed) but if you’d like to see what’s coming up you can find out more by viewing the catalogue online here.

I wonder if there’s anything that immediately takes your fancy?

I’m beyond excited to have been asked by Sian at EDPR to be part of the launch celebrations for The Survivors by Kate Furnivall because I love Kate’s writing and have been privileged to meet her on several occasions, the first being a blogger and author event that you can read about here. Kate is such a lovely person as well as being a fabulous writer. You can read my review of Kate’s The Betrayal here.

Today, Kate stays in with me to tell me about her latest book.

Staying in with Kate Furnivall

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Kate. I’m delighted to have you here.

Hello, Linda, long time no see. So it is a real pleasure to be here with you this evening.

The pleasure’s all mine. I think the last time we saw one another we were yelling in each other’s ears trying to make ourselves heard at a Christmas do last year. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Look, I’ve treated us to a bottle of vino and chocs to enjoy while we chat in front of the fire.

(Oo. How lovely. As I’d just poured myself a Bailey’s before you arrived, I’ll trade you my share of the wine for your share of the chocolates.)

Now, in case I couldn’t guess, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it? 

I have brought along The Survivors because it is my new book which is published in paperback this week.

(Happy publication day for yesterday Kate!)

It is always a special moment. I am very excited because in this book I am moving further into the territory of the thriller genre. The suspense and tension levels are racked up quite a few notches and should have readers on the edge of their seats or hiding under the bedclothes. But the glue that holds all the book’s elements together is the love and loyalty between a young mother and her daughter.

(Given that the pace and tension nearly gave me a heart attack in The Betrayal Kate, I’m really looking forward to reading The Survivors over the Christmas break.)

What can we expect from an evening in with The Survivors?

Thrills, danger and a fierce kind of love await. At the core of my story is a mother’s undying love for her child, but one of the things I am also trying to convey is a greater understanding of what it means to be a refugee. My story is set in a Displaced Persons camp in Germany in 1945 when the Allied military powers were struggling to provide food and shelter for the millions of people left homeless when World War 2 came to an end. I am finding that this is a small blind spot of history that few people know much about.

(I think you’re right. It’s not something I’ve given much thought to.)

My main character Klara Janowska arrives in one of these camps with her daughter, 10 year-old Alicja, and believes she is safe. We feel acutely her overwhelming relief. But as soon as she spots Oskar Scholz – a Nazi officer from her past who is now masquerading as a refugee – in the Displaced Persons camp, her senses are on full alert because she knows he is a danger to her daughter. She reacts with the ferocity of a tigress. In that instant she makes the decision to kill him, a life-changing decision. There is no middle ground. His life or her daughter’s. Klara does not hesitate. How many of us are capable of making that decision? Capable of that kind of love. It raises all sorts of moral questions that Klara has to wrestle with in the silent still moments of the night. But the maternal instinct to protect her child drives her on. Would I do the same? Would you?

(Oh. What a question. I’m not a mother, but I do think I might be prepared to kill for those I love.)

It is this kind of situation that I love to explore in order to discover what people are capable of when faced with a cliff edge. To discover what happens when love and kindness are confronted by the darker side of human nature.

(And that’s something many people are living with on a daily basis now as much as those in the past I think.)

One of the aspects of writing historical fiction that I relish is making history more accessible to my readers. I love it when readers contact me to tell me they have learned something new from my books. I hope they will again with The Survivors. Though my narrative is set in 1945, I feel that the situation in which my characters find themselves resonates strongly with us today when we see the tragic pictures of desperate Syrian refugees on the news. It is the past repeating itself and we have to ask ourselves have we learned much in the last 70 years?

(Huh. Sadly not I fear.)

But above all I hope you will find your evening in with The Survivors an exciting one that will have you reaching for that glass of wine.

(Or chocolates!)

What else have you brought along Kate and why?

I have brought this beautiful old photograph with me. It is of my grandmother, Valentina. Though I never met her – sadly she passed away long before I was born – she has always been a strong presence in my life because this photograph stood on my mother’s piano for as long as I can remember. It watched over my family’s antics growing up, listened to our laughter and our woes, and I am sure winced with horror at my brief foray into playing the piano myself.

(Valentina was absolutely beautiful wasn’t she?)

My mother was an only child and was extremely close to her mother. She told us many exotic tales of Valentina’s charm and the concerts she gave on her baby-grand piano later in life. It was Valentina’s extraordinary life-story that inspired me to write my first historical novel, The Russian Concubine, which launched my writing career when it became a New York Times Bestseller. You see, Valentina was Russian and my mother was born in St Petersburg just before the Russian Revolution in 1917.

(And now, of course, I have to read The Russian Concubine too as Russia is on my wish list of places to visit.)

In a horrific journey they fled from the Communists all the way across Siberia to China where life was at first extremely hard for them. They were refugees. No money, no home, no future. So not only has Valentina inspired my first book, but now her experiences and emotions as a refugee have inspired me to write my latest book, The Survivors. I just wish I could have known her in person.

(What an incredible life Valentina must have led. Even if you didn’t get to meet her Kate, at least you’ve part of her with you through your writing.)

It’s been wonderful staying in with you Kate and finding out all about The Survivors (and Valentina). Thanks so much for being here and for the wine and chocolates!

Thanks so much for having me over, Linda. Oh gosh, we’ve certainly got through the wine!

(Not entirely convinced about we got through the wine there Kate!)

It was such a pleasure talking about The Survivors with you. Is it too early to wish you Happy Christmas?

Not at all! Happy Christmas Kate!

The Survivors

‘Directly I saw him, I knew he had to die.’

Germany, 1945.Klara Janowska and her daughter Alicja have walked for weeks to get to Graufeld Displaced Persons camp. In the cramped, dirty, dangerous conditions they, along with 3,200 others, are the lucky ones. They have survived and will do anything to find a way back home.

But when Klara recognises a man in the camp from her past, a deadly game of cat and mouse begins.

He knows exactly what she did during the war to save her daughter.

She knows his real identity.

What will be the price of silence? And will either make it out of the camp alive?

The Survivors by Kate Furnivall was published in paperback yesterday, 29^th November 2018 by Simon and Schuster, priced £7.99 and is available for purchase through the links here.

About Kate Furnivall

Kate Furnivall didn’t set out to be a writer. It sort of grabbed her by the throat when she discovered the story of her grandmother – a White Russian refugee who fled from the Bolsheviks down into China. That extraordinary tale inspired her first book, The Russian Concubine. From then on, she was hooked.

Kate is also the author of The White Pearl and The Italian Wife. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages and have been on the New York Times Bestseller list.

You can follow Kate on Twitter @KateFurnivall, visit her website and find her on Facebook.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

Having been nicknamed The Dragon Lady by younger students when I was teaching and being told I’m ‘a very demanding pet to look after’ by my husband, nothing gives me greater pleasure than to welcome an author who calls herself a subversive old bat to Linda’s Book Bag today! It’s lovely Anne Stormont who has kindly agreed to write a guest post for the blog all about writing for older readers in celebration of her latest book Settlement.

I had a corker of a time when Anne stayed in with me here on the blog to discuss her novel Displacement which is available for purchase here.

Settlement is available for purchase as a paperback and as an ebook here.

Settlement

Can the past ever be put peacefully to rest?  Can love truly heal old wounds?

Settlement is the sequel to literary romance novel, Displacement, but it can be read as a stand-alone.

Falling in love is the easy bit. Happy ever after requires work, commitment and honesty.

She wants him to be her friend and lover. He wants her as his wife. Can a compromise be reached? Or are things truly over between them?

When former Edinburgh policeman Jack Baxter met crofter and author Rachel Campbell at her home on the Scottish island of Skye, they fell in love. It was a second chance at happiness for them both.

But after Jack proposes marriage, it becomes clear they want different things.

Then, as Rachel prepares to return to the Middle East to work on a peacemaking project that’s close to her heart, and as Jack’s past catches up with him, it seems their relationship is doomed.

Can Rachel compromise on her need to maintain her hard-won independence?

Can Jack survive the life-threatening situation in which he finds himself?

Will they get the chance to put things right between them?

If you like a complex, contemporary, grown-up romance with lots of raw emotion, dramatic and exotic settings, all mixed in with some international politics and laced with elements of a crime thriller, then this is the book for you.

