Announcement - Winner of The Artisan Heart Trailer Share Competition.

During July, I ran a competition to celebrate the release of the book trailer for my forthcoming novel "The Artisan Heart". I invited people across my social network to share, comment on and tell me what an artisan heart means to them. 

By entering, I offered up the opportunity for one lucky reader to win a fabulous prize pack! In partnership with Janesce Australia and Swear and Shake, this included;

* A signed paperback copy of "The Artisan Heart".

* A Gift Certificate from Janesce Australia to the value of $50 (valid on-line or in-store).

* A copy of Swear and Shake's 2016 studio album "The Sound Of Letting Go" (which served as the musical inspiration for the novel).

Today (finally!) I am pleased to announce the winner of that competition.

Bernni Davies-Jackson

of Adelaide, South Australia.

Bernni did a fantastic job of sharing the trailer across her network and calling attention to both it and the novel and I'm really thankful for her efforts.

Congratulations Bernni!

Thank you to everyone who participated in my competition. Keep your eyes on my website and blog in the coming weeks for a brand new opportunity to WIN with "The Artisan Heart." In the meantime, you can pre-order the novel ahead of its September 1st release via the links below. 

Hayden Luschcombe is a brilliant paediatrician living in Adelaide with his wife, Bernadette, an ambitious event planner. His life consists of soul-wrenching days at the hospital and tedious evenings attending the lavish parties organized by Bernadette.

When an act of betrayal coincides with a traumatic confrontation, Hayden flees Adelaide, his life in ruins. His destination is Walhalla, nestled in Australia’s southern mountains, where he finds his childhood home falling apart. With nothing to return to, he stays, and begins to pick up the pieces of his life by fixing up the house his parents left behind.

Isabelle Sampi is a struggling artisan baker raising her hearing-impaired daughter, and has no time for matters of the heart. Yet the presence of the handsome doctor challenges her resolve. Likewise, Hayden, protective of his fractured heart, finds something in Isabelle that awakens dormant feelings of his own.

As their attraction grows, and the past threatens their chance at happiness, both Hayden and Isabelle will have to confront long-buried truths if they are ever to embrace a future.

THE ARTISAN HEART IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!

                 

     

DFA.

Countering Resistance - A Look At Counteract by Tracy S. Lawson.

I'm always up for a compelling dystopian tale - especially one that is frighteningly possible. From the outrageous Mad Max series to the seminal cyberpunk classic Blade Runner to the oppressive The Handmaids Tale, visions of the future that play on our fears of what we see happening in the present a ripe for great storytelling. A series of books from Ohio native Tracy S. Lawson have really captured my attention this past month. Titled the Resistance series, this collection of four books follow a group of freedom fighters in a near future America that is straining under the yoke of a totalitarian regime who seek to control the population through fear and oppression.

Having completed the opening salvo in the series, "Counteract", I've moved onto book two, titled "Resist" and I am completely in thrall with Lawson's storytelling, characters and world building. For today, I'd like to showcase "Counteract" in the hopes it will whet your appetite for the series. 

Two teens discover the government is staging terrorist attacks to exploit and control the public in Tracy Lawson's eerily believable YA debut novel.

In an alternate reality version of 2034, terrorist attacks on American soil continue after the events of 9/11. The Office of Civilian Safety and Defense, created in 2019 to oversee domestic security, rises to unprecedented heights of power by exploiting the people's overriding fear of terrorism.

When Tommy Bailey and Careen Catecher meet during one of the bogus terrorist attacks, they discover the OCSD's darkest secret: an antidote distributed by the government to "protect" people from the effects of imaginary toxins in the air is really being used to lull them into a state of submission.

Tommy and Careen face a difficult choice: stay quiet about what they know--or risk their safety and anonymity to join an underground rebel group that's determined to break the OCSD's grip on the nation.

Counteract explores the nature of power and the consequences and difficulties created when government attempts to control minute details of citizens' daily existence.

I found Counteract to be a taut, engaging & thrilling first entry in Lawson's Resistance series. Its alternative future setting remains anchored in our own real world so, visually, it wasn't a stretch to see it in my minds eye. 

