Published Bestsellers

Bringing you exclusive interviews with authors featured in the Book Savvy Newsletter. Our Guest is John Davies * Enjoy the interview. Q1. Can you tell us about yourself and your book 'Lyrics and Limericks'. I was born in Cwmafan, South Wales in 1948, attended Glanafan Grammar School, worked for 30 years as a chemist for BP Chemicals and retired in 2002. Married to Adrianne in 1971 and son, Ian, born in 1979. Our granddaughter, Freya, was born in 2010 and is the apple of my eye. I started writing as a hobby in retirement and 'Lyrics and Limericks' is my third book. I play guitar, have written some songs and also some poetry. The thought occurred to me, are song lyrics poetry? I sought the opinion of several songwriters and poets and their thoughts are included in the book. Having written many limericks, the book title required no thought and just tripped off my tongue. Q2. When you write, what emotion do you seek to evoke in your readers? That depends entir

Bringing you exclusive interviews with authors featured in the Book Savvy Newsletter. Our Guest is  Polly Morten * Enjoy the interview. Q1 .  Can you tell us a little about yourself? I trained  in science, worked as a college lecturer, ran a beauty salon, lived on a sheep farm, ran local and national dressage competitions, dressage judge, competed in one day eventing, show jumping and dressage. I'm currently working at a local Stately Home, and training and working my two Labradors. I'm married with no children. Q2. Give us, if you would, 'Gift Horse' in a nutshell, for those who haven't yet had a chance to read it. An amusing weave of different people's lives, all brought together by a professional or personal interest in horses. Q3. Give us a sense of how this novel came together, if you would. Where did you begin, and how did you shape the narrative to create the final version of the story? I began by going to a creative writing group, never havi

Q1. As succinctly as possible, tell us why someone should read your book. Telepathic elves, intuitive trees, space travel, evil clones and chocolate cake… say no more. Q2. Where did you draw your inspiration from for your characters? Umm, Caramel is a bit like me. Some of my family have read the book and just laughed, knowing that is how I would say something. Q3. What is the main message you want to convey to your readers in your books? Caramel may have a disability but she learns to capitalise on her unique abilities. I hope kids will identify with her struggles and be encouraged by her courage and determination. Q4. How did it compare to write the first book, “Escape From the Forbidden Planet” versus the second book, “Return to Cardamom” in the series? The characters and world building were already explained by book 2, so it felt easier to continue their journey. Q5. Can we expect more books from you in the future? Hmmm, book 3 in the trilogy has all the

I’m a Derbyshire author, am 61 this year, and have been writing since 2006 when an idea for a family 33 years of earning a living in a professional capacity as an accountant provided the kind of discipline needed to complete novels ranging from 65,000 to 100,000 words. Putting myself through a professional qualification made me realise that there really is no such thing as a Free Lunch, and that the only person likely to take an interest in my career, apart from my wife Lynn, was me. This is the sort of reality which had stood me in good stead, and allowed me to reconcile to the fact that agencies simply are not interested in unknown, and therefore high risk, authors. I was extremely fortunate to find Pneuma Springs – a publisher prepared to take a risk without the fallback position of relying on an agent to screen the work.

Bringing you exclusive interviews with authors featured in the Book Savvy Newsletter. Our Guest is  Sue Hampton * Enjoy the interview. Q1 . Can you tell us a little about yourself and your book 'Pomp and Circumstances'? As an ex-teacher who used to stretch my pupils, I challenge myself by writing in various genres and styles for different audiences - from humour and fantasy to historical adventure. But I hope there's always a detectable 'essence of me'! Pomp and Circumstances isn't for children but young adult/adult readers - and all the action happens over twelve hours. One day changes the lives of five young Londoners. Q2. Why did you set Pomp and Circumstances on Royal Wedding Day? It was a day I began as an indifferent observer, of the central players and the crowd. But I found myself held captive on my sofa! I realised this unusual day was an opportunity for new, surprising connections. Q3. Who would enjoy this novel and why? Anyone over fourte

Interview Excerpt Q. Does being an accountant influence your attention to detail or other matters in your fictions? A. It certainly imposes a discipline in terms of the structure of what I write. Each author will select the most suitable method of controlling a plot, and it has to be something with which they are comfortable. For me, as an accountant, it is the Spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are one of the mainstay tools of my profession, and are perfectly adaptable for the purposes of writing literary fiction. I can set out the structure of each novel in standard form and then bend and adapt it to match the needs of each book. Along with a plot layout in MS Word, I can then keep a tight control over characters, story lines, and logic. By this means, I can ensure that there are no loose ends… unless I make a conscious decision to leave them lying around for purposes of my own. The accountancy profession also provides me with a wealth of data for my writing. This was something that I

