Cook and Read – My review of A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute and Peach Chicken #CookandRead #fiction
Posted: January 8, 2025 Filed under: Books, Read and Cook, Recipes, Review, romance | Tags: A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute, Peach Chicken, Read and Cook, Robbie Cheadle, romance, Writing to be Read 45 Comments
My review of A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
This was my favourite classic book read of 2024. A delightful romance initially set in Malaysia during World War II and then moving between post-war London and Australia, Jean Paget’s story of strength, endurance, and leadership made for an amazingly uplifting read.
The novel commences with the main character, Jean Paget, a secretary in a leather goods factory, receiving notification from a solicitor, Noel Strachan, that she has inherited a large sum of money from an uncle she never knew. Noel is the trustee of the funds until Jean can inherit at the age of 35 years old (this age was set by the uncle who believed that women were incompetent fools who couldn’t be trusted with money until they had a family and life experience). Strachan acts as Jean’s financial advisor and, over time, a good friend. His part of the story is all the more interesting because of the secret love he develops for Jean. Noel is the narrator of the story.
Jean announces to Noel that her first priority is to build a well in a village in Malaysia and this introduces her poignant backstory as a prisoner of war in Malaysia during WW2. This part of the story is based on a real survival story which makes it all the more fascinating. Jean was working in Malaysia when the Japanese invaded and she was taken prisoner along with a large group of other European women and children. The Japanese authorities doesn’t know what to do with the group so they end up walking from one village to another for months. The lack of good food, exposure of the elements and hardship results in the deaths of a large number of the group. Jean meets an Australian soldier, Joe Harman, who is also a prisoner of war and is driving a lorry for the Japanese invaders. He tries to help the women and ultimately steals five chickens from a local Japanese commander. He is eventually caught and beaten, crucified and left to die by the Japanese soldiers. Jean believes that Jo Harman is dead. Soon after, the women’s Japanese guard dies and they take shelter in a Malaysian village for the rest of the war. Jean wishes to build a well in this village as a gesture of gratitude to the villagers who saved the lives of the remaining women and children by taking them in. During the construction of the well, Jean discovers by accident that Joe survived and returned to Australia. She decides to go in search of him in Australia and this sets the stage for the rest of the story and the romance. Joe had mentioned the town of Alice Springs during their short time as friends, and this is where Jean heads.
The writing is completely engaging and the characters of both Jean and Joe are well developed and admirable. As a reader, I become completely involved in both their stories and was rooting for their romance and success as individuals and a couple. Jean is portrayed as a strong willed survivor with a strong sense of compassion and responsibility. She is a remarkable leader and an excellent role model for young women.
Joe is portrayed as being recklessly brave and this results in his undoing. He is a very determined and strong willed person, however, an these characteristics result in his miraculous survival.
I read this book because I am interested in learning more about the war in the Pacific and the Japanese involvement in World War II. I have read several books on this topic and A Town Like Alice is the one that stands out the most in my memory. I highly recommend this book to lovers of romance and war literature.
You can purchase A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1842323008
Recipe for Peach Chicken
This recipe is based on Matt Preston’s recipe for Apricot Chicken in his book, Cook Book. I made some variations. If you are interested in purchasing Matt Preston’s book, you can do so here: https://www.amazon.com/Cook-Book-recipes-incredibly-popular-ebook/dp/B016NIBORU
Ingredients
8 chicken thighs and 8 chicken drumsticks, on the bone with skin
160 ml olive oil
1 Tbspn garlic flakes
1 heaped Tbspn dried oregano
5 ml dried thyme
1 tin peaches and the juice
24 caperberries
24 green olives, pits removed and cut in half
2 bay leaves
1 Tbspn chicken stock (powder)
Ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) white wine
Method
Heat the over to 180 C. Line the bottom and sides of a oven baking dish with silver foil. Lay the chicken skin up on the bottom on the dish. In a separate bowl, mix the oil, wine, herbs and caperberries. Pour the tinned peaches over the chicken. Add the wine mixture. Lastly, place the olives over the chicken. Cover the dish with tin foil.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Turn the oven to grill. Remove the tin foil and grill the chicken until nicely browned. Do not let the peaches burn. About 15 – 20 minutes.
Enjoy with rice.
About Robbie Cheadle
South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
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This post is sponsored by the My Backyard Friends Kid’s Book Series and WordCrafter Press.
The My Backyard Friends kid’s book series is inspired by the birds and animals that visit the author Kaye Lynne Booth’s mountain home. Beautiful illustrations by children’s author, poet, and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, bring the unique voices of the animal characters to life.
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Book Review: “The Rebound Effect”
Posted: November 8, 2024 Filed under: Audio Books, Book Review, Books, Fiction, Review, romance | Tags: Audiobook Review, Book Review, Catherine Hein Carter, Linda Griffin, mystery, romance, The Rebound Effect, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
About The Rebound Effect
In the small town of Cougar, struggling single mother and veterinary assistant Teresa Lansing is still bruised from a failed relationship when Frank McAllister sweeps her off her feet.
Frank is a big-city SWAT officer who moved to Cougar only four months ago. He’s handsome, charming, forceful, very sexy, and a bit mysterious. He had his eye on Teresa even before they met and is pushing for a serious relationship right away.
