Sheryl's Ramblings: November 2013

Saturday, 30 November 2013

Review: It Happened One Night by Phillipa Ashley ~ Perfect Escapism.

It Happened One Night by Phillipa Ashley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It Happened One Night When I picked up It Happened One Night, I really needed something I could get immersed in. This story was the perfect antidote to life, providing the much needed escapism I needed. I did have to put it down, necessarily, but you know that little thrill of anticipation you get when you have a lovely book waiting you can just fall back into? This book was it.

I really admired how Phillipa Ashley brought the sometimes superficial glitz and glamour of the film industry and rural village life together seamlessly and believably. The title gives a clue to the story. We have a young couple falling for each other and love interrupted by a tragedy precipitated by families at war, prejudices and untold secrets. The young lovers are torn apart. Sophie’s loyalties lie with her family. Adam’s loyalties are to Sophie. If he truly loves her, though, he must surely see the damage he’s caused and walk away.

Moving on, ten years later Adam is back in the small village, a successful film producer with a girlfriend (there are some intriguing touches her. He actually does love the woman, it seems). Sophie’s has managed to patch up the wounds to her heart and move on, too, pouring her energies into running a burgeoning bakery/catering business with her best-friend, Lily. It’s a classic ‘will they, won’t they’ story. What makes the book powerful reading is the authenticity of the author’s characters. Adam’s passionate fury is sometimes palpable and tremendously well communicated, as is Sophie’s strength of character, along with her vulnerability. Sophie’s mum I did have a feeling about (no spoilers). I asked myself, but why didn’t she…? Fear not, the author rounded her story off perfectly. Harry, aka Colin Firth in the shirt (and he knows it), is fabulous, you really can’t help but smile at his womanising antics. A wonderful foil and a playboy, perfectly dressed [on set] in period costume to play the role, I loved that we got a glimpse of his honourable, caring side. Then we have Nathan, Sophie’s younger brother, the man of the family and stuffed full of ill-repressed anger aimed squarely at Adam.

This really was a lovely book to read, plenty enough tension to keep you glued to the pages and radiating that perfect sort of warmth that makes you want to curl up in front of the fire. I would have no hesitation in highly recommending it.

View all my reviews

Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Book Launch: BETWEEN BOYFRIENDS ~ Sarka-Jonae Miller!

Between Boyfriends was 11 years in the making, and finally on 11/11 Booktrope is launching the chick lit novel:

Blurb

At first glance, twenty-one-year-old Jan Weston has it all: a gorgeous boyfriend, fun friends, and wealthy parents who take care of all those pesky credit card bills.

Then her boyfriend dumps her, her friendships fall apart, and her parents cut her off. Suddenly without money, without a man, and without a plan, it's time for Jan to grow up.

Determined to get her life back on track, Jan decides it's time to make it on her own. Can she find her way as a single lady in San Diego? Can she fix her friendships, her job prospects, and her hair? And can she keep her vow that she'll never date again, even after she meets a guy who just might be perfect for her?

BETWEEN BOYFRIENDS is a sexy, hilarious story of living life, finding love, and growing up... but not necessarily in that order.

Praise for Between Boyfriends

"This book is the ultimate chick-lit read--a light-hearted romp focused on the travails of Jan, a college student dumped by her boyfriend, an SDSU student. The moment proves an epiphany, as Jan resolves to stop dating and find fulfillment as a single woman." - East County Magazine

Between Boyfriends "presents a unique twist on the chick lit genre." - Hollywood & Vine magazine

"Over the course of the book, Jan, who is in her early 20s, begins to grow as a person and even strikes up a true friendship with a man, a first for her." - Rancho Santa Fe Review

"Cut off by parents? Not got a boyfriend? That's the formula for a chick lit hit." - Indie Author Land

"The book teaches both subtle and obvious lessons about friendship, relationships, responsibility and decision making." - The Masquerade Crew

"Between Boyfriends is a delicious slice of chick-lit! Snappy dialogue sets this story apart from the pack as it follows a young woman who, financially cut off by her parents when she fails to attend school, learns that life is more than her Amex card, and reunites with a mother who has endured her own brand of pain." - Jan Moran, bestselling author

"BETWEEN BOYFRIENDS is a great read. It's got everything you'd expect in a chick-lit book: good friends, fun, and a little romance, but the thing Sarka-Jonae adds to this story is a journey." - Caroline Fardig, bestselling author

Book Title: Between Boyfriends

Author: Sarka-Jonae Miller

Genre: Chick Lit, New Adult

Words: 104,000

Publisher: Booktrope

Release Date: November 11, 2013

Author Bio

Sárka-Jonae is a novelist, publicist, and journalist, among other “ists” there aren’t room for. Her novel writing career began with Between Boyfriends, an edgy chick-lit book for women who’ve been ”between boyfriends”, which is much cooler than being single.

SJ is a graduate of Syracuse University. Before writing full-time, she was a personal trainer and massage therapist, helping people tone up, slim down, and chill out. In her free time, Sárka-Jonae loves to dance in flash mobs, in music videos, on speakers, or at home in her underwear. She practices kung fu and yoga, was briefly a Buddhist nun, and travels extensively for ”research”. She’s a huge animal lover and has been vegan since 1999. She’s committed to respectfully unveiling the truth about the horrific way factory farms abuse animals. SJ lives in San Diego with two cats and two dogs.

Social Media Links:

Facebook

Twitter

Website

Blog

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Goodreads

Link to the Apple iBooks version coming soon.

