Good morning everyone I’m on the blog tour for Somewhere Between The Silences by Lydia Kelly today and I have a great guest post by the author to share with you.

Somewhere Between The Silences is available now in ebook and paperback, you can purchase a copy of both here.

Thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the author for providing me with this guest post.

Before I share my guest post with you here is a little bit about the book.

Book Synopsis:

Somewhere Between the Silences is a short, sharp psychological thriller, revealing the sinister truth of what lengths one man will go to, to keep his secrets silenced.

Katy Young was a radiant and out-going young woman in the prime of her life, longing for a new adventure with the man she loved. That was until Katy was involved in a hair-raising accident which caused seemingly irreversible damage to her memory; it now falls upon her adoring husband to revive those absent aspects of her past.

To look at, Ryan Young is a stereotypical man in his thirties, works hard and clearly dotes upon his wife and their only son, Aaron. But, beneath the surface lurks a monster, capable of unimaginable destruction.

Katy is well aware she does not exist in a regular marriage but how much of her past life has her husband repressed to keep control of his wife?

Recommended for 18+ due to mature themes and sexual content.

Guest post by the author:

I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank Over the Rainbow for featuring me on your blog, it’s been a really exciting time recently (if not a little scary) and I thought I’d share with you the ideas behind my ideas as well as why I decided to put pen to paper.
I chose to fictionalise my own experiences because they are easier to convey than starting a storyline entirely from scratch. I remember the first time I sent a friend my entire manuscript for Somewhere Between the Silences, I don’t think I took a breath until I suddenly became aware that I was feeling a tad light headed! Writing around areas of your own life makes you extremely vulnerable, in a way you’re giving anyone who reads the stories the access to your past. Many won’t even realise that the words are more than just stories, but there’s always a select few who read critically into every sentence.
After finishing ‘Somewhere Between the Silences’, my Dad called me and asked if my mind was really that dark or whether it was all fictional. I suppose I hoped that it was entirely the latter but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that there are areas of my imagination which can only be fuelled by experiences that don’t dance in fields of sunshine. I have noted a pattern in how my stories develop, the ones I am currently writing are not entwined with genre but they reflect a part of myself. Since I was a child, the concept of having to ask for something or confess an event was completely horrifying; until I learnt that you could just as easily convey a message in writing without having to babble on at someone because I couldn’t get my words out!
My friends have often commented on how bizarre and time consuming my way of writing is, no matter how hard I’ve tried to rectify this, I can’t help but to write the entire story on paper before typing it up on my laptop. Although this is time consuming, it gives me plenty of opportunity to edit as I go, introducing new ideas as I’m typing the chapters up. I thoroughly enjoy making note of my protagonists, although I usually know exactly what they look like and how the mannerisms will come across throughout the book. Each of my characters is based upon someone either in my life currently or that has been; these don’t necessarily have to have had a major impact upon my life but to me they must have stuck out for some reason. My favourite part is people trying to guess who the character is based on, or sometimes moaning when they aren’t included!
Four years ago my life changed entirely because I decided to move to Tenerife, leaving behind my family and friends was meant to be the hardest thing I would ever do. I was, as we usually are, wrong… At that time a very special and influential person who had been in my life since I was a very small child, sent me an inspirational quote which I have since kept as my screensaver and followed its advice, ‘Life is short. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.’ Since returning to England, the decisions got harder still, becoming a parent was the single most amazing and terrifying experience in the world; choosing to do it alone was probably the hardest. In between each of these incredible moments were events which helped to create my own story, something which I took once as heart-breaking but now see it as material!
Someone asked me once what I hoped to get out of writing and allowing my work to be published. There are only two things which I desire to have achieved through my writing; that I can inspire someone else to follow a dream which they never believed was entirely possible and the most important, that when he’s old enough my son is able to say ‘That’s my Mum who wrote those books, and because of my Mum I know I can be and do beyond what it is than anyone believes I am capable of’.
I have numerous drafts which are currently waiting very patiently to be continued, a mixture of psychological thriller to a rom-com. The most recently written and in the process of being allowed to be named as an official first draft, A single Mum’s guide to life, Dating, Depression and Downright Disasters. I want to continue to write because I believe that a book can honestly change someone’s life, simply because it has mine. The power of a book is to remind us; spark our imaginations, fill us with remembrance of those moments which at times, life pushes aside. To become a character, who in reality, one could never truly be. For a book can be the key to our souls, if only we’d allow it.

Thank you once again for allowing me to share this with you.

Lydia x

About The Author:

Born and raised in Buckinghamshire, favourite book since I was 11 is Pride and Prejudice. Loved to write even as a child.Moved to Tenerife in 2014, came back to England in 2015 and gave birth to my beautiful son in February 2016.

Diagnosed with depression and anxiety in 2017, writing allows an enormous release, almost like slowly combing knots from your hair. Writing gives me a chance to express experiences that perhaps are too challenging to discuss outside of fiction.

