Friday 28 April 2023

Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer BLOG TOUR #IsaacandtheEgg @thebobpalmer @headlinepg @HeadlineBooks @RandomTTours #ThatEggBook #BookReview

 


Heartbreaking and heart-stealing, this modern-day fable is an unforgettable novel about sorrow, joy, friendship and love.

It is early. A young man stands on a bridge and lets out a heart-wrenching scream. From deep in the woods, something screams back.

It sounds improbable. But this is how Isaac meets the egg.

The two are unlikely companions. But their chance encounter will transform Isaac's life in ways he cannot yet imagine.

Maybe he will finally understand why he went there that morning. Maybe he will find a way to tell the truth.

Sometimes, to get out of the woods, you have to go into them.




Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer was published by Orion in hardback on 18 August 2022, the paperback edition was published on 13 April 2023. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour. 



There has been A LOT of talk about Isaac and the Egg ever since it was published last year in hardback. It's taken me a while to pluck up the courage to read this as I knew that the central theme is grief, and I've done a whole lot of grieving over the past couple of years. 

There is no doubt that this is a quirky, unusual novel, and it can take a while to get used to the style of writing. However, once you are in, and you learn more about Isaac, you cannot help but become totally invested in him, and in the egg. 

Usually, I'd talk a little about what happens in a novel when I'm reviewing, but in this case, that's pretty difficult, and to try to explain how Isaac, who is in the darkest of places in his life, happens upon a screaming egg in a woodland, takes it home and learns from it is almost impossible. And, to be fair, this very talented author has done just that in the book, so I'd recommend that people just dive in and find out for themselves. 

This is a story that looks at grief and how the loss of the most important person in your world can affect you. It's a story that allows the reader, especially those who may have experienced a similar situation, to become aware that there is no right, or wrong way to grieve. Some of us may have felt the same way as Isaac does, some of us may not. None of us did it the right way, but we did it our way and this beautifully written novel is both comforting and enlightening. 

The gradual journey through the process of learning to cope without a loved one is superbly done and the addition of the egg adds a touch of lightness and humour, something that should always be welcomed during the most difficult of days. 

Isaac and the Egg is a story of loss, and of hope. There's a surprising, but totally welcome twist that I did not expect, but I thought it added a depth and clarity to both the story, and to Isaac's behaviours. 

This is a book that would probably benefit from reading more than once, I think there are parts to savour and study and think about for a long time.  A recommended read from me. 



BOBBY PALMER is an author and journalist whose writing has appeared in GQ, Esquire, Men's Health, Cosmopolitan and more. 

He is co-host of the acclaimed podcast Book Chat with Pandora Sykes. 

Isaac and the Egg is his debut novel.

Visit www.bobbypalmer.co.uk for more news about Bobby and his writing or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @thebobpalmer.







Viper's Dream by Jake Lamar BLOG TOUR #VipersDream #JakeLamar @noexitpress @RandomTTours #BookExtract

 


For fans of Colson Whitehead and Chester Himes, Viper’s Dream is a gritty, daring look at the vibrant jazz scene of mid-century Harlem, and one man's dreams of making it big and finding love in a world that wants to keep him down.


1936. Clyde ‘The Viper’ Morton boards a train from Alabama to Harlem to chase his dreams of being a jazz musician. When his talent fails him, he becomes caught up in the dangerous underbelly of Harlem’s drug trade. In this heartbreaking novel, one man must decide what he is willing to give up and what he wants to fight for.




Viper's Dream by Jake Lamar was published in paperback on 20 April 2023 by No Exit Press. As part of this #RandomThingsTours blog tour I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you today. 



Extract from Viper's Dream by Jake Lamar 

‘Tell me, Viper,’ the Baroness asked, ‘what are your three wishes?’ 

I am speaking now of November 1961. It was ’round midnight at the Cathouse. There must have been about twenty jazzmen scattered around the place, talking and laughing, drinking and jiving, eating, smoking, toying with their instruments. One could hear the distant plucking of a bass coming from one corner of the house, the errant honk of a saxophone echoing from another, the playful tickling of piano keys. And one could hear a cacophony of meowing, of purring, of hissing, of claws scratching at the furniture. The Cathouse was a double entendre, a home away from home for the two-legged black cats of the jazz world and the actual home of more than a hundred furry felines. 

