I’ve been meaning to feature The Sound of Violet by Allen Wolf for months and months, but life kept getting the better of me and the book is still languishing on my TBR waiting to be read. However, at least I can share an extract from The Sound of Violet with Linda’s Book Bag readers and with the book now a film too, and the fact we’re heading towards Autism Awareness Month and I have an adult niece whose life is affected by autism, what time could be better?

The Sound of Violet

Desperate to find a soulmate, Shawn goes on one awkward date after another until he encounters the alluring Violet. He starts dating her, but his autism and trusting nature keep him from realizing that she’s actually a prostitute.

Shawn thinks he’s found a potential wife while Violet thinks she’s found a ticket out of her trapped life. This funny and dramatic award-winning story takes all kinds of twists and turns and has been adapted into a major motion picture.

The Sound of Violet book is available for purchase here.

About the Film of The Sound of Violet

While the novel takes place in New York City, the movie has been relocated to Seattle.

From the acclaimed novel comes a romantic comedy about a man who thinks he found his soulmate, but his autism keeps him from realizing she’s a prostitute looking for a ticket out of her trapped life.

The Sound of Violet is now available on Apple TV, Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play, Blu-ray, or DVD.

A trailer for The Sound of Violet can be viewed here.

An Extract from The Sound of Violet

CHAPTER 1

IT’S STORMY

Shawn didn’t feel like an adult because adults were married, and he struggled to get through a date. He was twenty-four years old and looked like a man, with his powder-blue eyes, a trim physique, and a handsome face on a well-shaped head crowned with light brown hair. But he had never quite gotten used to his long arms and legs. When he walked, it looked like Shawn was carefully stepping between raindrops, especially when he started noticing all the colors around him.

The bashful sun peeked out from behind a gray curtain of clouds, kissing the Manhattan skyscrapers. Perfect dating weather. Shawn accompanied his latest date along a path through the High Line, a park that snaked above 11th Avenue, formerly abandoned railroad tracks that were transformed into a popular park years ago.

Emily looked pleasant but unremarkable as she trudged along, towering over him. She glanced his way, but Shawn couldn’t peer into her eyes or anyone’s eyes for that matter. When he did, it felt like he was staring into the sun. He’d force himself to do it, though, since people got uneasy when he darted his eyes away. But Shawn couldn’t keep looking for long. The connection felt too electric, like he had jammed his finger into a wall socket.

The trees around them swayed in the wind; their branches collided against each other, clanging like wind chimes on a blustery day. The melodic tones transfixed Shawn.

Emily cocked her head to the side. “Are you even listening?” she asked.

He wasn’t.

She knocked on an invisible wall between them. “Hello?”

Shawn broke out of his trance. “Sorry. I get distracted sometimes. By all the colors.” He looked up at her height. “You must be good at basketball.”

Her eyes narrowed. This wasn’t Shawn’s first awkward comment of the night. “And you must be great at miniature golf.”

Shawn kicked the ground. “Not really.”

“You’re gonna ask me how the weather is up here? I’ll save you the trouble.” She popped the cap off her bottle and splashed water on his face. “Stormy!”

Shawn stood there, water dripping off his face, his mouth hanging open. His stomach ached as Emily stomped off, shaking her head. What did I do this time? Maybe she doesn’t like basketball. She disappeared into the crowd of people surging around him.

Shawn sat on a park bench and logged into his online dating profile. Time to set up his next date. This was definitely a numbers game.

Later that week, he met Anna at the High Line. She was in her thirties, lean and frail-looking. Friendly, but needy. Pictures of cats covered her rainbow suspenders. Her profile emphasized her love for all things feline, and Shawn hoped there would be more to her. He was getting less picky. Shawn led her down the path.

“Whenever I look at a cat, I try not to think about how lazy it is,” Shawn said.

Anna raised her eyebrows. “They aren’t lazy. They like to sleep.”

“For seventy percent of their lives. Male lions sleep twenty hours a day, so you can tell they’re related.” Shawn had many more cat facts up his sleeve, but this one didn’t land the way he thought it would. He hoped she’d find the rest of them captivating, so all the preparation he did for this date wouldn’t be a waste of time.

“Cats are more intelligent than most people I date,” Anna said.

“Then, you’re dating the wrong people.” Shawn peered at her face. “You know, you look different from your profile picture.”

She slipped her hands into her pockets. “Confession time. That’s actually my sister. I get a lot more interest when I use her pic. We’re pretty similar, though. She’s just more photogenic.”

“No, she’s a lot prettier than you.”

Anna shrank back. “Are you for real?”

“Very,” Shawn said. “She’s the one who got the looks in your family.”

Shawn’s thoughts often raced out of his mouth, unedited. He knew people had to get used to that, or they wouldn’t stick around for long. Anna blinked a few times as if she didn’t know what to say. She scoffed, shrugged her shoulders, then hurried down one of the stairways that led to the street below.

Shawn knew better than to run after her. That had never worked on his previous dates. He peered at the red petals of the snapdragons circling the tree trunk next to him. The petals shivered and hummed, sounding like sustained chords of a violin.

On the following Saturday afternoon, he met Lindsay at the High Line. She looked identical to her picture, and he was relieved. She was in her twenties, with delicate features and dark hair pulled back from the planes of her face.

Their conversation began with how their days were going (fine) and about the state of the world (worrisome). They progressed to how expensive it was to reside in New York City (shockingly so, though technically Shawn didn’t pay anything to live here). Then, the conversation detoured to how people perceive colors. This was Shawn’s opportunity to shine. He fought to keep his thoughts on track as he strolled down the path with her.