Studying for a degree in English Literature, The Arts Past and Present, Spanish and Law, and work in a secondary school, mainly supporting children with special educational needs. Will get out of bed even if it’s 3am just to make n+ot+es of potential plots or character profiles.

Can never write one book at a time, currently in the middle of 4 (all due out by end of 2018):

A Poisoned Apple, The Wolf in Mine, A Single Mum’s Guide to Life (Dating, Depression and Down Right Disasters), Ella’s not-so Fairytale

Good morning everyone and happy bank holiday weekend! I’m on the blog tour for Deepest Wounds by Gordon Brown today and I have a great guest post from the author to share with you.

Deepest Wounds us available in paperback now and you can purchase your copy here.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and Gordon for providing me with this guest post.

Before I share my guest post with you here is a little bit about the book.

Book Synopsis:

Book 3 in the series that begins with Darkest Thoughts, one of The Reading Agency’s BOOKS OF THE YEAR, 2017. Conspiracy thriller. Book 3 in the mind-bending Craig McIntyre series. Book 1: Darkest Thoughts. Book 2: Furthest Reaches. The past is a dangerous place. Craig McIntyre s mere presence removes people s inhibitions and turns their darkest thoughts into actions. As Craig McIntyre tries to escape bounty hunters from the Dark Web, he discovers that his details are linked to a clandestine government project. Might it hold answers to his past as well as dangers for the present? Back on the run in North America, McIntyre hooks up with some unlikely allies. But can he trust them any more than those who want to use him to shape the future…and to further their personal ambitions? Have those behind Factor really given up on their pursuit of him? Or is McIntyre being reeled in with some politically toxic bait? McIntyre is the key to an explosive secret that could change mankind forever.

Guest Post: The Birth of Craig McIntyre

If there’s one question that you can guarantee to be asked as an author, it’s that age old chestnut ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ My favourite response is ‘The local corner shop. They sell ideas between 2.00pm and 4.00pm on a Thursday.’ (I admit I nicked that from another author.) 

When it came to my Craig McIntyre series the core idea was born in a Glasgow pub, one Friday night. Craig McIntyre is, shall we say, a little unusual. He has the ability to bring out the worst in people. He can turn people’s darkest thoughts into action. He can’t control what he does. His life is one of constant chaos and he’s always on the run from a clandestine U.S. agency, who see him as the ultimate assassin.
Turn back to that wet Friday night on the southside of Glasgow. A friend and myself were propping up the bar at around nine o’clock. The pub was quiet. A grand total of five people made up the clientele. Two brothers stood in one corner, both drunk as a skunk. A young man sat at a table, head down in a paperback while my friend and I, backs to the bar, chewed the cud. The brothers were arguing. One lost the plot and threw a punch. Being drunk, the punch went wide and the puncher tumbled onto a table. His brother, clearly unhappy at the attempted assault, launched himself on top of his sibling and the table collapsed. What ensued was ten minutes of pandemonium as the two inebriated individuals tried, but failed, to inflict damage on each other. Unable to co-ordinate their attacks due to the excess of alcohol in their systems, they stumbled around the pub, laying waste to the furniture. My friend and I were perfectly placed to watch the chaos unfold. Meanwhile, the young man reading the novel kept his head down, clearly thinking that it was safer to look at the book than risk eye contact with the duelling brothers.
The police were eventually summoned and the brothers lead away. The bartender began to clean up and we helped right some of the chairs and tables. Only then did I notice that the young man was still engrossed in his book.
My friend and I finished up our drinks and headed for another pub.
Later that night, while walking home, I thought about the young man reading his book and asked that classic author question ‘What if?’. What if that young man wasn’t scared? What if he had ignored the brawl and was reading his book because that sort of thing, the fight, happened around him all the time? What if fights broke out with monotonous regularity? What if that was just the soundtrack to his life? I played with a few more ‘What ifs?’ and landed on a cracker. What if he was the reason the fight broke out in the first place? That somehow, he, not the drink, had brought out the worst in the two brothers? That he was the catalyst that set off the violence. And so the idea for Craig McIntyre was born.
In my first attempt to turn it into a novel, Craig was a young lad, just like the man in the pub, living in Glasgow, facing a life where all hell breaks out around him because of his affliction. When I’d finished the initial draft of the book, provisionally entitled Once, I employed an editor and, on their advice (and painful advice it was), I was told the story needed to be much bigger. So, I took a deep breath and began the rework. A completely new novel was born – set in America and now Craig is no longer a young lad from Glasgow but an ex U.S. military soldier.
I’m now three books into the Craig McIntyre series, with Deepest Wounds, the latest instalment, out now published by Strident, and a fourth under way – but there is a small coda to this story. The original draft, Once, the one sitting in my computer, is waiting on that day when the publisher calls and says ‘Gordon, would you have anything to hand that we might be able to release at quick notice?’
Watch this space.

About The Author:

Want to know more – go to http://www.gordonjbrown.com

(Author picture and bio taken from Amazon)

Book Synopsis:

An award-winning picture book that will get little ones excited about science.

