Wednesday 30 April 2014

Guest post - Daniela Sacerdoti







Paperback publishing 10th April 2014

Inary Monteith’s life is at a crossroads. After a stolen night with her close friend Alex, she’s just broken his heart by telling him it was all a terrible mistake. Then she has to rush home from London to the Scottish Highlands when her little sister’s illness suddenly worsens – and in returning she must confront the painful memories she has been trying so hard to escape.
Back home, things become more complicated than she could ever have imagined. There’s her sister’s illness, her hostile brother, a smug ex she never wants to see again and her conflicted feelings about Alex in London and a handsome American she meets in Glen Avich. On top of that, she mysteriously loses her voice but regains a strange gift from her childhood – a sixth sense that runs in her family. And when a voice from the past keeps repeating, ‘Take me home’, she discovers a mystery that she knows she must unlock to set herself free.
Take Me Home is a beautiful story of love, loss, discovering one’s true abilities and, above all, never forgetting who you really are.

About the Author
                                                                                


Daniela Sacerdoti is a mother and a writer. Born in Naples, but brought up in a small village in the Italian Alps, she lives near Glasgow with her husband and sons. She calls herself a thief of time – she steals time to write when everyone has gone to bed, or before they wake up. She’s a Primary teacher, but she chose to be at home with her children. She loves being with her boys, doing art with them, reading anything she can get her hands on and chatting with her girlfriends. But she also adores being on her own, free to daydream and make up stories.
You can find out more about Daniela Sacerdoti on her website.  You can also tweet (@danisacerdoti) with her and find her on Facebook.



Guest Post

Inary’s Silence
Take Me Home is the story of a young woman who, after a trauma, stops speaking altogether. Although it took me a relatively short time to write this novel – nine months – the story has been growing inside me for a long time. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of not speaking, of letting yourself be sheltered by silence.
As a teenager, I read Kilmeny of the Orchard by Lucy M. Montgomery (the author of Anne of Green Gables) about a girl who, for some mysterious reason, can’t speak, so she expresses herself through writing in a notebook she carries around her neck. I very much saw myself in Kilmeny back then, because so much of what I wanted to say could only be conveyed by writing – so I found the idea of a girl who can’t speak, but instead writes, spellbinding.
The catalyst for Inary’s silence is her sister’s death – her grief is such that her feelings can’t be expressed with words, and her overwhelming emotions somehow choke her. As she loses her voice, she finds that silence changes her from the inside. Because she now has to write everything she wants to express, she can’t blurt out things any longer – they need to be filtered by the medium of writing, they need more time and effort to be said. Therefore she begins to say less and think more, to shave off layers of herself until she gets to her core. She begins to understand herself more, and realise what she really wants and needs from life. The deepest, most secret part of her – her Sight, the ability to see the dead and listen to their stories – springs back to life after years of dormancy. As she sinks into silence, people long gone begin speaking to her, and she’s able to listen and, in turn, tell their stories through her writing.
Inary’s journey to me is a metaphor of the writing process, of the necessity of silence to focus on the stories inside our minds – but in her case it’s also a journey through grief. The trauma of her sister’s death is such that she has to work through her pain and bewilderment in a way that’s almost physical – before she can find herself again. Having had two major bereavements in my life, I found it very hard, almost heartbreaking, to let myself remember those feelings so I could describe Inary’s. However, it was certainly cathartic to write the ending… but I won’t spoil it for you!
If you have any thoughts about this post I wrote, or about Take Me Home, or if you feel like a natter, do come and find me - @danisacerdoti. Thank you for having me!
Dani 

The overall giveaway is a paperback copy of Take Me Home.  Open Internationally.


                                                                              




Island Hopping - Janice G Ross




Genres
Mystery Romance
Caribbean Literature
Multicultural
Historical Aspects

Noteworthy

There's a murder, but the author keeps light. 
The sexual scenes, too are on a light note and no bad language.

Book Blurb
On the surface, the Island Hopping series is a remarkable journey of Sakkara Riley’s quest to locate her parents. What she learns is so much more than was ever expected. In Island Hopping: Trinidad & Tobago, Sakkara enlists the help of a local elderly historian, Natalia Day and her doting grandson, Anthony Lam. Equipped with her parcel of artifacts and a determined bravado, Sakkara uncovers more than she ever thought possible.

                                                             

Excerpt
Turning upward to get his attention, she encouraged him to dance. Her words were not enough to overtake the powerful sounds of the calypso and soca rhythms, so he did something that nearly caused her to melt into oblivion. He leaned down to the side of her face, gently moved aside dark brown tresses, placed his lips to the very edge of her lobes and whispered. She didn’t entirely make out what he said, but his warm breath shot through her entire body, resting at her navel. When he was finished, Anthony grazed the side of her face with his lips. Before she could rebuke his boldness, she was directed into the crowd, trying in earnest to save face.
Many of the tunes were already familiar, though she couldn’t always quote them verbatim. A couple of times, she even caught Anthony mouthing a few lines, not many but enough. And, as his lips moved, she fell into a trance. Before she knew it, Sakkara forgot about her inability to move her hips, twining like a cleverly skilled Trini-native. They were able to wine their waistlines, easily transitioning from north to south and quickly back again. Though she couldn’t master every stunt as perfectly as the others, her efforts were commendable.
Whenever the partygoers were hyped up over the band’s selection and a particular dancer’s unmatched style, the atmosphere set out a spark so great that even Sakkara was swept into the scene. She forgot her intentions for being in Trinidad. Her lids fell shut and she surrendered. Even at one point, when the DJ declared that they were kicking it back a decade, Sakkara was amazed when she heard the song We Ain’t Going Home by Tambu because it had been a favorite of a school friend by the name of Sasha Benton. When they had study time, Sakkara could never understand how the girl managed to focus and maintain her grades while listening to the fast-paced beats. But Sakkara remembered how excited Sasha had become and how she would tear away in all types of loose movements. At that moment, Sakkara felt her friend’s energy.
Anthony must’ve seen the transformation, having positioned her right in front of his chest. She didn’t resist, not even when he dipped and gripped her hips. The magic of the blaring horns and fervor of the performer’s abilities were enough to wipe out purpose, at least for the night.


