~July Book Haul~

Posted in Book Haul, Books by bibliophilebookclub

Hello!

So, it’s time for my monthly book haul post! I’ve been very good again this month. I’ve tried to avoid book-buying if at all possible, and my book post and NG requests are super low!

For any of you who don’t know, this is where I list the books that have made Bibliophile Book Club their new home in the previous month. The books are usually bought books, ARC’s sent from publishers, Netgalley review books and just basically any books I get go on here.

Here we go….

The Frozen Woman by Jon Michelet
Brilliance by Marcus Sakey
Written in Fire by Marcus Sakey
A Better World by Marcus Sakey
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
White Gold by Rachel Amphlett
The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson PRE-ORDER (I’m excited!!!!)
Whiteout by Ragnar Jónasson PRE-ORDER *see above 🙂
The Dying Game by Asa Avdic
Kill Me Twice by Simon Booker
The Shock by Mark Raabe
The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dionne
Time of Death by Alex Barclay
Morning Star by Pierce Brown
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
Cragside by LJ Ross
Godblind by Anna Stephens
The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen
How Hard Can It Be by Allison Pearson
If I Die Before I Wake by Emily Koch
99 Red Balloons by Elizabeth Carpenter

Sadly, my photo-taking for these books was next to nothing in July, but here’s a little selection of what I got…

It seems I’m reading as much as I’m getting in the past couple of months too. I’ve been getting through up to 20 books a month for the past few, and my book hauls have all been relatively low too so I’m not taking in as many books as I was this time last year for example.

Now, if only I could read the thousands of books I have on my shelves and on my kindle, I would be sorted! 🙂

Have you read any of these? Would you? (I’ve actually read a couple of them already- which almost never happens!!!!)

Do let me know in the comments!

17Jul2017

Author Q&A with Peter Robinson

Posted in Books, Q&A by bibliophilebookclub

Hi everyone,

Today I’m pleased to be able to share another Q&A with you all. Today’s one is with the creator of DCI Banks, Peter Robinson.

Peter Robinson’s latest book featuring DCI Banks, Sleeping In The Ground, was published just last week!

About the book:

A shocking mass murder occurs at a wedding in a small Dales church and a huge manhunt follows. Eventually, the shooter is run to ground and things take their inevitable course.

But Banks is plagued with doubts as to exactly what happened outside the church that day, and why. Struggling with the death of his first serious girlfriend and the return of profiler Jenny Fuller into his life, Banks feels the need to dig deeper into the murders, and as he does so, he uncovers forensic and psychological puzzles that lead him to the past secrets that might just provide the answers he is looking for.

When the surprising truth becomes clear, it is almost too late.

SLEEPING IN THE GROUND by Peter Robinson is published by Hodder & Stoughton in hardback now.

Click HERE to get your copy!

About the author:

Peter Robinson grew up in Yorkshire, and now divides his time between Richmond and Canada. Peter has written twenty-two books in the bestselling DCI Banks series as well as two collections of short stories and three standalone novels, the most recent of which is Number One bestseller BEFORE THE POISON. The critically acclaimed crime novels have won numerous awards in Britain, the United States, Canada and Europe, and are published in translation all over the world.

Peter’s DCI Banks is now a major ITV1 drama by Left Bank productions. Stephen Tompkinson (Wild at Heart, Ballykissangel) plays Inspector Banks, and Andrea Lowe (The Bill, Murphy’s Law) plays DI Annie Cabbot. The first series aired in Autumn 2011 with an adaptation of FRIEND OF THE DEVIL, the second in Autumn 2012, and the third in February 2014.

Peter’s standalone novel BEFORE THE POISON won the IMBA’s 2013 Dilys Award as well as the 2012 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel by the Crime Writers of Canada. This was Peter’s sixth Arthur Ellis award.

Find out more from Peter’s website, http://www.inspectorbanks.com, or visit his Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/peterrobinsonauthor.

Who I am …

I am a writer who likes to write my DCI Alan Banks crime thrillers, but also one who likes to take a break and try other things too… short stories stand-alone novels, that sort of thing. I split my time between Canada and England… I met my wife in Canada and her family is there, so Canada is part of our lives. Books take up most of my time – whether reading, talking about, writing or promoting. And I travel a LOT.

Writing …

is something I’ve always done – and I honestly can’t remember when I started, but I do know that from very young I had a big ledger type book in which I’d write and illustrated my stories. Back then they would be my own versions of heroic and exciting stories like Ivanhoe, Robin Hood or William Tell. Then I started reading science fiction and so I wrote it too … then this progressed into crime and thriller stories. At about 16 years old I became interested in poetry, and I wrote almost nothing else for the next 15 or 16 years. At that point I was bitten by the crime bug!

