GUEST POST / Andrew Joyce

Yellow Hair documents the injustices done to the Sioux Nation from their first treaty with the United States in 1805 through Wounded Knee in 1890. Every death, murder, battle, and outrage written about actually took place. 

The historical figures that play a role in this fact-based tale of fiction were real people and the author uses their real names. Yellow Hair is an epic tale of adventure, family, love, and hate that spans most of the 19^th century. This is American history.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew Joyce left high school at seventeen to hitchhike throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico. He wouldn’t return from his journey until decades later when he decided to become a writer. Joyce has written five books, including a two-volume collection of one hundred and fifty short stories comprised of his hitching adventures called BEDTIME STORIES FOR GROWN-UPS (as yet unpublished), and his latest novel, YELLOW HAIR. He now lives aboard a boat in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his dog, Danny, where he is busy working on his next book, tentatively entitled, MICK REILLY.

GUEST POST

My name is Andrew Joyce and I write books for a living. Debra has been kind enough to allow me a little space on her blog to talk about my latest, Yellow Hair.

Yellow Hair documents the injustices done to the Sioux Nation from their first treaty with the United States in 1805 through Wounded Knee in 1890. Every death, murder, battle, and outrage depicted actually took place—from the first to the last. The historical figures that play a role in my story were real people and I used their real names. I conjured up my protagonist only to weave together the various events conveyed in my fact-based tale of fiction. Yellow Hair is an epic tale of adventure, family, love, and hate that spans most of the 19^th century. It is American history.

The inspiration for the book came to me when I was reading a short article and it made reference to the Great Sioux Uprising of 1862. It also mentioned that the outcome involved the largest mass execution in the history of the United States. That piqued my interest.

When I started my research into the incident, one thing led to another and before I knew it, I was documenting the entire history of the Sioux, who are also known as the Dakota, vis-à-vis the relationship between them and the United States.

Because the book exists only because I read the phrase, “the largest mass execution in the history of the United States,” I’ll tell you a little about that. What follows is an extremely abbreviated version of events.

The Dakota signed their first treaty with the United States in 1805 when they sold a small portion of their land to the Americans for the purpose of building forts. It was right after the Louisiana Purchase and President Jefferson wanted a presence in the West. At the time, “the West” was anything on the western side of the Mississippi River.

In the treaty of 1805, the Dakota sold 100,000 acres to the Americans. The agreed-upon price was $2.00 per acre. But when the treaty came up before the Senate for ratification, the amount was changed to two cents per acre. That was to be a precursor for all future treaties with the Americans. There were subsequent treaties in 1815, 1825, 1832, 1837, and 1851, and basically the same thing happened with all those treaties.

In 1837, the Americans wanted an additional five million acres of Dakota land. Knowing it would be a hard sell after the way they failed to live up to the letter or spirit of the previous treaties, the government brought twenty-six Dakota chiefs to Washington to show them the might and majesty that was The United States of America.

The government proposed paying one million dollars for the acreage in installments over a twenty-year period. Part of the payment was to be in the form of farm equipment, medicine, and livestock. Intimidated, the Indians signed the treaty and went home. The United States immediately laid claim to the lands—the first payment did not arrive for a year.

The significance of the 1837 treaty lies in the fact that it was the first time “traders” were allowed to lay claim to the Indians’ payments without any proof that money was owed . . . and without consulting the Indians. Monies were subtracted from the imbursements and paid directly to the traders.

By 1851, the Americans wanted to purchase all of the Dakota’s remaining lands—twenty-five million acres. The Sioux did not want to sell, but were forced to do so with threats that the army could be sent in to take the land from them at the point of a gun if they refused the American’s offer.

“If we sell our land, where will we live?” asked the Dakota chief.

“We will set aside land for the Dakota only. It is called a reservation and it will be along both banks of the Minnesota River, twenty miles wide, ten on each side and seventy miles long. It will be yours until the grasses no longer grow,” answered the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

The Dakota were offered six cents an acre for land that was worth at least a dollar an acre. The payment would be stretched out over a twenty year period and was to be made in the form of gold coins. One year later, in 1852, the Americans took half the reservation, the seventy miles on the north side of the river. The Dakota were now reduced from a nation of fierce, independent people to a people dependent on hand-outs from the ones who stole not only their land, but also their dignity.

The Dakota were forced to buy their food from the traders who ran trading posts at the Indian Agency the U.S. Government had set up on the reservation. All year long the Dakota would charge what they needed. When the yearly payment for their land arrived, the traders would take what they said was owed them. Subsequently, there was very little gold left for the Dakota.

By 1862, the Dakota were starving. That year’s payment was months late in arriving because of the Civil War. The traders were afraid that because of the war there would be no payment that year and cut off the Dakota’s credit. The Indian Agent had the power to force the traders to release some of the food stocks, but refused when asked to do so by the Dakota.

After they had eaten their ponies and dogs, and their babies cried out in the night from hunger, the Dakota went to war against the United States of America.

They attacked the agency first and liberated the food stock from the warehouse, killing many white people who lived there. Then bands of braves set out to loot the farms in the surrounding countryside.