Our post 9/11 paranoia around terrorism has reached a fever pitch, and Lawson explores this and the lengths to which some will go to take advantage of a nations collective fear. Lawson's cast of characters led by the appealing, earnest and resourceful Careen and the enigmatic Tommy - a young man beset by tragedy that is intertwined in the politics of the time, Counteract moves at a crisp pace. 

Its unfolding drama is rife with tension, great character moments and occasional levity that see saws effortlessly with the action. Lawson's writing style is at once accessible and she balances this with an intelligent plot and a fully realized future world that is scarily possible.

As a first entry, Counteract set me up for the subsequent entries and I'm eager to see where the series heads in Lawson's capable hands.

               
Once upon a time, Tracy Lawson was a little girl with a big imagination who was obsessed with telling stories. Her interests in dance, theatre, and other forms of make-believe led to a twenty-year career in the performing arts, where “work” meant she got to do things like tap dance and choreograph musicals.

Tracy S. Lawson (image credit: the author).

Her greatest adventures in musical theatre included creating disco choreography for forty middle schoolers on roller skates in Xanadu, building cast members’ endurance during an extremely aerobic jump rope number in Legally Blonde, and wrangling a cast of amazingly enthusiastic teenaged tap dancers in Crazy For You. She can also spin plates on sticks while she tap dances. Just ask her. She’ll be happy to demonstrate!

Though teaching dance and choreographing shows was a great outlet for her creativity and boundless energy, Tracy never lost her desire to write. Faced with her only child leaving for college and her husband’s simultaneous cross-country job relocation, it seemed she’d found the perfect time to switch her focus. But fear not—she has maintained her ties to educational theatre by returning to choreograph a few shows a year at Bexley City Schools in Columbus, Ohio, so she can continue to nurture students and share her passion for putting on a great show. 

The Cincinnati native now has to her credit an award-winning nonfiction history book, Fips, Bots, Doggeries, and More: Explorations of Henry Rogers’ 1838 Journal of Travel from Southwestern Ohio to New York City (McDonald & Woodward, 2012), based on the writings of her great-great-great grandfather. Pride of the Valley, a companion volume to Fips, Bots, Doggeries, and More, followed in 2017.

With the release of Revolt on July 18, 2017, Tracy's award winning YA dystopian Resistance Series is now complete. Counteract, Resist, Ignite, and Revolt chronicle the adventures of Tommy and Careen, two teens who meet during a terrorist attack and discover a conspiracy that could destroy their country.

In her spare time, she blogs about YA and classic dystopian books and hosts Between the Covers with Tracy Lawson, an author interview program on the Liberty.Me network.

Tracy, who is married with one grown daughter and two spoiled cats, splits her time between Dallas, Texas and Columbus, Ohio.

Purchase the Resistance series here.

Visit Tracy S. Lawson here. 

Tweet Tracy S. Lawson here.

DFA.

Destiny's Power - Conversations with Elizabeth Jade, Author.

Over the past little while, I've had the pleasure of conversing with a remarkable young woman and author Elizabeth Jade. Elizabeth's debut novel "Akea - The Power Of Destiny" -  a powerful tale - represents a journey we all take in life in that, in order to find our destiny, we must first find ourselves. Elizabeth has grown up with some unique challenges, requiring her to discover different methods of interacting with the world. Having found writing, Elizabeth has been able to express herself in ways that transcend the day to day. As a result, she displays a formidable talent that is well worth taking notice of.

I've invited Elizabeth to pen a piece that I'm really proud to present here this week. I hope you enjoy it.

- 

I always knew I had a unique take on life, but I only found out two years ago, at the age of 18, that I had Aspergers Syndrome (an autistic spectrum disorder). People have never made sense to me.  In fact, I've made a habit of avoiding contact with them as much as possible. On the other hand, I love animals; and what’s more, they love me.  We understand each other on an almost telepathic level. This affinty with animals lead me into volunteering; first with horses, then dogs, and finally cats.

I've loved working with animals. It was the people that were the problem. We just didn't understand each other and at that time I didn't know about my Aspergers. My mum tried to give me some coping strategies, but I still kept getting confused and in the end I got so depressed and anxious that I couldn't keep it up.

Elizabeth Jade, author (image credit EJ).

