Review: The Trouble with Spain, by A J Richmond.

The Trouble With Spain by A.J. Richmond
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've been waiting for over five years for the next instalment to The Reaper's Bride, and it doesn't disappoint. The Trouble With Spain, picks up where the first left off and brings with it a couple of new characters.

The Reaper's chronicles are about a reaper of souls named James. In the first book he recruits an old lady to help him cross souls, and it goes array, ending up with a recruit who is anything but suitable for the job. And although the second book does focus a little on this, it mostly deals with another issue that arose in the first book - missing souls.

The story that develops from James's right-hand man, Alex, going to spain make compelling reading, and reveals a much deeper story. It kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through, with great suspense, story telling, character development and humour.

I can't recommend it enough.


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Interview with C.M. Rosens

I had a chat with author C.M. Rosens as part of her Author Spotlight series. I talked about my writing, why I write what I do, and about my writing process. 

Come have a read. (click on the picture below). 

 Interview with C.M. Rosens

Book Giveaway - Sleep is FREE for a whole week.

I've had some big news this month, Sleep has been accepted for a BookBub Feature Deal! 🥳 

BookBub is a site where you can get huge book bargains on new books and old, especially from big name authors, such as Ramsey Campbell, Dean Koontz, Stephen King etc (I've seen discounts recently from all three). All you have to do is sign up (it's free) and get their daily offer emails. (Don't forget to follow me there if you do - M K Boers / Miranda Kate) 

For a self-published author like me, it's the Holy Grail of book promotions - only 1% of Indie authors get accepted as they mostly cater for the big publishing houses. I've been trying for about 18 months to get one of my books accepted, and it's finally happened. Hooray!

So how do you benefit? Well this in turn means Sleep is going to be free for a whole week! I haven't given this book away for four years, and I'm unlikely to again for a long time, so don't miss out! 

Click on the image to grab your copy! 

Review: Last Night of Freedom, by Dan Howarth

Last Night Of Freedom: One Weekend. One Hunt. One Survivor. by Dan Howarth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another compelling read from Dan Howarth and a full novel this time. The concept is mind-blowing. It's about four lads who go on a stag-do in the north of England, and come across a local group of lads who sets them up for a particular forfeit ...

It's an utterly gripping, edge-of-your-seat, brutal, occasionally gory, horror, and not for the faint-hearted. I was tense and anxious, while reading, and struggled to stop turning the page because I just had to know what would happen next. And when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. Like watching an accident in slow motion, it's very much a 'can't look away' read.

Written in first person POV, switching between characters for each chapter, you are lead into a shocking concept that will forever have you wondering whenever you drive around beautiful countryside and idyllic villages. Never be fooled about what might go on behind closed doors!

As always I look forward to whatever Dan Howarth will be writing next.

If that's your kind of thing, I urge you to grab a copy.

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New release: How to Self-Edit Your Fiction Book

I've released a new book, aimed at authors. It's part of my 'Author Aid' series that I am developing. The first book being How to Create a Wraparound Cover using Canva. This book is for those authors who wish to feel more confident about going through the first draft of their manuscript and improve it before sending it out to anyone to edit or proofread. 

It's a simple guide with grammatical and practical tips, but covering the less conventional aspects of writing and editing. Aspects that most authors struggle with, but which, if they became more aware of, they could encompass during the writing process. 

It can be used as a reference book, or it can be read cover-to-cover.

Why not grab a copy? Click on the picture below. 👇

Review: Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzeneggar

Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life by Arnold Schwarzenegger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and have been for some time, being a subscriber to his Daily Pump newsletter and enjoying the helpful health and mental health tips and advice. This book sort of combines that with his life story.

Arnold uses the events in his life to highlight how to take control of your own life and push through. How to be inspired and how to follow your inspiration. How to go about getting excited about your life and getting disciplined.

His voice and manner of speaking comes through clearly in this book, and there was so much to absorb. If you find him inspiring it's definitely worth a read.

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Review: The Long Earth, Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Reading this was a slog! I love Terry Pratchett books, and though I've never read Stephen Baxter, the combination clearly doesn't work - for me at least. As another reviewer said, the result is that it came out flat.

It is a brilliant concept, that there are endless identical, parallel worlds which we are able to 'step' to, but the writer spent too much time repetitively explaining it, and describing it, losing what could be a dynamic story in its midst. I had hoped that something amazing was going to happen at the end, but it didn't really, just the usual human destruction. And it didn't feel like a climax of any kind, it was told in the same monotonous monotone narrative used throughout the book.

There were elements where it attempted to get interesting. They kept returning to characters, but not quite building anything substantial besides the main narrative of the lead character and some strange human robot, which felt like a cross between CP3O and Hal 9000, who was unlikeable and spent most of the book over explaining everything.

It was a real shame, and I have the rest of the books in the series, but I'll be returning them to the charity shop I found them in.

Not a recommendation from me. I think people rave about it because of the authors involved, rather than on the merit of the book.



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Buy my books direct!

For some time now I have wanted to be able to offer my ebooks direct to readers, and finally I can! 😀

I have set up a Payhip shop, linked to Bookfunnel for easy delivery. But although I would love to make my print books available, I am not yet convinced the postage is worth it, though I am going to look into it, maybe for special signed copies! 

Just click on the store image below! 

Review: Throttle by Joe Hill and Stephen King

Throttle by Joe Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I probably bought this back when it was released, or a couple of years after. As with many book on my ereader, I tend to buy them and then promptly forget about them, unlike my shelves of unread paperbacks, which stare at me silenting telling me to read them. And at the end of the year, I decided to have a look through to find some short tales and I spotted this one.

Written by Joe Hill and his father Stephen King in dedication to Richard Matheson, the director of many films, including Duel, which this is a sort of homage to. I know the film Duel, having seen it at some point in my teens, and so I understood that something was going to happen with the truck, when it appeared, but it was still pretty shocking.

There were a lot of characters, but they were handled well as we started to understand the story through dialogue and interaction. A group of bikers have been scammed out of a lot of money, and when confronting the perpetrator, things went array and a murder took place. They are on their way to Vegas, debating whether to confront a connected person to try and get their money back, when a trucker overhears them - at least that's what they believe, we never really know. What follows is grim, and tense and there are few survivors.

I really enjoyed this, it's definitely in the King wheelhouse. Worth a read.

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Review: Burn by Daniel Swensen

Burn by Daniel Swensen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have had this story sitting on my Kindle for a LONG time, but, like sometimes happens, you forget they are there. This is a short novella I read over two nights. I loved how this story unfolded. My first book of Stephen King's was Firestarter and this was similar, but told in such a way that you aren't quite sure what has happened, what is currently happening and what will happen - though you suspect the longer it goes on. Full of tension and suspense, Burn, builds and keeps you sitting on the edge of your seat. Brilliant writing.

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