Many whites were killed in the ensuing weeks. However, not all of the Dakota went to war. Many stayed on the reservation and did not pick up arms against their white neighbors. Some saved the lives of white settlers. Still, over 700 hundred whites lost their lives before the rebellion was put down.

When the dust settled, all of the Dakota—including women and children, and those people who had saved settlers’ lives—were made prisoners of war.

Three hundred and ninety-six men were singled out to stand trial before a military commission. They were each tried separately in trials that lasted only minutes. In the end, three hundred and three men were sentenced to death.

Even though he was occupied with the war, President Lincoln got involved. He reviewed all three hundred and three cases and pardoned all but thirty-eight of the prisoners.

On a gray and overcast December morning in 1862, the scaffold stood high. Thirty-eight nooses hung from its crossbeams. The mechanism for springing the thirty-eight trap doors had been tested and retested until it worked perfectly. At exactly noon, a signal was given, a lever pulled, and the largest mass execution to ever take place in the United States of America became part of our history.

Book Review / Apprentice in Death by JD Robb

Lieutenant Eve Dallas returns in a fast-paced new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author J. D. Robb.
 
Nature versus nurture...
 
The shots came quickly, silently, and with deadly accuracy. Within seconds, three people were dead at Central Park’s ice skating rink. The victims: a talented young skater, a doctor, and a teacher. As random as random can be.

Eve Dallas has seen a lot of killers during her time with the NYPSD, but never one like this. After reviewing security videos, it becomes clear that the victims were killed by a sniper firing a tactical laser rifle, who could have been miles away when the trigger was pulled. And though the locations where the shooter could have set up seem endless, the list of people with that particular skill set is finite: police, military, professional killer.

Eve’s husband, Roarke, has unlimited resources—and genius—at his disposal. And when his computer program leads Eve to the location of the sniper, she learns a shocking fact: There were two—one older, one younger. Someone is being trained by an expert in the science of killing, and they have an agenda. Central Park was just a warm-up. And as another sniper attack shakes the city to its core, Eve realizes that though we’re all shaped by the people around us, there are those who are just born evil...

Published:     6th September 2016
Publisher:  Piatkus
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 43, Apprentice in Death
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...  Despite breaking my cardinal rule over and over again with this series where I always start a series with the first book and never start half way through, this is a series you can definitely dip in and out of anywhere you want.  As with the previous two books in this series, I just loved dipping back into the world of Lieutenant Eve Dallas and following her as she investigates the murder of, this time, many people.  There's a sniper lose and its a race against time to find out who it is before he or she kills again.  What I love the most is actually the fact that we have the same characters popping in and out of each story so we get to know them but there is a different investigation with each book.  I loved the interactions between the characters, you can sense the history with some and the newness in others.

One of these days I will start from book 1 and read all of them but since this is number 43 in the series, I fear it may take me some time!!

Blog Tour Author Interview / M J Carter

Investigative team Blake and Avery find themselves entangled in a case involving political conflicts, personal vendettas, and England s first celebrity chef. 

London, 1842. Captain William Avery is persuaded to investigate a mysterious and horrible death at the Reform, London s newest and grandest gentleman s club a death the club is desperate to hush up. What he soon discovers is a web of rivalries and hatreds, both personal and political, simmering behind the club s handsome facade. 

At the center is its resident genius, Alexis Soyer, the Napoleon of food, a chef whose culinary brilliance is matched only by his talent for self-publicity. 


But Avery is distracted, for where is his mentor and partner in crime Jeremiah Blake? And what if this first death is only a dress rehearsal for something far more sinister?

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. When and why did you first start writing historical crime novels? And how did you first come up with your detective duo Blake and Avery?

I started thinking about really doing it in about 2010/11. I’d written two massive non-fiction history tomes and taken 15 years to do it (and have two kids). I just wasn’t ready to dive back into another massive project where I had to check the facts for every half-sentence. I’d been brooding over an idea for a lone misanthropic, working-class detective in early Victorian England for years—the 1840s is a fascinating decade, full of change and turmoil (horses to railways, letter to telegraph), with lots of parallels with now. I wanted the pleasure of using my history and being able to just make things up.

So I had Blake. Avery emerged from structural need. I needed a voice to narrate the story. A younger clueless narrator worked well: he hides my ignorance and he tells as much of the story as he knows —the reader knows what he knows. But actually he really tripped from the pen as it were. He just came really easily, whereas my lovely Blake, so taciturn and tricky, was much harder.

2. How did you come up with the idea behind The Devil’s Feast? Did you know who committed the crime from the start?

I’m probably a bit different from many crime writers in that often what takes my fancy first is a set-up or a setting rather than a specific crime. Maybe that’s a terrible admission, but I think one of the best and most interesting things about crime fiction is that it can contain so many things: domestic psychological thrillers, books that focus on unsettling brutal violence, characters with extraordinary back stories and also —the thing that before I started writing the things, I reckoned I could do—creating a fascinating world and showing how it works—and doesn’t. Think of Carl Hiaasen’s exotic and corrupt Miami, or Rebus’s dark, history-haunted Edinburgh, or C. J. Sansom’s terrifying totalitarian Tudor court.