After years of struggling, my mum insisted that I see someone about my anxiety and depression.  I have to say that my experience with CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service) was not at all pleasant, but it was here that the possibility of Aspergers was first explored.  Cats Protection then opened a re-homing centre on the edge of town and my mum spoke to them about my talents and difficulties.  As it turned out, the staff understood exactly where I was coming from and they were certain that volunteering would be beneficial for me as well as the cats. They quickly dubbed me the Cat Whisperer and I gained a great deal of satisfaction from seeing pussy personalities changing, even though I mentally struggled to go in as often as I would like. 

Another outlet for my depression and anxiety has been in writing stories; animal stories naturally. The stories come pre-written in my head and fight at all hours of the night to make their way onto paper. In an attempt to boost my self-confidence, my mum decided to prove how good my stories were by finding me a publisher for my book ‘Akea’- not an easy task.

Akea - The Power Of Destiny.

Akea is a Siberian husky who was born into a family of sled dogs and a life which should have followed a predictable path, but from the day she first saw the wolf Kazakh, Akea knew her future lay beyond the safety of her home.  She soon leaves her family and with the help of Kazakh and the wolf pack, she finds her inner wolf, but unexpectedly the pack turns on her, casting her out to fend for herself. After spending some time in an animal shelter where she learns the fate of her first family, she is sent to live with a new one, but when Kazakh finds her again, she willingly abandons them too and follows him. Kazakh is well aware of the reason for the wolf packs animosity, but Akea’s destiny is clear and he must make sure she is in the right place at the right time, even if it costs him his life.

My brain then went on to write book 2 and parts of books 3, 5 and 6.  It seems I have as much control over what order I write in as when I write it, which isn't much, but as this was obviously planning  to be a series, I added ‘The Power of Destiny’ to the first title to help me keep track of things.  Cats Protection was good enough to let me have my book launch at the Re-homing Centre last summer.  It was this familiar setting that enabled me to actually attend and 25% of sales on the day were donated to Cats Protection as a thank you. 

Marketing is a challenge for any author, but for me it’s virtually impossible.  I can’t handle any of the personal appearance methods; to be honest, I’m not up to any marketing and again it’s something my mum plays a big part in. Through our social media connections we have come across some great advice and some equally great people. We have been given the opportunity to include Akea Book 1 in a new magazine for parents and we hope this will lead to some more sales, helped to set up a newsletter and shown how to approach newspapers in a way that is more likely to get you accepted. 

I still have more bad days than not so bad ones and my self-confidence is still pretty low, but I am immensely grateful to all those who continue to support me in doing the things I love most.

Purchase Akea - The Power Of Destiny here.

Visit Elizabeth Jade here.

Tweet with Elizabeth Jade here. 

DFA.

I Have Some Exciting News - Meet "The Artisan Heart"

So I've been sitting on some news for quite a while now. I've been steadily working away for the past year or so on a brand new novel. Now, thanks to the amazing team at Central Avenue Publishing in Vancouver, Canada, I'm able to share the news that later this year, that new novel will be released to the world. 

Rather than recount the news in full here, I'd like to invite you to click through to Central Avenue Publishing's official blog and read the sneak peek Michelle Halket and the team have shared there.

Of course, I can't help but share the amazing cover art that has been put together by Michelle. We nutted this design out over a few email back and forths and we had some late, breaking inspiration from my 8 year old daughter who, in her enthusiasm for Daddy's new project, was inspired to try her hand at some artwork of her own. Her inclusion of the railway tracks in her design ended up transitioning across to the final design. I think you'll agree it's a beautiful addition.

The Artisan Heart - final.

Concept Art by Lucy Mayes - aged 8.

I'm excited to tell you so much more about this novel but I'll hold off for now and share some more insights with you as the clock ticks down to September this year. For now though, let me know what you think in the comments and, if you're keen, sign up for my exclusive newsletter updates as we roll forward towards the Southern Spring/Northern Fall. 

DFA. 

I Dreamed Of A Chateau - A Look At Le Chateau by Sarah Ridout.

Le Chateau by Sarah Ridout

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What really happened at the chateau?