The Cathouse belonged to the Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, ‘Nica’ to her many friends. She was a Rothschild heiress, a blue-blooded European who had parachuted into the New York jazz scene and become a sort of patron, protectress, groupie of the bebop generation. She used to throw all night party-jam sessions in various luxury Manhattan hotels. It was fun times till Charlie Parker dropped dead in the Baroness’s suite at the Stanhope. Management was not pleased. That was six years ago. The ensuing scandal made it impossible for Nica to find a place in the city that suited her desire for space and all-night jams. So she bought a Bauhaus- style edifice in Weehawken, New Jersey, just across the bridge from Manhattan, with huge picture windows offering a spectacular view of the glittering metropolis. Thelonious Monk more or less lived at the Cathouse. And the guest list of musicians who passed through, stopped by or stayed a while included the likes of Duke, Satchmo, Dexter, Dizzy, Mingus, Miles, Coltrane... I could go on. Lots of folks you’ve heard of. Plenty more you haven’t. This story is about someone you probably haven’t heard of. He wasn’t a musician but he was as welcome at the Cathouse as any of the jazzmen. Clyde Morton was his actual name. But just about everybody called him The Viper. 

You may not have heard of him but you’ve most likely seen him, in grainy black-and-white photographs, going back to the 1930s. He’s often there, hovering in the shadows, at jazz clubs, recording sessions, impromptu jams, always deep in the background, dressed in a sharp suit, with a sly smile, pencil- thin moustache, sleek, processed hair. You’ve seen him there at the after-parties, sitting at the far corner of the table, behind the half-empty liquor bottles, the overflowing ashtrays, and plates filled with chicken bones. That look of his. Languid yet dangerous. He sits there, a stillness, a watchfulness about him. There was indeed something reptilian about this man. Everybody was scared of Clyde ‘The Viper’ Morton. Except for maybe the Baroness. 

‘Achoo!’
‘Viper, are you allergic?’ ‘Slightly.’ ‘I never noticed before.’
‘It’s all right, Nica.’
‘What a surprise. I didn’t think you had any weaknesses at all. Are your eyes watering?’ 
‘I’m fine, Nica.’
‘Viper, are you crying?’ 
‘No, it’s just the cats.’ 
‘Let me get you a drink. Bourbon on the rocks, yes?’ 
‘Yes.’
No, the Viper was no musician. He had wanted to be one. 

He had the desire. All he lacked was the talent. But he figured if he couldn’t make music himself, he’d help those who could by supplying them with some of the inspiration they needed, the elixir of creativity. On this night at the Cathouse, the jazzmen greeted the Viper with the usual gratitude and respect. 
‘Hey, Viper, how ya doin’, my man? Thanks for that last score.’ ‘Viper, you got any of that go-o-o-od shit for me tonight?’
‘Yeah, man, I don’t know if it was the Californian or the herb from Indochina but I was so high at that gig at the Vanguard last week – I ain’t never played like that. Thank you, Viper!’ 
Just about everybody at the Cathouse that night was partaking of the Green Lady. The sweet smell of marijuana perfumed the air. And Clyde Morton had provided all of it, if not directly, then through his network of dealers – every ounce, every grain. 

‘Yo, man, you gonna share that joint or what?’
‘Take another hit, then try it in B flat.’
‘No, no, the way Pops plays it, the trumpet squeeeeeeals at the end. You gotta make it squeal...’ 

The Viper leaned back on Nica’s living room couch, languid and watchful, taking in the scene. No one, aside from the Baroness, had noticed anything strange about the Viper tonight. But he was indeed fighting back tears. Twenty-five years in this vocation. And until this night, in November 1961, he had killed only two people. Tonight was the Viper’s third kill. For the third time in twenty-five years, he had taken a person’s life. But this was the first time he had regretted it. 




JAKE LAMAR was born in 1961 and grew up in the Bronx, New York. 

After graduating from Harvard University, he spent six years writing for Time magazine. 
He has lived in Paris since 1993 and teaches creative writing at one of France's top universities, Sciences Po. 
He is the author of a memoir, seven novels, numerous essays, reviews and short stories, and a play. His most recent work, Viper's Dream, is both a crime novel and an audio drama, set in the jazz world of Harlem between 1936 and 1961. 
He is a recipient of the Lyndhurst Prize (for his first book, Bourgeois Blues), a prestigious Centre National du Livre grant (for his novel Postérité), France's Grand Prize for best foreign thriller (for his novel The Last Integrationist), and a Beaumarchais fellowship for his play Brothers in Exile. 
He is currently working on a memoir about his life in Paris.







