Monthly Archives: August 2017

The People At Number 9 By Felicity Everett Now Out In Paperback

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One of Frosts favourite books of the year is now out in paperback. You can read our review of The People At Number 9 here. We recommend you get your hands on a copy.

Meet the new neighbours. Whose side are you on?

Have you met the People at Number 9?

Sara and Neil have new neighbours in their street. Glamorous and chaotic, Gav and Lou make Sara’s life seem dull. As the two couples become friends, sharing suppers, red wine and childcare, it seems a perfect couples-match. But the more Sara sees of Gav and Lou, the more she longs to change her own life. But those changes will come at a price.

 

Felicity Everett grew up in Manchester and studied English Literature at Sussex University. She worked in children’s publishing in London, whilst raising a family and is the author of more than twenty works of children’s fiction and non-fiction. After a short career break, Felicity returned to writing full-time and in 2011 published her debut novel, The Story of Us, a funny and touching account of the friendships forged between five women at University in the 1980s. Her second novel, The People at Number 9, published in April 2017, is a dark satire on sex, envy and betrayal in the suburbs. Felicity has recently returned from a few years living in Melbourne, with her husband and now lives in Gloucestershire. Her new work in progress is a gothic tale of marriage and mental instability set in the dark heart of the countryside. You can follow Felicity @ittymay and on Facebook, Felicity Everett – Author.

The People at Number 9 is available here.

 

Do You Want to Wake up Looking Good With Minimal Effort?

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Well now you can with Miroblading and Permanent Makeup from El Truchan at Perfect Definition.

If low maintenance is your thing, microblading or a permanent makeup treatment could be just what you need to make your life that little bit easier.

Have permanently perfect brows, eyeliner or lipstick and wake up with make up every day. Whether you love a bold dramatic look to your makeup or prefer a low-key natural effect, there’s a permanent cosmetic treatment for you.

The beauty of Microblading or Permanent Makeup is that it really is for women of all ages. It is the perfect way to enhance the natural beauty of your face and overall look.

It is also a great alternative to minimising the time spent each morning in front of the mirror doing your beauty routine. Instead you can wake up with perfectly applied makeup, without having to constantly reapply throughout the day.

For older women, Permanent Makeup can be used as a successful anti-ageing treatment without having to go under the knife.

 

Microblading/Permanent Makeup Eyebrows

Due to ageing the muscle tone decreases and the skin starts to lose elastine making your eyebrows sag and droop, as you get older. Some women seek surgical face-lifts to lift the brows and give their face a more youthful appearance. However, expertly applied Hair Stroke Brows that ‘mimic’ individual brow hairs, in a shape that creates an optical lift, while complementing the natural bone structure of the face can be just as effectively used to make your eyebrows look great without the need of expensive surgery.

Additionally, years of over-plucking means that hairs will often be sparse, something that a surgical face lift unfortunately can’t treat. 

Permanent Makeup Lips

Lips tend to become thinner, colourless and lose definition with ageing due to the loss of collagen, a protein found in our skin. Permanent Makeup / Micropigmentation – creates the perfect lips, which are full, well defined and healthy, this alone is sufficient to give back the shape and definition that age has taken away from the lips while adding colour for further rejuvenation.

Permanent Makeup Eyeliner

Our eyes appear to be sunken as we age, due to the fat from the eyelids sinking back into the eye sockets. This is a direct result of bags developing under the eyes, creating the dreaded ‘crow’s feet’.

The loss of elasticity in the skin makes eyelids droop, taking the attention away from the eyes, which is why the use of expertly applied eyeliner is essential.

Lashes lend to get thinner and weaker with age as well and despite all the products in the market there is very little that can be achieved to prevent that.

Permanent Makeup eyeliner is ideal if you are looking to deceive the effects of ageing and accentuate the eyes.

El is one of the experts in the industry and will be able to advise you on the best shape and colour that’s suits you.

All her treatments are bespoke and every client gets treated individually to their own needs.

About El Truchan 

El Truchan is a fully Qualified, Certified and Insured Microblading, Permanent Makeup, Micro-needling and Medical Tattoo Specialist. She holds Advanced Practitioner qualifications in Permanent Cosmetics as well as an International Accreditation from The Society of Permanent Cosmetics Professionals. She is a member of SPCP and the Royal Society of Medicine.

El is also a Trainer at Nouveau Contour & KB Pro Academy for Microblading, Permanent Cosmetics and Medical Tattooing – part of the Nouveau Beauty Group – the UK and International leading experts in Permanent Cosmetics.

On the Medical tattoo side – El performs 3D Nipple & Areola Tattooing, Scalp Microblading and Micropigmentation – hair simulation, Vitiligo Camouflage Tattooing, Cleft Lip & Lip Features Recovery.