When Charlotte regains consciousness after an accident, she finds herself living a stranger’s life. The previous five years are a blank, and her husband, Henri, and daughter, Ada, are strangers. Arriving at their family chateau in southern France, she hopes to regain her memories. Instead she feels isolated and unsettled. Strange events hint at underlying darkness and menace. Charlotte doesn’t know who to trust.

Did she really have an affair with their charming Irish neighbour, as her enigmatic mother-in-law suggests? And what of Henri? He seems loving and kind, a good parent, but Charlotte is wary. Then there is Ada, a little girl who just wants her mother back.

With the help of her friend and fellow Australian Susannah, Charlotte starts to piece together events, but her newfound confidence is shaken with news that puts a deadline on her quest…

Le Chateau is a suspenseful gothic tale that will appeal to readers of Daphne du Maurier and Kate Morton. 

I very quickly fell into the dream-like, gothic story scape of Sarah Ridout's "Le Château" and, by its end, I was very reluctant to leave. Told through the first person perspective of the protagonist Charlotte - who recovering from a mysterious accident that has robbed her of her memory - "Le Château" captivated me with its unfolding mystery as Charlotte struggles to rebuild her shattered life. Faced with a husband and daughter she cannot remember, and hints of darker truths she discovers in the idyllic French countryside estate her family shares, I was with Charlotte, experiencing her journey in equal measure as she. Ridouts patient story telling, her vivid visual style and her complex characterisations made this an all consuming reading experience for me - one that continues to echo long after I have finished it.

Le Château is a dream-like masterpiece.



Sarah Ridout has a Masters in Creative Writing (First Class Honours), from University College Dublin (UCD). UCD is the alma mater of James Joyce, John McGahern, Neil Jordan, Colm Tóibín, and Emma Donoghue, among others.

Sarah Ridout (photo credit: Merilyn Smith photography).

Over the past eleven years she has lived in four countries with her husband and two children. Her eight years surrounded by the vineyards and chateaux of southern France produced a baby, family of Francophiles, and the seed of this novel, completed in Dublin, Ireland. Le Chateau draws on her experiences as an expatriate, her knowledge of France, its people and customs. 

Le Chateau was selected to participate in the prestigious Queensland Writers Centre /Hachette Australia Manuscript Development Program before it was acquired by Bonnier Publishing Australia (Echo Publishing).

Sarah has been writing throughout her public relations career, before commencing memoir and novel writing.

The complexities of the role of women interest her as do identity and place as signifiers, and the multiple effects of displacement on identity.

Sarah loves travel and the immersion into other cultures provided by her twelve years living in Europe. She enjoys reading, film, music (especially David Bowie), and is an avid art lover and collector.

Purchase Le Château here.

Connect with Sarah Ridout here.

Tweet with Sarah Ridout here.

View all my Goodreads reviews

DFA.

Hollywood Buzz - A Look At Buzzworthy by Elsie Moody.

Buzzworthy by Elsie Moody

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

She had only one dating rule: no more actors. 

For entertainment reporter Kate Ferris, interviewing celebrities is just part of the job, and she’s never been one to get starstruck. At least, not until she meets movie star Nick Archer in the flesh. One of the hottest and most elusive bachelors in Hollywood, Nick seems miles out of her league, so when he takes an interest in her at a press junket, Kate can’t help but be intrigued. She may have a strict rule against dating actors, but he’s drop-dead gorgeous and she’s only human. 

As their flirtation blossoms into full-blown romance, Kate struggles to maintain her journalistic integrity, while potentially becoming a subject of tabloid gossip herself. Can she and Nick survive the public fallout when the painful mistakes of their past come back to haunt them both? 

If only romance were as simple in real life as it is in the movies.

When I happened across Buzzworthy by Elsie Moody, my expectation was that it would be a pleasant and fun romance, set amongst the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. What I did not expect is that Buzzworthy would be a story of uncharacteristic depth and emotionally satisfying heart.

Elsie Moody brings considerable journalistic experience from a career in the Hollywood press industry, providing a vivid backdrop where industry politics and the cut throat nature of celebrity interweave through a narrative about real people, trying to make their way through an often superficial and unforgiving environment. The result, on that score, feels authentic.

