I feature all kinds of books here on Linda’s Book Bag for many different reasons. Today I think Špela Kranjec has brought along a very important book as we stay in together this evening.

Staying in with Špela Kranjec

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

Thanks for the invitation! I read quite a few of your “Staying in with…” articles, and I’m honored to take part.

You’re very welcome. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

Of course, I brought my own book, NOTICE ME: My 9-Year Struggle against Anorexia. It tells the story of my 9-year struggle with anorexia, which, of course, I overcame.

(I’m so pleased to hear you managed that Špela. I’ve taught many youngsters who’ve battled hard against anorexia.)

During these nine years, I experienced feelings that were anything but pleasant, and behaved in a way that I would never ever consider if I was healthy. I would never wish anyone to go through what I have. But, as I did go through this and I can’t erase it, I can now do everything I can to help others start their fight with a bit more knowledge and advice, so that they can overcome anorexia more easily and quickly. And I think a book is the right way – it will, hopefully, be available around the world, for anyone to read it.

(I hope so too. It’s such an important subject and I know those with anorexia often feel very isolated and alone.)

What can we expect from an evening in with NOTICE ME:My 9-Year Struggle against Anorexia?

Of course, you can expect a touching story, written by a simple girl who had decided not to give up on her life, and climbed back up from my lowest point in life.

Anyone who is fighting a battle against anorexia can identify with me, find themselves in my story, realizing that they are not alone. This will help give them the boost for this very difficult and long fight, which they might not even want at the moment. Through my story, I let the reader know that it is worth fighting, that there are still good times to be had, even though it might not look like it. I know it’s easier to listen to someone who was in a situation similar to yours. You’re never sure with other people – are they only saying things because they want to change you in some way? So you’re constantly questioning if they’re even right. Also, it is very easy to be a smartass about something you never experienced. Simply put, I can say without a doubt that someone who has not experienced an eating disorder cannot know how such a person feels, as a person with anorexia will experience some new and unusual feelings that are better left unknown.

( I quite agree! Although I’ve never experienced it first hand I have seen the struggles in others.)

That’s why my book is not intended only for those with eating disorders. With this book, I hope to describe the life of someone suffering from anorexia to those fortunate and healthy. I believe this will help them imagine this particular situation, and consequently make it easier for them to offer help. Help and support are so very important for people suffering from anorexia!

(I think I would have found this really helpful when I was teaching Špela.)

So you can expect to find a whole range of feelings, empathy and reliving, thinking and soul-searching, as well as practical advice in solutions that will hopefully help you solve your problems.

(It sounds incredibly helpful to all of us.)

What else have you brought along and why? 

On this occasion, I brought a delicious sandwich, filled with cheese, ham and crispy lettuce! I can’t help myself, but every time I read my book, write an article on anorexia, work on a project related to my book, or just talk about eating disorders, all the memories from the past come rushing back, and my body wants food. As if it’s trying to make sure anorexia never comes back. I’ve already joked about this – I really shouldn’t write too many articles, as I’d be constantly eating. 🙂 That’s why I’m having this sandwich today, and I intend to enjoy it immensely! I won’t think about its calories. I won’t think about the fact that bread might be unhealthy. I won’t be thinking about miles I need to run to burn all the calories in this sandwich. I will only enjoy its taste, and eat it with as much gusto as if I were eating my last sandwich! And I believe you can all join me and enjoy a sandwich! Let this sandwich be a symbol of victory over anorexia and the beginning of a new chapter in life.

P.S.: Don’t forget about a piece of chocolate! 🙂

Let’s tuck in Špela! Thanks so much for sharing your story and your book with us. I hope NOTICE ME:My 9-Year Struggle against Anorexia is a real success and helps as many readers as possible.

NOTICE ME:My 9-Year Struggle against Anorexia

With her brother, Špela started the project NOTICE ME: My 9-Year Struggle against Anorexia, which will be launched on Kickstarter in December. Support them and help Špela make her dream come true by clicking here.

NOTICE ME: My 9-Year Struggle against Anorexia is being funded on Kickstarter and if you would like to back it please click here.

About Špela Kranjec

Employed as an economist in a fashion store, but a nutrition advisor by education. She chose this field of study because of her desire to help others. She is also a passionate mountain climber. Špela is a 26-year-old girl with a difficult life experience, which led her to write a book.

She says that her experience had made her the person she is today. And even though it was difficult, she is now proud to say that she managed to overcome something terrible, ultimately becoming a strong and stable person, trying to do some good in this world.

