Field of Dust

Field of Dust is a novel by Angela Jean Young, but it is based on a true story.

On September 3rd 1878 the paddle steamer SS Princess Alice hundreds of passengers are enjoying a moonlit cruise on the Thames Estuary.

Unfortunately the SS Princess Alice was in a collision with a collier the Bywell Castle. Within minutes the SS Princess Alice was destroyed, cut in two, sending it to the bottom of the Thames.

650 Londoners lost their lives in the accident and for days afterwards bloated corpses were being dragged from the water.

This recovery operation is taking place watched by children from a community known as The Creek. The tragic events are locked into their memories for the rest of their lives.

One of the children, Florence Grant, also has troubles in her own life, her own family has been destroyed by the secret lives enjoyed by their parents and she and her sister were harshly abandoned by their alcoholic mover.

However, Florence is an extraordinary young working class lady, she will not allow her past to control her future.

But it was the speech of a young and impassioned young union official that caused a major development and brought change into Florence's life.

This book scores with the reader on two counts: The quality of the writing and the quality of the research, both of which are absolutely meticulous.

It is fictionalised history rather than pure fiction and all the better for it.

It is published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

My Wellness Toolbox

My Wellness Toolbox by Alison Swift is, without a doubt, the best self-help book that has been written and published in the past couple of decades.

By using the techniques that she outlines in her book Alison Swift was able to "banish the blues" and "nuke negativity."

It is a very simple book and very easy to read and to follow.

It contains 26 tools that you can employ, right now, to make your life infinitely better.

And most of them are explained in only one or two pages.

You'll learn how water can help you, how to use "No" to your advantage, how to create and employ your own positive affirmations, how to use gratitude, how to make and use a vision board, how listening to the right type of music can help, how to breathe to your own advantage, how to use Reiki, how learning something new can help you, how to employ kindness, the use of physical exercise, massage therapy, how laughter should be a part of your Wellness toolbox and many more besides.

This book will help you to be able to help yourself. It's part of my Wellness Toolbox, and for the nifty price of a mere £9.99, you can make it a part of your Wellness Toolbox, too!

It's published by Matador and will make a great gift to give to someone else or an ideal gift to give to yourself.

This book works and you deserve it!

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Listen, It's Wednesday

Listen, It's Wednesday, is set during the vibrant era of the 1960s.

Music is of vital importance and blues music was at the zenith of its influence.

 Listen, It's Wednesday follows the varied fortunes of a highly talented and very important member of an all woman brass band (a rarity of the day) who is saved from a suicide attempt by the loyal members of her band.

She was brought to such a low ebb in her life by the loss of her girl friend.

Her friends in the band manage to help save her from herself and she learns that she can keep going buoyed up by her friends, her own humour, the brass band and the realisation that when good old William Shakespeare said: "Sweet are the uses of adversity" the Bard of Avon might actually have actually had something go for him!

Although this book is a work of fiction, Chris Vale has based the novel on her experiences in a brass band. Although she was the only female member a cavalier and rather crass remark from the conductor lead her to write her first novel, Brassy Women.

So. what happens to Chrissy and her friends? Will they find success as musicians? Can they find true love? Can they reach their dreams?

This is a strikingly good novel, filled with twists and turns, and love and friendships. And the harsh reality that the 1960s were not swinging and 'with it' for everyone. 

It is published by The Book Guild at £8.99..

 

The Boy Who Imagined and Found he Could Draw!

Vapi is not doing well at school, to be perfectly honest. But it's not really Vapi's fault.

He is a misfit at school, but this seems to be as a result of the fact that he struggles in lessons. The situation is made worse by the fact that poor Vapi is being targeted by the school bully.

But Vapi has an escape route that he employs when his day-to-day life threatens to become too unbearably. He uses his imagination to take him on all sorts of fantastic adventures.

However, Vapi's situation begins to change for the better when he learns that he can draw and that he can use his drawings to help other people who are having problems in their own lives.

Written and illustrated by Fred and Ann Onymouse, this book will be a real winner with children of all ages.

It is published by Matador at £7.99.

The Price of Magic

This is an amazing book for children from ages 9 to 11, from Gavin Neale.

Siblings Abbey and Chris moved into a new home four summers ago. They learned a number of things including the fact that magic is not a fantasy, it is as very real thing and they met up with a lovely pair of witches who lived just down their road.

The children undertook a perilous rescue mission to save their mother from the Land of Fairy. Although their memories of this momentous even are beginning to fade, Abby still bears the scar of the wound he received from a ghostly sabre tooth tiger.

However, the Queen of the Land of Fairy is in desperate trouble and she comes to Abby seeking her assistance.

However, the consequences for Abby could have devastating consequences. But Abby has to gird her loins, ensure that a magical war is halted before it can really start, plus save the life of her neighbour.

All pretty dramatic fro anyone, but even more so for a girl of 11 who finds out that magic can come with a price even for those who use it for the power of good.

This is a great book for children and adults and it is published by Matador at £8.99.

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