Book Shelf

Our Face Book and new Blog

2012-02-03T05:02:00.000-08:00

Here is some links to where we are now....we know a few of you have not joined us and we miss you

http://www.facebook.com/PageCentral

http://no1bookshelf.wordpress.com/

Oh no!!

2011-12-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

On Friday night (9th Dec 2011) after 2 years, Facebook took our page away, with no bye or leave. We have had no explanation other than saying we we're spamming. We dont think we did but alas we have no way of getting the group back :(

But we have come bouncing back with a new page and now need your help!
We had well over 2,000 friends and we would like to find you all again, so please like the page and get your mate to as well. Soon we will grow again and have all the friends back we had before :) Book-shelf on FaceBook Book-shelf on Twitter

New and exciting!!

2011-12-04T04:19:00.001-08:00

We have a new page which is where we will post new and exciting work! Some of which has never seen the light of day and we want your opinion on it...yes love it or hate it, we want to know!

We also want to find new authors that could be good enough to have their work in all book stores. What we don't want is a million manuscripts in our post box though. Every month we will have a new sample of work which you can vote on, we will also be mailing publishers and asking them to give their view. This could be the way to change the publishing world and the public have a voice on what gets published, so make sure your voice is heard :)

Bright lights in the Dark Nights

2011-11-30T13:29:00.001-08:00

We we're given an award from the lovely Lynda Renham Cook, can you imagine how good that makes us feel?? No, well it makes us very very happy. It actually means that someone reads this blog!

Lynda is a lovely lady who writes fantastic books that i can not recommend enough, they really are that good. They have the laugh out loud factor that we all need when the sun is taking its holiday and the cold is here.

Make sure you visit Lynda by clicking on her name above...and buy her books on Amazon, you wont regret it.

Now this award has a few rules....

Here’s the rules:
1. Award your top 6 bloggers who have commented the most.
2. Be thankful.
3. You cannot award someone who has already been awarded. And you cannot give the award back to me.
4. Don’t forget to tell the bloggers you’ve awarded.
5. If you don’t want to pass on this award, that’s okay too. Just admire it.
6. Link back to the person from which you received it.
The Reader Appreciation Award goes to:

So we have decided to give the same award to .... drum roll please...

Suzie Tullett

Ali McNamara

SaysSara

We love these sites...we would also like to award Lynda, but that's against the rules, so we say a huge thank you to her instead...any thank you to you for reading the things i write :) xx

Winter Blues

2011-11-27T06:44:00.001-08:00

We met up with the lovely Ali McNamara on Saturday in Oxford. It was lovely chatting to Ali, who was there to sign books and promote her new novel. You can read all about it on our interviews page .

We are also trying to think what to do at Christmas. We would like to explore New York but I think that must wait at least another year, while we wait for that winning lottery ticket. Personally I am waiting for Santa to bring my Kindle this year or see if he miss placed that again.

However you are getting ready for the biggest event of the year, we would like to hear all about it. There is may ways you can talk to us.... at the bottom of this comment, Facebook, twitter or at our email (book-shelf@hotmail.co.uk). We love hearing from you and look forward to hearing your tales of getting ready for Christmas :)

A Nice Change

2011-11-18T07:48:00.001-08:00

We have been changing a few things on the blog and hope you like them. Please let us know if this makes it easier for you to have your say.

Firstly we have changed the review page. Now you should be able to comment on every review and let us know if you agree on our thoughts.

Secondly we have a special page coming which is for interviews and special features. Coming up soon we will have a feature on Irish authors that we hope you will enjoy.

Most of all we want you to join in with our reviewing and interaction with authors and publishers. Book-shelf was made for you and we value you and your thoughts, so dont be shy give us a try :D

Second Summer

2011-10-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

Is this a second summer we seem to be having? If it is or isn't, we are certainly enjoying it and making the most of it out side. With lots of new books out and a few new authors about we would like to share the good weather and give you a copy of Milly Johnson's 'Autumn Crush' which was released this week

To get the book just answer this simple question 'How many books has Milly had published'? The answer can be found on her blog

http://daftoldbag.blogspot.com/

The winner will be picked out of a hat by a 3rd party on Friday 7th October. Send your entries to book-shelf@hotmail.co.uk

Autumn colours brighten our day xx

2011-09-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

Autumn has hit us hard and we should ask the question of where has summer gone? was it ever here? I seem to remember reading out in the sun and I certainly have tan lines on my feet so I guess we did have a summer, but I am ready for next summer. But while autumn is here why not relax out of the rain and pick up a book or two. There is certainly some wonderful titles to pick from. We are reading some that we have picked and letting you know what we think on our review page. So if your not sure what to get, check out what we have been reading.

The competition for the signed Mary O'Sullivan books is really hotting up. Check out the competition page for your chance to win them.

Also this month we are having a new book of the month and might get to interview that author...who would you like to see on our Book of the month page??

We have 2 book-shelf pages on Face Book, as the friends on the original page is racing up and there is a limit of 5000. We don't want to turn anyone away so made a like page here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Book-shelf/124731137613938 we hope it soon fills up with some of our wonderful friends. As we hope more of you will join us on our blog xx

Lynda Renham: Welcome

2011-09-07T03:19:00.000-07:00

Lynda Renham: Welcome: Hey, Thanks for visiting. Please view this web page like a cake shop with lots of things to taste and check out. If you hav...

Book of the month!

2011-08-23T03:06:00.000-07:00

Hotdogs under the Dakota – Johannes Gouws

In South Africa in the 1950’s. A young boy struggles to realise his individuality while dealing with an abusive grandfather and a wayward mother. Set against the background of an emerging Apartheid with its vicious consequences, this gripping story of cruelty, duplicity, love and ultimately murder keeps the reader enthralled.

