Hello everybody!
Today I’m taking part in the blog tour for Theatrical, which I really enjoyed last month, by talking about some of the plays/musicals I’d most like to see one day. I also have a list of recommendations of plays that author Maggie Harcourt loved whilst she was working on the book. Onto the post!
Hello everybody!
Today, I’m on the blog tour for the Polka Dot Shop, the new book from Laurel Remington, author of the Secret Cooking Club series. I’m going to be telling you a luttle bit about the book, and then how you could win a copy! Onto the post!
Hello everybody!
Today, I’m really excited to be hosting a guest post from Claire Fayers, about what the 17th century newspapers may have looked like had magic existed as part of her blog tour for Mirror Magic (which I really enjoyed earlier this month, and shall be reviewing come my June Reviews post!)
Over to Claire!
Hello everybody!
Today, I’m really excited to be on the blog tour for Anne Booth’s new book Across the Divide, and to share a guest post from Anne, about how we can learn empathy from fiction. Over to Anne!
‘We have more in common’
I love twitter. When I felt lonely and isolated as a carer for elderly parents, twitter was a safe place where I could meet lovely people – writers, illustrators, librarians, teachers, booksellers, publishers, agents – who shared my enthusiasm and passion for children’s books and illustrations. Later, through someone I chatted to about children’s books on twitter, it led to me being published, and getting my wonderful agent. Things I read on twitter every day inspire and inform me and give me ideas for new books. I find it a great ongoing source of support and information and entertainment.
But it has its dark side. When I move away from the world of children’s writing and start reading political tweets, things get much more polarised and divisive and depressing. In the children’s book world, we tend to genuinely behave as if, as Jo Cox said, ‘we have more in common than what divides us’. Because politics is so much more adversarial, nobody seems to feel safe to acknowledge the good in their political opponents, or any badness in their own party. There are so many smears and so much selective reporting, so much finger pointing and generalisations and confusion and unspoken agendas. It is so hard to get to the truth, and yet it is presented as easy to find. If you state a political or religious opinion online you run the risk of being put in a box, and also being seen as someone who puts others in boxes. It doesn’t seem to be acceptable to ask questions about things you don’t understand or change your mind about things, in other words, get educated. There is little forgiveness or giving people the benefit of the doubt or understanding that there is good and bad in everyone. This is not healthy, and against the whole spirit of education and debate, and this approach is also poisoning the world outside twitter in which our children are growing up.
In researching the world of Britain at the time of WW1 I found the same poisonous polarisation. I found, for example, that genuinely brave Emily Pankhurst was, horribly, an enthusiastic giver out of white feathers to men she considered cowards for not going to war, and she and others did not recognise their bravery. I read of families divided, smears and lies and wilfully hateful interpretations of good people’s motives.
Stories can be an antidote to this poison. In the fictional world we have the time and the safe space to explore ambiguities and mixed motives, to let people make mistakes and change opinions. In the fictional world cowards can do brave things, enemies can become friends. We can become educated and learn to empathise – we can be uncertain without being screamed at. We can learn, through fiction, how history informs our present, and I hope that ACROSS THE DIVIDE takes the reader to a beautiful place to explore difficult ideas in safety.
ACROSS THE DIVIDE by Anne Booth is out now in paperback (£6.99, Catnip Publishing). Follow Anne Booth @Bridgeanne and Catnip @catnipbooks for more information
Have you read Across the Divide? Do you plan to add it to your TBR? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @GoldenBooksGirl!
Amy xxx
Hello everybody!
Today, I’m going to be doing a spotlight post about BB Taylor’s Curse of the Nomed! Onto the post!
Blurb:
Ancient Gods, a cursed Librarian and a battle to save their souls. How hard could the first day of school really be? Welcome to Nomed Academy! An epic adventure for three unsuspecting year seven students as they embark on their first day of school. One they will never forget. But can they really defeat an ancient Egyptian God with nothing but revenge on his mind? All net profits from the sale of this book go to Partnership for Children, a mental health charity supporting the positive mental health of children.
