Hello everyone! My new novel, Stars and Satellites is out now on Kindle! It's available here.
Please do check it out! And Happy New Year! :)
Monday 31 December 2012
Sunday 30 December 2012
Stars and Satellites Release Announcement
As it's the Christmas week I'm taking a break from reviews and going to do some shameless self-promoting instead. Don't worry, next Friday it will be business as usual when we jump straight back into the book and film reviews. :)
Anyway, just wanting to announce that my second book, 'Stars and Satellites' will be released on Friday 11 January (officially). Although the book's soft launch will be tomorrow on Amazon Kindle.
Hayley Foster had an imaginary friend like most kids when she was growing up. But unlike most kids hers has now come back suddenly in her adulthood.
Alex, is in fact, Hayley's guardian angel and Hayley quickly learns that ignoring him will not make him go away. But while she questions whether she is going mad or not, Alex's arrival heralds the start of a series of strange events in Glasgow, where they live.
What follows is an adventure of mystery, intrigue, comedy and demons as the two old friends fight to find out what is really going on.
And more importantly, discover who Hayley really is...
Anyway, just wanting to announce that my second book, 'Stars and Satellites' will be released on Friday 11 January (officially). Although the book's soft launch will be tomorrow on Amazon Kindle.
Hayley Foster had an imaginary friend like most kids when she was growing up. But unlike most kids hers has now come back suddenly in her adulthood.
Alex, is in fact, Hayley's guardian angel and Hayley quickly learns that ignoring him will not make him go away. But while she questions whether she is going mad or not, Alex's arrival heralds the start of a series of strange events in Glasgow, where they live.
What follows is an adventure of mystery, intrigue, comedy and demons as the two old friends fight to find out what is really going on.
And more importantly, discover who Hayley really is...
Friday 21 December 2012
I Sell the Dead Review
So as we are only a few days from Christmas I've decided to review a movie for a change - just because there's something about the holidays that makes us all want to watch films and also because I've not had much time to read any short stories or novels. :S
So anyway, this week I have been watching 'I Sell the Dead'. This film came out a little while ago but it's existence only recently came to my attention.
It stars Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Lost), Larry Fessenden and Ron Perlman (Hellboy).
Monaghan and Fessenden play two grave robbers in the 19th century who have finally been caught by the law. The movie starts with Fessenden being executed and a priest (Perlman) visiting Monaghan in his last few hours before he gets the guillotine. Monaghan then begins recounting the story of how he first met Fessenden and subsequently became involved in grave robbing to Perlman.
For a long time the two robbed normal graves until a chance encounter with a vampire one night leads them to discover that the doctor they work for and some other unsavoury fellows are willing to pay much more for the remains of the supernatural.What follows is the two grave robbers going after increasing dangerous creatures and monsters just to make a quick buck, from aliens to zombies.
This sounds like quite a good recipe for an offbeat, funny film.
But this is where the movie falls flat on its face. It's not funny, which is very disappointing. Ok, there are a couple of moments where I did laugh but two or three times is not enough to deem an eighty minute movies a comedy.
Don't get me wrong, the acting is solid, with some really good performances, especially from Monaghan and Perlman. I also liked the plot and its shot really well but its the jokes that bring it crashing back to earth.
I give it 6/10.
So anyway, this week I have been watching 'I Sell the Dead'. This film came out a little while ago but it's existence only recently came to my attention.
It stars Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Lost), Larry Fessenden and Ron Perlman (Hellboy).
Monaghan and Fessenden play two grave robbers in the 19th century who have finally been caught by the law. The movie starts with Fessenden being executed and a priest (Perlman) visiting Monaghan in his last few hours before he gets the guillotine. Monaghan then begins recounting the story of how he first met Fessenden and subsequently became involved in grave robbing to Perlman.
For a long time the two robbed normal graves until a chance encounter with a vampire one night leads them to discover that the doctor they work for and some other unsavoury fellows are willing to pay much more for the remains of the supernatural.What follows is the two grave robbers going after increasing dangerous creatures and monsters just to make a quick buck, from aliens to zombies.
This sounds like quite a good recipe for an offbeat, funny film.
But this is where the movie falls flat on its face. It's not funny, which is very disappointing. Ok, there are a couple of moments where I did laugh but two or three times is not enough to deem an eighty minute movies a comedy.
Don't get me wrong, the acting is solid, with some really good performances, especially from Monaghan and Perlman. I also liked the plot and its shot really well but its the jokes that bring it crashing back to earth.
I give it 6/10.