This book does exactly what it says on the cover; it does keep the reader enthralled. I knew it was going to be an emotional read as all the ingredients were there, Apartheid, abusive family etc. It is rather like seeing a car accident you don’t want to look but your morbid curiosity gets the better of you and yes the emotional roller-coaster is well worth it as reading this book is more of an experience than just a good read.

Interview

Your characters have a lot of depth to them, are they bbased on real people?
Did you develop a plan of your story or did you just write what came to you?
How did you manage to write about Petie's pain and confusion with such clarity?

1. Characters;

My writing is character based rather than plot based. I spend much time before I start writing thinking about my characters. I make notes on "character cards;" age, height, weight, hair and eye colour, etc., likes, dislikes, and so on. But in addition to the card, I "get to know" each character in my head until I can picture him/her and hear their voices. Now, this process calls on knowledge and observations of countless people I have seen and met, and some specific characteristics are certainly drawn from real people. But generally, my characters are composites of many. On the subject of character, I believe (for a writer) environment and character interact. The one cannot exist without the other. Imagine Granddad in my story and background as a City Banker and you will see what I mean.

2. Plan/plot;

It started with an idea. A splash of abuse cases appeared in the press, and I began to think about the children involved in cases where the abuser is a close relative. Someone the child trusts and looks to for love. To me, the starkest issue was the rupture of trust, and the demolition of self worth a child suffers in these circumstances. Although the consequences of abuse are well documented, I wanted to try and understand the child's journey. There are many books on sale about abused children, graphically descriptive, and almost always written by people who had fist hand experience. What could I hope to contribute that these unfortunate beings had not already done?

Well, that's the advantage of fiction; I would be an observer, able to peek into the heart of every character, and hopefully, lay bare the emotional interplay that causes such damage. Its a downbeat subject, so my character would be someone the reader would root for, not as a victim, but as a fighter, a cheeky survivor. This was the gist of my story.

That gave me my arc, showing a child overcome his circumstances through strength of character. I came across this quote that seemed to fit exactly what I wanted to say about Petie.

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle". Attributed to Plato Ref:..Wikihow.

Petie was certainly fighting a hard battle, and I would show how he grows to meet his challenge.

I drew up a "growth" plan for Petie, which I have to admit I altered several times during the writing. Some of the scenes "just happened" on their own, the characters taking the lead. Even after the second draft I was still moving chapters around. Thank goodness for Cut & Paste.

This is the result, as outlined by the blurb;

The unspoken battle we all face is how to get through life with the least pain. Petie, the character in Hot dogs under The Dakota, sets about this challenge by trying to manage the people around him to improve his lot. When this fails, he turns to witchcraft and then religion, but his problems remain unresolved. Finally, he looks to himself, realizing the answer to coping with life lies within himself.

3. How did I capture Petie's anguish?

To prepare for my writing, I attended our local Crown Court, sitting in the public gallery with my notebook, witnessing cases of abuse prosecution. It was into my third day at court - after a day's gruelling witness testimony by a twelve year old girl against her own father - that I realised what I had let myself in for; I went home that night and threw my notes in the bin. I was sick to my stomach. It took several days for me to pick up the reins again. Writing about Petie's pain and confusion is without doubt the most difficult I have ever tackled. I did not want to sensationalise, cheapen, or God forbid, titillate some warped mind out there. So, graphic descriptions were out of the question. But how to express love to an abuser without sounding hypocritical remained a challenge. Many hours of wrestling with words ensued. The result is a book of which I am enormously proud. It was written from the heart, and I hope it will touch the hearts of those who read it.

Johannes (Laddie) Gouws.

Book of the month!

2011-03-07T10:50:00.000-08:00

Willow and Holly are identical twins. They are everything to each other. Holly calls Willow her rock, her soul mate, her other half. And Willow feels the same about Holly. They are alike in every respect except one – Willow is afraid on the inside. And all because of a secret – one that binds the sisters closely together and yet has meant their adult lives have taken two very different paths.

Willow often feels there are large parts of her missing, qualities she only knows she’s lacking because she sees them in her sister. For a very long time Willow has felt separated from Holly by one terrible moment in time – a moment that meant Willow’s life was never the same again. And when the past catches up with her, Willow realises it’s finally time for her to face her fears, and – with Holly’s help – learn to laugh out loud once more…

I really don’t know what to write here as I want to write a lot about this book, but feel it would give 2 much away. I sat and read it without reading much about it, so was pleasantly surprised by the touch of magic in the book. The characters make you fall in love with them instantly and i am sure I will think about Willow and Chloe for a long time. The stories Rowan write are always good but this one is touching on being in comparison with Cecelia Ahern! The mystery and the subjects that are touched in this book will be felt by every one that reads the book. I think there is a touch of Willow in all of us; I know I certainly connected with the character a lot, for some of her hang ups.

I won’t write much else except to say it’s a brilliant story, without all the romance set in some novels and loads of drama. I will certainly be buying it for a couple of my friends that I know will love it.

About the Author

Rowan Coleman grew up in Hertfordshire secretly longing to be a writer despite battling with dyslexia. After graduating from university she worked in bookselling and publishing for seven years before winning Company Magazine Young Writer of the Year in 2001. Her first novel ‘Growing Up Twice’ was published in 2002.

Rowan has gone on to write eight novels for women including the bestseller ‘The Accidental Mother, The Baby Group’ and ‘The Accidental Wife‘ and eight novels for children and teens including the paranormal adventure novels Nearly Departed and Immortal Remains under the name Rook Hasting. Her books are published around the world. She now lives in Hertfordshire with her family.