Sunday Salon

Thanks to Janet Gogerty for this 5 star review of my paranormal short story ‘Finding David’. I’ve no idea why Amazon won’t allow it, but it’s on Goodreads. The ‘Zon have their reasons I expect, but I just wish I knew what they were!

Times and Tides of a Beachwriter

I have been catching up with my book reviews; two novels, a poetry anthology and two novellas / short stories. Authors from England, the USA and Australia. Yeshiva Girl was the novel that stood out for me and I was delighted that Amazon posted my review after my recent experiences. I post all my reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, you can see Amazon’s response to Finding David, but I have not yet heard back from Amazon on the other three. So the mystery continues; I and other reviewers have concluded it could be the rule that you must have spent £50, or fifty of something in your own currency, in one year to be able to leave a review. As Amazon allows authors to sell their e-books for as little as 99 pence this does not make sense. Nor does it make sense they accept a review for one book…

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A Review. Finding David, by Stevie Turner.

Tags

#5stars, #senisal #paranormal #review

Thanks to Richard Dockett for this awesome 5 star review of my paranormal short story, Finding David.

via A Review. Finding David, by Stevie Turner.

Stevie’s Review of the Film ‘Yesterday’.

Tags

#Film Revew, #Yesterday

Last Saturday evening I watched a strange film, directed by Danny Boyle.  ‘Yesterday’ stars Himesh Patel, who plays Jack, a struggling singer/songwriter.  Nobody is interested in his songs, and Jack decides to give up performing and carry on with his job as a warehouseman.

The strange bit comes next.  Without giving away too many spoilers, a couple of things happen which causes Jack to realise that nobody has ever heard of The Beatles or their songs.  He soon realises that if he passes the Beatles’ songs off as his own, then fame and fortune would be his to enjoy.

Does he get to enjoy fame and subsequent fortune, or does he feel guilty that he’s living a lie?  Does he get the girl in the end who he’s known since he was 7?  You will have to watch the film to find out.

At first I thought it was all a dream, but then I changed my mind.  It’s fantasy, pure and simple, but quite entertaining fantasy mixed with a little romance, and of course those wonderful Beatles’ songs run through the whole film.  It’s one of those feelgood films that leave you quite sad when it ends.

I don’t know who thought up this story!  The plot is not really believable, but I enjoyed it anyway.

 

#ShareAReviewDay Tuesday – “Partners in Time” by Stevie Turner

Thanks to Marcia at The Write Stuff for sharing this review by Stephen Bentley of my paranormal novel ‘Partners in Time’.

The Write Stuff

This afternoon, we have the pleasure of reading a terrific review of Stevie Turner’s book, Partners in Time. I have no doubt you’ll all enjoy this one, and will be eager to share it with all your friends on social media. Thanks so much! (We’ll do the same for you when you share a review with us.)

REVIEW:
5 StarGoodreads Review by Stephen Bentley

One could argue the tagline for this excellent book could be ‘Emily is still desperate for a husband and children, and John is the answer to her dreams.’ The trouble is Emily and John are separated in time by over one hundred years.

Emily is introduced at the start of the book and at first, I thought I was about to read an excellent work of historical fiction as the setting, language, and social conventions are firmly placed in Victorian England. The other main…

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#Bookreview – The Daughter-in-law Syndrome by Stevie Turner

Thanks to Robbie Cheadle for this brilliant review of ‘The Daughter-in-law Syndrome’.

Robbie's inspiration

What Amazon says

The Daughter-in-law Syndrome investigates the complicated relationship causing much friction between Grandmother Edna Deane and her daughter-in-law Arla. In addition it focuses on the sometimes tumultuous partnership between Arla and her husband Ric.

Arla Deane sometimes likens her marriage to undergoing daily psychological warfare. Husband Ric will never voice an opinion, and puts his mother Edna up high on a pedestal. Arla is sick of always feeling that she comes in at only second best to her mother-in-law, who much to Arla’s fury is never told anything by Ric or his sisters that she would not want to hear.