“The light receptors in our eyes transmit messages to our brains about what we’re seeing. Newton first observed that the surface of what we see reflects some colors and absorbs the rest. So our eyes only perceive the reflected colors.” He forced himself to stop, a skill that usually led people to talk with him longer.

Lindsay leaned into him. “You’re a walking Wikipedia.”

Shawn beamed. The sunlight sparkled off the brook next to them as it bubbled down the path. He lost himself for a moment in the melodic stream of the water. Lindsay nudged him.

“You there?” she asked.

“Oh. Sorry about that.” He searched for a new topic. “The other day, I read an article about how this place would’ve still been an abandoned railroad track if someone didn’t have the imagination to make it this beautiful.”

Lindsay flicked her hair back. “So true.”

“When it opened, people called it a secret, magic garden in the sky.”

He started walking with a spring in his step. Lindsey reached over and held his hand. Startled, he shook her off. She stepped back with widened eyes. Shawn looked down; his arms hung to his sides.

“I’m sorry.” He paused. “Sometimes touching can be too intense for me.”

Lindsay poked her tongue against her cheek. “Oh.”

“You look like you swallowed a lemon.”

“And your profile didn’t say, ‘don’t touch me.’”

“It used to, but I didn’t get a lot of replies.”

Lindsay bit her upper lip. “Are you on the spectrum?”

Shawn hesitated, then nodded. Whenever he told someone about his autism, their reactions were a mysterious mixed bag. Mysterious because Shawn couldn’t understand what they were thinking. Sometimes those dates didn’t last long after he brought this information to light, even after he explained he was high functioning. His brother, Colin, thought Shawn should keep his autism a secret for as long as possible. Or at least until the second date. But whenever Shawn kept those details in the dark, his dates seemed confused by how he would react to the world around him.

Shawn looked past her at a tall woman with black curly hair and olive skin dressed in a flowing wedding dress, holding a bouquet of purple and pink roses. The bride intertwined her hands with her smiling groom, who kissed the top of her head as a photographer snapped pictures of them holding each other. Shawn took in the moment. This was special.

Lindsay checked her watch. “So…”

“We should grab some coffee,” Shawn said.

“Not a coffee drinker, I’m afraid.”

“I didn’t notice that on your profile.” Shawn swallowed.

“You know what? I should get going. Need to meet someone. Don’t know how I let that slip my mind. Sorry to cut this short.”

“They look like they won the lottery,” Shawn said, pointing to the couple behind her.

“It was so nice meeting you.”

“Should we go out again? I like how you smell like laundry detergent.” He realized he shouldn’t have mentioned her scent. His brother always reminded him to keep olfactory observations to himself.

“I’ll call you, okay?” she said, stepping back from him while keeping up the mask of her smile.

“I’ll wait for your call,” Shawn said, confident that day was just around the corner.

Her plastered grin continued as she made her way down the path. As Shawn watched her leave, the colors around him roared back to life. Tree branches clanged. The water tinkled. Petals hummed. The evening sun dazzled brightly. Shawn shielded his eyes and hurried his way back home.

Shawn shared a large condo with his grandmother on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where the kitchen, dining room, and living room all enjoyed inspiring views of Central Park. Black and white oil paintings of scenes from the city—wet seals basking in the sun at the Central Park Zoo, the triangular Flatiron building dominating its street corner, a couple caught in intimate conversation in front of a boxy florist shop in SoHo—hung on the silver-gray walls. All these were proud creations of Shawn’s grandmother, Ruth, whose spotless home could be easily confused with a museum if the furniture went missing.

A golden birdcage hung in the corner of the room near the window. Inside, the yellow and green lovebirds, Sunny and Cloudy, nestled against each other. Shawn dropped a large spoonful of cooked lentils into their feeding trough. His grandmother liked to stick her fingers into the cage to caress their feathers., But Shawn only dared to feed them. Nothing more.

Shawn kicked his feet up onto the walnut coffee table and tried to sink into the red velvet couch, but it never let him. It was too much like his grandmother, stiff and proper. He turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until he settled on a black and white movie, where a woman gritted her teeth while a seamstress worked on zipping up the back of her wedding dress. The woman turned toward a mirror, and her face lit up. The seamstress dabbed a tear from her cheek.

Ruth’s voice echoed from her bedroom down to the hall. “Shawn, I can hear your feet on the table.”

Shawn quickly moved his legs off the table. “You can’t hear feet.”

Ruth glided into the room in a vintage robe. She was in her seventies with curly auburn hair and a slim body, a gift from her years of swimming. Her stateliness masked her artistic side. She never traveled without putting her face on, as she called it.

“Bore me with the details,” she said.

Shawn looked away from her inquisitive eyes at the darkening clouds outside. It felt like the sun was forever setting on his dating life.

Ruth tapped her foot. “I’m waiting.”

“Same as always…”

Ruth frowned. “You didn’t look into her eyes, did you?”

Shawn looked at the floor. “No one’s going to marry me.”

“Marry? We need to get you a second date.” She straightened one of the paintings on the wall.

“If I don’t get married, I won’t have anyone after you die.”

“I’m still ticking. And when I’m not, you’ll have your brother, whatever that’s worth.”

“Sometimes, to keep myself going, I picture you lying in a casket.”

Ruth gasped. “How dare you say that. You know I want to be cremated. So no one can screw up my makeup.”

“Maybe I should start picturing you as an urn.”

Ruth shrugged. “Whatever works.”

Shawn glanced out the window. A breeze rustled through the trees in Central Park. A drizzle fell in sheets from the sky. “I miss Grandpa.”

