by Murasaki Shikibu English translation by Arthur Waley ‘At the court of an emperor (he lived it matters not when) there was among the many gentlewomen of the Wardrobe and Chamber one, though she was not of very high rank was favored far beyond all the rest.’ For a reader in the West, The …
Category: Books
Sweet Entanglement
Sweet Entanglement, Book 2 of my Fields of Wine series is released today, and is available in both digital and paperback format from Amazon, and as a digital book only from Kobo, Draft2Digital, Barnes and Noble, and Apple Books. I would love you to read it and tell me what you think in a review. …
Wine, Chocolate and Sex . . . #5#
Sweet Entanglement Today, I'm posting the final taster/teaser from Sweet Entanglement, my forthcoming novel. The narrator is once again Andy. Enjoy! "Something wakes me from a sound sleep. A noise from outside is my first thought, perhaps a nighthawk or a nocturnal animal foraging for food. I peer through half-closed eyelids. The room is in …
Wine, Chocolate and Sex . . . #4#
Sweet Entanglement Continuing my week of taster extracts from Sweet Entanglement, here is another short passage from Nicole's narrative. Nicole is back at university in Edinburgh . . . I hope you enjoy it! "We go back to the kitchen. I take the wine from the fridge and pour into two plastic tumblers from the …
Wine, Chocolate and Sex . . . #3#
Sweet Entanglement Today's taster from my new romance novel, Sweet Entanglement, is narrated by Nicole, the female protagonist. I hope you enjoy it! "New Year’s Eve is cool with heavy cloud cover as we set out for St Pièrre and our midnight vigil. However, there is very little wind and I am comfortable in my …
Hogwarts #6#
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling Harry Potter Hogwarts House Editions The sixth Harry Potter novel introduces some new characters and some new - and very dark - magical concepts. It also immerses us in the teen world of romantic attachments, jealousies and rebellion. The Ministry of Magic now knows that Lord …
Jane, the Younger
I keep going back to Jane Austen! A couple of weeks ago, I bought a series of lectures from The Teaching Company's Great Courses. By Professor Devoney Looser of the Arizona State University, they explore Jane Austen's life and works, and examine the customs and morality of the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century in which she …
Hogwarts #5#
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix By JK Rowling Harry Potter Special Hogwarts Editions Following the encounter with Voldermort in which Cedric Diggory lost his life, Harry Potter is back in Muggleland with his aunt and uncle. Now, forced to use magic to save himself and his cousin Dudley from the Dementors, he …
Hogwarts #4#
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire By JK Rowling Harry Potter Special Hogwarts Editions Readers who have progressed thus far in the series know that Harry Potter is a wizard. When he isn't attending Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry, he lives with his unpleasant aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, and their bullying spoiled …
New Troy
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller Over the past few days, I have been revisiting the classic poems of ancient Greece, and watching a series of lectures on Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. These epic poems always bear retelling. Whether in the original format or recast in one of the many variations that have appeared …