The Third Servant by Michael Billington

Book promotion has been the most difficult thing about self-publishing. I've been sceptical about advertising as I think word of mouth is the best. I'm not very good at blowing my own trumpet, although I have recently worked very hard at raising my public profile. I've connected with a lot of other writers and am learning new things by the minute. Amongst them some positive stories about which adverts work. So I'm doing a Facebook boosted post about my Free book and countdown deal. (See previous post.) So far the feedback is very positive and I'm reaching a big audience, getting some new followers etc. I'll let you know if it translates into any sales. So meanwhile we carry on with reviews and I hope to work some more on my own book before I have to go back to work. This was an excellent read and deserves 5 stars:
The Third Servant by Michael Billington

The Third Servant is based on a story taken from the Book of Matthew in the New Testament. Based on this story about a servant who fails to make his master a profit and is therefore cast out into the night, Michael Billington has created a rich and colourful tale. The book is set during the time of the Roman emperor Tiberius, The Hebrew king Herod and Jesus. A tumultuous and interesting time historically, and the author has managed to write with a language that fits this period perfectly. First and foremost, this is a great adventure story and the author brings to life vividly the people and the customs of lands that must have been very alien to our hero. Ezra’s journey begins as a boy, cast out into the Judean night. We follow his journey North and East, through the plains into Hindustan. It is as much of a quest for knowledge and wisdom as Ezra tries to find his place in this world and more important, to find his inner self in step with his outer self.  The tale of Ezra going from a confused and angry boy, to a wise man is a fascinating one. I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed Voltaire’s Zadig, a journey and gathering of wisdom might be similar, but the conclusions are very different. I’d also enjoyed Marco Polo’s travels and I think anyone who enjoys an epic adventure story with a profound message will enjoy the Third Servant. Very well written and cleverly constructed, I highly recommend this book. I was provided with a copy for review by the author.

 

99p and FREE

I'm running another book promotion:
Language in the Blood book 1 will be FREE on the 10th and 11th of June.

Blood Ties:Language in the Blood Book 2 is 99c on the 10th and 11th of June on a Kindle countdown deal.

One Night in the Hill Country by Felipe Adan Lerma

Spend a lovely leisurely day on the beach yesterday, and besides working on my tan I also finished another book. I got up at 6.30 this morning to take advantage of a faster Internet connection in the Hotel. It slows a lot once the other guests switch on their computers.

One Night in the Hill Country by Felipe Adan Lerma

This author likes to experiment with writing styles and push the boundaries of language. Love it or hate it, it should always be admired. This is my second book by this author and so far my favourite. Felipe Adan Lerma explains his motivation and background to the book in a prologue. His decision to go for very short chapters and an almost staccato style of writing, works well in this case. The chapters are told from a different perspective each serve to build tension. As Sam and the children drive into the Hill country looking for a kitten, we also get Tara’s story as she brings an illegal immigrant girl back to the farm. The two groups of people are set for a disastrous meeting. It was an unusual plot that had me gripped to the final nail biting scenes. The novella is very short at about 30.000 words and I read it in a day on the beach while I was on holiday. I would recommend it as a holiday or commute read. I’m also a big fan of putting cute kittens..ehm..well, anywhere and this book has a box full of them. Looking forwards to see what Mr.Lerma will do next.

When Disconnected by Christine Vann

A writer never stops being a writer. Even though I'm currently on holiday in Italy, I'm managing to be very productive. I've so far read 1.5 books, done a review, wrote about 2000 words and got to grips with Twitter. I'm by no means a Twitter expert (or should that be a Twit) but I'm now getting retweets on my posts and collected an alarming number of followers. Some good has already come out of it as a very nice Italian chap (currently on holiday in France LOL) asked me to review his book and send me a free copy (Hopefully he'll do mine too) So without further ado here's Christine Vann's 5 star collection of shorts:

When Disconnected by Christine Vann

Disconnected is an excellent title for this collection of short stories, which has been written in a series of different genres. There is a common theme of alienation, but in an interesting variety of settings; A boy not quite fitting in at school, a girl trying to survive in an hostile environment or a woman looking for her cat in the wonderfully Gothic ‘Shill and Shadows’. The author has used a number of different genres like futurism, realism and quite dream like narrative, but they all feel like they belong together because of Ms. Vann’s atmospheric story telling. At times disconcerting and maybe a little scary, I was totally griped by the stories and read it in a few sessions. Highly recommended, if you like your stories a bit more challenging.

The Ultimate Guide to Frugal Living by Lacey Lane

Here is my 4 star review for Lacey Lanes guide:

The Ultimate Guide to Frugal Living by Lacey Lane

I pride myself on being quite frugal (of course I picked this book up during a free give away!), so I was interested what I could gain from this guide. I believe that there is always room for improvement, so I would recommend you read this guide as I did with a note pad beside you. The book is divided in short clear chapters that have tips on a certain topic. A lot of them are common sense, but I did pick up a few tips. One thing I immediately implemented was to fill my half empty freezer with recycled ice cream boxes full of water. There are some helpful links to websites but I’ve could have done with more. Especially on the subject of making your own cleaning products and cosmetics. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to live more environmentally friendly, safe some money and is maybe a little new to the world of frugal living.

Skin Cage by Nico Laeser

This week I had the pleasure of reading a great book that thoroughly deserved it five stars.

Skin cage by Nico Laeser

A good book in my opinion is a book that engages its reader, provokes emotions and can be hard to put down. If it is beautiful, well written and leaves you sitting open-mouthed in awe at the end, than it is a great book. This is a great book. We see the world through Danny’s eyes. Left in an apparently vegetative state by a parasite, he is trapped in his cage of skin, unable to communicate. We get to understand his world as various characters in his life appear before him. Loss, love, anger and death are some of the themes explored. The subject matter is not an easy one but Mr Leaser has handled it sensitively while still creating an easy to read book. Short chapters with a good pace kept me engaged to the very end. The chapters themselves have rather unique headers. Never dipping into sentimentality and a good dose of humour made this a well-balanced story. I cared for the main character Danny a lot; despite his predicament and suffering he retains great humanity. Hope is the main sentiment I take away from this book. Things might seem futile, but if you persevere and be a caring human being, you might be doing more than you realise. Can’t wait to read more of this author and I highly recommend this book.