Saturday, 2 November 2013

Grumpy Old Menopause by Carole E Wyer - Sneak Peek Review.

Grumpy Old Menopause by Carol E. Wyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Grumpy Old Menopause Whatever you do, don’t mention … the menopause!! If you do, make sure it’s preceded by the words ‘Grumpy Old…’ and followed by a demand for the book on prescription from your doctor. What a tonic! My mouth curved into a smile a few pages in. By the exercise section I was guffawing out loud. I kid you not. The fishing joke had tears streaming down my cheeks. The book takes an informative, yet easily digestible, look at the serious ‘shhhhh’ subject (sadly still labelled ‘women’s problems’, ergo a mystery to the male of the species).

The author has obviously done her research on tried and tested remedies for symptoms of the menopause, including the propensity to burst into tears and do something drastic with one’s husband, supplying links to further research, along with suggestions, where appropriate, to seek medical advice before embarking on said remedies. Carol’s easy to read style of writing and razor sharp wit, however, make the reading of this intelligently written book an absolute delight. She talks about gifts you should buy (or, more importantly, shouldn’t buy on risk of being garrotted) a woman of a certain age. If you’d like a recommendation for the perfect gift, in my estimation, Grumpy Old Menopause is it. The book is insightful, informative and possibly the most uplifting tonic you could take. An absolute must-read – for Her and For Him. If you are a woman struggling with the symptoms of the Menopause, read it. If you are man living with a woman, etc, ditto. Trust me, Carol E Wyer’s book will make the whole thing much more bearable. It tells you you are NOT alone, despite the ‘menopause’ word still often being whispered in hushed tones. It allows you to laugh. More, it makes you realise it’s essential and acceptable to. My advice: buy one for each other, maybe as a stocking-filler this Christmas. Keep it on the bedside table. Men, flash it at your wife (the book, that is) when she’s having a flush. Hopefully, you’ll raise a smile even though she’s feeling distinctly wobbly. Children of MM’s (Menopausal Mum’s), this is a gift she WILL most definitely appreciate. In short, I loved it! Highly recommended!

View all my reviews

COVER REVEAL + e-launch: The Consequences Collection by Melanie Robertson-King

I love welcoming other authors onto my blog. Today I have with me Melanie Robertson-King with her COVER REVEAL and e-launch of:

The Consequences Collection.

"If you could see the consequences - would you?"

Special thank you to Madliz Coles whose kind permission made it possible to use her evocative photograph as the cover image for my anthology.

Blurb:

The Consequences Collection is an eclectic compilation of twelve stories ranging from non-fiction through creative non-fiction to pure fiction, in prose and poetry.

The story of a Scottish Home Child is based on fact and told from the child's point of view; The Mystery Woman of Kinettles is a non-fiction article on the appearance and subsequent disappearance of a woman's body near the Wellington County House of Industry (Poor House) in 1879 Southwestern Ontario.

Some of these stories are lighter than others, and some might even beg you to leave the lights on.

Excerpt from the cover story Consequences:

Splat! The mail landed on the ceramic tile floor of the foyer. Usually, the noise was followed by the snap of the mail slot door closing. Today it wasn’t.

Something must have stuck in it. Sylvia put her coffee down on the counter and walked to the front door. A large white envelope remained suspended in the door. She pulled it the rest of the way through. The flap snapped shut and even though she was used to hearing the metallic sound, it startled her.

She’d expected a letter from her solicitor regarding her divorce from Bill but it wasn’t there. However, that one in particular had piqued her curiosity. Emblazoned on the top left corner was an official-looking crest. The addressee’s name and address were correct. It was her. Why would this person or agency be sending her a letter? She’d never heard of them before.

Sylvia turned the envelope over and worked her thumb under the flap. Those self-sticking envelopes are a bugger, she thought as she tried to rip it open. Finally, she gave up and tore down the side and yanked the contents out.

She skimmed over the letter but it didn’t make any sense so placed it on the small table by the door. It could be dealt with later. In the meantime, she looked at the rest of her mail. Nothing else untoward – just the electric bill, gas bill, and the usual assortment of junk – mail. She dropped them on top of the letter and returned to the kitchen.

The coffee she’d poured earlier had gone cold. She dumped it down the sink and turned the water on to rinse it away before getting a fresh one.

Drawn by some inexplicable force, Sylvia went back to the foyer and collected the letter and the mangled envelope. She returned to the kitchen, flipped on the radio and sat down at her small table. Why had she opened it in the first place? She should have just binned it. That’s what she usually did with unsolicited mail. But there was something strangely familiar about it. The addressee information was on a computer printed label so there was no clue there. The sororities from University had crests or emblems to differentiate one from another. She wracked her brain trying to remember what they looked like. It had been over thirty years since she’d attended. Sylvia never belonged to a sorority because she thought the girls who did were snooty and stuck-up.

She’d call her friend, Laurie and tell her about the letter. They’d been friends since childhood, attended the same elementary and secondary schools and even the same University. She could tell her anything, couldn’t she?

About the author:

Melanie Robertson-King has always been a fan of the written word. Growing up as an only child, her face was almost always buried in a book from the time she could read. Her father was one of the thousands of Home Children sent to Canada through the auspices of The Orphan Homes of Scotland, and she has been fortunate to be able to visit her father’s homeland many times and even met the Princess Royal at the orphanage where he was raised.

She lives in Brockville, Ontario, Canada a few short city blocks north of the St Lawrence River with her husband of thirty-eight years and is 'housekeeping staff' to a big, goofy, but loveable, dog (cross between lab, shepherd and black and tan hound).