Thursday, 3 April 2025

Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar by Margaret Gardiner - #bookreview


They'd driven east along the Cote d'Azur, the endless sky above, the Mediterranean a dirty blue to her right. The villas packed together vibrant oranges and creamy whites, like too much acne on an overcrowded cheek. The light was lemon, and she was sour...

***

The Blurb

Welcome to the world of model Joey Superstar - a whirlwind of cocaine, sex, and money.

Josaphina Brinkley seems to have it all: she’s a superstar model in 1980s America, a cover girl plastered, naked, on fashion billboards above Sunset Blvd. Women want to be her. Men simply want her.

But underneath the glossy veneer she hides a traumatic past. The end of her marriage to Italian Aristocracy led to a stint in rehab. As she returns to parties, premiers and modelling, she’s hoping a life of designer clothes, expensive jewellery and beautiful people won’t take her back to blow. If only she could be truly seen, heard and understood, maybe she wouldn’t self-destruct again?

Joey sets out to confront the roots of her wildness – but must admit to a youthful act that haunts her. As she moves from addiction to redemption, can she change the course of her life, deal with her dark past and become the superstar she was always destined to be?

Former Miss Universe Margaret Gardiner gives readers the key to a secret world of supermodels, sex, style and scandal in her deliciously intoxicating debut, Joey Superstar, the first in an exciting Damaged Beauty series.

My Review

This isn't my typical reading fare, but I am a big believer in stepping out of my comfort zone every once in a while. I think it is good for all of us, especially in our reading choices. That said, I am delighted to say that I enjoyed this book very much.

It is a very character led book and focuses on the life of Joey (also known as Josaphina Brinkley,) a supermodel with celebrity status. To the observer it is a life full of glamour and beauty but through Joey the reader can see that that is very far from the reality. 

The book is narrated by Joey almost exclusively with just a couple of insights from her friend, Fran. We soon learn that Joey's life is an extremely troubled one and little by little we learn more of her backstory and how her life has brought her to the place she is currently. She learns that it is necessary that she confronts her past in order to be able to face her future.

This book provides the reader with insight into the world of being a supermodel.  It is fuelled by a series of sex, drugs and money. There is little of the glamour that we assume to represent the life of a supermodel. 

This insight comes from the author, Margaret Gardiner who was herself a model and I suspect there is a substantial element of her own experience in this novel. Margaret is a former Miss Universe and supermodel in her own right and therefore, I think we can trust her portrayal of Joey's world as accurate.

The narrative moves along fairly swiftly and feels absolutely real. It is probably needless for me to say that this book is intended for an adult reader due to it's content.  The world the author portrays is very different to my own life experiences and this made for interesting reading. She has composed her book whereby the narrative came to life on the page.

The book is well worth reading. I am so glad that I stepped outside of my reading comfort zone with this, as I enjoyed it very much. Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar is the first in a planned series and I am looking forward to reading more.

Book Details

ISBN:  979 8991751711

Publisher:  Nightstar

Formats:  e-book and hardback

No. of Pages:  210 (hardback)


Purchase Links





About the Author


Margaret Gardiner became an international cover-girl at 16 and at 18 she was the first woman from Africa to be crowned Miss Universe. 

Her debut novel explores the seedy underbelly of the high-octane world of 1980s fashion modelling. While her book is not autobiographical, it is inspired by the people of the time and events she witnessed. Margaret saw extremes in various forms: the dreaded scales being used to weigh models in the 70s, the coping strategies of other models and friends including drug and alcohol abuse. 

As a model for almost 50 years, and a fashion editor, Margaret has an insider’s knowledge of the industry. She knows what it is like to be on the red carpet, in the spotlight - and what goes on behind the scenes. 

With a degree in psychology, and a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, her debut novel is for every woman who has ever been made to feel less. She wants to empower women with her writing. 

You can also find Margaret at:









(ARC and media courtesy of the publisher)
(all opinions are my own)



Tuesday, 1 April 2025

10 Ten Books I Want to Read in April 2025

 


Hello April! 

It's wonderful to see you again with your spring sunshine.

What are you all planning on reading this month?  Here are ten book which I want to read.


This Song is About Us by Sara Barnard


The Best of Everything by Kit de Waal


The Story of a Single Woman by Chiyo Uno


Precipice by Robert Harris


Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar by Margaret Gardiner


The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult


And the Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando


The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell


In the Footsteps of the Holocaust by Ainslie Hepburn


Kate's War by Linda Steward Henley




Happy April Reading!

