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.

I’m delighted to welcome A.D. Flint to Linda’s Book Bag today as part of the blog tour for The Burning Hill as I am inherently nosy and I have a smashing set of 10 things to discover about the author! I’d like to thank Anne Cater for inviting me to be part of these celebrations of The Burning Hill.

Published by Unbound, The Burning Hill is available for purchase here.

The Burning Hill

On the run from unjust court-martial back home, a young British soldier gets robbed and shot on Copacabana Beach. The bullet in Jake’s head should have been fatal but, miraculously, it saves him from a previously undetected condition that soon would have killed him.

Jake doesn’t believe in fate, nor does he feel he owes anything to anybody, but he does hate injustice. Vilson, the teenage favela kid who fired the bullet, is a victim of injustice, in a deadly corner with a corrupt cop and a sadistic drug-lord after his blood.

With a turf war erupting in Vilson’s favela, fear stalks every narrow alleyway, and anyone dragged up to the notorious Burning Hill had better hope they’re dead before they get there. But it’s not just fear that shapes life in the favela: belief is also powerful, able to both save and destroy.

The Burning Hill is about the power of belief and one man’s desire for justice at any cost.

10 Things About A.D. Flint

1. What if you weren’t a writer? I’d love to be a painter (a good one, I mean, as I have done some dreadful Rembrandt knockoffs). Otherwise, it would be amazing to invent something and build a factory to make it because I’ve always loved making things (although I hate DIY). My grandfather was a marine engineer (he made several voyages to the Antarctic on the Discovery in the 1920s) and he always made us grandchildren amazing toys and go-carts and scooters. I loved spending time in his workshop as a child.
2. First pet? A monkey. A little un-PC, I know, but it was the 70s and we lived in Ghana. My dad used to let it out of its cage ‘for exercise’ and it would belt round the house, crap on all available furniture and (quite understandably) refuse to go back in its cage.
3. Second Pet? When we left Ghana the monkey was taken on by the man who took over my dad’s job, but we brought a parrot back to the UK – it travelled in a cage on a seat next to my dad on the plane. Those were the days. The parrot was an excellent mimic but quite sweary and very mean tempered – it would whistle for the dog and then bite her nose when she came.
4. Favourite opera? Faust. It isn’t actually my favourite opera, it’s just the only one I’ve ever seen. It was my 10^th birthday treat with my friends. Seriously. I wanted to see Battlestar Galactica at the cinema but I suspect the tickets for the amateur production of Faust at the Cramphorn theatre in Chelmsford were cheaper, which probably tipped the scales for my mother. My friends were as baffled as I was mortified, and one of them, who has remained a friend to this day, still talks about it as the most memorable birthday party he ever went to.
5. Any former sports glory? Erm, I managed to get a bronze medal in a minor jujitsu competition once – I took it up after seeing it and MMA (mixed martial arts) in Brazil when I lived there for a period. I never quite got to my black belt before rupturing my ACL and I haven’t practiced for a few years. MMA can be brutal but the fighters are skilful and I admire the courage that it takes to climb into the octagon. There’s a bit of jujitsu in the action scenes in The Burning Hill and one of the characters moonlights as a fighter.
6. What do you do in your spare time now? For exercise, mostly running with my dog. I live near the coast so I love going along the tops of the cliffs. I avoid the beach these days as there’s a naturist section where my dog once became somewhat obsessed with the taste of the sun-cream that a rather large naked man had just rubbed all over himself. It was like some hellish comedy sketch hatched from the darkest corner of Benny Hill’s imagination. I suspect the man probably avoids the beach now too. My dog’s appalling lack of manners is an endless source of embarrassment.
7. Inside or outside? Outside. Back in Brazil for the first time in some years over the summer, we took a trip to Bonito and the Pantanal. We saw an amazing variety of animals and birds there, fished for piranha and snorkelled in crystal-clear rivers (not containing piranha). We found an anaconda in a stream outside our room one morning and a capuchin monkey crapped on my head from a tree (I’m now wondering if it was the vengeful reincarnation of my first pet). But the simple things are also good: sparrows have staged a bit of a comeback in recent years in our area and it’s a joy to see them splashing about and arguing in our birdbath.
8. Outlook on life? A fairly regular mix of sunny spells with occasional cloud, but I am fascinated with the darker side of human nature and that is what I generally find myself writing about. I’m also fascinated by the nature of belief, its power, and what we will allow ourselves to believe.
9. Writing routine? I’m not much of a morning person but if I drag myself out of bed early I find I can hammer out a decent number of words. I’m not an avid Stephen King fan (although I think The Stand is great) but On Writing gives excellent advice on the writing process. Following his routine of hitting a target number of words each day works for me (when the day job doesn’t get in the way too much). Just hammering out that word count can get me through a sticky patch. I might be writing garbage for a few days but I find that if I just keep going the ideas start to flow again.
10. Favourite books and films? How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn was my favourite childhood book and I was obsessed with the Hornblower books, passed on from my dad’s childhood. As a kid, I thought the key to success as a human being was through emulating the heroes in my books, and even now I think those characters probably have some influence on who I’ve become today. I love David Mitchell, particularly Ghostwritten, and I thought Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith was excellent – I’d like to think that The Burning Hill is similar in style. Days Without End by Sebastian Barry is the best book I’ve read recently – a powerful story with some beautiful writing. Film-wise, I love the movies from the 70s which weren’t afraid of a downbeat ending, like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Deer Hunter and Ryan’s Daughter. I love the Cohen Brothers and Fargo is my favourite thriller (with a dollop of black-comedy and crime thrown in). There’s an amazing French film called A Prophet that’s a favourite too –a prison drama, very tough watching in places, but astounding and compelling.If you know these stories, you might recognise influences from some of them in The Burning Hill.

