Book Link

From Amazon:

In the 1970s, a lovesick white girl just out of college sees a colored man she used to know on the beach. They aren’t meant to be with one another, but her parents find them and whisk her away. The girl and the man meet again, and their passion is reignited. They fall in love. Her parents want her to marry a farmer and organize a date, but the girl has other ideas. Despite what her parents think, she sees no age limit or color, only love.

My Review:

This book is one of, if not the best, poetry books I’ve read. The book is one long poem broken down into usable and delightful stanzas. I felt like I was hit with young love again, yet here that young love was told, no more. You can’t be together. Or he’s not right for you. It mattered not their station in life, and life, as always, comes to an end. Before that end is the middle, and such evocative words written, happy and gut wrenching both. Five stars.

Please welcome George Veck to my blog. Now that we have our coffee, shall we begin?

Please introduce yourself to those reading this blog post.

I am George Veck, author of North Wales set crime dramas One Visit and Spurious Scrapper

Has writing always been part of your life and when did you “know” that it was time to start writing your first book?

Not really, it is something that came out of nowhere for me in my early twenties. I started with screenwriting, wrote two feature films before it dawned on me how hard it is to secure the millions needed in funding to produce them. It was from here that my desire to write my first book One Visit started, and I haven’t looked back since.

How difficult was it writing your first book?

Pretty tough, but I had done ten or so drafts on the screenplay version which helped a lot. I did the first forty or so pages over a year, and found myself getting distracted by life, and partying etc. Moving area to start university gave me the space needed to blast the rest out, and I managed to finish it in a few months. A nagging doubt that I may never finish it, and that it wouldn’t appeal to anyone was the toughest part to get over. But crossing the line that first time and getting the first reviews in filled me with confidence to go straight again onto my second.

Have you ever wanted to give up and what stopped you?

Not yet, I’m in the first few years of writing books so am still relatively fresh and have a few ideas backlogged. While I was writing Spurious Scrapper, I suffered severe burnout during the second draft which was the closest I’ve come to giving up, but I just kept pushing my limits.

What is the best advice given to you (book or otherwise), and by whom?

Holy Holm, a legendary female MMA fighter once said her mother would wake her up by performing an arm bar on her while she slept.  Her message was that you will never be at your 100% best physically and mentally, and that you have to find a way to overcome obstacles no matter how vulnerable or injured you are, whether mentally or physically. While I don’t condone that type of parenting, the message stuck with me and pushes me when I’m writing. I feel I can get on the computer and get something down no matter what is on my mind, or what previous traumas resurface to try and stop me.

What is your target audience and what aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?

Those who are open to darker themes and the rugged reality of life in poverty. I try and make my characters and themes relatable, and would like to think I am starting to grow an audience with those who have been through poverty and abuse.

Did the cover evolve the same way, or did you work with someone to make it come together for you?

A freelancer did mine for me, she nailed it on the first attempt.

What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt

I am currently writing my third book, it’s unnamed as of yet and unfinished, but is a family drama set high up in the mountains of North Wales. It centres around a dysfunctional family, and how seemingly innocuous mental abuse can snowball into something more sinister when people keep their emotions zipped up. It will hopefully appeal to those who’ve lived in rural, cut-off areas that have felt the burn of social isolation.

https://www.instagram.com/vecks_gems_productions/?next=%2F – Instagram

https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Visit-gritty-North-Wales-ebook/dp/B0BLMDGLQD – Amazon book link for One Visit.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23034632.George_Veck – Goodreads

Book Link

From Amazon:

Come join us for some unicorn fun,
On a journey that’s second to none.
Through portals of light,
We’ll take flight with might,
Our adventure has only begun.

What you will find inside the book:

Part 1: A Unicorn’s Quest poetry in limerick format.
Part 2: 40 black and white coloring pages and activities.
• Designs with cute unicorns including an empowering message on each page.
• A nice large format for small hands to enjoy.
Part 3: You’re Portals of Magic acrostic poems to inspire your little star.

The coloring and activity pages will help your child relax and express their creativity, self-regulate their mood and develop their imagination while reading the uplifting rhymes.

