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Tahlia Newland

Editor, Author & Artist

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Historical Fiction Book Review: The Second Life of Mirielle West

July 14, 2022 by Tahlia Newland

Historical Fiction Book Review: The Second Life of Mirielle West

This book review of The Second Life of Mirielle West, by Amanda SkenandoreI will take 6 minutes of your time, and you may find you've discovered another good read. I shot it ages ago and only just got around to posting it. Find out more about the book here: https://geni.us/SdAn https://youtu.be/bykvch68__8 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 5 stars, Historical fiction, Reviews Tagged With: historical fiction

Book Review – Dog Leap Stairs by Barbara Scott Emmett

April 10, 2022 by Tahlia Newland

Book Review – Dog Leap Stairs by Barbara Scott Emmett

Barbara Scott Emmett is one of those rare authors whose prose is so superb that I enjoy every sentence, and at the same time as I want to get to the end to find out what happens, I don't want it to end because the pleasure of reading her writing is just so good. In this book, Dog Leap Stairs, set in the fifties, Emmett writes in first person point of view as Monica. From the begining she is portrayed as a woman with two sides, one a normal woman of the times, the other, someone with a dark secret. At the begining it's not clear exactly what that secret is. Murders, we hear in passing conversation with her friend Jan, are taking place in the area of Dog Leap Stairs, a place known to be frequented by prostitutes. But is this Monica's secret? We discover that Monica does visit that area and get's a thrill from doing so, but that doesn't mean she's a prostitute or a murderer. Or does it? The mystery unravels as the story progresses and we find out about Monica's history, but her dark … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 5 stars, mystery, Reviews Tagged With: crime fiction, historical fiction, mystery

Interview with historical mystery writer Robert L. Gold

June 20, 2017 by Tahlia Newland

Interview with historical mystery writer Robert L. Gold

Hi Robert, thanks for talking to me. First up, what kind of books do you write? Historical murder mysteries. I’ve written a three-book Colonial City Mystery Series:  Dead to Rights set in Savannah, Cut of the Cross set in St. Augustine and Dead and Gone set in New Orleans. The first two books are published, the third is scheduled to be published this spring by Marcinson Press.   That's a great genre, and I see from an Amazon review that you're very good at the history aspect because you've taught history for a long time. Tell us a bit about yourself. I’m a retired professor of Latin American history. I’ve written historical articles and books for most of my adult life, with Spanish Florida being the focus of most of my writing. As far as historical writing chops, in St. Augustine, Florida, I wrote a popular newspaper column, Essays from El Dorado, a historical script for sightseeing train guides, and the story of the town’s 450-year history provided to millions of visiting … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Author Interviews Tagged With: historical fiction

Author Interview with Chris Longmuir

February 24, 2017 by Tahlia Newland

Author Interview with Chris Longmuir

This week's author interview is with Chris Longmuir, another Awesome Indies Approved author. Hi Chris, tell me about your latest book Hi Tahlia, thanks for inviting me. My new book, Devil’s Porridge, published in August 2016, is a historical murder mystery, the second book in my Kirsty Campbell Mystery Series. Here’s the blurb: Pioneering policewoman, Kirsty Campbell, teams up with Belgian refugee, Beatrice Jacobs who is on a spying mission for MI5. The feisty pair set out to protect a young munitionette who has witnessed the aftermath of a crime and they become embroiled with saboteurs, Irish revolutionaries, a German spy, and a killer without a conscience, in the midst of a World War 1 munitions factory. I love the cover! Tell us a bit about yourself and why you write I’ve been writing professionally for about 26 years now, and with me it’s like an addiction, an itch I have to scratch. When I’m prevented from writing, which used to happen during my professional … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Author Interviews Tagged With: crime, historical fiction, mystery

Interview: Catherine Wilson, author of When Women Were Warriors

January 30, 2017 by Tahlia Newland

Interview: Catherine Wilson, author of When Women Were Warriors

Today I'm talking to Catherine Wilson, author of the historical fiction When Women Were Warriors Trilogy. Tell us a bit about yourself,  why you write, what makes your books unique, where your ideas come from and so on.    I am a 72-year-old white woman whose family has lived in the United States for almost 400 years. You would think we would have had all the benefits of the folks who got here soonest, but the men in my family died off at an incredible rate, leaving widows and orphans to struggle along as best they could. As a consequence, I am descended from a long line of very tough women, while the absence of men in our lives was a given. I grew up with my mother and my grandmother, my mother’s mother. As a war widow, my mother was not considered a ‘single mother’— a bad thing in the 1950s — and when I was teased (we call it bullying now) for not having a father, a loud “He was killed in the war!” would shut them up. Nobody dissed war heroes in those days. I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Author Interviews Tagged With: historical fiction, lesbian fiction

Interview with George Berger, Award-wininng Historical Fiction Author

January 23, 2017 by Tahlia Newland

Interview with George Berger, Award-wininng Historical Fiction Author

Today I'm chatting with George Burger an award-winning historical fiction author. Tell me about your latest book Titled FOUR NAILS, it’s the mostly true story of the greatest relationships between man and elephants in recorded history. Readers start in ancient India where tragedy strikes a young elephant trainer. Forced into a slave caravan that takes him through perilous lands and into a world at war, Ashoka befriends a special elephant. He and that elephant, Four Nails, together lead Hannibal's army over the Alps and down the back of Rome. Though a time of constant danger and uncertainty, Ashoka finds beauty and kindness while helping others enslaved for the pleasure of ruthless rulers. To survive this remarkable journey, the elephant trainer calls upon his unique ways with the great greys and a strength known only to those with nothing left to lose. Soon after FOUR NAILS was launched, The Huffington Post selected it as one of only four “Pack-Your-Suitcase-Reads” to take … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Author Interviews Tagged With: historical fiction