(Thanks so much for such an interesting set of facts! I loved finding out more about you. I always wanted a pet monkey too when I was a child – but I blame Enid Blyton for that obsession!)

About A.D. Flint

On a June afternoon in 2000 there was a robbery just a few blocks from where the A.D. Flint  was living in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro. It turned into a hostage situation. The teenage robber had survived a notorious massacre of street children outside a Rio church years before, and the tragedy that played out in the aftermath of the robbery on live TV news was an embodiment of the desperation of life at the bottom of the heap. An ugly thing in this beautiful city, shocking, even to a society inured to everyday violence.

As an Englishman new to Rio, the author was beguiled by the city, and found it profoundly disturbing to watch something happening just down the road that was so out of control and so wrong. The author spent a year in Brazil and now lives on the south coast of England with his Brazilian wife and two sons.

You can follow A.D. Flint on Twitter @brazil_thriller. You can visit The Burning Hill website and find A.D. Flint on Facebook.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

Having so enjoyed Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling, by Emer Mclysaght and Sarah Breen I am delighted to be part of the launch celebrations for the next of Asiling’s adventures in The Importance of Being Aisling by bringing you an extract today.

You can read my review of Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling here.

Published by Penguin imprint Michael Joseph on 15th November 2018, The Importance of Being Aisling is available for purchase through the links here.

The Importance of Being Aisling

You can take the small-town girl out of the big city – but can you take the big city out of the girl?

Job. Flat. Boyfriend. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Aisling (seems) to be winning at life. But life has other ideas.

Fired. Homeless. Dumped. Tick. Tick. Tick.

When everything comes crashing down around her, moving back in with her mam seems like a disaster.

But might returning to her roots provide the answers Aisling’s looking for?

An Extract from The Importance of Being Aisling

You can read the extract here The Importance of Being Aisling extract (1).

About Emer Mclysaght and Sarah Breen

Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen conceived the character of Aisling in their sitting room in 2008, when they began to observe the many traits, characteristics and quirks of a very particular type of Irish girl; one they identified around them and one they identified with.

Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling was an instant sensation in their native Ireland and the Number One bestselling adult fiction title of 2017.

Emer McLysaght is the former editor of The Daily Edge and has worked extensively in journalism and radio.

Sarah Breen is a journalist whose work has appeared in Stellar, Image, U, the Irish Independent and The Gloss.