“Yeah? Me too.” Ruth filled a silver teapot with water from the sink and set it on the stove. “He’d love to ask me about my day and then turn off his hearing aid.” Ruth snickered. “Once, he told me the best part of growing up was getting less and less peer pressure since all his peers were dying.”

“He died so suddenly. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

“That’s sweet, Shawn,” she said, walking toward him. She took an unsteady step and grabbed a nearby chair to get her balance.

“Who’ll buy my cereal? Or help me pay bills? Or…”

“Glad I’ll be missed,” she said with a wry smile. “Just promise me you’ll keep the urn polished.”

“Of course.”

Shawn returned his attention to the TV. The woman was dolled up for her wedding day, gliding down a sweeping staircase. The groom’s smile stretched from one ear to the other. Shawn imagined himself in that white suit, waiting for the love of his life.

“Tell me about your wedding day again, Grandma.”

Ruth didn’t answer.

Shawn looked over and saw her slumped in her rocking chair, looking like a marionette without its strings. “Grandma?” His mouth went dry. He rushed over and shook her, but she only flopped around in his hands.

****

Doesn’t that sound brilliant? I really must bump The Sound of Violet up my TBR!

About Allen Wolf

Allen Wolf has won multiple awards as an author and filmmaker. He is also the host of the popular Navigating Hollywood podcast where he interviews film and TV professionals about what it takes to thrive in entertainment.

He married his Persian princess, and they are raising their kids in Los Angeles. Allen loves traveling around the world and hearing people’s life stories. He is an avid fan of Disneyland. Allen wrote, directed, and produced the feature film adaption of The Sound of Violet. 

For more information, follow Allen on Twitter @theallenwolf, visit his website or find Allen on Instagram and Facebook.

There are some authors with whom a blogger seems to have an affinity and for me, Val Penny hits that brief. Val is always so supportive on social media and I’m delighted to feature here here on Linda’s Book Bag today by sharing an extract from her latest book in the Jane Renwick thriller series, The First Cut.

Val has previously featured on Linda’s Book Bag when I reviewed Hunter’s Rules here and to celebrate the audio version of her thriller Hunter’s Chase here. I also reviewed her super non-fiction book Let’s Get Published here.

Published by SpellBound today, 6th March 2023, The First Cut is available for purchase here.

The First Cut

Sometimes it’s hard to escape a brutal past. That’s the case for DS Jane Renwick, who learns via DNA a serial killer could be a family member.

This gripping police procedural is set in Edinburgh and Glasgow. A vicious killer is on the loose and victims include an academic and members of Edinburgh’s high society. But Jane is banished to the side-lines of the case and forced to look on impotently when the hunt for the killer ramps up, because the Murder Investigation Team believes the killer is related to her.

Has someone from Jane’s estranged birth family returned to haunt her? Could one of her relatives be involved? Where will the killer strike next?

This exciting novel is the first in Val Penny’s new series of Scottish thrillers.

A Extract from The First Cut

“Don’t know that name, but there’s nobody else here right now. I’m working. Please just go away.”

He felt the blow of dismissal, like everybody had always dismissed him. How dare they? How dare he? This foreigner didn’t even belong here. None of them did. None of them deserved the time of day, never mind the air they breathed. He would soon stop all that.

He smiled and took a few steps into the room.

“What you busy with? It’s late to be working.” He walked around the desk, took out his blade, and punched it into his victim’s carotid artery with practised precision. He dragged the blade across the neck to slice the artery, a quick second slice to make sure, but the first cut was the deepest. He made no errors, no mistakes. There was no hesitation. His victim stared at him, clutching his throat as the life blood ran out of him. All over the desk, all over the laptop computer, all over the important work that had required his dismissal. The blood sprayed over the desk, spattered the bookcase and into his mouth. That tinny, metallic taste he had come to enjoy. He would need to wipe his face before he left the room. It was a lucky break that he had a packet of tissues.

He smiled as his victim held his neck, the struggle, the gurgle, the death rattle of the man who tried to hold the life sustaining liquid in his body. They all did that. Again, ridiculous. It would never work. Not for long. It splashed through his fingers and onto the floor. That carpet hadn’t been up to much before, and it wasn’t worth shit now.

The man flopped over the desk. He wondered if that action had broken the laptop. Not that he really cared, the computer would come with him anyway. He grimaced. Having to rummage through the bloody pockets to get the phone was nasty, but he didn’t want to leave anything behind. Good! Got it first time. A decent one. It would get a bob or two.

He chuckled as he thought how confusing this would be, because this one didn’t fit with the profiles of the other victims at all. It wasn’t possible, this one had nothing to do with anything. Maybe it was a good thing he had missed her. Good name he came up with too, Joy Tuesday. Pity nobody would ever know or be able to share it. Poor Policeman Plod. This one would make no sense, yet they would have to make it fit.

He left as quietly as he had come, laptop under one arm, phone in his pocket, bloody blade in his belt. Then he saw her, the right fucking woman, whatever her name was, he couldn’t remember now because of the excitement. The green flash at the front of her hair was quite endearing. This evening, she had had a lucky escape, but he would be back.

****

Crikey! I know my TBR pile is almost reaching Mars but I have a feeling I need to add The First Cut to it too! That’s quite a dramatic extract…

About Val Penny

Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.

Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.

For more information about Val, visit her website or blog.  You’ll find Val on Goodreads, Twitter @valeriepenny, and Facebook.

I’m absolutely thrilled to help start off the blog tour for One Moment by Becky Hunter. I would like to thank Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate. I’m also hugely grateful to Becky for sending me an early copy of One Moment all those months ago and for agreeing to stay in with me today. I’ll be sharing my review of One Moment after our chat, but first, let’s find out what Becky told me:

Staying in with Becky Hunter

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

Thank you for having me!