While building a unique sandcastle, Cora and Manny spot a rather curious insect.
Soon, the little scientists keep a watchful eye on the insect’s movements, while learning about the natural environment along the way.

A great book for STEM education and home-school projects or just curious little ones who love science. Book extras include fun, printable activities related to science learning and research.

My Review:

The Beedog is a fun, education children’s book that helps to introduce science to young children.  I read this book with my nearly 6 year old who really enjoyed it.  It’s been hard to get Douglas into books as he does prefer non fiction but this book is a fantastic mixture of both which helped keep his interest.

The book subtly introduces science to children providing a few facts into the story but not too many that the young reader would become bored or put off.  More detailed information on the ‘beedog’ is providing at the back and was, predictably, the part my non fiction loving boy enjoyed the most.  There are some drawings of other types of  wasps that I hadn’t heard of before which was really interesting.

The bright illustrations are very eye catching and the added fun of trying to guess what happens or find things in the pictures helps make this book a really fun read.  I liked how the book encourages children to look up things for themselves and to discuss their findings.  I thought this was a great thing to try and encourage!

My only niggle with this book comes from my son who was very upset that it wasn’t obvious that the children had picked up the toilet paper on the beach, calling them very naughty! As the book is about science and nature it might have been good to have added this in as my understanding is that rubbish can harm nature.

This is the first book in this series that I have read and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.

About The Author:

Addie is an avid traveler, and once went on a solo journey to fifteen countries in one year. When she encounters something unique, she writes about it. Her first published picture book, The Beedog, is about a curious insect that she found in southern Portugal.

Addie began her writing journey when she was just nine years old, with a book called Doggienauts. That book has been updated and is set for publication in 2018. Addie is originally from the United States and is currently a full-time traveler. Home is where her suitcase is.

Illustrator Bio:

Joyeeta Neogi

Joyeeta is a children’s book illustrator who has worked with international authors and publishers. Her engagement with worldwide clients and multicultural themes has allowed her to create captivating original animal and child characters. Her art captures the expressions, movements and vibrancy of life within simple compositions to bring the author’s story to life. In her free time, Joyeeta is busy with painting and music. She loves to paint in oil and acrylic, and has also developed a passion for watercolor.

Social Media Links:

Pinterest / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook 

Book resources at https://twoumbrellasplease.com

Book Synopsis:

The Guilty Dead is the ninth book in P.J. Tracy’s addictive and internationally bestselling Twin Cities series.

Gregory Norwood, wealthy businessman and close friend of Minnesota’s leading candidate for Governor, is found dead on the first anniversary of his son’s drug overdose. It seems clear to Detectives Gino and Magozzi that grief drove him to suicide.

Until they realise the left-handed man seems to have used his right hand to pull the trigger.

And they find the second body.

As the seemingly open-and-shut case becomes a murder enquiry, the detectives begin to delve into the dark secrets of one of the city’s most powerful families. It seems the murders are not the first in the Norwoods’ tragic story – and they won’t be the last . . .

My Review:

It’s always great when you find a great new series, even more so when the series is 9 books in and you have lots to catch up on!

The Guilty Dead is a highly addictive, intriguing and plausible read that I really enjoyed.  The thing that made this book for me was the fantastic characters that were really well drawn and easy to like.  The book is told from a variety of points of view and this makes the book very interesting as it helps the reader see the story from different angles.

My favourite characters were the police officers Gino and Magozzi.  I enjoyed the little interactions they had between them and the banter they shared.  They definitely helped provide some light relief at times.

This isn’t a particularly fast paced book, especially at the beginning but I found I didn’t care as I was really enjoying the story and learning more about the characters.  There are a few twists and turns which I didn’t see coming and I definitely didn’t guess the ending which was really nice.  It did take me a llittle bit to get my head around all the characters and I thought maybe a character list or some might have been helpful, but as mentioned before this is the ninth book in the series so the author probably thought people would know them all by now.

This is the first book by this author I have read and I can’t wait to go back and read all the previous books.

Huge thanks to Katie from Michael St Joseph for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.  If you like addictive, plausible stories with some fabulous characters then you’ll love this book.

About The Author:

P. J. Tracy was the pseudonym for the mother-and-daughter writing team of P. J. and Traci Lambrecht. Together P. J. and Traci were authors of the bestselling thrillers Want to Play? (a Richard and Judy Book Club pick), Live Bait, Dead Run, Snow Blind, Play to Kill, Two Evils, Cold Kill and Nothing Stays Buried. P. J. passed away in 2016, but Traci is continuing the series with The Guilty Dead.

Book Synopsis:

In 1973 Chile, thirteen-year-old English schoolboy Charlie Norton watches his father walk into the night and never return. Taken in by diplomat Tomas Abrego, his life becomes intricately linked to the family.

Eleven years later, Abrego is the Chilean Ambassador to London and Charlie is reunited with the Abrego sisters. Despite his love for them, he’s unable to prevent Maria falling under the spell of a left-wing revolutionary, or Sophia from being used as a political pawn by her father.