Inspiration …

I can never find an answer for this because I simply don’t know what it is!

My books …

They are more or less straight crime novels – featuring the policeman Alan Banks. He started life with the Force in London, and then migrated north to Yorkshire – where he works with a small team. He rather expected life to be more peaceful out of the big city – but he soon found out it wasn’t!

Social media …

I am quite sure it is important, and I am happy that I have a Facebook page and a website. And having people chatter on social media does help a lot. I worry about maintaining Twitter though, and I know that some authors are much more active on all forms of social media than others!

Fave thing about being an author:

I think just being lucky enough to do what I’ve always wanted to do, and to be able to make a living out of it. I see many people unhappy at work, and I thank my stars that I am able to do this job.

Least fave:

I’d like to have more time to set aside for poetry. Sometimes a writer realises they are spending too much time in their own heads as well… and we need to get out an meet people (which is why promotion tours are a good thing!). So less of the hermit would be a good, if not productive, thing too.

Reading:

I always read and always have. When I was a boy, people would say that I always had my head buried in a book. I read a lot of crime and thrillers – although never when I am writing my own. Also general novels as well as a lot of biographies and non-fiction.

Top books:

I am always cautious with this question, because there are so many answers! But a general sweep would bring up mostly classics, I guess. Let’s see … Brighton Rock by Graham Greene, I’d had a Sherlock Holmes, so The Hound of the Baskervilles, the one for Yorkshire, so it would have to be Wuthering Heights and I love The Go-Between, so that would be up there too.

Leisure time …

Clearly reading is leisurely too! Then there is listening to music and travel. Sitting outdoors watching and listening to nature is big on the list, both in the Dales and in the Canadian lakes.

I don’t really have any hobbies – only interests like music, travel and books

Top destination –

Each place I visit is the new favourite! But I am going back to Japan next year, so that must be the real favourite. I find the mix of old and new there utterly fascinating and they have a wonderful flare for art and design.

Food –

Steak, frites and something chocolate for pudding

Drink –

A nice southern hemisphere red wine – or that is what I drink most!

What else would I do –

I would probably teach English lit at some level. I do occasional workshops still – and I have taught some classes at the University of Toronto … but the timing of promotional tours nixed those! The thing about teaching is that you constantly learn in a way that just reading books doesn’t lead to. You need to challenge students with ideas and angles – which makes you explore the subject. I do miss that to some extent.

Many thanks to Peter and to Kerry for facilitating this Q&A! 🙂

16Jul2017

Author Q&A- Mary Turner Thomson

Posted in Books, Q&A by bibliophilebookclub

Hey guys,

I’ve got another author q&a for you all today. Mary Turner Thomson kindly agreed to answer my questions for this one!

About the author:

Mary Turner Thomson was born and grew up in Edinburgh, she got a BA Hons degree from Newcastle in Creative and Performing Arts in 1987, and a Marketing Diploma from Napier University in 1992.
She has worked as a business adviser, marketing consultant and motivational trainer before writing her first book – THE OTHER MRS JORDAN – IN 2006. That autobiography was then updated and reprinted as THE BIGAMIST in 2007. In 2009 Mary worked on another biography with Natalie Hutchison about overcoming adversity – TRADING PLACES – which was published in 2009.
Mary is currently working on her first novel – a psychological thriller.

www.maryturnerthomson.com

maryt@maryturnerthomson.com

Twitter @TheBigamistBook

FaceBook Mary Turner Thomson

About The Bigamist:

In April 2006, Mary Turner Thomson received a call that blew her life apart. The woman on the other end of the line told her that Will Jordan, Mary’s husband and the father of her two younger children, had been married to her for fourteen years and they had five children together.

The Bigamist is the shocking true story of how one man manipulated an intelligent, independent woman, conning her out of £200,000 and leaving her to bring up the children he claimed he could never have.

It’s a story we all think could never happen to us, but this shameless con man has been doing the same thing to various other women for at least 27 years, spinning a tangled web of lies and deceit to cover his tracks.

How far would you go to help the man you love? How far would he go to deceive you? And what would you do when you found out it was all a lie?

Can you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Mary Turner Thomson and I am an author (of international best-selling book ‘The Bigamist’), trainer, and motivational speaker.