My touch paper for this book was reading about this real-life genius French chef Alexis Soyer. He was the first real celebrity chef, half-Heston Blumenthal, half-Jamie Oliver, crazily flamboyant and a shameless and often hilarious self-publicist, while also being an amazing logistician and inventor— in fact he seems startling modern to me in many ways. He was crazily ambitious and dreadfully sycophantic to the aristocracy, but at a time of terrible famines and starvation among the British poor, he campaigned and worked incredibly hard to improve the diet of the poor. I thought, I have to write about this guy and also the two worlds he crossed: the rich decadent moneyed Victorian London, and those starving at the bottom. And I liked the idea of food as a weapon.

As for whodunit, I always start out with an idea – though it’s never properly worked out. I can’t seem to commit to an ending until I absolutely have to. I often write two drafts without actually writing the ending —out of sort of cowardice. It feels too hard, even though I know what’s supposed to happen. Then when I do finally force myself to write it, at the last minute, I think, oh it’s not quite right and then I have to go back and either tighten it all up, or—as happened with my previous book—actually decide on another murderer! (And that’s something I haven’t admitted to anyone before.)

3. What is the hardest part of the writing historical crime fiction for you?

The plot. Plot doesn’t come naturally to me. It comes in annoying bits, sometimes I feel I have to pull it out of my head practically. An idea comes for a turn or a twist and then I’m pathetically grateful! The history is like my hammock, my safety net. I really feel perfectly comfortable in it —I feel I can conjure a past world, I know how to do it (maybe too much), but it remains that it is the background, and the set-up, and the plot has to be the foreground. Each time I start another book I think, Christ! How did I manage it last time?

4. Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now? Are there any books that have inspired The Devil’s Feast?

I do read a lot, but when I’m writing I often feel I should be reading non-fiction stuff connected with the period to add to the layering of world and to help give me ideas to further the plot. So with The Devil’s Feast it was biographies of Soyer, 19^th century cookbooks, and books about 19^th century food. One of the best things I read was Bee Wilson’s book, Swindled, about the history of food scares and food adulteration—which is a long one, but was a really big issue in Victorian England, and also, of course, has lots of parallels now. Also I’m a great fan of Judith Flanders’ The Victorian City —full of fabulous, exotic, often ghastly, details. Just now I’m reading Dickens’ American Notes about his trip to America in 1842, for my next Blake and Avery—god, he is just the best journalist.

Over the summer I got to let my hair down a bit. I’d recommend Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent —another Victorian-set novel. Of thrillers I’m a great fan of Antonia Hodgson’s 18^th century thrillers.

5. What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write?

I work Monday to Friday. I get my kids up for school, they leave the house about 7.45, then I dog-basket for a bit, listen to radio while tidying the kitchen, washing-up, plumping up sofa-cushions. I find creating a bit of external order gets me ready for my desk. I have a small study above the kitchen, midway through the house, and so everyone always feels entitled too look in on the way up or down. I always mean to be at it earlier than I actually manage — hopefully 9 but often later. When I’m writing, I sit at my computer relentlessly basically all day, just bleeding brain cells and thinking it should be easier. My husband is always at me to take more breaks, to do it differently, but I can’t seem to.

I spend much too much time looking at sofas and shoes and twitter (I’m no good at Facebook), it’s all a distraction. I usually stop about 5 when my kids get home.

6. Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?

Oh blimey! Keep practising. Always aim first for clarity, work to make your meaning as clear as possible— it’s a good way of making sure you know what you’re trying to say too. Start plain, embroidery comes later, if it’s needed. Be brutal about cutting out the boring bits, and too many adjectives and adverbs. (I don’t always follow this advice.)

Book Review / The Day I Lost You by Fionnuala Kearney

THE DAY I LOST YOU WAS THE DAY I DISCOVERED I NEVER REALLY KNEW YOU

When Jess’s daughter, Anna, is reported lost in an avalanche, everything changes.

Jess’s first instinct is to protect Rose, Anna’s five-year-old daughter. But then she starts to uncover Anna’s other life - unearthing a secret that alters their whole world irrevocably . . 

THE DAY I LOST YOU WAS THE DAY YOU TORE OUR FAMILY APART   






Published:     22nd September 2016
Publisher:  Harper
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

MY REVIEW

What I liked about this story...  Oh, this story was good.  Really good.  Not having read a story from this author before, I wasn't sure what I was getting into but I just could not put this book down!  

The main character of this story I would say is Jess, the mother of Anna who disappeared in an avalanche while skiing abroad.  Anna has a daughter who Jess now takes care of.  This book just had great suspense as we follow Jess learning more and more about her daughter that she never knew before.  There is an explosive twist in this story that I have to admit I suspected but didn't know for sure until it was revealed.  It definitely turned the story around.  Although a heartbreaking story, it did have happy moments too; a great balance of the two.  