Teresa finds his intense courtship flattering, and the sex is fabulous, but she doesn’t want her deaf six-year-old son to be hurt again. Her former fiancé cheated on her when he got drunk after being unjustly fired, but he loves her and her son, and the whirlwind romance is complicated by his efforts to win Teresa back.
And then there’s the matter of the bodies buried at Big Devil Creek…
Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Audible-The-Rebound-Effect/dp/B0DHLWSYRW
My Review
I received a free audiobook of “The Rebound Effect” from author, Linda Griffin, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.
Narrated by Catherine Hein Carter, I felt the narration was well done, although I could tell she was reading in some places. This story had a female protagonist, so I didn’t have the same reservations about the female narrator as I did in my review of Love, Death, and the Art of Cooking. With The Rebound Effect, I found the narration went much better from the female protagonist, Theresa’s perspective, and Carter was a much better fit in my opinion.
Theresa is a single mom, divorced from her deaf son’s father, and she’s on the rebound from Bret, who wasn’t faithful in the relationship she had with him, which hurt her deeply. She focuses her life on her son, Aiden, and tries to make herself believe that is all she needs. She’s hesitant to enter into yet another relationship with when Frank comes along, intent on sweeping her off her feet.
I found Frank to not be very likeble. I felt that he is pushy and controlling, and I had a hard time rooting for the two characters to get together because he is so arrogant. It made it hard to think that he would be a good match for Theresa. He keeps telling her that they will go as fast or slow as she wants, but then just keeps coming even when she repeatedly tells him to slow down, and ignores when she says his buying an item is too much and buys the item anyway. That doesn’t show the respect for her which he claims he has. Obviously, this really bothered me with this story. But then, I thought I was reading a romance and this turned out to be so much more.
As it turns out, we have more of a love triangle situation, where Theresa is faced with a choice between two men, Frank and her ex-boyfriend, Bret, who won’t give up after his single indescretionary act of infidelity broke Theresa’s heart. I do wish we could have gotten to know Bret a little better. Most of the focus was on Frank, because Theresa has cut Bret out of her life without giving him a chance to redeem himself until well into the story.
This book has a crime fiction subplot, as the bodies of young girls are found in the opening scene and other girls go missing throughout, with these scenarios playing through Theresa’s head throughout the story, adding a sense of mystery to the story. While I thought all along that eventually the mystery would be solved, I didn’t realize what a vital part it would play in the end. (No spoilers.) Even with all the clues we’re given, the real hero was a surprise to me, and in the end, I was quite satisfied as a reader.
Not what I expected, but it held my interest and wrapped things up nicely in the end. I give The Rebound Effect four quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
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WtbR Monthly Story Challenge: September
Posted: September 16, 2024 Filed under: Paranormal, romance, Short Fiction, Stories, Writing, Writing Challenge | Tags: Myths and Legends, Paranormal, romance, Writing to be Read, WtbR Story Challenge Leave a comment
Last month’s prompt for a story with a legendary monster did not recieve any responses, so again, there is nothing to vote on. I will however post my entry below, in which my legendary monster is a shape shifter, and in this tale, he happens to be the good guy instead of the villian. I’d be happy to hear any feedback any of you have on it, even though you can’t vote. But first, let’s take a look at this month’s prompt to get those creative juices flowing.
This Month’s Prompt
This month, I want you all to write a ghost story where the ghost is the protagonist and is frustrated by the limitations of ghostlyness which keeps them from resolving a problem unfolding in the physical plane.
This prompt, by definition will be a parnormal story, but you can still cross it with any genre, so tell me the story that you want to tell.
The Rules
Remember, your story can be any genre, so you can get creative. Publish the results on your blog and send the link to me by the last day of the month. Be sure to label them with #WtbRStoryChallenge. Or, if you don’t have a blog, you can send the results directly to me at kayebooth@yahoo.com, and I will publish them or the links back to your blog the following month along with the writing prompt for the next month.
Stick to the rules and after 30 minutes of writing stop. You can finish the story if you like. I hope you do. But you need only submit that 30 minute piece for this challenge. I’ll be writing right along with you. I know the prompt ahead of time, but I won’t begin writing until it has posted. Be sure to have your entry to me by the last day of the month, so I can share them all for readers to vote on.
Another good thing about this not being a live event is you will have the opportunity to edit for grammar, spelling, and punctuation before submitting, and I do want it to be the best you’ve got, of course.
My Last Month’s Submission
Untitled Paranormal Romance
By Kaye Lynne Booth
When Elliot returns to camp, he finds Arabella missing and his sister sitting on the forest floor, he loses focus, almost shifting involuntarily. He quickly gets himself under control, although he can still feel the eagle, restless within him.
Where is she, Diedre? He says the words in his head, knowing his twin doesn’t need him to speak the words aloud. He scans the area as if the girl were somewhere in the clearing, and he might have just overlooked her. It was his job to return her safely to her father. She was his responsibility.
The wizard, Magnus, took her. His sister replies telepathically, as she shakes leaves, pine needles, and other forest debris from her long, blondish-brown hair, brushing through it with her fingers to get whatever won’t let go. He must have shielded himself before he waltzed in here to snatch her, because I couldn’t touch him, even after I let the cougar out.
“How long ago?” he asks aloud, too sharply. “Which way?”
“Long enough for me to return to my human form and catch my breath,” she says, pointing off to the right. “You’ll have no trouble tracking him. He left bloody prints in his wake.”
He cocks his head, giving her a puzzled look.