You can follow Emer on Twitter @EmerTheScreamer and Sarah @sarahjaybee.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

Having visited India earlier in the year, I’ve become slightly obsessed by that wonderful country so it gives me enormous pleasure to welcome back Barbara L. Baer to Linda’s Book Bag today with a fabulous guest post all about how memory and invention have created her Indian setting in celebration of her latest book The Last Devadasi. Barbara previously stayed in with me to tell me about another of her books, The Ballet Lover, in a post that you can read here.

Published by Open Books, The Last Devadasi is available for purchase on your local Amazon site and directly from the publisher.

The Last Devadasi

Passionate and forbidden love clashes with tradition and caste in a changing India.

Kamala Kumari is more than a Gemini Studio starlet: she’s a classical dancer trained in the age-old line of Devadasis, a caste set in place a thousand years ago when girls were first dedicated in south Indian temples to serve the gods and men. From the promise of art and devotion, the sacred dancers fell into the hands of priests who both exalted and betrayed them. Beautiful, brilliant and proud, Kamala struggles to escape the old ways, entangling her Indian assistant, Dutch lover, and his young American wife.

With its turbulent passions amid social upheavals, The Last Devadasi takes readers on a sensual feast in the 1970s palm-shaded trading city of Madras.

Memory and Invention

A Guest Post by Barbara L. Baer

The Last Devadasi opens in January 1970 in a convent during a typhoon flooding the coastal town of Pondicherry, a French protectorate in Madras State. The novel then moves to a film set at Gemini Studios in the city of Madras (now Chennai); from there we go to the port area of Georgetown, the colonial-era hotel The Connemara, and an overgrown compound with cobras in the brush. I wrote Devadasi over several decades from memory and journal entries I kept during my three years living in South India. Where I needed to add to the places, people, music, street noises and smells I remembered, I did research but mostly the story of four people whose lives cross in Madras came from memory and invention.

When I lived in Madras, I taught English literature at a woman’s college, but as soon as classes ended, I bicycled to a thatched roof studio where I studied the traditional dance form of Bharatanatayam with the greatest South Indian artist of her time, Balaswaraswati. By the time I became her pupil, the majestic woman had been showered with awards in India and all over the world, but in her youth, she’d struggled against the stigma of her birth: Balasaraswati was born into the Devadasi caste.

At the time, I researched the Devadasi caste, that literally means the servant of the god, a caste that originated in its South Indian form a thousand years ago when devotees were married to a god and dedicated to serving him. Devadasis were often the only literate woman, schooled in sacred learning, singing and dancing, indispensible in ritual worship. The girls from a young age were also sexual servants, and today, an even more corrupted form of dedication happens every year when the poorest are brought to a goddess of fertility until a man claims them.

For the novel, I created a central character, Kamala Kumari, young and beautiful, a cinema starlet at Gemini Studios, where, like Bollywood, low-budget musical films are churned out every year. Even as Kamala has her picture on movie magazine covers, she still feels compelled to hide her Devadasi caste origins. The characters she loves and envies, bewitches and betrays, are drawn into her deception. This is The Last Devadasi, drawn from experience, transformed in my imagination to emerge as fiction.

(I think The Last Devadasi sounds completely wonderful Barbara. Thanks so much for telling us more about how it came into being.)

About Barbara L. Baer

Barbara grew up in California, got her BA and MA at Stanford University before going to South India to teach, study dance, and have experiences unlike anything in her American life. She taught in Madras (now Chennai) and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, then part of the USSR, which gave her the inspiration and voice for her novella, Grisha the Scrivener. After a decade of encounters and adventures, she returned to the US, taught at Dennison University in Granville, Ohio, worked for newspapers, and wrote fiction and travel pieces.

Barbara has lived many years in Sonoma County, California, where she writes, edits and teaches through the county jail program, tends a garden and an orchard of pomegranates and olives, and is active in environmental and political causes. She lives with her husband, Michael Morey, also a writer and bricoleur, jack of all trades, who keeps things going.

You can find Barbara on Twitter @pomegranatebarb and visit her website.

Recently I’ve been hearing very good things about the writing of Heleen Kist from other bloggers so I had to invite Heleen onto Linda’s Book Bag to stay in and chat with me about it.