Author Interview / JA Schneider

A chilling psychological thriller about a woman caught between two men... 

Mari Gill wakes to horror in a strange apartment next to a murdered man, and can't remember the night before. Accused of murder, she feels torn between her husband, a successful defense attorney, and a mysterious, kind man who wants to help. Can she trust either of them - or even her friends? Detective Kerri Blasco battles her police bosses believing Mari is innocent...but is she?

1. If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?

Ira Levin (Rosemary’s Baby, The Boys From Brazil, Stepford Wives) Oh, how I re-read this amazing author – for his brevity, his astonishing ability to say so much – action & emotion - in few words. Plus, of course, his amazingly original concepts!

One of my most favorite, still-shocking, great scenes is in The Boys From Brazil, where Lieberman, the aging, sickly Nazi hunter, finally gets the chance to interview a female former wardress at Auschwitz, now in a German prison. His sister died at Auschwitz! He’s waiting, emotionally coming apart, for the woman’s lawyer to bring her from her cell…and finally, the door opens, and the lawyer leads out a small woman with “a disappointed mouth.” That’s it! The “disappointed mouth” gives the whole character – no need to describe her gray and bent, her drab uniform, surroundings etc. Imagine facing the end of your days with “a disappointed mouth.” Harrowing. The rest of that scene is beyond brilliant; ditto the rest of the book. Levin also works in humor in places where you won’t believe you’re laughing, like…that prison scene? Lieberman asks the wardress the birth date of her dead dog. Major plot point, also funny…

Other brilliant depictions are of Rosemary Woodhouse’s husband and oh so well-meaning “friends.” Years after I’ve read and re-read Rosemary’s Baby, every scene and gesture is so subtle, yet so shocking.

2. What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write?

I aim for noon to six. Mornings are for clearing the fogged brain, going through & answering email, reading news, etc. I write sprawled with my laptop & use Word on my MacBook Air. Love the keyboard, how it just zooms.

3. What is the hardest part of the writing for you?

The first draft. Starting each day with the damned proverbial blank page. I collect quotes by writers who give courage: David Baldacci’s “A writer is always terrified.” Tess Gerritsen’s “Do you have the guts to stay with it?” Stephen King’s “Flail away at the goddamn thing!!” Like that. It helps, most days.

4. When and why did you first start writing?

Wrote poems & short stories as a kid. Majored in French Literature, started writing stories imitating Stendahl’s The Red and The Black. Then worked for Newsweek, wrote news by day and fiction at night. Have always been scribbling away at something…

5. How did you come up with the idea for your book?

The idea for FEAR DREAMS came when I spent time with a close friend crying, desperate that she was losing her mind. She wasn’t (she’s okay), but I got to imagining a very bright, creative woman, whose life and whole psychology is threatened after trauma. Can she hold on? The story tells how even the most rational of us can end up doubting our sanity.

6. Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?

I’m a compulsive reader. Reading and re-reading old favorites, including Marathon Man, another all-time great thriller, by William Goldman (who wrote Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.) I do try to read “best sellers” of today, mostly psychological thrillers - but honestly, I feel that many are slow, bland; am still searching for any that have Levin’s intensity.

7. Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?

It it really, really hard. Accept that. Hugh Howey says it best: “Look at it as a marathon, not a sprint. My bestselling book was my eighth or ninth. As soon as it took off, the rest of my books took off with it. The idea that we can pub one title and it will catch on … your odds are better that you'll rope a unicorn.”

Also, see #3 above. Love and Luck to all…good luck roping your unicorn!!

Book Review / Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner

Spanning fifteen years of work, Everywhere I Look is a book full of unexpected moments, sudden shafts of light, piercing intuition, flashes of anger and incidental humour. It takes us from backstage at the ballet to the trial of a woman for the murder of her newborn baby. It moves effortlessly from the significance of moving house to the pleasure of re-reading Pride and Prejudice.

Everywhere I Look includes Garner's famous and controversial essay on the insults of age, her deeply moving tribute to her mother and extracts from her diaries, which have been part of her working life for as long as she has been a writer. Everywhere I Look glows with insight. It is filled with the wisdom of life.




Published:     29th March 2016
Publisher:  Text Publishing Company
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

MY REVIEW

What I liked about this book...  Oh this book was good....   I have to admit that I had not heard of this author before but I do love reading biographies and memoirs and this one just intrigued me.  I am so happy that I read this.  Helen's humorous wit throughout this book was intriguing to read.  This book is more about little snippets of Helen's life, written at the time but collated in this book.  I loved and appreciated her honesty in certain situations and took a lot out of this book in terms of reading about her experiences and opinions in life. 

What I didn't like about this book...  If I had to be picky I would have loved the book to have had some sort of time line to it rather than jumping from one year to the next and then back a couple of years and then forward.  I think that says more about me than the actual book itself.  I am just one of those people who likes things in order and enjoys things more when they are like that.  But that is just me being picky, I enjoyed this book immensely and would not hesitate to recommend this to everyone!

In summary... 

