Welcome to the first of the week’s Christmas Book Fairs with a very full house, and the first author with a book that would delight any child this Christmas is Cynthia Reyes with Myrtle the Purple Turtle. The book was beautifully illustrated by Jo Robinson.
About Myrtle the Purple Turtle
Myrtle is a lovely Turtle. Not an ordinary Turtle. She is Purple and different from other turtles. After being bullied by another turtle, Myrtle tries to become someone else. In the end, Myrtle and her friends help children learn to not be afraid of being different. Myrtle the Purple Turtle is a thoroughly engaging story that stresses the importance of self-acceptance and friendship.
One of the recent reviews for the book.
Lessons on the importance of diversity and friendship abound in this beautifully written and illustrated children’s book written by author Cynthia Reyes. After being teased by a green turtle, “Myrtle the Purple Turtle” no longer wants to be purple. When Myrtle tries to turn herself green, she lands upside-down on her shell with no way to turn over until friends arrive to save the day. Not only do Myrtle’s friends get the purple turtle back on her feet, they show her and tell her how different and how beautiful they all are. Children will be inspired by Myrtle’s story to embrace the differences in themselves and others. ~Bette A. Stevens, author of award-winning picture book AMAZING MATILDA Amazing Matilda (Children’s Literature): The Tale of A Monarch Butterfly and other books for children and adults.
Read all the reviews and buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075ZGB235
and on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Myrtle-Purple-Turtle-Cynthia-Reyes/dp/0620773421
Also by Cynthia Reyes
Read the reviews for both books and BUY: https://www.amazon.com/Cynthia-Reyes/e/B00F1HTQQ6
And Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cynthia-Reyes/e/B00F1HTQQ6
Read more reviews and follow Cynthia on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7072186.Cynthia_Reyes
Connect to Cynthia Reyes via her blog: https://cynthiasreyes.com/
The next author who has two wonderful poetry collections which would make great gifts for family and friends is Christy Birmingham.
About Versions of Self
Imagine a shift to the way you see the world that arises through poetic narration. Imagine the world, at its base level, is a collection of selves. These selves collide, disperse, intermingle, and share themselves in lines of free verse. Such is the premise of Versions of the Self, poetry that assumes multiple types of selves exist and relate in ways that alter them. Each of the eight chapters looks at a different type of self, including the singular “I” and romantic interactions. These unique 80 poems definitely color themselves outside of the lines.
The latest review on Goodreads
Carolee Croft rated it Five Stars on 15th December 2017
Versions of the Self plays around with the concept of different selves, not trying to pin down or define the self, but dazzling the reader with the many colorful possibilities of human existence. These lines reveal the pensive and imaginative mind of a poet who is rooted in reality but gifted with the talent of describing everyday events with fantastic flair.
The poems speak of moments in life that we can all relate to: the love of a child for their parent, the sudden yearning for a crush, the heartbreak of rejection, the self-confidence that comes from releasing fear. Christy provides fitting and beautiful metaphors for all of these, making it appear like each one is not just different side of the self, but a whole other world.
Some of my favourite poems were ones where the ‘self’ tries to see beyond her current situation and imagine the possibilities, as in this excerpt from “The Field of Poppies”:
I bend down to pick the red flowers at
My feet, and I wonder at a day when
Tears do not stain my cheeks.
I wonder how the words will sound,
I wonder who will hold my hand then.
These poems give the impression of someone young, optimistic, hopeful. The different selves can be separated by seemingly insurmountable gulfs, but at the same time these poems speak of a strong connection, not only between people but also with nature and even the stars beyond our world.
Read all the reviews and buy the collection: https://www.amazon.com/Versions-Self-Christy-Birmingham/dp/0994094906
And Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Versions-Self-Christy-Birmingham-ebook/dp/B00XQOH3IE
Also by Christy Birmingham
Pathways to Illumination is available exclusively at Redmund Productions: http://redmundpro.com/book-store/pi/
Read more reviews for Christy’s work on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7177834.Christy_Birmingham
Connect to Christy via her blog: https://whenwomeninspire.com/
I can personally recommend Tipping Point Book One of Project Renova by Terry Tyler which I read and reviewed a few weeks ago.. Lindisfarne, Book Two is on my reader and will be part of my leisure pleasures over the Christmas break. If you are a secret ‘Prepper’ you will love this….
‘I didn’t know danger was floating behind us on the breeze as we walked along the beach, seeping in through the windows of our picture postcard life.’
The year is 2024. A new social networking site bursts onto the scene. Private Life promises total privacy, with freebies and financial incentives for all. Across the world, a record number of users sign up.
A deadly virus is discovered in a little known African province, and it’s spreading—fast. The UK announces a countrywide vaccination programme. Members of underground group Unicorn believe the disease to be man-made, and that the people are being fed lies driven by a vast conspiracy.
Vicky Keating’s boyfriend, Dex, is working for Unicorn over two hundred miles away when the first UK outbreak is detected in her home town of Shipden, on the Norfolk coast. The town is placed under military controlled quarantine and, despite official assurances that there is no need for panic, within days the virus is unstoppable.
In London, Travis begins to question the nature of the top secret data analysis project he is working on, while in Newcastle there are scores to be settled…
This is the first book in the Project Renova series; the second, Lindisfarne, is now available, with the follow-up, UK2, due around late spring/early summer, 2018. Patient Zero, a collection of stand-alone short stories featuring minor characters from the series, is also available.
One of the recent reviews for the book
Set in the year 2024 Tipping Point is reminiscent of the 1970’s TV series The Survivors. So just the population dying here and no zombies to contend with, which is so refreshing for a story to follow this path.