Staying in with Heleen Kist

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

I‘m thrilled to be here for much needed change of scene and company. As I’m writing nearly full-time at the moment, I’ve hardly left the house!

(Blogging has the same effect on me. It takes about 4-5 hours a day which is why I’m cutting back in 2019!)

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

That’s a very easy decision, since In Servitude is the only book I’ve written so far. It’s the story of an ordinary woman, Grace, whose life gets thrown into chaos as a result of her sister’s death. That seemingly perfect sister was in fact laundering money for Glasgow gangsters, who are forcing Grace to take over.

(Ooo. That sounds really exciting.)

What can we expect from an evening in with In Servitude? 

If the reviews are anything to go by, expect a heavy dose of that ‘one more chapter feeling’ that will keep you reading late into the night.

I like to think of it as a gripping family drama wrapped around a twisty mystery that is likely to leave you with more questions than answers. You’d do anything for family… wouldn’t you?

(I frequently have to, whether I like it or not, Heleen! Another reason I’m cutting back the blogging in 2019… I must say, I really like the sound of In Servitude.)

What else have you brought along and why?

A bunch of tulips. Being Dutch, I wouldn’t dream of coming to someone’s house without bringing flowers! It’s a thank you for having me, and a thank you to the blogger community as a whole for embracing me as an Indie author.

(What a lovely surprise Heleen. I love flowers and am a keen gardener. Thank you so much – and for your kind words about bloggers. We do our best to support authors as much as we can.)

But as they are a traditional requirement, they also represent the theme of In Servitude: how we are shaped and burdened by the weight of others’expectations; be they moral, societal or familial. It’s the meaning behind the exploding tulip on the cover.

(Fabulous imagery and meaning Heleen.)

Thank you so much for the flowers and for staying in with me to tell me about In Servitude Heleen. I think it sounds an exciting and thought provoking read. I’ll have to add it to my TBR immediately!

In Servitude

Do you owe your family your life?

Grace thought her sister led a charmed existence.

She was wrong.

Now she has to pay the price.

When Grace’s beloved sister Glory dies in a car crash, her carefully planned life spirals out of control. She discovers Glory had been manipulated into illegal activities at her trendy vegan café. What’s worse, Grace finds herself an unwitting accomplice now forced to take over her sister’s shady dealings.

Determined to keep her fingers clean and protect those Glory left behind, Grace plots to escape the clutches of Glasgow’s criminal underworld. But her moral certainty is challenged when more family secrets emerge and her sister’s past intentions remain unclear.

Grace grows convinced Glory was murdered. Why won’t anyone listen?

Seeking justice, she finds betrayal…

In Servitude is available for purchase here. It’s free on Kindle Unlimited.

About Heleen Kist

Heleen Kist is a Dutch businesswoman who lived all over the world while growing up and for her career. Twenty years ago, she fell in love with a Scotsman and his country, and now writes about its (sometimes scary) people from her garden office in Glasgow.

She was selected as an ‘up and coming new writer’ and awarded a spotlight at Bloody Scotland 2018, the International crime writing festival.

Her second novel is in the works, so watch this space.

You can follow Heleen on Twitter @hkist and Facebook. Or sign up to her newsletter on her website here.

In the new year I am stepping back from blogging on a daily basis in order to read some of the wonderful books that have been sent to me so that I can concentrate on reviews. I’m enormously grateful to Alice Geary at Midas PR for providing a copy of Within the Silence by Nicola Avery for me to review in the future and for organising for me to stay in with Nicola to chat about the book.

Staying in with Nicola Avery

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Nicola.

My pleasure and thank you for inviting me.

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

I’ve brought a copy of my latest book – Within the Silence, chosen because it has just has its debut, and again because it highlights something we still need to be aware of; the vulnerability of our young, and the dangers, not just from strangers…Also, because I hope readers will enjoy the writing and catch the essential threads of endearing hope, the power of love, redemption, forgiveness and justifiable retribution amongst the storyline.

(If that beautiful cover is anything to go by Nicola, readers are in for a real treat. I can’t wait to read Within the Silence.)

What can we expect from an evening in with Within the Silence?

