A Little Book about Something Much Bigger:

The Gift of Spiritual Practice by Victoria Cryder and Louis Hughes

The Gift of Spiritual Practice is a guide book to help the reader become more spiritually aware, by finding out how to tap into our intuition also known as ‘The Sixth Sense’. So that the reader can put this to practice in their everyday lives and be more in touch with their inner self.

The authors share some good experience and advice. At the end of each chapter there are exercises for the reader to do and by doing these and learning new techniques the reader can put them to practice to help live a fulfilling life. There are some interesting topics covered in the book and it does make you reflex on your life and it makes you feel grateful for what you have and content with life after reading. The good advice about spiritual practice could be a great help to you if you are looking for guidance with life and are looking to improve your life for the better. The book can easily be read in one sitting and although only a small book the reader can get a lot out of this book in knowledge and spiritual enlightenment.

To buy this book form Amazon.co.uk, click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00737IJSS

To buy this book form Amazon.com, click here: http://amzn.com/B00737IJSS

I would like to welcome, a very special guest on my blog, author Linn B. Halton

Each step on the learning curve is a risk for a new author…

I’m delighted to be here on Nikki’s blog again, so much has happened in such a relatively short time. I think we first ‘met’ around the time my debut novel was published in February 2011. That now seems like a dim and distant memory!

That one, solitary novel, now has company – three very new ones to join it and another due out in October 2012.

My learning curve as a new writer has been intensive. It’s an exciting time to begin a writing career and the industry is fast-paced. It’s extremely hard work but for someone like myself who came into it with no real expectations, each single review is a joy and a bonus.

However, the learning curve is great. Aside from endeavouring to avoid the typical ‘newbie’ mistakes that most new writers make, it’s also a case of constantly being aware that you need to continue to raise the bar in the way you apply your craft.

One of the big considerations is the genre in which you choose to write, that’s how readers know what to expect when they buy one of your books. But what if you feel the need to experiment, to test yourself and see whether you can write outside of the confines of one genre?

Well, the answer is it’s a risk and the judges are the readers! All you can do it write your stories to the very best of your abilities and put your work out there. I think my example shows that I’m not going to stray very far away from my byline –

 ‘life, love and beyond, but it’s ALWAYS about the romance …..’

but that I am still on a journey of discovery about who I am as an a writer and where I’m going in the future.

Touched By The Light – Book Guild Publishing Feb 2011

A psychic romance story. Is it possible to mend a broken relationship from the other side?

Being A Sceptic Is Oh So Easy – self-published April 2011

The true story of why I now believe in the existence of life after death.

The Quintessential Gemini – Sapphire Star Publishing Jun 2012

A fun, chick-lit style read about a woman who lives her life according to her daily horoscope.

The Restaurant @ The Mill – Sapphire Star Publishing Aug 2012

Six very different love stories, plus a cameo appearance from the spirit of Sarah who roams the wonderful old mill, which is the home of The Restaurant.

Coming soon (Oct 2012) is Never Alone, another psychic romance story about a young woman who appears to have a perfect life, until everything begins to fall apart…

I write from the perspective of a number of the characters in each of my stories and I suppose The Restaurant was a huge risk in terms of the number of stories and characters involved. I am conscious of trying to make the journey as smooth as I can for the reader, but I hope that seeing things from more than one perspective adds depth and emotion.

So for the time being I will continue to stretch myself and see where each new story is going to take me. However, it will ALWAYS be about the romance!

I’m very grateful to people like Nikki and readers who take the time to post reviews. It’s so important not to become disconnected from the whole point of writing a book and that’s reader satisfaction. I also love it when people Email me and I’ve had suggestions for new stories, sharing of personal losses in relation to the true story I published and a request for a sequel to The Quintessential Gemini … it’s been amazing.

If you would like more info:-

Email: lbhalton@googlemail.com

Twitter Account @LinnBHalton
Facebook Linn B Halton
Loveahappyending.com Author Page
Sapphire Star Publishing Page
Amazon UK
Amazon US

More Ketchup than Salsa by Joe Cawley

Confessions of a Tenerife Barman

When Joe and girlfriend Joy decide to swap their lives living in Bolton and working at the local market on a seafood stall, for a life of sunshine and sand running a British themed pub restaurant in Tenerife, they soon find out that living and working in a busy holiday resort and amongst ex-pats is full of mishaps and their dreams become a reality and reality bites.