It’s my pleasure. I rather think I know, but tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

My debut novel is called One Moment, and I’m so excited that it’s now out!

Happy publication day Becky. I’m looking forward to helping you celebrate later!

As a debut, it’s obviously a novel that’s very close to my heart – I had a few ‘near misses’ along the way to getting published, books that I wrote but just didn’t get a cut, so I think One Moment feels extra special because of that – this is the novel that means I can call myself a writer!

Having read (or rather, devoured) One Moment, you can certainly call yourself a writer!

For those who’ve yet to read it, what can we expect from an evening in with One Moment? 

When I was writing, I really wanted to celebrate female friendship – that kind of friendship that runs so deep, it’s built into the foundations of who you are. So I hope that comes across – I think female friendship, the positive, uplifting kind, is having a bit of a ‘moment’ at the moment. Jojo Moyes’ new book Someone Else’s Shoes is all about how life-changing a good female friend can be, and the brilliant We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman is about that friend who you are so close to, you’re almost like sisters. Both novels are so good, and I’m not claiming that mine is on a par, but I love that there are lots of novels that are championing female friendship at the moment.

I adored the friendship between Scarlett and Evie. 

In terms of the reading experience… It’s no secret that one of the protagonists dies at the beginning of the novel, so it is sad in places – but I hope it’s ultimately uplifting. That was the intention, anyway! It’s really nerve-wracking waiting to hear what readers will think of it, and I obsess a bit about the early reviews and go through phases of thinking I can’t write… BUT I’ve been lucky enough to have some wonderful early reviews, and I suppose that the nice things they’ve said is what I hope the reading experience will be!

This stunning debut explores grief, love and friendship in a beautiful and original way – a powerful read full of both moving and joyful moments – MY WEEKLY

Sharp, funny, tear-jerking, so assured and well observed. What a debut! — ELizabeth Buchan

‘Completely involving. An emotional read about love and trust, with an OMG ending — Jill Mansell

A warm and thoughtful novel that skewers friendship, loss and negotiating grief in a touching and relatable way. I was completely caught up in Evie and Scarlett’s stories. — Fanny Blake

A thought-provoking and moving novel about loss, love, and the unique and life-affirming power of friendship. Poignant yet unwaveringly hopeful, One Moment is a fresh look at how grief can not only break us, but put us back together again. An unmissable debut. ― Holly Miller

You must be utterly delighted with those responses Becky!

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

When I was writing the book, I thought about one of my own friends, Sophie Christopher, who died when she was only 28. She worked in publishing, and was one of the best friends you could hope for – she was warm, funny, positive, clever. A total champion of other people and someone who made you a better person, just by being near her. She died nearly four years ago now and I still carry around a photobooth line of photos of the two of us in my purse. It is a photo from a summer party and we are being silly – I’m wearing a pink wig and we are making faces at the camera. But it makes me smile, to look at it, even if I still feel sad, and still miss her whenever I think about her. Like Evie will always miss Scarlett in the book, but is a better person because she knew her, I feel the same about Sophie – so it’s right that she’s here with me.

Oh! That’s brought a lump to my throat. I remember the shock of Sophie’s death so clearly. I think she’d be so proud of what you’ve achieved Becky. 

On a more uplifting note, very early proofs of One Moment were sent out with biscuits and a sparkling reusable coffee cup. In the book, Evie buys Scarlett a ridiculous sparkly coffee cup that says BRING ON THE SPARKLE, which she hates initially, and then grows to love because it makes her smile and think of Evie. The morning that Scarlett dies, she has this coffee cup with her, so it has significance… So the biscuits and coffee cup are sitting next to me!

I have to say my biscuits didn’t last terribly long…

I also love to read with a glass of wine – so brining along a cold, crisp Sauvignon! Although as I’m celebrating my debut novel, maybe it should be champagne…

It should most definitely be champagne Becky! And of the kind tasted in One Moment. Thanks so much for staying in with me. I loved hearing about One Moment and I’ll share my review in one moment (see what I did there?) but first, let me give readers a few more details:

One Moment

One moment in time can change everything…

The day Scarlett dies should have been one of the most important of her life. It doesn’t feel fair that she’ll never have the chance to fulfil her dreams. And now, she’s still … here – wherever here is – watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of those she loved the most.

Evie cannot contemplate her life without Scarlett, and she certainly cannot forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend’s death. But Nate keeps popping up when she least expects him to, catapulting Evie’s life in directions she’d never let herself imagine possible. Ways, perhaps, even those closest to her had long since given up on.

If you could go back, knowing everything that happens after, everything that happens because of that one moment in time, would you change the course of history or would you do it all again?

Published by Atlantic imprint Corvus today, 2nd March 2023, One Moment is available for purchase through the links here.

My Review of One Moment

Scarlett’s death is just the beginning.

One Moment is fabulous and everyone should buy a copy immediately.

That’s it. That’s the review! Mind you, I suppose I ought to say why I feel this way.

The plot in One Moment is constructed so engagingly; especially through the deceased Scarlett’s first person narrative, because it feels fresh and innovative whilst being so perceptive, educational and compelling. Evie’s story is just wonderful too as she comes to terms with what is happening in her life. I don’t want to spoil the story by saying too much more, but this thread is completely convincing. Indeed, Becky Hunter deals with some challenging and profound themes in One Moment, all of which feel assiduously researched and accessibly presented so that the reader gains real understanding of the characters. I loved the fairly small cast list too as it enabled me to get to know Evie and Scarlett intimately. These are not two dimensional characters, but warm, flawed, human beings whose friendship is at the heat of the novel and whom I came to love unconditionally. I was pretty fond of Astrid and Nate too!

