I always feel so privileged to be part of Sue Moorcroft’s street team and so it gives me enormous pleasure to be part of the launch celebrations for her latest book, A Christmas Gift, by sharing my review today.

Sue is a regular here on the blog and you can see other Linda’s Book Bag posts with Sue in the following links:

Discussing One Summer in Italy

An interview with Sue Moorcroft

A guest post from Sue on over-sharing and my review of The Christmas Promise

A guest post from Sue on her fantasy holiday companions

My review of Just For The Holidays

A guest post from Sue on loving a village book

My review of The Little Village Christmas

A Christmas Gift was published by Harper Collins imprint Avon on 1st November 2018 and is available for purchase through the links here.

A Christmas Gift

Georgine loves Christmas. The festive season always brings the little village of Middledip to life. But since her ex-boyfriend walked out, leaving her with crippling debts, Georgine’s struggled to make ends meet.

To keep her mind off her worries, she throws herself into organising the Christmas show at the local school. And when handsome Joe Blackthorn becomes her assistant, Georgine’s grateful for the help. But there’s something about Joe she can’t quite put her finger on. Could there be more to him than meets the eye?

Georgine’s past is going to catch up with her in ways she never expected. But can the help of friends new and old make this a Christmas to remember after all?

My Review of A Christmas Gift

Georgine’s life is in a bit of bother, but could it be about to change?

Oh, I love A Sue Moorcroft book and A Christmas Gift is everything I have come to expect from her writing.

Firstly, there’s a smashing plot. Whilst there is, as I would expect, a romance in which the path of true love certainly doesn’t run smoothly, but which leaves the reader feeling tingly and satisfied, there’s so much more besides. I think Sue Moorcroft has excelled herself in A Christmas Gift as, although it is as meticulously researched as are all her books, this one held an extra layer of depth for me. The college setting and activities are believable and engaging but the social understanding and presentation of Joe’s past in particular I found incredibly touching – possibly because I taught in Peterborough near to the Middledip setting of the book. I also taught youngsters who came from exactly the kind of homes Joe lived in so that there was a deep emotional pull as well as a hugely entertaining story for me here. Alongside the socially affecting moments there is also a lightness of touch and a humour that made me smile and left me feeling uplifted and warm inside. A Christmas Gift is a heartwarming, wonderful read.

I found the balance of characters worked brilliantly. Because of the nature of the plot and setting there’s quite a few people to encounter, but not one felt extraneous or undermined the depth of Georgine and Joe’s characters and they became people I cared about. I thoroughly enjoyed the developing relationship between these two and I’d love to know more about them in a future book. I think it’s the deftness of touch in dialogue that brings them alive so well. Sue Moorcroft also seems able to convey how someone is feeling with such alacrity and style. There’s also such an ease to the writing. That’s not to say it’s simplistic, but rather that the experience of reading the story is effortless so that nothing jars or ever feels out of place. I really appreciate this when I’m reading.

My only reservation about A Christmas Gift is that I think some readers eschew books with Christmas in the title. With A Christmas Gift they would be so wrong to do so. Certainly the events build up to Christmas, but the smashing storytelling, the vibrant setting and the warm, human characters are relevant, engaging and interesting at any time.

I really loved A Christmas Gift. It is Sue Moorcroft on top form – again!

About Sue Moorcroft

Award winning author Sue Moorcroft writes contemporary women’s fiction with occasionally unexpected themes. The Wedding Proposal, Dream a Little Dream and Is This Love? were all nominated for Readers’ Best Romantic Read Awards. Love & Freedom won the Best Romantic Read Award 2011 and Dream a Little Dream was nominated for a RoNA in 2013. Sue’s a Katie Fforde Bursary Award winner, a past vice chair of the RNA and editor of its two anthologies.

The Christmas Promise was a Kindle No.1 Best Seller and held the No.1 slot at Christmas!

Sue also writes short stories, serials, articles, writing ‘how to’ and is a creative writing tutor.

You can follow Sue on Twitter @SueMoorcroft, find her on Facebook and visit her website.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

I can’t believe it’s over two years since Hattie Holden Edmonds was last on Linda’s Book Bag. On that occasion she provide a super guest post for her book Cinema Lumiere that you can read here. Sadly, I didn’t have chance to read Cinema Lumiere so I am very pleased to be invited by Anna Birt at Red Door to be part of the launch celebrations for Hattie’s latest book The Spectacular Vision of Oskar Dunkelblick and I have my review to share today.

The Spectacular Vision of Oskar Dunkelblick was published yesterday, 8th November 2018, by Red Door and is available for purchase here.

The Spectacular Vision of Oskar Dunkelblick

Oskar is the ultimate outsider. He’s been living on the Berlin streets since he was 13. To perk himself up, he paints the misery of mankind and has become the enfant terrible of the Berlin art scene.

But one day during a not-so-routine eye test he tries on a pair of glasses which blow his bleak world view to bits and give him a glimpse of heaven.

Shortly after, to Oskar’s fury, he begins to see the beauty of the world around him, to feel a connection to others and, most frightening of all, to fall in love.