About the Author:
Born in sunny Birmingham in the late 80’s I always wanted to write as a child, so as I grew and explored my love of working with animals and people I used all these experiences to create my first story and from there I was hooked! My Children and my animals are my main source of inspiration always giving me new ideas and stories to write. I studied as a Youth Worker and i’m also a qualified early years practitioner as well has having lots of random qualifications including in animals and sports 😉 My first book ever published is called Sox and Pals and is about my Raccoon Socrates, a very special raccoon that helps educate people all about animals and how to care for animals properly.
BB’s website: http://bbtaylor-books.co.uk/
BB’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBBTaylor
BB’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/BB_Taylor_
Book Information:
Release Date: 17th May 2018
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Weird N Wonderful Tales
Formats the book is available in: Ebook & Paperback
You can find the book on Goodreads here
And you can buy the book on Amazon here
Thank you so much for reading! Do you enjoy books about mythology? Which are your favourites? Will you be adding this one to your TBR? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @GoldenBooksGirl!
Amy xxx
Hello everybody!
Today, I’m really excited to be taking part in the #YAPlaylist tour, which was organised by the wonderful Nina Douglasto celebrate Alice Oseman’s new book I Was Born For This. First, Alice will be sharing some insight into a song on her playlist for the Book, and then I’ll be talking about a song from a fandom I love. Onto the post!
Continue reading “#IWasBornForThis Blog Tour: #YAPlaylist with Alice Oseman”
Hello everybody!
Today, I’m super excited to be on the blog tour for Katy Cannons new book How to Write a Love Story, which I really enjoyed, as you’ll know already if you read my latest monthly reviews post a few days ago! Onto Katy’s post, all about her top 5 romance books!
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I love reading romance every bit as much as I love writing it. Narrowing down my favourites to just five is almost impossible, but here a few titles that always pop into my head when someone says ‘romance’.
1. Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen was one of the first great romance writers (if you ignore the Greeks) and for my money, P&P is one of the best romances ever written. It has everything I love – a hero and heroine working towards understanding each other, a great supporting cast, and a blissfully happy ending. (Plus some fantastic one-liners!) That’s why it actually features in How To Write A Love Story at quite a pivotal moment!
2. Fangirl: Rainbow Rowell has that uncanny ability to make me feel eighteen again, exactly as it felt the first time around. I loved this book so much, mostly because I felt like I might have lived it, rather than just read it.
3. In The Hand of the Goddess: Tamora Pierce is famous for her fantasy YA novels, of which this is one of the best. I couldn’t begin to claim that romance is the main focus of this book, but there’s definitely enough romantic scenes for me to count it! More importantly, this was the first book I read as a teenager where I realized that however great the plot, what interested me most in books was the characters, and the friendships, relationships and romances they experienced with others. (Plus I had a total book crush on Prince Jon.)
4. Saint Anything: Sarah Dessen is a writer who draws me into the worlds and families she creates, until by the last page I’m devastated to have to leave them. She also writes incredible teen romances – true and heartbreaking and hopeful. I love all her books, but I think this is my favourite.
5. Shadow of the Moon: M M Kaye wrote sweeping historical fiction with romance at its heart, set in India and Zanzibar. She also wrote fantastic short crime novels (with a romantic subplot) set in many of the countries she’d lived in or visited, set during the forties and fifties. What I love about her books is the period details and political background she includes – as well as the drama and the romance! I was hard pressed to pick a favourite, and almost went for her most famous novel, The Far Pavilions, but Captain Alex Randall from Shadow of the Moon will always hold my bookish heart.
Thank you so much for reading! What are your favourite romance books? Do you agree with any of Katy’s choices? I’d love to hear from you in the comments or on Twitter @GoldenBooksGirl!
Amy xxx
