Friday, 30 December 2016

Giveaway: Win a Monster Calls film merchandise bundle

TITLE: A Monster Calls (Movie Tie-In Edition)
AUTHOR: Patrick Ness
PUBLISHER: Walker Books

PUBLICATION DATE: October 13, 2016

Amazon - Goodreads

The bestselling novel about love, loss and hope from the twice Carnegie Medal-winning Patrick Ness, soon to be a major motion picture. Conor has the same dream every night, ever since his mother first fell ill, ever since she started the treatments that don't quite seem to be working. But tonight is different. Tonight, when he wakes, there's a visitor at his window. It’s ancient, elemental, a force of nature. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. Patrick Ness takes the final idea of the late, award-winning writer Siobhan Dowd and weaves an extraordinary and heartbreaking tale of mischief, healing and above all, the courage it takes to survive.


To celebrate the upcoming release on January 1 of A Monster Calls, a beautiful film based on the fantasy novel by Patrick Ness starring Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Lewis MacDougall and Liam Neeson, I'm giving you the chance to win one of two merchandise bundles, seen below.



To enter the giveaway, fill in the easy Rafflecopter below. There's an automatic entry if you click the Click to Enter button, and an optional extra entry every day if you tweet about the giveaway. This is open to UK residents only. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Whilst you wait for the giveaway to end, why not check out these trailers for the film below which I'm sure you'll agree looks brilliant!




Saturday, 17 December 2016

Guest Post: Freda Lightfoot on what life was like for women during the war

TITLE: Always in My Heart
AUTHOR: Freda Lightfoot
PUBLISHER: HQ Stories

PUBLICATION DATE: December 15, 2016

Amazon - Goodreads

Brenda Stuart returns to her late husband’s home devastated by his loss only to find herself accused of bestowing favours upon the Germans.

Life has been difficult for her over the war, having been held in an internment camp in France simply because of her nationality. Thankful that her son at least was safe in the care of his grandmother, she now finds that she has lost him too, and her life is in turmoil.

Prue, her beloved sister-in-law, is also a war widow but has now fallen in love with an Italian PoW who works on the family estate. Once the war ends they hope to marry but she has reckoned without the disapproval of her family, or the nation.

The two friends support each other in an attempt to resolve their problems and rebuild their lives. They even try starting a business, but it does not prove easy.


What was life like during the war for women? Give a brief background on the domestic situation in the UK post-war.

Most women endured six years of war work and became much tougher as a result of doing men’s jobs. Sometimes their children were sent away as evacuees, so they would have no family life. They would worry over their loved ones, often receiving only censored letters, and could spend endless sleepless nights in shelters fearing they might be killed. They could even lose their homes if it was bombed.

By the end of the war they were exhausted, but the men did not always appreciate the traumas they’d had to endure. When their husbands returned they did not expect their wives to have gained a sense of freedom and independence. They still dreamed of the young and beautiful girl they’d married. Now she’d aged and that didn’t always appeal. Many women found themselves dismissed from their jobs when the fighting men returned, even though they might be war widows, or a deserted wife. Men too would often struggle to find work, or resent having to return to a boring desk job, finding it difficult to settle back into Civvy Street. The government insisted women return to wifely duties, keep house and produce and care for children, which to some felt like going back to prison. They were even urged not to wear suits or trousers, but to be bright and pretty females again.

The effect of war upon a marriage or relationship was not always good. Some couples were happy to be back together again and their love blossomed. Others were less fortunate, particularly if they’d suffered traumatic situations, or long periods of separation. Once back together they might feel like strangers, particularly true of hasty war marriages. Some wives had to deal with a shell-shocked or disfigured husband who suffered from nightmares, sleepwalking, outbursts of violence or depression. He might have turned into a bully if he was accustomed to giving orders. Children too would often react badly if they didn’t even know their father, having rarely seen him for years. The country too was in a mess, still enduring shortages and rationing, a lack of homes, jobs, and near bankruptcy. This was the brave new world that women had fought for and they needed infinite patience, tact and strength to rebuild their lives.

Always in My Heart by Freda Lightfoot is out now in paperback (£7.99, HQ Stories)



Friday, 16 December 2016

Cover Reveal: Secrets We Keep by Faith Hogan

I'm happy today to be sharing the cover reveal for Secrets We Keep by Faith Hogan, which will be published by Aria on February 1, 2017. I loved Faith's debut novel My Husband's Wives - it was one of my most memorable reads of 2016. You can catch my review of Secrets We Keep early in February next year. But first, here's the beautiful cover...




Two distant relatives, drawn together in companionship are forced to confront their pasts and learn that some people are good at keeping secrets and some secrets are never meant to be kept.