Annie x


Monday, 31 March 2025

Reading Roundup for March 2025

 


It has been so lovely to see the sun shine for the last few days. It seems to make people so much happier and more cheerful. Also, the clocks went forward over the weekend and I am looking forward to the lighter evenings. It's so good to feel that winter is behind us now.

Here is the list of books which I have read. What have you all been reading this month?

Death of a Dancing Queen by Kimberly G. Giarratano

I loved the main character in this book. She is private investigator, Billie Levine who is struggling with her work whilst caring for her mother. You can find my review by clicking here.


The Bookseller by Valerie Keogh

I am always excited when a new novel by Valerie Keogh comes along. I have read several and they never disappoint.  You can find my review by clicking here.


The Undesirables: The Law That Locked Away a Generation by Sarah Wise

Through the early twentieth century, the British Government locked away over 50,000 innocent people. Their ‘crimes’? Being poor and unyielding. This is their story. This was excellent and well worth reading. I was unable to write a review for this one but you can find more about this book here.


Mother Howl by Craig Clevenger

It took me a little while to warm to this book, but it was well worth hanging in there.  You can find my review by clicking here.


Broken Water by Nick Perry


This was such an interesting literary book to read. You can find my review by clicking here.


Cat and Dumpling: Home Sweet Home by Nicola Kent

This is a charming book that will appeal to early readers. You can find my review by clicking here.


Reunion by Fred Ulman

Although I haven't written a review of this one it was my favourite book of the month. A powerful novella about two German boys growing up in 1933; one from German Aristocracy, the other a Jew. Outstanding. You can find out more about the book here.


The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I thought this was a fabulous book. It was steeped in glamour and made for a luscious read.  You can find my review by clicking here.


Murder on the Oxford Canal by Faith Martin

An enjoyable first book in the DI Hillary Green series.  You can find more about the book by clicking here.


(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)



Friday, 28 March 2025

Viva Violetta and Verdi by Howard Jay Smith - #blogtour #excerpt #extract

cover shows a man and woman standing closely together dressed for a night at the opera

I was instantly pulled in by the cover of this book. Viva Violetta and Verdi by Howard Jay Smith is biographical historical fiction and looks like a good read. I'm delighted to be bringing you an extract of this book today.

The Blurb

A Love Affair Inspiring the World's Most Unforgettable Operas:

Experience the intense, lifelong love affair between Giuseppe Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi, the brilliant and seductive soprano who shaped his legacy. As his muse, lover, and wife, Strepponi was the inspiration behind Verdi's most iconic works, including La Traviata and Aida. Her influence was pivotal, as she became the architect of his creative triumphs and the heart of his operatic genius.

Set against the backdrop of Italy's Risorgimento, this sweeping novel intertwines their turbulent relationship with the nation's fierce struggle for independence. Through the heartbreak of three brutal wars, Verdi and Strepponi's passion, betrayal, and artistic ambition come alive, mirroring the era's fiery spirit.

Rich with themes of love, power, food, wine, and unrelenting passion, Viva Violetta & Verdi is an unforgettable exploration of art, resilience, and the enduring bond that transformed both an artist and a nation.

The Excerpt

cream background with a sketch of a church and the words Oh my beautiful country, so beautiful and lost.

Milan, February 27, 1901 

On the morning of Verdi’s funeral, I awoke well before dawn. After a double shot of espresso and a cornetto, one freshly baked and served up by my daughter-in-law, Luisa, I dressed in my black mourning suit. At my age, this was an exercise I engaged in with an all too familiar regularity. 

Then with the necessary assistance of my silver-handled cane, I left my bedroom suite and headed down the marble stairs to the entryway foyer of our home, Casa di Trevi, on the Via Vittorio Veneto. Tap, step, step. Tap, step, step – a rhythm and beat that had been my companion for over three decades. Tap, step, step.

There, waiting by the coat rack was Luisa, whom I had known since she was thirteen. A pugnacious and steely eyed woman, she greeted me with a warmth that never flagged, “Buongiorno papà.”

I nodded and thanked her for the coffee. “And Tre?” I asked referring to my son, whom we all called by his nickname.

“He left an hour ago,” she replied as she helped me into my black overcoat and then handed  me my top hat.