Into the mix, Moody inserts a cast of diverse characters, led by plucky journalist Katelyn Ferris and enigmatic Hollywood A-List actor Nick Archer. They are appealing characters on their own terms, well drawn and full of nuance. I was impressed with how fully realized they are - though this I consider is a failing on my part. The Hollywood setting, the world of movies and celebrity had me thinking that I would find limits in the trajectory of Moody's characters. I underestimated just how much these individuals had to offer. They crackle with ambition, intelligence, sexiness, villainy and humanity. It was a delightful discovery.

Moody's story craft is layered well, with some satisfying twists and turns on its path towards resolution. There was unpredictability in the narrative too, which had me anxious and wanting to read ahead. And, of course, the romantic elements were lovely, with moments of tenderness, emotion and steam.

Buzzworthy is a smart, funny, sexy and heartfelt romance and a resounding success as a debut for Elsie Moody.

Elsie Moody worked in Hollywood for many years as an entertainment reporter, where she attended her share of press junkets and spent countless hours interviewing celebrities on red carpets. Now, she focuses her time writing romantic novels set in the entertainment industry. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two precocious cats.

I had the opportunity to have a chat with Elsie over a 3AM cup of tea while Elsie was keeping a nervous eye on the Californian wildfires that have dominated the news cycle this past week. I started by congratulating Elsie on Buzzworthy. It's what I regard as a real step up in terms of romance. I was intrigued to know more about how she brought elements of her career as a journalist in Hollywood to the character of Kate Ferris. 

DM:  Having been a journalist in the entertainment industry, and modeling Kate on your own experiences, have you had any encounters where the interview script kinda got thrown out the window and you found yourself having a much deeper discussion with your interview subject? I imagine those experiences would have been really satisfying for you as a journalist.

EM: I've never broke protocol the way Kate does by talking negatively about the film with the star, though I'd definitely had the same thoughts! Maybe that was a little projection there, having her say the things I couldn't because I actually wanted to be invited back. There isn't time to go into depth in a junket situation, but I have had the opportunity to attend private dinners set up by publicists with a single star and a few journalists to promote a film or home-video release. Those were really enjoyable, because by the end of the night you've run out of questions and you're just chatting like a group of friends hanging out. 

I've also had some great experiences visiting sets. Usually, you're squeezing in whatever interview time you can get when the actor or director is on a break, then they go back to work or to their trailer or something. But there was one set visit where a big-name actor kept coming over to talk to us in between takes. The director would yell cut, and he'd come back to our table until they called him over again. We got more than an hour with him, broken up into little fragments. It's always nice when you feel like they actually want to talk to you.

DM: The thing that I was most engaged me with Buzzworthy, was the your style of writing. I found it really accessible and your voice authentic. As a journalist, having to adhere to a certain writing style, was transitioning to fiction writing a challenge for you or have you written fiction alongside your professional duties as a journalist.

EM: When I started the book a few years ago it was the first time I'd ever written original fiction outside of school. It requires a whole different set of intellectual muscles, but there are some similarities. Already having the discipline of sitting in front of the screen coming up with words really helped me. When I wrote feature stories I would start with the quotes I wanted to use and then build the article around them. So, whenever I got stuck on the book I'd just write the dialogue and let the characters talk to each other for a bit. Then I'd fill out the rest of the scene later. Of the two, I'd say fiction is harder. I'd compare it to jazz, where non-fiction is more like classical. Many jazz musicians can play classical music if you put it in front of them, but ask a classical musician to improvise and they'll balk. It's possible to learn both styles, it just takes practice.

DM: I'm interested to know how you infused your characters with the depth they contain in the story. Was it a difficult process? Did you find yourself trying to avoid certain stereotypes in their portrayal?
EM: The characters progressed so much from the first draft to the last. I started with a vague idea of their back stories and filled the rest in as I wrote. Then I'd go back and revise earlier chapters after I'd decided on some detail about their personality or history that I needed for the story. Nick took the most tweaking, I think. I started out with this notion that he was the typical Hollywood player/bad boy, but that has been done so much already. I tossed that idea out almost immediately. I wanted to do something different. So I made him more guarded and private. He doesn't like the attention, doesn't want to be in the news for anything other than his films. That's more true to life, but surprisingly rare in stories about movie stars.