Bringing you exclusive interviews with authors featured in the Book Savvy Newsletter. Our Guest is  Maggie Kindred * Enjoy the interview. Q1 Can you tell us a little about yourself and your book 'Training and supporting the care force'? My career took me through teaching, social work and practice teaching. Social carers generally are undervalued by society, and often undervalue themselves. So this book is about helping carers to recognise and value the skills they already possess, and develop these. Learning should be fun, and can make all kinds of everyday experiences more interesting and rewarding.   Q2 Why did you write this book? I committed myself a long time ago to producing sound practice-based material in a digestible style - particularly for carers, students who have had bad classroom experiences, and the non-academic.   Q3 What provided the inspiration for you to become a writer in the first place? As an educator, I loved trying to make theory 'li

Bringing you exclusive interviews with authors featured in the Book Savvy Newsletter. Our Guest is  Natalie Mason * Enjoy the interview. Q1.  Can you tell us a little about yourself and your book 'Poems and Rhymes for all Times? I am 35 years old and live in Stockport with my husband and two children. I have enjoyed a variety of jobs over the years including being a sports coach in schools. I currently work as a beauty therapist. I find this works well with my writing and I can enjoy them both. My book is a collection of poems touching on various aspects of life. It is about life and its various stages in general - there are a wide range of poems that all can relate to.   Q2. What provided the inspiration for you to write this book? I have written poems for my family from a young age; however it was never my intention to write a book at first. I got my inspiration for writing through daily life. Also I am quite sensitive to what others are going through and this inspires

Neal James began writing in 2007 when a series of short stories found favour on a number of international writing sites. Since then, he has released three novels and an anthology of short stories. ‘Full Marks’, his fifth book in as many years, is a crime novel and a product of a vivid imagination set against a backdrop of exposés dating back to the mid-1970s. ‘Two Little Dicky Birds’, his 2010 release, was a finalist in the prestigious Peoples Book prize of 2012. He is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association, and regular contributor to local newspaper features. As an accountant for over three decades, he has drawn on his background to provide an insight into much of the substance required in the creation of his writing to date. He lives in Derbyshire with his wife and family.

How you can follow in writer's footsteps WHILE working as a financial controller in Leicester, Philip Neale dreamed of becoming a published crime author. But he knew that thousands of would-be writers shared that ambition and that most would be rejected, their precious work left to gather dust on the shelf at home. But the accountant's persistence paid off and, in 2008, his novel A Ticket to Tewkesbury provided the breakthrough. He's gone on to publish four more books with the latest addition to his bibliography, Full Marks, released earlier this month. Leicester, like the rest of the East Midlands where he has always lived and worked, remains an inspiration – his serial killer novel Two Little Dicky Birds opens with the murder of a prostitute on the streets of Leicester.

An insightful discussion of Neal's latest book Full Marks Interview Snippet Firstly, tell us five things about yourself. 1. I’m an accountant by trade, and have been in this line of work since 1974 2. I’m 60 years old, and have been married for 36 of those 3. I’ve been writing since 2006 4. I now have five books out on general release and available worldwide 5. There are three completed manuscripts, two partially written books, and two more ideas on the drawing board When did you decide you wanted to be an author? 2007, when one of my short stories made it into a full-length novel and was accepted by a publisher in Kent. How did you choose to write the genre you do and are there any genres that you would like to write some day? Crime just seemed to follow naturally from my first novel, ‘A Ticket to Tewkesbury’, but I’m not restricted to that genre. My anthology ‘Short Stories Volume One’, published in 2009, contains 36 pieces of varying styles. Tell us about your

Bringing you exclusive interviews with authors featured in the Book Savvy Newsletter. Our Guest is  Steve Perry * Enjoy the interview.   Q1. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your book 'When Payday Loans Go Wrong? Financially speaking my life has been nothing short of a disaster due to my inability to control my finances - leading from one mess to another. Firstly it was a war with the bank, and then my catastrophic mistake with the payday loan industry. 'When Payday Loans Go Wrong' tells the story of how I managed to mess things up so badly! Q2. Why did you write this book? I couldn't change what had happened to me, the only thing I could do was warn others of the dangers. Q3. What provided the inspiration for you to become a writer in the first place? I was driven by rage. I felt an overwhelming need to tell others of what had happened to me, to warn them of the true damage the loan industry could cause and hopefully to prevent the same happening

Listen to Neal James' interview on Webb Weaver Books, the Blog Talk Radio station. The show was aired on Thursday, 7th February 2013 in the company of hosts CK Webb and DJ Weaver. Click to listen to the feature audio clip . (OR listen via the player below). Neal James is the author of four books: 'A Ticket to Tewkesbury' , 'Short Stories - Volume One' , 'Two Little Dicky Birds' and Threads of Deceit . Neal's latest book titled Full Marks , is due out in Springs 2013. Blurbs for Neal's published books are provided below.