This is a really funny and entertaining book. Joe gives an honest and humorous account shared in anecdotes that are extremely well written and you can not help laughing at the situations the couple find themselves in and at the same time really hoping that all works out well for them in the end.

Joe Cawley is an award winning travel writer and author, based in Tenerife. His work has been published in The New York Post and many others. The paper version of More Ketchup than Salsa was voted ‘Best Travel Narrative 2007’ by the British Guild of Travel Writers.

To buy this book from Amazon.co.uk click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004VFP47E

To buy this book from Amazon.com click here: http://amzn.com/B004VFP47E

I would like to welcome, a very special guest on my blog, author Donna Douglas

Hello, and thanks for inviting me to be a guest on your site. I’m Donna Douglas, author of The Nightingale Girls, the first in a series of stories set in an East End Hospital in the 1930s.

It’s not often a publisher gives you an idea for a novel, but that’s what happened with The Nightingale Girls. It was my editor who suggested that a hospital might make an interesting background for a series of stories. I had to admit, it was a tempting idea. A hospital is a mini kingdom of consultants and nurses, porters and patients, each with their own story to tell. It’s also a place where you’ll find love, laughter, heartache, dramas, and human life at its most raw. All fantastic material for a writer!

So I started doing some research. And I discovered that a nurse’s lot in those days was harsh, to say the least. They trained for three years, during which time they lived in the nurses’ home under the watchful eye of the Home Sister. They were not allowed visitors, and had to be in bed for lights out at ten (although they devised ingenious ways to get around this particular rule!). They would be on duty for 14 hours at a time, during which they weren’t even allowed to sit down, except for three short breaks (and even these were at the ward sister’s discretion). There was a strict hierarchy among the junior and senior staff, to the point where students were not even allowed to pass a senior in the corridor. Nurses were also referred to by their surnames, and often went through their whole careers not knowing each other’s Christian names!

I started to think about the kind of girls who might sign up for such a life. I came up with tough East End girl Dora, who becomes a nurse to try to better herself and escape the clutches of her evil stepfather. At the other end of the social scale, I had reluctant debutante Millie, the poor little rich girl with everything except her independence. Finally, I had Helen, the timid one. Helen has never broken a rule or disobeyed an order in her life – until she falls in love with a patient on her ward. Suddenly she has to choose between her head and her heart.

Nursing may sound a bit grim, but in spite of the harsh regime, all the nurses I met spoke fondly of their time on the wards, the fun they’d had and the lifelong friends they’d made. That’s certainly true of my three characters, who form an unlikely bond that helps see them through the bad times they all face.

I really hope you enjoy the book. If you want to find out more about me and my writing, please visit my website – www.donnadouglas.co.uk – or my blog – donnadouglasauthor.wordpress.com.

Thanks for listening, and thanks to Nikki for allowing me to be part of your amazing blog!

To buy The Nightingale Girls from Amazon.co.uk, click here http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0099569353

The Nightingale Girls by Donna Douglas

The Nightingale Girls is all about three girls with very different personalities, who have signed up to be trainee nurses at one of the best teaching hospitals in London in the 1930’s.

Dora comes from a poor background and she is passionate and determined to become a nurse. Dora has always dreamed about being a nurse and it is a career choice that can help her escape from her humble beginnings and save her from her abusive Stepfather.

But with money for new text books to be found, will Dora be able to keep up with her fellow students if she falls behind in her studies due to a lack of books?

Helen’s mother is a hospital trustee and her brother is a doctor. Helen does not have many friends and she tends to keep herself to herself. But deep down Helen is deeply unhappy; her controlling mother controls all aspects of her life. So when Helen gets the chance to live her own life and break free from her overbearing mother, will she be able to make a stand?

Millie or to give her, her full title Lady Amelia is a carefree girl from an aristocrat family. Millie is a bit of a rebel often arriving back at the hospital late after a night out and avoiding the more senior staff. Millie is already repeating her preliminary training after failing the first time round, she now needs to work hard. Can she become more organised and prove she as what it takes to become a nurse?

This is the first in a series of novels following the lives and loves of three trainee nurses in the 1930’s. It is a really wonderful read that I found really touching at times. I really liked all the characters they are really likable. The story does not just concentrate on the characters time in the hospital but on their personal lives too. I really want to find out what is going to happen to the characters in the next book, so it is a book that leaves the reader wanting more and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

To buy this book from Amazon.co.uk, click here http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0099569353

I would like to welcome, a very special guest on my blog, author Carol E. Wyer

Thank you so much for inviting me to guest here today. I am always somewhat overwhelmed when I am invited to guest on people’s blogs. I normally suffer from immediate writer’s block because I can type all day when I am writing a novel, a story or a post for one of the author sites that I write for when someone says write a bit about yourself I always wander what on earth I can put.

