The Very Thought of You by Mary Fitzgerald Reviewed by Jan Speedie

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Frostie

Once again Mary Fitzgerald has woven a story of friendship, love, intrigue and blackmail. Set in 1944 when hopes were high that the war would be over soon; Mary has shown how the friendship and comradeship of a touring variety group brings much needed entertainment to factory workers and troops.

In 1944 Beau Bennett gathers together a touring variety group, the Bennett Players, to perform to factory workers, military hospitals and troops in the UK and France.

Catherine, Della and Frances join the Bennett Players and form a strong friendship as they travel around with the show. The three girls are each searching for something – Catherine seeking news of her husband reported ‘missing in action’, Della is ambitious for fame and Frances needs to keep the impoverished family estate safe for the future.

The shows are a great success and raise moral wherever they go but as they follow the advancing armies through France the girls realise that lies, deceit, betrayal and blackmail are following them and the troupe. Slowly the truth becomes clear and they all will be changed by it. The girls have formed a strong bond which will survive as they return home to their changed futures.

Mary Fitzgerald now lives in the peaceful countryside of Shropshire. After a successful nursing career, marriage and four children, the family eventually settled back in the UK. Mary always loved writing and her characters took on a life of their own as she researches her books. After much rejection a chance email from Random House arrived and Mary was on her way to being a successful published author.

Mary’s characters have warmth and depth to cope with the ups and downs life presents. Read and enjoy.

The Very Thought of You is available here.

Published in Paperback by Arrow on 16^th July 2015 – £5.99

Also available in eBook

Our Little Secret By Jenna Ellis Review by Jan Speedie

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Frostie

Our Little Secret is the debut novel of Jenna Ellis. As a freelance photographer Jenna has worked and lived all over the world. Her saucy, erotic tale about Sophie Henshall is made for holiday reading.

At 20 something, Sophie longs for some excitement in her life. Living in Manchester with her Dad and brother, she works as a nursery assistant at FunPlex. With her boyfriend Scott, she shares a love of dancing and techno music and a healthy sex life in his drab bedsit.

Life changes for Sophie Henshall when she answers an advertisement in The Lady for a live-in nanny to a New York family. This is her chance to change her life forever as she is transported to a new and glamorous world in the Big Apple with the elusive Mr and Mrs Parker. Out of her depth, she is drawn into a world of designer clothes, grand houses, lavish parties, sexual intrigue and secrets.

Sophie is irresistibly drawn to Edward and Marnie Parker who are both flirtatious and attractive and lead her into temptations she is unable to resist. But the Parkers have a darker side and secrets to share with Sophie that she must never tell. Secrets can bring pleasure or pain.

Can Sophie Henshall survive or must she return to her old life in Manchester?

Ellis has written an enjoyable romp, a page turner, and what a setting. It will be interesting to see what Jenna Ellis produces next.

Published in paperback on 16^th July 2015, by PanMacmillan.

The Finale of The Odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Margaret Graham

With sore heads we embark on the Rocky Mountaineer, heading for Vancouver. It proved to be a deliciously slow journey owing to an immense bush fire that had reached the track in places overnight. Though these areas were under control, the train causes such air disturbance that it must crawl along.

Shino explained that loggers stored logs in the river, to save on storage costs. How intelligent. We saw this again in Howe Sound Fjord, along from Vancouver. We travelled alongside rivers, woods, and prairies until finally we arrived, after Shino had saved the day with an evening meal as we were still trundling along, 4 hours after we should have arrived. Small beer, when you think of the firemen still battling to save the forests and towns.

In the morning we were captivated by the modernity of Vancouver. For a while we thought the reflection of the building in this glass windowed skyscraper was actually imprinted on the glass.

We were taken by a friend, Barbara, to the Anthropological Museum containing First Nation culture. It was full of totem poles, and their crafts. Bill Reid a First Nation sculptor (died 1998), created this out of over 100 yellow maple planks bonded together.

Horseshoe Bay for lunch, in glorious sunshine yet again (for once we had brought sun wherever we went).

Then Barbara drove us to a First Nations gondola.

The views were magnificent, as always and we tootled across the skywalk and explored the woods on the summit. Down in Howe sound were the stored logs.

The next day, before heading for the airport, we tore around Vancouver, seeing a small cruise ship waiting for its passengers to arrive. Some of our fellow passengers on the Rocky Mountaineer were embarking on a 2000 person cruise ship bound for Alaska. It sounded amazing, though somehow I think I’d rather see Alaska when covered in snow.

