Many a Shadow by David Barter

Many a Shadow by David Barter is a biography of Bill.

Bill was a country boy, born on a farm only 40 some miles from London, it might as well have been 1,000 miles away, such was the gulf between the two places.

He received his education at the local village school, played all of the usual games that country boys played with their school mates, enjoyed the country pursuits that dated back to times immemorial, let school at 14 to be apprenticed.

Unfortunately for Bill his idyllic rural lifestyle came to an abrupt end when Europe went mad and began devouring itself during the madness that was World War 2.

Bill was yanked from the safe, comfortable countryside that he was familiar with and thrust into the hellstorm of World War 2.

We follow Bill as he fights his way across Europe having landed on the beeches of Normandy and, somehow, lived to tell the tale.

The horrors of the war were leavened, just a little bit, by a variety of factors such as finding oak barrels of calvados in the cellars of an abandoned  French farmhouse.

It also touches very movingly on the transition from armed forces to civilian at the end of the war, which was otherwise known as the demob and the adjustments that husbands, wives and children had to make after six years or so apart.

It is a moving, well-written account of Bill's life.

It is published by Matador at a very reasonable £8.99.

Be the Human Sunshine Future you Journey Journal

Be the Human Sunshine Future you Journey Journal, by Clare Bostock is a genuinely fascinating book.

It is not overly long, thankfully the author has resisted the urge that some writers fall victim to, to confuse wisdom and value with words, words and still more words!

The book is lusciously illustrated with highly appropriate and evocative artworks by artist Josephine Wall, with some of the best artwork in a published book that I have seen in a long while.  

The purpose of the book is to help ease you into the art of journalling. But this is no mere journalling! This is genuinely a training course, if you will, in learning the art and science  of journalling in order to employ it to help you tap into the healing powers that can be found within journalling,

In fact, Clare states in her introduction that the purpose of her book is to: "...help you tap into the healing power of journalling, to journey home to yourself, to accept your inner calling, reduce stress, and to honour the unique story in your own life and work."

She does, however, point out that journalling is not for those who "regularly avoid the whispered longings of their own heart, but for those who care to embrace the constant abundance and renewal from inner-self as well as from universal source energy."

The book describes the basic techniques of starting to journal,  the use of additional notebooks, and other items as part of your journalling process, like pictures, photographs, postcards, drawings and the like.

She outlines all of the tools that you will require to become a journaller like pens, pencils, crayons, erasers, felt tip pens, notebooks and so forth.

Clare also covers the use of techniques to heighten positive experiences and to soften negative experiences and the also use of mantras and affirmations.

At £10.99 this book published by Matador is an ideal addition for the toolkit of anyone who wants to help work on themselves on their journey through life.

 

Last Sardana by Roy Harwood

What is the Sardana? It is a group folk dance that dates back to Medieval times in Catalonia.

Last Sardana is the first of an epic six volume story of the family of Maria, a mother tragically widowed at an early age with her son Pedro to raise.

Maria does a good job brining up Pedro who, at the insistence of the village priest (at a boozy fiesta) becomes known as Peter because, intuited the priest, Pedro would. in the same fashion as the Disciple Saint peter, be destined to travel both far and wide.

Peter becomes an internationally renowned architect and property developer as far afield as the UK and Malaysia, but he never forgets his roots in Catalonia, nor does he forget his mother, Maria, who he still dotes on as only a good son of a widowed mother can.

This, the first book in the series, takes us through the early part of his career, right through to his participation to helping to stage the 1982 Barcelona  Olympics and his relationships with friends, colleagues and family members.

The book will be published on July 28 at £9.99 in paperback, by Matador.

Please look out for the subsequent books in this series, Last Sardana and Sardana Encor, both at £9.99.

Other books in the series will be published soon.

The Real World

What would happen to you if you were a disembodied being (called Hedstrong) from another realm when the host body that you occupied died in rather distasteful circumstances? Beaten to death before a large crowd of onlookers at a charity function who, because nobody liked the victim, managed to fail to witness the murderous attack that swiftly put an end to his life. Can't really get much more distasteful?