As I settled the hat onto my head, Luisa stepped back and gave me that “look,” that glare, the one which every man who has ever been married, knows only too well.

“What?” I asked as I glanced in the hallway mirror. Save for a few flecks of grey in my otherwise neatly trimmed beard, the reflected image of my hair came back to me as black as the night I was about to step out into. Despite my age, I was fortunate that my hair, save for a few grey streaks, still retained its natural color.

“Just this,” she said. From a pocket buried in the many folds of her housedress, Luisa pulled a patch to which she had already added a tri-colored ribbon of red, white and green. She pinned it to the band of my top hat and then kissed me on both cheeks. “Now you are ready, papà. Viva Verdi.”

“Viva la rivoluzione,” I replied as I looked in the mirror and nodded my approval.

“Viva la rivoluzione,” repeated Luisa as she opened the front door.

I stepped out into the chill of that February morning. The streets of Milan were still deserted at this hour. Later, though, news reports would hold that some four-hundred thousand mourners would gather along the funeral route to view the carriage carrying Verdi’s coffin along with that of his wife, who had preceded him in death by some three years. The procession would travel the two miles from the Cimitero Monumentale to the Piazza Michelangelo Buonarroti and their final resting place at the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti. 

One reporter from Corriere della Sera would even remark that the crowd for Verdi’s funeral procession was the largest gathering of humans in a single place since Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812. That event some 89 years ago occurred a year before Verdi and I were born just days apart in Busseto, a small village in the Duchy of Parma some 65 miles southeast of here. And although today Verdi is considered not only the quintessential Italian composer but the quintessential Italian, our birth records in the Busseto town hall archives are written in French, for they ruled our home territory. 

Yes, liberami, save me. There is no one else alive today who has known Giuseppe Verdi longer than I. Today it is time to put my friend to rest in the soil of an Italian nation that did not exist when we were born and to remember all the sacrifices our beloveds made in blood to achieve those victories. 

 
Book Details

ISBN:  978 1962465878

Publisher:  Historium Press

Formats:  Hardback and Paperback

No. of Pages:  256 (paperback)


Purchase Links




About the Author

man with greying hair and beard looking into the camera

Howard Jay Smith is an award-winning writer from Santa Barbara, California. 

VIVA VIOLETTA & VERDI, is his third novel in his series on great composers, including BEETHOVEN IN LOVE; OPUS 139 and MEETING MOZART: FROM THE SECRET DIARIES OF LORENZO DA PONTE. 

His other books include OPENING THE DOORS TO HOLLYWOOD (Random House) and JOHN GARDNER: AN INTERVIEW (New London Press). He was recently awarded a Profant Foundation for the Arts Fellowship for Excellence in Writing. 

Smith is a former two-time Bread Loaf Scholar and three-time Washington, D.C. Commission for the Arts Fellow, who taught for many years in the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program and has lectured nationally. His articles have appeared in the Washington Post, American Heritage Magazine, the Beethoven Journal, Horizon Magazine, Fig Tree Press, the Journal of the Writers Guild of America, the Ojai Quarterly, and numerous trade publications. While an executive at the ABC Television, Embassy TV, and Academy Home Entertainment he worked on numerous film, television, radio and commercial projects.

He serves on the board of directors of the Santa Barbara Symphony and is a member of the American Beethoven Society.

You can also find Howard at:






(media courtesy of The Coffee Pot Book Club)
(all opinions are my own)

 

Wednesday, 26 March 2025

Bamboo Heart: A Daughter's Quest by Ann Bennett - #giveaway #excerpt #blogtour


 I am delighted to be bringing you an excerpt of this book, Bamboo Heart: A Daughter's Quest by Ann Bennett. It is the first in her Bamboo Heart Trilogy and it looks like fabulous historical fiction.

What's more is that there is a giveaway of one of the author's other books, The Lotus House, which you can enter by scrolling further down this post. Good luck!

The Blurb

When Laura Ellis, a successful city lawyer, arrives home to see her dying father Tom, a mysterious stranger is watching the house. This leads her to embark on a journey to discover their connection.

To do so, she has to retrace her father’s steps; to the Bridge on the River Kwai: where as a prisoner of war of the Japanese, Tom endured disease, torture and endless days of slavery; and to the beautiful island of Penang, to uncover his secrets from the 1930s.