I hope that you as a reader of Within the Silence will also keep turning the pages right to the end.  Parts should make you shudder, make you smile with the black humour, but make you genuinely feel the pain, fear and frustrations of the characters I created, and their daunting pursuit of truth and justice.  Be prepared, because it crosses a number of genres (I’m a publisher’s nightmare) as it tells the tale of a family and its hidden secrets, some sad, some dark and others darker still. There is a loving father, Jon Stone, a revered psychiatrist and doting husband.  His daughter Maddy, who has secrets she cannot tell anyone and Zara, the stepdaughter and best friend to Maddy, that must unearth these unspoken secrets before a tragic history repeats itself. And fast! There’s only one problem … but I can’t tell you that, as it will spoil the plot!

(It sounds brilliant. I love cross genre books – in fact I really don’t like the fact we are supposed to categorise books into genres at all even if it does help readers choose!)

Oh – and it has a paranormal twist!

(Well of course!)

What else have you brought along and why? 

A cold bottle of Albarino – because it’s one of my favourite Spanish wines, lovely to sip curled up with a book.  A mixed tray of tapas – can’t visit Majorca without tasting some of their tapas.  And a mix of coastal photos of Majorca, an Island with its ever-changing coastline, sea and skies.  Hauntingly beautiful colours and scenes, with seas that can change in colours, depth and temperament – just ask a sailor…

I love Majorca though I haven’t been for years. That tapas takes me right back. Thanks so much for staying in with me Nicola, and telling us all about Within The Silence. It sounds as if I’m in for a reading treat!

Within the Silence

Jon Stone is a revered psychiatrist, doting husband, loving father. But he has many secrets.

Maddy Stone, Jon’s daughter, has her own secrets. But she can’t tell anyone.

Zara, Maddy’s stepsister and best friend, faces a race against time. Can she unearth the family’s dark secrets before a tragic history repeats itself?

Two girls: one living and lost, the other scarred and silent, must join forces to prevent the unspeakable…

Published by Browne Raven Within the Silence is available for purchase here.

About Nicola Avery

With an artist and writer for a father and ballet dancer for a mother, Nicola was destined to go back to her creative roots. Having spent a decade in Australia, she returned to her birthplace, Surrey, to raise her family. Fascinated with the concept that she had lived before, Nicola studied and qualified as a hypnotherapist and past life therapist, using her personal insight and experiences to create the controversial plots for her thrillers. Within the Silence is her second novel.

You can find out more by visiting Nicola’s website and following her on Twitter @NicolaAveryAuth.

It seems a long while since I traveled around Australia, and one of the places I didn’t actually get to was Brisbane so I’m delighted to have the chance to go there with Linda Taimre today!

Staying in with Linda Taimre

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Linda – and it does seem weird saying that! 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’ve brought along my debut book The Fading because it’s just been released this November!

(A slightly belated Happy Publication Day Linda!)

I’m so excited to share this story with you all – especially because it’s set in Brisbane, Australia, where I’m from.  Rarely do I find Brisbane-based books, so I was keen to bring a bit of Australiana to my novel… though perhaps not in the way you would expect!

(Hmm – sounds intriguing!)

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

Your evening would fly by!  The Fading is fast-moving, peppered with moments that question the nature of humanity.  It’s quasi-dystopic speculative fiction, so be prepared for a different, darker world.  Shortlisted for Viva la Novella 2018, the panel noted:

“The Fading is an insightful and intriguing work of speculative fiction. [Linda Taimre’s] original characters and fresh take on the plague apocalypse narrative make it a great read.” (Alice Grundy, Seizure).

(You must be delighted both with the comment and the short listing Linda. Congratulations.)

What else have you brought along and why? 

I’ve brought a map of Brisbane with its brilliantly bendy river that features in The Fading.  I’ve always loved this river, it’s such an integral feature of Brisbane.  While it is beautiful, it is also dangerous, as the floods can cause havoc in the city. That twist of darkness and danger is definitely present in my novel as well.

And to soothe any anxieties – I’ve brought a packet of Tim Tams, original flavour, of course.  These are quintessentially Australian chocolate biscuits, and a perfect accompaniment to a night in with any book.  The packet never seems to be big enough…

(Ha! I’ve never heard of Tim Tams but you’re right. The packets are very small!)