Friday 14 December 2012
Hired to Kill Review
This week I decided to break away from the genres I usually read and took a
look at Hired to Kill by Brian K Carr. As you can probably guess by the title,
the story is a crime thriller.
Hired to Kill centres around Colin O'Brien, a normal guy living in southern California. Unfortunately for Colin, but somewhat darkly funny for the reader, he gets mistaken as a famous assassin and is asked to carry out a hit. Common sense would usually dictate to most people to just walk away, but when you are offered $1,000,000, as Colin puts it, it "can really skew your prerogatives in life".
Colin falls into the deep end of the criminal underworld, being chased by feds, grumpy Russians and seemingly the angriest mall staff in the western hemisphere. It quickly transpires though that there is much more behind the hit that the mysterious Monica Stafford wants Colin to carry out than she is letting on.
Colin is a very likeable character and often left stumbling and staggering his way through each deadly situation as best he can; but considering his knowledge of crime lords and weapons is only limited to what he has seen on CSI and in the movies, he tries his best. Let's be honest, most people, me included, would likely be the exact same - that's assuming that you had not already been shot.
Author Brian K Carr also impresses with his knowledge of weaponry. I do not know a lot about guns and I hate when books just drop in the name of a weapon and then assumes the reader knows what it looks like and what it does. The author doesn't do that here, which is nice. The descriptions of the weapons are highly detailed and it helps you to really appreciate why Colin and the other characters are using different weapons in different situations.
Colin can also be quite funny too, usually dropping in comments about crime movies he has watched just after someone has tried to kill him. You quickly learn that it's his way of dealing with a nerve-wracking situation.
However, I do feel Colin is the only real interesting character in the book. I found some of the others quite bland, especially his friends Freddie and Ray. I don't feel there was enough personality behind them.
Something else that sticks in my mind is why Colin always seems to go for a three course meal just after someone has tried to kill him. One of my favourite scenes is when there is a shootout in the mall, which then spills out into the car park. You genuinely fear for Colin's safety and he only just makes it out alive...and the first thing he does afterwards is go and have something to eat. Would anyone really do that?
If someone had just tried to kill me, the last thing I would want to be doing is eating food. I would probably he curled up in a ball somewhere, rocking myself back and forth.
But besides Colin's insatiable appetite and a lack of depth to some of the characters, Hired to Kill is a solid read with a lot of good humour, fast pace and stunning action scenes.
Overall, I give it 7/10.
Hired to Kill is available through Kindle here.
Hired to Kill centres around Colin O'Brien, a normal guy living in southern California. Unfortunately for Colin, but somewhat darkly funny for the reader, he gets mistaken as a famous assassin and is asked to carry out a hit. Common sense would usually dictate to most people to just walk away, but when you are offered $1,000,000, as Colin puts it, it "can really skew your prerogatives in life".
Colin falls into the deep end of the criminal underworld, being chased by feds, grumpy Russians and seemingly the angriest mall staff in the western hemisphere. It quickly transpires though that there is much more behind the hit that the mysterious Monica Stafford wants Colin to carry out than she is letting on.
Colin is a very likeable character and often left stumbling and staggering his way through each deadly situation as best he can; but considering his knowledge of crime lords and weapons is only limited to what he has seen on CSI and in the movies, he tries his best. Let's be honest, most people, me included, would likely be the exact same - that's assuming that you had not already been shot.
Author Brian K Carr also impresses with his knowledge of weaponry. I do not know a lot about guns and I hate when books just drop in the name of a weapon and then assumes the reader knows what it looks like and what it does. The author doesn't do that here, which is nice. The descriptions of the weapons are highly detailed and it helps you to really appreciate why Colin and the other characters are using different weapons in different situations.
Colin can also be quite funny too, usually dropping in comments about crime movies he has watched just after someone has tried to kill him. You quickly learn that it's his way of dealing with a nerve-wracking situation.
However, I do feel Colin is the only real interesting character in the book. I found some of the others quite bland, especially his friends Freddie and Ray. I don't feel there was enough personality behind them.
Something else that sticks in my mind is why Colin always seems to go for a three course meal just after someone has tried to kill him. One of my favourite scenes is when there is a shootout in the mall, which then spills out into the car park. You genuinely fear for Colin's safety and he only just makes it out alive...and the first thing he does afterwards is go and have something to eat. Would anyone really do that?
If someone had just tried to kill me, the last thing I would want to be doing is eating food. I would probably he curled up in a ball somewhere, rocking myself back and forth.
But besides Colin's insatiable appetite and a lack of depth to some of the characters, Hired to Kill is a solid read with a lot of good humour, fast pace and stunning action scenes.