So, at the risk of sending you all to sleep I’ll answer a question that I get asked every time someone discovers I am a writer:
“What made you start writing?”
This is a question that I haven’t been able to answer properly for a year. I haven’t been able to give an honest answer because I couldn’t put my finger on the moment when I decided I wanted to be a writer or indeed a well known author.

I actually started writing in my twenties – which is another story- but I only started writing for adults two years ago. I began writing when my son finally flew from the nest and I decided I was time for me to accomplish some hidden desires that had lurked for decades but there was something else before that. I just couldn’t think what it actually was.

I was awake a few nights ago and I had one of those Eureka moments. I had tracked down and isolated ‘that’ moment.

As a child I was one of those Army brats who moved from school to school, never making lasting friendships. I was also one of those really lucky children who was blessed with bad eyes which meant massive National Health tortoise shell framed glasses and to cap it all I smashed out my front teeth in an accident when I was a child and had large yellow false teeth. So, I wasn’t exactly brimming with confidence and each time we moved towns or countries I had to attempt to forge new relationships.

By the time I got to the age of fourteen we moved yet again to an all girl’s school. The girls there had all known each other for years so I was a complete outsider. I did what any nervous newcomer would do to integrate I became the class clown. If they needed a laugh good old Carol would provide it. It didn’t really work though as they only bothered with me if I could provide them with some form of entertainment.

For a year I larked about and my studies suffered. One day however, I was sat in an English lesson. We had been set the task of writing a funny story for homework. I was wearing my spectacles on the back of my head and making the girl behind giggle when the English teacher, a formidable woman called Mrs Madeley, a Canadian who stood no nonsense whatsoever called the class to order. She wanted the class to listen to a story that had had her in stitches. We were all gob-smacked. Mrs Madeley wasn’t able to raise a glimmer of a smile as far as we were concerned, let alone laugh.

We sat back as she read out the work in question. I stared out of the window wondering which lucky Clever Clogs had won the attention of such a teacher. After the first two lines I couldn’t breathe. It was my story. I hid behind my long mousy hair and huge glasses.

The class began to laugh. They honked a bit more. The laughter continued throughout the story. At the end they gave it resounding applause. Mrs Madeley looked up from the book.

“I don’t normally divulge the names of the girls responsible for writing the pieces I read out but today I would like to thank Carol. She shows remarkable talent and I think one day we’ll hear more from her.”
The girls applauded again. I reddened further. The girl behind clapped me on the back. I had finally been accepted.

I had Mrs Madeley to thank for my interest in English and writing but I had to thank her for more than that because from that day onwards I no longer had to be the class clown.

So, there you have it. Finally, I have worked out why I began writing, why I developed a passion for English and why I stopped being an idiot in school, although why I behave like one now is a complete mystery!

Surfing in Stilettos by Carol E. Wyer

This is the sequel to the fabulous Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines. The story follows on from the first book.

Amanda Wilson and her husband Phil and not forgetting a bright orange space hopper. Are about to embark on a gap year of travelling. They have arrived in France in a camper van. The trip is to bring them closer together, but they are in for a bumpy ride.

Todd Bragshaw is back on the scene, now seemingly a changed man, after a cycle accident leaves him seriously injured. Todd has set his mind on winning Amanda back.

Bibi Chevalier is a French woman who has I love for anything English. She soon makes friends with Amanda. All Bibi wants is her husbands attention and for him to stop philandering. When she comes up with a plan to win back her husbands affections, could she be putting herself and Amanda at risk?

Amanda and Phil’s hopeless twenty- something, hopeless son Tom is home alone, left to his own devices, will he ever cope? Will Amanda have a house or indeed any house hold appliances to return home to?

Adventure, Calamity, friendship and possibly love await Amanda, providing her with some interesting material for her up beat witty observational blog about being a women in her fifties.

What I really like about Carol E Wyer books is that you are never far away from the next laugh and laugh I did. This book is hilarious, great humour, keeping up the pace of the last book. Wonderfully written, keeping the reader amused and entertained from beginning to end. This sequel is packed full of fun and guaranteed to put a smile on your face. I look forward to reading more books by Carol E Wyer.