Will it be an easy ride? Hell no.

My review of The Spectacular Vision of Oskar Dunkelblick

Trying on new glasses might just be a step too far for Oscar!

The Spectacular Vision of Oskar Dunkelblick is frequently completely bonkers because Oskar himself is so quirky, and I really, really enjoyed reading it. There’s a deliciously dark humour to Hattie Holden Edmonds’ writing so that I often laughed aloud at Oskar’s actions and responses. In fact, I thought Oskar was an absolute triumph of a character. Who couldn’t love someone whose breakfast egg is a Kinder Surprise? As his life is changed, his unsuccessful attempts to remain bitter, negative and sullen are brilliantly conveyed and he really is the most endearing anti-hero I’ve ever encountered. Dunkelblick as a surname suits him perfectly as, if my O’level German from over 40 years ago serves me right, I think it means ‘dark view’ and that’s certainly how Oskar has liked to live and paint.

There’s a huge authenticity through the cultural references in The Spectacular Vision of Oskar Dunkelblick too. Some I was fully aware of and others I actually looked up as I was so drawn in to the writing and wanted to know what was fact and what fiction. I think this lends a super level of depth that is also conveyed by very poignant themes underpinning the lighter and funnier surface. Oscar’s childhood experiences are seen to affect his present life and the bullying he is subjected to is something I think will resonate with many readers. The concept that personal perception colours (quite literally here actually) how we view life is a wonderful element and the book reaches levels of parable and aphorism that I found very pleasing. I loved the sensitive presentation of love and emotion that is all the more effective because of the ways so many characters try to refute their feelings. Indeed, I think Hattie Holden Edmonds must have spent some considerable time in her research for The Spectacular Vision of Oskar Dunkelblick as I’m sure my limited knowledge spotted all kinds of implied and more obvious references to art, music, The Enlightenment, theology, mythology and science. This is a book that can be read on many levels.

I loved the fast paced plot and the way the book is structured so that past and present links are entirely believable. I never quite knew what might happen next to Oskar and now I’ve finished reading The Spectacular Vision of Oskar Dunkelblick I’m desperately hoping I might get to read more of his adventures in the future.

With notes of fantasy, humour and philosophy,  The Spectacular Vision of Oskar Dunkelblick is an absolutely smashing read that is quirky, entertaining and fun, and shows the reader it’s never too late for enlightenment or atonement. I really recommend it.

About Hattie Holden Edmonds

Hattie Edmonds has attempted many jobs, including junior assistant on Separates in Clements (of Watford) department store and chief plugger-in of cables in a Berlin recording studio. For ten years she was the London correspondent for the German pop magazine Bravo. After that, she became the in-house comedy writer at Comic Relief, working on projects with amongst others, Richard Curtis, Steve Coogan, Dawn French and Sacha Baron Cohen. Now she writes fiction full time and volunteers for the refugee charity Care4Calais.

You can visit Hattie’s website, follow her on Twitter @HattieHEdmonds and find more with these other bloggers.

My enormous thanks to Georgina Moore at Headline for a copy of Last Ones Left Alive by Sarah Davis-Goff in return for an honest review. I know I’m mega early in posting my review but I couldn’t wait to tell everyone what a fantastic read this is.

Last Ones Left Alive will be published by Tinder Press on 7th March 2019 and is available for pre-order here.

Last Ones Left Alive

Remember your Just-In-Cases. Beware Tall Buildings. Watch Your Six

Raised by her mother and Maeve on Slanbeg, an island off the west coast of Ireland, Orpen has a childhood of love, rockpools and stories by the fireside. But the stories grow darker, and the training begins. Ireland has been devoured by a ravening menace known as the skrake, and though Slanbeg is safe for now, the women must always be ready to run, or to fight.

When Maeve is bitten, Orpen is faced with a dilemma: kill Maeve before her transformation is complete, or try to get help. So Orpen sets off, with Maeve in a wheelbarrow and her dog at her side, in the hope of finding other survivors, and a cure. It is a journey that will test Orpen to her limits, on which she will learn who she really is, who she really loves, and how to imagine a future in a world that ended before she was born.

My Review of Last Ones Left Alive

Orpen is on the road hoping to find a cure for Maeve – but will she survive?

My goodness. From the very first page my heart was thumping as I read Last Ones Left Alive and it didn’t slow down until the final syllable. What a debut novel! The pace isn’t so much fast as supersonic and the short chapters meant that I simply could not put it down. I had to know what might happen next and devoured it over 24 hours because I was so gripped by the story. Put simply, my free will was entirely removed by Sarah Davis-Goff and although The Last Ones Left Alive isn’t a genre I usually choose and I found it very unnerving, I thought it was outstanding. I had absolutely no idea how the narrative might resolve itself, making for an enthralling read and I had to remind myself to breathe as I read. Frequently brutal and often beautiful, Last Ones Left Alive is always brilliant.