“From the girl,” she says. “He pulled her inside the shield with him. She grabbed hold of a stick from the fire as he grabbed her. She was doing her best to do some damage as he dragged her away. I think she fought him even harder than she fought you, when you announced that you intended to return her to her father.”
Without another word, he is off in the direction she indicated.
He follows the bloody tracks without stopping for two days, the eagle’s strength and spirit allowing him to endure without food or water, never tiring, through both day and night. It is up to him to get the girl back, no matter the cost. This night, the trail ends at the edge of a sheer cliff, plummeting down hundreds of feet until the land below is drenched in shadows, and darkness so thick that even the eagle’s eyes can’t cut through it. Bloody smears along the cliff face below, like those he has followed here, let him know his adversary climbed down the cliff face with the girl.
Elliot feels the eagle stir, excited, anxious to be loosed, expanding within him. A ragged seam splits the flesh along his spine as he spreads his arms to accept the eagle’s wings, rising into the air. Now, the wings are his, as he extends them, as long as his human form is tall, the wind catching them from below, carrying him off the cliff and out over the land. He descends downward faster than if he were falling, and the cliff face blurs in his vision as he flaps eagle’s wings, his wings, with long, hard strokes, applying his momentum upward. He glides in, lighting on top of a tall pine, affording him a view of the valley below and the entire face of the cliff, as the sun pokes its face over the horizon.
Perched more than a hundred feet above the valley floor, the eagle sees movement from a cave in the face of the cliff. Upon further inspection, he’s found what he seeks: the wizard and his captive prisoner.
Magnus stands at the edge of the cave, staring up into the sun, oblivious to his presence, while Arabella sits on a large rock only a stone’s throw away. She is covered in dirt and dark splotches hint at bruises beneath the filth. She must have fought him every inch of the way. If he tilts his eagle head just right, he can see the sun glinting off the shield surrounding the cave. He needs a distraction to get the wizard to drop the shield long enough for him to get the girl.
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This post is sponsored by Midnight Roost: Weird and Creepy Stories and WordCrafter Press.
20 authors bring your nightmares to life in 23 stories of ghosts, paranormal phenomenon and the horror from the dark crevasses of their minds. Stories of stalkers, both human and supernatural, possession and occult rituals, alien visitations of the strange kind, and ghostly tales that will give you goosebumps. These are the tales that will make you fear the dark. Read them at the Midnight Roost… if you dare.
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Book Review: Love, Death, & the Art of Cooking
Posted: July 26, 2024 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Review, romance, Suspense, Writing to be Read | Tags: Book Review, Carter, Catherine Hein, Linda Griffin, Love Death & the Art of Cooking, Romance Suspense, Writing to be Read 6 CommentsAbout Love, Death & The Art of Cooking
Software engineer Reid Lucas loves to cook and has a history of falling in love with married women. When he leaves his complicated past in Chicago for a job in California, he runs into trouble and must call a virtual stranger to bail him out of jail. Alyssa Knight, a tough street cop waiting for a church annulment from her passive-aggressive husband, is the roommate of the woman Reid calls for help, and she reluctantly provides bail for Reid. He falls for her immediately, and cooking for her is an act of love. She just wants to be friends, but they keep ending up in bed together. When his boss is murdered, Reid is a suspect. Or is he the intended target?
My Review
I received an audiobook copy of Love, Death, & the Art of Cooking, from the author, Linda Griffin in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
The story is well-crafted and well-paced, feeding the reader the backstory one small taste at a time, with minimal servings of exposition. The narrator, Catherine Hein Carter, did a good job with the narration of the story, although I felt like this story, with it’s male protagonist might have been served better by a male narrator.
When Reid Lucas takes a new software job in a new town, he’s hoping for a new start on life. But when his boss turns up dead, it brings back memories of why he left Chicago, and as the events back there come to light, it makes him first a prime suspect and then, a possible target. Alone in a new town, there are few people he can turn to for support except a girl he only knows from a chance meeting, but he gets her roommate, Alyssa instead, a woman he doesn’t know at all, who turns out to be a cop. Alyssa doesn’t trust him, her roomate wants to sleep with him, and all he wants to do is cook for them. But can his delicious meals win overcome her doubts and win Allyssa’s heart? No spoilers here. You’ll have to read the book.
Everything a romance suspense novel should be, I give Love, Death, & the Art of Cooking four quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
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Interview with erotic romance author Jade C. Jamison
Posted: February 24, 2020 Filed under: Adult, Author Profile, Books, Erotic Romance, Erotica, Fiction, Interview, romance, Writing, Writing Tips | Tags: Author Interview, Bullet, Erotic Romance, Erotica, Heat, Jade C. Jamison, Tangled Web, Writing to be Read 4 Comments
My author guest today makes her living writing erotic romance under a pen name, and prefers to display the cover of her bestselling novel, Bullet, the first book in her Rock Star Romance series, (see my review of Bullet), rather than an author photo in order to conceal her real identity. (When you like at it that way, authors can be kind of like superheroes, taking assumed identities. You’ve gotta admit that’s pretty cool.) We may not know who she is behind the book cover, but we do know that she’s written over fifty books to date, and when perusing them, one is sure to find one that’s just the preferred temperature, because she writes in them all, from sweet romance to sizzling hot erotica. Please welcome erotic romance author Jade C. Jamison.
Kaye: Why do you write erotic contemporary romance? Would you ever consider writing any other genre? If so, which one?