You can find ŠpelaKranjec on Facebook and Instagram, visit her website and follow her on Twitter @BookSpela.

I adore Jo Thomas’s writing and when a surprise copy of A Winter Beneath the Stars arrived from Bookends I was so excited and immediately bumped it up my 900+ TBR .

You can read my reviews of Jo’s Sunset Over the Cherry Orchard here, The Olive Branch here and Late Summer in the Vineyard here. I also have a smashing post about Jo’s top 5 holiday destinations that you can read here.

Published by Headline Review, A Winter Beneath the Stars is available for purchase here.

A Winter Beneath the Stars

Halley has been running from her problems for years.

On a courier trip to Tallfors, deep in Swedish Lapland, everything is going to plan. Halley has her bag, with two precious wedding rings inside for delivery… until she doesn’t.

The only way to save the wedding is to team up with mysterious reindeer herder Bjorn, the one person who can lead her across the snowy tundra to be reunited with her bag.

On a journey of a lifetime beneath the stars, with only the reindeer and a bad-tempered stranger for company beside the fire, Halley realises that she will need to confront her past heartaches in order to let the warmth of love in once more…

My Review of A Winter Beneath the Stars

Halley has a package to deliver but not all goes according to plan.

Now, I have to admit that I am so used to warm Mediterranean settings from Jo Thomas that I approached A Winter Beneath the Stars with trepidation. I shouldn’t have worried. All the glorious trademark descriptions, especially of food, are present so that I felt as much as if I were returning home to a place I knew well in Jo Thomas’ writing as Halley does in her quest across the snow. I did have to accept that Halley would travel with a complete stranger in difficult conditions when I’m not sure I would have done, but I found Jo Thomas persuaded me completely. I believed in the narrative without question.

A Winter Beneath the Stars is a lovely, lovely read. I was utterly transported to a winter wonderland and all the references to the dogs, reindeer, snow, stars and Northern Lights brought memories of my own experiences of them in Lapland rushing back because the writing was so realistic and evocative.

Not only was I transported by location, but Jo Thomas managed to place me emotionally right inside the hearts of Bjorn and Halley so that I felt every one of their hopes and fears with them. It takes enormous skill to hold a reader’s attention with just two characters for much of the time, with Lars and the wedding party as supporting cast, and I was entranced throughout. I was desperate for a happy ending for them all because I cared about them as real people.

However, I have to say that I was incredibly affected by the themes woven throughout this fabulous story. I felt the gradual uncovering of Halley’s motives for all her travel and Bjorn’s need to rediscover a more simple way of life resonated through to my very soul. This may be a relatively lighthearted read, not intended to profound introspection, but I found A Winter Beneath the Stars touched me and I can’t stop thinking about it.

I loved A Winter Beneath the Stars. It’s romantic and engaging and just perfect for winter reading.

About Jo Thomas

Jo Thomas worked for many years as a reporter and producer, first for BBC Radio 5, before moving on to Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Radio 2’s The Steve Wright Show. In 2013 Jo won the RNA Katie Fforde Bursary. Her debut novel, The Oyster Catcher, was a runaway bestseller in ebook and was awarded the 2014 RNA Joan Hessayon Award and the 2014 Festival of Romance Best Ebook Award. Jo lives in the Vale of Glamorgan with her husband and three children.

You can visit Jo’s website, find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @jo_thomas01.

It has given me enormous pleasure this year to stay in with a range of authors I would never have otherwise ‘met’ and I’m delighted today that another new to me author, Sandra Danby, has agreed to stay in and tell me about one of her books.

Staying in with Sandra Danby

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

It’s a pleasure, Linda.

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

I’ve brought my latest book, Connectedness. Published earlier this year, it’s the second in the Identity Detective series. It will appeal to fans of Maggie O’Farrell, Lucinda Riley, Tracy Rees and Rachel Hore with its mixture of Family, Suspense, Secrets and a touch of Romance.

(With some of my favourite authors there, you’ve piqued my interest immediately Sandra!)

A new reviewer said, “I think the characters came off as so realistic, I couldn’t not like it! I also think the cover is going to draw people in like hotcakes, it’s brilliant! Anyway, great plot and writing, it’s sure to be a hit!” The exclamation marks are hers, not mine!

(How brilliant. I’m sure you must be thrilled with that response. I love the cover too.)