The exciting, and for me often terrifying, plot aside, The Last Ones Left Alive is so enthralling because of the themes it weaves into the narrative. It is quite feminist in nature and Orpen is an utterly believable example of a female taking her destiny into her own hands. I cared about her, I respected her and admired her whilst simultaneously thanking my lucky stars I didn’t have to be her. The human desire not to die alone is so effectively illustrated here as Orpen wonders if there is anyone left in Ireland. However, in amongst Orpen’s fierce willingness to fight and kill if need be, Sarah Davis-Goff illustrates a raw, visceral portrayal of deep and abiding love so that what emerges from a bleak and challenging existence is the understanding that love, loyalty and family are the true values in life – whatever that life may actually hold. I found this such powerful writing and as well as being scared and unnerved by events, I was deeply moved too.

I found Last Ones Left Alive a searing portrait of what it means to have humanity and to have it threatened, so that the potential resonances with modern life left me feeling disturbed and disquieted. Sarah Davis-Goff has written a blistering cracker of a novel. Equally terrifying and beautiful, I cannot recommend Last Ones Left Alive enough. It will stay with me for a very long time.

About Sarah Davis-Goff

Sarah Davis-Goff was born and raised in Ireland. After going to college in the US and UK, she eventually returned, and now lives in Dublin. Last Ones Left Alive is her debut novel.

You can follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahDavisGoff.

One of the reasons I have been running this series of Staying in with… posts is to discover talented new to me authors. Today it gives me enormous pleasure to stay in with Elizabeth Jade who is at the start of what I hope will be a long and successful writing career.

Staying in with Elizabeth Jade

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

Thank you for inviting me.

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

I have brought my first children’s book, Akea – The Power of Destiny.  I have plenty of adventures for Akea in various stages of development, but this is the only one I’ve published so far. The second book is in the first round of editing, I’ve nearly finished the first draft for book three, and I have written parts of books four and six – I know I left out book five, but it doesn’t want me to write it yet. That probably sounds a bit strange, but I don’t really understand how it works either.  As someone with Aspergers, I find it really difficult to relate to people, but I have a natural affinity with animals of all kinds which is why I like to work with rescue animals whenever I am able.

(Oh, I think animals are always easier than people actually! I love the fact that the books are choosing the order for you too – how interesting.)

What can we expect from an evening in with Akea: The Power of Destiny? 

I often describe Akea as the captivating story of one young husky’s journey to find her place in the world. This is something that has been mentioned in several reviews. One of my favourite reviews is by Australian author, Dean Mayes, who said:

Part coming of age story, part family drama, Akea: The Power of Destiny is an accomplished and heartfelt epic that will inspire and delight young and old readers alike. Author Elizabeth Jade weaves a rich tapestry and takes the reader on a journey of adventure, danger, love and self-discovery – all seen through the eyes of a plucky young husky named Akea who finds she is the custodian of a legacy that she will have to face or reject.

(What a fabulous review. Dean has featured on the Linda’s Book Bag too and you must be thrilled to have such a super endorsement for Akea.)

The story is told from Akea’s perspective and one older reader described it as ‘A sensitive and heartening story that reminded me a lot of Jack London’s Call of the Wild. There is a fantasy background to Akea; the idea that her life is being guided by the Great White Volk (volk means wolf in Russian), and this is an aspect that will be expanded on in greater degrees as the series progresses.

(I must admit, I love the sound of Akea: The Power of Destiny.)

We first meet Akea as a newborn pup; even then her father could tell that she was special, although he wasn’t sure why. Her early days are straightforward until a wolf appears. Their owner’s gun scares it off but something changes within Akea and she realises she doesn’t belong with the huskies.

This is a fast moving story which sees Akea grow quickly and before long she has met the wolf, Kazakh once more. Akea is divided between loyalty to her loving family and Kazakh. She begins to learn more about her destiny and eventually discovers she isn’t just a husky, but has wolf blood running through her veins too.

Her journey isn’t easy; there are setbacks and losses along the way. However, her true place becomes clear as the secrets unfold. As in all the best stories, good and evil battle for supremacy, with several surprises and twists along the way. If I say any more, it will give too much away, so you will just have to read it for yourself.

(I will indeed, but it sounds to me that the aspects of Akea’s life could equally well apply to humans…)

I find it encouraging that my children’s book has been read and enjoyed by people of all ages. Some people have read it to their younger children who are under the target age of 8-12, so they can edit out bits, such as when Akea finds her sister in a forlorn state in an animal shelter. One usually reluctant reader decided their dad wasn’t reading it to them fast enough and took it away to read for themselves. And a gentleman in his 60’s read it because his friend told him it was so absorbing that he wouldn’t be able to put it down if he did. It’s been a really encouraging year and just the motivation I needed to get on with editing book 2.

(I think fabulous storytelling appeals to all readers, regardless of age Elizabeth!)

What else have you brought along and why? 

I’ve brought along my illustrator, the amazing Anthony Wallis. We met through a Facebook group for authors and illustrators. I knew an illustration at the beginning of each chapter would be the ‘icing on the cake’ as it were, but as with most authors, funds were tight. So, I took the bold step of asking for illustrators who were looking to expand their portfolio into children’s illustrations and who would therefore be interested in doing the work at a reduced rate in exchange for sharing this new artwork on their websites etc. It actually worked and I selected the one who best balanced my needs and pocket. Anthony is now working with me on the illustrations for my second book, Akea – His Mother’s Son.