What is so effective and so affecting is the consideration of ‘what if?’ in One Moment. What if we had our time over again? What if we had made a slightly different decision at any point in life? What if we replied to a text or answered a call? Said what we really meant? Had a different job? Becky Hunter explores with sensitive and humane skill the futility of regret and the way we can move on in spite of everything. She illustrates so accurately the way life is there for the taking – without hurting others along the way. She also shows how we make assumptions about others and define them in ways that might not be fair but perhaps can influence how they see themselves both positively and negatively. I thought this aspect was so beautifully handled. One Moment may deal with the deepest grief and with negative emotions like sadness, anger and regret, but it leaves the reader feeling uplifted, engaged and connected to the very essence of who they are themselves as people. There may be sadness in this story, but there’s joy, happiness, connection and pleasure too.

In One Moment, Becky Hunter has distilled love, friendship, grief and hope into diamond bright perfection that touches the reader’s soul because the story is emotional, funny, realistic and totally absorbing. I absolutely adored One Moment because whilst it absorbed me completely and entertained me totally, it also made me laugh and made me cry. I found it simply glorious and it has gone straight on my list of books of the year. Whatever you do, don’t miss this one!

About Becky Hunter

Becky grew up in Berkshire, UK, and has loved reading since before she can remember. After studying social sciences at Cambridge university, this love of reading led her to a career in publishing, where she worked as a book publicist in London for several years before taking a career break and moving to Mozambique to volunteer with horses. It was here that she decided to give writing a proper go, though it was still a few years, a few more destinations, and a couple more jobs before she had the idea that would become One Moment, her debut novel.

She currently splits her time between London, Bristol and Falmouth, and works as a freelance book publicist and editor, alongside her own writing.

For more information, follow Becky on Twitter @Bookish_Becky or find her on Instagram.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

My huge thanks to  Isabelle of Fly on the Wall for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Imperfect Beginnings by Viv Fogel. It’s a pleasure to share my review of Imperfect Beginnings today.

Published by Fly on the Wall on 28th February 2023, Imperfect Beginnings is available for purchase here.

Imperfect Beginnings

Imperfect Beginnings lays its poems out to rest on uncertain terrain. Visa paperwork deadlines hang in the air. New-borns, torn too early from their mother’s breast, learn to adapt to harsh guardianship.

Belonging and exile are mirrored in the stories of having to leave one’s birthmother―or motherland.

From narrative poems such as ‘My Father Sold Cigarettes To The Nazis’, Fogel takes us on a journey throughout history, spanning ancestry, wartime, adoption and peacetime, as life settles. Family, work, love and the natural world provide purpose, meaning and a sense of coming ‘home’.

My Review of Imperfect Beginnings

A collection of poems in five sections.

I’m going to be completely honest and say that I found Imperfect Beginnings challenging because it is filled with poetry of harshness and difficulty. I thought this poetry was impressive and brilliant because I found Viv Fogel’s writing searing and emotive, frequently uncomfortable and always powerful, so that she forced me to consider the world anew in an unsettling manner. 

Imperfect Beginnings is a collection about home, whether that’s a physical place that requires maintenance, or an emotion knowing something ‘will do’, a homeland, or a person long forgotten and re-encountered. There’s real depth here as Viv Fogel considers difficult subjects like belonging, birth, death, isolation, poverty and relationships, and the physical fracturing on the page of many of her lines echoes to perfection the fracturing of life she’s writing about. I found this collection very affecting in content, theme and appearance. 

The opening piece to part II, for example, is just four short lines long and stopped me in my tracks completely. If only Putin could read Viv Fogel’s words… Similarly, I’d never truly considered the word remember before. To re-member, to piece back together, to reconstruct our memories, our past and our identity. Viv Fogel gave me reason to pause and consider. Reading her poetry made me take time out from the relentless rush of life and encouraged me to reflect on my own life even whilst I was being given a privileged glimpse into hers. 

Imperfect Beginnings is challenging. It opens wounds and feels simultaneously both intimate and global in its concept. However, above all else I found this collection uplifting because in spite of the negative experiences and concepts Viv Fogel explores, there is hope  – as embodied in the final three lines of the book. But you’ll need to get your own copy to find out what I mean and I really recommend that you do. Read Imperfect Beginnings and you won’t remain unchanged.

About Viv Fogel

Viv Fogel’s poems have been published in various magazines and anthologies since the mid-70’s. She has a collection Without Question 2006 and two pamphlets (Witness 2013 and How it is … 2018) Her poems and her work are influenced by having been adopted by refugee Holocaust survivors. London based, once an art teacher, involved with community, social housing and education projects, and since the mid-80’s has worked as a psychotherapist.

She is a grandmother to 3 dual-heritage grandchildren.

For more information, visit Viv’s website. and follow her on Twitter @VivWynant.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

It’s always exciting being in at the start of a brand new book and I’m delighted to help launch into the world This Child of Mine by Emma-Claire Wilson. My thanks to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part. Let’s find out all about the book:

This Child of Mine

When Stephanie is told she’s pregnant and that she is sick on the same day, she faces an impossible choice…

After trying for a baby for so long, finding out I was pregnant was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. But in the same breath as the news I had been waiting years to hear, the doctor told me I was seriously ill.

If I carry my baby to term, I will almost certainly die.

If I proceed with treatment, my baby will not live.

My husband – the father of this child – is telling me to save myself. But with all the secrets I know he is keeping from me, I can’t trust him anymore.

What would you do?

An emotional yet uplifting tear-jerker that will have you reaching for the tissues – perfect for fans of Emma Robinson and Jodi Picoult.