What can we expect from an evening in with Connectedness?

In the first book in the series, Ignoring Gravity, journalist Rose Haldane searched for answers about her own adoption as a one-day old baby. Now she turns detective to help artist Justine Tree. It’s the first time Rose has been employed to solve an adoption mystery and she is nervous about getting it right. But as each day passes, she feels further away from finding Justine’s missing daughter and starts to wonder if Justine really does want her to succeed. The novel explores the concept of whether telling a lie to protect a loved one is a good idea, both Justine and Rose struggle with this. There’s a love story in Spain – Justine’s story is set partly in 1980s Málaga where she went to art college – intertwined with her modern day story as an internationally successful artist [think Tracey Emin without the unmade bed] where a scandal could endanger her career. I loved writing about Justine and the art world, I discovered a love of art previously unexplored; I just wish I was less ham-fisted with a paintbrush. So, there are lots of twists, love and betrayal, sadness and ultimately hope. I’ve just realized I haven’t mentioned the Yorkshire connection, my homeland and so it seemed natural for Justine to be a Yorkshire woman too.

(Oh. I do love the sound of this series Sandra. I’m devoting next year to reading and reviewing so I think my enormous TBR may just need to increase!)

What else have you brought along and why? 

Biscuits play an important role in the story, appearing in Justine’s Yorkshire childhood and her art studio in London. They trigger memories and provide moments of bonding between Rose and Justine at sticky moments. One reader told me she read the book longing for a packet of shortbread biscuits! So I tonight I have an assortment of the key biscuits… assorted shortbread fans and fingers, fig rolls, Garibaldis, custard creams, Ginger Nuts and chocolate Hob-Nobs. Justine’s favourite biscuit is a shortbread fan… and it’s mine too, with a large mug of strong Yorkshire Tea.

Now you really are my kind of guest Sandra. It’s always tea time in the Hill household and I am somewhat addicted to all those biscuits but shortbread is one of especial favourites. I’ll have to ask you back again. Thanks so much for staying in with me and telling me all about Connectedness. It sounds my kind of read.

Connectedness

TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, ARTIST JUSTINE TREE HAS IT ALL… BUT SHE ALWAYS HAS A SECRET THAT THREATENS TO DESTROY EVERYTHING

Justine’s art sells around the world, but does anyone truly know her? When her mother dies, she returns to her childhood home in Yorkshire where she decides to confront her past. She asks journalist Rose Haldane to find the baby she gave away when she was an art student, but only when Rose starts to ask difficult questions does Justine truly understand what she must face.

Is Justine strong enough to admit the secrets and lies of her past? To speak aloud the deeds she has hidden for 27 years, the real inspiration for her work that sells for millions of pounds. Could the truth trash her artistic reputation? Does Justine care more about her daughter, or her art? And what will she do if her daughter hates her?

This tale of art, adoption, romance and loss moves between now and the Eighties, from London’s art world to the bleak isolated cliffs of East Yorkshire and the hot orange blossom streets of Málaga, Spain.

A family mystery for fans of Maggie O’Farrell, Lucinda Riley, Tracy Rees and Rachel Hore.

 Connectedness is available for purchase here.

 About the ‘Identity Detective’ series

Rose Haldane reunites the people lost through adoption. The stories you don’t see on television shows. The difficult cases.The people who cannot be found, who are thought lost forever. Each book in the ‘Identity Detective’ series considers the viewpoint of one person trapped in this horrible dilemma. In the first book of the series, Ignoring Gravity, it is Rose’s experience we follow as an adult discovering she was adopted as a baby. Connectedness is the story of a birth mother and her longing to see her baby again. Sweet Joy, the third novel, will tell the story of a baby abandoned during The Blitz.

 About Sandra Danby

Sandra Danby is a proud Yorkshire woman, tennis nut and tea drinker. She believes a walk on the beach will cure most ills. Unlike Rose Haldane, the identity detective in her two novels, Ignoring Gravity and Connectedness, Sandra is not adopted.

You can find out more about Sandra by visiting her website, following her on Twitter @SandraDanby and finding her on Goodreads, Pinterest and Facebook.

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour for Nici’s Christmas Tale by Jean Gill. I haven’t been accepting blog tour request for a while but I couldn’t resist this one!

Published by The 13th Sign on 30th November Nici’s Christmas Tale is available for purchase here.

Nici’s Christmas Tale

A stand-alone short story in the multi-award-winning Troubadours Quartet series
1157: Aquitaine. The wolves are coming! 

