Smorgasbord Bookshelf – Meet the Authors 2022 – Personal Recommendations – #Paranormal Robbie Cheadle, #Western #Romance Sandra Cox, #Fantasy C.S. Boyack

In this first feature for the Smorgasbord Bookshelf I am sharing authors whose books I have read and can personally recommend along with one of my reviews for their books.

The first author and poet today is Robbie Cheadle who also writes as Roberta Eaton Cheadle. I have enjoyed Robbie and her son Michael’s series for children as well as her poetry collection and stand alone novels. A talented writer with a passion for inspiring children to read and write.

Meet Robbie Cheadle

Robbie Cheadle is a South African children’s author and poet with 9 children’s books and 1 poetry book.

The 7 Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.

Robbie has also published 2 books for older children which incorporate recipes that are relevant to the storylines.

Robbie has 2 adult novels in the paranormal historical and supernatural fantasy genres published under the name Roberta Eaton Cheadle. She also has short stories in the horror and paranormal genre and poems included in several anthologies.

Robbie writes a monthly series for https://writingtoberead.com called Growing Bookworms. This series discusses different topics relating to the benefits of reading to children.

Robbie has a blog, https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/ where she shares book reviews, recipes, author interviews, and poetry.

A small selection of books by Robbie Cheadle

My review for A Ghost and his Gold June 2021

This was certainly an ambitious project from a number of perspectives. The fusion of paranormal and history with two stories running in parallel is a challenge, but the author has succeeded in writing a flowing saga spanning 130 years. All the characters are excellently crafted and are memorable..

Usually it is left to the victors to write the history of wars, but that means you get the abridged truth and their own atrocities and failures tend to be skirted over. In this account of the Second Boer War between 1899 and 1902, both sides of the conflict are represented by two soldiers, enemies, but united in death by a need for resolution and forgiveness. They share the unabridged truth from their individual perspectives of the military and civilian devastation that occurs during this period, and it makes for sombre reading.

Their accounts of the conflict have been meticulously researched and provide a compelling behind the scenes background, not just to the military victories and defeats, but the appalling impact on whole families, the Boer way of life and Africa’s future. Those who worked the land with their native farm workers saw treasure in the earth and in the animals that grazed the grasslands, and fought for the right to retain their rights. The British Army was sent into battle to secure what lay beneath the ground for politicians who wanted gold and to remove the right to autonomy.

Men on the front line from both sides suffered from ineffective leadership and devastating losses but the conflict spread uncontained across the veld due to the scorched earth policy which destroyed farms and livestock, leaving nothing for the Boers to return to. Families were incarcerated in concentration camps lacking the basic human needs leading to the deaths of thousands of women and children from starvation and disease..

Running parallel to this personal account of two men caught up in this vortex, is the story of a modern day couple living on the land once a thriving Boer farm. The earth holds secrets and the house, now built over the rubble of its troubled past, also contains an unresolved mystery. One that has attracted the attention of another ghost who is not seeking forgiveness but revenge.

The author manages the various threads of the story with skill, weaving them back and forth across the loom of time. She brings them together for a dramatic climax which will shake the foundations of the future, as the dead and living claim their right to be heard.

Read the reviews and Buy the books :Amazon US – And:Amazon UK – Follow Robbie : Goodreads – blog: Robbie’s Inspiration- Twitter: @bakeandwrite

The next author has become a favourite of mine over the last couple of years since reading one of her western romances. Since then I have enjoyed several more. A gifted writer, Sandra Cox creates amazing characters and has you stepping back in time to the dangerous and exhilirating days of the Wild West.

Meet Sandra Cox

Sandra is a vegetarian, animal lover and avid gardener. She lives with her husband, their dog and several cats in sunny North Carolina.

Her novels consist of All Things Western and More. She is an Eppie finalist, award winner and category best-seller.

A small selection of Sandra’s books

My review for Gwen Slade: Bounty Hunter January 2021

Another wonderful western romance from Sandra Cox. As always the author creates a strong feisty heroine who does not take fools gladly.. Gwen Slade has had to learn to take care of herself and her younger brother at an early age and now has a fierce reputation throughout the west as a woman who always gets her man.

Enter the good looking and not so innocent Jordie, and as the story heats up in both the action and romance departments, their lives become increasingly entwined.

Bounty hunting is not for the timid and the bad guys don’t care if she is a woman or not, they will still fight to the death. As Gwen tracks down the members of a violent gang, her life and future of her family hang in the balance.

I highly recommend to those who love both westerns and romance, especially when they are brought together in an action packed adventure. This is not the first Sandra Cox book I have read and will certainly not be the last.

Read the reviews and buy the books : Amazon UK –And: Amazon US- follow Sandra Cox: Goodreads – Blog: Sandra Cox Blogspot – Twitter:@Sandra_Cox

The final author today has provided a great deal of escapism in the last couple of years with his supernatural and fantasy themed books. As well as creating some endearing monsters C. S. Boyack also opens the door to viewing these creatures with some compassion, and with humour as the reader joins them in their adventures.

Meet C.S. Boyack

I was born in a town called Elko, Nevada. I like to tell everyone I was born in a small town in the 1940s. I’m not quite that old, but Elko has always been a little behind the times. This gives me a unique perspective of earlier times, and other ways of getting by. Some of this bleeds through into my fiction.

I moved to Idaho right after the turn of the century, and never looked back. My writing career was born here, with access to other writers and critique groups I jumped in with both feet.

I like to write about things that have something unusual. My works are in the realm of science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy. The goal is to entertain you for a few hours. I hope you enjoy the ride.

A selection of other books by C.S. Boyack

My review for HMS Lanternfish (Lanternfish Series book 2) April 2021

I thought the Voyage of the Lanternfish, the first book in the series, was fabulous, with wonderfully drawn characters and monsters great and small who created havoc and also added a dark humour to the book. I certainly recommend that you read that book first so you hit the deck running (pardon the pun) with book two.

After such an exciting adventure the crew has scattered to the four winds, and in some cases settled down to domesticity and a more gentle form of occupation. But, when duty calls, H.M.S Lanternfish is taken out of mothballs and sets sail to gather back together key crew members, who thankfully are itching to get back into the fight for their country of birth, or in many cases by adoption.

The pace picks up with an urgent rendezvous in the logbook some months ahead and it is all hands on deck. The ship encounters mysterious floating islands, more monsters intent on mischief, ancient civilisations with strict codes of honour, betrayal by allies and unexpected alliances with the enemy. Lanternfish gathers a small flotilla carrying hundreds of warriors, the quirky and the courageous. All of whom become dependent on Captain James Bloodwater, their overall commander, to seek out provisions, gold and a good fight, of which there are plenty for the taking. Characters from the first book develop into key roles and together they face the fight of their lives to salvage something from their embattled homeland to rebuild the future.

Sometimes a second book can flag after a fast paced adventure in the first episode, but if anything the author has kicked the action up more than a few notches. He has also brought in some wonderful new key characters that allow the series to develop in a number of directions. and I for one am looking forward to see where they lead. The ending is very satisfactory but still leaves some hints to encourage hopes of another adventure in the last book of the trilogy soon. Highly recommended to readers who enjoy well written epic fantasy and fast paced adventures

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US – and :Amazon UK – Follow Craig: Goodreads – blog:Cold Hand Boyack – Twitter: @Virgilante

 

Thank you for dropping in today and I hope you are leaving with some books.. thanks Sally.