The highlight of August for me has been the arrival of my latest book ‘The Mark of Edain’. If you’re in or around Cromford, Derbyshire on Saturday August 9th , do call in to the launch event at Scarthin Books, from 5.30pm until 7.00pm. You’ll love the shop with its Dickensian nooks and crannies and wide-ranging stock, of old and new titles, excellent coffee and idyllic setting overlooking the pond where you can catch the blue flash of kingfishers threading the air...
I’m delighted to see positive reviews for Edain already, on the net and in magazines. Thank you to the reviewers who took the trouble to put down their words for me. It’s always a great thrill to hear that someone has enjoyed one of my stories.
Books I’ve enjoyed recently, (but not had time to review…) :
I don’t have room to keep all the books I’ve ever owned, so I only keep those books which have touched me in a special way and which I’ll certainly want to read again. Everything else goes to the charity shop or to friends - whenever we have lunch together we swap books!
These are stories which have made it on to my special shelf, because they are truly special.
John Boyne - The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
One of the best Holocaust novels I have ever read. A simple, truthful, devastating picture of innocence threatened by terrible danger.
Jan Mark - Riding Tycho.
One girl’s ineluctable search for freedom. Powerful and page-turning. I was so disappointed that the story finished in mid-stream! I can’t wait to read the sequel.
There was something in the press recently about the lack of ’innocent’ stories for children. They are there if you look for them! Berlie Doherty’s Willa and Old Miss Annie is a collection of heart-warming tales, so very beautifully written with a poet’s ear for the music of language. A total delight from start to finish.
Happy reading!