At midnight on Christmas Eve, while the blizzard blasts snow through every crack in the castle walls, Nici the Shepherd’s Dog stands guard in the sheepfold.

Beside him as usual are his pack and the flock they protect but this night is not usual at all. A small boy braves the snowy night, seeking the protection of his great friend while he is banned from his parents’ quarters in the castle. 

Nici recalls other times and other dangers, his trials and failures, the reasons why he ran away with a young girl, now the little boy’s mother. He would still give his life in a heartbeat for Lady Estela. And yet, on this snowy night, he cannot help her. So, while he waits and comforts Estela’s son, he tells his own puppies the story of a dog’s life.

My Review of Nici’s Christmas Tale

On a cold wintry evening the puppies want a story from Nici.

I’m astounded by Nici’s Christmas Tale because although it is a short story, it packs an enormous punch and contains everything a full sized epic novel might contain. Jean Gill is an incredibly skilled writer and I’m only sorry I haven’t encountered her work before.

Nici’s Christmas Tale is resonant of the great traditions of storytelling and I found myself likening Nici to the troubadours of old. There’s peril, affection, loyalty, love, crime and evil woven into a narrative that I found entrancing. I devoured this narrative in a single sitting, not because it is a short story, but because I was captivated.

Nici is such a clear character. His voice reverberated in my head until I was sitting in the straw listening just as much as the others. I felt so sad for him on several occasions and so proud of him on others and had to remind myself I was reading a story about a sheepdog and not a person I knew! I think the accuracy of the historical detail contributed to me feeling this way too, especially in those moments when Nici describes being in the great hall.

As well as being thoroughly entertained and transported back in time by Nici’s Christmas Tale I also loved the allegorical theme of shepherding. There’s so much to ponder about how we treat others and wish to be treated. 

Nici’s Christmas Tale is a smashing tale to be enchanted by on a cold winter’s afternoon. I thought it was excellent.

About Jean Gill

Jean Gill is a Welsh writer and photographer living in the south of France with two scruffy dogs, a beehive named ‘Endeavour’, a Nikon D750 and a man. For many years, she taught English and was the first woman to be a secondary headteacher in Wales. She is mother or stepmother to five children so life was hectic.

Publications are varied, including prize-winning poetry and novels, military history, translated books on dog training, and a cookery book on goat cheese. With Scottish parents, an English birthplace and French residence, she can usually support the winning team on most sporting occasions.
You can sign up to Jean special readers’ group here for exclusive news, offers and a free book and follow Jean on Twitter @writerjeangill.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

I am so pleased to welcome Lucy Van Smit, author of The Hurting, to Linda’s Book Bag today. We have been ‘virtual’ friends for a while so it’s good to get to know one another a bit better. In a change from my usual staying in posts, we are having a more extended chat so let’s get started!

Staying in with Lucy Van Smit

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Lucy.

Hurrah! Such a delight to be invited – I am in awe how you spend 4-5 hours a day blogging; helping readers and authors to find each other, thank you, Linda.

It’s been my pleasure to feature so many authors here Lucy – though I have to confess I am ready to take a short break and will be cutting back in 2019. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me before I do though!

There’s nothing better than a chat about life and books with a glass of wine.  I love this book section of yours so much and it’s great to take a moment to reflect on life.

I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the posts. I’ve loved doing them.

What books did you bring with you?

I wanted to talk to you about my debut, so I brought The Hurting –  I’m very excited to have the German edition too. They’ve pitched it as Nordic Noir Wuthering Heights – an epic love story set in the Norwegian Fjords between Nell, a British girl and Lukas, a damaged boy, raised by wolves who persuades Nell to steal a baby.

Sounds brilliant. And I see you’ve brought Michele Obama’s autobiography. Why is that?

Well, they might seem strange bedfellows, but ‘Becoming’ is a key theme for both our books. They are about the choices we make and how those choices shape us. My protagonist Nell realised she “binned her life like toilet paper and never noticed” and I was fascinated how Michelle Obama also came late to reflecting about her choices and had to stop ticking her ‘boxes’ of success. I was raised to value cleverness and success over feelings, and I wanted to write ‘big’ about emotions; the unbearable, overwhelming, obsession of first love and inner conflict.

I think those are themes we can all relate to Lucy. How does they manifest themselves in The Hurting?

