Last time I went down the TBR Hole my list ended at 915 (plus 9 in currently reading. I'm looking at things on my TBR list I was never going to read, realistically. I am posting monthly for a bit, then whenever I want to take some older books off my TBR shelf.  Down The TBR Hole is a meme created by…

Merry Merry Merry Murder is a new release from the prolific Paty Jager. This launch tour started yesterday, and I’m confident you’ll enjoy its Christmassy feel, although it mostly happens during the week after Thanksgiving. There’s a giveaway involved, at the end. Merry Merry Merry Murder by Paty Jager In the close-knit town of Auburn, Oregon, Andi Clark's therapy animals bring comfort to the community, especially during the holiday season.

This week's Crimson’s Creative Challenge takes us to this lovely holiday villa in a mystery location. There are hints of water sports nearby, with the life buoy mounted on the side. And maybe the palms are not indigenous, if you look closely at the trees in the background. But who cares about that? It's 141 words. I must be getting the hang of this.

Dowries and Dalliances - a blog tour for a Jane Austen-inspired card game! I think this is only available in the USA, so if you try to buy it online and get it shipped, you may end up with extra taxes and import duties - just beware. OTOH if you have a US friend who is willing to buy it for you as a gift, and say it's a gift on the customs declaration...

In the background of indie publishing, a quiet revolution is taking place. Draft2Digital merged with Smashwords (or vice versa) and most authors are safely moved over. I'm not for technical reasons I don't understand, but I have created the most important benefits to readers... universal book links. These links from Books2Read.com enable you to click through to the title on your bookstore of choice (provided your choice is listed).

As I struggled once more to find a book beginning with X that I wanted to read for the Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge, I realised that this was my tenth year of doing it. It's not surprising I'm struggling with the letter X. In fact, it was finally time to give in, and do the one X everyone's been telling me about...

I discovered a bridge for all seasons. This is not quite the prompt for this week's Crimson’s Creative Challenge. I've borrowed one of the other pictures she showed on her Sunday walk, and sort of mixed it up with the Writephoto piece I did in December 24, the Mill. It's 34 words today! Here's Crispina's photo... (c) Crispina Kemp…

Jane Austen celebrates her 250th Anniversary this month. I often wonder what she'd have done if she'd had all the writing advice we have, or done a creative writing course before she started. I reckon she'd have ignored all the advice given and carried on with what she knew best - the life and little intrigues around her. Beth Camp,

I am fairly sure I got this paperback copy of In a Dark Dark Wood as one of the freebies at Noirwich, the Norwich Crime Festival in 2015/16. I checked my books as I packed them up for moving, which is why it was only put on my TBR in April 20. But still, it's taken me far too long to get around to it.

A Bridge of Sighs is my take on this week's Crimson’s Creative Challenge. I was challenged to make a choice from the four photos: nothing really sprang to mind, although, having read the previous posts where the images were previewed, I was wandering along the same path a little further up the valley, and remembering the Merlin and Kingfisher I'd seen in these lower meadows.

With Contaminant Six we reach the end of the excellent Free-Wrench series by Joseph R Lallo. A hint of steampunk, a great amount of chemical scifi, a brilliant piece of world-building, and lovely characters. I'll miss them. Contaminant Six (Free-Wrench #6) by Joseph R Lallo The fug that poisoned the world has struck the Wind Breaker crew. After years of daring escapes and dangerous capers, it was only a matter of time before Captain Mack’s crew felt the sting of the toxin that blankets their continent.

It's a nice garden fork, I like that style. This week's Crimson’s Creative Challenge reminds me of how my vegetable patches used to look. Maybe I'll get them back under control next year. It's only 117 words this week. Can I save some for later? 😀 CCC052 - The Garden Fork “Oi! What you bin doin’?” “Just tidying up your vegetable patch.

The Shadow of the Shifting Sands comes after a slight hiatus in the fabulous Shadows from the Past series by Wendy Leighton-Porter. I've read them all, in order, and it's worthwhile doing so, since the time travelling twins, their friend and cat, the superstar Max, start in pre-history and work their way forward. The underlying theme is the search for the twins' parents, believed killed in a car crash.

The House of Wolf is a new adult historical novel from the pen of Tony Robinson. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy. In the past I have avoided books by celebrity authors, because I have an intolerable habit of reading them in the celebrity's voice, which irritates me mightily. I am happy to report that Sir Tony puts his voice into the minds and hearts of his characters, not his reader.

This week's Crimson’s Creative Challenge gave me plenty of choice. I ended up picking something old, rusty , and of no use to anyone. And realised that I'd never mentioned Jo's Junk Shop in all the Viridian series books. So it's time to put that right. It's 150 words. I worked hard for that 😀 CCC051- Jo's Junk Shop Jo’s Junk Shop was a rarity.

You may remember I went down the TBR Hole a few years ago, for quite a while, looking at things on my TBR list I was never going to read, realistically.

Zero Point Emotion by Elias Voss had immediate appeal. It starts with Z. I need several letters for this year's Alphabet Soup reading challenge, and whether Mr Voss did it on purpose or not, it caught me. Then the caveats in the blurb sold it to me. Did I want 'a light, action-driven space opera: ... non-stop battles or a fast, easy read'?

Plenty of choice for this week's Crimson’s Creative Challenge but I chose the conkers. Is the fruit of the horse chestnut tree are known as a conker in other lands? The sport of 'conkers' involves hitting your opponent's conker, which is threaded on a string, and held out by the opponent while you use your own conker to hit it. It's a fine art.

Using the seasons is something I try to do when writing. Like involving the setting in your plot, it enriches the reader experience. Actually, I came across something when I was hunting for old short stories I'd written. I decided to use it, or reuse it, as it was a guest post on TSRA in 2016! But first, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped with the launch of…

Edited Out, the third of Rebecca Douglass's Seffi Wardwell Mysteries, came out on Tuesday. This is not my normal review, because normally I'd have read the book in the last couple of months at the very most. I first read this one about a year ago. It wasn't actually a book then, more a work-in-progress. But since Christmas I've worked through several versions of it.

We're still with the sails, but of a different sort in this week's Crimson’s Creative Challenge. I picked the second image this week. It’s of a derelict post mill completely covered in ivy. It takes me back to my princelings Fred and George (or rather King Fred and Prince Engineer George) having treasure hunts around the marsh with Princess Jasmine.

Three Rivers is a new book which comes out on next week. Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review it. How appropriate after yesterday's sailing flash fiction! Three Rivers: The Extraordinary Waterways That Made Europe By Robert Winder A fascinating exploration of the rich and varied cultural worlds shaped by the Rhine, the Rhone and the Po…

My choice of this week's Crimson’s Creative Challenge takes me back to the first time I visited the Broads as a teenager. I loved seeing the yachts sailing by me, through the marshes and the farmland! I picked the second image this week. It's 146 words 😀 CCC048 Sailing By They arrived late at the cottage. She only saw the wide, wide sky, filled with millions of stars.

Daniel Boone and Me is by Noelle A Granger, who writes a range of books including impeccably detailed American settler histories, and thrilling (adult) crime novels starring the great Rhe Brewster (as N A Granger). This is her latest, a settler story suitable for older middle grades, especially those wanting to know more about real life in the revolutionary times. I received an ARC of this book from the author.