Thursday 27 April 2023

Almond and the Lanista by G J Kemp BLOG TOUR #AlmondandtheLanista @TB5Publishing @RandomTTours #Win #Prize #Competition #Giveaway

 


‘Leave the squirrels alone,’ Almond said, following Scrappy up the path. ‘You have terrorised them more than enough today.’
Scrappy growled more loudly. Almond jogged up to him and crouched. Scrappy sniffed the air again. The shrubs in the direction they faced rustled. A deep rumble sounded from behind them.
‘Go, Scrappy,’ Almond shouted, charging up the path. ‘Run!’

In the far south-eastern corner of the horse lands, a man and his dog are suddenly thrust into a world of slavery. With seemingly no way out, Almond holds on to hope of freedom.

A tale of bravery and resolve, Almond and the Lanista is a story of a man who refuses to break the promise he made to his one and only love. A promise he made to help him forget his hidden past.



Almond and the Lanista by G J Kemp was published in paperback on 6 March 2023, and is the Acre Story Book 2.1
As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to have one print copy to give away. Entry is simple; just fill out the widget in the blog post. UK entries only please. 

GOOD LUCK! 


One copy of Almond and the Lanister by G J Kemp




The Acre Series

From their windows, balconies, and gardens of their homes, the residents of the land of Acre stare north at the ominous black clouds that crawl across their beloved skies. Under the clouds, a darkness has befallen the majestic City of Lynn.

Within the city, a cornered Queen, once true and just, now plays a game of cat and mouse with the races of Acre. Each season, as the Queen fights for control, the ‘Unknowns’ from the North approach. With them comes the stench of evil, fear, and death.

But… there is hope. A lost legend now awakened.

A set of dormant orbs lay in the gnarled hands of an old man. One by one, the dull orbs spark and swirl to life. Somewhere within the City of Lynn, the Scroll of Equals remains hidden. It’s text, supplied by the gods, awaits the chosen who may one day save the land of Acre.

Or so the legend says.







Wednesday 26 April 2023

The Lazarus Solution by Kjell Ola Dahl t. Don Bartlett BLOG TOUR #TheLazarusSolution @ko_dahl @OrendaBooks #BookExtract

 


Summer, 1943. Daniel Berkåk, who works as a courier for the Press and Military Office in Sweden, is killed on his last cross-border mission to Norway.

 Demobbed sailor Kai Fredly escapes from occupied Norway into Sweden, but finds that the murder of his Nazi-sympathiser brother is drawing the attention of the authorities on both sides of the border.

 The Norwegian government, currently exiled in London, wants to know what happened to their courier, and the job goes to writer Jomar Kraby, whose first suspect is a Norwegian refugee living in Sweden … a refugee with a past as horrifying as the events still to come … a refugee named Kai Fredly…

 Both classic crime and a stunning exposé of Norwegian agents in Stockholm during the Second World War, The Lazarus Solution is a compulsive, complex and dazzling historical thriller from one of the genre’s finest writers.

 For fans of Sebastian Faulks, Lars Mytting, Mick Herron and Robert Harris.




The Lazarus Solution by Kjell Ola Dahl is translated by Don Bartlett. The paperback is published by Orenda Books on 27 April 2023.

As part of this Blog Tour, I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you today. 



Extract from The Lazarus Solution by Kjell Ola Dahl 


As afternoon became evening, he was sitting alone at a table by the wall in Cecil’s. His selections from the menu were made with judicious care. He ate and drank only what he could afford. Around him sat German officers with Norwegian women. Power attracts, he thought to himself, and as soon as the thought was articulated, one of the women burst into laughter, revealing a lot of teeth and gums. He looked down and lit a cigarette. The last of his money would go on this meal. He needed a job, and once again he was reminded of the vicious, brutal way in which his brother had lost his life. There was nothing he could do about that though. Being utterly alone was a new situation for him, but it also contained a sense of expectation. Again his thoughts turned to his family, to his father, who had worked at the sausage factory in Fredensborgveien and had been alone at work the day everything went awry. The workers on the new shift found him in the giant meat grinder. He had been trying to free a blockage and had left the motor on while he stood over the machine, poking at the minced meat with a stick. Apparently, the grinder had caught the sleeve of his overall and dragged him up into it. It must have all happened in seconds, the factory foreman said. His mother had cursed his eternal haste, his sloppiness and all his short cuts as much she mourned his passing. For Kai the bereavement was harder. He felt the unpleasantness of the bizarre way his father had died as intensely as his grief. It always hurt Kai to think about his father. His emotions were never pure; his sense of loss was mixed with anger, his sorrow mixed with shame.