Giveaway Details
USA ONLY: 2 autographed paperback copies of "Island Hopping: Trinidad & Tobago" 
(w/ bonus copy of "Jumping Ship" Introductory Novella)

International: 3 e-copies (any format) of "Island Hopping: Trinidad & Tobago" 
(w/ bonus copy of "Jumping Ship" Introductory Novella)




Meet the author

Janice G. Ross was born in Guyana, South America and migrated to the USA in 1980. She is an author. She enjoys writing about social issues and personal experiences. Her debut release was entitled Damaged Girls. She uses the three books in that series to detail the effects of different forms of abuse, discussing issues that are known to be taboo. Her latest release, Jumping Ship, is a dedication to her country of birth and an introductory novella to the Island Hopping Series – due out in 2014. It’s poised to be a colorful and emotional experience of life, love and family.
Janice enjoys reading. And is drawn to stories with distinct characters that she can love or hate, characters she can form alliances with or characters that she can swear off and despise. She is also weak for a good cultural tale, preferably in the form of historical fiction. Janice loves to be taken off guard by clever language and settings. Janice is also a devout supporter and promoter of other authors through social media. She hosts a weekly show, Cultural Cocktails, on the largest social radio network, Blog Talk Radio.





Connect with the author




Saturday 26 April 2014

Book Promo - The Other Side of Morning




Charlotte Kendrick’s ill-fated relationship with rock star Christian Rosetti still haunts her. The new man in her life, handsome, rich Italian restaurateur Marco D’Alesandro, is everything she wants. But when beautiful heiress Rossana Caravello arrives to spend time with his family as their house guest she wonders whether history is about to repeat itself. Marco insists he loves her and that he has no interest in their guest, but how can Charlotte believe him when everything about his behaviour around Rossana indicates he is lying? Giving him the benefit of the doubt, Charlotte wonders whether his ruthless stepmother Thérèse may be involved, and decides to find out more about the young heiress. However, far from putting her mind at rest, what she discovers leaves her feeling more unsettled than ever about her future with Marco…

From rural West Somerset to the glorious rolling landscape of Tuscany and the Italian lakes THE OTHER SIDE OF MORNING is a story of love, betrayal, deception and ultimate sacrifice.



Born and raised in rural Wiltshire, Jo Lambert grew up with a love of books and a vivid imagination.  As a child she enjoyed creating her own adventure stories similar to Enid Blyton’s Famous Five.  Writing always stayed with her, but college, work and eventually marriage found it kept very much in the background as a hobby.  In 2009 everything changed when she decided to self-publish a novel she had completed. After When Tomorrow Comes, three other books - Love Lies and Promises, The Ghost of You and Me and Between Today and Yesterday followed.  In 2013 she decided to give up full time work to concentrate fully on her writing.  Her fifth novel The Other Side of Morning was accepted by ThornBerry Publishing UK and is now available in e-book form with a paperback version to follow shortly.
  Jo is married and lives in a village on the eastern edge of Bath, Somerset with one small grey feline called Mollie. She shares her husband with his ‘other woman’ Bridget - a 48 year old white MG Midget who keeps him occupied while she is busy writing.


My review


Anyone who knows me will know that I enjoy books which involve different landscapes as I’m a bit of an armchair traveller when the real thing is not possible. On this occasion though even I must admit to finding the various locations and characters confusing initially. In the first few chapters we meet Lucy in Bali who then travels to Australia whilst her cousin Charlotte is running backwards and forwards between Somerset, London and later Devon. In the next chapters we’re introduced to bad boy boyfriend Christian who eventually goes off to the Caribbean, then Marco from Italy who of course has to flit between his various homes and the Italian Lakes. All this left me feeling like a whirlwind had passed over. However, once I settled into the story and the different threads were woven together it all started to make more sense.
Whilst I enjoyed the story I did feel that there were perhaps a few too many elements in it and probably enough material for several books. I loved heartthrob Marco and some of the minor characters like Kayte and Therese are also frighteningly well portrayed. I liked the way they both became more and more obsessed as the story progressed. Just when I decided that Christian was a waste of space and had no redeeming features Joanna Lambert somehow manages to tug the readers’ heartstrings and make him likeable – no mean feat.
Personally I would have liked a little more local colour in each of the different destinations rather than a whirlwind tour.  Nonetheless this is an interesting read.

4/5