(My goodness, what wonderful illustrations. You must both be thrilled with how they have worked out.)

I’ve also brought along some dramatic readings I recorded.  Listening to these puts chills down my spine, and I’m the one who read them.  I hope you will enjoy them too. You can hear them here.

(These are so good Elizabeth. I’d urge blog readers to have a listen.)

It has been a real pleasure finding out about Akea: The Power of Destiny Elizabeth. Thanks you so much for staying in with me to tell me all about it. Good luck with the series.

Thanks for having me. It’s been an enjoyable evening.

Akea: The Power of Destiny

Akea is born into a family of sled dogs and a life that follows a predictable path, but from the day she first sees the lone wolf, Kazakh, Akea knows her future lies beyond the safety of her home. Kazakh is well aware of Akea’s destiny and the pack laws he will break to help her reach it. Regardless of the challenges ahead, he must make sure this young husky will be ready, even if it means his life.

Akea: The Power of Destiny is available for purchase here.

About Elizabeth Jade

Elizabeth Jade was born in 1998 and lives with her family in Wellington, in the county of Somerset in the UK. She was home-schooled from the age of 7, but only recently discovered that her struggles in school were due to Aspergers. She stumbled into writing at the age of 14 when she began to struggle with depression and anxiety, and quickly found her story ideas pouring out faster than she could get them onto paper. She has always had a passion for animals, being known as ‘The Cat Whisperer’ by the staff at the animal rescue where she volunteers, so it seemed only natural that her stories would revolve around them. With further adventures for Akea already written in her head, a wonderful journey is set to unfold for both reader and author alike. “I don’t write stories,” she says, “I just put a bunch of words onto paper and the characters do the rest. Plot twists are never planned, they just happen. If you let your imagination run riot, trust me, you’ll be surprised at the result, I always am.”

You can follow Elizabeth Jade on Twitter @AkeaWolfStories.

I love a psychological thriller and would like to thank Victoria Joss at Aria for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Who I Am by Sarah Simpson. I’m excited to have a guest post from Sarah today as part of the launch celebrations for Who I Am as Sarah has kindly agreed to tell us why she writes psychological thrillers in a fascinating post.

Who I Am was published yesterday, 6th November 2018, by Aria and is available for purchase from Kobo, iBooks, Amazon and Google Play.

Who I Am

I know everything about you.

And you know everything about me… except Who I Am.

Andi met Camilla at university. Instantly best friends, they shared everything together. Until their long-planned graduation celebration ends in tragedy…

Years later, Andi is living a seemingly perfect life on the rugged Cornish Coast with her loving husband, happy children and dream home. Yet Andi is haunted by a secret she thought only she knew. Someone out there is bringing Andi’s deepest fears to life. And she knows there’s no escaping the past that has come back to haunt her…

You trusted me with your secrets, you told me everything, you thought I was your best friend… but you have no idea Who I Am.

Gripping, unputdownable and packed with twists and turns from the first page to the very last, this stunning psychological thriller will make you question whether we can ever really trust the ones we love.

Why Do I write Psychological Thrillers?

A Guest Post by Sarah Simpson

Someone asked me this the other day. Why did I choose this particular genre? The honest answer is because I’m almost sure I couldn’t write in any other genre and at the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy, I do believe – this genre picked me. I enjoy reading within other genres but from a small child, I always read mystery, fantasy or psychologically deep books. I feel that my mind naturally thinks and ticks in this way, in that it naturally errs on the dark, evocative, twisted side. For the record – that’s not to say and in fact, I’m definitely not in any way – a twisted person, converted to the dark side of life. Actually, to the contrary I am someone who enjoys the quiet, simple life.

I guess, if I think about where my ideas come from it’s mostly, people watching, personal and professional experiences, being a deep thinker and a daydreamer, often lost in my imagination. I watch people and wonder what is happening behind the surface, what if things aren’t quite what they seem? What conflicts could be happening behind the scenes? And then what about the ever rippling consequences? I notice the shadows in the lanes as I walk, the creaks on the landing when I sleep, and naturally I always think about the what if’s, what if things were not as they seemed, what if something was to go horribly wrong.

I have always had a deep fascination in the mind and how it ticks and of course, how it can become so iniquitous and what happens then. I love to explore what ensues when people’s emotions are tested, strained, torn, when life throws its stuff at them. With the belief it’s not always the events in life to determine our emotional state but more how we learn or even choose to react and deal with them. We always think we understand how we would respond to these experiences but context and perspective are everything, so really we never can predict. And it’s this ambiguity I love to write about. I appreciate that emotions are a key element for all genres, but I do love to reason what happens when emotions stop working for us and indeed we become our own worst enemy.

What the reader takes from any story is largely determined by their own life experiences and state of mind, of course, but I hope to also leave them with a certain emotional feeling. When writing Who I Am, as with Her Greatest Mistake, I wanted to encourage a provocative feeling from each page, each chapter. For me, life is unfortunately not always as plain sailing as we would desire, there are always times of darkness, sadness and hopefully many more times of happiness but even so… So writing psychological thrillers simply pushes this idea and these emotional states to the limit and maybe even sometimes that little bit further beyond.