 

Book Review / The Ice Beneath Her by Camilla Grebe

For fans of Jo Nesbo and The Bridge, The Ice Beneath Her is a gripping and deeply disturbing story about love, betrayal and obsession that is impossible to put down. Fast-paced and peopled with compelling characters, it surprises at every turn as it hurtles towards an unforgettable ending with a twist you really won't see coming . . .

A young woman is found beheaded in an infamous business tycoon's marble-lined hallway.

The businessman, scandal-ridden CEO of the retail chain Clothes & More, is missing without a trace.

But who is the dead woman? And who is the brutal killer who wielded the machete?

Rewind two months earlier to meet Emma Bohman, a sales assistant for Clothes & More, whose life is turned upside down by a chance encounter with Jesper Orre. Insisting that their love affair is kept secret, he shakes Emma's world a second time when he suddenly leaves her with no explanation.

As frightening things begin to happen to Emma, she suspects Jesper is responsible. But why does he want to hurt her? And how far would he go to silence his secret lover?

Published:     27th December 2016
Publisher:  Ballantine Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher

MY REVIEW

What I liked about this story...  In this story we follow a few characters but the one that I particularly enjoyed the most was the story of Emma Bohman.  We see her at the beginning working at Clothes & Moore, as a sales assistant, where she meets Jesper Orre; a man who has his own secrets.  From that chance meeting they start a secret affair and what follows from there are a series of events that made the story for me.  I loved the suspense build up from this character perspective.

What I didn't like about this story...  Unfortunately, for me, apart from the above, the story really lost my interest, honestly speaking.  I really loved following the story of Emma and finding out what happened next but with the addition of other character's perspectives and their own stories I just didn't find them as interesting as her story.  With this lack of interest I have to say that I was very tempted to skip those chapters just to get to the 'Emma parts'.  I didn't in the end skip parts but did wish that those parts were a bit more in pace with the story.   It was more that with the other character's parts in this story it felt there was too much description and individual character back story and not enough suspense or action that I had thought it would have.  

Book Review / Sunrise Crossing by Jodi Thomas

Return to peaceful Crossroads, Texas, where community comes first and love thrives in the unlikeliest places… 

Yancy Grey is slowly putting his life back together after serving time for petty theft. As he rebuilds an old house, he finally has a sense of stability, but he can't stop thinking of himself as just an ex-con. Until one night, he finds a mysterious dark-haired beauty hiding in his loft. But who is she, and what secret is she protecting?

The art gallery Parker Lacey manages is her life—she has no time for friends, and certainly not lovers. But when her star artist begs Parker for help, she finds herself in a pickup truck, headed for the sleepy town of Crossroads. A truck driven by a strong, silent cowboy…

Gabe Snow has been a drifter since he left Crossroads at seventeen after a violent incident. When he accepts a job in his hometown, he'll have to decide whether he can put the worst night of his life behind him and build a future in the community that raised him.

Published:     30th August 2016
Publisher:  HQN Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 4, Ransom Canyon
Source:  Owned

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...  I cannot believe this is the last book in the Ransom Canyon (that's all that is listed on Goodreads at the moment so I am not sure if there will be more in the future but I hope there will be.....).  I have loved this series so much I can't believe it has now come to an end :-(  As with the other books, this story follows three characters.

First there is Yancy Grey, who has featured in previous stories as mostly a side character but in this book he is a main character.  We follow him settling down and meeting a mysterious lady who is hiding in a loft behind a house he is renovating for himself.  Not only is this story about that encounter and what happens next but we discover more about Yancy's family in the past and, for me, that was the best part of this story.

Next we follow Parker Lacy who heads up an art gallery.  We follow her a she protects a certain person who is in danger by letting her stay at her country house, which so happens to be in Ransom Canyon.  To make sure this person is ok, she leaves the art gallery and travels to Ransom Canyon to help her friend.  Not only is Parker's story all about that but she also meets a cowboy who interests her...  Loved both aspects of Parker's story.

Finally we have Gabe Snow.  I won't go into too much detail of Gabe's story but let's just say that his story was the most interesting to me.

What a fantastic story and an amazing end to the Ransom Canyon series (as far as I know it).  If you love romance stories this is definitely a story to pick up and get swept away with.



 

Book Review / Lone Heart Pass by Jodi Thomas

Where family bonds are made and broken, and where young love sparks as old flames grow dim, Ransom Canyon is ready to welcome—and shelter—those who need it 

With a career and a relationship in ruins, Jubilee Hamilton is left reeling from a fast fall to the bottom. The run-down Texas farm she's inherited is a far cry from the second chance she hoped for, but it and the abrasive foreman she's forced to hire are all she's got.

Every time Charley Collins has let a woman get close, he's been burned. So Lone Heart ranch and the contrary woman who owns it are merely a means to an end, until Jubilee tempts him to take another risk—to stop resisting the attraction drawing them together despite all his hard-learned logic.

Desperation is all young Thatcher Jones knows. And when he finds himself mixed up in a murder investigation, his only protection is the shelter of a man and woman who—just like him—need someone to trust.