Nor could he talk about the accident with anyone, not even with his mother or Atle. His brother had felt little shame about his father’s death, but his anguish had been boundless and found release in tears. Atle and his father had argued about everything while he had been alive. When he died, though, Atle turned to mush. 

Kai took out the business card the woman in the cemetery had given him and flicked it between his fingers. There was no one waiting for him. ‘Come and stay with us for a few days.’ Should he take her at her word? Or was her invitation just a pleasantry, a polite way of rounding off the conversation because she had known Atle? Should he find accommodation elsewhere? Or should he visit this couple? The answer stared him in the face. He had no money. In a way, this was par for the course. It was as though his brother had sent him this woman. As though Atle had been looking down through a hole in the sky and had sent an angel to help his destitute brother.





One of the fathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl was born in 1958 in Gjøvik.
 


He made his debut in 1993, and has since published fourteen novels, the most prominent of which is a series of police procedurals cum psychological thrillers featuring investigators Gunnarstranda and Frølich. 

In 2000 he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix and he won both the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015. 

His work has been published in 14 countries, and he lives in Oslo.

Twitter @ko_dahl





Tuesday 25 April 2023

Thirty Days in Paris by Veronica Henry BLOG TOUR #ThirtyDaysinParis @veronica_henry @orionbooks @RandomTTours #BookReview

 


Because Paris is always a good idea...

Years ago, Juliet left a little piece of her heart in Paris - and now, separated from her husband and with her children flying the nest, it's time to get it back!

So she puts on her best red lipstick, books a cosy attic apartment near Notre-Dame and takes the next train out of London.

Arriving at the Gare du Nord, the memories come flooding back: bustling street cafés, cheap wine in candlelit bars and a handsome boy with glittering eyes.

But Juliet has also been keeping a secret for over two decades - and she begins to realise it's impossible to move forwards without first looking back.

Something tells her that the next thirty days might just change everything...



Thirty Days in Paris by Veronica Henry was published on 13 April 2023 by Orion. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour. 



Veronica Henry is one of my go-to authors, I'm always excited when I turn the first page of a new book by her. I really believe that her writing gets better with every book, I've loved them all, but oh my goodness, I absolutely adored Thirty Days in Paris. 

It is one of those books where the setting is so gloriously described that you will instantly find yourself on Google looking for holiday apartments in Paris. The descriptions of the city, the people, the food and the clothes just made me yearn to hop on the Eurostar and immerse myself in all things French. However, that wasn't possible, so instead, I lost myself in the pages and in Juliet's story and finished it feeling so satisfied .... but still yearning! 

This is a dual timeline story; a structure that I really enjoy reading, and the author does it incredibly well. We meet Juliet as her twenty-five year marriage is ending. She and husband still love each other, they are best friends, but their lives have just gone off in different directions. One of them would have to sacrifice what they truly wanted if they were to stay together, so selling their house, and buying places for themselves is the sensible option. 

Juliet is a freelance writer, she ghost writes books, usually for celebrity authors and also writes lifestyle pieces for various media. She can work from anywhere and has decided to go to Paris and attempt to write her own novel. She's given herself thirty days in Paris.

This is not her first visit to the French capital, and the reader is taken back in time to when a much younger Juliet landed in Paris, having taken a job as an au-pair to a wealthy Parisian family. Young Juliet was naive and not well travelled, but knew that she needed to spread her wings, to see something outside of her small home town, and hopefully add to her CV so that she can one day get a job in fashion. 

Alternate chapters tell Juliet's modern-day story, and then nip back all those years to her first visit and both stories are fascinating and compelling. As young Juliet discovers a new country, a new language, new food and makes friends, she also finds love. There are some absolutely heart-breaking scenes though that really made me feel so much sorrow and pain for Juliet. 

Older Juliet is more confident, more relaxed and wiser. Her stay in Paris is punctuated by new friends, beautiful treasures found in shops and food. Oh, the food! Your mouth will water as you read about the bakeries, the markets, the dishes conjured up. 

At it's heart, this is a love story, and it's a beautifully created one too. Nothing is simple for Juliet, but her determination to make things right is the making of her. 

A wonderful wonderful novel, one to treasure and one to lose yourself in. Highly recommended. 