(What a brilliant insight into why this genre chose you Sarah. Thanks so much for explaining a bit more about why you write psychological thrillers.)

About Sarah Simpson

Sarah Simpson has a first-class honours degree in Psychology and has experienced working at a Brain Rehabilitation Hospital. She has spent time as a family consultant for Warwickshire and Oxfordshire solicitors and gained knowledge of the Family Court System. She now lives in Cornwall with her husband, three children and animals.

You can follow Sarah on Twitter @sarahrsimpson and find her on Facebook. There’s more with these other bloggers too:

There’s a real irony to today’s blog post because after the new year it is my intention to step back from social media and blogging to concentrate on actually reading and maybe even a bit of writing! When Blake Snow got in touch about his latest book I simply HAD to invite him to stay in with me to tell me all about it.

Staying in with Blake Snow

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Blake. 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 Log Off: How to stay Connected after Disconnecting (available in hard copy, ebook, and audiobook formats.) I chose it for selfish but also deeply personal reasons. You see, I wrote this book after nearly 10 years of research. Frankly, the contents therein helped me find offline balance and changed my professional, personal, and social life for the better. It’s also worth noting that Log Off currently averages 4.6 out of 5 stars, according to reader reviews, so the book is well received on and worth considering on its own, despite my bias.

(It certainly sounds as if it’s being well received Blake!)

I believe we live in the most distracted, bottomless, demanding, opportune, and noisiest time in all of human history. That makes finding offline (or digital) balance very hard indeed. It’s a great time to be sure, and we’re all empowered with more life-changing tools than ever before (i.e. internet, smartphones, work from anywhere). But we must deliberately harness these powerful tools with measured boundaries, otherwise they can dictate how we live our daily lives rather than consciously choosing how we want to live.

But offline balance isn’t just about good health—it’s the key to greater income, growth, fulfilment, freetime, and lasting relationships. I want nothing but the same for everyone else and believe the world would be a better place if we all tempered our digital distractions and knowingly enlist in the fight against the growing problem of online addiction.

(What, then, is the greatest single truth that comes from your book?)

If you fail to set well-defined boundaries with your phone, social media, and internet, you’re planning to fail in many areas of your life (including reading more books!

(You’re absolutely right. I swear I sleep less well now as a direct result of too much time using the Internet and I have allocated so much of my life to blogging, including posts like this one, I haven’t actually had time to read!)

What can we expect from an evening with Log Off: How to Stay Connected after Disconnecting?

You’ll probably appreciate my honesty and will likely empathize with my “Montana Moment,” my personal struggle with online addiction, and later success in finding offline balance. I’m confident you’ll appreciate the breezy but extensive research, and I know you’ll like the prescriptive advice should you or someone you know be facing a similar struggle.

(Sounds good to me so far!)

For example, here is one of my favorite passages, taken from chapter two on “Why the Internet is so hard to put down”:

The internet offers power, or at least the illusion of it. That’s the real reason the internet is so addicting. For the first time in human history, everyday people can convincingly simulate the experience of kings and exercise dominion over their own fantasized corner of reality. Hence, the internet gets abused, more by some than others. But it’s not the internet’s fault. It’s ours. As with all things in life, humans abuse power. The internet just happens to be the latest and greatest abuse of power.

… To be clear, the internet is a phenomenal resource—the penicillin of my generation. But we’ve abused it. We’ve corrupted it. And we’ve gotten big-headed as a result. ‘I was a winner online, but a loser offline,’ one recovering user recently confessed to me.

Although more ‘connected’ than ever before now, we’re also more detached than ever before—all because of the King Complex that many of us wrestle with everyday. It’s time we kill the king.

(Sadly, I think you may well be right in so many aspects of life – not just our internet use Blake.)

What else have you brought along to share and why?

A photo. It’s not an exact replica, but the above cabin is very similar to the one I experienced my “Montana Moment” in, replete with big windows overlooking nearby Yellowstone National Park and a moose lick in an open meadow. It was magic!

(That’s brilliant. Are there any other surprising things people might not know about you?)

I’m a two-time marathoner, a former 96% chess player, father of five, husband to one, reader of around 12 books per year, believer in the afterlife, and I hope to visit all seven continents within the two years (I’m only lacking Antarctica). I chase experiences more than paper. I believe people are inherently good. And if you disagree, you’re wrong.

(Ha! I’ve been to all seven continents including Antarctica so I wholeheartedly support that ambition.)

In addition, I’ve brought what I’d like my I’d like my epitaph to say:

Here lies a man that tried his hardest to be kind, helpful, forgiving, and hopeful. His wife and kids made him a better man that he would have otherwise been. He liked to write sentences for a living and hope that some of them had a positive impact on those who read them.

(I think every author would love that epitaph too.)

Thank you so much for staying in with me to tell us all about Log Off: How to Stay Connected after Disconnecting, Blake. I think it sounds a book almost all of us could use in our lives. 

