Books and Christmas - The Perfect Combination

Good afternoon Bookaholics. Today, I am bringing you some books which have been released in the last couple of weeks and would make fabulous Christmas Presents. If you purchase them from the author they can be personalised and signed, making them even more special. You would also be supporting an author. So, here is my selection.

Middle Grade/Young Adult

The Fire Children by Abigail Van Kraay

If you have a middle grade child who likes fantasy, akin to The Chronicles of Narnia, then this is the perfect gift. 

The thought of living in a black-and-white world forever, made Benji Brook and Flo Knightly feel as hollow as the trunk of their favourite tree. It seemed to them, that since the colour had gone, the joy had left the people of Kingswick.But like Grandpa Jo had always said, 'There’s more to life than what meets the eye.'With their so-called arch enemy, Ozzy Stone, they are thrust into a world between worlds, as they go on the wildest of adventures and come face to face with the shadow beasts of Battlelands. Could it be that this unlikely trio could not only save the stolen children, but restore colour to their black and white world?

You can grab a copy from Abigail's website

Walled City by Maressa Mortimer

Gax enters Elabi on an undercover mission unseen. Or does he? Who spots his risky nighttime landing and what implications will it pose for his bid to win hearts and minds in the walled city?

Gax is a young adult who enters the city-state of Elabi undercover as a missionary. His mission is to infiltrate a society that does not allow for belief or emotions. Elabi has a culture based on logic and factual thinking, and a view of relationships Gax comes up against when he tries to share the Gospel. His own worldview is challenged when the city's control hinders his evangelism, limiting his opportunities to reach out to share his faith with the people in this first book of the Elabi Chronicles. Will Gax survive long enough to spread the Gospel, or will he be sent beyond the Hills?

You can buy signed copies from Maressa's Website 

Adult

Leah By Amanda Bedzrah

Lying in bed next to ‘the man of her dreams’, Leah is crippled with fear and unable to sleep. She knows that her husband, Jacob, is going to wake up to her, not “the woman of his dreams”. Jacob worked and served Leah’s father Laban for seven years to marry her younger sister Rachel, but on the night of their wedding, the brides were switched; the right man was married to the wrong bride. As Leah anticipates, his dissatisfaction is not hidden; his rejection is immediate. Seven days later, Jacob marries Rachel after promising to work another seven years for her. Leah is now left in a place of pain and bitterness. A fearsome war erupts. She is in a battle for her husband’s affection – not with an enemy, but with her own sister! Will she ever be loved and accepted? Can God use a woman like Leah: unnoticed, unwanted, and unloved, to change history?

This book is a fictional retelling of one of the greatest Bible stories of all time. It is a story of love, deception, betrayal, competition, heartbreak, and forgiveness.

You can buy a signed copy from Amanda's Website 

Paranormal Warwickshire by SC Skillman

Warwickshire is a county steeped in the supernatural, as befits the county of Shakespeare and the many ghosts and spirits that he conjured up in his works. The towns and villages of Warwickshire, its castles, houses, churches, theatres, inns and many other places both grand and everyday have rich and complex stories to tell of paranormal presences. In this book author S. C. Skillman investigates the rich supernatural heritage of this county at the heart of England in places such as Guy’s Cliffe House, the Saxon Mill, Kenilworth Castle, Warwick Castle, St Mary’s Church in Warwick, Nash’s House and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, and Stoneleigh Abbey, as well as in the towns of Rugby, Nuneaton and Leamington Spa. She explores the spiritual resonance of each location, recounting the tales of paranormal activity associated with it and examining the reasons for this within the history of the place. Paranormal Warwickshire takes the reader into the world of ghosts and spirits in the county, following their footsteps into the unknown. These tales of haunted places, supernatural happenings and shadowy presences will delight the ghost hunters, and fascinate and intrigue everybody who knows Warwickshire.

You can buy a copy from SC Skillman's Website 

The Power of Why - Why 28 Women Created an Online Course and Why You Should Too - compiled by Purvi Tantia, Wendy H. Jones and Lisa McGrath

Yes, this one has my name on the front as I was one of the compilers and editors for the anthology. This is not a signed copy for you to buy but an ebook to inspire you and help you take the step into developing an online course. Buy one for yourself or you can gift a copy to your friends and give the gift that can transform your life by reading the powerful stories of 28 women (and 1 man).  Only £0.99/$0.99 until 11th December 2020 so don't miss out 

If you are a coach, consultant, or a counsellor, you must have experienced the ceiling to how many hours you can work and the number of people you can help with your expertise on a one-on-one basis. Now, technology gives you the power to help more people without overwhelming yourself with long hours of work. If you are ready to scale your coaching, consulting, or counselling business to the next level, then you are in the right place.

With this book, 28 women from across the world have come together to share their journeys and their stories as course creators. They share their honest insights into these journeys which unfolded to create their own online courses. These are real women running real businesses, and they are sharing their 'Why' with you so that you can find yours, too.

If you are a few steps behind this in creating your own online course, this book will inspire you to action as you will see how creating an online course can help you change the way you do business. It will also inspire you to achieve more in less time, using tried and tested strategies and ultimately allowing more time for family and friends.

Told from a feminine perspective with a mix of storytelling, quotes, and anecdotes, this book will encourage you to ask yourself why you should create your own online course.

Universal link to buy from your country's Amazon Store

So, a bumper crop for you my Bookaholic friends. It's your chance to get some fabulous gifts for you and your family. 
 

An escaped Buffalo. In Scotland? What?

