Review ~ If I knew You Were Going To Be This Beautiful I Would Never Have Let You Go by Judy Chicurel

Tinder Press

30 October 2014

Caught between the past and the present, this book shows a community in turmoil and of lives irrevocably changed by circumstances.

Long Island 1972, and in the fictionalised town of Elephant Beach, the working class community face a time of great social and economic change. For Katie and her friends, newly graduated from high school, it is a time of discovery and of great personal development, but amongst the awakening of new found desire, lies the horror of lives irrevocably changed in the aftermath of the war in Vietnam.

What then follows is an evocative, and at times emotional, look at the dissatisfaction which dominated American social history during the early part of the nineteen seventies. The unhappy image of young men with lives permanently altered by dissatisfaction and of young women caught up in hopeless situations is captured in minute detail, and at times makes for uncomfortable reading. The carelessness of unprotected sexual encounters and the dark escape into drug abuse, sits uncomfortably with casual racism, and yet interestingly, there is a fundamental optimism along with the hope that life can only get better.

Initially, I found the book difficult to get into as there is much to take in, but by about a third of the way into the book, I began to appreciate more the true nature of the story and became more emotionally involved with the characters. There is no doubt that the author is writing with authority, and is entirely comfortable recounting a story which has a realistic historical feel to it and which works as a social commentary about a determined working class community during a time of great social change.

Thanks to Lovereading.co.uk for giving me the chance to read this book in advance of its publication as part of the Lovereading review panel.

If I Knew You Were Going To Be This Beautiful I Would Never Have Let You Go 

is published on the 30th October and will be available from a good book store near you.

For more reader reviews about this book please go to

Lovereading .co.uk

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Review ~ Working Lives by David Hall

Bantam Press
2012

 The forgotten voices of Britain’s post-war working class.

I was born into a working class family in the industrial North of England, so the stark picture of the three coal miners who gaze enigmatically out from the front cover of Working Lives, is a scene which is entirely familiar to me. As a child, I watched as my coal miner father washed off the worst of the coal dust in a bucket of water in the backyard, and I grew up with tall tales of shot firing, coal seams and underground explosions.

David Hall’s interesting and informative social history explores the lives of the working classes in post-war Britain. The inherent danger of the northern coal fields and the noise and dust of the Lancashire cotton weaving sheds formed a landscape which was difficult to escape. And, likewise, the vivid descriptions of the frenetic activity of the North Eastern ship builder, through to the heat and bellow of the Yorkshire steel works, gives the narrative a uniquely individual voice, which neither glorifies this post-war period as halcyon days, nor does it allow the facts to outweigh personal perspectives. The anecdotal stories which are interspersed amongst the factual evidence are fascinatingly poignant and are reminiscent of long lost industrial pride.

The five main chapters are well divided with some minimal overlapping as one industry is occasionally reliant on another. These sections explore in great detail the effect that these industries had on the communities they served, and the structure and political ramifications as Britain became the most urbanized industrial nation in the world.

As someone who was born well into this post war industrial period, I am always rather shocked to consider that this is now seen largely as a historical period, but there is no doubt that we owe a huge debt of honour to the sagacity of those intrepid workers who maintained the status quo during this uniquely industrial time in our nation’s history. 

In this post-war examination , David Hall has done them proud.

 My thanks to Elizabeth Masters at Transworld Publishers for my copy of this book.

Transworld Historical Reading Challenge 2013

Today my author spotlight is on R L Bartram....

I am delighted to introduce to you

R L Bartram

 Author of 

Authors OnLine Ltd
2011

Robert ~ Welcome to Jaffareadstoo, and thank you for taking the time to answer our questions

Where did you get the first flash of inspiration for Dance The Moon Down?

I was engaged in research on the period 1900-1920, when I came across the letters and diaries of some women who had lived through the Great War and who had male relatives abroad. The sentiments they expressed where so utterly poignant that they immediately captured my attention. It occurred to me that whilst a vast amount of fiction has been written about WW1 concerning the men and even the animals on the front line, very little, in fact, had been done about the lives of the women who had been left behind. I felt that theirs was a story that demanded to be told. About the same time I read an article in "The Nation" a now obsolete periodical, written by John Galsworthy the author of "The Forsyte Saga", in June 1914. Basically it was a critique of the younger generation in which he remarked that "they had been born to dance the moon down to ragtime". In hindsight the irony of that statement is all too apparent. That's what clinched it for me. This was when the first spark of inspiration was struck, so much so, that I used Galsworthy's comment for the title of my book.



What can you tell us about the story that won't give too much away?

