Silver Bay, Another Fabulous Novel by Jojo Moyes

Silver Bay  is another fabulous novel by one of my favourite authors,  Jojo Moyes.
So good, it was shortlisted for both the RNA Novel of the Year and the Good Housekeeping Book of the Year in 2007!
It's set on a fictitious part of the Australian coast about three or four hours' drive north of Sydney where 'whalechasers' take tourists out to marvel at whales and dolphins, but where big business is out to develop this haven and, change it for ever.
The story is told from the points of view of the main protagonists: Kathleen, a shark catcher in her youth, but now in her seventies and running the old Silver Bay Hotel; Liza, her niece, who has escaped to the safety of Silver Bay; Liza's daughter, Hannah; Greg, Yoshi, and Lance the 'whalechasers';  and Mike Dormer from England who turns up and threatens to spoil their idyll. They are so well drawn that I could imagine sitting on the bench outside the Silver Bay Hotel with them each evening, eating chips and drinking beer, as the story unfolds.
This novel explores love, of course: not only romantic love, but also the love of a mother for her daughter, and an aunt for her niece and what happens when this is stretched to the limit.
It's such a moving and surprising book; one of those where you can't wait to read to the end, but are sad when you get there and you have to close it and admire the cover, wishing for more.
Never mind, there are still three of Jojo Moyes' books that I haven't read to look forward to!

Achievement Motivation - Dieting and Writing

Back to school!
People are beginning to say that September is the new January with the beginning of the new school year and promises to lose weight or take up more exercise or a new hobby.
I've been trying to lose a few pounds this summer, but I wasn't trying very hard and nothing happened: too many tempting things to eat and drink!
But a month or so ago, I thought I would try harder and cut down at lunchtime, because breakfast and dinner were generally ok. So I got some Ryvita and cottage cheese which I ate with some lettuce, tomato, cucumber and red pepper - delicious and satisfying! I was so pleased to have lost one and then two pounds, that it encouraged me not to be so tempted by biscuits, cake and chocolate and keep it up.

Isn't that like writing? I find it's easy to put it off if I'm not under any pressure to write. There are too many nice distractions like the Internet! But when I do get stuck in and make some progress, it encourages me to keep going. After all, I've come this far and it's beginning to come together.
Good Luck with your writing: I'd better get on with mine!

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker - A View of an Alternative Future ......

I've just read The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker because I was intrigued by the premise of this story: what would happen if the world slowed down on its axis and the days and nights got longer?
The scene is set in a Californian community on a sunny Saturday, everybody going about their business until the news breaks. It follows eleven-year-old Julia's story and the effect that the 'slowing', as it is called, has on her friends and family.
It reminds me of words from The Second Coming by WB Yeats:

'Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

                                                   Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,'

Time as we know it no longer has any meaning; students are told to ignore the bells that sound at the end of a lesson. The day is already over twenty-five hours long, and this is just the beginning.
Some families flee inland to be with their loved ones, leaving amongst others, Julia's family and Seth, a boy she's always had her eye on, to face their strange fate.
Julia always talks about things like 'later we realized', so you know she survived, but to what cost?
She is an increasingly isolated young girl trying to make sense of an increasingly complex world where literally night is day and day is night.
I thought it was a very interesting read, aimed at anyone from young adults to adults who are curious about an alternative future.

What do you think would happen if the world slowed down on its axis?

I couldn't put down The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

I began reading The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton on my Kindle on the train to the RNA Conference in Sheffield, and was totally engrossed in the story of Laurel Nicolson who, along with her baby brother, are the only witnesses to a murder in the summer of 1961.
Kate Morton takes the reader back to the events of 1941 in war torn London, and forward to 2011 and Laurel's attempts to discover the truth before her elderly mother, Dorothy, passes away.
The story centres around Dorothy, Vivien and Jimmy. How they grow up and how their lives become entwined, and what this has to do with the mysterious murder.
It is a fantastic read, and is hard to put down with all the twists and turns of the intricate plot. I was really kept guessing until the end.
Kate is as good at describing Vivien's childhood home in Tambourine Mountain, Australia, as she is at describing London in the Blitz, and all her characters are believable and true.
I have to mention that I was thrilled to get a hardback copy of the book at the Conference, but because it was 600 pages long, it was too heavy to read in bed, so I finished the novel on my Kindle! Also, because it was so long, it took me four weeks to read it instead of two, but it was worth it!
Have you read any of Kate Morton's novels?