There were trolley buses, many shopping centres below ground, and just a few indications of the early buildings, with the ‘emblems’ of Canada, salmon and Canadian geese.

I have to say that I never knew there were so many different varieties of salmon, and we probably tried them all. They are so fresh that they taste quite different to ours.

Then, onto the airport.

Did we enjoy our Canadian adventure? You bet. It was the holiday of a lifetime. We’re looking up train journeys for next year, but this time ALL THE WAY. We are determined to set off from St. Pancras, heading for Florence, and this time, Dick will be on board too. Then the Ghan in Australia perhaps in the autumn, from Adelaide to Perth. Better get on with the next novel then.

The Rocky Mountaineer has started something… A few more odysseys coming up.

www.rockymountaineer.com

www.greatrail.com

Some Kind of Wonderful by Sarah Morgan Review by Jan Speedie

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Frostie

With the holiday season upon us, or life is a bit dull right now, you could do worse than let bestselling author Sarah Morgan brighten your life with her latest novel, Some Kind of Wonderful.

Sarah Morgan’s second book in the Puffin Island trilogy is the story of Brittany Forrest as she returns to her home on Puffin Island and the an unexpected encounter she finds. Following the breakup of her 10 day marriage to bad boy Zachery Flynn, Brittany leaves Puffin Island to find a new life and to forget the past.

Zach knows he has let Brittany down and is amazed to find that she has returned to the island after 10 years absence. Seeing Brittany again stirs up long buried emotions which he knows will only complicate his life.

Brittany is determined to put the past behind her and leave Zach out of her life but on a small island this isn’t easy. Brittany and Zach eventually discover that the sparks between them are more powerful than ever. Could it be that second time around, their dreams of happy-ever-after will finally come true.

Sarah Morgan, an American, who lives near London, knew she wanted to be a writer from the age of 8. That sort of commitment and enjoyment in her craft shows in this page turner of a novel, indeed, with all her novels.

Well structured, full of ups and downs, of all sorts (!) Sarah weaves the magic of her previous books. Read and Enjoy. Well done Sarah.

Some Kind of Wonderful is published in July 2015 by Mills & Boon in paperback and eBook – £7.99

The Ongoing Odyssey of Two Old Dears on The Loose in Canada By Jan Speedie & Margaret Graham

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Margaret Graham

All our body clocks were still grappling with real time, Canada, and Margaret’s had rather more to worry about, so while she lazed about in a darkened room, Jan hit the road with the gang, heading for Lake Louise.

Before we arrived at this iconic lake we made several stops on our way always looking out for wildlife –black or grizzle bears, elk, moose, big horned sheep and mountain goats.

Our first stop was the Lake Louise ski centre. Surrounded by snowy peaks everywhere it was easy to imagine the winter scene. The only occupant of the piste was a black bear, looking for a fresh patch of dandelions, their favourite pudding.

Back on our coach, the next stop was the Spiral Tunnels an amazing piece of engineering and design, built in 1909 to prevent further fatal accidents as the trains struggle to ascend and descend Big Hill in the Kicking Horse Pass. The tunnels form the shape of a figure of eight, and although a longer route, it reduces the gradient and provides a safer passage for the freight and passenger trains. It is still in use today.

We stopped to look at many waterfalls on our way to the Emerald Lake which is one of the 61 lakes in the Yoho National Park. The lake is enclosed by mountains and was discovered by Tom Wilson in 1882. The remarkable colour is caused by the fine particles of glacial sediment (Rock Flour) descending into the lake. From November to March the lake is frozen but for our visit the weather was perfect and the colour incredible.

This beautiful lake is surrounded by larch trees and overlooking the lake is the famous Fairmont Chateau hotel. No hotel lunch for us, a picnic admiring the lake and a quick wander on one of the many trails surrounding the lake.

Bow River, Yoho National Park

Two Old Ducks Hit The Canadian Rockies by Jan Speedie & Margaret Graham

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Margaret Graham

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but was it? As all things do, it began with just one question: ‘Where shall we go to celebrate this sort of birthday?’

We met at primary school when we were nine, a million years ago, and both had one of those birthdays this year. We decided on the Rockies, by train. Would we go it alone, or with a company? We decided on Great Train Journeys. Dr Diffey was in charge of us, a former headmaster, which caused some palpitations as detentions were a feature of Margaret’s school days. He was far from the usual model, a real legend.