A bittersweet story of love, loss and life. Perfect for the fans of Patricia Scanlan and Adele Parks.

The beautiful old Bath House in Ballytokeep has lain empty and abandoned for decades. For devoted pensioners Archie and Iris, it holds too many conflicting memories of their adolescent dalliances and tragic consequences – sometimes it’s better to leave the past where it belongs.

For highflying, top London divorce lawyer Kate Hunt, it’s a fresh start – maybe even her future. On a winter visit to see her estranged Aunt Iris she falls in love with the Bath House. Inspired, she moves to Ballytokeep leaving her past heartache 600 miles away – but can you ever escape your past or your destiny?


Purchase Links:

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2gGPP2M


About the Author:

Faith lives in the west of Ireland with her husband, four children and two very fussy cats. She has an Hons Degree in English Literature and Psychology, has worked as a fashion model and in the intellectual disability and mental health sector.

Facebook: @FaithHoganAuthor
Twitter: @GerHogan
Instagram: @FaithHoganAuthor
Website: www.faithhogan.com


Thursday, 15 December 2016

Guest Post: Helen Carey’s Top Ten (Not) Writing Songs

TITLE: London Calling
AUTHOR: Helen Carey
PUBLISHER: Headline

PUBLICATION DATE: December 15, 2016

Amazon - Goodreads

It will take more than Hitler's Luftwaffe to break the spirit of the residents of Lavender Road. If courage and resilience could win wars, the conflict would already be over.

It's not all harmony, though. Nurse Molly Coogan and would-be actress Jen Carter certainly don't see eye to eye. Molly, despite hating the discipline of wartime hospital life, is unimpressed by Jen's prima donna ways. Jen, unaware of Molly's secret heartache, can't resist taking her own frustrations out on Molly. It's just as well that no one knows what challenges lie ahead...

From stolen glasses in the Flag and Garter to fancy dinners in the heart of the West End, from a desperate battle for survival on a hospital ward to a torpedo hitting its target in the Mediterranean Sea, LONDON CALLING takes readers into a world of ordinary people living extraordinary lives.


Helen Carey’s top ten (not) writing songs

People often ask me what kind of music I listen to while I write, and I generally find my self having to admit that I don’t like background music when I’m working. Even when I was a kid I preferred to do my homework in stony silence!

And I realise that if I had been alive during the Second World War, like the characters in my books, I would have found the BBC Radio’s ‘music while you work’ campaign a complete nightmare. How people like me coped with endless rousing wartime songs while trying to fit rivets or fill shells I cannot imagine. I would have probably have run screaming for the Women’s Land Army instead.

Don’t get me wrong, I love music, it’s just that if I’m listening to music, I want to listen to music, and not do anything else at the same time, apart from perhaps dance!

And if I’m writing, I want to write, and not be distracted by the urge to get up and practice my favourite Strictly moves ...

Nevertheless, I have various go-to songs and pieces of music that help me get in the mood for writing, and indeed for the Second World War.

So here are my Top Ten (not) writing songs:

Any old wartime songs like Run Rabbit Run - to get me in the WW2 London mood.

The magnificent opening of Tannhäuser (Wagner) to get me in the historical mood!

The good old fashioned lover boy (Queen) - because I love my heroes!

The Book of Love - (Peter Gabriel) - to get into a romantic mood, you can’t get more romantic than this ...

Wonderful Tonight - (Eric Clapton) - …unless it’s this!

As Time Goes By as sung by Sam, (Dooley Wilson) in Casablanca - my favourite wartime film ever!

No Surrender (Bruce Springsteen) - brings back fond childhood memories

'Un bel di' (from Puccini’s Madam Butterfly) - if I need to crank up the emotion even more ...

Desperado (Eagles) - to let off steam when the words aren’t flowing ...

The Sovereign Light Cafe (Keane) - lets me go for a nice walk on the beach, even if I haven’t got time to do it.


Thank you to Helen for sharing her favourite (not) writing songs. London Calling is out now.





Monday, 5 December 2016

Reviewed: Reunited by Daniel Gothard

TITLE: Reunited
AUTHOR: Daniel Gothard
PUBLISHER: Urbane Publications

PUBLICATION DATE: October 6, 2016

Amazon - Goodreads

1992, and Ben Tallis is coming to terms with the recent death of his father. His ability to cope isn't helped by the fact he's secretly in love with one of his best friends. At least keeping a daily journal helps him make sense of events, and he believes it's the perfect preparation for his plan to one day become a successful journalist.