How did you get into writing? Is it something you’ve always wanted to do?
If someone had asked me as a child what my dream job would be it would have been to be an author – but I never in a million years even articulated that dream because I never thought it remotely possible. It was only when the most extraordinary thing happened to me that I realized I had a story that simply had to be told. In 2006 I found out that my ‘husband’ – with whom I had been in a relationship for 6 years – was a bigamist and a con man who actively impregnates women to rip them off for money. So I investigated further and discovered a pattern of behavior which involved sometimes 5-6 relationships at once, 13 children by 6 different women, numerous businesses that he had defrauded and criminal convictions ranging back 23 years. All this from the seemingly mild-mannered, charming, kind man whom I had initially met (which had dissolved in our later relationship to my living in constant fear for my and our children’s lives from people he swore he was keeping us safe from). The book wrote itself in relating my relationship with this man, my discovery and understanding of sociopaths/psychopaths, as well as all the information I discovered including the other women’s and businesses stories.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
True life.

How would you describe your writing to anyone who hasn’t read your books?
I have been told that it is ‘like watching a train crash in slow motion’. You know what is happening and scream ‘no!’ but can’t stop it. The most common response I get is that people ‘can’t put it down’.

Do you think social media helps in regard to promotion and drumming up publicity for a new book?
Absolutely!

What’s your most favourite thing about being an author?
Being able to change perceptions about this type of crime, to raise awareness of psychopaths and how they function, and to change the social culture of ‘victim-shaming’ when this type of thing happens. 100 years ago women who were raped were branded ‘loose’ or must have ‘asked for it’ if they had worn the wrong clothes or smiled at the wrong man. Nowadays we ALL know that is wrong. When someone lies to you to get money it is called ‘fraud’ and illegal, and yet when a person lies to us to get sex (or create babies to manipulate someone) it is not even seen as a crime – unless money is also involved. That is fundamentally wrong.

People today are looking for love and when find a partner it is natural to trust them. Psychopaths use that, and quickly manipulate their victims into a position where they don’t question or doubt their partner. It is brainwashing and the psychopaths are cripplingly good at it! More so because the victim is branded ‘stupid’ if they admit what has happened. I had thought it more likely for me to win the lottery than be caught in the sights of a psychopath. I have since learnt that they make up about 1% of the population – that is 1 in 100 people! FAR more common that you would think!

I get letters a couple of times a week from people all over the world who have read my book thanking me for standing up and talking about this, because something similar happened to then and no-one has understood. Often they have remained silent on the subject and not told even close friends of the manipulation and emotional abuse because they are worried about being branded ‘stupid’, or ‘gullable,’ or ‘desperate’. In some cases my book has even woken victims up to what is happening so that they can get free of their psychopathic relationships. On several occasions victims of the same man have read my book and come to understand what has happed to them as well, contacting me afterwards to share stories and experiences.

Knowing I have helped those people, and made a difference is the best thing about being a published author.

What’s your least favourite thing about being an author?
Nothing – I love it all. I have always revered authors and to be classed amongst their ranks is an honour.

Where do you see your writing career 5 years from now?
I have several more books I want to write including a couple of novels (psychological thrillers of course). So watch this space!

What’s next for you?
More writing, more reading, more publishing, more life.

I often wonder are authors voracious readers. Do you read much, and if so, what kind of books do you enjoy?
I read a lot (every night) and don’t really stick to one genre.

Can you tell me your all time favourite book, or if you have to, your top 5?
Lucky by Alice Sebold
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Belgariad series by David Eddings
The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson
Game of Thrones by George RR Martin

Has there been any books you’ve read that you wish you had written?
Yes, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – I swear that woman has a time machine and visits the places she writes about. I admire her style so much!

When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
I am a single mum and run a business as well so time is a very precious commodity!

Have you any hobbies that aren’t book-related?
I got my black belt in Taekwon Do in 2010. I started in 2006 – having put Will Jordan in jail and going public with the story I wanted to be sure I could defend myself if he should come seeking me out when he was released. So I do that to keep fit and strong. My kids do it as well and my two younger children have been selected to represent Scotland in the Pan-European ITS championships in July this year. So I spend a lot of a time as a TKD mum ferrying them to training sessions etc.

What’s your favourite holiday destination?
A cottage in Arisaig on West Coast of Scotland. Family around, no electronics, the most stunning sunsets, not-too-freezing sea, card games and a fire to roast marshmallows on. Lush!

Favourite food?
My mother’s cooking – sadly not tasted for 10 years.

Favourite drink?
Wine

Last but not least, why writing? Why not something else?
Because there is magic in the written word, an immortality which transcends all other mediums. When we read a book we are not aware we are reading words printed on a page. We are transported into the story far more vividly than a dream so that it has a reality all of its own. It is timeless and revered and being part of that is a tremendous honour.

