Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore Author Update – Kevin Morris, Jane Dougherty and Judy E. Martin

Welcome to the Cafe and Bookstore author update and delighted to bring news of author and poet Kevin Morris’s latest project.  He has recorded a CD of thirteen of his poems from his collections which include the following:

 Fire  –   My Old Clock I Wind  –   Leaf  –  Leaves Blown At Night  –   Lost  –  Ethereal –  Waltz – The Poet and the Workman  – There Was A Young Man Called Rory – There Was A Young Lady Called Flair – There Was A Young Lady Called Anna – When  –  Dalliance.

This CD is available currently exclusively from Kevin Morris and he has set aside a number of copies for anyone who feels they can offer an honest review of his work and you can contact him on the following email.

newauthoronline (at) gmail dot com

Two reviews for Kevin’s Poetry

Dalliance with nature and the wind By Alison Bailey Castellina on 23 June 2015

Kevin Morris shares his serious inner life in “Dalliance” in simple but often powerful poems and short, gritty vignettes full of honest feeling and meaning. He shares his acute sense of hearing and touch and his connectedness with Nature and the elements. He feels rain and wind on his face, either warm like a lover, or piercing and chill. His communion with birdsong reminds us that we are trapped in an over-stimulated electronic world out of earshot of the call of the wild. Kevin clearly hears these sounds through and above our babble even in the pub, and may transfer his feelings onto them, sometimes his sense of isolation.

The pearl of this collection is a poem about the “eternal” wind, which has no regard for our petty civilisation: it is the ultimate renewable power. The wind is from everlasting to everlasting. He hears the hoot of the deadly swooping owl intent in its prey. He feels and describes the touch of the acorn, something he has loved since gathering acorns with his grandfather. His short stories are deeply felt and based on newstories told with compassion. In sharing his gift, he opens up our own senses to the music of nature, the wind and birdsong, which is balm to the bruised soul. Highly enjoyable!

Exquisite Little Collection By Alienora Taylor on 5 September 2015

I loved the sheer variety of the pieces in this book – and the lyrical nature of the writing. Most beautiful. Two, in particular, stood out for me: ‘Dark Angel’ and ‘The Great Cycle’. Both evoked the connection we have with the world – though in very different ways, one being a physical bond with the natural world, the other a more inanimate ‘friend’!
I thoroughly recommend this exquisite little collection.

To buy the CD recorded by Kevin Morris please contact him direct on newauthoronline (at) gmail dot com, (the address is rendered to avoid spammers)

Also by Kevin Morris

Read all the reviews for Kevin’s work and buy the books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY

Connect to Kevin via his website or email as above: http://newauthoronline.com/

The next author today has also a brand new release as of January 30th.. Jane Dougherty with Tales from the Northlands.  A historical collection of fantasy short stories about the legendary Vikings linked to a child from another time.

About Tales from the Northlands

A rickety wooden escalator carries a child from his safe, comfortable world of department store Christmas glitter to the midnight zone inhabited by legendary nightmares.
On the windswept east coast of Northumbria, a Saxon thegn avenges his murdered chief by selling his village to the sea wolves, and a ruthless war leader prepares for battle, gloating over the blood dream sent him by the wicce.

In Viking Sverige, Jussi and Solveig plan a future juggling bride price, parental expectations and the knarr they have yet to acquire, but their future falls beneath the shadow of the mountain.

Antar seems like the answer to Inna’s dream of escaping the bleak steading on the fjord, but her father and his chosen son-in-law have other ideas.

What links these tales is the North Sea that beats the coast, brings the cold and the long ships, laps the winter nights in snow, when the wind howls stories of trolls and giants. It brings the herring, the sea mews and the grey seals, and it joins a people with the same vision of the world—harsh, vivid and full of magic.

Buy the book:https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Northlands-Jane-Dougherty-ebook/dp/B01MRC0GYF

A selection of other books by Jane Dougherty

A review for Abomination (The Pathfinders Series Book 1) released in 2016.

Explosive start to a new series By TriciaAnn on June 13, 2016

Carla and Tully are there to witness the beginning of the world’s end. When they are sucked into a wormhole that transports them five years into the future, they are stunned to discover a new and horrible version of the world they once knew. A world where violence is a way of life, where strange and terrifying creatures stalk the surviving humans, and where women are treated as lesser beings. They are forced to join a brutal tribe and shoved into the roles befitting their genders. As the story progresses, we learn more about the last five years and how the world they now inhabit came to be. We also learn the worst is yet to come.

Fast-paced and well-written, Abomination is a very strong start to the Pathfinders series. Jane Dougherty has created a desolate, post-apocalyptic world where the worst of human behavior thrives. We meet characters who are courageous, who love and care for others in spite of starvation, fear, and the daily threat of violence. These characters are beautifully drawn and complex. The story also has its share of twists and surprises.

I would recommend this book to teens age 13 and up. Adults will also enjoy the story. I sure did! Fans of dystopian tales and those who enjoy a thought-provoking adventure will love this book. I’m looking forward to book 2. 

To view and buy all of Jane Dougherty’s books please go to Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Dougherty/e/B00FMR7Y0U

Connect to Jane via her website: https://janedougherty.wordpress.com/

Now an update on poet Judy E. Martin who published her very entertaining poetry collection Rhymes of the Times last March.. When her book was promoted here at the time it was a little early for reviews.. Time to rectify that.

About the collection

Are you one of those people that barge through life, trying to get through it as best as you can, swimming against the everyday worries and stresses of life? Well, I have found a way to make it much more enjoyable.

Don’t you think everything sounds better when it rhymes? I certainly do. In fact, I have found that everything from doing the housework to growing older, can sound more positive and less daunting when made into a little ditty.

This book is about finding the humour, or raising a smile from the everyday things that we can all relate to in life, and looking at them from a different perspective. Nothing escapes versification; there is even a subject on sex! After all, that is one subject where there is plenty of room for laughter, even if it may not be the right moment!

Two of the reviews for Rhymes of the Times

Brilliant, Hilarious, and Filthy A Must Read for Rhyming Poetry Fans By Nica de K on 3 Nov. 2016

If you love rhyming poetry, and a bloody good laugh, this book is for you. Short at just 61 pages, you could get through it during a cuppa and I promise you will laugh the whole way through. Martin is a master at rhyme, and also with twists, there were a few poems with unexpected endings, one particular line caught my eye for its clever analogy:

“Then autumn comes a-calling
And it starts a slow striptease”

GENIUS!

The book has a variety of themed sections, my favourite being the women’s section which had some outrageous and utterly brilliant poems. My other fave was called Sexting, which made me spit my cuppa everywhere!

Brilliant, a must read for any poetry fan.

Poetically Perfect! By Ritu on 9 Mar. 2016

A fantastic collection of humerous poems, that span many facets of life. Judy Martin is a great poet, with that knack of getting her rhyming just right.

There were many poems that made me giggle out loud, and some that made me say “Aw!” Some I felt may have been written with me in mind!

So go on, treat yourself! Dip into this lovely collection of verse, you won’t regret it!

Find out more about Judy, read all the reviews and buy the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Judy-E-Martin/e/B01CPOB0M0

Connect to Judy via her website: http://www.edwinasepisodes.com/

I hope you have found this author update interesting and if you are in the Cafe and Bookstore please let me know if you have a new release available or a recent terrific review.. sallygcronin@gmail.com

If you are not in the Bookstore yet then please take a look at the promotion that you can enjoy for your work before joining the other 130 authors on the shelves.

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2017/01/03/new-series-sallys-cafe-and-bookstore-new-on-the-shelves/

As always your feedback is very welcome.