Fiction For Older Readers

I’m a member of an authors and readers group on Facebook called Books For Older Readers which was started by writer Claire Baldry. It’s a great group for sharing books that feature older main characters or that in some other way may hold a particular appeal for readers who consider themselves to be no longer young.

The fact that a group like this has proved so popular surely says something about the relationship between age and the world of adult fiction. And it’s something I reckoned might make an interesting post. Especially as I’m an older reader and writer myself.

My books – including Settlement, my new one (more about that later) – are all contemporary romantic fiction and the main characters are all in their forties or fifties. My books are second-chance romances where the characters are also dealing with difficult issues such as divorce, bereavement, illness as well as working and/or caring for their families.

I didn’t begin writing until I was in my late forties so it’s perhaps it’s not surprising my first lead characters were in that age group too. I wanted to write the sort of book that I’d also want to read and have characters I could really relate to.

And, it seemed to me as a reader, there were no older female leads in the contemporary romance genre. Indeed when I first sought publication, agents and publishers told me nobody wanted to read about older women falling love and (whisper it) having sexual relationships.

However, nowadays – although there is still room for improvement – things have moved on.

Currently there are several successful authors such as Hilary Boyd, Maggie Christensen, Christine Webber, Linda MacDonald and the aforementioned Claire Baldry who all write first-class romantic fiction with older protagonists.

Crime fiction writers, too, don’t always go for youth over experience. Good examples include Ann Cleeves’s leading fifty-something police officer, the wily and inimitable Vera, and in her Shetland series the lead is taken by been-around-the-block, CID officer Jimmy Perez. Then there’s Ian Rankin’s Rebus who is well beyond retirement age. And best of all, for me, there’s JJ Marsh’s fabulous international crime series featuring the wonderfully quirky detective Beatrice Stubbs.

Literary fiction also seems comfortable with stories centred around older protagonists. Ian McEwen, Bernard MacLaverty and Kate Atkinson are just three examples of authors who have favoured leading characters who could be considered past their prime. Then there were the highly successful novels The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared and a few others in a similar vein with very elderly title characters.

However, I should add that while as a reader I’m delighted that there are books like those mentioned above, I’m still quite happy to read books with younger protagonists too. This year alone I’ve read several superb romantic novels where the lead characters have been in their twenties and thirties. But it’s good to have the choice and not to feel that people of my age – and indeed twenty years younger than me – are invisible or not interesting enough to feature as credible leads in fiction.

And I should also add that my readership includes people in their twenties right through to some who are in their eighties.

Age is just a number after all and is only one factor in our personalities and interests. It shouldn’t be a barrier to inclusion or enjoyment when it comes to our reading.

Life after thirty-five can be as challenging, surprising and rewarding as it was before – if not more so. So the lives of characters in this older age group provide fertile ground for all sorts of fiction.

And so to my new book – complete with its older – but not necessarily wiser characters.

(Amen to that Anne! Fast approaching 60 I’m not on the scrap heap yet and I really do enjoy books that feature so-called older women as well as our 30 something protagonists. Thank you so much for a super guest post.)

 About Anne Stormont

Anne Stormont writes contemporary, women’s fiction that is probably best described as literary romance. Her writing is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. Her stories are for readers who enjoy a good romantic story, but who also like romance that is laced with realism and real world issues – and where the main characters may be older but not necessarily wiser.

Anne was born and grew up in Scotland where she still lives. She has travelled extensively having visited every continent except Antarctica – where she really must go considering her fondness for penguins. She has friends and family all over the world including in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and the Middle East.

Anne was a primary school teacher for over thirty years before taking early retirement in order to concentrate on her writing.

She describes herself as a subversive old bat – but she also tries to maintain a kind heart. She hopes this comes through in her writing.

Anne loves to hear from and keep in touch with her readers.

You can find out more about Anne on her author website Anne Stormont. She has an excellent Blog. You’ll also find Anne on her Facebook Author pages: Anne Stormont and can follow Anne on Twitter @writeanne.