Log Off: How to Stay Connected after Disconnecting

IT’S OFFICIAL—excessive “internetting,” smartphoning, and social media make us miserable.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Over the last decade, recognized journalist Blake Snow rigorously researched, tested, and developed several connectivity strategies for finding offline balance in an online world, which resulted in this, his first book. In Log Off: How to Stay Connected after Disconnecting, Snow passionately, succinctly, and sometimes humorously explains how to hit refresh for good, do more with less online, live large on low-caloric technology, increase facetime with actual people, outperform workaholics in half the time, and tunefully blend both analog and digital lives with no regrets. If the “offline balance movement” is real, this is its playbook.

Log Off: How to Stay Connected after Disconnecting is available for purchase here.

About Blake Snow

For more than a decade, Blake Snow has written and published thousands of featured articles for half of the top twenty U.S. media, including CNN, NBC, USA Today, Fox News, Wired Magazine, and many other fancy publications and Fortune 500 companies.

He lives in Provo, Utah, with his supportive family and loyal dog.

You can follow Blake on Twitter @blakesnow and visit his website for more information.

Apologies if you have a feeling of deja vu ith this post but Amazon messed up the ebook buy link so we decided to remove the blog post until it was reinstated.

It’s an absolute pleasure to welcome back Rob Sinclair to Linda’s Book Bag today. Rob previously wrote a wonderful guest post about becoming a full time writer that you can read here and I have my review of Rob’s book Red Cobra, that you can read here.

With success after success, I’m thrilled Rob has agreed to stay in with me to tell me about his latest book.

Staying in with Rob Sinclair

Welcome back to Linda’s Book Bag Rob. 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 The Green Viper which is the fourth book, and the latest, in the James Ryker thriller series, which is out today.

(I can’t believe you’re on to book four in this series Rob – I have some catching up to do! Happy The Green Viper publication day and congratulations.)

What can we expect from an evening in with The Green Viper?

The Green Viper is Ryker’s fourth outing and a direct follow-on from the third book in the series – The Silver Wolf (though all can be read standalone!).

For this book, I wanted to take Ryker on a slightly different journey to those of the previous books. James Ryker, as a character, was derived from my previous Enemy series, where he went under the identity of Carl Logan. Logan was a clandestine operative for the the secretive Joint Intelligence Agency, but that job, and that life, came to an end for him after Hunt for the Enemy.

Effectively jobless now, and wanting nothing more than a quiet life, each of the Ryker books has drawn Ryker back to that old life, one way or another, largely through pitting him against old foes. The Green Viper is different, and instead of old foes, it’s old loyalties that pull him back in this time, in particular his loyalty to the family of his long-term mentor, Mackie, who died quite a few books ago. Although set predominantly in New York, it’s more of a ‘domestic’ plot, and has a lot in there about the bonds of family, and the legacy of families. In that sense I think it’s quite stripped back in terms of the breadth of the plot, which was really refreshing after having written several globe-trotting thrillers. Though there is still a LOT of action in there of course, and, I hope, a lot of emotional impact.

(Knowing your writing as I do Rob, I think this sounds fantastic.)

What else have you brought along and why?

To get Ryker, and the readers, properly acclimatised for the book, I’ve brought a selection of items relevant to New York, given that’s the primary location for the book! My wife and I spent 18 months living in Manhattan a few years back and a lot of the places in the book are taken from my own memories of our time there. So, what I’ve got is:

• some pain au chocolat (or in New York speak, chocolate croissants) from a deli called Zabars. This deli has been located in the Upper West Side for decades and is a really well known place – I believe its featured on TV and in film in the past, and also makes an appearance in The Green Viper! It’s right around the corner from where we lived and we used to pop over the road to get our breakfast from there nearly every weekend! Their freshly made pastries were amazing. They also did a fantastic beef bourguignon!

• Some buffalo chicken wings. My absolute favourite food in America, and something virtually every bar in New York sells – to varying standards! Many places serve them by the bucket and I’ve long tried to perfect my own recipe ever since returning to the UK, though have never quite managed it. I’m sure Ryker would be a fan too…

(I lived and worked in New York too for a while Rob and I never had these. Time for a return trip I think!)

• I’ve brought a New York Giants baseball cap – I really got into American Football when we lived there and was lucky enough to be in New York when the Giants actually had a good team, and won the Super Bowl in 2008! I still follow them now, even though they’ve had a few rough years recently. The cap will come in handy for Ryker too, covering his face as his makes his way around the city on the sly 😉

(Good point! I’m afraid baseball didn’t do it for me…)

• Finally I’ve brought a map of Central Park. My absolute favourite place in the city. We lived two blocks from the park and would run or walk around it several times a week. Although Ryker is pretty busy on his trip to New York, I’m sure he too would appreciate the downtime and the chance for a quick jog around the greenery.

(You’re absolutely right – though my husband saw more of it than me when I was there as he visited and went out for days when I was working!)

It’s been a real pleasure having you back on the blog Rob. Thanks so much for staying in with me to tell me about The Green Viper. Don’t leave it so long next time. Now, pass me those chicken wings!