My Review:

This is a lovely limerick book with a unicorn theme. 141 pages in black and white ready to share with your child together and older kids can do this book on their own. The amazing activities for kids are wonderful and I can see kids coloring and doing puzzles while on long road trips. Large size and large print really makes the verbiage easily read. Kids can ask a parent or older child about a word that is new to them – amd this book is truly unique, enchanting, and was a delight to read. I plan on gifting it to a child in the future. FIVE stars!!!

Book Link

From Amazon:

He was a Soviet defector – She worked for the U.S. Federal Government.

“Do we really know what we are getting ourselves into…”

Sergei Kourdakov jumped from a Russian trawler in 1971 and barely survived the treacherous swim to the rocky shores of Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada. The handsome, twenty-year-old ex-KGB naval intelligence officer had defected—leaving behind a horrific life he could no longer face.

K. Kidd’s search for independence and a career with the Federal Government led her on a journey that far surpassed any expectations. A year after Sergei defected; they met at her office in Washington, DC. The immediate attraction surprised them both. “Even you could be spy,” Sergei whispered.

This captivating true story chronicles K. Kidd’s real-life relationship with a man who gave up everything for freedom. In her eye-opening memoir, the author reveals a side of Sergei Kourdakov that few people ever saw.

My Review:

Oh my goodness. This book gripped me with every emotion that I have, such as happiness, sorrow, love, loss, scared, wondering how things would go with the female main character. The summer before her senior year of high school, she received a secretarial position with the government in the DC area. At one time she works at the Pentagon. Over time, her job changed as she worked her way up the ladder wherever she went. Sergie, an ex KGB agent, arrives for visits with her boss. And Sergie’s determination and joyful features are admirable as well as his strength. DC is beautiful depending on where you look and that special white marble used comes from Marble, CO. Over especially tender moments, laughter, fun, scares, and more our heroine falls in love with this ex-Russian spy. The story starts circa 1970, and what I read chilled me to the bone. Lots of intrigue abounds and then it becomes apparent fast that Sergie knew he was being hunted by the KGB for defecting to the United States. What transpires from there had my emotions all over the place. I don’t give away stories so know this. You want to read this book. You want to know the characters and how they end up. And you may or may not cry. Five shiny stars.

Book Link

From Amazon:

The Realm of Dragons is in peril from hidden plots and conspirators, which threaten not only the crown, but the dragons that are at the very heart of it.Teagan Loinsigh, long ago banished from her magical home of dragons now lives on Earth. Her dreams and memories of the great creatures are put down to fantasies and an overactive imagination. Until one day she comes across a creature so unlike any other in the land she lives in. A baby dragon.Muniath Magaoidh, a Dragon Warden fallen so low by a failed mission, must be brought back from his despair to retrieve what is lost.Scetis Mordha, alone in the world since he was a child. Finds himself in the middle of intrigue and conspiracy against The Realm of Dragons.Tying them all together is a dragon. Not just a dragon but The King of Dragons. Can these four save The Realm of Dragons?

My Review:

Conn has written a great and wonderful fantasy novel. The concept is truly grand. When there are multiple realms and kings and such, things can happen fast. A king can be killed. Others met with spears and some dipped in poison. Only a few carry the silver circle around each eye pupil. That silver is one of many keys in this book.

Book Link

From Amazon:

(His)Story of Women investigates the origins and consequences of the objectification of women to further explain the importance of the empowerment of women to modern societies. As far as we can remember, women and girls were victims of all sorts of abuse, and this is still the case today in spite of decades of struggle for the defense of women’s rights. Why is it so? Just because we are females!!??? Aren’t we human beings, just like boys and men? Don’t we deserve the same rights, the same respect, and privileges? The causes and consequences of gender inequality are extremely complex and identify important issues that require knowledge and skills drawn from different disciplines: genetics, anthropology, sociology, biology, history, economics… The quest is fascinating. The key issues in this book are: 1) to demonstrate, mostly thanks to genetics, anthropology and primatology that women are not intrinsically inferior to men; 2) to explain the historical and social constraints that led to the domination of women by men and their objectification; 3) to insist on the fact that patriarchy depends on the confinement and marginalization of women; 4) last but not least, to demonstrate that women’s empowerment isn’t just about ethics and justice, but also is an essential contribution to the stability and the security of our modern societies. Indeed, considering the various issues posed by globalization, climate change, the demographic explosion… our societies do and will need every skill, creative talent and workforce to meet the challenges ahead. They cannot afford to discriminate against 50% of their population any longer! I am convinced that women’s rights are much more important than we sometimes tend to think and it is not just about ethics and justice! It is not just a fight against discrimination: it’s a key issue that might determine the resilience of society! Indeed, giving women and girls equal access to education, equal job opportunities and equal wages, as well as protecting their safety and rights; will without any doubt stimulate production, innovation, and performance. Moreover, since they are generally more caring and less aggressive than men, giving equal responsibilities to women will help reduce conflicts and improve governance. If women’s empowerment is a question of justice, it’s also a key strategic issue which will determine the future of Mankind.