Huge thanks to Mary for this super-interesting Q&A! 🙂

5Jul2017

June Book Haul

Posted in Book Haul, Books by bibliophilebookclub

Hi guys,

So, it’s time for my monthly book haul post, and I’ve been very good this month. I’ve tried to avoid book-buying, but let’s face it, I have an addiction to feed.

So, here we go…

The Fact of A Body by Alexandria Marzano Lesnevich
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary Gryffindor Edition
The Paper Cell by Louise Hutcheson
You Don’t Know Me by Imran Mahmood
The Detriment by David Videcette
Marked For Life by Emelie Schepp
Ice Lake by John A. Lenehan
The Tourist by Robert Dickenson
Fateful Mornings by Tom Bouman
Tin Man by Sarah Winman
Black Wing by Ed McDonald
Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw
Maria in the Moon by Louise Beech
My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent
Under A Black Sky by Inger Wolf
Cragside by LJ Ross
Deadly Friendship by Tara Lyons
The Bone Keeper by Luca Veste (Super early ARC, ONE TO WATCH!!! Loved it!!!)
The Scarred Woman by Jussi Adler- Olsen
Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen
The Relic Guild by Edward Cox
The Cathedral of Known Things by Edward Cox
The Watcher of Dead Time by Edward Cox
The Dark Beneath by J. S. Law
The Fear Within by J. S. Law
In The Still by Jacqueline Chadwick

I’m feeling better about these hauls lately to be honest. I’m not buying as much, and I’m also trying to make a dent in my TBR. I managed to read 20 books in May AND 20 in June so at least I’m reading. Just not all of the books that are in my hauls! Oh well! 🙂

There you have it. Have you read any of these? Any you would reommend bumping up the TBR?? Do let me know in the comments! Until next month… 🙂

3Jul2017

~Guest Post~ Nathan O’Hagan of Obliterati Press

Posted in Books, guest post by bibliophilebookclub

Hey guys,

Something a little different today. Author Nathan O’Hagan has set up an indie publisher called Obliterati Press, and he’s written a guest post!

About Nathan:

After spending most of his teens and twenties in various unsuccessful bands, Nathan eventually turned his hand to writing. In 2013 he self published a short fiction collection, “Purge”. “The World Is (Not) A Cold Dead Place” is his first completed novel, though he has since completed one more and is in the early stages of a third. He has also written a screenplay and and another series of short stores which he may self publish in the future. He regularly writes features and reviews for the online fanzine God Is In The TV.

Nathan grew up on Merseyside, rarely venturing away other than a brief stint in Carlisle. He now lives in Northamptonshire with his wife and two children and works full time for the NHS.

Follow Nathan on twitter @NathanOHagan and Facebook Nathan O’Hagan, writer.

And now over to Nathan…

A quick Google search for ‘independent uk publishers’ will tell you there is currently no shortage of publishing presses in operation. I wouldn’t even begin to try to count them all, as there’s probably already another few sprung up since I started typing this. When I first began discussing with my friend Wayne Leeming the idea of setting up our own small press, the main question I kept asking myself was ‘why’? Did the world really need yet another indie publishing press? Especially one set up by two blokes who, to be frank, didn’t have a clue what they were doing at that point. After a few months of discussion with Wayne the ‘why’ changed to ‘why not’? We agreed on the name Obliterati Press, inspired by the album ‘The Obliterati’ by American alternative rock legends Mission Of Burma, and agreed our focus, at least initially, and as much out of necessity as out of choice, would be to find debut or emerging novelists.

We talked about the kinds of books we were interested in publishing. Although we both have broad taste, and didn’t want to necessarily rule out any genre, we knew that the sweet spot was going to be books similar to our own, and to the books we loved most. There were certain key words; gritty, authentic, powerful, that came up a lot. Although both northerners, we both now live away from the north; me in the Midlands, Wayne in Somerset, so although we’re drawn strongly to northern writing, we were both agreed we didn’t want to limit ourselves to that alone. We talked about other publishers we admired; Armley Press (who published both my two novels and Wayne’s), Wrecking Ball Press, Dead Ink and others. Armley Press provided the most inspiration, not only as they published our own work, but we decided very early that, to make setting up financially realistic, we would copy the print-on-demand model they use. To get started, we knew we’d have to put in some of our own money, but to make things economically sustainable, print-on-demand was the only way to go.