El also performs Facial & Body Aesthetics Micro-needling procedures including Wrinkle Therapy, Stretch Marks Reduction, Scar Relaxation and Pigment Recovery Stimulation.

For more information visit – www.perfectdefinition.co.uk or contact El directly – info@perfectdefinition.co.uk

El works from a number of London locations including –

BANK

Stonehealth Clinic

LG Floor,

36-38 Cornhill, Bank,

London

EC3V 3ND

 http://stonehealthclinic.co.uk

CANARY WHARF

Bouton de Rose

2 Cochrane House, Admirals Way, Canary Wharf,

London

E14 9UD

HARLEY STREET

Wimpole Therapeutics

2 Wimpole St,

London

W1G 0ED

You can also find more information on El by visiting her Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/perfectdefinition/

 

 

Family London: Fun Days Out With Children From Tots To Teens By Jimi Famurewa

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Family London: Fun Days Out With Children From Tots To Teens By Jimi FamurewaFamily London: Fun Days Out With Children From Tots To Teens By Jimi Famurewa

This brilliant little book has over 100 great things to do in London with children. From little ones to teens, there is something for everyone. Great when you are stuck or want to try something new. It is not too heavy or big so can fit easily in a bag. Charming, well-written, and thorough. This book is a life saver for parents. It is broken down into sections and will give you the opportunity to find something fun to do with the family whether it is raining, or you just want to go to a child-friendly restaurant or café. I will be working my way through this to experience all London has to offer. Highly recommended. 

From the best museums and galleries to the perfect playgrounds and cafes, Family London handpicks the very best things to do in London with tots, teens and everything in between. Come rain or shine, this complete insider’s guide to one of the best cities in the world will help you plan a day out to remember – and there’s something for everyone, from toddlers and teenagers to adults who are just big kids at heart. Whether you are a born and bred Londoner, or planning your first trip to the nation’s capital, this is the go-to guidebook to help you and your family uncover all the hidden gems the Big Smoke has to offer, and ensure you make the most of the city.

Family London is available here.

 

What To Read in August

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A romance novel that you can really get your teeth into. Engaging characters and a brilliant story. 

Any Dream Will Do By Debbie Macomber

It’s never too late to start again. Two unlikely friends find the strength in each other to overcome their painful pasts.

Shay Benson adored her younger brother. She did all she could to keep Caden on the straight and narrow. But one day her best intentions got Shay into the worst trouble of her life. By protecting Caden, Shay sacrificed herself.

Drew Douglas adored his wife. But since losing Katie, all he could do was focus on their two beautiful children; everything else came a distant second.

Shay and Drew are each in need a fresh start, and when they meet by chance it’s an unexpected blessing for them both. Drew helps Shay to get back on her feet, and she reignites his sense of purpose.

But when a devastating secret is uncovered, Shay and Drew’s new lives are threatened. It will take all of their strength, faith and trust to protect the bright future they dream of.

Any Dream Will Do is available here.

Another brilliant children’s book from the powerhouse that is Isla Fisher. 

Marge And The Great Train Rescue By Isla Fisher

Have you met Marge? She has rainbow hair, tells wild stories and she’s the best babysitter in the whole world.

Things do SOMETIMES go off the rails when Marge is around but Jakey and Jemima don’t mind that. After all, no one else could rescue a train, help Jakey’s wobbly tooth or cause chaos at the zoo!

The third fun family story in the MARGE IN CHARGE series, written by actor & comedian Isla Fisher and illustrated throughout by Eglantine Ceulemans.

Marge And The Great Train Rescue is available here.

Am immensely satisfying and entertaining historical novel. 

The Waiting Hours By Ellie Dean

Slapton Sands, 1943

War has not been kind to Carol Porter. It took her husband and baby, and with them her heart. At last she’s found some peace, working as a land girl at Coombe Farm. But Carol’s sanctuary, the whole local area in fact, is about to be disrupted.

When Pauline Reilly hears Carol’s news she’s worried for her little sister. But as rumours about Slapton Sands reach Cliffehaven, Pauline can’t help be more concerned for her only surviving son. And despite her sister-in-law Peggy’s best efforts, nothing soothes Pauline’s fears.

As Carol prepares to face the impending upheaval alone her beloved mother, Dolly, swoops in to Slapton, and packing up Carol’s life presents unexpected opportunities for them both: Carol looks to her future while Dolly confronts a ghost from her past, and they both have a chance to mend their broken hearts.

The THIRTEENTH fabulous, heart-warming Second World War novel in Ellie Dean’s bestselling Cliffehaven series (previously called the Beach View Boarding House series).

The Waiting Hours is available here. 