2012 and Ben has achieved his career ambition - he's a highly respected journalist and is engaged to a hardworking and ambitious lawyer. But this seemingly 'perfect' relationship is fraught with problems. Ben mentions in passing to his editor he has received an invitation to a 20 year school reunion but doesn't want to go. His editor however smells a great feature article and insists Ben returns home, faces his past - including his secret teenage yearning - and writes a feature on how much we change, and yet in so many ways stay the same.

As Ben reluctantly re-engages with his past he soon comes to realise that we can never run from the truth...or who we truly are.



Reunited is the second book I have read by Daniel Gothard and both are sharp, witty and entertaining reads. Reunited is my favourite of the two as I was quickly engrossed in the story of a man who has been invited to his school reunion. Just those two words send a shiver up my spine and I was looking forward to seeing how things would unfold for Ben, especially the further into the story I was when I read about the difficult time he’d had at school.

The book switches in time from the early 1990s to 2012. We read from both first person and a journal Ben had kept for many years as a journalistic practise, something which has become his career and unfortunately for Ben, is the reason he has to attend his school reunion. I really enjoyed how we could read from both timeframes and get to see the differences between Ben’s old life and how he is now. The changes between someone from school to someone twenty years after is noticeable and I was fascinated seeing how Ben, Ross, Emma and Catrina were at school in comparison to how they were when some of them met up for the reunion. Catching up with people at a high school reunion reminded me of this generation of searching for people you didn’t particularly like on Facebook just to see what they’re doing now. It can waste away hours of your days and I felt like Ben could probably relate to how cringeworthy that is!

With switching between past Ben and present Ben, we really get to see the tough and mad times he and best mate Ross endured at school and develop an understanding of why they, more than most, were unsure about being at the reunion. I kind of wondered why they were going at all really. Even though Ben as a journalist was there to write about it, he seemed to be sacrificing his relationship to do so. Even though he has argued with his fiancĂ©e, and she has supposedly left him, he still seemed to be obsessing over a girl that was going to be at the reunion. This obsession is just one of the many reasons the idea of a school reunion is awful to me, but I did enjoy reading about one knowing it wasn’t mine!

The author really nailed the dread of a looming school reunion and I could feel and understand the apprehension Ben felt as well as the awkwardness at reuniting with his old friends. I would have liked to have seen the reunion pushed a bit more though. The book is more about the lead up to the event rather than the event itself, which realistically portrays how people’s worries about things can sometimes turn into nothing – like all the fuss about the school reunion was a bit unfounded really. Even though I did find this realistic, I missed some of the drama that we saw in the sections from their time at school. This could have been a sign of their development as people but really Ben, Ross and Cat still all appeared to be acting like teenagers in the present day anyway.

I did like Ben’s character. He was a bit of a car crash waiting to happen but this was entertaining. I could definitely feel his pain right the way through his school life to the reunion. This book does touch on bullying but not in a conventional way as the victims have their own way of dealing with things, shall we say. I found the antics of Ben and Ross funny and their interactions amusing. Their friendship in both sections of the book was lovely to read with warmth and humour amongst the typical banter and mishaps involved in a male friendship. They didn’t mature much over the years, even if they felt otherwise, but in a way it was refreshing and appealing to see that they had come through being bullied at school okay.

Once I picked up Reunited, I couldn’t put it down. The author’s writing style is engaging and the way Ben tells the story involves the reader more. He had me thinking about how characters from his school days could have changed come 2012 and how my own school reunion would turn out – thankfully it will be many years away and I won’t be going! I felt like aspects of the story could have been developed further such as both Ross and Ben’s own relationships and I think I enjoyed the parts of the book more when they were at school as the author really well builds up their school life from the bullies to the romance and friendship and the chaos that went with it all. Overall this is another bold and entertaining book from Daniel Gothard and I’m looking forward to reading more in future.





About the Author

My name is Daniel David Gothard.

I have a CertHE and Masters degree in creative writing from Ruskin College, Oxford and Bath Spa University. I have been published in anthologies and literary journals in the UK and abroad, including "Eight Hours" (Legend Press) and the prestigious "The View From Here".

My first novel - "Friendship and Afterwards" (Yolk Publishing) - was published in 2014 to critical acclaim and a People's Book Prize nomination.

In 2015 my second novel - "Simon says" (Urbane Publications) was a WHSmith's Christmas and New Year promotion bestseller.

My third novel - "Reunited" (also published by Urbane Publications) - was released in October 2016.

Both "Simon says" and "Reunited" have been nominated for RNA awards.

I am also an arts correspondent for After Nyne Magazine.

My commissioned short story - "Curtains and Lights" - is due to be published in the February 2017 colour supplement edition of The Oxford Times.


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