Dance The Moon Down is essentially a rite of passage. It is the story of Victoria, a privileged middle class young woman who is headstrong, highly educated, but completely naive. Her father's decision to enrol her at university sets in motion a chain of events that will utterly change her life. At university she meets and falls madly in love with dashing young poet, Gerald Avery. After a whirlwind romance they marry, against her parents wishes, in January 1914. After a few blissful months together war is declared and Gerald volunteers to fight, but within weeks has gone missing on the Western Front, leaving Victoria to fend for herself in a world she is totally unprepared for.
Convinced that her husband is still alive Victoria resolves to wait for him, but her initial attempts to discover his whereabouts plunge her into a dangerous conflict, with both the police and the military, whilst the advent of the charismatic lieutenant Alan Fairchild only serves to complicate matters.
Eventually, virtually destitute, she is forced to take work on a rundown farm where she discovers an unimagined world of illiteracy and poverty, but also new friends among the working class women. This will be her most testing time, both physically and mentally. All she has to sustain her through these dark days is her conviction that Gerald will one day return. The burning question is, will he come back or not?


When do you find the time to write, and do you have a favourite place to do your writing?

I'm a night owl. I generally write between 11pm and 3am. It's much quieter then and I can hear my thoughts. My favorite spot is in the dining room at the dining table. The windows look out onto my large secluded garden and in the summer with the doors open the night breezes waft in. There's no better place in the house to create a story. It's also conveniently close to the kettle and tea pot.


The book world is very competitive – how do you get your book noticed?

Never a truer word was spoken. Initially I managed to arrange an interview with my local newspaper, plus a couple of other local magazines and a spot on local radio. I did a book signing at Waterstones and have a page on Good reads (come up and see me some time) but the bulk of my publicity has been through review blogs, like this one, where I've met a host of hardworking reviewers who are some of the kindest and most enthusiastic people I've ever come across. So far my novel has been reviewed in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, India and the UK, such is the power of the internet. I'm always on the lookout for new ways of promoting my novel. In that sense it's a work in progress.


Can you tell us if you have another novel planned?

Yes, my new novel is in the early planning stages. This one is set against the background of the American Civil War. It will also have a female central character (my favorite). As with Dance The Moon Down, I think I've found a new slant on an old theme, but that's all I'm saying for now.



Author Bio:

Born in Edmonton London, in 1951, Robert spent several of his formative years living in Cornwall where he began to develop a life long love of nature and the rural way of life. He began writing in his early teens and much of his short romantic fiction was subsequently published in various national periodicals including "Secrets", Red Letter and "The people's Friend"
Never one to let the necessity of earning a living get in the way of his writing, Robert has continued to write for the best part of his life whilst holding down a succession of jobs which included Health Food Shop Manager, Typewriter Mechanic and Taxidermist - Yes, you read that correctly!!
His passion for the history of the early twentieth century is second only to his love of writing which made Dance The Moon Down a logical choice for his debut novel. Robert is single and lives and writes in Hertfordshire.

Robert is generously offering one signed paperback copy of Dance the Moon Down to one lucky UK winner of 

this giveaway

Good Luck Everyone

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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My thoughts on Dance the Moon Down

This lovely story opens on the cusp of WW1, and although there is a real sense of change within the country, sadly, the expectations of the middle classes seems to be stuck in the Edwardian era. When sixteen year old Victoria tentatively asks her parents if she may continue her formal education at university, it seems likely that her parents, who both believe that a woman’s place is in the home, will refuse. However, against their better judgement Victoria attends Caulfield’s, a residential ladies college in Cambridge, where she meets, fall in love with and quickly marries the dashing poet, Gerald Avery. The momentous events which are gradually unfolding on the European stage will have a profound effect on the lives of both Victoria and Gerald, and also on the wider world around them.

What then follows is a really interesting story about the women who were left behind when the men went off to fight in the war, and of the roles the women played in both keeping morale high and the country’s economy ticking over. The dark days of privation and the knowledge that her husband is caught up in war events make Victoria into a very strong character, and her story resonates with passion and conviction.

Beautifully written and well researched, this book will make you consider all those women who were left behind to fend for themselves, whilst their husbands, sons and fathers were fighting a war, and who became stronger and more independent because of the role they played.

I enjoyed it and look forward to more books from this author.

***

My Guest on the blog is Andrew McBurnie

I am delighted to welcome to my blog 

Andrew McBurnie

Photo by Kind permission of the author

Andrew -welcome to jaffareadstoo and thank you for visiting us to talk about your book

Andrew McBurnie (18 Sep 2012)

The blurb

Teenager Adrian Thorby is about to experience a week of embarrassing and comic incidents. But he's scared. It's 1962, the week of the Cuban missile crisis, and the world is threatened by nuclear war. He's a science-fiction fan who fears he will never live to see a futuristic world of high-technology, including space travel and robots, and will never have a girlfriend.