DM: You sat down with Novel2Screen recently to discuss the novel. I note from that interview, you've talked about more 'in universe' stories. Could that include a future sequel featuring Kate & Nick? Their journey was so compelling that I found myself wondering about their possible futures after turning the last page.

EM: That's an interesting question. Some people have described the book as having an open ending. To me, it's pretty clear where the story is headed. They've conquered their obstacles, so what's left? I don't have any plans for a sequel at the moment, but I wouldn't rule it out if a good story idea came to me. That being said, don't be surprised if there's a passing reference to one or both of them in the next book that confirms where they ended up. I do plan on writing a number of books set in Hollywood and will be using the characters I've already created to populate it. One problem with writing about Hollywood in the current climate is that you never know whether that real-life actor you name dropped will turn out to be a creep. It's easier just to make up my own movie stars, writers, directors, etc.

Buzzworthy is available now from Amazon.

Visit Elsie Moody here.

Tweet with Elsie here. 

Connect with Elsie here. 

DFA.

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A Lily Among The Vines - A Look At The Vineyard In The Hills by Lily Malone

The Vineyard In The Hills by Lily Malone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An Australian rural romance about a millionaire wine tycoon, the woman he betrayed and the second chance neither was looking for…

When she cut her viticulture degree short and moved home, Remy Hanley wasn’t thinking about anything more than making the next dollar for her pocket. Working two jobs to keep food on the table and a loan shark from the door, Remy and her mother slowly build a new life together. Then a freak storm tears through the Margaret River Wine Festival — and Seth Lasrey tears through Remy’s life.

Seth is old money. She is no money. He’s the boss. She’s his employee. He is society connections and expectations. She is threats and bad decisions and lost dreams. They seem to be so wrong they can only be right — until a costly mistake and a timely deception drives them apart. Remy picks up the pieces of her life and begins anew. The last thing she expects is Seth to show up in her small town in South Australia, bringing with him memories that she can’t escape and a damaged heart that she’s not sure she can resist.

Having entered into the world of West Australian author Lily Malone, I have come away from my first visit there with a huge, dopey smile on my face - courtesy of this delightful romance. Malone's easily accessible and often lyrical style brings her characters to life, from protagonists Seth and Remy to the supporting players in their respective spheres and she imbues them with just the right amount of complexity to make them thoroughly engaging. Themes of difficult family relationships, love, jealousy, loss, regret and ambition are artfully interwoven throughout the story and they keep you guessing as you delve deeper into the narrative.

Having lived in the Adelaide Hills myself, I was instantly familiar with the settings Malone explored in the central portion of the novel and the warmth of her descriptions with all their attendant textures and colours and scents were just lovely. Equally, Malone's ability to illustrate the less familiar (for me, at least) environs of the Margaret River region is skilfully done and I felt connected to place from the get go.

Of course, the romance factor is where it's at in this novel and Malone shines here, evoking all the senses and responses to good, old fashioned falling in love. The steam factor is certainly welcome also.

I'm so pleased I read The Vineyard In The Hills. Lily Malone is a delightful author, whose command of the genre is as solid as a rock.

Lily Malone (image credit: Lily Malone).

Lily Malone is a journalist and freelance writer who discovered after years of writing facts for a living, writing romance was much more fun.

Lily juggles writing with the needs of a young family, and when she isn’t writing, she likes gardening, walking, wine, and walking in gardens (sometimes with wine).

Buy The Vineyard In The Hills from Amazon here.

Visit Lily Malone here.

DFA.

View all my Goodreads reviews

For Goblins Do The Bells Toll - A Look At The Goblins Of Bellwater by Molly Ringle.

The Goblins of Bellwater by Molly Ringle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Most people have no idea goblins live in the woods around the small town of Bellwater, Washington. But some are about to find out. 

Skye, a young barista and artist, falls victim to a goblin curse in the forest one winter night, rendering her depressed and silenced, unable to speak of what happened. Her older sister, Livy, is at wit’s end trying to understand what’s wrong with her. Local mechanic Kit would know, but he doesn't talk of such things: he’s the human liaison for the goblin tribe, a job he keeps secret and never wanted, thrust on him by an ancient family contract.

Unaware of what’s happened to Skye, Kit starts dating Livy, trying to keep it casual to protect her from the attention of the goblins. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Kit, Skye draws his cousin Grady into the spell through an enchanted kiss in the woods, dooming Grady and Skye both to become goblins and disappear from humankind forever.