Veronica Henry has worked as a scriptwriter for The Archers, 
Heartbeat and Holby City
amongst many others, before turning to fiction.

She won the 2014 RNA Novel of the Year Award for A Night on the Orient Express and is a Sunday Times bestselling author of over twenty books.

Veronica lives with her family in a village in north Devon and can often be found cooking up the perfect seaside feast.


Find out more at www.veronicahenry.co.uk or follow her on social media: @veronicahenryauthor | @veronica_henry






Monday 24 April 2023

Conviction by Jack Jordan SPOTLIGHT #Conviction @JackJordanBooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n @simonschusterUK #BookSpotlight

 


To steal a man’s freedom all it takes is... CONVICTION

Wade Darling stands accused of killing his wife and teenage children as they slept and burning their house to the ground.

When the case lands on barrister Neve Harper’s desk, she knows it could make her career.

A matter of days before the case, as Neve is travelling home for the night, she is approached by a man. He tells her she must throw the case or the secret about her husband’s disappearance will be revealed. Failing that, he will kill everyone she cares about, until she does as she is told.

Neve must make a choice – go against every principle she has ever had, or the people she loves will die.




Conviction by Jack Jordan is published by Simon and Schuster in hardback on 22 June 2023.
I'm really looking forward to this one, my copy is sitting by my settee, tempting me.  I'm delighted to do a little pre-publication spotlight for the book today.  The Spotlight Tour is organised by Compulsive Readers. 




‘Really clever and twisty with a propulsive storyline and a great central character in Neve.
If you like a legal thriller you’ll love this!’ – Harriet Tyce

‘A masterclass in misdirection. Smart, stylish, taut and twisting. Conviction is Jack Jordan’s
best yet’ – Chris Whitaker

‘No one crafts a dilemma quite like Jack Jordan. Conviction is a tour de force of a legal
thriller that will have you guessing at every turn and then gasping when the plot inevitably
catches you unawares...and if you’re anything like I was, you'll be swept away on a
thrilling ride that starts from the very first page’ - Janice Hallett

From the master of the moral dilemma and Sunday Times bestselling author of
Do No Harm, comes a tense new thriller









Jack Jordan is the global bestselling author of Do No Harm, Anything for Her, My Girl, A Woman Scorned, Before Her Eyes, and Night by Night an Amazon No.1 bestseller in the UK, Canada, and Australia. 

Jack's novel Do No Harm was a Saturday Times Bestseller and was longlisted for a Dead Good Reader Award in 2022.

Twitter
@JackJordanBooks



Praise for Jack Jordan


‘An absolute belter of a thriller. My heart was in my mouth basically the entire time.’ – Liv Matthews ‘This is a cracker of a thriller! Jack Jordan has followed up Do No Harm magnificently.’ – Emma Curtis

'With proper breath-taking, pulse-racing levels of tension...Thriller fans will be in heaven' - Louise Candlish

'When you pick up a book to read the first page and then can’t put it down . . . Amazing read' - Sarah Pearse

‘...a gripping and tense thriller’ – The Observer

‘Just when you think it’s safe to breathe, Jack Jordan grabs your finger and sticks it in the socket’
- Victoria Selman

‘I devoured this fast-paced read...over a weekend’ – Prima

‘Utterly gripping, addictive and brilliantly tense’ - Karen Hamilton

'Had me on the edge of my seat . . . Do No Harm is brilliantly thrilling' - Nadine Matheson
'An edge-of-your-seat, head-spinning thriller with emotion and depth woven through its heart' - Lauren North

‘Completely brilliant: fast-paced, brimming with action, utterly compelling. Exactly what a great thriller should be. The kind of cinematic writing that makes Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Micheal Crichton so readable’ - Sarah Bonner

‘Do No Harm is a relentless thriller, as sharp as a scalpel. It will get your adrenaline pumping as you race to the end’ - Laure Van Rensburg

‘One of the smartest, twistiest thrillers I’ve read in years. A relentless, menacing story with an airtight plot and a deviously satisfying finale. Fans of The Silent Patient and The Woman in the Window will love it’- John Marrs





Thursday 20 April 2023

Broken Light by Joanne Harris #BrokenLight @Joannechocolat @orionbooks #BookReview

 


Have you ever felt invisible?

