John Ukah is a Nigerian author whose career has taken him into the world of banking and finance. However, his first novel, ‘Murder at Midnight’, is a far cry from his everyday life. Q. Coming from a background in banking, how did you get interested in writing crime novels? A. The books I grew up…
‘Storyworks Monthly – #1’ by Stephen J Carter
Storyworks Monthly #1 In this varied collection of new work, Stephen J Carter has fashioned an interesting series. In the tradition of Dean Wesley Smith (Smith’s Monthly), he presents a handful of stories, a novella, a serial novel and a piece for writers on inciting incidents in movies. Being a fan of Dickens, I liked…
‘Fisher’s Fables’ by Robert Crouch
Fisher’s Fables Environmental Health Manager, Kent Fisher, leads a disparate team of hopeful winners in this tale of hot-desking, agile working, unlikely acronyms and awkward assignations. A well-observed, if episodic, narrative thrusts the protagonist into a world of back-biting and brown-nosing, where keeping the proverbial head above water means negotiating the grinding and occasionally corrupt…
‘Holiday for the Hostile’ by Joy Mutter
Holiday for the Hostile: Book Two of the Hostile series Following on from Book 1 (The Hostile), where 12-year-old Serena meets powerful entity Tile X, the story continues as the family and their dead relatives decide to take a holiday to Ireland. Needless to say, staying in a remote village in a grotty house with…
The Trouble with Books…
I’ve been an avid reader for more years than I can recall and have often spent many hours ‘coming down’ from a damn good book, marvelling in the language, the imagery, or the sheer entertainment value. But even when I was completely bowled over by a story, I wouldn’t have dreamed of putting my opinions…
Pushing Through the Pain Barrier
Whether you’re expecting to churn out 50,000 words or 150,000 words, getting to that last sentence – the one that tells you the book is finally done – can be a bit of a battle. For me it’s also the justification that even though for most of the process I didn’t really know what the…
‘His Kidnapper’s Shoes’ by Maggie James
His Kidnapper’s Shoes Laura Bateman must face up to what she has done, which means facing up to her past. Acknowledging that her relationship with her son is not what it should be, is never going to be easy. Daniel has always felt he was in the wrong place, with the wrong family, and now…
New App from Inkitt
Thought this was interesting – Inkitt Publishing have launched a new app that looks pretty neat. They say it can be downloaded from the App Store There’s also a nice little video Inkitt, the Hipster’s Library – Read and fall in love with novels before they go mainstream. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Crime, Romance, YA, Action,…
‘Single Chicas’ by Sandra Lopez
Single Chicas A sister who can’t accept her sibling’s choice of wife, a woman whose plan to avoid being hit on by guys leads to unforeseen complications, and how a series of strange phone calls prompts a singleton to doubt her own sanity. Short stories are like buses – if the first one doesn’t happen…
‘After the Texans’ by Declan Milling
After the Texans Director of Market Integrity with the UN’s carbon market watchdog, Emil Pfeffer has a problem – his girlfriend Johanna has been kidnapped. Told she’s being held as an insurance against Emil poking his nose into the corrupt government of Papua New Guinea, it seems there’s no choice but to comply, at least…
Colin Garrow 