The Green Viper

I need your help. Call me.

Ex-intelligence agent James Ryker receives a coded message through a secret drop point, a means of communication known only to him and one other person. The problem is, that person is his ex-boss, Mackie… and he’s already dead.

But the cry for help is real, and it’s a request Ryker can’t refuse.

Travelling to New York alone and without official sanction, Ryker has a single goal in mind, yet even he couldn’t have bargained for the violent world he’s soon embroiled in. Caught in the middle of a spiraling chaos, with the FBI on one side and warring underworld bosses on the other, Ryker must put all of his skills to the test in order to come out on top and keep his word.

In a world full of lies and deceit, loyalty is everything, and it’s time for James Ryker to pay his dues.

Published by Bloodhound today, 5th November 2018, The Green Viper is available for purchase here.

About Rob Sinclair

Rob is the author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling Enemy series of espionage thrillers featuring embattled agent Carl Logan.

His explosive debut, Dance with the Enemy, was published in 2014 and introduced the world to the enigmatic Carl Logan. The second novel in the series, Rise of the Enemy, was released in April 2015, with the third, Hunt for the Enemy, being released in February 2016. The Enemy series has received widespread critical acclaim with many reviewers and readers having likened Rob’s work to authors at the very top of the genre, including Lee Child and Vince Flynn.

Rob’s pulsating psychological thriller Dark Fragments, released by Bloodhound Books in November 2016, has been described as ‘clever’ and ‘chilling’ and an ‘expertly crafted’ story.

Rob began writing in 2009 following a promise to his wife, an avid reader, that he could pen a ‘can’t put down’ thriller. He worked for nearly 13 years for a global accounting firm after graduating from The University of Nottingham in 2002, specialising in forensic fraud investigations at both national and international levels. Rob now writes full time.

Originally from the North East of England, Rob has lived and worked in a number of fast paced cities, including New York, and is now settled in the West Midlands with his wife and young sons.

You can follow Rob on Twitter @RSinclairAuthor, visit his website and find him on Facebook.

I may be rapidly aging but I’m not sure I’m getting any smarter as I get older. With that in mind, when Beth Burgess got in touch about her latest book, I just had to invite her to stay in with me to tell me a bit about it as I think it’s one I could do with!

Staying in with Beth Burgess

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

Thank you for having me. You have a very comfy sofa and I love talking to people like you who adore reading and chatting about books. And you’ve even provided my favourite cake; how did you know? You haven’t already read my book have you?

(I haven’t yet, but any excuse for cake…)

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

I’ve brought INSTANT WISDOM: 10 Easy Ways to Get Smart Fast. It’s not my first book – I’m a therapist, so I’ve written other books on topics like addiction. But it’s the first book in a new series I’m creating called The Wiseism Series, which will be all about ways to live more happily and successfully by becoming wiser.

(Now THAT is a series I know I need in my life, Beth.)

Before I became a therapist, I made a complete mess of my life by making dumb decisions. And when I say a mess, I mean a catastrophe of epic proportions. So, after reaching rock bottom, I went on a very long journey of studying, learning ways to develop better perspective, insights, and make wiser choices.

I really wanted to share this book, because other people don’t have to make mistakes or take the long route that I did to become smarter. I’ve condensed everything I learned into quick and easy tools in this book. So, that’s why I brought it.

(It sounds as if you’ve a real authenticity there Beth.)

What can we expect from an evening in with INSTANT WISDOM: 10 Easy Ways to Get Smart Fast?

A lot of surprises, actually. Many of the tools and techniques I discovered seem counter-intuitive or unbelievable, but I am a living testament to the fact that they work.

Hopefully, you’ll have a few laughs along the way. I like to write my books with some humour –  you actually learn faster that way. Plus you’ll get to hear about some of the ridiculous situations I got myself into, which are quite funny looking back on them.

(I imagine they were less funny at the time!)

You’ll also be spending the evening with some of my mentors, including Socrates, Einstein and even Jim Carrey, so make sure there’s plenty of room on the sofa for them too.

(That’s quite a trio!)

And of course, I expect you to have numerous “aha!” moments as you read. In fact, you’ll probably be dying to try out these super-fast methods for becoming smarter before the evening is over.

(That sounds a plan to me.)

What else have you brought along and why? 

It may be a weird selection, but I’ve brought you a pot plant, a pair of sunglasses, the movie Atonement, and a cup of tea.

Amazingly, these are all things which can make you smarter. I told you there would be a lot of surprises in the book!

What a wonderful selection. It’s always time for tea here. I’ll pour another cup whilst you cut us more cake Beth!. Thanks so much for staying in with me this evening. I have a feeling INSTANT WISDOM: 10 Easy Ways to Get Smart Fast is a book I need to read pronto!

Thank you for having me, Linda. You’ve been a wonderful host.

My pleasure.

INSTANT WISDOM: 10 Easy Ways to Get Smart Fast

Do you want to be a wiser person?

Do you want to become an expert at solving tricky problems that used to leave you stuck?