We landed at Calgary at the beginning of June, imagining Calgary to be a small rodeo town, but it’s thriving and huge. We set off by coach across the prairies, heading for Banff, in the Rockies.

We saw the Rockies from a great distance, and why not, they’re huge. We were lucky and arrived in a heatwave. Normally there is a British amount of rain and the mountains can be hidden, but we had a full frontal view at all times.

Feeling a little travelled out we hit Banff, toddling into the Caribou Hotel with our luggage. Margaret was smug because she had stuffed her clothes into something little bigger than a weekend case. Jan was just a small step up.

Then a quick look round in the clean clear air of the mountains. Banff is a tourist town, but why not? A perfect centre, with restaurants, shops, and lots of activities on offer. The next morning, Keith Diffey gathered us up, assuring us that it wasn’t like herding cats, but not sure we believed him. We clambered on board a converted school bus, and headed for Bow River where we were to – no, not white water raft, but just raft for an hour.

Another glorious day it was, as we were ‘oared’ rather than rowed along this most shallow of rivers. It has very few fish, as there isn’t enough to sustain more than the odd trout. The same could be said for the land either side. We saw the occasional caribou, but no bears, which we had rather expected. We passed weather eroded rocks.

And stopped to see the golden willow, which the First Nation Indians would use for headaches. Much as we use aspirin for ours, though willow is common to both medications.

We reached a gently sloping bank, and there was the bus, waiting to return us to Banff. As Margaret reached terra firma, she began to feel dreadful. Travel sickness? Onto the bus we went, Margaret with her voluminous handbag as always – thank heavens. (much like Tinky Winky the teletubby) As we travelled, she upchucked into the only receptacle, the handbag, of course, or rather the scarf lying on the top. A memorable moment for in the vicinity .

Jan spent a delightful afternoon dawdling along the river bank at Banff – alone. Margaret did not see the light of day for a good 24 hours, wondering quite where the high temperature had come from. There is, you will be thrilled to hear, no illustration of these events, especially not a selfie.

She did not emerge for the trip to Lake Louise, but instead managed to get into Banff and gave a chemist the option of shooting or medicating her. He gave her antibiotics, and anti-this, and anti-that, which got her upright and so the odyssey continued. More later.

https://www.greatrail.com/

The Words for the Wounded Litfest – Review by Pat Heath

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Margaret Graham

What a brilliant day at Downley Community Centre, 18^th April 2015.

This inaugural one-day opportunity for new and established writers, and for readers, did what it said on the packet. We laughed with, learned from, and mingled amongst, experts in the world of writing at the Words for the Wounded (WforW) LitFest. It was organised by the ‘Writing Grannies’ who run the charity.

To open the day, Matt Pain, Trustee, reminded us that the average age of wounded soldiers is 25 years old, which proved thought provoking.

Margaret Graham (‘writing grannie’) and Katie Fforde (WforW patron) opened the day with conversazione. These two bestselling authors covered key aspects of fiction writing, including sub-plots, the need to inhabit your characters and how to deal with a ‘soggy middle’. Something that troubles many of us – writers or not.

A massive amount of invaluable information was delivered with quick fire wit, during this hilarious and valuable session. Meg Cannell presented chocolates to Katie.

After book signing and coffee it was time for some murder and mayhem, with two ‘Midsomer Murders’ TV writers, Rachel Cuperman and Sally Griffiths. Rachel and Sally explained the practical aspects of TV play-writing, punctuated with their own amusing anecdotes.

Lunch followed, with wine and coffee, organised by Jan Speedie (‘writing grannie’), Margaret’s family and Josh Edwards. It was partially sponsored by Tesco, Morrison’s and Starbucks. A feast, it must be said, and the team did a fantastic job. Seamless.

Many authors choose the Independent Author publishing route and successful ‘Indie’ writers, Amanda Hatter and Catriona Troth, chaired by Penny Deacon, (writing grannie) described how to produce a high-quality self-published book,. This time Penny Deacon (writing grannie) chaired the session as Amanda gave many useful marketing tips, including how to penetrate large chains such as Waterstones, and Catriona explained the advantages of working as part of a writers’ collective, such as Triskele Books.

Felicity Trew, from Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency was introduced by Penny Deacon and gave a power-point presentation in which she explained the role of literary agents: negotiating publishing deals, making sure the contract protects current and future income opportunities, and chasing payments/royalties.