Published:     26th April 2016
Publisher:  HQN
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 3, Ransom Canyon
Source:  Owned

 

MY REVIEW

OK, so now I am officially addicted to this series and to this place, Ransom Canyon.  Can I live there please?  Now that I am in book 3 in the series, I feel like I know this place as much as if I would have visited them myself and all the characters I have known forever!  Please please please can this series go on forever?!

First off you have Jubilee who used to work in politics until a few failures had left her with no choice but to move to a ranch in Ransom Canyon that she had inherited and make a go of it.  Luckily for her she meets Charley Collins who moves onto the ranch, in his own house, and helps set up and run the ranch.  Of course, there is a will they won't they type of situation here with Jubilee and Charley.  That is something I am discovering the author knows how to write really well...

You then have Charley Collins with his own story of being left by his girlfriend so now he is a single father to a younger daughter and having to make hard life choices to do what is best for his family.

Next you have Thatcher Jones, who is a young kid (presumably a teenager) whose mother has abandoned him to go off with her new trucker boyfriend.  Charley takes him under his wing and teaches Thatcher hard work and gives him a safe place to come to if he needs it.

Lastly you have the mystery of a dead body being found in the canyon.  The Sheriff, with the help of Thatcher and others, have to investigate to find out who this person was and why he was killed.

The best story of the lot for me was the one between Jubilee and Charley.  I can't help loving the romance parts of books and and this one was just beautiful...

Month in Review / September 2016

I had a very interesting reading month in September.  I came across some amazing reads but also came across one that was not so good.  Let's start with the not so good one, which was Soldier's Wives.   Although this book had a good story unfortunately it had one particular character in it that I just found beyond annoying to the point where it actually affected the way I was reading the story.  Had it not been for that particular character, this story would have been really great to read.  There are more books in that particular series so I might take a look at book 2 but not quite yet.

Now onto the books I loved.  My favourite book of the month and one that I will most definitely be adding to my favourite books of 2016 is Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets to the Universe.  This story just moved me and I have to admit that I was very emotional at the end.  What an amazing read!  I also started a pretty amazing series by Jodi Thomas called Ransom Canyon.  Interesting storyline and characters you could truly imagine being your friends, neighbours etc...  In September I read book 1 (Ransom Canyon) and the prequel (Winter Camp) and am most certainly going to be continuing on with this series.  If I were to recommend how to read this series so far, I would, for obvious reasons, start with book 1 but I would recommend reading Winter Camp which is book 0.5 next as it adds so much more depth and understanding to the first book.  Can't wait to continue on with the series...

I hope you have all had a great reading month.  Autumn is now here, which is one of my favourite reading seasons so hopefully my amazing reading streak will continue! :-)

BOOKS READ

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

The Girl from the Savoy

The One Real Thing

Soldier's Wives

November 9

The Umbecoming of Mara Dyer Series

Ransom Canyon 

Winter's Camp 

 

BOOKS RECEIVED

GOOD PEOPLE
It's late 1938. Thomas Heiselberg has built a career in Berlin as a market researcher for an American advertising company.

In Leningrad, twenty-two-year-old Sasha Weissberg has grown up eavesdropping on the intellectual conversations in her parents' literary salon.

They each have grand plans for their lives. Neither of them thinks about politics too much, but after catastrophe strikes they will have no choice.

Thomas puts his research skills to work elaborating Nazi propaganda. Sasha persuades herself that working as a literary editor of confessions for Stalin's secret police is the only way to save her family.
When destiny brings them together, they will have to face the consequences of the decisions they have made.

EVERYWHERE I LOOK
Spanning fifteen years of work, Everywhere I Look is a book full of unexpected moments, sudden shafts of light, piercing intuition, flashes of anger and incidental humour. It takes us from backstage at the ballet to the trial of a woman for the murder of her newborn baby. It moves effortlessly from the significance of moving house to the pleasure of re-reading Pride and Prejudice.

Everywhere I Look includes Garner's famous and controversial essay on the insults of age, her deeply moving tribute to her mother and extracts from her diaries, which have been part of her working life for as long as she has been a writer. Everywhere I Look glows with insight. It is filled with the wisdom of life.

INCH LEVELS
A haunting debut set in the harsh, beautiful landscape of Ireland's north coast.

Patrick Jackson lies on his deathbed in Derry and recalls a family history marked by secrecy and silence, and a striking absence of conventional pieties. He remembers the death of an eight-year-old girl, whose body was found on reclaimed land called Inch Levels on the shoreline of Lough Swilly. And he is visited by his beloved but troubled sister Margaret and by his despised brother-in-law Robert, and by Sarah, his hard, unchallengeable mother.

Each of them could talk about events in the past that might explain the bleakness of their relationships, but leaving things unsaid has become a way of life. Guilt and memory beat against them, as shock waves from bombs in Derry travel down the river to shake the windows of those who have escaped the city.


THE ICE BENEATH HER
For fans of Jo Nesbo and The Bridge, The Ice Beneath Her is a gripping and deeply disturbing story about love, betrayal and obsession that is impossible to put down. Fast-paced and peopled with compelling characters, it surprises at every turn as it hurtles towards an unforgettable ending with a twist you really won't see coming . . .