 

 

 

Business of Books: So Much to Give – Part 1

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Jane Cable on how authors get together to support charities

It’s that time of year again. The time when Chindi Authors stand outside the Cancer Research UK shop in Arundel for ten whole days during the town’s festival trying to sell books. Not an easy task when the second hand offerings inside are so much cheaper, but we stick at it because we can add to the coffers of this excellent cause, promote our own books and meet readers.

We know we’ll be well supported by our members and local people, but organiser romantic novelist and kidlit writer Carol Thomas was asked by author contacts up and down the country if they could donate too. While she did the charitable thing and set up a donation page – http://www.carol-thomas.co.uk/Chindi-cruk/ – her generosity simply got me thinking about how much writers achieve when they band together for good causes.

The most high profile recent example of this was the Authors for Grenfell online auction which attracted pledges of more than £150,000, over £30,000 of which was for Philip Pullman to name a character after one of the young victims of the fire. Quirky lots did well too, with conductor and writer Lev Parikian putting together a package which bridged both his worlds: “I offered signed books and (more importantly on this occasion, I think) conducting lessons. A bidding war between three people meant we raised £1,700.”

 

CLIC Sargent runs an annual ‘Get in Character’ eBay auction where authors such as crime writer E V Seymour and novelist and poet Claire Dyer have offered bidders a range of lots including – you guessed it – having a character in a book named after them. Critiques prove equally popular and previous Business of Books guest Karen King (https://www.frostmagazine.com/2017/04/how-to-have-more-than-100-titles-published/) offered one in the Authors for Refugees auction last year, an initiative which raised £22,000.

 

Another way of writers getting together to raise money is by giving their time to contribute to and to edit anthologies for causes as diverse as cancer and heart charities, earthquake appeals, women’s rescues and hospices. Some have very personal links to the cause, including saga writer Elaine Everest (also a previous Business of Books guest): “I organised and edited the anthology ‘Diamonds and Pearls’ (Accent Press) to celebrate my 30th anniversary of surviving breast cancer (7 years ago) with funds going to Against Breast Cancer.”

 

Crime & thriller writer Jane Risdon is a serial contributor to anthologies, supporting amongst others Women for Women, Breakthrough, Women’s Aid, The Norfolk Hospice, The Princess Alice Hospice and Save The Children. She was slightly upset when there was no thanks from certain charities, but would still do it again. Other authors say that smaller charities are more responsive than the larger ones so they prefer to work with these.

 

Some writers go the whole nine yards and get together to form charities of their own. A prime example of this is saga writer and Frost contributing editor, Margaret Graham, who together with Jan Speedie and Penny Deacon set up Words for the Wounded which exists to raise funds for injured service personnel through writing prizes and events. It’s a wonderful organisation and every penny goes directly to the people who need it. Authors can help in a variety of ways – Chindi raised almost a thousand pounds by organising a litfest, others give their time to speak at events or in my case I donate £1 for every Amazon review of my book Another You. Find out more about W4W here: http://www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk/.

 

 

Business Of Books: Jane Cable talks to publishing polymath, Liz Barnsley

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BUSINESS OF BOOKS: LOVING BOOKS, LIVING BOOKS

Jane Cable talks to publishing polymath, Liz Barnsley

What is your book related job or business?

First of all I’m a reader and reviewer with my own website, Liz Loves Books  – all done for the love of it. On the professional side I work freelance as a submission reader for Orenda books and now as an Editor and Publicity Manager for Lisa Hall at Manatee, our new digital publishing venture. I also take on individual editing, first draft critique and proof reading amongst other things. I also have a “day job” which I’m loathe to give up as I love that too – so all in all it is a busy bookish life and a busy life life! Going into this venture with Lisa was a no brainer for me however – she is an incredible writer and a voracious reader and she knows what a good book looks like and how to get it out there. Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?

 

What is the most rewarding part of it?

Definitely the most rewarding part is seeing the book complete and published and finding a readership – every little that I do to help that happen gives me a huge buzz. I also like the collaborative side of editing when I’m excited about a story and the author is excited about their story – it is all hugely satisfying seeing that spark of an idea become a brilliant novel. I have to say I love reading the raw material before it goes through all the stages, seeing the talent and story emerge from underneath that first sprawl of creativity. I never tire of reading the same narrative during the tweaks because you get a whole different sense of it every time. Ultimately (hopefully!) the white noise disappears and you are left with a beautiful, readable, emotionally resonant or edge of the seat story that you can send out into the world.

 

What do you consider to be your major successes?