His connection to the family is complicated by the growing evidence that Tomas Abrego was somehow involved in his father’s disappearance.

As the conflict of a family divided by love and politics comes to a head on the night of the 1989 student riots in Santiago, Charlie has to act to save the sisters from an enemy they cannot see.

My Review:

The Glass Diplomat is a very intriguing, intelligent thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The book drew me in from the start with a intriguing first chapter which immediately piqued my interest and made me want to read more.  The pace of the book starts fast and never really lets go as the reader is drawn further into the seedy, violent world the characters inhabit.  I’m sorry to say that I knew little about Chile’s history before reading this book but this book really helped open my eyes to their violent history.

Charlie was a very interesting main character.  On one hand I liked his drive and courage whilst trying to find out what happened to his father but on the other I wanted to scream at him to stop as I knew things wouldn’t work out well.  I loved reading about his developing relation with the two girls and was very happy to see him find some happiness there.  I do wanted things to go well for him but had a sinking feeling early on that it wouldn’t.

I haven’t read a book so fast in ages and as late! I simply couldn’t put it down as it was so gripping.  I had a bit of a soft spot for Charlie and the girls so wanted to keep reading to check they were ok.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I can’t wait to read more from him.

Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.  If you like intelligent, gripping thrillers laced with fascinating history then you’ll love this book!

About The Author:

S R Wilsher writes: ‘It didn’t occur to me to write until I was twenty-two, prompted by reading a disappointing book by an author I’d previously liked. I wrote thirty pages of a story I abandoned because it didn’t work on any level. I moved on to a thriller about lost treasure in Central America; which I finished, but never showed to anyone. Two more went the way of the first, and I forgave the author.

After that I became more interested in people-centric stories. I also decided I needed to get some help with my writing, and studied for a degree with the OU. I chose Psychology partly because it was an easier sell to my family than Creative Writing. But mainly because it suited the changing tastes of my writing. When I look back, so many of my choices have been about my writing.

I’ve been writing all my adult life, but nine years ago I had a kidney transplant which interrupted my career, to everyone’s relief. It did mean my output increased, and I developed a work plan that sees me with two projects on the go at any one time. Although that has taken a hit in recent months as I’m currently renovating a house and getting to know my very new granddaughter.

I write for no other reason than I enjoy it deeply. I like the challenge of making a story work. I get a thrill from tinkering with the structure, of creating characters that I care about, and of manipulating a plot that unravels unpredictably, yet logically. I like to write myself into a corner and then see how I can escape. To me, writing is a puzzle I like to spend my time trying to solve.’

Good morning everyone I’m on the blog tour for The Genes Of Isis by Justin Newland today and I have a great guest post to share with you.

The Genes Of Isis is available now in ebook at the bargain price of £1.99, you can purchase your copy here.

Before I share my guest post with you here is a little about the book.

Book Synopsis:

Akasha is a precocious young girl with dreams of motherhood. She lives in a fantastical world where most of the oceans circulate in the aquamarine sky waters.

Before she was born, the Helios, a tribe of angels from the sun, came to Earth to deliver the Surge, the next step in the evolution of an embryonic human race. Instead they spawned a race of hybrids and infected humanity with a hybrid seed.

Horque manifests on Earth with another tribe of angels, the Solarii, to rescue the genetic mix-up and release the Surge.

Akasha embarks on a journey from maiden to mother and from apprentice to priestess then has a premonition that a great flood is imminent. All three races – humans, hybrids and Solarii – face extinction.

With their world in crisis, Akasha and Horque meet, and a sublime love flashes between them. Is this a cause of hope for humanity and the Solarii? Or will the hybrids destroy them both? Will anyone survive the killing waters of the coming apocalypse?

Guest Review:

What drew me to the stories of Ancient Egypt?

I wanted to explore our human origins. Where did we come from? How did we get to where we are today? Why are things as they are? I wanted to conceive a story that offered the discerning reader a different entry point to these age-old questions. Inevitably, it led me to Ancient Egypt, the world’s earliest recorded historical culture.
As the oldest, Egypt civilisation influenced everything that followed: the first in any field always does. That’s why Egypt is known as the ‘Mother and Father of all things’.
The Ancient Egyptians imagined their origins though creation myths, such as the myth of Isis. In it, Osiris, her husband, is murdered and has his dismembered body parts distributed all over Egypt. Isis gathers them together and miraculously brings him back to life. This is a story of life and death, procreation, rebirth and the struggle for power, all archetypal themes. It’s about genesis, because that’s what genes of Isis means.

Where did the Biblical flood fit into the story?

In the Book of Genesis, the flood lasted 40 days and nights. If so, how did all that water get up there in the first place? Here’s an utterance from the Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts:
‘I shall cross the great lake in the sky and return home to my double on the sun.’
Not only does this moot a ‘lake in the sky’ but it suggests the Ancient Egyptians were beings from the sun or sun-folk.
More recently, Old Mother Shipton, a Yorkshire prophetess, coined her answer:
‘Beneath the water, men shall walk. Shall ride, shall sleep, shall even talk.’
What if the waters were already up there in the sky, causing the earth to shrink like a dried prune, leaving the remaining oceans on shallow sea beds?
This gave me the idea for the sky waters, an important element of the world of The Genes of Isis.