For Tom made himself a promise: to return home. Not to the grey streets of London, where he once lived, but to Penang, where he found paradise and love.

As Laura searches for the truths Tom refused to tell her, in the places where he once suffered, lived and loved, she will finally find out the story behind his survival, and discover her own path to love and happiness..

This book has previously been published both as Bamboo Heart and as A Daughter's Quest. It won the won the award for fiction published in Asia, Asian Books Blog, 2015 and was shortlisted for "Best Fiction Title" in the Singapore Book Awards 2016.


The Excerpt

These are the opening paragraphs of Chapter 1. Laura Ellis, a lawyer working in Paris, has been called home to London to see her ageing father, Tom who has had a fall…  

Hurrying out of the tube station on to Highbury Corner, Laura shivered in the chill drizzle of the winter afternoon. She glanced at the darkening sky and pulled her coat tightly around her. Hovering on the edge of the pavement, she scanned the lanes of stationary traffic for a cab, but seeing none, stepped onto the road, and nimbly threaded her way through the cars. 

Her ankle turned as her left heel snagged between two uneven paving stones, and she cursed her tight work skirt and high heels. A goods lorry splashed past with a hiss of air brakes, spattering her legs and the hem of her skirt with filthy water. 

‘Bloody hell!’ Ducking her head against the rain, she carried on, past the assortment of dusty charity shops, ethnic grocers and empty cafés, towards St. Paul’s Road. Soon she was away from the heavy traffic, hurrying along the broad pavements of Highbury New Park in the grey-green light filtering through the plane trees

As she rounded the final sweep in the road, and the old house came into view, she quickened her pace. There it was, still stately despite its shabby paint work. In years gone by it had not looked out of place, but now it stooped apologetically between its two smarter, recently gentrified neighbours with their white windows and scrubbed brickwork. 

Laura saw that someone was standing in front of the house. She slowed down, panting from the effort of running. It was an old man. Dressed in a battered hat and grey overcoat, he was almost indistinguishable from the tree under which he sheltered. He seemed to be watching the house. Laura hesitated, puzzled. Then, taking a deep breath to steady her thumping heart, she ventured a few steps towards him. He turned and began to move away from her, shuffling rather than walking. 

‘Hey,’ she called out, but he didn’t turn. 

She watched his retreating form for a second then shrugged. He was probably one of the tramps who slept rough around Finsbury Park Station and was straying from his normal patch.

She paused before lifting the latch to the front gate. How overgrown the garden was. The scent of damp grass conjured a memory of pottering around behind Dad as a toddler, watching him weed the flowerbeds and prune the honeysuckle that smothered the front wall. She glanced up at the house. The curtains on the second floor sagged across the windows. A few greying socks hung from a clothes horse on the balcony, soaking in the rain. Ken, the lodger, would be fast asleep in the studio, amongst his paint pallets and whisky bottles, where he had been staying since he turned up for a brief visit in the summer of 1962.

The windows of Dad’s study were shut today. Normally he would have them open to let out the smoke as he sat puffing away on roll-ups, reading or working at his desk. 

She let herself in through the front door. She stood still for a second, taking in the atmosphere and silence of the old house, its familiar smells of tobacco and stale cooking.

Then she kicked off her shoes and threw her coat on the hall table. The door to the back sitting room was shut. She pressed her ear to the panel. There was no sound, so she opened the door. The curtains were closed and she had to pause to let her eyes adjust to the gloom. The room’s furniture had been shoved together to make space for Dad’s bed. His portable radio chattered softly from the corner of the room. 

‘Laura?’

She crossed the room and knelt down beside her father. 

‘Dad.’

He raised himself onto one elbow. His blue striped pyjamas sagged from his bony shoulders. A crepe bandage was wrapped around his forehead.

‘Come here. I wasn’t expecting to see you. I thought you were in Paris.’

He held out his arms. He was smiling, but his face was pale and drawn with pain. She leaned forward to hug him. She put her arms around him, but sensing the fragility of the bones in his arms and ribs was afraid to hug him too tightly. 

‘Marge called me this morning,’ she said. ‘I came straight away.’

‘You shouldn’t have come all that way. What a fuss about nothing. What on earth did they say at work?’

‘Nothing much. They couldn’t object really, could they? Anyway, what happened to you?’

‘Fell down the damned steps to the library. That ridiculous sodding stick gave way. The rubber bottom had worn down so it slipped—’

He paused for a coughing fit. 