Thanks so much for staying in with me Linda and transporting me to Brisbane. At lest I can visit through The Fading, even if I don’t get there in person.

The Fading

Something is awake.

An evolving virus threatens humanity. Insidious, unknown, ever-changing.

Katherine is sick, and her wife Harriet is searching desperately for a way to save her. But what chance does Harriet have against a virus she cannot see and does not understand? Nonetheless, she strives to find a cure for this virus, no matter the cost.

A cost that Lady Trinh, head of the Australian government, cannot bear. From her seat in Brisbane’s protectorate, a pollution-free haven for the lucky few, Lady Trinh will go to any lengths to protect her people from the virus. For her, failure is not an option, and loose threads must be quickly cut.

Something is awake. And it wants to feed…

The Fading is available for purchase here.

About Linda Taimre

Linda Taimre is an Australian author who writes speculative fiction – anything supernatural, fantastical, or futuristic.

In the past, she’s been an actor, corporate improvement analyst, teacher, producer, and operations manager.  Nowadays, Linda is also interested in neuropsychology, though she still loves the occasional theatrical stint.

To find out more, follow Linda on Twitter @lindataimre, find her on Facebook or visit her website.

I’m delighted to be part of the launch celebrations for The Long Shadow by Celia Fremlin with an extract for you today. I’d like to thank Joanna Lee at Faber and Faber for inviting me to be part of this re-release and for sending me a copy of The Long Shadow.

Published by Faber and Faber on 1st November 2018, The Long Shadow is available for purchase directly from the publisher as well as here.

The Long Shadow

Jolted from sleep by the ringing of the telephone, Imogen stumbles through the dark, empty house to answer it. At first, she can’t quite understand the man on the other end of the line. Surely he can’t honestly be accusing her of killing her husband, Ivor, who died in a car crash barely two months ago.

An Extract from The Long Shadow by Celia Fremlin

No, he died two months ago,’ she said; ‘I’m a widow,’ and she waited for the tiny recoil behind his eyes, the twitch of unease, as he adjusted himself to the embar­rassment of it. What do you say to middle-aged widows who turn up at parties so indecently soon? What do you talk to them about? Is the weather a safe topic? Or the state of the country?

I don’t know either, Imogen wanted to scream at him. I don’t know what you’re supposed to say to me, or what I’m supposed to answer—or anything. This is the first time I’ve been anywhere since Ivor died, and I wish I’d never come, I wish I was safe at home being miserable. What a fool I was to let Myrtle persuade me, I might have known it would be like this . . . .

Myrtle wasn’t really to blame, of course. Her intentions had been of the kindliest.

‘It’ll take you out of yourself, darling,’ she’d insisted. ‘After all, Ivor wouldn’t have wanted you to go on grieving for ever . . . .’

*

Like hell he wouldn’t! To Ivor’s vast, irrepressible ego, for ever would have been all too short a tribute. He’d have loved to imagine that Imogen would grieve for him for ever, miss him for ever—indeed, that everyone else would, too: pupils, colleagues,neighbours; even his former wives and mistresses. All of them, all tearing their hair, rending their garments, flinging themselves on his pyre in an abandonment of grief. That’s what Ivor would have liked, and Myrtle, of all people, must know it.

But of course, you couldn’t expect her to mention it, any more than Imogen herself was mentioning it: and so, ‘No, I suppose he wouldn’t,’ she’d lied, and had begun worrying about what to wear.

After all, it might be fun. It might, for a few hours, make her feel like a whole person again instead of the broken half of a couple.

It didn’t, though; and it wasn’t fun. By now, after nearly two hours of it, she felt not merely like a half person, but a half person who has been bisected vertically for an anatomical demonstration . . . all the raw, bleeding ends on display as the audience files past, each in turn peering with fascinated horror.

Over the rim of her glass, Imogen stole a look at her compan­ion. Short, bearded, ten years younger than herself (as most men seemed to be these days)—already she could see the ‘Let-me-out-of-this’ signals flashing behind his horn-rimmed glasses. Any minute now. Myrtle (attentive hostess that she was) would be undulating along, all smiles, to mount yet another rescue operation. The fourth.