Manatee is in the very early stages at the moment so I don’t think we can claim any major successes just yet – although I’m very excited by the authors we have signed so far, all of whom are bringing something different to the table and are putting their trust in us. We focus on crime and women’s fiction – I look after the crime and Lisa looks after the women’s fiction and all our authors so far have written, in my opinion, absolutely excellent, engaging and addictive stories. Also it was somewhat of a confidence boost that bestselling crime writer Neil White had enough faith in Manatee to entrust to us his non crime novel Lost In Nashville. We have persuaded him he might want to write some more fiction for us – he is an incredible writer both within the crime genre and out of it. Watch this space. He will probably tell me off now as he’s busy with his next amazing crime novel for Bonnier Zaffre – but it had to be said that he is certainly not a one trick pony. Now he’ll tell me off some more…

 

Have you always loved books and what are you reading at the moment?

I have ALWAYS loved books. I’ve read many books a week every week since I was very young and I can’t see that stopping anytime soon even though I’m now rather older. Right now I’m reading a brilliant and highly atmospheric novel called “The Monsters Daughter” by Michelle Pretorius – look out for that one – but also several others as I multi read, they include The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd, Need to Know by Karen Cleveland, The Fate of the Tearling by Erica Johansen and Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw. Great books all.

 

Manatee Books focuses on quality, ethical, author focused digital publishing. Their aim is to bring a wide range of exemplary fiction to a broad readership, time and time again.

Find out more at www.manateebooks.co.uk.

 

Six Lessons Every Company Should Learn from Start-ups

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At Bedrock HR Ltd we work with a growing number of start-ups and we’ve been thinking about what businesses at any age and stage can learn from the new kids on the block. These are some of our thoughts which we hope you find useful……

  1. Consider different employment types: Zero-hours contracts can come with a bad reputation, but in some cases they can really help fill a gap in your team, particularly with professionals looking for flexible employment; or local parents with young children who need a few hours a week. Timewise is one example of a marketplace matching businesses seeking part-time talent or try local Facebook groups of Gumtree for local resources.
  1. Grow with direction and purpose: Don’t fall into the trap of hiring just when things are busy and your team seems too small to cope. Make sure each new-hire fits with your longer-term strategy, your team shape and skills that you already have. Also consider the paths for promotion for the people you already employ, what future do they have in your company.
  1. Demand flexibility but give people some boundaries: People need to be flexible in their roles, but clarity on their responsibility is still important. As a minimum, make sure each employee has 5 key responsibilities; a long-term goal, a short-term goal and clarity on what they deliver themselves and how they deliver through others. 
  1. Be innovative with your support functions: when you’re small you don’t need in-house HR, IT or accountants and there are lots of people offering outsourced professional solutions to save you money. But you’ll also be surprised by the other favours you might be able to pull in from your networks, like PR, marketing or events management. Local business networking groups like BNI or local chambers of commerce are a good place to start. 
  1. Have an ideas culture, but also know when to make decisions one of our clients gets this just right. They have an open-dialogue in workshops that involve the whole team, but at other times they’re clear that some decisions are made just by the senior leadership. Your team will thank you when they’re not asked for an opinion on everything!
  1. Don’t neglect development: it’s tempting in start-ups to run as fast as you can for as long as you can. But to be sustainable, you have to stop and give energy to training and team-work. And this isn’t just for junior staff – CEO’s need development too. Consider using a coach or mentor if you’re a CEO, and find someone who you trust to challenge and support you when you’re feeling frazzled.

Bedrock HR Ltd works with businesses at all stages, typically with between 5-50 employees to provide a cost-effect outsourced HR solution. For a free initial consultation please contact us via www.bedrock.co.uk

 

 

Another picture book winner: Big Teeth by Richard Middleton

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Words for the Wounded’s Award winning children’s picture book  author Richard Middleton has produced another winner: Big Teeth.

Big Teeth carries  a different pictorial style to his enormously successful  Little Hoglet’s Egg Race,  in that Middleton has swung into big, bold and broad stroked illustrations. A style that is  almost audacious and mirrors the massive, and probably misplaced  fear that consumes Tiny Shrew when she has to chase after her lunch which does a bunk into Scary Wood.

Frost loved the whole vision of this book. Tiny Shrew’s hair looked rather like mine when in a rush, higgledy piggledy, and indeed she’s in a rush.

Scared though she is, Tiny Shrew has to decide whether to  face her fears and follow her lunch, or go hungry. Once in pursuit she encounters Scary Fox, Scary Bear and Scary Wolf who all have BIG TEETH. But when Tiny Shrew discovers the amazing power of her own smile, she is able to face down the scary trio with new confidence.

It really is a useful book for parents to read with their young children, a book  which bolsters confidence, and is  inspiring,and  is such fun.

A vibrantly illustrated story  for younger children. From the author of the ‘Little Hoglet’ books and ‘The Stinky Hippobottomus’.

Big Teeth by Richard Middleton. Paperback. Amazon. £3.99