Nell wants to be a songwriter but can’t find her voice to tell her father. Her sister has cancer and their unfaithful mother abandoned them, so Nell doesn’t believe in love; until she meets Lukas. She has to choose what matters more, being with the love of her life… or being herself and saving the baby she stole for him.

I think I’m going to have to add The Hurting to my towering TBR Lucy. This sounds my kind of read.

I see you brought in a photograph from your book launch in Trafalgar Square. 

Yes, it was a big day, I was fifty before I listened to that small voice that told me I was a writer. I wasn’t interested in getting published and wanted to learn to write well. The Hurting was written on my MA course and won The Bath Children’s Novel Award. The legendary Barry Cunningham published it – he discovered J. K. Rowling and my 93-year-old mum and teenage son were mesmerised by him at my launch.

How exciting. And congratulations on that award. It looks like you got some great reviews too.

Thanks!  Here are a few of them. I have to keep pinching myself. All I wanted to do was write a book that blew people away and one they really loved.

“A writer to watch” The Irish Times

“Compelling, dark, enthralling – read it now! Don’t you just hate it when you fall in love and steal a baby? Seriously, Lucy Van Smit takes an ‘out there’ premise and draws the reader in, via layered plotting and nuanced characterisation. The Nordic backdrop is fabulous, and Nell is an enigmatic lead, complex and flawed and absolutely compelling. I can see this as a movie, for sure. Loved it and very, very much recommended.”  L.V. Hay, script consultant, author, script editor.

“Have I said how much I really love The Hurting? I have read it twice now – just a gorgeous, gorgeous piece of writing. My niece (who’s at Rugby) has completely flipped for it and made all her friends buy it – it’s totally intense and cool is her review.” Cat Muir, screenwriter, children’s novelist.

“And the WRITING.  Oh, my goodness your writing.  You don’t miss a space for punch and power.  No fluff.  Some absolutely beautiful ways of saying things that make you almost breathless with description, followed by another and another – all in the same paragraph.  Till you’re overcome with the intensity of your feelings and how you can put them across.” Pamela Townley, author, screenwriter.

These are fabulous Lucy. They make me want to read The Hurting even more. Adults clearly love the book, but I thought it was what we call YA or Young Adult?

Yes. It’s written for Year 8 upwards, but 80% of the YA readership is over 18. Many young people today experience toxic relationships, mistaking control and emotional coercion for love. I go into schools to talk to pupils and they love hearing stories how I messed up at their age, and it inspires them to listen to themselves more. I need to do more of that!

Oh I totally agree. I also love YA fiction and think that the intended audience is such a tough one that frequently YA fiction has to be some of the best there is.

I love these reader responses. You must be so proud of The Hurting. Thanks so much, Lucy, for staying in with me to tell me all about it.

Thanks for having me, Linda. And I hope you listen to your instincts to cut back a bit.

Ha. I’ll have put out almost 600 posts by the end of 2018 and I have agreed to only 9 in 2019. I think I’d call that cutting back!

The Hurting

Nell’s family arrives in Norway in financial disgrace. She is dominated by her family – her religious father and her sister, whose cancer stops Nell from embracing her dreams of a musical career. She doesn’t believe in love, either, until she falls for Lukas. But Lukas has his own dark agenda, and in this tale of hidden secrets and shocking twists, he manipulates Nell closer to the point of no return. How far is she willing to go for love?

The Hurting is published by Chicken House Press and is available for purchase through the links here.

About Lucy Van Smit

Lucy van Smit is an award-winning author, screenwriter, and a TV producer who travelled worldwide for NBC News, flew on Air Force One with President Reagan, got surrounded by tanks at Manila airport in a coup, before she chilled and made documentaries for Canadian Broadcasting on John Le Carré, Martin Amis and Ian MacEwan. The Hurting is being translated into Russian, German and Polish.

You can find out more by visiting Lucy’s website, following her on Twitter @Lucyvansmit and finding her on Facebook and Instagram.

I can’t believe how long it is since Carol Wyer featured on Linda’s Book Bag. Last time we were celebrating the publication of Carol’s The Missing Girls in a post you can read here. I have also been lucky enough to interview Carol about her writing here to mark the publication of Carol’s Little Girl Lost.

Today, with enormous thanks both to Carol and Ellie Pilcher at Canelo I am reviewing What Happens in France.

What Happens in France will be published by Canelo in early 2019 and is available for pre-order here.