She also advised on how writers should approach agents, using amusing spoof emails to illustrate her points, and she reminded the audience to check agent’s submission instructions. Her agency’s website has a useful list of ‘pet hates’ including applicants omitting the requested information and obvious ‘carpet bombing’ applications.

Felicity was at the LitFest all day, and was enormously generous with her time.

Finally, Jan Speedie introduced Penny Deacon who talked about why she ‘turned her back on romance and took to murder’. She compared her experiences of writing Mills and Boon to that of crime fiction. This was a relaxed and amusing end to an inspirational, funny, information-packed day.

Prizes, donated by artist Sharon Bennett, Tesco, (Bollinger champagne) The Wellington, and Katie Fforde were raffled for WforW. Speakers were given boxes of chocolates, partially funded by Thornton’s and delegates were given books donated by Random House. Penny Gerrard made biscuits from heaven and Susan Atkins’ chocolate cake was seriously good.

One clever touch was the notepads and biros on every seat, for invaluable notetaking. Everything was so carefully thought out. It makes a difference.

Next year’s LitFest line up of speakers will include Elizabeth Buchan, bestselling author (patron of WforW) Jemima Hunt, Literary Agent, Catherine Balavage, e-magazine owner (Frost Magazine), and Tracy Baines, successful genre short story writer.

A total of £1,500 was raised by the inaugural LitFest for the rehabilitation of the wounded.

http://www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk

Granny Goes Skiing By Jan Speedie

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Frostie

What makes a 70 year old granny get up at 03.15 on a frosty Sunday morning, drive to Gatwick airport, park the car, be checked for everything possible and eventually sit with a well earned mug of tea and bacon butty? Simple, its January, the festivities are over and it’s SKI time.

We fly to Chambery, a small airport situated in the French Alps, collect our luggage and boot bags and leave the chaos of a small airport behind to travel to our warm chalet in Courchevel 1650. Though the snow level is disappointing, Josh, our host, has laid on tea and homemade cake and promises us another ‘dump’ over the next few days.

Spirits revived, we rush to the ski hire shop so we can have our first run down the easy slopes before the lifts close. I struggle into those boots, fix on the skies and I am ready, steady go.

Courchevel 1650 is situated at the eastern end of the Three Valleys and offers skiing for everyone on 650km of pistes and over 170 lifts. It’s a small village with friendly bars and lots of ski shops offering the latest ‘must have’ outfits. Sadly our funds won’t run to these show pieces and our faithful warm sensible kit comes out from one year to the next.

The next morning, we are up and at ‘em again, but mustn’t overdo it as we have a lesson with our lovely ski instructor later. Nervously we wait for Jason to appear and put us through our paces. Because of the poor snow conditions in 1650 we take the shuttle bus to the higher resort of Courchevel 1850 and here conditions are much better, but will my skiing pass his beady eye?

We ride up in the bubble lift and catch up on a year’s news, look out of the lift window and think those slopes are looking awfully steep. For the next 2.5 hours we faithfully follow our instructor and slowly the legs respond, our weight is on the correct ski, we complete neat turns and zoom down the piste. Our first day has been completed successfully and we feel pleased and satisfied with our efforts. But will the legs move tomorrow?

Relaxing in the evening and enjoying more great food and wine my friends discover an APP for their smart phones which tells you how far and fast you have travelled when skiing. Next morning the APP is turned on and we happily ski all day and ride down on the bus to our chalet. The results are amazing until Jason explains that our bus ride is included in those results: our bubble bursts. So, not ready for team GB yet.

Our week continues with more fun on the slopes. Waist lines expand from the food, and après ski sessions in a cosy little bar. On Friday it starts to snow seriously and continues for the next 24 hours and all around is white and fluffy. Our week is over, we are all in one piece and we feel exhilarated and energised by our efforts to perfect our skiing – can’t wait for 2016 when we will do it all again.

Frost Magazine

Books and Lifestyle

Tag Archives: Jan Speedie

The Very Thought of You by Mary Fitzgerald Reviewed by Jan Speedie

Our Little Secret By Jenna Ellis Review by Jan Speedie

The Finale of The Odyssey by Margaret Graham and Jan Speedie

Some Kind of Wonderful by Sarah Morgan Review by Jan Speedie

The Ongoing Odyssey of Two Old Dears on The Loose in Canada By Jan Speedie & Margaret Graham

Two Old Ducks Hit The Canadian Rockies by Jan Speedie & Margaret Graham

The Words for the Wounded Litfest – Review by Pat Heath

Granny Goes Skiing By Jan Speedie

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