*

How long would it go on being like this? How long would the people she was introduced to stand in twitching silence, gulp­ing back their opening gambits, washing their minds clear of funny stories? How long would she go on being an embarrass­ment and an obscenity wherever she went?

Embarrassment. Looking back over these past awful weeks, Imogen sometimes felt that the embarrassment had been worse than the grief: and there was no outlet for it in tears.

The hushed voices. The laughter that died as you drew near. The careful topics of conversation, picked clean of all reference to husbands, funerals, car accidents, professorships, love, happiness, unhappiness, men, women, life . . . . It didn’t leave much.

(What a taster! I’m so pleased I have The Long Shadow on my TBR!)

About Celia Fremlin

Celia Fremlin (1914-2009) was born in Kent and educated at Berkhamsted School for Girls and Somerville College, Oxford, where she read classics and philosophy. During the Second World War she worked for the Mass Observation project, an experience that resulted in her first published book, War Factory (1943, available in Faber Finds), which recorded the experiences and attitudes of women war workers in a radar equipment factory outside Malmesbury, Wiltshire. Her first published novel of suspense was The Hours Before Dawn (1958), which went on to win the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Allan Poe award for best crime novel in 1960. Over the next 35 years Fremlin published a further eighteen titles, including three collections of stories.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

It’s been a real pleasure finding new authors and being a very small part of their publishing journey here on Linda’s Book Bag this year. I’m delighted to welcome KT King today to tell me all about her debut novel.

Staying in with KT King

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag KT.

Thank you for inviting me to stay in with you!

My pleasure! Tell me, which of your books have you brought to tell us about this evening?

Staying in sounds such a cosy and lovely idea so I have chosen to bring my debut novel Little Eden ~ A Magic Book because it’s cosy and quirky and it’s packed full of tea and cakes too!

(Now that sounds perfect. A book, tea and cakes. It’s difficult to think of anything better! Tell me a bit more.)

Little Eden is thrilling, cosy, exciting, comforting and enlightening but what makes it a Magic Book? Because a magic book opens the heart and expands the mind! I wanted to write a novel that was interactive, that the reader could feel part of and make friends with. I also aimed to create a space in which they would feel safe to explore their sense of self, their spirituality and faith (or lack of it). I feel Little Eden is a literary sanctuary of fun, friends, enlightenment and healing, and so far my readers seem to have fallen in love with it, just as I had hoped they would!

(Little Eden sounds really interesting.)

What readers are saying:

I want to live in Little Eden! I loved the characters even just after reading the first few pages and wanted to know what would happen to them. AK, Health Visitor

I’m so in love with Robert! Great cliff hangers and plot twists and I love all the spiritual stuff too but most of all it’s a great story set in a really beautiful place. LM, Beauty Therapist 

I love the fact you can listen to the music, bake the cakes and be part of Little Eden. The story is full of unexpected moments and at the end of each chapter I just wanted to read another. KE, Shop Assistant

I would recommend this book to anyone, spiritual or not because although it has a lot of true spiritual knowledge in it, it’s also a great read. I could feel the energy vibrating as I read it. Roll on Book 2. AP Author

All  my reviews can be found on www.troubador.com

(This is lovely feedback. You must be delighted.) 

It’s quirky because I have included wiki-links so that readers can find out more about things like past-lives, auras, star children and other spiritual ideas. I have also included recipes, a meditation, prayers, and quotes from literature and some footnotes. There is even a soundtrack, including quoted song lyrics from Tim Rice and Julie Gold, as well as an original poem by Andrea Perry. Readers can also buy the crystals and jewellery mentioned in the book at my Etsy shop, KTKingShop.

(I’ve had a look at your Etsy shop and you’ve some beautiful items there KT.)