What Happens in France

In What Happens in France, Bryony Masters isn’t one to shy from a challenge, so when her father falls sick she makes it her mission to find her long-lost sister and reunite their family. With the help of handsome friend Lewis, she snags a coveted spot on a primetime game show set in beautiful France – the perfect, public platform to launch her search!

With a social media star dog, a high maintenance quiz host and a cast of truly unique characters, Bryony and Lewis have their work cut out for them to stay on the show and in the public eye.

Yet as the audience grows and the grand prize beckons they find that the search that brought them together may just fulfil more than one heart’s wish…

My Review of What Happens in France

With their father having suffered a stroke, Bryony is desperate to find her runaway sister Hannah before it’s too late.

What Happens in France is a hugely entertaining read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I don’t know if it’s a case of the right book at the right moment but I had been feeling very depressed and low and a couple of days immersed in the events in France brought the smile back to my face, even if I did shed a small tear too.

I thought the concept of the game show for What Happens in France worked brilliantly because it resonates with the kind of programmes to which we all seem to be addicted. It gave a super insight into the gameshow process and I loved the way it linked to traditional quizzes and treasure hunts too so that there was a smashing blend of expectation and surprise in the plot. The French setting was lovely and has made me want to visit the places mentioned and I have to confess to feeling quite hungry at times reading Carol Wyer’s descriptions of the food.

I found all the characters vivid, lively and engaging except for a certain Professor Potts who was still lively and realistic but not at all engaging. Rather, I wanted to punch him – hard. I’m not usually a great fan of dogs in stories but Biggie Smalls totally captured my heart because of the quality of Carol Wyer’s writing. He was an absolute hoot and I could just picture the expressions on his face. I hope I’ll be seeing more of him in future books.

What appealed to me most about What Happens in France, however, was indeed Carol Wyer’s writing style. I thought the contrast between past and present tenses distinguished the different sections highly effectively but most of all I loved what I saw as a kind of honesty in her writing. It’s difficult to define quite what I mean but I found the narrative accessible, easy to read and, well, congenial I suppose. It made me feel as relaxed reading What Happens in France as Bryony is in her relationship with Melinda.

Speaking of relationships, I thought the interplay between the characters was deftly handled so that I believed utterly what happened between them. I am definitely hoping there will be more adventures for them in future books. I don’t want to say too much as it will spoil the read for others, but there is so much to enjoy in the dynamics between Bryony and Lewis in particular.

Given that What Happens in France is essentially quite light-hearted, Carol Wyer explores some weighty themes too. Hannah’s story is one of guilt, responsibility and identity whilst the power of social media, television and celebrity underpins much of the action. Love and trust, families and friendship are all woven in too so that there’s a good layer of depth to this story that I found very satisfying.

What Happens in France is comic, romantic, entertaining and, at times, a little bit bonkers, so that it really is feel good fiction. I had enormous fun reading it and I really recommend it.

About Carol Wyer

As a child Carol Wyer was always moving, and relied on humour to fit in at new schools. A funny short story won her popularity, planting the seed of becoming a writer. Her career spans dry cleaning, running a language teaching company, and boxercise coaching. Now writing full-time, Carol has several books published by Safkhet and journalism in many magazines.

Carol won The People’s Book Prize Award for non-fiction (2015), and can sometimes be found performing her stand-up comedy routine Laugh While You Still Have Teeth.

All of Carol’s books are here. You can follow Carol on Twitter @carolewyer, visit her website and find her on Facebook and Instagram.

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

Staying in with Sheree K.Nielsen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What else have you brought along and why?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits

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

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

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

Ocean Rhythms Kindred Spirits is available for purchase here.

About Sheree K. Nielsen

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

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

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

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

She has an uncontrollable dependency on dark chocolate.

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

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

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

Let’s find out all about the book:

Am I Guilty?

A mother’s job is to protect her child…

But everyone makes mistakes sometimes

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

I never thought it would happen to me…

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

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

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

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

*

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

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

About Jackie Kabler

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

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

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

Staying in with Earik Beann

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

Thanks, Linda! It’s great to be here!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What else have you brought along and why? 

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

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

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

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

(My goodness!)

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

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

Check out the cover:

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

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

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

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

Killing Adam

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

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

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

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

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

Killing Adam is available for purchase here.

About Earik Beann

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Mother of all Christmases

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

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

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

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

Fairy Godmother Wishes

A Guest Post by Milly Johnson

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

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

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

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

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

About Milly Johnson

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

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

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

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

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