****

My goodness This Child of Mine sounds an absolute heart-breaker. I have no idea what I’d do, but I think I’m going to have to read This Child of Mine to find out what happens in the story.

This Child of Mine will be published by Avon on 3rd August 2023 and is available for pre-order on Amazon UK and Amazon US and through the publisher links here.

About Emma-Claire Wilson

Born in Scotland, Emma-Claire travelled the world as the child of military parents. After almost 20 years in Spain, she returned to the UK with her husband, two daughters, and rescue dog, Pip. Emma-Claire worked as a journalist for English language magazines and newspapers in Spain and in 2015 launched The Glass House Online Magazine. When not writing emotional fiction, you can find her dreaming up new book ideas or wrapped in a blanket with a book in her hand.

For more information, follow Emma-Claire on Twitter @ECWilsonWriter and on Instagram or find her on Facebook.

Having become a big fan of T.M. Logan’s writing I’m extremely grateful to Tracy Fenton for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for his latest thriller The Mother. I’m delighted to share my review of The Mother today. You’ll also find my review of The Curfew here.

Published by Bonnier imprint Zaffre on 2nd March 2023, The Mother is available for purchase in all the usual places including here.

The Mother

Framed for murder. Now she’s free . . .

A woman attends a funeral, standing in the shadows and watching in agony as her sons grieve. But she is unable to comfort them – or reveal her secret.

A decade earlier, Heather gets her children ready for bed and awaits the return of her husband Liam, little realising that this is the last night they will spend together as a family. Because tomorrow she will be accused of Liam’s murder.

Ten years ago Heather lost everything. Now she will stop at nothing to clear her name – and to get her children back . . .

My Review of The Mother

Heather is newly released from prison.

My goodness I enjoyed this perfectly crafted thriller, not least because T.M. Logan has an eye for detail that adds just enough description to bring alive his scenes without slowing pace and theme at all. The episodic nature of the plot means that The Mother would translate brilliantly into another superb television series. Indeed, I think this narrative is T.M. Logan at his best. 

One of the aspects of The Mother that I found most affecting was the way T.M. Logan illustrated how society judges by appearance, or continues to condemn those who find themselves facing adversity without knowing the full details. This prejudicial aspect lends a thought-provoking element that made me feel quite sad, even as I was enjoying the fast pace and the excitement of the plot.

And what a plot it is. It’s one of those stories that’s very difficult to review without spoilers but the narrative made my blood boil. I loathe unfairness and corruption and with so much of The Mother revolving around these two concepts, reading the story infuriated me, engaging me completely and making me totally invested in the outcomes. There’s a rapid pace that alternates between 2013 and 2023 that ensures the reader is drip fed information and is frequently wrong footed and caught up in the story, elevating their heart rate in the process. I had no idea what would happen and all the theories I developed were proven wrong through the excellent story-telling. 

In addition, I think one of the aspects that made The Mother so exciting for me, and such a gripping read, was the fact that Heather’s relentless pursuit of the truth goes so far beyond anything I’d dare attempt, that I was fascinated by her and her actions. I completely forgot that she’s a fictional character and was desperate for her to get justice. There’s quite a limited cast too with much of the action revolving around Heather, Jodie, Owen and Amy and this increases the tension and provides a sense of claustrophobia. 

I thought The Mother was excellent, finding it gripping, absorbing and exciting. I thoroughly appreciated the depth given to the narrative through the themes of justice and family and the way Heather is fiercely determined to uncover the truth of Liam’s murder – whatever the consequences. I recommend The Mother completely. It’s a super read.

About T.M. Logan

TM Logan’s thrillers have sold more than a million copies in the UK and been translated into 22 other languages for publication around the world.

His thriller, Trust Me, begins when a woman is asked to look after a stranger’s baby on a train – only for the mother to vanish. When she looks in the baby’s things, she finds a note that says: ‘Please protect Mia. Don’t trust the police. Don’t trust anyone.’

The Curfew, coming March 2022, follows the events of a hot midsummer’s night, when five teenagers go up to the woods to celebrate the end of exams, and only four come out…

Tim’s thriller The Holiday was a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and spent ten weeks in the Sunday Times paperback top ten. It has since won a Nielsen Bestseller Award and been made into a four-part TV drama with Jill Halfpenny for Channel 5. The Catch recently aired on Channel 5 too.

A former national newspaper journalist, Tim lives in Nottinghamshire with his family and writes in a cabin at the bottom of his garden.

For further information, exclusive writing, new releases and a FREE deleted scene from Tim, sign up to the Readers’ Club on his website. You can also follow him on Twitter @TMLoganAuthor, or find him on Facebook and on Instagram.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for This Could Be Everything by Eva Rice. I’m delighted to share my review today.

Published by Simon and Schuster on 16th February 2023, This Could Be Everything is available for purchase through the links here.

This Could Be Everything

From the author of modern classic The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets comes a feel-good novel about hope, love and the powerful bond between sisters. 

It’s 1990. The Happy Mondays are in the charts, a 15-year-old called Kate Moss is on the cover of the Face magazine, and Julia Roberts wears thigh-boots for the poster for a new movie called Pretty Woman.

February Kingdom is nineteen years old when she is knocked sideways by family tragedy. Then one evening in May she finds an escaped canary in her kitchen and it sparks a glimmer of hope in her. With the help of the bird called Yellow, Feb starts to feel her way out of her own private darkness, just as her aunt embarks on a passionate and all-consuming affair with a married American drama teacher.

This Could Be Everything is a coming-of-age story with its roots under the pavements of a pre-Richard Curtis-era Notting Hill that has all but vanished. It’s about what happens when you start looking after something more important than you, and the hope a yellow bird can bring…

My Review of This Could Be Everything

There’s a yellow canary in February Kingdom’s kitchen!