A young woman is found beheaded in an infamous business tycoon's marble-lined hallway.

The businessman, scandal-ridden CEO of the retail chain Clothes & More, is missing without a trace.

But who is the dead woman? And who is the brutal killer who wielded the machete?

Rewind two months earlier to meet Emma Bohman, a sales assistant for Clothes & More, whose life is turned upside down by a chance encounter with Jesper Orre. Insisting that their love affair is kept secret, he shakes Emma's world a second time when he suddenly leaves her with no explanation.

As frightening things begin to happen to Emma, she suspects Jesper is responsible. But why does he want to hurt her? And how far would he go to silence his secret lover?

APPRENTICE IN DEATH
The shots came quickly, silently, and with deadly accuracy. Within seconds, three people were dead at Central Park’s ice skating rink. The victims: a talented young skater, a doctor, and a teacher. As random as random can be.

Eve Dallas has seen a lot of killers during her time with the NYPSD, but never one like this. After reviewing security videos, it becomes clear that the victims were killed by a sniper firing a tactical laser rifle, who could have been miles away when the trigger was pulled. And though the locations where the shooter could have set up seem endless, the list of people with that particular skill set is finite: police, military, professional killer.

Eve’s husband, Roarke, has unlimited resources—and genius—at his disposal. And when his computer program leads Eve to the location of the sniper, she learns a shocking fact: There were two—one older, one younger. Someone is being trained by an expert in the science of killing, and they have an agenda. Central Park was just a warm-up. And as another sniper attack shakes the city to its core, Eve realizes that though we’re all shaped by the people around us, there are those who are just born evil...

FURIOUS RUSH
The first book in a new series by the #1 bestselling author of the Thoughtless novels...

Mackenzie Cox has a lot to prove. Daughter of a racing legend, she is eager to show the world that she has inherited her father's talent in the male-dominated sport of professional motorcycle racing. The last thing Kenzie needs is to be antagonized by her rival team's newest rider, Hayden Hayes. Plucked from the world of illegal street racing, Hayden immediately gets under Kenzie's skin. His insinuations that Kenzie is a spoiled princess who was handed her career fuels her desire to win, and much to her surprise, Kenzie soon learns she performs better when she's racing against Hayden.

As Kenzie and Hayden push each other on the track, the electric energy between them off the track shifts into an intense--and strictly forbidden--attraction. The only rule between their two ultra-competitive teams is zero contact. Kenzie always does her best to play by the rules, but when her team slips into a financial crisis, she has no choice but to turn to Hayden for help. The tension simmers during their secret, late-night rendezvous, but Kenzie has too much to lose to give in to her desires. Especially when she begins to doubt that Hayden has completely left his street life behind...

THE DAY I LOST YOU
The day I lost you was the day I discovered I never really knew you.

When Jess’s daughter, Anna, is reported lost in an avalanche, everything changes.

Jess’s first instinct is to protect Rose, Anna’s five-year-old daughter. But then she starts to uncover Anna’s other life - unearthing a secret that alters their whole world irrevocably . . .

The day I lost you was the day you tore our family apart.

THE ONE REAL THING
Welcome to Hartwell, a quiet seaside escape where uncovering old secrets could lead one woman to discover the meaning of a love that lasts…

While Doctor Jessica Huntington engages with the inmates at the women’s correctional facility where she works, she’s always careful to avoid emotional attachments in her personal life. Loss and betrayal taught her that lesson long ago. But when she comes across a set of old love letters in the prison’s library and visits the picturesque town of Hartwell to deliver them to their intended recipient, she finds herself unable to resist the town’s charm—and her attraction to the sexy owner of a local bar proves equally hard to deny.

Since his divorce from his unfaithful ex-wife, Cooper Lawson has focused on what really matters: his family and the boardwalk pub they’ve owned for generations. But the first time Jessica steps into his bar, Cooper is beyond tempted to risk his heart on her. Yet as their attraction grows hotter and Jessica remains stubbornly closed off, he begins to realize it will take more than just passion to convince her there’s only one real thing in life worth fighting for…

National Poetry Day - Thursday 6th October 2016

The Royal Mail is postmarking millions of items of mail nationwide with National Poetry Day on 6 October: an honour reserved only for special occasions and significant events.

St Pancras International station is to become Poetry Central for the day, in partnership with the Betjeman Poetry Prize, Poet in the City and Maslaha. Poetry-printed train tickets will be distributed to travellers and poet storytellers will be stationed throughout St Pancras engaging passing commuters and visitors in immersive poetry experiences using new and old Landais (a form of poetry written in Afghanistan).The Betjeman prize-giving this afternoon, hosted by poet Imtiaz Dharker, will see six young talents recite their work, alongside a reading from Joanna Lumley. The evening will bring live poetry pop-ups, interactive events, and performances from poets Bridget Minamore and Sabrina Mahfouz. London’s underground stations – notably Covent Garden and Oval – will be sharing poems with travellers throughout the day.