It’s a midwinter night’s enchantment as Livy, the only one untainted by a spell, sets out to save them on a dangerous magical path of her own.

I had the opportunity to read an early version of The Goblins Of Bellwater by Molly and this forms the basis for my review.

The Goblins Of Bellwater, in many ways, marks a significant left turn for Molly Ringle after the rather epic Chrysomelia Stories. True to her talents as a story teller, and a nimble one at that, Molly Ringle returns with a one shot novel that, it could be argued, packs just as powerful a punch as her re-imagining of the Persephone mythology.

Taking inspiration from the works of Christina Rossetti and the visual genius of Brian Froud, The Goblins Of Bellwater offers a fantastical premise, complete with an ancient curse and a hidden population of goblins, which Molly injects seamlessly into a contemporary Pacific North West setting.

The balancing act from the very beginning of this story is perfect and, through the character of Skye - the victim of that curse - we are invested, experiencing her terror and helplessness as she endures it from behind a veil. Likewise, her sister Livy is a vividly drawn character, struggling to cope with something she interprets as something far removed from dark magic, but a something that is no less frightening. Into the mix, comes Kit, an unwilling witness to the machinations of the Goblins, while his cousin Grady, who falls for Skye in the midst of her ordeal, is unwittingly drawn into a conflict that threatens both his and Skye's very existence. Livy's trajectory in the story is, perhaps, the most compelling as it is she who has to find courage and the resources to confront this ages old curse as well as a tribe of beings who have only ever existed in imagination.

The Pacific Northwest, once again, leaps from the page in all its color and life and vibrancy, and I had no trouble immersing myself in a place that I can see is very special to Ringle. And, as she did with her Chrysomelia Stories, Ringle takes an established mythology and turns it on its head, resulting in fresh storytelling that crackles anew and surprises and delights.

The Goblins Of Bellwater is Molly Ringle at her fantastical finest.

The Goblins Of Bellwater hits bookshelves on October 1st 2017.

Molly Ringle (image credit: the author).

Molly Ringle was one of the quiet, weird kids in school, and is now one of the quiet, weird writers of the world. 

She likes thinking up innovative romantic obstacles and mixing them with topics like Greek mythology, ghost stories, fairy tales, or regular-world scandalous gossip. She's into mild rainy climates, gardens, '80s new wave music, chocolate, tea, and perfume (or really anything that smells good). 

She has lived in the Pacific Northwest most of her life, aside from grad school in California and one work-abroad season in Edinburgh in the 1990s. (She's also really into the U.K., though has a love/stress relationship with travel.) She currently lives in Seattle with her husband, kids, guinea pigs, and a lot of moss.

DFA.

View all my Goodreads reviews

Dragons Rising - A Look At Fyrebyrne Island by Ashleigh Oldfield.

Among the small community of independently published authors I've come to know here in Australia in recent years, Melbourne based fantasy scribe Ashleigh Oldfield has stood out to me as an individual of immense talent. Bursting with imagination, enthusiasm and commitment, Ashleigh has worked studiously over the past few years to hone her craft, producing literature across a number of genres that showcase her abilities. I'm proud to say that I have sought out Ashleigh's keen eye on my own books, contributing important ideas to both Gifts of the Peramangk and The Recipient. Now, Ashleigh has achieved that most special of milestones with the arrival of her first major release, Fyrebyrne Island.

Here of course, is the guff first and foremost;

With a thunderous roar it fell from the sky, all gleaming yellow scales, talons the size of broad swords with fanged teeth to match, wings held out from its sides like sails, magnificent and glorious. The time has come for thirteen-year-old Rachaya to embrace her dragon heritage. Not everyone is pleased by her arrival on the dragon sanctuary, Fyrebyrne Island, however, and her mother's enemies may well have become her own. Will Rachaya live long enough to take on the mantle of Queen of the Dragons or will her enemies prevail?