As an author, it's always exciting when a new book comes out. However, this one has me more excited than most. This is my first picture book. 

Meet Bertie, Scotland's very own wee escape artist. The books have just arrived and I'm blown away. Barry Diaper, the illustrator, has done a stonking job, making the wee guy a bundle of cuteness. The illustrations bring my story to life.

He was well and truly launched at Waterstones, Dundee and Waterstones, Stirling on Saturday and the kids loved him. Adults are also falling in love with him at first site. I'll be honest and say I'm humbled at the response.

He doesn't hit the shops properly until 16th November but here's your chance to get a personalised signed copy before the date. You can do so through my website which has a sparkly new look and store.

You can also preorder through Amazon or at Waterstones or any bookshop. If you are in Dundee, I will be doing an event with Fiona Veitch Smith, author of the Young David and Young Joseph books at CLC Dundee on Saturday 10th November between 10.00 and 15.00. Bring the kids along to meet Bertie, Hezzie, Ari the Alpaca, Chloe the Cow and Sharon the Sheep. All these animals star in either Bertie the Buffalo, or Fiona's books. There will be readings, activities and treats for the kids.

I am sure you will love Bertie as much as I do.

If you are looking for Christmas presents with a difference, then signed personalised copies of Bertie, or any other of my books, would fit the bill nicely. 

About the Author

Wendy H Jones is the Amazon Number 1 best-selling author of the award winning DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries. Her Young Adult Mystery, The Dagger’s Curse was a finalist in the Woman Alive Readers Choice Award. She is also The President of the Scottish Association of Writers, an international public speaker, and runs conferences and workshops on writing, motivation and marketing. Wendy is the founder of Crime at the Castle, Scotland’s newest Crime Festival. She is the editor of a Lent Book, published by the Association of Christian Writers and also the editor of the forthcoming Christmas Anthology form the same publisher. Her first children's book, Bertie the Buffalo, will be released at the end of October 2018.

Website

Amazon Author Page

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Holding Out for a Hero

Today on the blog I welcome Ian Nathaniel Cohen. Welcome Ian and thank you for this super helpful; post. I love the sound of the book.

There’s nothing like completing your first novel to dispel any illusions you have about how easy writing a book actually is. No matter how experienced of a writer you are, no matter how fluent in your chosen genre you’ve become, the process of turning a book from a mere idea into a ready-for-publication reality is most likely going to be harder than you expect. I certainly went through that with my first novel, The Brotherhood of the Black Flag, and it was quite the reality check. Sure, some parts of writing the book went more smoothly than others, but looking back, I don’t recall finding any of it easy.

That being said, no aspect of writing Black Flag was more difficult than coming up with my protagonist, Michael McNamara.

The Brotherhood of the Black Flag is a tribute to the classic Hollywood swashbucklers I grew up on, and a story like that requires a certain kind of hero. Rather than invoking the villain protagonist trope, I wanted my main character to actually be heroic, committed to doing the right thing. I already had my villain and their scheme in place, as well as some key supporting characters, so all that was missing was a hero to save the day.

Unfortunately, said hero was a complete blank slate for a long time. Even race, ethnicity, nationality, and gender were up in the air, only decided on when I “cast” James McAvoy (who I’m a big fan of) as my protagonist. Heck, I stumbled upon the name “McNamara” while looking for good names for my villain. Even worse, I had no idea how to answer the all-important question of what my main character wanted. I had no idea what would drive them to oppose the aforementioned villains and save said day. Every idea I tossed around seemed stale and uninspired. Revenge? Overdone. Anti-hero learns compassion? Overdone. Duty? Too confining.

Then, somehow, I had a “eureka moment” – one of several that enabled Black Flag’s eventual completion – when a question popped into my head from out of nowhere.

“What if he doesn’t know what he wants?”

Now I had something!

I’ve known people who, for one reason or another, weren’t able to get into certain careers they’d imagined they would when they were younger, or who’d lost their jobs and couldn’t find work in that same field. They all found themselves asking “well…now what?” Not only did it seem like an interesting character arc to play with, but also something readers could relate to and empathize with, either having gone through it themselves or knowing people who had.

Of course, I still had to come up with something for McNamara to want and achieve by story’s end. I also needed to piece together what he’d been doing previously (history cooperated beautifully in this regard). But at least I had a starting point, a foundation to build on. And the rest, as they say, is history.

***

Ian Nathaniel Cohen is a native of Miami, Florida, where he grew up immersing himself in swashbuckler literature and film. He graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2003 with a BA in Radio/Television Production and a Minor's Certificate in Applied Computer Science. He also received his MA in Asian Studies from Florida International University in 2006, where he teaches the course Asia Through Film as an adjunct lecturer. In 2010, his essay "Heroes & Villains of the East", analyzing the evolving depiction of the Japanese in Chinese and Hong Kong martial arts cinema, was published in FIU's Japan Studies Journal. He also writes a guest blog, the INCspotlight, on the website Channel Awesome, reviewing classic films, comic books, and video games. He made his debut as a novelist with The Brotherhood of the Black Flag in September 2017.

Links to my book:

Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073WCW7Z9

Amazon.co.uk - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brotherhood-Black-Flag-Golden-Piracy-ebook/dp/B073WCW7Z9

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-brotherhood-of-the-black-flag-ian-nathaniel-cohen/1126745642?ean=2940154453513

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-brotherhood-of-the-black-flag

Social Media:

My website - http://iannathanielcohen.weebly.com/

Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/IanNathanielCohen/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/INCspotlight

Mailing list sign-up - https://tinyletter.com/incspot