To buy this book from Amazon.co.uk click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1781764883

To buy this book from Amazon.com click here: http://amzn.com/1781764883

Chelsea Wives by Anna-Lou Weatherley

Meet the Chelsea Wives

Imogen Forbes a beautiful former model now married to Sebastian. At thirty-six Imogen has still got the looks to be a model and when she gets a second chance at modelling and the chance of a modelling contract with a big company.

Will Sebastian approve?

Calvary Rothschild is Imogen’s oldest and truest friend. A former editor now married to Douglas. Calvary is tired of Douglas unfaithfulness and his latest infidelity would be the final straw, but Calvary knows that ending her marriage means the possibility of giving up her status and standing with the social elite being a Chelsea Wife brings

Will Calvary be prepared to face her fear and give everything up and star a new?

Yasmin Belmont-Jones has a dark secret. She is the glamorous ex party girl.   Compared with her older husband many may think that she is nothing more than a gold digger. But could it be something else that ties Yasmin to her husband Lord Belmont?

From the outside it looks like these women have it all. Rich husbands, that brings sophistication, glamour and wealth. But that is not all the Chelsea wives have in common and they are about to unite in an unbreakable bond as they are prepared to risk all in their need for revenge and to avenge.

Chelsea Wives is an amazing read. It is just a fabulous book. It is a book you just can not put down. It plays out in your mind like a really good film. The characters are just brilliant and all are highly interesting. The storyline is excellent and very well written. I loved it. I could go on and on about just have fantastic it is but why don’t you step in to the lives of the Chelsea Wives and find out for yourself, you are in for a good read.

Anna-Lou Weatherley was born in Hampshire and grew up in London where she still lives with her partner and two children. An award-winning journalist and women’s lifestyle writer for over fifteen years, she is the former editor and acting editor of J-17 and Smash Hits respectively and has written for all the major glossies including, Grazia, More, Company, and Marie Claire among others.

She is the author of two teen titles, Ibiza Summer and The Wrong Boy (Piccadilly Press.) Chelsea Wives is her first adult novel.

And now, a few words from the author, Anna-Lou Weatherley

I am a huge fan of authors Jackie Collins and Martina Cole. I would like to think (hope) that my novels include the glitz, glamour, excess and sexiness of Jackie's and the multi-faceted, gritty, flawed characters of Martina's. They have both been a huge influence on my writing and I admire them immensely.

I adore writing about exotic locations, glamour and excess (basically create my ideal world!), but I also try to create a reality to my characters. They are usually very flawed and hopefully three dimensional (like real people!). Characters are my thing. I spend many months working on them and become incredibly close to them by the end.

I don't think of myself as a chick-lit writer. I'm not keen on the label. My books are escapism and written for women (and cover many issues women of all ages can relate to)  but they are certainly not fluffy!

 

To buy this book from Amazon.co.uk, click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1847563309

Black Stones of Ter Chadain by C.S. Yelle

Protector of Ter Chadain Book Two

This is an adult fantasy story.

Following on from where book one left off, the story picks up with Teah unable to claim her destiny and take the throne as the rightful Queen of Ter Chadain. Teah is been held on a slave ship, sailing to Caltoria with other magical slaves to have their fates determined by the evil Empress of Caltoria. Teah has no choice but to keep her true identity secret. As a slave Teah is stripped of her magical powers. When an ancient stone called a soul stone is placed on her forehead, it darkens to a deep black, marking her strongest magical in Caltoria since her ancestor the first Queen of Ter Chadain. This draws unwanted attention to Teah and puts her in great danger.

Logan the protector of Ter Chadain and a small band of rescuers, must hurry to save Teah, risking their lives and some will lose their lives in the quest. Will they be able to save Teah and Ter Chadain from falling under Caltorian rule?

The story is action packed with a huge cast of characters; lots of battles and destruction are packed into this book giving the reader a real quest of adventure that takes the reader along for the ride. A brilliant read for all fantasy fans.

C.S. Yelle is a native of Minnesota; C.S. Yelle received his degree from Mayville State University where he fell in love with the world of fantasy. Father of four, grandfather of one, C.S. enjoys time with his family, friends, the finer points of baseball and golf. Yelle currently resides in a Minneapolis suburb with wife Jennifer and their rat terrier Holly.

To buy this book from Amazon.co.uk click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0615611214

To buy this book from Amazon.com click here: http://amzn.com/0615611214