Bernie Moon has given her life to other people: her husband, her son, her friends (who are these days, mostly online). At nineteen she was full of dreams and ambitions; now almost fifty, and going through the menopause, she's fading, fast. Heartbroken and hormonal, she often feels like she's losing her mind.

But when a young woman is murdered in a local park, it sparks a series of childhood memories in Bernie and with them, a talent that has lain dormant most of her adult life.

She promised herself she'd never think of it again. When she was a teenager, it almost destroyed her. But now she's older, could it be the power she's been missing?

Could it be the chance to, finally, make them look?



Broken Light by Joanne Harris is published on 11 May 2023 by Orion. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I have been a fan of Joanne Harris' writing for a long time. I have hardback copies of the Chocolat series and I've been lucky enough to meet her. 

Harris writes in a style that is truly hers, and hers only. Whether it's crime fiction or fantasy, there's such a precision to her structure. In Broken Light she returns with a hint of magical realism, but this is very far away from the tranquility and peace of rural France that we discovered in Chocolat. This is up to date, modern and so very relevant. It is brutal in parts, it is eye-opening, and it often anger-inducing. The anger comes from the reality of the words, the compelling and spellbinding depiction of a middle-aged woman living an ordinary life and whose rage gives her power. 

Bernie Moon is a woman who has become invisible. When she was younger she had dreams of who she would become, but those dreams faded into a life of marriage and motherhood. Bernie has no friends, but often thinks about Katie, the girl who she was close to as a child, who now torments her thoughts. Bernie's son is thirty, and she keeps up with his life via Instagram. Her husband has little time for her, with throwaway remarks that hurt.

When a young woman is murdered, in a park not far from Bernie's home, Bernie becomes almost revitalised. The news of the murder sparks memories from years ago, and a long hidden talent that Bernie has not thought about for years re-emerges. 

Bernie can go into other people's 'houses'. It's not really a bricks and mortar building, it's the 'house' that the person has created for themselves. Bernie can see how they really are, under the designer suits, and the expensive handbags. She can spot danger, and most of all, she can prevent it, and she can change people. It's not a gift that Bernie relishes, it cost her a lot in her younger life, but it seems to have come back with a force, she can do little to stop it. When Bernie saves a young woman from a man with ill intent one night, she gains a friend, she also gains a person who encourages her, who goads her to use her power, and not always in the right way. 

Joanne Harris deals with so many current issues within this fascinating story. The sudden invisibility of the middle-aged woman, the constant misogyny that is often seen as banter, and just a joke. The determination of some men to ensure that no woman feels equal to them, let alone better. It's a story filled with rage, and hot flashes and regaining your identity, against all odds. It's a story about friendships and yes, there are a couple of female characters in there who are not all good, all powerful and all right. The inclusion of a touch of misandry balances what could be an exhausting read. 

Broken Light is a book for discussion. The multiple questions raised would lead to some fine discussion for books groups, of all gender. The characters are vividly created and the emotion evoked is palpable. 

Beautifully written, and cleverly structured. I was engrossed from the first page right through to the explosive ending. 



JOANNE HARRIS is an Anglo-French author, whose books include fourteen novels, two cookbooks and many short stories. 

Her work is extremely diverse, covering aspects of magic realism, suspense, historical fiction, mythology and fantasy. 

In 2000, her 1999 novel CHOCOLAT was adapted to the screen, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. 

She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and in 2013 was awarded an MBE by the Queen.








Adventures in Space - Short Stories by Chinese & English Sci Fi Writers BLOG TOUR @flametreepress #Win #Prize #Giveaway @RandomTTours

 


An impressive joint project, this outstanding new anthology brings the best of Chinese and English science fiction in a mediation on the theme of Exploration in Space. 

New, emerging, established and much-lauded writers from both cultures are brought together to demonstrate that technology and humanity when they work together bring challenges, joy and benefits to all of humankind. 

From Bao Shu comes 'A Trip to the End', from Allen Stroud 'The First', from He Xi 'Never Meet Again in Life', from Amdi Silvestri 'A Minuet of Corpses' and under the guiding eye of Patrick Parrinder (President of the H.G. Wells society) and Yao Haijun (celebrated editor of Science Fiction World in China) thirteen authors create a series of worlds which will enthral and entertain.




Adventures in Space (Short stories by Chinese and English Science Fiction writers) is published on 25 
April by Flame Tree Press. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I have one copy to give away today. Entry is simple, just fill out the widget in the blog post. UK entries only please.


Good Luck!



One copy of Adventures in Space from Flame Tree Press