Jade: It took me forever to puzzle out exactly what genre I wrote.Back in 2013, the term “erotic romance” seemed to most capture what I wrote, but the “E” word is now becoming taboo.(I’m smiling as I write this.)Nowadays, the genre is being called “steamy contemporary romance,” although that may change yet again. But, anyway, I digress. Not only would I consider writing in other genres, I have. Within romance, I’ve written everything from romantic comedy to romantic suspense. Outside romance, I’ve written horror and nonfiction, but under another name, I’ve penned mystery, news writing, instructional pieces, academic literature, and even poetry.
Kaye: Does erotic romance come naturally to you? Why does it appeal to you to write in this genre?
Jade: I don’t know that writing romance comes naturally to me. Ten-plus years ago, I found that, no matter what I wrote, some aspect of romance became part of the story. So even though I have a tale to tell and even though the relationship is the key element in the story, making sure I have all the facets that make a romance satisfying to avid readers of the genre is not always easy, and it’s definitely not organic.
Why it appeals to me? I haven’t a clue. I’m sure a psychologist would have a heyday with me.
Kaye: What is the most difficult part of writing erotic romance for you? What part is the most fun?
Jade: Sex scenes are, by far, the hardest. They easily become the most tedious part as a reader as well. From some of my conversations with other authors, I don’t believe I’m alone. You want to keep things fresh, so to speak, and non-repetitive while at the same time you want to keep readers emotionally engaged. It’s easy to mess that up in those sorts of scenes—so I put a lot of pressure on myself to write scenes that are emotional and engaging.
The most fun part is when a character surprises me. I think I know where the story is going and then BAM! She does something completely unexpected, but I know it’s working and there’s no way I’ll change it.
Kaye: Which of your stories is your favorite? Why?
Jade: Sorry if you’ve heard this from me before, but asking me to choose a favorite story is like asking me to choose a favorite child.That said, I do have some stories that I don’t like as well as others, but my lips are sealed. Some of the stories I like the least are reader favorites.
Kaye: Your sex scenes range in temperature from steamy, to sizzling, to blazing hot. What determines how hot the scenes get in each story?
Jade: Part of it depends on the story itself. In my bestselling book Bullet the sex scenes got hotter as the story moved on. That was one of the ways I let the reader know the main character was maturing. It mostly depends on what I think readers will expect. Am I billing the book as super steamy (like Finger Bang), or am I emphasizing the story itself (like Savage)? But, honestly, I always thought they were all pretty close in steaminess. I guess I’m too close to the forest!
Kaye: Do you prefer to write during the day, or are your stories so hot they can only be written at night?
Jade: I actually do almost all of my writing in the early morning, from about 5:30-6:30 am. It’s the only quiet time I have and I find I’m far more creative when my brain is fresh.
Kaye: You’ve written over fifty books. What is the writing achievement are you most proud of?
Jade: I don’t know that I’ve “achieved” anything as an author, other than sharing my stories with the world.I guess, though, that I’m currently proud of my growth as an author. I’ve really taken a step back in an effort to realize that being prolific isn’t nearly as important as transporting a reader to a different world—so I’m proud of not letting my pride stop me from learning!
Kaye: What is one thing your readers would never guess about you?
Jade: I enjoy playing Pokemon Go.I used to play Pokemon games with my kids when they were little, and now they have me playing this silly game on my phone!!!
Kaye: In 2019, you released books 3 and 4 from your Matchmaker collection. They are described as Reverse Harem Romances on their covers. I can see lots of potential for steamy action there. Would you like to talk a little about this story collection?
Jade: I’d taken a couple of marketing courses the year before, compelling me to “write to market”. So, I looked through Amazon’s top 100 contemporary romance books and found that Reverse Harem Romances were dominating at the time. At first, I thought that meant a literal harem, but with a woman surrounded by men. I discovered through my research that that’s not quite what Reverse Harem is all about. I like a challenge, so I decided to go for it. One of the courses I took is by one of the bestselling indie romance authors in the history of Amazon, and she advised writing a series with cliffhanger endings at the end of each book. That was another challenge. So, that’s the nuts and bolts of the series.
The story itself is about Claire, an actress struggling to make it in Hollywood. She tries out for a reality TV show called Matchmaker, hoping that if the right people see her, they might give her a chance as an actress. If nothing else, she’s bound to meet the love of her life. Her suitors are five gorgeous men who’ve been “guaranteed” to be a perfect match, but the audience gets to determine who stays and who goes. And, yes, there’s quite a bit of steam between the covers.
Kaye: I reviewed Heat: Book 1, which was really a short prelude to a larger story that will change the way you think about getting a message forever. But there is more to the story. Would you talk about Heat: The Complete Series?
Jade: Heat was another challenge I couldn’t say no to. Several years ago, I was approached by a publishing company in Australia about republishing one of my older series, and I did that with them. While it never neared the level of success they’d promised, a year later they approached me about something new they were doing, inspired by stories James Patterson had been writing. The basic premise for the romance stories was that you write a short but intense “intro,” followed by three more books, all following a particular formula—but very hot with cliffhangers at the end of each short book. I really liked the idea, so I pitched what became Heat. Unfortunately, it didn’t perform as well as I had hoped, so I took back my rights to it after a year and republished it.
