Book Review: The Breakdown by B A Paris

Good morning, Bookaholics. I have a book review for you today, of a book I am sure you will love as much s I do. I was fortunate to be given and Advance Reader Copy of The Breakdown through NetGalley. I'm jolly glad I requested it because what a cracking book it turned out to be. 

I haven't read B A Paris's previous books but I liked the look of this one so thought I'd take chance on a new author. Paris is an excellent author with a tight writing style which really ramps up the tension and plays on the motions. The emotional aspects of the book are beautifully handled and the psychological aspects tense. 

The book starts when Cass sees a woman in a car in a lane in a dark wood. She does not stop and the woman is subsequently murdered. Alongside this Cass is forgetting things and is worried that she is developing early onset Alzheimers like her mother. This leads to a taut psychological thriller which had me on the edge of my seat. I truly could not put it down and was reading until 3.30 am to find out what happens. To say it is a page turner may be a cliche but it is true. 

There are not many characters in the book but the ones which are there are realistic. The way they play of each other and the very sparsity of them only adds to the tension.

This is an outstanding book which I would not hesitate to recommend.

So there you have it my Bookaholic friends. This is one of those not to be missed books which I am sure you will want to read immediately. You an preorder from the link below

Enjoy the book and I'll see you back here soon. 

Putting One Finger in Front of the Other

Writing a Book is that Easy? Or is it?

In most jobs an employee has to show up and carry out their allotted task whether they feel like it or not. The job doesn't go away just because someone isn't in the mood or isn't feeling it. Yet, often as writers, we convince ourselves that we can only write when the perfect mood strikes. I know I have the potential to give in to these feelings.  This blog is an example. I knew I needed to write a blog post and yet I put it off thinking, I haven't got an idea in my head. Time goes by and no blog post is written.

However, I think I am lying to myself. We often do as writers. Once I opened up my laptop and put one finger in front of the other, the thoughts started flowing and ideas came thick and fast. My brain, and/or my muse, just needed dragging out of bed and told that it was time get to work.

The same can be true for my novels. I can procrastinate, telling myself that my muse has up and left. That's not true. My muse just needs me to show up and join him or her. Once we're snuggled up together in front of the keyboard ideas come thick and fast. Showing up is the first part of the process.

The second part of the process is typing actual words. This may seem elementary but again the muse may need a bit of cajoling to get going. There is a lot of expert advice out in the stratosphere about writing when the mood doesn't strike. I have found one to be particularly helpful. Write anything. Write rubbish, you can do something with it later. The very process of writing will help the mind to start thinking creatively. It will then take over and the rubbish becomes something more coherent. Who knows, it might become something truly brilliant?

This advice is the same whether you, the writer, are penning a short story, an article, a blog or a book. You will not get anything done if you are not moving your fingers on the keyboard, or using a pen to script words. So going back to my caption, writing a book is that easy. Well not quite. As most writers know, there are many steps to the process of writing a book. However, none of them will ever get done if the writer and the muse are not sitting down to write the first draft.

So why are you still reading this blog? It's time to grab a pen or sit down in front of that keyboard. Your muse is waiting for you to show up so it can get cracking. More power to your pen or keyboard and I look forward to reading that completed book. If you have any more writing tips feel free to share in the comments. See you back here soon.