‘Ruddy leg broken in two places. Not that it was up to much anyway. Banged my head too.’

‘I hope they dosed you up with painkillers.’

‘Of course. Morphine, codeine, the works. I’m rattling like a tube of Smarties.’

She straightened up and smiled down fondly at him.

‘I’ll tell you what then,’ he looked up at her craftily. ‘I could do with a beer.’

‘You sure? It’s a bit early.’

‘Nonsense. It’s nearly dark. There is some in the fridge in the study.’

She padded through to his study at the front of the house. Her feet were still wet from the walk.

‘Can I turn on the heating?’ she called. ‘It’s a bit bloody cold in here, Dad.’

‘Boiler’s broken down. I’ve been meaning to get it fixed.’

She stopped in the doorway to the study. Towering piles of books, newspapers and journals crowded every surface, the desk, the sideboard and even the floor. On the desk, ringed with coffee stains, were dirty cups and glasses, an ash tray overflowing with cigarette ends. 

She was about to move away when she saw something poking out from between the pages of a book. It looked like a photograph. 

She slipped it out and stared at it. A faded sepia portrait, battered and creased. One of its corners had been torn away. It was someone she’d never seen before. It was a young woman. Although her complexion was pale, she had oriental features: dark eyes the shape of almonds, slightly tilted at the edges, a full mouth, a sheen of black hair drawn back severely from her face. She had a serious, demure expression, betraying a trace of surprise at the flash of the camera bulb. Laura turned over the photograph. The ink was so faded it was almost colourless. It looked as though it had been in water, but she could just make out the words written neatly in flowing script: ‘To my dear Thomas. Good luck. Joy de Souza. Penang, November 1941.’


Book Details

ISBN: 978 1739100933

Publisher:  Andaman Press

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  352 (paperback)


Purchase Details




Giveaway of The Lotus Tree (Open Internationally)
*See Terms and Conditions below




About the Author


Ann Bennett is a British author of historical fiction. Her first book, Bamboo Heart: A Daughter's Quest, was inspired by researching her father's experience as a prisoner of war on the Thai-Burma Railway and by her own journey to uncover his story. It won the Asian Books Blog prize for fiction published in Asia in 2015, and was shortlisted for the best fiction title in the Singapore Book Awards 2016. 

That initial inspiration led her to write more books about WWII in Southeast Asia - Bamboo Island: The Planter's Wife, A Daughter's Promise, Bamboo Road: The Homecoming, The Tea Planter's Club, The Amulet, and The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu. Along with The Lotus House, published in October 2024, they make up the Echoes of Empire Collection.

Ann is also the author of The Oriental Lake Collection - The Lake Pavilion and The Lake Palace, both set in British India during the 1930s and WWII, and The Lake Pagoda and The Lake Villa, set in French Indochina during the same period. A Rose in the Blitz – the first in the Sisters of War series and set in London during WWII, was published in March 2024.

The Lake Pagoda won a bronze medal for historical fiction in Asia in the Coffee Pot Book Club, Book of the Year awards 2022. The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu won a silver medal for dual-timeline historical fiction, and A Rose in the Blitz won bronze in the historical romance category in the Coffee Pot Book Club, Book of the Year awards 2024.

The Runaway Sisters, USA Today bestselling The Orphan House, The Child Without a Home and The Forgotten Children are set in Europe during the same era and are published by Bookouture. Her latest book, The Stolen Sisters, published on 29th November 2024 is the follow-up to The Orphan List (published by Bookouture in August this year) and is set in Poland and Germany during WWII.

A former lawyer, Ann is married with three grown up sons and a granddaughter and lives in Surrey, UK. 

You can also find Ann at:






(media and excerpt courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)
(all opinions are my own) 

Tuesday, 25 March 2025

Broken Water by Nick Perry - #bookreview

 


Here I am, submerged in uncertainty.

As a recent university graduate, Declan Murphy is looking for a fulfilling start to his career...

***

The Blurb

Growing up during the New Atheist movement, Declan Murphy never quite believed in the existence of a higher power. But when life throws him a series of challenges, his lack of an axis mundi has him latching on to the one vision that feels right: becoming a Catholic priest.

This emotional and thought-provoking story follows Declan as he navigates the conflicts between his personal beliefs and his family’s expectations.

Will he be able to reconcile this contradiction? And at what cost?

