Witches - The Written Word

Witches : The Written Word Book One by Jamieson Wolf novel which is published by Cobblestone Press and was released, rather appropriately, on Halloween. Jamieson describes his book as 'Gay Romance' but I am not convinced writing of this quality can be pinned down into a single genre.

I found myself absorbed by the end of the first page, enthralled by the richness and depth of the characters.

The descriptiveness throughout the book is magical, alluring, irresistible. 'Books were strewn all over every available surface, every table. They were sitting on shelves, propping up the furniture. There were more books than he could possibly read in an entire lifetime. A soft breeze blew through the room and ruffled their pages; it sounded as if they were whispering to him, begging him to read them.'

The beautiful vibrancy of Jamiesons' words danced across my mind, enchanting me as I fell deeper into the story. He writes exquisite erotica that defies simple classification. This is a decadent love story that goes beyond this world. It seamlessly crosses the boundaries of different planes of reality and combines fantasy with the grit of the modern world.

How does he manage all this? Your guess is as good as mine and whatever his secret may be, I suspect it will remain just that. Jamieson, like his main character Owen, is truly a master storyteller. I am eagerly anticipating Demons : The Written Word Book Two

a friend like henry by nuala gardner (title and authors' name all lower case as depicted on book cover)

a friend like henry,written by Nuala Gardner and published by Sourcebooks is a parents' book about autism...with all the fluffy bits removed. Honest, blunt, significant, rewarding. A well written, meaningful and very readable book.

a friend like henry is a book that tells the reader how frustrating, enlightening and magical living with autism can be, both for the person on the spectrum and those that live in the world parallel to ours.

I am happy to say that at no time in this book is it ever implied that Dale should be 'cured' of his autism, it is obvious throughout the book that the search is for coping mechanisms and behavioral modification.

One of the things I enjoyed most was that Nuala does not claim that pet therapy is the only solution to the above dilemma but she does openly and honestly share one way of using an autistic child's obsession to their family's best advantage.

One of the things I disliked the most about this book (besides the use of all lower case for the title and author name), was the way it rewired all my emotions and made me cry every few pages. I found that I had to pace myself through this book by reading it in between several others in order to give my emotions a break. I nearly couldn't continue on reading it at the end but I am not going to tell you why, as it will 'ruin' the ending for you. However, I am happy that I did carry on.

After reading this book I am still convinced that our N3S is still the child most likely to be savaged by a dog but I picked up a few tips encouraging on behavioral modification which we will apply through other mediums.

The section where Dale 'speaks' at the end of the book along with Nuala's afterword are nice twists and are the perfect ending to what I feel is a triumph of literary honesty. This is a very special book.

I speak as both an adult Aspie and a mother of an Aspie child when I say that this book will break your heart into several pieces and then show you interesting new ways to put it back together again.

Something a little different to stuff in those Christmas stockings

I am delighted to be able to show you the front and back cover for this collection of my memories.

This volume contains the stories from my earliest childhood memory up until my late teens when I moved away from home.

I hope to bring you a second collection of stories at a later date but that will all depend on how much interest this volume generates.

I will be using the publication of my memoir as an extension of this blog; a more tangible platform to raise Autism awareness whenever and wherever possible.

Legend Press are publishing this book in collaboration with YouWriteOn.com who in turn have been sponsored by The Arts Council to help writers develop, get noticed and get published.

Somewhat unusually, the wonderful world of bluechrome, the publisher of my fiction novel 'Without Alice', has also been involved in the publication of 'From Zaftig to Aspie'. I explain how and why on the acknowledgment page at the end of my book.

'From Zaftig to Aspie' will be on sale in December 2008 and I've been told it will be available to order from all major booksellers throughout the UK, US and worldwide, such as Waterstones, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and WH Smiths.

My 'Book Launch for Charity' party will happen in late January 2009 and I will post more details about that later on this year.

Megan Taylor - talented beyond description

Megan's writing makes me want to throw away everything I have ever written and start all over again. I am not sure if that is a bad thing or part of the process of being a better writer...

However, I couldn't possibly do this writer justice by futilely trying to find the right words to describe the music of her writing. I urge you to go read her latest story and see for yourself.

Click here to read, Insects .

Strangers Waiting by Sally Spedding

Strangers Waiting written by Sally Spedding and published by the wonderful world of bluechrome.

I was hoping to enjoy this crime mystery novel and wasn't disappointed. It is filled with short stories that are mysterious, alluring, enchanting.

Dechets sets the tone for the book, luring the reader in and leaving you longing for more, which are then delivered in a succession of several delightful stories. Strangers Waiting was full on scary, heart in my mouth, edge of my seat, full of suspense type of scary. Minstrel Boy left me with an aftertaste of sadness. I became so engrossed in Sword Lillies that I was somewhat snappish when interrupted while reading. Reserve de Chasse, was eerie enough to have me fighting the urge to look over my shoulder. Blackthorn days, is extremely clever and thoroughly satisfying. Downtime was very plausible and all the more frightening because of that. Mares perfectly depicts the lure of herd mentality. Clan was a splendid finish for this eclectic mix.

This slim volume is the perfect size to enjoy in its entirety during a decadent duvet day. Follow the links at the top of the post to indulge yourself with this calorie free Halloween treat.

Caroline Smaile's Black Boxes

Black Boxes by Caroline Smailes and published by The Friday Project is a book that gives you your money's worth on every page. Once again Caroline has taken one of life's most important and rarely discussed issues and with her very unique voice, made it into a very readable novel.

Black boxes is compelling reading.

I expect readers who are not familiar with Caroline's writing will think that the topic is used to allay one's fear of the situation but as usual she does no such thing. Instead, she bravely examines each nuance of this emotive topic, detailing the root cause and perpetuating factors, following the path of destruction that unrecognised postnatal depression can become.

Although this is not an academic work, it accomplishes what no textbook will ever do and I strongly recommend it as reading for Health and Social Care students. I admire Caroline hugely for writing this book and know that each person who reads it will develop a greater understanding of some very sensitive issues that are very much a part of many people's lives.

Postnatal depression is the main issue but emotional abuse, neglect, bullying, love and hate are also seamlessly blended in this book written from the mother Ana's and daughter Pip's perspective. Pip's voice also speaks for her brother Davie. Ana speaks with imperfect and egocentric hindsight, Pip cries out from the harsh, damaging reality of the present time.

The parallels are sharp, perfectly honed, gleaming. There is white hot pain contained within the pages of this book.

Pip and Davie need a hiding tree, a place to escape the tsunami like destruction of their parent's madness's. Their pain rings out like the tones that can be coaxed from the rim of wet crystal and I found myself reading with the certainty that one of their songs was going to stop.

I challenge you to read Pip's closing words without a tear in your eye...