An infection has been let loose in the UK and the story starts in a fictitious Norfolk village of Shipden where Vicky and her daughter are trapped in the village being held under quarantine. Being from Norfolk myself this really appealed to me as did the whole book being set in the UK rather than the usual US storyline. As the book progresses we are taken back to events before the breakout and introduced to other characters, some of whom have their own storylines (for now) and some whose story is interwoven with that of Vicky of Lottie.
An easy and great read which I can’t recommend enough and I can’t wait to start the second book in the series to see how the characters cope with life in a post-apocalyptic world.
Read the other reviews and buy the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tipping-Point-Project-Renova-Book-ebook/dp/B074LSCX5M
and on Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Project-Renova-Book-ebook/dp/B074LSCX5M
A selection of other books by Terry Tyler
Read the reviews and buy the books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Terry-Tyler/e/B00693EGKM
And Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Terry-Tyler/e/B00693EGKM
Read more reviews and follow Terry Tyler on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5821157.Terry_Tyler
Connect to Terry via her blog: https://terrytyler59.blogspot.ie/
The final author today with books that would make great gifts for thriller and mystery readers are those by Sue Coletta..and here is her latest novella – Brotherhood Protectors: Fractured Lives.
Three couples, the perfect Maine vacation, and a fateful night that lands one of the women in mortal danger.
Couples are going missing in Sunset Cove at Long Lake, and the authorities seem more concerned with not tarnishing the reputation of their popular tourist destination. Until … while out for a spin on her wave runner, Shawnee Daniels pulls alongside a deserted canoe.
Blood stains the seat.
When retired SEAL Brandon “Boomer” Rayne wakes to an empty bed—his bride-to-be Daphne nowhere inside their rented cabin—he enlists the help of the only people he’s met in the state: the couple next door, Shawnee Daniels and Revere, Massachusetts Detective Levaughn Samuels.
Uncertainty bonds the two neighbors, forced together by tragedy. Their predicament turns even deadlier when the half-nude body of a female washes ashore. No obvious signs of homicide exist. How did she die? Does her death relate to Daphne’s disappearance?
Time’s running out.
Can they piece together the mystery to find Boomer’s fiancé? Or will an elusive serial killer determine their fate?
One of the most recent reviews for the book.
Head over and buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Brotherhood-Protectors-Fractured-Kindle-Novella-ebook/dp/B075FFNWD9
A small selection of other books by Sue Coletta.
Read all the reviews and buy the books: https://www.amazon.com/Sue-Coletta/e/B015OYK5HO
and Amazon UK:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sue-Coletta/e/B015OYK5HO
Read more reviews and follow Sue on Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14078869.Sue_Coletta
Connect to Sue Coletta via her website/blog: www.suecoletta.com
The next author with several books that would make great gifts is Deborah Jay with The Prince’s Man which Book One in The Five Kingdoms Series. The book is on offer between 20th and 27th of December…make a note in your diary.
About The Prince’s Man
Think ‘James Bond meets Lord of the Rings’
Rustam Chalice, dance tutor, gigolo and spy, loves his life just the way it is. So when the kingdom he serves is threatened from within, he leaps into action. Only trouble is, the spy master, Prince Hal, teams him up with an untouchable aristocratic assassin who despises him.
And to make matters worse, she’s the most beautiful woman in the Five Kingdoms.
Plunged into a desperate journey over the mountains, the mismatched pair struggle to survive deadly wildlife, the machinations of a spiteful god – and each other.
They must also keep alive a sickly elf they need as a political pawn. But when the elf reveals that Rustam has magic of his own, he is forced to question his identity, his sanity and worst, his loyalty to his prince.
For in Tyr-en, all magic users are put to death.
Award winning novel, THE PRINCE’S MAN is a sweeping tale of spies and deadly politics, inter-species mistrust and magic phobia, with an underlying thread of romance.
One of the recent reviews for the book
Deborah Jay’s The Prince’s Man (Amazon Digital Services 2014) is a beautifully told epic of noble people, magic, elves, and vicious trolls. Rusty is a bon vivant male companion to wealthy women and undercover spy in the service of his king. To save the kingdom, he partners with a woman–something that just isn’t done in this fantastical world–and together they rescue a captured elf in the hope it will garner the assistance of his kinsmen. As they travel the long journey required to return him to his home, they face trolls, sprites, and elementals, each with their own goals and none of which help the pair succeed. When they finally reach their destination, they find this is only the beginning of a mission fraught with danger, unusual alliances, and death-defying consequences.
This elaborately constructed world of royalty and spies, intrigue and romance, is truly is a mix of fantasy and 007. In so many ways, it resembles the delightful conniving multilayered world of the French and British court life with its flirtatious characters, the one-upmanship of lords and ladies, and the subterfuge that can surface at any moment to threaten the ruler. But when you add an elixir that offers the fountain of youth, the price of victory or defeat skyrockets. This award-winning story, the first in the Five Kingdoms series, is intricately woven, dramatically told, and filled with twists and turns that will keep every reader guessing.
Read all the reviews and buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Princes-Man-Five-Kingdoms-Book-ebook/dp/B00I9N2Q20
and Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Princes-Man-Five-Kingdoms-Book-ebook/dp/B00I9N2Q20
Also by Deborah Jay
Read all the reviews and buy the books: https://www.amazon.com/Deborah-Jay/e/B00E4X3UHY
And Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deborah-Jay/e/B00E4X3UHY
Read more reviews and follow Deborah on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7172608.Deborah_Jay
Connect with Deborah via her website: http://deborahjayauthor.com/
Thank you very much for dropping in today and I hope you have enjoyed the selection. Thanks Sally