Happy New Year everyone, even if it’s already a couple of weeks old. We went to my favorite country – France – and enjoyed some warm-ish days on the Med in Marseille. I got quite a bit of writing and editing done, which was necessary given my ambitious plans for this year (one Romance and one Mystery to release with the publishers, plus my Da Vinci Mystery series I finally want to self-pub). “Spirits of Gascony” is still on track for a March release, so…Continue Reading “This is the time to write – or read”

You know you’re in trouble when your grandmother is a tree. Summers in the Fields of Bliss is a charming story filled with an amazing cast of (paranormal) types, none of which fits the mold. Vampire – check. But not your average blood-thirsty nightwalker. Fairies- check. But not your average cute fluttery beauties. Trolls, witches, and gods galore (the latter is a royal pain in the patootie). The author basically took her hometown, inserted her love for the place in the story, and then proceeded…Continue Reading “Book Review – Summers in the Fields of Bliss by Elisabeth Comiskey”

B.T Polcari Against my Better Judgment This is a lighthearted young adult mystery starring Sara Donovan, a slightly disorganised—nah, let’s be fair about it: super-dysfunctional college freshman with a mortal fear of germs who encounters a bunch of antiquities smugglers – just in time for finals. Mauzzy to the rescue. Mauzzy is not the local sheriff, just in case you wondered. Nor is he a significant other of any form. That’s the privilege of the nicely-butted neighbour. No, Mauzzy’s a dachshund with extraordinary bladder control….Continue Reading “Review of B.T. Polcari “Against my Better Judgment””

I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. What a great story premise. Set in the seedier side of Victorian London, the novel introduces Detective Nathanial Brannick. His wife having died from consumption, he’s given the case of a young Irishwoman who suffered from the same wasting disease that is now ravaging Brannick himself.  To ease the pain, he’s consuming opium – the archetypal flawed detective. There’s more to it. Like a bloody birthmark on his wrist and an eerie…Continue Reading ““Consumed” by Justin Alcala”

THE BAT is part of a string of stories told by the patrons of The Red Grouse Inn. I can see them there, sitting by the fire, a pint in their hands, spinning their yarns. I liked THE BAT, a coming-of-age story since it demonstrates that adult fiction does not have to pivot on adult protagonists. Instead, the friends enjoy Thomas’s tale, and the reader gets to listen in.Actually, while this set-up frames the narrative, it also creates a bit of a distance. We know…Continue Reading “Review of Leslie Garland’s “The Bat””