This Could Be Everything is utterly charming, tenderly written and a maelstrom of emotions played out through February’s story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the first person approach as it enabled the reader to see right inside February’s mind and witness her grief, her fears, her anger, her love, her jealousy, her hope – all her emotions – so vividly. The plot is measured and well paced to match the gradual emergence of February from her agoraphobia arising from her grief. There’s a fascinating metamorphosis that I found so affecting making me love February completely. It took me a while to warm to February, but Eva Rice’s skilful writing made me a snivelling, weeping wreck by the end of her journey. That’s not to say that this is a navel gazing morose story. Indeed, there are flashes of brilliant humour that I adored too.

Eva Rice plunges her readers into an absolutely authentic era in This Could Be Everything. Through cultural references, fashion and, especially, music, she provides so much that will resonate with those reading February’s story. I confess this aspect of the narrative made me feel quite old as I realised I was more Ann and Robert’s age at the time! However, it’s not just the brilliantly researched cultural elements that packs a punch here. Rather, societal attitudes are subtly and effectively explored so that my heart went out to Robert and Plato in particular. Eva Rice explores the concept that we are not necessarily what we seem. I loved the names of the characters. The irony is that Diana is named after the huntress, but it is February who is hunting for her place in the world and a self-understanding that takes time to happen. Similarly I loved the fact that Plato had a physical presence akin to the philosopher’s supposed size, but better still, his throw away lines are imbued with real philosophy and meaning. That said, it was Theo who held me so captivated. He’s flawed, a catalyst for change, fiercely loyal – including to himself – and as a result I thought he was wonderful.

It’s actually quite difficult to review This Could be Everything without spoiling the link between February and other readers. The effect of the novel, of Yellow’s role, of the lyrics scattered through the text, of the slight mysticism, is to enhance the reader’s own sense of self so profoundly and I think This Could Be Everything will feel very different to each reader. I found myself reassessing my own approach to life and how I might behave in the future. My own version of ‘everything’ seems to have changed. Maybe, as a result of reading This Could Be Everything, I might find pieces of blue eggshell around me too, but you’ll have to read the novel to see if it has the same impact on you. I recommend that you do because whilst This Could Be Everything is billed as a coming-of-age story, there’s no limit on what that age might be!

About Eva Rice

Eva Rice has written 5 novels and is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets– a post-war coming-of-age story that was runner-up in the 2006 Richard and Judy Book of the Year. It is currently being developed by Fudge Park (creators of The Inbetweeners) and Moonage Pictures (Pursuit of Love) as a major new TV series.

Eva has toured with bands since her early twenties. She has written the music and lyrics for Harriet a musical based on an early Jilly Cooper novel due to open in 2023. She has a geek-like fascination with pop music, and her party trick is recalling chart positions.
Follow her on Twitter @EvaRiceAuthor.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

Now, I didn’t intend to review Steve Smallman’s Maggie Sparks and the School of Slime today, but it arrived in surprise book post yesterday from Morgan, one of the lovely team at Sweet Cherry Publishing and as I had just finished another book I thought I’d have a quick look. Before I knew it I’d read and enjoyed Maggie Sparks and the School of Slime and so I’m sharing my review immediately (though I haven’t had chance to make my own slime yet!).

Published by Sweet Cherry Publishing on 17th February 2023, Maggie Sparks and the School of Slime is available for purchase here.

Maggie Sparks and the School of Slime

Maggie Sparks does NOT want to go to a new school!

Especially not one with mean students and a teacher she is sure is a VAMPIRE.

But Maggie has no choice. When their school gets closed down, she and Arthur are forced to go to Peregrine Primary. Thankfully, Maggie’s a super powerful, super smart, super talented witch. Maggie plans to use her powers to get out of going to the nightmare new school – one way or another.

All she needs is a little magic …

About the Maggie Sparks series:

Step into the magical world of Maggie Sparks: the mischievous little witch who turns every day into an adventure. Join Maggie as she learns how to tackle school, make friends and most confusing of all: understand her emotions – when she’s not facing dragons and meeting aliens, that is! Perfect to bridge the gap between Isadora Moon and Amelia Fang for young readers aged 5+.

My Review of Maggie Sparks and the School of Slime

Subsidence means a new school for Maggie.

Maggie Sparks and the School of Slime is a smashing book aimed at 5-7 year olds. It’s filled with super illustrations from Esther Hernando that help bring the story to life, and support more reluctant readers, and has so much humour, especially involving spells gone wrong and with jokes about bottoms that children will love it. The images give lots of opportunity for parents and teachers to discuss what’s happening with children and for young readers to make predictions and to examine expressions as a means to see how someone is feeling.

It’s always a joy when a children’s book includes a range of ethnicity and I loved the fact that Maggie is mixed race. A female black protagonist is just right for sharing with children either in the home or in other settings. I thought Arthur and Bat were brilliant too.

The plot zips along and is thoroughly relatable for children despite the unusual magic in Maggie’s family. There’s the experience of being in a new school, the practice of show and tell, as well as the way some children can be unkind to others, but here Steve Smallman explores such themes with wit and humour that allows for discussion and comfort. I’d love to see children writing their own stories like Maggie’s Spy Duns version and I thought the science of creating volcanic lava was just brilliant in giving status to the subject, as was Arthur’s love of his telescope. Themes of kindness, friendship and responsibility underpin the story making a lovely read for young children.