Getting Married? You Must Read The Wedding Diaries by Sam Binnie

I've really enjoyed reading The Wedding Diaries by Sam Binnie. It's the story of Kiki and Thom's wedding told in diary form - perfect for brides to be (and their mothers), though the latter may be in need of a stiff drink afterwards!
We follow Kiki through her eventful engagement; through the ups and downs of planning her wedding; meeting her family, including her pregnant sister, Suse; and the larger than life characters that she works with at Polka Dot Books; to virtually being a guest at her wedding!
Also in a parallel story, we follow the glitzy showbiz wedding preparations of one of Kiki's authors, Jacki Jones, a TV soap actress, whose extravagant plans are so different from Kiki's own.
At the end of the book Sam has provided a useful note book of hint and tips of organising your own wedding, with lots of good ideas for saving money.

She obviously draws on her experiences in writing her books, because having spent seven years in publishing and getting married, her latest book is a sequel called The Baby Diaries about her experiences of childbirth!
You can find my review here on Dot Scribbles' excellent book review site!

Summer Reads for my Garden

Now that summer's here, I thought that I would sort out some books to enjoy in the garden. It's easy to keep buying them and end up with a pile gathering dust and no time to read them, but we writers are always being advised to Read, Read, Read, so here are my choices:

• Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes. I love her novels, but I haven't read this one, published in 2007, and republished this year. It's set in New South Wales, and is also a story about Liza who protects whales, and the man who comes into her life and turns it upside down.
• The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker.  This book looks really exciting. Set in America, it's about Julia and her family who wake up one ordinary Saturday to find that the rotation of the earth has begun to slow, making the days get longer! I love sci-fi stories that are founded in reality, rather than fantasy ones, so this one sounds just right.
• The Beach Hut by Veronica Henry. Coming back down to earth and home to North Devon, this story follows the families who visit the seaside at Everdene each year, their love life and their memories of summers past. I think it may be a little like In the Summertime by Judy Astley, which I also hope to read, (if only I could read faster!)
• The Italian Wedding by Nicky Pellegrino. Off to Italy now. I'm going to read this book because I loved  her Recipe for Life which I reviewed last July. This one is about two feuding Italian families, and two love stories, (sounds a bit familiar!) but if it's anything like the last, I  know I'm going to love it.
• A Cornish Affair by Liz Fenwick. This is Liz's second novel, and like the first one, The Cornish House, I was able to buy it and get it signed by her at the RNA Conference. Originally from Boston, she now lives in Cornwall, and her love for the county shines through in her writing. This story is again about a Cornish house, and Jude, who leaves her fiancé at the altar, and ends up uncovering the secrets of the house's past. I can't wait!
• My last book, The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton, was actually on the bottom of my pile because it was the biggest, but I had began to read it on my Kindle on the train to the conference, and was lucky to get a hardback copy in my goody bag. Wow! It follows the story of Laurel who witnessed a terrible event one summer afternoon, fifty years ago, when she was sixteen, and the secret that her mother has kept throughout her life about why it happened. Will Laurel find the answer before it's too late?

These books are definitely going to keep me busy, and I will review them for you as I finish each one.

What have you got in your pile to read?

A Heart-rending Read: The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman

There have been so many excellent books around this year, and here's another!
I bought The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman because the story's premise is the same as The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (you can read about it in my blog here): a childless Alaskan couple find a child in the snow and claim it as their own. However, you're kept guessing as to whether it's a real child or not. In The Light Between Oceans the child that's washed up on the beach of the Janus lighthouse is not only real, but it also belongs to someone else. . .
The strength of the book is in its characters: Tom, a troubled hero from the First World War, now a lighthouse keeper and Isabel, his wife who suffers three miscarriages, Isabel's family, Hannah's family, their friends and the police in this close knit community and, little Lucy.
ML Steadman tells the story from each one's point of view, and as I read it my heart was tugged in all directions as they tried to sort out the right solution for everyone.
As it says on the cover:
This is a story about right and wrong and how sometimes they look the same...
It is a truly captivating, gripping story, beautifully told and one you must not miss! There's also a film coming shortly, I can't wait!