What drove you to expand these initial ideas into a full novel?

Legends from other ancient cultures mentioned cross-breeding between species, mixed genetics and hybrids. The apocryphal The Book of Enoch spoke of the Grigori or fallen angels who came to Earth and mated with ‘the daughters of men,’ spawning the Nephilim, an antediluvian race of giants. The Epic of Gilgamesh talked of strange beings such as fish-men who came ashore for the day and returned to the sea at night.
What if these fallen angels were sun-folk who manifested in human form and settled in Ancient Egypt, as suggested by the Pyramid Texts? What if antediluvian genetics were unstable, in that the bindings that prevented successful inter-species crossbreeding had become loosened, spawning mixed genetic creatures and humans with animal heads?
This was the germ of the idea for the novel: an alternative genesis of the human race.
Interwoven with these ideas were esoteric concepts such as the akashic record and the astral body. The akashic record is conceived of as a compendium of thoughts, events and emotions encoded in a numinous plane of existence. From this, I derived the name of the novel’s heroine, Akasha, a Sanskrit word meaning aether or atmosphere. The astral body is a personal spirit entity which can leave a person during sleep, travel through the vast numinous corridors of the akashic record and in so doing re-connect to the history of any person or event from any previous epoch. This is what Edgar Cayce, an American mystic, claimed to have done.
Other sources included Doris Lessing’s Shikastra which speculated on how humans may have lived in the time before recorded history. The name Samlios, where the initial action of the novel unfolds, is taken from Gurdjieff’s Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson.
All this nourished my fascination for the supernatural and ancient times.

How did you build a narrative and characters around the ingredients gathered from your knowledge of Ancient Egypt?

With two sources, one Biblical and one Ancient Egyptian, I needed two protagonists, one human, the other angelic or sun-folk, whom I called the Solarii. I envisaged the embryonic human race as blue-blooded, gentle folk whereas the Solarii were drawn as red-blooded and severe. A comparison of opposites yielded a girl and boy, young and old, Akasha and Horque. Thus the main characters took shape.
When I started work on the novel, I began with the idea and a storyline. The characters emerged from the plot. Sometimes my imagination revealed things about them, like what they carried in their pockets, their physical characteristics, their character. I found them crouching behind the plot lines, emerging out of the shadows of the narrative and in the great halls of the unconscious (in dreams).

What haunted you throughout the process?

Looking into pre-history, there was a sense that I was peering into a dark timeless abyss, where sometimes, as Nietzsche predicted, the abyss stared back. That was unnerving, especially as most of what I was researching had no solid facts on which anyone agreed. But it did leave plenty of room for the imagination to roam.
The final word is the haunting saying: Egypt knows you, but do you know the Egypt in you?
If you want to know more, you know where to look.

About The Author:

JUSTIN NEWLAND writes historical, fantasy and speculative fiction with a supernatural bent.
He lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.

For further author info, see http://www.justinnewland.com/.
Short stories in anthologies include: The Fool of Abbot’s Leigh in Hidden Bristol and Fisher of Men in North by Southwest.
Another short story, Vallum Hadriani, is included in The Dark Half of the Year.
His first novel, The Genes of Isis, is published by Matador.
For more info, see http://www.thegenesofisis.com/.
His second novel, The Old Dragon’s Head, a historical fantasy set in Old China. is to be published by Matador in November 2018. His work in progress is a historical novel set in East Prussia during the Enlightenment in the 1760’s. All his novels deal with war, religion, evolution, and the human’s place in the universe.

Book Synopsis:

The year is 2039.
The setting is the British Isles – but not the British Isles as we know them today.
The brutal economic impact of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, together with the ever-accelerating effects of global warming have led to a very different environment indeed, in almost every way. Politics, geography and technology are all in flux.
But some things remain the same – greed, murder, conspiracy and corruption among them. When Stephanie Flack, licensed private eye in the Royal Province of Anglia, is asked to track down some missing diamonds, she soon finds the trail leading her into some very unexpected and highly dangerous places, with dead bodies appearing with alarming regularity. Including, very nearly, her own.
R.M. Cartmel’s skilful characterisation, sharp observation and quiet irony provide a glimpse into a future which we can almost recognise. A brilliant, gentle, wry dystopian murder mystery.

North Sea Rising is available to buy in paperback and ebook now, you can purchase a copy of both here.

My Review:

North Sea Rising is a fascinating look at a post Brexit world that is sure to get people thinking.

The world that the author has created is a truly fascinating one that sent a shiver down my spine reading about it.  The thing that most strikes you about it is how real the world seems especially as it’s set in the not too distance future.  I sincerely hope that this isn’t what happens post Brexit as it’s not a world I wish to inhabit!