I thoroughly enjoyed Maggie Sparks and the School of Slime because it is fast paced, funny and imaginative whilst being rooted in day to day activities that children know. I also think the book is excellent value as it includes an automatic QR code for the audio just inside the front cover too. I rather wish I’d been at school with Maggie and Arthur!

About Steve Smallman

Steve Smallman has been illustrating children’s books for over 40 years and writing his own stories for slightly less. He also teaches illustration workshops in schools, including mural-painting. Steve is the author of Smelly Peter the Great Pea Eater, winner of the Sheffield Children’s Book Award 2009. When he’s not writing or drawing, Steve enjoys watching films and television, gardening, and walking in the countryside.

For more information, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveRT1, or visit his website.

My thanks to Olivia at Legend Press for inviting me to join the blog tour for Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger and for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

Published by Legend Press on 28th February 2023, Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six is available for purchase here.

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

Three couples rent a luxury cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway to die for in this atmospheric and gripping locked-room thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger.

What could be more restful, more restorative, than a weekend getaway with family and friends? Especially in an isolated luxury cabin in the woods, complete with spectacular views, a hot tub and a personal chef. The reviews are stellar.

But a deadly storm is brewing. The owner seems just a little too present. The chef reveals that the beautiful house has a spine-tingling history. And the guests have their own complicated pasts, with secrets that run blood deep. The perfect weekend is about to turn into a nightmare.

My Review of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

Mako has organised a trip away. 

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six is nasty. That is not a criticism, but an acknowledgement of the skilful way Lisa Unger delves into the potential darkness of the human psyche and finds it a very disturbing place indeed. There’s a malevolent tension from the very beginning that feels edgy and compelling. As the plot writhes along it makes your head spin just wondering how Henry’s story will link with that of Mako et al. I thought the plotting was really interesting and the ending was exciting and fitting. 

The locked room style setting of the luxury cabin in the woods is really well described, balancing the cabin’s perfection with an air of malevolence so that it’s a bit like watching a horror film. You know something awful will happen – with the pathetic fallacy of the storm, the isolation and the creepy story of what has happened here in the past lending a sense of supernatural and danger – but it still makes you jump metaphorically. 

There’s very much the sense of being careful what you wish for, of the balance between nature and nurture and how our past can have a terrible influence on our present. The psychological elements of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six are unsettling, unpleasant and uncomfortably enthralling. Lisa Unger explores genetics and the meaning of family in a way that makes the reader realise how little we ever really know another person. 

Other themes include entitlement, difference, mental health, and the Me Too movement in a textured narrative that is as thought provoking as it is entertaining so that Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six has a pleasing depth. 

I found the characters fascinating as, with the exception of Henry and Piper, I didn’t really warm to any of them, but Lisa Unger made me still want to understand them, to discover their secrets and to find out what happened. Indeed, I relished the consequences for the characters even though (or perhaps especially because) I didn’t like them. 

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six is one of those books that lingers after it is read. It makes the reader ponder humanity, how we are the product of our backgrounds and how we redefine and create ourselves. I enjoyed it.

About Lisa Unger

Lisa Unger is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of twenty novels, including Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six, Last Girl Ghosted, and Confessions on the 7:45 — now in development at Netflix, starring Jessica Alba. With books published in thirty-three languages and millions of copies sold worldwide, she is regarded as a master of suspense.

Unger’s critically acclaimed novels have been featured on “Best Book” lists from the Today Show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, People, Amazon, Goodreads, L.A. Times, The Boston Globe, Sun Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times and many others. She has been nominated for, or won, numerous awards including the Strand Critics, Audie, Hammett, Macavity, ITW Thriller, and Goodreads Choice. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honour held by only a few authors, including Agatha Christie. Her short fiction has been anthologized in The Best American Mystery and Suspense, and her non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Travel + Leisure. Lisa is the current co-President of the International Thriller Writers organization. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.

For further information, visit Lisa’s website, or follow her on Twitter @lisaunger, Instagram and Facebook.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

What an absolute pleasure to share details of my latest My Weekly online reviews. I hadn’t discovered Kayte Nunn’s writing before but I’m delighted to share details of my review of her latest book The Only Child.

Kayte has a short story in the magazine this week too so grab a copy!

Published by Orion in paperback on 16th February 2023, The Only Child is available for purchase through the links here.

The Only Child

1949 It is the coldest winter Orcades Island has ever known, when a pregnant sixteen-year-old arrives at Fairmile, a home for ‘fallen women’ run by the Catholic Church. She and her baby will disappear before the snow melts.

2013 Frankie Gray has come to the island for the summer, hoping for one last shot at reconnecting with her teenage daughter, Izzy, before starting a job as a deputy sheriff. They are staying with her mother, Diana, at The Fairmile Inn, soon to be a boutique hotel, but when an elderly nun is found dead in suspicious circumstances, and then a tiny skeleton is discovered in the grounds of the house, Frankie is desperate for answers.

At once an evocative, unsettling tale of past misdeeds and a crime thriller that will have you reading with your heart in your mouth, The Only Child is compulsively addictive storytelling from the bestselling author of The Botanist’s Daughter.

My Review of The Only Child

My full review of The Only Child can be found online on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that The Only Child is a crime thriller, but even more it is a brilliant exploration of society, identity, history and morality that I thought was just wonderful.

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Kayte Nunn

Kayte Nunn is the internationally bestselling author of seven novels including The Botanist’s Daughter (awarded the 2020 Winston Graham Award), The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant, The Silk House, The Last Reunion and The Only Child. Kayte’s novels are available worldwide in English, and have been translated into ten languages. Born in Singapore, raised in the US and the UK, she now lives in Northern NSW, Australia.

For further information, find Kayte on Instagram or visit her website. You’ll also find Kayte on Facebook.