Bringing you exclusive interviews with authors featured in the Book Savvy Newsletter. Our Guest is  I. C. Camilleri * Enjoy the interview. Q1. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your book 'The Blake Curse'? I was born on the 7th of February in Malta, an island in the middle of the Mediterranean. I graduated in Medicine and Surgery in 1993 and I moved to the UK shortly afterwards. And this is where I still live and work. Medicine and writing are my passion. The Blake Curse is my first published work. It is a psychological thriller and romance set in the beautiful city of Cambridge. Q2. When you write what emotion do you seek to evoke in your readers? Passion and love. How could I not write about love? My Mediterranean roots compel me to do so.   Q3. Why did you decide to begin writing and how much time do you dedicate to your writing? Medicine can be pretty stressful at times. Your patients become your whole life and how do you stop yourself from taking y

Interview with Author Neal James, an insightful discussion of his latest book . Give us a quick introduction on yourself and your book. I am Neal James, UK author, and I began writing in 2006. By day I am an accountant, and all of my writing to date has been completed in whatever spare time I have outside of that employment. Since 2008 I have through Pneuma Springs Publishing released three novels and an anthology. In 2013, my fourth novel 'Full Marks' will join the growing portfolio. What inspired you to write your first book? I had been writing short stories on a couple if US writing sites, but one of them seemed to have the potential for a much longer piece of work. That was 'A Ticket to Tewkesbury' (ISBN9781905809349), and followed the love story between a soldier returning from France in 1945 and the nurse whom he met at a recuperation hospital in Kent. The novel itself evolved into a spy thriller and the chase for a set of highly secret documents.

Bringing you exclusive interviews with authors featured in the Book Savvy Newsletter. Our Guest is  Ray Matthews * Enjoy the interview. Q1. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your book 'Me and my Shadow? I am now living my dream life - doing almost all the things I ever wanted and fulfilling ambitions that were not possible before retirement whilst fully occupied earning a living. 'Youth is wasted on the young' is an understated comment made by my father, oh how true. Writing 'Me and My Shadow' has opened up new avenues I never thought possible. 'Me and My Shadow' is about a dedication to achieving goals in extreme sports.  The book is about endurance running events and how it all began with boxing as a young boy brought up in a South Yorkshire steelmaking town.   Q2. Why did you write this book? To start with, I wrote this book mainly as a record of some of my challenges and then later for my own satisfaction.   Q3. What provided the

Author Neal James was interviewed on Saturday 12 January 2013, WP88.7 FM Brave New Radio. Click to listen to the feature audio clip . (OR listen via the player below). Neal James is the author of four books: 'A Ticket to Tewkesbury' , 'Short Stories - Volume One' , 'Two Little Dicky Birds' and Threads of Deceit . Neal's latest book titled Full Marks , is due out in Springs 2013. Blurbs for Neal's published books are provided below.

Bringing you exclusive interviews with authors featured in the Book Savvy Newsletter. Our Guest is  Paul Purday * Enjoy the interview.  Q1. Can you tell us a little about yourself? I am a professional watercolour artist who has, due to various reasons retired from exhibiting my work, but will still paint commissions if asked. I painted the picture for the cover design of my book and the fact that I wrote the great proportion of it while sitting in shopping centres manning my exhibitions, meant that my art provided the opportunity for its execution.   Q2. What gave you the impetus to write a book? I have written poetry most of my life and had some published as well as winning a poetry competition. Writing a book is always something I have considered but never found the right time. I read the 'Dark Secrets' and liked the style. This gave me the impetus to write, particularly as I had hours on my hands while I manned my exhibitions of watercolour paintings.   Q3.

The Plot James Poynter is a young man out for revenge. Set up for a crime which he did not commit, and by someone whom he felt he could trust implicitly, his sole focus becomes one of retribution against his former employers. His future at Brodsworth Textiles disintegrated one Friday evening prior to his wedding, when conscientiousness overtook him and he returned to the factory after work to rectify an error in his paperwork. What he discovered that night changed his life forever and set off a chain of events which sent him spiralling downwards, and out of a job which had promised so much. Murder, deception, drug trafficking and embezzlement combine to derail the futures of everyone connected to the company, and set off a chase for the man at the centre of a plot so intricately woven, that the forces of law and order in several countries are thwarted at every turn.

Grahame Howard's introduction to the Wishing Book series, a fantasy fiction novel for children age 7-11 years old. A magical book which makes all wishes come true is at the heart of these fascinating and action-packed adventures to Mars....