So what you read in the free first part, Heat: Book One, is the beginnings of a steamy romance between Sergio and Rachel. Rachel is actually a character from Finger Bang, and I’d been inspired to write a story about her for a long time. When I was approached by this publishing company, I thought her story might be perfect for the format they’d talked about. Because it’s shorter and steamier, there’s not as much depth to the characters, but that wasn’t the idea behind the series. It’s meant to be intense, somewhat shocking, and super steamy. Fun. No ugly crying, no heart-wrenching moments. Just pure, unadulterated fun. What you read in Heat: Book One is a prelude to the rest of the story. If you enjoyed the first part, you’ll love the complete story.
Kaye: What is next for Jade C. Jamison? What can your readers look forward to?
Jade: The biggest problem for me is I have so many things I want and need to write, and so little time. I literally have over fifty book ideas outlined, but I’m currently working on a project. It’s a series called Small Town Secrets. I’ve taken about thirteen of my books off the shelves, and I’m re-purposing them. In an effort to be an even better writer, I’m rewriting eight of those books, but they are now all interconnected in this series. My review team has read the first one (Love and Lies) and loved it. I’m hoping to release six of those books in 2020.
I also have one book left in the Nicki Sosebee series. Book 12, Wake Up, ended on a cliffhanger, and so I can’t keep my readers waiting for too long. That book is fully plotted and I promise it will be satisfying! I just need to write it. But, I also have several other series I need to finish (Feverish, Codie Snow, Tangled Web), so we’ll see what I can tackle. I would love to write a lot more this year (like I said, fifty ideas and counting!) but I have a lot on my personal plate, so it all depends on how much I can get done in the time I have. I’d cross my fingers, but I can’t type while I do that!
Kaye: (See my review of Tangled Web)
I want to thank Jade for joining me here and sharing today. It has been a real pleasure. I learned a few things about writing erotic romance and hopefully my readers did, too. This interview is the perfect way to finish up February’s erotic romance. And thank all of my readers for reading and commenting on Writing to be Read. I hope you will all saddle up and join me again next month, when we plan to wrangle up the western genre. See you here.
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“Heat: book one”: You’ll never think of message the same way again
Posted: February 21, 2020 Filed under: Adult, Book Review, Books, Erotic Romance, Erotica, Fiction, romance | Tags: Book Review, Erotic Romance, Erotica, Heat: book one, Jade C. Jamison, romance, Writing to be Read Leave a comment
Heat: book one, by Jade C. Jamison is a prequel to her Heat: The Complete Series, which can be read in a single sitting. Jamison has a talent for drawing readers in and immersing them in the character, making them almost active participants in the story, and Heat is no exception. This brief tale is an introduction, featuring one of the most sensual messages ever imagined for the reader to relax and enjoy.
In Heat, we meet Rachel Donahue, a busy investment broker who needs to unwind at least once a week. And we meet Spike, a sexy and talented male masseuse who really knows how to make a girl feel really, really good. Maybe too good. What happens when Rachel meets her new client and realizes that Sergio and Spike are one and the same, and she is going t be working very closely with him, leaves the reader wanting more. You won’t be able to resist buying Heat: The Complete Series to find out the rest of the story.
Sizzling hot erotic romance that leaves readers longing for more, I give Heat: book one five quills.
Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Heat-Book-Jade-C-Jamison-ebook/dp/B07JRC8TP6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Heat+Jamison&qid=1583605811&s=books&sr=1-1
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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Chatting with the Pros: Interview with contemporary romance author Amy Cecil
Posted: February 17, 2020 Filed under: Adult, Books, Erotic Romance, Fiction, Interview, romance, Writing | Tags: Amy Cecil, Author Interview, Erotic Romance, Knights of Silence MC, Sainte, Writing to be Read 1 Comment
My author guest this month on “Chatting with the Pros” is a talented romance author of both historical and contemporary romance novels. Her Knights of Silence MC series tells the story of the sometimes violent and brutal world of motorcycle club life with characters who feel very human and vulnerable at times. The series is a tale of love and loyalty, and yes, there’s some tastefully written, but quite erotic sex scenes. (You can see my review of Sainte, the last book in the MC series.) I also had the pleasure of reviewing Ripper, which was one of the most cleverly crafted romances I’ve ever read. To turn a Jack the Ripper tale into an erotic romance takes some talent. Erotic romance author Amy Cecil did with a well crafted hand. I’m so pleased to be able to chat with her today. Please join me in welcoming her.
Kaye: Why do you write in the romance genre? Why not science fiction, or fantasy or mystery?
Amy: I initially chose romance because that is what I have always read. I do not read science fiction and doubt that I could even write in that genre. As I wrote more books, I have intertwined other genres into them such as fantasy, romantic suspense and ever mystery. So even though I started with romance, I’ve always been open to other genres that interest me.
Kaye: What is the most difficult part of writing romance for you? What is the most fun?
Amy: I would have to say the most difficult thing with romance for me is finding a relationship scenario that isn’t over saturated in the market. For all of us romance readers, we are always looking for something fresh. We want that happily ever after, but finding the angst to get to that point can be difficult.
And, the most fun part of romance for me is the banter between the couples. I love to bring snarky attitudes together and have a battle of the wits, so to speak.
Kaye: Your Knights of Silence MC series chronicles a motorcycle club over the course of several years. As you read the series you get better acquainted with each of the members, which have well developed backstories that make the whole of the story seem very real and believable. What drew you to these stories with these characters?