My very grateful thanks to the author Sarah Jones for sending me a copy of Funerals Your Way in return for an honest review. Funerals may seem an uncomfortable subject, but when my fabulous Dad died a couple of years ago his funeral was wonderful because he had planned it with us. We knew what music he wanted and he even left us all a message to be read, all of which he had done a few years in advance of the stroke which robbed him of all decision making (and indeed dignity) prior to his death. Having a brother-in-law who’d been a funeral director certainly helped, but not everyone is as fortunate. Consequently, I think this aspect of our lives is hugely important and am delighted to review Funerals Your Way as a result.

Funerals Your Way is available for purchase here.

Funerals Your Way

This short book gives you the information, suggestions and step-by-step guidance you need to create funerals which truly reflect the person who has died.

It will help you if you want to express your own wishes, want to have a meaningful conversation with someone close to you or if you need to arrange a funeral at need.

It is designed to support people who intend to use the services of a funeral director, but would also give inspiration to those who would rather not.

My Review of Funerals Your Way

Sarah Jones’s straightforward approach to funerals.

What a fabulous practical and sensitive book Funerals Your Way is. The book is divided into 11 practical chapters written with a clear and calm pragmatic style illustrating Sarah Jones’ caring and thoughtful attitude. With questions to ask and examples to guide, there are places for the reader to make notes of their thoughts, of what their loved one may have wanted and to reflect on memories so that thinking about a funeral becomes very firmly focused on the deceased. I thought this was such a beautifully humane approach.

Along with the various stages explained, I found the photographs helped in demystifying the funeral process too, but what really touched me were the statements from people who have gone through the process themselves as I think they help others understand the emotional aspects to funeral planning and to realise that what they may be experiencing is perfectly acceptable. I did find myself shedding a tear or two as I read. I also found elements that have altered what I would like for my own funeral and what I would like after my husband’s should he die before me.

There are practical elements too and the appendices give information on everything from what happens when a person dies at home through green funerals to registering a death.

What I liked most of all about Funerals Your Way was the way in which it empowers the reader. As a funeral director Sarah Jones is well aware that not all firms offer the same level of support and she gives those of us who wouldn’t have access to her services the tools to cope with, and ask questions of, those funeral directors in our own region. I’m sure some people would otherwise simply find themselves experiencing a funeral they didn’t necessarily feel right for them or their loved one.

Not only does Funerals Your Way sensitively guide a bereaved person through the funeral process, it enables all of us to consider the one inevitability in life calmly and thoughtfully. It has helped me clarify what I want for my own funeral and given me the practical tools with which to achieve it successfully. I would urge readers to set aside our avoidance of talking about death and read this book. It will definitely help and I recommend it most highly. I thought it was excellent.

About Sarah Jones

Sarah is part of the award winning team of funeral directors Full Circle. Sarah previously worked as a doctor and then with adults with learning difficulties. She has a husband and two young children and enjoys exploring on foot and bicycle.

Sarah believes ardently that we would all benefit from speaking about death and dying more openly so that we are better able to support ourselves and our loved ones in life and death.

You can find out more by following Full Circle on Twitter @FCFuneral and visiting their website. You’ll also find them on Facebook.

Regular Linda’s Book Bag visitors know how much I love fiction for children, not least because it was partly responsible for me beginning my blog in the first place. Consequently I’m delighted to be staying in with Michelle Staubach Grimes as she tells me about one of her children’s books.

Staying in with Michelle Staubach Grimes

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Michelle. Thanks for dropping by to spend the evening with me. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

 

Tonight, I have brought along my most recent book titled Pidge Takes the Stage. I chose it because the lessons in the book are just as relevant to adults as children.

(I love that about children’s books Michelle. Many of the children’s books I read I think I enjoy at least as much as children do!)

What can we expect from an evening in with Pidge Takes the Stage?

We learn a very important lesson in Pidge Takes the Stage about following your dreams, and the hard work required to get there. I borrowed a quote from my Dad that I used in the book when Pidge’s voice teacher tells her what to expect about learning to sing. Pidge plans to try out for the school musical but doesn’t know how to sing. The teacher shares with Pidge that “unspectacular preparation equals spectacular results.” My dad played professional football and when I asked him to describe training camp – that is what he told me. He had to put in a lot of hard work all year long to win that Super Bowl. This lesson is very relevant to all of us – children and adults. Often much of our day is unspectacular and even boring.  I talk to children at schools about the importance of committing to their math work, reading, and any outside commitments. And if they put in the hard work and time, they too will get spectacular results. And they must not quit or give up.

(Oh, absolutely! I couldn’t agree more.)

What else have you brought along and why? 

I’ve brought along with me a large stuffed Bernese Mountain dog, a Pidge doll, a leash, keyboard, and a baseball. These are all items in the book. I like to make it visual for the kids. And they always love the big stuffed dog. He’s a star at school events.

(I imagine he is – but he does take up quite a bit of room on the sofa doesn’t he?)

Thanks so much for staying in with me to tell me all about Pidge Takes the Stage, Michelle. I think the messages in it sound perfect. 

Pidge Takes the Stage

In this sequel to Where is Pidge?, our young hero decides to audition for the school musical along with her canine buddy Maverick. Not everyone thinks Pidge can learn to sing or Maverick can be trained, but Pidge believes.

Through their theatrical escapades, Pidge discovers that singing requires hard work, and that Maverick might not be ready for his stage debut after all.

And by the end, Pidge understands that being a star is all a matter of perspective, and unconditional love matters more than fame.

Pidge Takes The Stage is available for purchase here.

About Michelle Staubach Grimes

Michelle Staubach Grimes began journaling years ago and enrolled in the SMU Creative Writing Continuing Ed Program in 2012 to hone her writing skills. She fell in love with creative writing and studied “story” through that program. Where is Pidge? debuted in March of 2015. Michelle is thrilled to now be releasing her second book; PidgeTakes the Stage. She lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, three children, and two dogs.

For more information, find Michelle on Facebook and Instagram. You can also follow her on Twitter @MichelleSGrimes and visit her website.

Now, I’m breaking my own self-imposed rules here. I’m not supposed to be taking on any new blog posts until I’ve read and reviewed some of the huge mountain of books I have on my TBR but when lovely Kelly at LoveBooksGroup got in touch to ask if I’d like to help with the cover reveal for Tracey Scott-Townsend’s new book I had to participate.

You see, I first met Tracey Scott-Townsend at an event called Oceans of Words, at which she was speaking and you can see my write up here. Since then I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Tracey properly and she’s so lovely that I had to invite her onto Linda’s Book Bag to tell me about one of her books, Another Rebecca, in a post you can read here. I have also had the pleasure of reviewing some of Tracey’s poetry in her anthology So Fast and you can read that review here.

So let’s see what’s in store for us next from Tracey:

Sea Babies

Lauren Wilson is travelling by ferry to the Outer Hebrides, about to begin a new job as a social worker with the Islands’ youth. She’s also struggling to come to terms with a catastrophic event.

When somebody sits opposite her at the cafeteria table, she refuses to look up, annoyed at having her privacy disturbed. But a hand is pushing a mug of tea towards her, and a livid scar on the back of the hand releases a flood of memories…

Some people believe in the existence of a parallel universe. Does Lauren have a retrospective choice about the outcome of her terrible recent accident, or is it the bearer of that much older scar who has the power to decide what happens to her life now?

Set mainly in the Outer Hebrides and Edinburgh from the 1980s to the present, Sea Babies is a potent, emotional psychological drama that explores the harder aspects of relationships, as well as the idea of choice, responsibility and the refugee in all of us.

Sea Babies is available for pre-order here. I think it looks a corker!

About Tracey Scott-Townsend

Tracey is the author of The Last Time We Saw Marion, Of His Bones, The Eliza Doll and Another Rebecca. Her fifth novel, Sea Babies will be released on 1^st May 2019. Her novels have been described as both poetic and painterly. Her first poetry collection, So Fast was published in January 2018.

Tracey is also a visual artist. All her work is inspired by the emotions of her own experiences and perceptions.

Tracey is the mother of four grown-up children and now spends a lot of time travelling in a small camper van with husband Phil and their rescue dogs, Pixie and Luna, gathering her thoughts and writing them down.

You can find out more about Tracey by visiting her website, finding her on Facebook and following her on Twitter @authortrace.