I loved the main character Stephanie.  She was a really strong, confident woman who wasn’t worried about getting into danger or conflict.  I enjoyed reading about her investigation and how she handled it as she seemed very intelligent, coming to logical solutions.

The mystery part of the story unfolds fairy gently but there is plenty of stuff to keep the reader interested.  I became quickly immersed into the world the author has created and I wanted to keep reading to find out more about it as well as discovering how Stephanie’s investigation fared.

The ending was really good and helped bring everything together nicely.  This is actually the second book in the series which I didn’t realise at first so it works well as a standalone novel as anything you need to know is explained.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater and Crime Scene Books for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of the book.  If you like realistic, dystopia novels that make you think then you’ll love this book.

About The Author:

Following a highly successful career as a GP, RM Cartmel returned to his first love and took up writing again.
Well-known for his wine and crime series set in France, The Inspector Truchaud Mysteries, he also has a second, rather more offbeat series of North Sea Noir, which can be read as stand alone but connected novels, set in Peterborough. North Sea Rising is the second of these.

The Inspector Truchaud Mysteries:
The Charlemagne Connection
The Richebourg Affair
The Romanee Vintage
The German Crossing ( coming 2019)

The North Sea Noir Novels:
50 Miles from Anywhere
North sea Rising (available for pre-order)

For further information, to request an interview or for high resolution pictures etc , please email: candy.denman@crime-scene-books.co.uk

Good evening everyone I’m handing over to the lovely Kirsty for the last time *sniff* to share her review of Crimson Seige by Jay Raven.  Kirsty has now started her own blog so please do show your support and follow her!

Crimson Seige is available now in ebook and paperback.  The ebook is currently only £1.99.  You can purchase your copy of both here.

Before I share Kirsty’s review with you here is a little bit about the book.

Book Synopsis:

In the Godforsaken badlands of Transylvania the fragile truce between mankind and monsters is about to explode…

When bounty hunters target one of 19th century Europe’s most feared vampire clans, the last place any lawman wants to be is caught in the middle…

But for Anton Yoska, Lord Marshal of the Imperial lands south of the Carpathian Mountains, fate has trapped him in a supernatural stand-off that can end only in a bloodbath.

A gang of mercenaries led by Anton’s former army comrade Milosh Drubrick have captured vampire aristocrat Stefan Modjeski, wanted for a string of frenzied murders, and have come to Anton to claim the reward. And as Stefan’s predatory undead kin lay siege to the jailhouse, Anton is faced with an agonising choice – hand over his prisoner and abandon the bounty hunters to their unspeakable fate, or stand and fight.

The jailhouse defenders are outnumbered and out of options. It’s a battle that can’t be won, certain slaughter for them all, and Anton can’t trust his scheming allies. But Lord Marshal Yoska isn’t about to surrender.

For he’s an experienced vampire hunter, a dangerous man when cornered, and a single minded warrior who knows there are worse things to fear than death…

Kirsty’s Review:

This is a bit of a change of pace for me, I have read many different styles of ‘vampire’ books but most are paranormal romance – this is most definitely not that! This is written in the style of Gothic Horror (think Dracula), I have to say I wouldn’t personally call it horror, I wasn’t kept awake at night and didn’t find it that scary but I did love the writing style and I think Jay Raven has replicated this genre incredibly well. He has also reworked the classic take on the vampire and for the better I think, I enjoyed this ‘new’ version and their abilities.

The book starts with a series of seemingly unrelated events that quickly collide to reveal the bigger story at play. And what a cast of characters to play it out! There are constant power plays going on between them and you’re never sure who is going to come out on top. The characters are pretty much all introduced very early on in the book and straight away it is clear there is far more to them than what appears on the surface. Anton was particularly interesting to me, he clearly has a very dark past and glimpses of it are given to you like puzzle pieces, I have to say I didn’t manage to work out the full puzzle, I love that in a book.

I have to say my allegiance to the two waring fractions changed throughout the book. I was never sure who’s side I was one. There is a really interesting conversation around the dining room table, instigated by Pavel (this character I really warmed to), that really made me wonder who the ‘bad guys’ were. Both sides have forged strong alliances either through blood or friendship, so just who is in the wrong?

The tension in the second half of the book really holds you and encourages you to read faster to find out how the whole thing is going to play out. The action is great, it is bloody and gory but not unnecessarily so for this type of book. The story is mostly wrapped up but Jay has left plenty of avenues open for the further books, which I am really looking forward to.

Many thanks to the publishers and Rachel at Rae resources for a copy of the book for an honest review.

About The Author:

Jay Raven is the author of Gothic chillers and historical horror reminding readers that the past is a dangerous place to venture, full of monsters and murderous men. He blames his fascination with vampires, witches and werewolves on the Hammer Horror films he watched as a teenager, but living in a creepy old house beside a 500-acre wood teeming with bats may have something to do with it.

Social Media Links –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fantasywriterjayraven/
Twitter: @JayRavenAuthor
Website: http://www.jayraven.com

Good morning everyone I’m thrilled to be on the blog tour today for One Thousand Stars And You by the Broom today.  As well as sharing my review I also have a great Q&A with the author for you!