In Staffordshire, Sally Crabtree, the world’s first Poetry Postie, is using carrier pigeons to fly verse across the skies. In Edinburgh, a highly unusual answerphone is turning anonymous messages into poems: in Bradford, poetry films will feature on the Bradford Big Screen in Centenary Square, while in Antarctica, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey will share a climate change poem by Nancy Campbell with the only audience available for miles: penguins.

In Wales four young poets will be locked up to compose 100 poems in twenty four hours, on subjects chosen by the public. The participants in Literature Wales’ Her 100 Cerdd will take suggestions via social media and BBC Radio Cymru, posting the results online.

In Scotland, 380,000 poetry postcards have been given away by the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh, while in Glasgow, the Big Issue is working with Glasgow Libraries to mobilise poets, librarians, street vendors and Creative Scotland colleagues to give poetry readings at 30 different locations around the city.  

In Northern Ireland, Funeral Services Northern Ireland celebrates National Poetry Day with the finals of the Ireland National Poetry competition at the Parliament Buildings in Stormont.

“A poem can reach places that prose just can’t” says Susannah Herbert, National Poetry Day director. “That’s why we’re inviting all with anything important to say today, to say it with a poem. It can be new or old, utterly original or a familiar favourite. It can be deep and dark, funny or memorable. By enjoying, discovering or sharing a poem – words that draw attention to themselves - you change the nature of the national conversation.”

Expect impromptu pop-up poetry festivals in thousands of unexpected places, from shops, streets and offices to doctors’ waiting rooms and postal sorting offices. J K Rowling, Paul McCartney, Stephen Hawking, George RR Martin and Ellen DeGeneres are among the hundreds of thousands of poetry-lovers who last year shared poems they loved on National Poetry Day via Twitter.  The hashtag #nationalpoetryday had a 522 million reach, trending across the globe on the day.

National Poetry Day is co-ordinated by the Forward Arts Foundation, a charity that celebrates poetry and promotes it as part of everyday life.

With Macmillan Children’s Books, it has nominated 14 poets as National Poetry Day Ambassadors, with special responsibility for igniting enthusiasm nationwide by visiting schools, organizing events and competitions and writing new work on the theme of Messages. Their new poems have been collected as a free downloadable eBook Messages: A National Poetry Day Book available from the National Poetry Day website, alongside posters, lesson plans and specially commissioned ‘Say it with a poem’ images from artist Sophie Herxheimer.

For further information, visit http://nationalpoetryday.co.uk

or join the conversation #NationalPoetryDay on:

Twitter @PoetryDayUK

Facebook: www.facebook.com/poetrydayuk

Instagram: nationalpoetryday

PARTNERS

Forward Arts Foundation www.forwardartsfoundation.org

Forward Arts Foundation (FAF) is the independent charity behind National Poetry Day and the Forward Prize. It is supported by Arts Council England.

Apples and Snakes www.applesandsnakes.org

England’s leading organisation for performance poetry and spoken word has a national reputation for producing exciting, engaging and transformative work in performance and participation.

CLPE www.clpe.org.uk

The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) believes that poetry is a fundamental element in the development of children’s literacy. It supports teachers with free teaching resources and run a shadowing scheme alongside its children’s poetry award, CLiPPA.

First Story www.firststory.org.uk

First Story brings talented, professional writers into secondary schools serving low-income communities to work with teachers and students to foster creativity and communication skills.

Literature Wales www.literaturewales.org

Literature Wales is the National Company for the development of literature in Wales. Its many projects and activities include Wales Book of the Year, an annual Literary Tourism programme, the National Poet of Wales and Young People's Laureate for Wales.

Poet in the City www.poetinthecity.co.uk

A leading UK poetry charity that programmes over 40 live poetry events a year, promotes poetry to new audiences and makes new connections for the art form.

Scottish Poetry Library www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk

The Scottish Poetry Library is a national resource and advocate for the art of poetry, with a special focus on Scottish poetry. It distributes 300,000 poem postcards around Scotland for National Poetry Day each year.

Southbank Centre www.southbankcentre.co.uk

The UK’s largest arts centre, occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. It is the home of live literature in the UK, with a thriving year-round programme of readings, talks and events unrivalled by any other organisation in the capital.

The Poetry School www.poetryschool.com

The UK’s largest provider of poetry education, providing inspirational teaching and ways to share poems with other supportive poets

The Poetry Society www.poetrysociety.org.uk

Founded in 1909, the Poetry Society aims to advance the study, use and enjoyment of poetry, and publishes the leading poetry magazine, Poetry Review. The Society also runs the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award, Young Poets Network, the National Poetry Competition and the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry.

NATIONAL POETRY DAY EDUCATION RESOURCES

National Poetry Day education resources, available online at www.nationalpoetryday.co.uk, includes free downloadable activity packs for libraries, teachers and parents, encouraging children to write, read and share poetry. The exercises relate to the National Poetry Day 2016 theme of messages, and have been prepared by a variety of organisations including Apples and Snakes, First Story, CLPE, Literature Wales and the Poetry School.