Book Launch: On a Wing and a Prayer by Ruby Jackson

On Tuesday evening I had the honour of being invited to the launch of On A Wing and a Prayer by Ruby Jackson. This was held in Waterstones, Dundee and has to be the most entertaining book launch I have attended. Ruby Jackson held the audience in the palm of her hand as she told tales of the people she met whilst researching the book. The book is set during World War 2 and for the book Ruby Jackson interviewed people who did extraordinary things during this period. The accounts of what they did had the audience spellbound. 

Ruby Jackson does an incredible amount of research for her books. She tells the tale of contacting Fortnum and Mason in London. She needed to know the cost of honey during WW2. Fortnum and Mason told her she needed to speak to their archivist. What? Who would have known that a London store would have an archivist. I also learned that Fortnum and Mason have bee hives on their roof. How interesting is that? Something else I learned was that many rich young men, who had their own planes, handed them over to the military for the war effort. I could go on. 

Attending this event has made me think very carefully about how a book launch can be entertaining, interesting and informative. I hope that Bookaholic readers will also take some ideas away from this blog on rethinking their own launch.

So what is the book about. This is book 3 in the Churchill's Angels series, which is about four plucky girls from Dartford, Grace, Sally, Rose and Daisy. This book tells the story of Rose, an ordinary working class girl, who joins the ATS. You can rest assured that the historic details are 100% accurate as, in most cases, they come straight from the horse's mouth. If you like historical romance then this is an excellent book which I would highly recommend. You can buy the book from Amazon UK or USA by clicking below. 

     

See you all again soon Bookaholics. Whatever you are reading, enjoy.

Black Bear (Peter Cotton) by Aly Monroe

We are going back in time today on Bookaholic, with a thriller which is gentle and yet immediately absorbing.

As thrillers this is not an example of non stop action or a roller coaster ride. What it is, is a compelling and absorbing read driven by excellent characterisation and dialogue. It presents a slice of life, from days long gone, just after the second World War. This is the fourth outing for Petter Cotton, Aly Monroe's engaging spy. He is in America assisting with the set up of the new United Nations. Whilst there he finds himself wakening up in a private clinic for veterans. He has no memory of what has happened or how he got there. It is fairly quickly apparent that he has been drugged and the book revolves around how this happened. Whilst recovering he meets an engaging cast of characters and this is where the book comes into it's own. There is a mystery running through the book and we are aware of this, however it takes second place to the characters.

Each character is expertly drawn and beautifully brought to life. I found myself quickly warming to them and wanting to know more about both them and there lives. It is through them that Peter pieces together what has happened to him. As I said at the beginning of this review this is a compelling book and I could not put it down. It is solid and entertaining read which I would highly recommend. This is not just a book for lovers of spy stories but for everyone. I can't quite put my finger on why this book held my attention so well but it did. That should sum up how good it was.

So there we are for another day. I can assure you this is a book that is worth downloading and reading straight away. You wont regret it. If you do, curl up, put plenty of time aside, and enjoy. Keep reading.