It’s got a serious side to it too though. I have suffered with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for over 25 years and my heroine, Sophie Lawrence has CFS. I wanted to create a heroine who had CFS/M.E to show sufferers and the general public that we are still valid human beings and can contribute to society if given the proper understanding, care and support. Sufferers are often ridiculed, ignored and accused of making it all up or being lazy. Suicide rates are high as are deaths due to neglect and homelessness. This is a real disease which needs to be recognised and researched properly. Over 250 thousand people suffer with it in the U.K alone. I am hoping my heroine, SOPHIE, can help to raise the profile of this devastating illness in the hearts and minds of the public.

(I love that about books KT. They can raise awareness of so many issues and surprise people.)

In 2012 I lost my home and my Reflexology business due to a severe bout of CFS. My elderly parents provide food and shelter for me as I can only work a few hours a month and sometimes not at all. I spent my savings on producing the e-book and get no state aid so I am hoping that I can provide for myself again through Little Eden and the support of my readers. Little Eden has given me a reason to live and I hope it can help others to find some hope, joy and self-confidence again.

(I hope so too. It sounds as if you’re due some positivity.)

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

Being such a massive fan of afternoon tea, I had to bring Mrs B’s scrumptious scones. The recipe was inspired by scones I had at a hotel in London a few years ago, for that extra melt in the mouth sensation! The Daisy Place Cafe-Bookshop in Little Eden serves afternoon tea all day long so I put five of Mrs B’s recipes in the back of the novel for my readers to try. After all, a book with a cuppa and a slice of cake is the best night in!

(Oh my goodness. Scones are one of my favourite treats. You’ll be welcome back any time if you bring lovely food like this!)

And we can listen to the soundtrack of Little Eden which is an eclectic mix of disco, ballad and gospel songs.  My favourite song is From a Distance by Julie Gold, because it inspired the novel in the first place and she kindly let me quote her lyrics at the end of the novel, plus Julie herself is an amazingly kind soul, she has been so encouraging to me personally and yet we have never met in person. She reached out to help me, a total stranger! (ITunes links to all the songs are on my blog).

The kindness of strangers is a wonderful thing KT. It’s been lovely staying in with you to hear about Little Eden. I do hope it all works out for you. Good luck!

Little Eden – A Magic Book

Little Eden, London, England

2012. The ancient sanctuary town of Little Eden is under threat. Human greed, selfishness and disregard are about to turn the last 1,000 years to dust.

Robert Bartlett-Hart must make a choice.

With the help of his friends (plus plenty of tea and cake), Robert learns that there is more at stake than just Little Eden. Something lies at the heart of Abbey; something that stands between mankind and Armageddon.

Robert and the residents of Little Eden must navigate past lives, other dimensions, and even Heaven itself, to find a way to save Little Eden and themselves.

Will Little Eden survive to usher in a New Age, or will Humanity perish along with it?

Little Eden is available for purchase from your local Amazon site, iBooks, Kobo and Googleplay.

About KT King

KT King was born in 1973, East Yorkshire, England. She attended university in Lancaster and Cambridge but in her early twenties found that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, along with congenital spinal problems (causing severe chronic pain), prevented her from working full-time.

She began re-training as a healer to help with her own health issues and in 2000 trained as a Reiki healer. Over the course of several years she went onto train as a Hypnotherapist, Counsellor and Reflexologist. She became a teacher and a spiritual guide to other healers.

Since 2012, KT has been too ill to work more than a few days a month and so has dedicated the time she can to her lifelong ambition of becoming a writer.

KT says “Several years ago I bumped into a childhood friend who, when she found out I was writing a book, reminded me that we used to play The Famous Five together but I didn’t want to be one of the characters, I wanted to be Enid Blyton! So, it’s only taken 40 years to realise my dream! I wanted to create a novel in which my friends, who are healers and light workers, would see ourselves portrayed in reality rather than pushed into fantasy or ridiculed. A novel in which we could say – that really happens to me!”

Due to ill health and (as many CFS sufferers find) she is not entitled to any disability or state benefits of any kind and is reliant on the charity of her family to provide food and shelter. Having lost her home and her business in 2012, she hopes to make enough money from her series of Little Eden books to have one day have a home again.

KT Loves to hear from her readers.

You can find out more by visiting KT’s blog, finding her on Facebook or following her on Twitter @KTKINGbooks. You might like to visit her Etsy shop too!