Amy: That’s a great question. And actually pretty funny how the series got to where it is now. When I started, my focus was on Ice and Emma, childhood sweethearts that great apart who found each other again. It was gonna be one book. When I got to about half way through the book, my PA at the time suggested that I release it, even though it has this huge cliffy. So I did, which then created book 2. That was supposed to be the end. But as I was writing these characters and their story lines grew, I realized I had more to say. Never in a million years at the beginning did I think that Honey would be such a pivotal character in the series to warrant he own book. So the draw was Ice and Emma and the continuing development came with each book released from my mind.
Kaye: You recently released the last book in the Knights of Silence MC series, Sainte. Can you talk a little about Sainte’s part of the Story? Why was he chosen for the central focus character in the final book?
Amy: When the series started to lean toward Honey, I realized that male character that I had intended for her was completely wrong for her. She needed a saint, literally to save her from herself. And while Hawk was the most beloved character in the series, he did not have the mental strength to get Honey through. And I just couldn’t let him sit around and watch her with another man. So, Hawk had to die and make room for Sainte. Sainte is a former mafia hit man who knew Ice when he was a kid. He is Emma’s cousin, which she didn’t know about. So he had a reason to stay with the MC from the beginning. When he met Honey, he realizes quickly, she is the woman for him and he decides to stay and leave the mafia world. (Not that it is all that different. LOL). Sainte brings the story full circle, bringing the club the peace it has been wanting for a long time.
Kaye: As I mention in my review of Sainte, your characters are well developed with rich, believable backstories. Where do you draw your characters? How do you create with their stories?
Amy: As noted in questions 3 and 4 above, their stories come to me as I write them. I keep referring back to Honey, but she is a perfect example. When the series started, she was nothing, but the jealous ex-girlfriend. By the time we get to the third book, her story line develops and the reader sees she is the most complex character in the whole series. She’s a recovering coke addict, struggling with her addiction every day. She wants love so bad she can taste it, but is terrified to grab the bull by the horns and take it when it’s offered to her. As the story grows, my characters grow and develop stories of their own.
Kaye: Although the series focuses on the male members, their “old ladies” play important roles as well, offering an abundance of strong, if flawed, female characters. Why do the ladies play such an important role within the framework of your stories?
Amy: Well, you know the old saying, “there is a strong woman behind every man.” I wanted my female characters to be as strong as their male counterparts. Because these women are connected to the MC, they are surrounded by violence. They have to be strong to survive. Emma comes to the MC in ICE a very naïve young woman. By the end, she gives new meaning to the term “old lady” and could definitely have a patch of her own.
Kaye: Who is your favorite MC Character and why?
Amy: At first, I would have to say Caden/ICE all the way. And don’t get me wrong, I love him because he is the heart of the MC. He’s strong and protective and the kind of guy that when he holds you in his arms you feel safe. But then, Sainte came along. Sainte is everything that Ice is, but Sainte has that snarky personality that I love. He’s not afraid to tell it like it is and if he’s hated for it, he will just smile and walk away. Yes, definitely Sainte.
Kaye: The MC world is often dangerous and violent. As a result, throughout the series several characters have had to die. Is it difficult for you to kill off your darlings? Who was the hardest for you?
Amy: Several minor or past characters have died and frankly, I didn’t even bat an eye. When the realization hit me that I had to kill Hawk, that one was difficult. He was a major player in the story line and very much loved character by my readers. And believe me, I thought of several ways to keep him, but I just couldn’t get it to work with how I wanted the story to go. So he died. It was hard, but it would have been so much harder to kill Ice or Sainte, or even one of the girls.
Kaye: You also write historical romance. Are those stories a bit tamer than you contemporary romances?
Amy: Yes, definitely. My historical romances are Jane Austen FanFic and I think the hard core Jane Austen fans would have heart attacks if I made them as steamy as my contemporary romances.
Kaye: Your erotic scenes are done tastefully and in context for the story, yet you turn up the heat just enough to make them sizzle. How do you know how far to take your sex scenes? How hot is too hot?
Amy: That’s an easy question. I think about what I like to read and go from there. I have read several books where every other page is a sex scene and that is just ridiculous. Many authors think sex is what sells your book, but I disagree. Readers want a story that they can sink their teeth into. They want to relate to their characters and that is really hard to do if they are screwing like bunnies the entire time.
I also believe that you want to leave the reader wanting for more in a particular scene. We all have an imagination and I believe that sometimes it is best to let the readers mind take over and make the sex in the book what they want.
Kaye: You are finished with the Knights of Silence. What is next for Amy Cecil? Is there a new series in the works?
Amy: Currently, I am working on a sequel to On Stranger Prides, which is a Pride and Prejudice variation titled On Familiar Prides. After that, I have a short story I wrote last year in an anthology about a WWI spy that I would like to develop into a full-length novel. As far as the Knights series goes, I definitely plan to expand on it. I currently have one spin-off series published, the Enemy Duet, but I also see others as well as a next generation series. I know for a fact, I can not stay away from my biker boys for very long, so definitely expect more in the future. I’m also working on making all my books available on audio, so that has kept me pretty busy as well.
Kaye: You are an award winning romance author. What do you feel is your biggest writing accomplishment to date?