My Review:

This books explains the history of women throughout time. As such, women are still finding it hard to break glass ceilings, and more. Equality among men and women doing the same work, same quality of work, yet women receive less pay. Anything and everything that happens to a woman in each parcel of towns and countries, cities and rual areas are due to women being weak or causing their own hardship. The world can do better. Should the world do better, we might save planet Earth!

Book Link

From Amazon:

Fighting to save a primitive planet targeted by the Alliance’s enemies, Kairn never expected to find the female who haunted his dreams made flesh and blood.

Daria’s life revolved around her work. She had given up on finding romance…let alone love. Earth was now under attack by an evil alien empire—under siege. Daria is trying to do her job as best she can in an upside-down world. Then the cavalry arrives…in the form of giant, gorgeous alien warriors.

These aliens are working toward restoring Earth to the pristine beauty she used to be. In their charismatic leader, Daria finds the most amazing partner. What’s an Earth girl to do but grab on with both hands and hold on tight to enjoy the ride? After all…what could possibly go wrong?

My Review:

I’ve read my share of books over time and this novel sits apart from most others in genre. Seriously, this is an awesome story. I won’t give the story away, but there are humans…and Earth…wiped out…by aliens. The Pacific and Atlantic oceans taken by aliens. Yes, that much saline water stolen from destructive aliens. Earth was rapidly dying. More aliens arrived, different than the first. They created waves as well. I leave those waves for the reader.

Book Title:                 Close Your Eyes: A Fairy Tale

Author:                      Chris Tomasini

Publication Date:      December 16^th, 2021

Publisher:                  Independently published / Self published

Page Length:             258 pages

Genre:                       Historical Fiction

Twitter Handle:        @cathiedunn

Instagram Handle:    @chrisfindsthelight @thecoffeepotbookclub

Hashtags:       #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page:  https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/02/blog-tour-close-your-eyes-a-fairy-tale.html

Book Title and Author Name:

Close Your Eyes: A Fairy Tale

Chris Tomasini

Blurb:

Set in early 1400s Europe, Close Your Eyes is a sincere, yet light-hearted and lustful, ode to love. As Samuel, the court jester, struggles to describe why his friends, Agnieszka the cook, and Tycho the story-teller, fled the King of Gora’s service, he learns that love was the beating heart behind everything that happened in the castle.

He learns as well that more ghosts than he knew of walked the midnight halls, and that the spirit of Jeanne d’Arc haunted his friend, and once slid into bed with Tycho, daring him to leave – to take to the cold roads of Europe, where he had once wandered orphaned and alone, and find his destiny there.

1435 Samuel’s Narration – at end of Part II

In the winter of 1431, I did not recognize the many currents which had begun to sweep through the castle. Save for Tycho’s increasing silence and reclusiveness, I thought all was the same – Pawel continued in his midnight walks, another suitor had failed to win Alexandra’s hand, Gora’s curse, in the form of Agnieszka learning the truth of her imprisonment, was about to destroy another love story.

The change in Tycho was the only one of which I took note, for I thought that my young bouncing friend was becoming as spiritually broken as was I. He kept largely to himself, and due to his fear of the voices, he rarely slept. When we saw him he was ragged and exhausted, and most notably, he was silent.

I thought that it was Agnes who was giving him worry, but after reading his journal I realize that Tycho felt strangely content with the prospect of Agnes attempting an escape. Perhaps, on one of those cold nights he spent seated at his desk, reading or writing by candlelight, the story of Agnieszka and Michal was revealed to him in its entirety, and he knew that their story did not end with that goodbye near the lightning scarred tree.