Do you want to boost your brain’s capabilities?

Blending science, psychology and philosophy, this book will teach you easy tools and techniques that will make you smarter in mere minutes or seconds. The strategies include methods that geniuses and peak performers use to get amazing results. Written in Beth’s unique style, Instant Wisdom is both entertaining and informative, containing personal stories, surprising studies and real examples. Most chapters contain a variety of exercises, so you can use the tools immediately.

A tiny snippet of what you will learn:

– Einstein’s top tool to be ultra-inventive (you can do this in your sleep)

– The ‘Alice in Wonderland’ technique that helps you learn anything (it’s fast and fun)

– How to fool your brain into being super-focused (an actor used this trick to land millionaire-making roles)

– The tactic top athletes use for ultimate performance (but you don’t even have to leave your chair for this)

– A delicious way to boost your logic (granny knows this trick, but I bet you don’t)

– The ‘Smart Stranger’ method for achieving instant insight (this is a genius way of solving any problem)

– How to get great minds to deepen your insight (no money or bribes required)

Anyone can use these tools to study, improve career prospects, forge great relationships and become more capable, productive and creative. The techniques can be used on the spot to gain immediate insight, so you can make wiser choices in every area of life.

INSTANT WISDOM: 10 Easy Ways to Get Smart Fast is available for purchase from your local Amazon site.

About Beth Burgess

Beth Burgess was once a struggling addict. She turned her life around to become a respected therapist, coach, and writer. Following her own quest to become wiser, she founded Wiseism.com to share what she has learned.

Beth’s previous books include: What Is Self-Esteem?, The Recovery Formula, and The Happy Addict.

Beth has written articles for New Statesman, The Big Issue, The Huffington Post, Tiny Buddha and other publications. She has appeared on BBC Radio, been featured in international media, and is often sought out for expert commentary on topics such as mental health and effective ways of achieving happiness and well-being.

To find out more, visit Beth’s website, follow her on Twitter @WiseismTweets or find her on Facebook.

My enormous thanks to Alainna at Orion for inviting me to be part of the launch celebrations for The Insider by Mari Hannah and for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

The Insider was published by Orion on 1st November 2018 and is available for purchase through the links here.

The Insider

‘It was the news they had all been dreading, confirmation of a fourth victim.’

When the body of a young woman is found by a Northumberland railway line, it’s a baptism of fire for the Murder Investigation Team’s newest detective duo: DCI David Stone and DS Frankie Oliver.

The case is tough by anyone’s standards, but Stone is convinced that there’s a leak in his team – someone is giving the killer a head start on the investigation. Until he finds out who, Stone can only trust his partner.

But Frankie is struggling with her own past. And she isn’t the only one being driven by a personal vendetta. The killer is targeting these women for a reason. And his next target is close to home…

My Review of The Insider

Another murder will challenge Frankie and David to the limit.

If I’m honest, I’m not usually a great lover of police procedural novels and I think it says something about Mari Hannah’s writing that I really thoroughly enjoyed The Insider. This is the second book in the Stone and Oliver series and I haven’t read the first, The Lost, but it made no difference to my enjoyment at all. The backstories for David and Frankie are carefully and skilfully woven into this new narrative so that I felt I understood them completely, but I still have more to uncover in the next book.

Indeed, there’s a real depth to the characters in The Insider, and to Frankie and David especially which I actually enjoyed more than the well written and entertaining plot. I thoroughly appreciated the way in which Mari Hannah illustrates what they are like as real people and not just as police officers. She made me care about them and I now want to read more about them. There’s a sensitivity to how Mari Hannah shows the impact of crime not just on the victims, but on their families and those investigating them.

The plot that gradually uncovers more about Frankie and David has a good pace and is very well supported by an authoritative presentation of police procedure and acronyms so that it has a real feeling of authenticity. Mari Hannah explains them where she needs to and I felt quite educated as well as entertained. I really enjoyed the way the fits and starts of uncovering the murderer were portrayed as it felt as if I were part of the investigative team so that I understood the frustrations completely.

I thought the Northumberland setting was hugely accurate and evocative. Reading The Insider made me feel that this would translate brilliantly to a television drama because the writing is quite cinematic at times.

I thought The Insider was a very entertaining and enjoyable read. It has made me feel that I am missing out on not reading more of this genre and I look forward to finding out what happens next for Frankie and David.

About Mari Hannah

Mari Hannah is a multi-award-winning author whose authentic voice is no happy accident. A former probation officer, she lives in rural Northumberland with her partner, an ex-murder detective. Mari turned to script-writing when her career was cut short following an assault on duty. Her debut, The Murder Wall (adapted from a script she developed with the BBC) won her the Polari First Book Prize. Its follow-up, Settled Blood, picked up a Northern Writers’ Award. Her Kate Daniels series is in development with Stephen Fry’s production company, Sprout Pictures. She is currently Reader in Residence for Harrogate International Crime Writing Festival. Mari’s body of work won her the CWA Dagger in the Library 2017, an incredible honour to receive so early on in her career.

For more information, visit Mari’s website or follow her on Twitter @mariwriter.