Amy: Wow, you really save the toughest for last. I always thought that my writing was measured by the number of reviews, or the awards won, or even that pretty “bestseller” orange banner you get from Amazon. And yes, I have lots of reviews, awards and have had a couple orange banners and I am thankful for every one of them. But when I really think about accomplishments in my writing, none of these apply. Sure, they are great and all, but what I am most proud of is my readers. And it’s not just because they read my books, but because of the people and the friendships I have developed with them. I have met some amazing people through this journey and I can say, it’s not the awards, or the reviews or the “bestseller” banners that keep me writing, it’s the readers.
I want to thank Amy for taking the time to share today on Writing to be Read. Romance comes in many different shapes and sizes. In her Knights of Silence MC series, it comes in the form of big, tough bikers and their girls. Her characters are well developed and feel very realistic and relate-able so readers come to care about them, and her sex scenes have just the right amount of heat to make them erotic, but not feel over the top. It has been a pleasure chatting with her here and getting a glimpse into the workings of contemporary erotic romance series. Join us next month, when the theme will be the western genre and my “Chatting with the Pros” author guest will be Cherokee Parks.
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“Sainte”: End of a series or stand alone novel?
Posted: February 7, 2020 Filed under: Adult, Book Review, Books, Erotica, Fiction, romance | Tags: Amy Cecil, Book Review, Erotica, Knights of Silence, MC Romance, romance, Sainte, Writing to be Read Leave a comment
When I requested to review this latest book in Amy Cecil’s Knights of Silence MC series, she was concerned that readers who hadn’t read the previous books wouldn’t know what was happening, since Sainte is the completion of the series. When I read the second book in the series, Ice on Fire, for review back in 2017, I had no problem following what was happening in the still new series, so she agreed to let me give it a go now, with the last book.
She needn’t have worried. With Sainte, I was immediately pulled into the story. Enough was revealed through dialog and character thoughts and memories to clue me in to many of the events referred to from the previous books and follow along with the action. Cecil’s superbly crafted use of first person, present tense, (not a small feat), allows the reader to have insight into character motivations, as well as providing needed information that helps the reader to keep pace with the story.
Cecil’s characters have depth and back story enough to carry the story. This book centers around two characters and one romance, but references to what has come before in the series involving the other members of the MC to get them to this point are skillfully woven into the story. After reading Sainte, I want to go back and read the rest to get better acquainted with members of the club who were not the main focus of this story.
Even though I’m wasn’t familiar with events referenced from earlier in the series, a little patience usually reveals more detail, and I was easily able to follow along. Do I know everything that happened in this series from this one book? No. Am I intrigued enough to read the rest of the series to find out? Yes, but I really feel it does fine as a stand alone novel, as well.
I’m getting older and it’s been a long time since I stayed up until 2 a.m. to finish a book, but Amy Cecil managed to get me to do just that. Sainte is an excellent romance story. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for Happily Ever Afters. I give it five quills.
Note: There is some erotica in this story, as there seems to be with all of Cecil’s works, but she handles the love scenes with tact and only puts them where they serve a purpose to move the story forward. Cecil’s romances are all class.
You can purchase Sainte here: https://www.amazon.com/Sainte-Knights-Silence-Amy-Cecil-ebook/dp/B0836P299N/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Sainte&qid=1579729548&s=books&sr=1-1
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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February: Turning Up the Heat with Erotic Romance
Posted: February 3, 2020 Filed under: Books, Erotic Romance, Erotica, Fiction, romance, Writing | Tags: Erotic Romance, Erotica, romance, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
Why is Saint Valentine’s Day in February? Where I live, February is a cold month, not associated with love and warmth. So, Writing to be Read is turning up the heat this month by taking a look at erotic romance. Now, I’m not talking about erotica, which in my opinion is just sex for the sake of sex with no real story line and love has nothing to do with it, nor do plots. These stories can be rank and raunchy and downright smutty, but they are not erotic romance. (For more about the differences between romance, erotic romance and erotica see this article on The Productive Indie Fiction Writer.) I enjoy sex scenes like the best of them, but I’m also a sucker for the happily ever after.
Erotic romance features both romance and sex, and ranges in temperature from steamy to hot to sizzling. The romance story line usually carries the story, but the sexual elements keep the pages turning. This month we’re going to meet some erotic romance authors and take a look at some of their works. My “Chatting with the Pros” author guest will be romance author Amy Cecil, whose contemporary romance stories get pretty steamy, and guests for the supporting interviews are erotic romance authors Nicky F. Grant and Jade C. Jamison. I’ll also be reviewing Sainte, the last book in Amy Cecil’s Knights of Silence MC series, and Heat book 1, a prequel short to Heat: The Complete Series, by Jade C. Jamison.
Just as authors each have their different heat levels in which they like to write, as readers we all have our own temperature preferences, too. Let me know how hot you like it, to read or to write, in the comments. Then, join me as we turn up the heat and start warming things up with a look at erotic romance in February on Writing to be Read!
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Judging for the 2020 W.W.A. Spur Awards
Posted: March 30, 2020 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Commentary, Fiction, romance, Western, western romance, Writing, Writing Contest | Tags: Book Reviews, Spur Awards, Western, western fiction, Western genre, western romance, Western Writers of America, Writing to be Read, WWA, WWA Spur Awards | 1 CommentIt was a great honor to be asked to be a judge for the Western Writers of America’s 2020 Spur Awards, but I had no idea what I was signing up for. I envisioned hours of luxurious reading in one of my favorite genres, while leisurely sipping wine and taking bubble baths, and once the event opened to entries last August, for a while, a new book came in the mail every day or two and it felt a little bit like Christmas.