One Thousand Stars And You is published on the 23 August in ebook and paperback.  You can pre-order a copy of both here.

Before I share my review and Q&A with you here is a little bit about the book.

Book Synopsis:

One spark will light up both their lives

Alice is settling down. It might not be the adventurous life she once imagined, but more than anything she wants to make everyone happy – her steady boyfriend, her over-protective mother – even if it means a little part of her will always feel stifled.

Max is shaking things up. After a devastating injury, he is determined to prove himself. To find the man beyond the disability, to escape his smothering family and go on an adventure.

A trip to Sri Lanka is Alice’s last hurrah – her chance to throw herself into the heat, chaos and colour of a place thousands of miles from home.

It’s also the moment she meets Max.

Alice doesn’t know it yet, but her whole life is about to change.

Max doesn’t know it yet, but he’s the one who’s going to change it.

Q&A with Isabelle Broom:

1.) Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Oooh, where to start? How about five random facts?
1) Before becoming an author, I had jobs as a barmaid, cinema manager and travel agent – sometimes concurrently.
2) When I was little, I had an obsession with Care Bears and spent hours creating make-believe stories with my big collection of plastic poseables.
3) My signature dance move is the Running Man.
4) I have been in the back of police cars in England, Lanzarote and Zakynthos in Greece, yet have never been arrested…
5) The one thing I couldn’t live without is laughter.

2. What do you do when you are not writing?

So many things! I have a very busy life, which is both a blessing and a curse, depending on what stage I’m at in the writing process. At the moment, I’m freelancing for a magazine in central London, so commuting in from Suffolk every weekday. I’m also midway through the Joe Wicks 90-Day Plan, which involves early morning workouts and late-night batch cooking. I go to as many bookish events as I can, socialise with friends, hang out with my brilliant boyfriend, walk my dog, watch TV dramas, read and review books, keep up with all my social media channels, host competitions, clean my house, look after my plants, plot new books and plan my next big travel adventures.

3. Do you have a day job as well?

I’m a freelance production editor and I’m still heat magazine’s Book Reviews Editor, both of which keep me extremely busy. One of these days, I might feel like a bona-fide full-time author, but I’m not there quite yet.

4. When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?

I wrote stories as soon as I could hold a pen, pretty much, but looking back, I wish I had appreciated the full year it took me to write My Map Of You a bit more, because once you sign a contract and have deadlines to meet, you never get that luxury of time back. By the time the edit was done in September 2015, it felt like I’d had a good amount of time with it – about 16 months in total. I dream of having that same generous window of time again.

5. How did you choose the genre you write in?

I messed around with a few genres over the years, but I always came back to stories about people and their relationships with one another. Escapist romantic fiction contains both travel and love – two things that fascinate me – and hopefully that passion comes across in the writing. A wise author bird once told me to write the books that I want to read, and I have never forgotten that piece of advice.

6. Where do you get your ideas?

They can come from anywhere and everywhere. A tiny nib in a local newspaper, a listener ringing in to a radio show, my friends, my family, my relationships, people I happen to meet on trains, planes and buses. There is inspiration in every nook and cranny of the globe – you just have to be willing to look for it.

7. Do you ever experience writer’s block?

I think it’s more inspiration block than actual writing. I’m only human, and sometimes life intrudes and makes it difficult to concentrate – in both a good and bad way. Creative writing sounds like a dream job, and much of the time it is, but there are days when you have to force yourself to sit down and keep on plugging, even though it feels utterly impossible. I would say that having a good schedule and lots of notes helps, as does a quiet place to write. I do much of my work in busy offices or on the train at the moment, which is proving to be rather frustrating.

8. Do you work with an outline, or just write?

I have learned over the course of five novels that it is imperative to have a plan – and the more detailed it is, the better. Structuring can feel like the boring bit if you’re a burgeoning author, but the more of it you do at the start, the less painful your eventual edit will be. Trust me on that!

9. Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?

Jilly Cooper! I read, reread and then read again all her Rutshire novels in my late teens and twenties. In fact, I still read them now. She nails character like no other, and everything about her books and the world she created within them is fun, feisty and fabulous. If I ever write books as clever and brilliant as Jilly’s, I’ll be very happy.

10. Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

Behind every debut novel you read, there will be at least two or three more by the same author that never made the grade – and that’s 100 per cent the case with me, too. I made a few attempts at novels and was told “thanks, but no thanks” – but I took all the feedback on board and did my best to learn from my mistakes and improve my craft. The wonderful thing about writing is that the more you do it, the better you become. Nothing you write will ever be a waste, because each completed work is a step towards a proper published novel.

11. Is anything in your book based on real-life experiences or purely all imagination?

There is plenty in all my books that has been based on things that happened, and in One Thousand Stars and You, there are loads. The skydive, for example, is something that I did for the first time earlier this year and knew it would make an amazing scene in a book. I would never have been able to write about an experience like that having not done it, and I remember clearly thinking of how I would put it into words as I plummeted screaming through the air!