Brilliant, thrilling & heart-breaking: Corridor of Darkness: A Novel of Nazi Germany

December 20, 2013 by Tahlia Newland

I didn't plan on reading this book, because it's not really my kind of thing, but the author offered it to the Awesome Indies reviewers free in return for an honest review and when I heard that it was pretty good, I thought I'd take a look. Before I knew it, I was almost half way though the book and I didn't stop until the first bit of torture.  That reminded me why I don't like to read thrillers. And the brutality and prejudice growing in the German population reminded me why I don't like to read about the rise of Nazi Germany. I decided to stop reading at that point, knowing there would be worse to come, but the next day, I realised that I couldn’t bear not knowing what happens to the characters, so I picked the book up again and read until I'd finished. The fact that I did that is a tribute to the skill of the author. Given my general predjudice against thrillers, it wouldn't have taken much for me to set it aside, but I didn't. The book hooked me and didn't let go. Even at the end … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Reviews, Thriller Tagged With: 5 stars, Book Review, Corridor of Darkness, historical fiction, Nazi Germany, thriller

An elegant & moving historical romance: Salvation by Harriet Steel

October 5, 2013 by Tahlia Newland

Salvation is the moving story of woman, Meg, and a man, Tom, who lived in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the first. Meg, married off by her parents to a man she can never love, has a lover, her childhood sweetheart, Tom, but Ralph, an unsavoury character  finds out and bribes Tom to leave town. If he doesn't, Ralph will tell Meg's husband, a rich and powerful man, and neither Meg nor Tom's life will be worth living.   When Tom's employer is found murdered and Tom gone, the police assume that Tom committed the murder and so begins a tale that takes the reader on a vivid journey through life in 16th century London set against the backdrop of the threat of Spanish invasion. It's a story with many unpredictable turns, and so riveting that I truly couldn't put it down. Meg leaves her husband and, along with her maid, sets out to find Tom. Her journey takes her from a life of luxury to that of a washer woman, and many things in between. Tom ends up in prison and if it weren't … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 5 stars, Historical romance, Reviews Tagged With: 5 stars, best kindle books, Book Review, historical fiction, romance, top indie books

A lyrical multi-layered metaphysical mystery:Equilibrium by Evie Woolmore

June 9, 2013 by Tahlia Newland

Title: Equilibrium Author: Evie Woolmore Publisher: allonymbooks Genre: Historical fiction /metaphysical fiction Equilibrium is a lyrical multilayered mystery of spiritualism, love, betrayal and learning the distinction between our perception of a situation and the reality of it. It's also about revisiting the past in order to find a sense of peace and balance, not only for oneself, but also for others affected by one's ill-considered actions. There’s a sadness to the book, but also a healthy sense of cleansing and new beginnings. It starts slowly. At first, I wondered what was going on and where it was going, because the author dishes out information in tantalizingly brief snippets, but the elegant writing held me, and I soon became ensnared in the mystery of what happened to a young man who went  from England to south Africa during the Boer War and never returned. The method of unravelling his fate falls to a medium who, despite one bit of subterfuge in her 'act', seems to be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 5 stars, Historical fiction, Magical realism, metaphysical fiction, Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, England, Epiphany, Equilibrium by Evie Woolmore, Fantasy novels review blogs, historical fiction, London, magical realism, metaphysical fiction, River Thames

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Hi I’m Tahlia Newland

I can help you express yourself and share your story with the world.

 

Do you want to write a really good story and have it professionally polished and published?

As an editor, I help you be the best writer you can possibly be. I strengthen your voice, support your vision and can assist you all the way to publication.

On my blog you’ll find book reviews, writer’s tips, contemplative articles on meditation and working with your mind, and occaisonally pictures of my Burmese cats.

If you’re interested mostly in my contemplative articles then  Sign up to the Living in Peace & Clarity Newsletter to get those articles delivered by email. And check out the resources on my Living in Peace and Clarity Page.

I do a lot of community work involving blogging and general support for Buddhist students processing revelations of abuse in their spiritual communities.  Please consider supporting me to continue this work.

Occiasonally, when inspired and not too busy with community work, I make masks.

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Book reviews – sci fi, fantasy, literary fiction, Buddhist fiction and related non-fiction

Fantasy Book Review: The High Priestess by Val Tobin

Fantasy Book Review: The High Priestess by Val Tobin

The High Priestess: Persephone’s Return is the third book in Val Tobin’s Tales from the Unmasqued World Series, and in it she deepens and expands the stories from the previous two book. The book has two central story arcs based around characters we’ve met before. One arc follows Kelsey (a human) who is with Josh […]

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Renovated Website & Cute Cat Series

Renovated Website & Cute Cat Series

Yesterday I did a photoshoot for my renovated website. Take a look around, particulary at the home page (Click on my name at the top to go there). It’s designed for editing clients with my books secondary because I need to focus on the part of this publishing business that actually earns me more than […]

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Seven of my novels have an Awesome Indies Seal of Excellence

Four of my books earned BRAG Medallions

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