This novel explores the husband/wife, mother/son, and mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships. After twenty eight years of marriage, Arla, the daughter-in-law, is at the end of her tether and persuades a reluctant Ric to accompany her for marriage guidance. As they look back over their lives with Counsellor Toni Beecher, Arla…

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5 Star Review by Stephen Bentley for ‘Partners in Time’.

Tags

#paranormal romance, #SeniSal, Review

I just had to share a brilliant Goodreads’ review that my latest novel ‘Partners in Time‘ has recently received from Stephen Bentley:

‘One could argue the tagline for this excellent book could be ‘Emily is still desperate for a husband and children, and John is the answer to her dreams.’ The trouble is Emily and John are separated in time by over one hundred years.

Emily is introduced at the start of the book and at first, I thought I was about to read an excellent work of historical fiction as the setting, language, and social conventions are firmly placed in Victorian England. The other main characters are John Finbow and his wife, Kay, who are introduced in a modern-day 1990s setting. The rest of the story is told through the points of view of Emily, John, and Kay and most of the chapters alternate between those characters.

John Finbow is an apparently successful and wealthy screenwriter. He and his wife Kay move into Southcombe Rectory, a large Victorian house that has been empty since the 1960s. It had previously been owned by the Cuthbertson family who had lived there for generations. The ‘Emily’ referred to is the youngest of eight offspring of the late Reverend Arthur Cuthbertson and his wife Delia.

We soon learn about the strain in John and Kay’s marriage as 39-year-old John, would like to start a family, but Kay, 34, doesn’t relish the idea.

It is only after the Finbows move into the rectory we are treated to a brilliantly written paranormal novel. There are apparitions and other ‘out-of -this -world’ experiences which drew me in right from the start. Not only did they draw me in, but I was kept enthralled by the plot and the quality of the writing as I turned page after page. It was during my frenzy of page-turning, I thought this author should be renamed Stevie Page-Turner.

As the plot develops, we are also treated to a nice sub-plot: will John get arrested? [no spoilers from me]

This brilliant book is more than a paranormal novel as it operates at several levels including romance, urban fiction, and a good dollop of crime fiction. It’s worthy of turning into a movie.

As the book description says: One hundred and thirty years separate them. Will Emily and John’s love survive time’s relentless march?

You really do need to read it and find out for yourself. Highly recommended!’ 

Thank you,  Stephen!

 

Review of Nick Alexander’s ‘Things We Never Said’.

Tags

book reviews

Blurb:

All the love she ever gave. Every secret she never told.

Catherine was the love of Sean’s life. But now she is gone. All that’s left is a box full of envelopes, each containing a snapshot and a cassette tape.

Through a series of recordings, Catherine shares their long love story, but will Sean recognise the story she tells? Catherine’s words have been chosen with love, but are painfully honest—and sometimes simply painful. She reveals every unspoken thought and every secret she kept from her husband—revelations that will shake everything Sean thought he knew about their life together.

But as disconcerting as the tapes turn out to be, Sean prays that they will ultimately confirm the one thing he never dared question. Does destiny exist? And were his and Catherine’s love and life together always meant to be?

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Things-Never-Said-Nick-Alexander-ebook/dp/B07B2VLK3D

First of all I was surprised this book was written by a man.  Nick Alexander’s main character Sean is grieving for the loss of his wife Catherine from cancer, who recorded several cassettes for Sean during her last days.  Mr Alexander has grasped the feminine POV very well, which is evident in the cassettes’ contents.  Sean learns secrets from Catherine that he had no idea about, and now has to deal with the aftermath of what he has learned.  Will he be able to forgive his wife for what she has done in the past?

It’s a good plot for a story, and I enjoyed the book enough to keep turning the pages.  However, I have a little quibble in the fact that the tenses/first person/third person jumped about a bit and to me didn’t quite gel.  Also, Sean and Catherine had been married for 30 years, and to me it seemed as though they didn’t really know much about each other at all, or about communicating their fears and feelings.