12. What was your hardest scene to write?

My second novel, A Year and a Day, was probably the toughest to write. I was going through some stuff in my personal life at the time, and although this meant I could transfer those feelings of helpless despair into the book, it also meant delving deep into my own turmoil to do so. As an author, though, I think it’s important to be courageous and to share as much of yourself as you can. That is the way I write, and hopefully the way I always will. If you have a foundation of absolute truth in your work, you can’t go far wrong.

13. How did you come up with the title?

One Thousand Stars and You was the brainchild of my former editor, Eve Hall (who now works at Hodder & Stoughton). It’s the first title that I haven’t come up with myself, and it’s also by far the best – ha! I’m so grateful to her, because it’s everything I hope the book is: magical, romantic, intriguing…

14. What project are you working on now?

I’m halfway through the first draft my sixth novel, which I can’t say too much about yet, but I can reveal that the setting this time is New Zealand. I was there at the start of this year and it’s honestly the most incredible country. Up there with the best I have ever had the pleasure of exploring.

15. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

It does get my goat when reviewers accuse me of not visiting the settings of my novels, because I always make sure that I do, and that I undertake thorough research while I’m there. A Google Image search does not an authentic and evocative novel make, and I would never try to imagine what a place was like without actually going there. The best compliment I get is when people choose my settings as their holiday locations, which has happened many times now and feels simply miraculous. Through my little story, they’re able to create a new story of their own. See – magic!

16. Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?

As always, just a huge THANK YOU for choosing to read my books when there are so many out there. And a promise: that I will continue to write the biggest, boldest and best stories I can, and I won’t stop until my fingers drop off. Or a Running Man-related injury renders me incapable, natch…

My Review:

Ooh I do love Isabelle Broom’s books.  They are always such fantastic summery reads that are a joy to read. I don’t tend to read a lot of women’s fiction but I always make an exception for her books.

The author’s descriptions of Sri Lanka were wonderful and they have definitely made me want to visit there as soon as possible.  I loved traveling through this beautiful country with Alice and her friends and learning more about its sights and history.  The author makes you feel like you are really there experiencing everything alongside the characters which helped make the book a truly delicious read.

The story is told from the point of view of both Alice and Max and it was fascinating to have both sides of the story.  The author does a great job at making these two voices very individual and realistic with Max’s part being typically male at times.  I so enjoyed watching the relationship between these two characters develop and found myself willing them to get together as I thought they would be good for each other.  It was great to see how they rubbed off on one another and helped each other especially as they’d both experienced trauma of some kind.

This is a fantastic story that is easy to get immersed and lose a few hours or more in.  The story flows beautifully and the love story between Alice and Max, along with the group’s exploration of the Island ensures that the book is hard to put down.

This is Isabelle Broom’s 5th book and I can’t wait to read more from her.  Huge thanks to Laura Nicol and Michael St Joseph for my copy of this book and for inviting me onto the blog tour.  If you like wonderful feel good books that just transport you to another country then you’ll love this book.

About The Author:

Isabelle Broom was born in Cambridge nine days before the 1980s began and studied Media Arts in London before joining the ranks at Heat magazine, where she remains the Book Reviews editor. Always happiest when she is off on an adventure, Isabelle now travels all over the world seeking out settings for her novels, as well as making the annual pilgrimage to her true home – the Greek island of Zakynthos. Currently based in Suffolk, where she shares a cottage with her dog Max and approximately 467 spiders, Isabelle fits her writing around a busy freelance career and tries her best not to be crushed to oblivion under her ever-growing pile of to-be-read books.

Good morning I’m thrilled to be handing over the reigns to Kirsty again for her review of Akea: The Power of Destiny by Elizabeth Jade.  This is Kirsty’s second to last review for my blog as she has recently set up her own blog, The Midnight Reviewer.  Do go check out her new blog http://themidnightreview.co.uk/wp/

Akea is available to buy in ebook and paperback now, purchase your copy here.

Before I share Kirsty’s review with you here is a little bit about the book.

Book Synopsis:

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.

Kirsty’s Review:

I am reviewing todays book with my 7 year old son, I would say that this book is about perfect for this age group. He said the first page was marvelous, I can see what he means. The book starts with some lovely descriptions of the area in which the Husky’s live. It really paints a vivid picture in the readers mind.

The story is told from the points of view of the Husky’s and wolves which added an interesting element. My son did struggle with the names though (so did I if I’m honest), I know it was done for authenticity so I wouldn’t change it – it was just a little complicated.

The story moved along at a good pace which is perfect for children, as we know, holding their attention isn’t always easy. The chapters are just about the perfect length, emerging readers can manage them without tiring. The book also dealt with some difficult themes which made for some interesting discussions.

This was a lovely book, many thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s random resources and the publisher for giving me a copy to review.

About The Author:

Elizabeth Jade was born in North Yorkshire in 1998 and moved with her family to Somerset when she was very young. She was homeschooled 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 and has volunteered at various rescues, 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.”