I had the opportunity to beta read an early draft of Fyrebyrne Island and, even its early stages, it was clear that Ashleigh Oldfield had crafted an exciting opening salvo in a projected three book cycle, bristling with a kind of old world literally magic that is essential to the fantasy genre. Central to this coming of age story is 13 year old Rachaya a human girl with trans-formative abilities that conceal a dragon persona - a key trait of most of the cast in Oldfield's meticulously constructed world. Rachaya is plucky, wide eyed and eager to harness the legacy of her kind on the sanctuary island of Fyrebyrne Island but her journey will be tumultuous as she finds herself at the center of an epic struggle that will threaten her future and test her resolve to the extreme.

Featuring vivid characters, sprawling, medieval inspired landscapes and a cinematic narrative that crackles, Fyrebyrne Island: Book 1 promises a thrilling adventure that will keep readers, young and old, on the edge of their seats from the first page to the last.

(image credit: A. de Niese.)

Ashleigh Oldfield is a fantasy fiction and children’s writer from Melbourne, Australia. Always having a love for  the written word, Ash wrote her first stories by moonlight at the tender age of five, long after her parents thought she had gone to bed. To this very day Ash still prefers to write by the light of the moon long after any sensible person has succumbed to sleep. 

When she is not working on her latest piece of fiction, Ash enjoys drinking good coffee, taking her dog for walks on the beach and hanging out with her two cats. In 2012 she took the plunge, quit her day job and has been writing full time ever since.

Fyrebyrne Island is out now. 

Purchase Fyrebyrne Island from The Book Depository.

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Connect with Ashleigh Oldfield here. 

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Chase-ing Assassins - The Accidental Assassin by Nichole Chase.

The Accidental Assassin by Nichole Chase

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ava McKenzie is a creature of habit. Life is passing her by and she has nothing to show for it. She’s had the same job since she started college, she orders the same dish every time she goes to her favorite restaurant, and only reads books from authors she knows. There is nothing new or surprising in her life… until her best friend marries a man from London. When her newlywed friend asks her to house-sit while she honeymoons, Ava jumps at the chance. She thinks this could be the very thing she needs to shake up her life. Ava throws herself head first into her new lifestyle; she wants to try everything, go everywhere, and never get stuck in a rut again. Of course, offing a man in a car garage hadn’t been one of the things on her list to try.

Owen Walker spends every day in a new place with a new case. As one of the most renowned assassins in the world, he has his choice of marks—and he’s never failed in a mission. When a new hit takes him back to his hometown, he looks forward to spending time somewhere familiar. What he isn’t expecting is to help an attractive, confused American woman find out how she’s ended up on a hit man’s list. 

As Ava and Owen dodge bullets, will they be able to escape their undeniable attraction to each other? Or will all of that chemistry blow up in a shower of hot and dangerous sparks?

To me, Nichole Chase has become the literary equivalent of a sure thing. As a story teller, she has consistently delivered with each title she has added to her CV. You are guaranteed an engaging and entertaining tome and you can expect that Nichole will give you something new. She does not tread the safe path nor stick to the same formula. She is a risk taker, extending herself in both genre and style and it has been meteorically successful. Having earned the rare distinction of being a New York Times best seller is testament to that.

The Accidental Assassin is testament to that also and I think it is Chase's most accomplished work to date. Part action, part thriller, Assassin takes the fish out of water scenario and offers it up anew in a frenetic chase story that evolves masterfully through the dual protagonists, Owen and Ava. Chase's grasp of action and tension is confident from the get go. The mystery and conspiracy elements unfold beautifully and keep you guessing throughout and there is a sexual energy between the two leads that burns seductively towards a satisfyingly electric, erotic encounter later in the book.

When we first meet Owen and Ava, a mutual attraction is evident but as their arcs evolve, we find a pair of characters who feel trapped in their respective existences - playing it safe by sticking to what they know. This is used as a primer that draws them towards each other and though it is a subtle thread, I found it really appealing.

One of the most effective devices Chase uses throughout the story is the first person narrative which she shares equally between Owen and Ava. By switching between the two chapter by chapter, Chase builds the narrative and drives the plot forward in a way that I found engaging. I felt invested in both of them. One could argue that this type of switching has the potential to be confusing but Chase handles it beautifully.

The Accidental Assassin ticks all the boxes for me. It's a smart and sexy thrill ride that is signature Nichole Chase and it was a pleasure to delve into.

DFA.

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