Overall, I give it 7/10.
Hired to Kill is available through Kindle here.
Wednesday 12 December 2012
Alchemist Artwork On The Way
I have been working on some artwork to go along with my book, Alchemist and the series itself. Some pieces are still in the making so will not be posted for a while but I have just finished two pictures and will be posting them here shortly.
The pictures I am working on include characters from the book, animals and landscapes.
So watch this space! :)
My next novel review will be up this Friday, so keep your eyes peeled for it!
Thanks as always for reading.
The pictures I am working on include characters from the book, animals and landscapes.
So watch this space! :)
My next novel review will be up this Friday, so keep your eyes peeled for it!
Thanks as always for reading.
Saturday 8 December 2012
Bloodaxe Review
Bloodaxe is one of those rare stories that hits you head on. Quite literary (sorry bad pun). Written by author James Tallett, it is a tale of a murdered king who sets out to reclaim his broken kingdom.
It is written in the first person, which most authors tend to shun, but it is a great style to use if done correctly. James Tallett has definitely done it well. Told from King Bloodaxe's perspective, the reader gets the fallen monarch's view of the world, which is often very honest and blunt - making this a hilarious read.
After forging his own kingdom (Rudvic), Bloodaxe is murdered by his own son. What follows is his tale of hanging around in the afterlife waiting to be reborn, being reborn, growing up and then setting off with his mother to reunite a fractured nation.
In a whirlwind narrative we go from seeing Bloodaxe living as a farm worker to picking off barons and other would-be rulers one at a time. This is a great, quick and funny read, even for those who are not keen on fantasy. There are enough jokes and cynical obeservations to keep the reader laughing until the end.
The only drawback of the tale in my view is the lack of character development with some of the co-characters, such as Bloodaxe's mother, considering she is described as having quite a fiesty personality. However, this is only due to Bloodaxe being a short story rather than anything else and is not a reflection on the author's sharp, witty and hilarious narrative.
Bloodaxe is available on Kindle for $1.30 here
It is written in the first person, which most authors tend to shun, but it is a great style to use if done correctly. James Tallett has definitely done it well. Told from King Bloodaxe's perspective, the reader gets the fallen monarch's view of the world, which is often very honest and blunt - making this a hilarious read.
After forging his own kingdom (Rudvic), Bloodaxe is murdered by his own son. What follows is his tale of hanging around in the afterlife waiting to be reborn, being reborn, growing up and then setting off with his mother to reunite a fractured nation.
In a whirlwind narrative we go from seeing Bloodaxe living as a farm worker to picking off barons and other would-be rulers one at a time. This is a great, quick and funny read, even for those who are not keen on fantasy. There are enough jokes and cynical obeservations to keep the reader laughing until the end.
The only drawback of the tale in my view is the lack of character development with some of the co-characters, such as Bloodaxe's mother, considering she is described as having quite a fiesty personality. However, this is only due to Bloodaxe being a short story rather than anything else and is not a reflection on the author's sharp, witty and hilarious narrative.
Bloodaxe is available on Kindle for $1.30 here
Sunday 2 December 2012
Father Christmas and the Elephunk Review
If you are looking for a Christmassy bedtime story
to read to your children as the big day approaches, then Father Christmas and
the Elephunk by Gary Walker will be right up your street. It is a heart-warming tale that is bound to get both
adults and children into the festive spirit.
It is Christmas Eve in 1940 and Santa is out once
more delivering presents to children all over the world. However, he is
dismayed when he discovers is favourite street no longer stands following an
air raid.
While Santa muses about what he should do, he
discovers a little boy called Billy, who has risked his safety to return to the
rubble of his home to find his missing teddy, the ‘elephunk’.
Santa and his reindeer resolve to help the lad on
his search and Billy is transported away from the gloom and destruction of
World War Two London as he is given a sleigh ride back to his shelter, where
his gran is waiting.
And when Billy wakes up the next day, he finds out
that he will get much more than just his elephunk...
Father Christmas and the Elephunk may be a short
story but its narrative is highly descriptive and pulls the reader in, giving a
very realistic portrayal of the sights and sounds of a bomb hit street and the
fear and bravery of a little boy who has lost everything.
The children will enjoy the magical elements of this
tale, which has all the old favourites including the sleigh and the reindeer,
as well as some new magical surprises as well.
Father Christmas and the Elephunk is available for
free on Amazon Kindle at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Father-Christmas-Elephunk-ebook/dp/B00A4Q4DE4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1352536817&sr=1-1
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