I began reading the first entry right off, and kept steadily working my way through them. The inflow trickled off mid-September, although there were a few later entries that didn’t come until November and December. The stack of books were large, but I’ve always been an avid reader and I felt confident that I could manage it easily.
Then, as often happens, life got in the way. I lost two dogs within a month and a half of one another, and in November, had a death in the family, and for a time my life was turned upside down. My work schedule received adjustments and travel arrangements were made for the viewing and services, and writing and school were shoved lower on the list of priorities. Suddenly, everything was up in the air and all my leisurely reading time disappeared like a magician’s rabbit. Abracadabra. Poof!
During the last part of December, I started trying to get back on track and found some reading time to begin trying to catch up on the Spur entries. At this point, the stack of books I had left to read seemed immense, and I began to wonder if maybe I should be worried about getting all of them read in time. I admit, I had to cram at the end and read every night until my eyes wouldn’t stay open, but I managed to read every entry and send in my judging choices before the deadline.
It was harder than I thought it would be to be a Spurs judge. Not because I ended up playing catch-up on the reading, but because there were some many really excellent stories submitted to the western romance category, and I had to narrow it down to the top five. Making the choices as to which were best was really tough. The opportunity to read some of the best westerns of 2019 made it worth every struggle. It was great!
I took my role as a Spur judge seriously. While reading I noted things like how well-crafted the story was, how prominent the elements of western and romance were in the story, how historically accurate the story was, and how well the story captured and held my interest, to base my choices on. Now that the winners have been announced, I am able to provide you with brief reviews of the ones that were my own personal favorites. All of the books reviewed below I found to be well written and historically accurate to their time period, and each would receive a five quill rating in my regular book reviews. They were my top picks and they include the winner in the romance category and one of the finalists.
Sometimes in the old west you had to grow up fast, and life wasn’t always kind, especially to members of the female persuasion. Molly finds herself on her own in the west at a young age, at a time when the choices for a girl on her own were very limited. She’s on her way to becoming a soiled dove for a life of squalor when she meets Wade and it’s love at first sight. Wade vows take care of Molly, so there will be no need for her to go down that road, but he is young and there are several obstacles preventing him from following through. Then Molly met Heeshe, the new amorphidite brothel owner and they saved each other, but there was always a place in her heart for Wade, if she could only admit it and let herself surrender to him.
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When Molly’s husband dies, there’s nothing left to go back to. They sold up all their worldly goods to make the trek across the mountains to Oregon, and she is determined to complete the journey with her two children. She meets hardship and heart ache along the way, and Micah, a mysterious rugged rider, who turns up just at the right moment to save her from Jeb, an unsavory member of their party, who has had his eye on Molly and grown tired of just watching. Soon Micah is riding with she and the children, and bedding down near their wagon at night, working his way into the children’s hearts, as well as her own, but she has to wonder where he goes when he rides off for days and then, reappears. She has doubts as to whether she is strong enough to make it at times, but soon finds she doesn’t want to make it without Micah.
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Since her father died, Jack has run the Pony Express station in his stead. And why shouldn’t she? Even if she had to mislead to corporation heads a little, implying that she was male by signing her letter Jack instead of Jacquelin, she knows the workings inside and out, and the riders all like her and look to her with respect. Then Elijah Johnson looking for a mystery woman from the past arrives, along with a U.S. Treasury agent, Mr. Crowell, enlisted to help uncover a suspected conterfeiting ring operating in the area. As she unravels the mystery surrounding her own past, she ponders who she is, and who she wants to be, and struggles with the nagging feeling that Elijah Johnson may hold the key to revealing the truth.
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Harriette “Hetty” Osgood is just school teacher in Kiowa Wells, but when a dying man stumbles into her school house, she vows to deliver a letter to his brother, Grant Davis. Dressed as a boy for safer travel, she sets off on an adventure to find Davis, and crosses paths with Conover Boggs, who she sent to prison in the past, and would like nothing more than a chance to make her pay. Boggs catches up with her just as she catches up with Grant Davis, who has ridden with Boggs in the past. To save them both, they claim to be married to fool Boggs. They have little choice but to help one another, but Grant is on a quest to clear his name and leave his past behind him. Could they each be what the other is really looking for?
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This paranormal western romance is really two romances, one in the present and one in the past, in one tragic searches for both love and riches. Sundell does an excellent job of weaving the past into the present in a tragic and heartfelt tale of lost love and possibilities.
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Wilke thinks her first solo job in Butte, Montana will be a piece of cake. Simply, lift the ledgers for the designated accounts from the bank safe for the client. What could be easier? But things quickly go awry when she finds there are two sets of ledgers and they don’t tally. Suddenly, she finds herself being pursued by the shady lawyers who hired her uncle, who will go as far as murder to cover their tracks. When Hixson rides her back to her hotel on his motorbike, they discover her uncle dead, Wilke finds herself on her own and in need of getting out of town with the falsified documents.
Hix agrees to help her, but gets more than he bargains for, when the shady lawyer’s henchman is waiting at the train station. Wilke isn’t sure she can trust Hix, there are several signs that he might have a shady past and could be an outlaw, but she doesn’t have much of a choice. Hix has reasons of his own for wanting to get out of Montana, but he finds that Wilke is full of surprises, as they try to evade the bad guys.
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