If not Agnes, what troubled the boy?

He makes only brief mention of this in his journal, but I believe, especially in light of his speech concerning his wintry death, that he was afraid of travelling again.  The boy, who had never known mother or father, whose closest friends had either died in Bohemia or abandoned him there, and who had never felt himself to be loved, was afraid of being alone.

When Tycho had accepted the post of court storyteller, he had renounced freedom for family, a trade he never regretted and would have ecstatically made again. In Gora, with Alexandra, Krysztoff,  Agnieszka,  Ahab and I about him, not to mention the scores of others at court who adored him, Tycho was the happiest he had ever been. He regaled listeners with stories of his adventures in foreign lands, making girls with dreamy eyes long to see the English white cliffs, the warren of caves and underground tunnels beneath Montsegur, the unbelievable expanse of blue ocean stretching from the Iberian coast, but Tycho did not wish to return to these places. He had experienced their beauty and mystery by himself and preferred his home in Gora to the hard won delights of the road.

It was the prospect of losing his home and family which worried Tycho, which made him argue with Ahab when the astronomer raised the issue of the boy’s destiny, and which made Tycho evade the midnight voices, voices which he felt would ask him to sacrifice the only thing he had ever valued, the only thing he wished to keep.

Although much was yet to happen, Tycho’s entry regarding Jeanne d’Orleans was the last he made in his journal. It is Tonnelli who now steps from the shadows to take up the story, thankfully recording his thoughts and movements in his letters to Martin V, without which I would only sketchily have been able to draw this history to a close.

Tonnelli was soon to make a sacrifice as well, and I knew as little of it as I did the doubts which had visited Tycho. It is strange that I am the one who has become the historian – the blindest of the participants, and yet it is I who will engrave this story into history.

Buy Links:

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/4DJN6g

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09NRYXDM9

Amazon US:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NRYXDM9

Amazon CA:  https://www.amazon.ca/Close-Your-Eyes-Fairy-Tale/dp/B09NRK3ZQH

Amazon AU:  https://www.amazon.com.au/Close-Your-Eyes-Fairy-Tale/dp/B09NRK3ZQH

Author Bio:

Chris Tomasini lives in Ontario, Canada. He has studied creative writing via Humber College’s “Correspondence Program in Creative Writing”, and through the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies.

In the 1990s Chris taught English as a Second Language and had stops in England, Poland, and Japan.

Since 2000, Chris has worked in bookstores, publishing, and in libraries.

Chris is married with two children, and can often be found (though not very easily) on a bicycle on country roads in central Ontario.

Social Media Links:

Website:                     http://www.christomasini.ca/

Instagram:                 https://www.instagram.com/chrisfindsthelight/

TikTok:                      https://www.tiktok.com/@chrisfindsthelight

Book Bub:                  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/chris-tomasini

Amazon Author Page:                      https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B019NO9NO2

Goodreads:                https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14814659.Chris_Tomasini

Book Link

From Amazon:

It’s January 2021 and the UK government has announced another lockdown. Follow Aunt Sheila as she cooks, drinks, binge watches everything and waits for the pubs to open. Will the vaccine roll out, masks and working from home send covid on it’s way? Join Aunt Sheila and her daily thoughts in this funny little diary. Hurry up bloody ‘Freedom Day’.

24 March Jab day – hurrah! Had a shower and put on my off-the-shoulder top. Walked to the Community centre which is now our local vaccine centre. Dammit Janet was on the door squirting everyone with hand sanitizer, she looked off her head. A nice Indian doctor went through all the side effects, then the nurse jabbed me. She admired my new top and told me to wait 15 mins in the waiting area. Everyone was watching The Chase and shouting out all the answers. Went home, took two paracetamols and a vodka shot.

25 March Can’t move my arm today, have a slight fever and a hangover. Shaz has been to have her eyes tested, she said the new young optician looked handsome even though she could only see his eyes and hair. She’s stalking him on the Internet now.

My Review:

This is the second book in this series I’ve read. Short stories centered on the pandemic and how changes happen every day. Lockdown is tough, but doable. Patel has woven humor throughout this novelette. Five stars for the way the writer has brought the pandemic into a fresh light.