Adrian lives in Hull, a north-eastern English city still half-flattened by WW2 bombing. He assumes that with his country’s experience of intense bombing during the last war, there will be a swift introduction of emergency preparedness measures. But everyone continues with their lives as normal. Nobody prepares; Adrian begins to think the grownups must all be mad.

He is also secretly in love with a girl from another school, is troubled by sexual thoughts, and through some awkward moments begins to wonder if he really has the brains to participate in a technological future. The seven days of “Fear Week” narrate his exploits, blunders and embarrassments during the nuclear crisis, and his yearnings for the girl of his dreams.

Andrew - what is it about your book that will pique the readers interest?

I didn't think about this when I wrote Fear Week, but after consideration, I would say:

• "Fear Week" depicts a kid's attempt to find his way during a week when modern civilization seems about to destroy itself, a period that few people seem to know about now.
• There aren't many novels about the Cuban Missile Crisis that are set in such an apparently unlikely location: Hull. In fact, there is only "Fear Week".
• Despite the serious topic, the book has (I think) some amusing scenes.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of Fear Week?

About three years; mainly in the evenings after work, including rewrites and corrections.

The book world is very competitive – how do you get your book noticed?

After putting "Fear Week" up on Amazon and Smashwords, I didn't do any marketing at first, and it was was greeted with… massive silence. Then I researched ebook marketing, and review blogs particularly. I found several online lists of ebook reviewers, some indicating genre and other preferences.

I didn't do any mass emailing to the lists, aka spam. I used the lists, and the results of my own google searching, as follows:

For each candidate review site, I:

• Examined the website to check that my novel matched the reviewer's preferred genres and make sure they would accept self-published novels (many don't), and if they did accept self-published novels, that they also accepted e-books (some don't).

•  Double-checked to make sure there wasn't a temporary notice up saying that their schedule is full and so they aren't considering any new novels at the moment.

• Selected UK reviewers at first because I thought "Fear Week" might be a bit 'British', but that seemed not to be the case in the end.

For my email to the site owner, I:

• Attempted in most cases to address in some small way to information contained in their site.

• Made certain to respond accurately if they had particular formatting and content requirements in review requests.

• As additional information following the novel's summary, added that I'd had "Fear Week", professionally proof-read, and usually mentioned that I've previously published short stories in print magazines.

• Rarely attached a copy of the novel itself unless specifically requested on the reviewer's website.

• Once I got my first good review (from the Historical Novel Society) I started mentioning it in all my emails.

It's been a long process since I started because most of the review sites I examined were quite interesting, and I liked seeing what they thought of books that I'd read. I would usually find one or two suitable candidates a day, but sometimes none, so the process has continued over about five months so far.

I've recently begun to look at personal blogging and social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, etc; but have not had the time to put much effort into it yet.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

(In addition to writing a good story…) Be prepared to spend serious money on professional editors, at least two. Otherwise don't waste your time or a reviewer's time.

Which writers have inspired you?


Anton Chekov, Jane Austen, Ray Bradbury, Eric Blair, Muriel Spark, Phillip K Dick, J G Ballard, Frederick Pohl.

Andrew - it's been a pleasure to have you on the blog today. 

Jaffa and wish you continued success with

 Fear Week.

 My review of Fear Week

This is an interesting and well written coming of age story. Adrian Thorby is a typical teenager; he has his head in Science fiction stories, but at the same time fantasises about the pretty girl he sees riding her bike to and from school. But this is 1962, and the Cuban missile crisis is about to rock the world, and suddenly the fear of a nuclear event is very real. This story narrated throughout the eponymous ‘fear week’ echoes the fears of many people who thought that the world was about to end. Adrian fears he will never live to see the world of his Sci-Fi fantasies. 

I really enjoyed this story; it made me laugh out loud in places and yet there were some real focus moments of shock and fear. I was a very small child during this scary week of 1962, so have no first hand recollections of what the experience was like, but this story goes some way to explain just what a scary prospect it was to live through the possibility of a nuclear crisis. Adrian is a quirky narrator; you can’t help but warm to him. His interaction with his parents and siblings was a joy to read, but what really made me smile was Adrian’s relationship with his peers at school. The issue of the lost copy of Harold Robbins’s The Carpetbaggers had me remembering a similar incident I had with a copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. I think that the author has done a splendid job of recreating a very believable scenario, whilst at the same time keeping the narration light and interesting. 

If you like well written social commentary then I'm sure that this story would appeal to you.

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