I have given this book 4 stars, as it did appeal to me but it also surprised me that a male author can write such a touching story about relationships!

Thursday Book Feature: Understanding

Thanks to Abbie Johnson Taylor for this review of our anthology ‘Understanding’.

My Corner

Understanding: An Anthology of Significant and True Life Events

by Stevie Turner et al.

Copyright 2019

In this anthology, edited by fellow blogger Stevie Turner, contributors, me included, share stories of life-altering events such as sexual abuse, traumatic accidents, and teen pregnancy. My story is about my years of caring for my late husband as outlined in My Ideal Partner- How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds Stevie also includes her story of how she survived thyroid cancer.

Most stories are in the form of an interview. Stevie sent us each twenty questions about our experiences, which most of us answered. One author, though, chose to provide her answers in the form of an essay. At the beginning of each story is the author’s biographical information.

I enjoyed reading many of these uplifting stories of courage and determination in the face of…

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5 Star Review from Janice Spina for ‘The Daughter-in-law Syndrome

I’d like to share a 5 star review I received on May 30th from Janice Spina, who enjoyed my family relationship novel ‘THE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW SYNDROME’.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2XPRI32YX89H4/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00Y9270XU

Anyone who is or has ever been a daughter-in-law will see something of themselves in this wonderful story. The relationship between a mother-in-law and her son’s wife is a tricky situation in many cases as demonstrated by this talented author. She delved into the lives and loves of family that touched home with me and I’m sure many other readers. Stevie Turner gave the views of both sides and brought up some sensitive issues.

Edna, the mother-in-law, can’t accept the idea that her son has chosen a woman to take her place in his heart. Can she ever embrace this woman? Arla, the daughter-in-law, has her own demons to face with her husband and his sisters. She always feels on the outside looking in. What can she do to be accepted into this dysfunctional family? She even goes to a marriage counselor to try to get her husband, Ric, to open up to her about his family.

I enjoyed following along with their journey as they discovered some surprising revelations about themselves and how they grew closer in spite of the chasm that had opened up at the beginning of their marriage. When Arla has to face similar circumstances as her own son marries she begins to connect more with her own mother-in-law. Can she accept the woman that her son has married? If not, then why not?

This was an eye-opening story that could be used as a self-help book for anyone who is dealing with these problems in their own marriage and with a stubborn mother-in-law. The author has a deep understanding of the feelings and angst of being a daughter-in-law who is living on the outside and looking in at her new family.

I found this to be an enjoyable read as I began to care about these characters and their outcome. This is a sign of a well-developed storyline and characters. I highly recommend this wonderful book!

Thank you Janice!

Review of ‘Ripples From the Edge of Life’, by Roland Chesters

I love reading autobiographies/biographies, and was pleased that ‘Ripples From the Edge of Life’ had been recommended on one of my social media sites.

Roland Chesters’ life was turned upside down on the day he was diagnosed with AIDS.  He had been feeling unwell for some time, and doctors could not find out what was wrong.  However, he is not in the ‘at risk’ groups.  He is gay, but is monogamous and is in a long-term relationship.  He had only ever had one other relationship (also long term), but his ex-partner had undergone a blood transfusion in the days when AIDS was not widely known about…

This book charts Roland’s journey through his various medical treatments up to the present day, and we read of the thoughts and feelings of those around him; his partner Richard, his consultant, and his close friends.  I for one didn’t realise that AIDS sufferers today can lead relatively normal lives while taking their retroviral medication (a shame this wasn’t available for Freddie Mercury!).

Of course the big step for anybody diagnosed with HIV/AIDS is who to tell and when to tell them.  Roland knew that once that information is broadcast, there is no going back, as ripples spread far and wide as people pass on the information to others.

This book is well written and informative, and I learned a lot by reading it.  Roland Chesters’ positive attitude is truly an inspiration to all those living with HIV/AIDS.  I give this book 5 stars for honesty and for Roland’s bravery in writing just what it’s like to live with an AIDS diagnosis.