The spiritual being finds himself residing in a stately home, where he meets another of his kind, a female of his species.

Who, he discovers had found, by a chance encounter with a torch battery, that she can 'feed' on electricity.

Which means that they no longer have to rely on being hosted in the bodies of living humans.

But then village girl Phyllis manages to get herself involved with the manor house and its Lord of the Manor.

Phyllis can see the spiritual inhabitants of the house. There's Hedstrong, his new found love interest Antedote and all is well.

Or it was before the arrival of Upstart, who, because Antedote is a bit too domineering, manages to capture the affections of Hedstrong.

But what, exactly, is Upstart up to? Does he really want to drag Hedstrong into the midst of a potentially dangerous conspiracy to overthrow Jenius, who is the leader of the Spiritual World Council, with something of a reputation for being ruthless and dictatorial?

Eventually the property becomes part of the large number of stately homes under the protection of the National Trust. Though this one is different, it is also under the 'protection' of Phyllis, left in charge upon the death of the last Lord of the Manor.

Phyllis is not without certain psychic abilities and she manages to anger the inhabitants of the spirit realm by communicating with them.

There's the equivalent of an armed rebellion in the spirit realm and both realms of existence could see lives being snuffed out. But who is at risk? Who will live, who will die?

It's a highly intelligent fantasy novel by Roy Hewetson and is worth every penny of the £8.99 asking price for the paperback, or £2.99 for the e-book version.

It is published in paperback by Matador.

Thicker Than Soup

Thicker Than Soup is a novel by Katheryn Joyce.

It explores a whole range of emotions and challenges within the lives of its characters.

There is Sally Lancing, the daughter of an English mother and an immigrant from Pakistan, and John Sommers, a son of adoptive parents, who is greatly loved by them.

A surprise pregnancy, which brings about some questions as to the paternity of the child, throw the two into different, but separate lives.

Sally is destroyed by the loss of her job, her partner, even her home. So she decides to take her infant son to Pakistan so that they can meet with her father's family  members.

What she sees shocks her and challenges everything she thought she knew.

John, meanwhile has his own problems that he attempts, with some success, to hide.

But the situation that developed has raised old and previously buried concerns and problems within him and he takes the decision to embark on an equally fraught journey, a journey as long as that taken by Sally and her son, but long in emotional rather than physical terms.

And yet there were still ties that bind, including the tie of the boy, Sammy.

It's a moving story of multiple layers that shimmer and glimmer in the various lights that are shone upon them.

It is a book of love, of fidelity, of infidelity and pathos.

It is published by Matador at £8.99 and is, of course, available through the That's Books and Entertainment book shop which is powered by Amazon.

Will Smith, Alfonso Ribeiro and DJ Jazzy Jeff Perform The Carlton Dance ...

The Ghost

The Ghost is a new novel by Andrew Lowe.

It is a compelling story that relates how film critic Dorian Cook is a man who is haunted by a childhood prank which, although many years ago in the distant past, still has a dark resonance in his life as an adult.

The prank went wrong. Very badly wrong.

It happen in that long, hot summer of 1976, when the government had to appoint a minister for droughts, when people thought flares to be the height of fashion and when Dorian's childhood in his Northern industrial town was, in effect, ruined by the shocking event that took place.

As an adult in contemporary London, Dorian has a certain cache as a fairly influential film critic.

But now the past has reached out to him with bony fingers, bony fingers that seek out for revenge in the shape of an old acquaintance of Dorian's, who is back. With a sick vengeance on his mind.

Dorian finds himself acting the hero (albeit unwilling) when he must fight for what he believes in, to protect his own family from harm and to battle to stay alive.

The novel switches from his day-to-day work as a critic (EDITOR: All very realistic, I can assure you!) to what becomes a vitally important fight for everything he holds dear to him, including his own life.

It's gritty, it's primal and it's protagonist is a writer and a critic. I mean, what's not to like?

It's an exceptionally good read and Andrew Lowe has made the transition from writing fact to writing fiction with an ease and an aplomb that I can only envy.

It's due out on 28th June and is published by Matador at £9.99, and is available via The That's Books and Entertainment online book shop.