As Declan delves deeper into his journey, he will discover truths that will test his faith and his relationships. Will his quest to become a priest ultimately bring him closer to or farther from the truth?

And what of the biggest question of all? Why would an atheist ever want to become a priest?


My Review

This was such an interesting book to read.

The main character in this book, Declan is trying to ascertain exactly what he should do with his life. He has completed his degree and is undecided as to which direction life should now take him. I think many graduates will be able to identify with Declan, as will any of us who have ever been unsure of which way our lives are going.

I thought he was a fascinating character. This novel is extremely character focused, and therefore we are able to follow Declan's contemplation's fully. The author totally inhabits his character, and this elevated the novel significantly.

This is a very considered novel with each sentence being thought through thoroughly. It moves at a slow pace as all of Declan's thoughts and feelings are poured onto the page. To a degree, the reader is able to walk alongside him and experience his life and thoughts with him.

There are other characters in the book too. Declan's family and their priest added a great deal to the story. In fact, so did the other characters. His parents reaction when Declan claims in his teenage years that he thinks he is an Atheist was how I could imagine any Catholic parents might react. In addition, their reaction, particularly his father, when he later declares that he wants to become a priest was fascinating to read.

I enjoyed reading this very much. It is much slower than my usual reading fare but the pacing was totally appropriate for the book and worked well. This is a book to read and absorb. It is not to be rushed through, and this made for an enjoyable reading experience. I really liked Declan's character, and I felt the author has done a great job with this book. I highly recommend it.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1990336836

Publisher:  Chicken House Press

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  347 (paperback)


Purchase Details

Chicken House Press

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Amazon CA

Waterstones

Blackwell's - free delivery within the UK


About the Author

man standing in front of bookshelves holding his publishing contract

Nick Perry is a classic combination of schoolteacher and writer from Port Moody, B.C. His work has appeared in publications from Canada to Iceland and the first excerpt of Breaking Water was published in Blank Spaces Magazine. He lives his life as if he's already on television.

You can also find Nick at:

Instagram


(book and media courtesy of the publisher)

(all opinions are my own)

Friday, 21 March 2025

The Rune Stone by Julia Ibbotson - #blogtour #bookspotlight

 


I am delighted to be shining the spotlight on this book today. The Rune Stone by Julia Ibbotson is the third book in the Dr Du Lac series, and is historical fiction with a time slip element.

The Blurb

A haunting time-slip mystery of runes and romance

When Dr Viv DuLac, medievalist and academic, finds a mysterious runic inscription on a Rune Stone in the graveyard of her husband’s village church, she unwittingly sets off a chain of circumstances that disturb their quiet lives in ways she never expected.

She, once again, feels the echoes of the past resonate through time and into the present. Can she unlock the secrets of the runes in the life of the 6th century Lady Vivianne and in Viv’s own life?

Again, lives of the past and present intertwine alarmingly as Viv desperately tries to save them both, without changing the course of history.

Book Details

ISBN:  978 1739887728

Publisher:  Archbury Books

Formats: e-book and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)

No. of Pages:  376 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US


About the Author


Julia Ibbotson is fascinated by the medieval world and the concept of time. She is the author of historical mysteries with a frisson of romance. Her books are evocative of time and place, well-researched and uplifting page-turners. Her current series focuses on early medieval time-slip/dual-time mysteries. 

Julia read English at Keele University, England, specialising in medieval language/ literature/ history, and has a PhD in socio-linguistics. 

After a turbulent time in Ghana, West Africa, she became a school teacher, then a university academic and researcher. Her break as an author came soon after she joined the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme in 2015, with a three-book deal from Lume Books for a trilogy (Drumbeats) set in Ghana in the 1960s. 

She has published five other books, including A Shape on the Air, an Anglo-Saxon timeslip mystery, and its two sequels The Dragon Tree and The Rune Stone. Her work in progress is a new series of Anglo-Saxon mystery romances, beginning with Daughter of Mercia, where echoes of the past resonate across the centuries. 

Julia’s novels will appeal to fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, and Christina Courtenay. Her readers say: ‘Julia’s books captured my imagination’, ‘beautiful story-telling’, ‘evocative and well-paced storylines’, ‘brilliant and fascinating’ and ‘I just couldn’t put it down’.




(media courtesy of The Coffee Pot Book Club)
(all opinions are my own)