This week's Friday Free Web fiction is a video written and produced by Rose of Velvet Wings Design. It's 3 mins long and makes an important point. If you'd like to read (or see) more Friday Free Web Fiction, sign up to receive blog posts by email - eyes right for the sign up box. … [Read more...]
Scrawling: A new book by Jonathan Gould that you simply must read.
I've always liked Jonathan Gould's books. He has a unique quirky kind of style that is both humorous and insightful. This is the best of the Neville books so far. It's magical realism in that the whole thing is an extended metaphor. Neville is drowning in a sea of words. He is buffeted by words, swamped by words and hit by torrents of words. He meets word fish, snarks and carps and groupers, amongst others. Their words have an effect on him and on their surroundings. Why is the carp so dingy compared to the other word fish? Because he's made out of words that belittle and carp on the negative. Colourful words create coral in this language metaphor. Wispy words wave like fern fronds and so on. But as time goes on, Neville discovers that he too is turning into words. He meets a wermaid who tells him that the word world is taking over the real world. She doesn't see that as a problem until Neville points out that words only have meaning because they relate to something real in the real … [Read more...]
Moving & thought-provoking women’s fiction: ‘The Widows To Do List’ by Stephanie Zia
The Widows To Do List is a moving, thought-provoking and occasionally funny story about a recently widowed woman in her fifties as she tries to come to terms with her new status. Sally comes across as very real, which makes her easy to relate to. She mothered two children--now grown and left home--and loved her husband, but an accident took him away and left her grief stricken. The majority of the story takes place one year after Dom's death. Sally is managing by making a list of things to achieve, as suggested by a book on being a widow, and slowly working towards achieving each thing on the list. But Sally's old friend Ramone, thinks the list is ridiculous and suggests some alternatives, one is to have sex as soon as possible, because a widow, having been with one man for so long, is somewhat like a virgin. It's so long since she dated anyone that it's like starting at the beginning again. Sally doesn't like being alone, but she doesn't want to date anyone either until someone … [Read more...]
Review: Dumpiter by David Fletcher
Title: Dumpiter Author: David Fletcher Publisher: Troubador Publishing / Matador Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy Dumpiter is a humorous science fiction/fantasy novel reminiscent of David Moresses's Warden Series and Jonathon Gould's Magnus Opum. As in those novels we have a naive hero with a good heart but little else in the way of heroic skills. Through a series of events he manages to blunder his way into the right place at the right time, and with an unlikely band of friends save the day. In this instance, our hero is an ex accountant names Renton, who sets off on a new occupation in the field of body paint with the hope of gaining more self confidence and a better chance at encounters of the amorous kind. On a trip to purchase body paint for a film, he stumbles upon a very nasty plot, the details of which we only discover as the story progresses. This mystery keeps the story ticking along as does the delightful cast of characters and he often absurd situations our hero finds … [Read more...]
Review: Year Zero by Rob Reid
Title: Year Zero Author: Rob Reid Publisher: Random House Genre: Humour Year Zero is the silliest and probably the funniest book I have ever read. Many books bring a chuckle, but this one had me laughing aloud. But, like the best stories, it also makes a statement; in this case it’s the absurdity of the copyright laws of the music industry and the lawyers who gain from it. You’ll also find an interesting take on the Windows operating system. If this book isn’t sponsored by Macintosh, it should be. If this doesn’t intrigue you enough to read it, then consider the possibilities if the universe could fold back on itself. At a wrinkle beings from a planet light years away if you took the long route could cross in a matter of minutes or hours. This is what allows our hero Nick Carter to meet a wealth of aliens. One race looks like a tennis ball with ten legs, another looks like a vacuum cleaner, and the plurrhs are so boring and insignificant that you have to concentrate very hard when … [Read more...]
Review: Growing Disenchantments by K. D. Berry
In Celebration of Indie Excellence today, I have a review of Awesome Indies author, K.D. Berry's latest book. Kevin (the K half of the K.D Berry writing team) wrote a review of 'You Can't Shatter Me' which you can read here. Title: Growing Disenchantments Author: K. D. Berry Website: http://www.kdberry.com Publisher: Bluewood Publishing Genre: Young adult humorous fantasy Growing Disenchantments is the second delightful story K. D. Berry has set in the land of King Credos. Dragons Away, which I enjoyed very much, was the first. In this book, we meet King Credos, Dewdrop, the illusionist, and the head of security again, but the main characters, a thief and a sorcerer, are new. K.D. Berry’s humorous style rides on a plethora of puns and rather silly but charming characters. It’s a good read if you’re looking for something light, and is perfect for teens and older children. Blurb: Just when he'd been looking forward to another quiet night delving into mind-bending arcane lore and … [Read more...]
A Novella with a Heart – interview
For our Celebration of Indie Excellence today, author Juliet Madison is hosting an interview with me about my book. You can read it on her blog here. Juliet Madison is a writer of humorous and heart-warming women's fiction, embracing life, love, and magical new beginnings. She lives on the south coast of NSW, Australia, (close to me) where she works from home and homeschools her son. Juliet has written several short stories and three full length manuscripts, which you can read about here. She has a blog where she shares author interviews, competitions, and marketing tips for authors, and can also be found on Twitter and Facebook. … [Read more...]