The main breakthrough idea we had was that, rather than set up, try to build up a following and seek submissions from far and wide, leading to a potential glut of submissions the two of us would never be able to read through with sufficient care and attention (I still work full time, so my reading and writing time is limited), we decided that I would approach a couple of writers I knew who, although talented, were amongst the many gifted writers who had as yet been unable to find a publisher. I sent off a couple of emails explaining what me and Wayne were planning, and asked whether they would be willing to let us read their current, unpublished manuscripts, with a view to potentially putting them out as our first releases. Luckily, both were amenable to the request, and seemed cautiously enthusiastic about the idea of being there at the start of something new. First up was ‘Lord Of The Dead’ by Richard Rippon, a brilliantly dark crime-thriller set in and around Newcastle. Wayne and I knew right away that we wanted this to be the first book we put out. It had everything; a gripping, twisty plot, great lead characters, a distinctive regional setting, and great commercial potential. We were salivating at the prospect of publishing it, and, thankfully, Richard agreed to take a chance with a new press.

Next was ‘The Baggage Carousel’ by Dave Olner, a deliciously visceral dark comedy that will shock and amuse in equal measure, and contains a young male protagonist who is destined to go down in literary history with the likes of Caulfield and Meursault. Having struck so lucky with Richard, we couldn’t believe our luck when another brilliant writer, with such a brilliant novel, was willing to go with us.

So the answer to my original ‘why’ was, if books as good as ‘Lord Of The Dead’ and ‘The Baggage Carousel’ hadn’t found publication, then yes, there absolutely is a need for yet another indie press. There are so many great, undiscovered, unrecognised writers out there that, frankly, I don’t think there can ever be enough publishers. I can’t begin to imagine how many talented writers there are out there, just needing someone to take a chance on them, to give them a platform. We’re very proud we have done that for two brilliant writers, and hope to do so for many more writers as Obliterati Press hopefully grows and develops in the coming months and years.

‘Lord Of The Dead’ will be published in November 2017, and ‘The Baggage Carousel’ will be published in Spring 2018.

www.obliteratipress.com

@ObliteratiPress

Obliterati Press- Facebook

Many thanks to Nathan for writing this guest post! Wishing you and Wayne all the best with Obliterati Press! 🙂

18Jun2017

Broken Branches by M. Jonathan Lee

Posted in Books, Review by bibliophilebookclub

*Many thanks to Hideaway Fall for my review copy!*

About the book:

Family curses don’t exist. Sure, some families seem to suffer more pain than others, but a curse? An actual curse? I don’t think so.’

A family tragedy was the catalyst for Ian Perkins to return to the isolated cottage with his wife and young son. But now they are back, it seems yet more grief might befall the family.

There is still time to act, but that means Ian must face the uncomfortable truth about his past. And in doing so, he must uncover the truth behind the supposed family curse.

Pre-order your copy from Hideaway Fall by clicking HERE.

My thoughts:

I had eagerly awaited the arrival of Broken Branches from new publishers, Hideaway Fall, so I was looking forward to getting stuck into this book.

Centered around a family curse, Broken Branches is told in alternating past and present chapters. The reader meets Ian and his young family but we also meet Ian when he was a boy living with his parents and brother in the house that he now lives in years later with his family.

The family have always seemed to be unlucky, with accidents and death befalling them down through the generations. Ian sets out to prove that this curse really does exist, but at what cost?

Broken Branches has a menacing feel to it, with elements of the supernatural that lend itself well to the overall story. I found the past and present chapters to be a little confusing at times, but it made sense to the way that book was written as a whole.

I managed to read Broken Branches pretty much in one day. It is a relatively short book, at less than 300 pages, so it was easy enough to plough through it. Ultimately, although it was a page-turner, I found it to be a little flat at times. Still though, it was the kind of book that kept the intrigue up enough to keep me interested in the outcome.

Recommended!

1Jun2017

May Book Haul!

Posted in Book Haul, Books by bibliophilebookclub

Hello!

It’s hard to believe May has been and gone already. It seems to have flown by! As it’s the 1st of June, I’m getting my book haul post in nice and early! Last year, my May book haul was crazy, because I turned 30 and I asked for 30 books as my present! 🙂 You can see what I got HERE, and I can guarantee the majority are still unread 1 year later!!!

For any of you who don’t know, this is where I list the books that have made Bibliophile Book Club their new home in the previous month. The books are usually bought books (a LOT of bought books), ARC’s sent from publishers, Netgalley review books and just basically any books I get go on here.

I did relatively well with not buying books this month. I say that, and then I look at this list: