End of 2020

2020. Well.... this has been a strange year, hasn't it? 

Well, yeah. Maybe I won't reference the car-crash of this year as this is my last post of 2020. And seeing as I didn't do this type of post last year (I went on a mad reading/blog tour sprint last year, didn't I?), I'm not sure what the rules are for these types of posts. Plus, with most of us feeling a bit burnt out due to 2020 (oh, this year was rough on us, wasn't it?), a nice few weeks off will be wonderful. 

Now, before I go, I'm going to put some music videos up as, while books and audiobooks did save me this year (and I had mini-reading/blogging burnout throughout the year because of this), music and podcasts were essential to me (as was binge-watching things on Netflix, BBC iPlayer, SkyQ and Disney+). 

But before I do, I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you to all you wonderful authors and illustrators for creating wonderful stories. Thank you to all the publishers for releasing them to the world in these trying times. Thank you to all the publicists who pushed books onto us. Thank you to all of the booksellers who kept selling books, even though stores closed and some for their jobs under threat. To all the book bloggers/Booktubers/bookstagrammer/Tik-Tokers/podcasters/etc for keeping promoting and loving stories. 

Now, to my family, friends and my Other Half, just thank you. 

Now, before I go, I want to you wish you all a lovely and safe holiday (whether that be Christmas, Hanukkah, Pancha Ganapati, Yule or other holidays that I need to do more research into) and I will see you sometime in January 2021! 

Now, the music that I have been into this year (it's a weird mix and yet, not so much)!

Audiobook Review - Here Is The Beehive

Another audiobook and a short one at that! And I know I am doing the Reindeer Readathon, this isn’t going to fill one of the prompts. I really tried to figure out which prompt would work for it, but nothing does. And I’m ok with that - like I said at the start of the month, I will try and do the Reindeer Readathon, but I’m planning to flexible with my reading/audiobooking. And seeing as I have a week of blogging before I go on a Christmas/New Year blog break, I want to go silly/hardcore with my reading/blogging. Sorry in advance for the weirdness to come! 

Title And Author: Here Is The Beehive by Sarah Crossan

Publisher: Bloomsbury Circus

Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/write-up

Length: 288 Pages or 3 Hours 55 Minutes

Ana is sitting in her lawyer’s office when she gets a phone call from Rebecca, saying her husband has died. But when Ana hear’s the name of Rebecca’s husband - Connor, it throws her into a spiral. Rebecca’s husband is the man Ana’s been having an affair with for the past three years.

Now Ana’s finds herself alone, trapped inside her secret grief and her life, her marriage, her relationships with her family and friends, are spiralling out of her control. How can she grieve for the man she loved, the end of her secret relationship, if the world knew nothing about it?

Reindeer Readathon - The Private Patient

Reindeer Readathon Audiobook the Second. Ok, am still going strong but how much are we willing to be I’ll lose stream and read whatever calls to me like a siren? Anyone? And yes, most of my reads in the next few weeks/into 2021 sound very crime (am I turning to a crime book blogger? Surely not! I love YA and fantasy too much to do that, right?). Anyway, let’s get this post started, shall we? 

Title And Author: The Private Patient by PD James
Publisher: Faber
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
Length: 416 Pages or 12 Hours 39 Minutes

The final Adam Dalgliesh novel (as well as penultimate novel PD James wrote before her death in 2014 [her last novel was Death Comes to Pemberley, a murder mystery sequel/fan-fic to Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice) and we see Dalgliesh and the team investigate the murder off notorious investigative journalist, Rhoda Gradwyn, who was strangled in a private clinic in Dorset after the successful removal of a disfiguring scar. But as the team try and solve the murder, the question of innocence and guilt become far more complicated and line more blurred…

Reindeer Readathon - Off The Rails

My first Reindeer Readathon story-time, and it’s a random, surprise audiobook I bought on Audible as part of their Black Friday Deals (I have bought/preordered a few other audiobooks as I’ve decided to pause/end my subscription for a while. I need to save some money and I have so many audiobooks to listen/relisten to!)

So, quick history lesson with me and Bryant And May. Been vaguely aware of this series for a while, but I always thought this was a crime series with a slight paranormal twist/element to it. I even have two eProofs from NetGalley – Hall of Mirrors and Oranges and Lemons. But kept putting them off as I wasn’t in the mood for it. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when Audible doing their Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sales. And yes, I am a sucker for a sale. So, when I saw this, this caught my eye.

Title And Author: Bryant and May Off The Rails by Christopher Fowler
Publisher: Transworld
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
Length: 386 Pages or 10 Hours 46 Minutes

Arthur Bryant, John May and the rest of the Peculiar Crime Unit are in shock and grief. One of their brightest and bravest members was murdered by a violent enigma that they already caught once and escaped. Everything about Mr Fox is false and he can hide easily in plain sight. The Peculiar Crime Unit are desperate to catch him – but they have less than a week to catch him. Otherwise, the department will be shut down. As they have nothing to work with, expect Mr Fox has a link to King's Cross train station. The same place as a strange, motiveless death has just happened. A woman was pushed violently down the stairs. The only clue on her is a sticker of a university bar on her back. Are these two separate cases linked in a twisted way? Can the history and myths of the London Underground and King's Cross be the key? And will Bryant and May finally catch Mr Fox before he strikes again?

NetGalley Blog Tour - The Cousins

BLOG TOUR TIME! And yes, it’s a review-type post. I know, I normally stay away from these kinda tours in case I read the book and hate its guts, but when this title popped up, I couldn’t resist trying this author. I mean, you guys LOVE Karen M. McManus thrillers, especially One of Us Is Lying and Two Can Keep A Secret. So, of course, I was curious and suffering a little FOMO. But The Cousins catch my eye and demanded my attention. And who am I to refuse a book’s siren call?

Title And Author: The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
Publisher: Penguin
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/write-up for blog tour (hosted by The Write Reads)
Length: 336 Pages

The Story family are the envy of their neighbours: owners of the largest property on the East Coast island, rich, beautiful, closely knit. Till one day, the four children all suddenly get disowned by their mother with a letter containing five words: You know what you did.

Years pass and when cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story receive mysterious innovations to spend the summer at the their grandmother, they feel like they have no choice but to go, in the vain hope of healing the diverted family. But when they get to the island, they get the strong impression that their grandmother didn’t invite them… 

The teens are determined to figure out what happened to rip their family apart and the truth behind those five words. But every Story has a secret…

NetGalley November - Don't Look

The last NetGalley November review. Yes, I know this is December but I finished this Sunday/Monday so I can’t include it as part of my Reindeer Readathon or my December TBR (which seems to be turning a bit of a Murdery Christmas… [and I planned to read fantasy and sci-fi like heck. Oh well…]. And yes, it’s a crime-y read… kinda… so yeah, this December on the Pewter Wolf might be more stabby than I was hoping for…

Title And Author: Don’t Look by Alexandra Ivy

Publisher: Kensington Books

Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction

Length: 402 Pages

So, main reason I requested this on NetGalley was the cover. The cover is striking, right? But does it live up to the premise. 

Kir Jansen returns to his hometown of Pike, Wisconsin, to bury his father, the former sheriff of the town. After the funeral, things happen out of his control: Kir bumps into the town’s vet, Dr Lynne Gale and there’s something between them. The vicar gives Kir a letter from his father, listing initials and Kir is wondering if it’s linked to his father’s frantic and drunk delusions that a serial killer is taunting him, waiting to strike at the women of Pike…

Then women begin to get murdered. Discovered naked barring a red ribbon wrapped round their neck, their throats slashed and each victim looks like they have been tortured. 

Kir realises (to his horror and shame) that his father was telling the truth and he’s worried that Lynne might be the last victim in this serial killer’s list. As the two try to figure out who the killer is, the two grow closer…

December TBR

CHRISTMAS IS ROUND THE CORNER! And England's Second Lockdown will be over in the next few days (but I think all of us in the UK/worldwide are worried about what's going to happen next...). So, of course, this month's blogging will be shorter due to Xmas/New Year! 

But till then, let's carry on! So, what is December 2020's TBR? Well... no idea. I have no hard rules. I want this month's to be fun and getting us ready for the holidays, and yet, have a slight edge of darkness and murder. I have one or two ebooks in mind for my darkness. 

I might - and I stress this, MIGHT - casually take part in a readathon this month. I am strongly considering the Reindeer Readathon. But, if I do take part, it will be casually so I will only do probably two or three prompts. Plus, I will be using books, ebooks and audiobooks and, if I do include a book into this readathon, I will tell you in the blog post's title. 

DASHER - 15 PTS 

A book with a one word title. 

DANCER - 10 PTS 

A companion novel or a sequel (as in a dancing parter). 

PRANCER - 15 PTS 

A book with a map in it. 

VIXEN 25 PTS OR 20 PTS 

A book with a fox on the cover. (Alternatively, a strong female lead for 20 points). 

COMET - 30PTS 

A book you find intimidating. 

CUPID - 10 PTS 

Read a genre that you love. 

DONNER - 15 PTS 

A book with something hidden inside (under the dust jacket, chapter heads, art etc.) 

BLITZEN - 20 PTS 

A book with some sort of struggle (internal struggle, war, battle etc) 

RUDOLPH - 20 PTS 

A book where the main character doesn't seem to fit in (outsider, misfit).

15 BONUS POINTS: CHRISTMAS STAR (To be used with one above prompt ONCE)

Read a book 500 pages or more

50 BONUS POINTS: SLEIGHING IT (To be used once when ALL above prompts including Christmas Star have been completed)

For extra points, read a book that works with one prompt.

But what, I hear you ask, are the books I have my eye on? Well, as you know, I am very much a mood reader, so I can't say that I will stick to my ideas (Ha! I never do!), but I sense one or two of these might be appearing in one form or another... 

Audiobook Review - Serpent and Dove

I’m meant to be writing a review for Toksvig’s Almanac 2021 by Sandi Toksvig as part of NetGalley November. But I left it too long and I struggled most of Sunday morning to write it. Instead, I finished this audiobook and, while fresh in my mind, am going to write this up.

Now, before I go any further, I want to say that I’ve been aware of this book and I have been ooohing and aaahing over it, but whenever I think about reading this, I’m always been a bit meh over it. But, I saw this on my library’s audiobook app and thought, on impulse, to give it a go.

Title And Author: Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin
Publisher: HarperTeen/Harper360
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Borrowed from local library via BorrowBox
Length: 528 Pages or 14 Hours 13 Minutes

Two years ago, Lou fleed for her life. She left her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, vowing never to do magic again and stealing to survive, desperate to never return. But Lou lives in a world where witches are hunted, feared and, if caught, burnt.

Reid is one of the many huntsman - a Chasseur - for the Church and they all live by one principle: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. But when he and Lou cross paths and Lou accidentally pulls a stunt that could cause scandal, the two are forced to do damage control - and by that, I mean marriage.

Lou is now married to the enemy, and feelings between them are growing. But it’s only a matter of time before Reid finds out the truth about Lou being a witch. And all the while, Lou’s past is coming closer and closer, coming for her darling Lou…

NetGalley November - Snowbound At The Manor

I can already hear you going “OMG! Andrew, are you feeling well? You’re reading a straight-up romance novel. And not only that, it’s a Mills And Boon!”. And yes, it is. I have several that I requested from NetGalley (a mix of Mills and Boon Modern, Medical & True Love) as well as a bunch of other romances (both straight and gay), but after 2020 being what it has been, I think we all needed something fun, silly and us just knowing things are going to end happily (so, yeah, you are going to see a lot of romance stories over the next few weeks. Sorry/not sorry in advance)

Title And Author: Snowbound At The Manor by Ellie Darkins
Publisher: Mills and Boon
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/write-up
Length: 192 Pages
Buy From (Affiliate): Bookshop UK

Jess doesn’t do Christmas. So, her escape before spending an awkward and tense Christmas with her parents is to spend a long weekend with her influencer friend in a Yorkshire Dales stately home. But heavy snowstorms have other plans. Jess turns up to the manor with roads behind her getting blocked by snow, her friend Lara is stuck in an airport and can’t get to the UK and, just when she thinks things can’t get worse, the power goes out and she discovers a man - the owner, Rufus - lying almost unconscious on the front doorstep with hypothermia… Looks like they’re going to be spending Christmas together… Let the snow fall and the sparks fly…

Meowing About Books Tag

You know a few weeks back, I did a tag post from Breakeven Books called Barking ‘Bout Books (I will put the link to Erik’s video here and my blog post with my answers here). Not, I lie. I asked if I could be tagged oink Twitter and I was. Thank you Erik. 

But as you know, I am a cat person. My cat, Bagheera, is sleeping on my bed (though if I move to finish this post or do anything Animal Crossing or make self a cup of tea, he will be demanding treats!). So, of course, there HAD to be a cat version, right? Well, The Booktube Goddess has created one! Inspired by Breakeven’s, she has created a tag and tagged me in via Twitter (thank you!). All the questions are linked to felines and who am I to refuse a tag about cats?

Audiobook Review - Obsidio

I know this is NetGalley November. I know, but I asked you guys on Twitter if you wanted this write-up now or wait till December. You all voted now, so here we are. This is all on you!

And here we are. The final book in Illuminae Files series. And I blame you all for badgering me to read/audiobook this as, if you backtrack through most of my reads the past few years, I don’t jump to sci-fi books that often. I am much happier in fantasy and crime/thriller (though there are a few sci-fi books on my TBR that I do want to try and read/audiobook in the next few months. There are always expectations to the rule) but this series has a lot of love to it and I worried that I wouldn’t “get” this series… 

Hang on, let me get the info up and explain better in my write-up! 

Title And Author: Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Publisher: Rock The Boat

Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
Length: 624 Pages or 13 Hours 1 Minutes

Asha survived the initial BeiTech assault on Kerenza IV and is trying to survive and be involved in Kerenzas ragtag underground resistance. But when a face from her past - Rhys - reappears, they find themselves on different side of the conflict. 

Meanwhile, Kady (Asha’s cousin, by the way), Ezra, Hanna and Nik narrowed escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdal station and find their situation all the more worse now they find themselves crammed in a container ship Moa with over 2,000 refugees, among them Nik’s cousin and Kady’s injured father. With the jump station destroyed, resources bare and an AI that can’t be trusted, their only opinion is to go back to Kerenza. But who knows what they’re going to find seven months after the invasion? 

It looks like their day in court is coming, and their final battle is coming stupidly fast. Let’s see how many of them survive, chum…

NetGalley November - The Missing Diamonds

I kept putting this book off. I know, I know. But, originally, my plan was to take part in this year’s Believathon, a readathon that focuses on middle grade books. But, my NetGalley TBR was getting out of hand so I decided to skip it and put this (and the sequel, which I also have) on the back burner. Then, my library’s audiobook app had this and I hit request so fast! Which is strange as BorrowBox has this on audiobook but not Audible. Go figure. 

Title And Author: Agent Zaiba Investigates: The Missing Diamonds by Annabelle Sami & Illustrated by Daniela Sosa

Publisher: Stripes Publishing

Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook & Audiobook

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/write-up and audiobooked borrowed from local library via BorrowBox

Length: 256 Pages or 4 Hours 21 Minutes

At her cousin, Sam’s, Mehndi party, Zaiba gets her first mystery: who is the mystery VIP staying at the same hotel. With the help of her best friend, Poppy, and her little brother, Ali, Zaiba puts her sleuthing skills to the test. But when the celebrity’s dog goes missing, along with its priceless diamond collar, it’s up to the trio to save the day. But are they up to the task?

NetGalley November - The Survivors

I’m in two minds on whether to post this now or wait till January 2021. Because this title is already out now and not. Confused? Well, the eBook version and Audiobook is out now yet the hardback is out in January 2021. So, in theory, I should put this up in the New Year. And yet, when have I ever done the sensible thing? Plus, as soon as I was approved to read this, I dived head-first into it as I LOVED The Lost Man (Jane Harper’s third novel and my first) so I wanna talk about! 

Info dump time? I think it is! 

Title And Author: The Survivors by Jane Harper

Publisher: Little, Brown

Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook and Audiobook

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review/write-up, and audiobook was borrowed from local library via BorrowBox

Length: 384 Pages or 11 Hours 57 Minutes

Kieran Elliott’s life changed one horrible day when a mistake lead to devastating consequences that affected his family and his small coastal town even now, years later. When Kieran returns with his girlfriend and their new born, Kieran sees his parents struggling. Struggling with his father’s dementia, his mother’s grief and the loss of Kieran’s older brother, Finn. 

When a body of a tourist is found on the beach the following morning, a murder investigation begins and long held secrets being to come to the surface. Secrets that go back to that fateful day that has haunted Kieran…

NetGalley November - The Beast and The Bethany

I warned you guys that this NetGalley November attempt of mine this month is going to be a little erratic. But I didn’t think it would happen so quickly. I had planned to write-up my thoughts of The Survivors by Jane Harper or Karen M. McManus The Cousins before I attack this. But then, the UK Prime Minister announced a 4 week Lockdown on Halloween (aka Lockdown: The Revenge) due to a newspaper leak, and then with the US Election building up, my brain couldn’t handle these thrillers. So, on the first of November, I decided I needed something short, fast and fun! 

And this caught my eye! So… Hang on, info and affiliate link time! 

Title And Author: The Beast and The Bethany by Jack Meggitt-Phillips (Illustrations by Isabelle Follath)
Publisher: Egmont
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook and Audiobook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by publisher by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and audiobook borrowed from local library via BorrowBox
Length: 256 Pages or 4 Hours 33 Minutes

Ebenezer Tweezer is not a nice man. He is a youthful yet spoilt 511 year old, and he has a beast living his attic. Ebenezer feeds the beast and the beast gives - well, vomits - out beautiful gifts for him. 

And yet, the beast is greedy. And he’s growing bored of eating rare animals, dusty statues and and singing parrots. The beast wants to try a new meal. One not tried before… for the beast wants a child…

NetGalley November: Let's Do It

My first NetGalley November write-up and it’s something a little left-field for me - a biography -, but when I saw this on NetGalley a fortnight ago, I knew I had to request from the publisher and hope that they would be kind and allow me to listen to it for review. Once I was approved (thank you UK publisher of Trapeze), I started almost immediately!

There is a slight problem with doing reviews or write-ups about biographies and autobiographies, and that is how to rate them. When you rate a book, you got with the writing and the story. But with a biography or an autobiography, people sometimes look at how you rate it or review it and say you’re attacking the subject of the autobiography or biography, and that’s not the case.

Most people, I found, only read a biography or autobiography if they know already that they are going to like the subject and it’s only if something really big happens that changes the person’s mind. So, going into this biography of the late great comedian of Victoria Wood, I knew I was going to like it. I mean, I grew up watching dinnerladies and watching repeats of As Seen on TV, Acorn Antiques and Housewife, 49. I remember dragging my mum to see Acorn Antiques: The Musical up in London so I knew, going into this, that I was going to find this fascinating and insightful

Oh, hang on. I need to do the info block and affiliate links before I go on. Hang on!

Title And Author: Let’s Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood by Jasper Rees
Publisher: Trapeze
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/write-up.
Length: 592 Pages or 20 Hours 56 Minutes

Weave The Games

Remember, remember, the fifth of November...

Well, I have a blog tour post for you! And it's a little bit different from what I normally do (but hey, I like being a tad different recently, haven't I?)

The Game Weavers is Rebecca Zahabi debut, showing a darker and intolerant Britain where the national sport is no longer football but Twine, a game where players - Weavers - craft creatures from their fingertips to fight each other, watched by thousands.

Seo is Twine's youth champion, and he hides his sexuality. When he is outed as gay by the media, his can't use his magic to save him from what's to come. With help from his brother, Minjun, and Jack, the man Seo isn't sure if he's in love with or not, Seo has the get his life back of track, ready for one of the biggest matches...

I am thrilled to welcome Rebecca Zahani to the Pewter Wolf and chatting about how she found the voices of her characters! I want to thank Rebecca for finding time to write this guest post and I want to thank Emily from Conker Communications for email and bearing with our zany conversations!

And if you want to say hi to Rebecca, pop over to her website, rebeccazahabi.com. Plus, if you are curious about Game Weavers, you can go to Zuntold Publishing's website. 

Now, ONTO THE VOICES!!!

Vampires of Moscow Are A-Hunting

Blog tour time! And it's a bit of a curveball, I know, but stay with me as I saw this call on Twitter when I was on a mini-break with my Other Half last month (we wore masks all the time, washed hands a lot and followed guidelines. We were careful [though, according to the UK Prime Minister announcing a second Lockdown in England, not so much]!), and thought "Why not? This looks like fun!"

So, Vampires of Moscow is the first book in the Blood Web Chronicles series, written by Caedis Knight (the pen name of Jacqueline Silvester and NJ Simmonds), following Saskia de la Cruz is an investigator journalist for the biggest news outlet on the paranormal dark Blood web, The Blood Web Chronicle. She is, also, a Verity Witch - her only magic being that she can tell a truth from a lie. 

While working on her para-cases for the Chronicles, Saskia hopes that one day, she will discover a case that will lead her to her missing sister. 

So when drained bodies of illegal workers suddenly start appearing in Moscow, Saskia is sent to investigate a vampire crime ring that could be behind it. Saskia wants to get in, do the job and get out quickly... with her neck intact. 

But ballerina Konstantin Volkov and his wildcard Lukka complicate things as the vampire brothers have their own reasons to solve the murders, reasons that conflicted Saskia's... 

Basically, this sounds like the bastard love child of True Blood, Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood and Veronica Mars... so I sense you guys will LOVE it!

To celebrate the release of Vampires of Moscow and the eNovella prequel, Sirens of Los Angeles, Caedis Knight has written a special guest post and I am thrilled to share it with you! It's how Caedis Knight was created (as told by NJ Simmonds) and how Blood Web Chronicles came into being!

Now, before I hand it over to Caedis, I just want to thank them both for writing this guest post! If you want more info about the series or want to say hi to them, pop over to caedisknight.com or @CaedisKnight if you are a Twitter addict like myself!

Now, ONTO THE BIRTH OF CAEDIS KNIGHT AND THE BLOOD WEB CHRONICLES!

November TBR

This month's TBR is going to be a tad different from my previous attempts of making a TBR list (lists I normally don't stick to, FYI). This month doesn't really have a theme, either, though I do have a challenge in my head, which is why I am going to chat about it now in this small(ish) post. 

This month, my main TBR challenge is to focus on my TBR from NetGalley. 

Now, if you don't know what NetGalley is (I do reference it, but am not sure if I have ever explained), NetGalley is a site that booksellers, bloggers/reviewers, librarians, educators or those in the media can use to get Advance Reader Copies of books in eBook form. 

Now, I recently looked at my TBR on NetGalley and it's a lot. More than I thought. At the time of writing this (18th October, for those of you curious), I have around 160. So yeah, I need to sit down and get my backside in gear and make a tiny dent in them. 

Now, I am not going to review every single read from NetGalley on here. Lockdown reviewing has still burnt me out so some eProofs I read will only have a short review on Goodreads (goodreads.com/pewterwolf for those of you not friends with me or, if that's too much of a commitment, just follow!), but I will try and write a good few reviews up. My only warning for this month is that this month's reading is going to be really erratic, and because of that, I am weirdly excited to see what I read this month! 

I hope you join me for this month's weird reading on here, Goodreads (link in previous paragraph) or on Twitter on @PewterWolf (I am quite active on Twitter. I am a little worried that I might have an addiction problem with my phone/Twitter so might have to do a few days where I hide my phone and not touch it!). It's gonna be a weird one! 

Mini-Review Time - Memento & Gemina

I was planning to write these write-ups (and of Daphne and Velma: The Vanishing Girl by Josephine Ruby - though not sure if I will do a write-up of this book on The Pewter Wolf due to time and I'm tempted to keep that as a Goodreads only review [this was a gift via the first UK Lockdown from Jayde from Paperback to Hardback]) and post in December due to my November reading plans. 

However, last night, the UK Prime Minister announced the UK will be going into a second lockdown for the whole of November. And so, I decide to pop these two together (as part of the same series), write this post and make it go live today (I know. Am posting at a weekend!).

Now, as you know if you have followed me for a while, I first read Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff a few years back (2018, I think), and I did like it, but I did struggle with it. And I full on plans to continue and finish the trilogy. Expect I didn't. I got sidetrack - very on brand for me. So, earlier this lockdown (August, I believe), I got my hands on copy of the audiobook (you may blame Jen from Jenniely for that!) and, I really liked it this time round. Far more than I expected! So much so, I bought the rest of the trilogy (Gemina and Obsidio). I had planned to do the whole trilogy by the end of the year at the latest, by Halloween at the earliest (though, I highly doubted that!). 

And then, news dropped that the prequel novella, Memento, was getting published. This was published in Australia for a limited run as a preorder exclusive when Aurora Rising (by same authors and, yes, I have plans to read/audiobook this before year is out!) first came out. But, to celebrate 5 years of Illuminae's release, the novella has been published as audiobook and eBook. 

Mina And The Undead COVER REVEAL!

SpooooOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOooooky Halloween to you all! 

Ok, this isn't the ghostly myths and legends post I wanted to write to celebrate the spooky (do you know how many spooky myths and legends the UK has?!), but I have something better! I have a spooky book cover you guys! And I LOVE IT!!! And I think you guys will too! And it's so PERFECT for Halloween that I had to share with you today! 

It's bloody, creepy and oh, I NEED TO READ THIS AS SOON AS I CAN!

You ready for the cover reveal of MINA AND THE UNDEAD by Amy McCaw?

Don't Eat That Poisoned Apple!

Mirror mirror, on the wall, who is deadliest of them all...?

I am really excited to be involved in the Poisoned blog tour. And, as you can probably see for the cover (this is one of the many reasons I jumped at this tour!), Poisoned is a Snow White retelling, from Jennifer Donnelly, the author behind award winning A Gathering Light, These Shallows Graves, Revolution and her Cinderella reimagining, Stepsister...

Once upon a time, a girl called Sophie went into the forest with the Queen's huntsman. Her lips as red as blood, skin as white as snow, hair as black as night, Sophie is about to inherit her father's throne. Expect the Queen believes Sophie is unworthy, too weak and too foolish, to rule. And Sophie believes her, believing all the poisonous words that people say to keep girls, women, people like her in their place.

Then, the huntsman carries out his order to kill her and cut out her heart... and yet, she lives. And she wants to reclaim everything that has been taken from her...

I am so excited as I always like hearing/watching reimagining of Snow White so as soon as I got the email from Blue, asking if I wanted to be involved in this tour, I JUMPED at it! So, thank you Blue for asking me! And thank you, Jennifer, for find time to write this delicious guest post! 

Oh, before I go, if you want to say hi to Jennifer, you can visit her via her website (JenniferDonnelly.com) or tweet her at @JenWritesBooks. And curious over Poisoned, check out Hot Key Books!

Now, over to Jennifer for the post!

Rereading Agatha Christie and Kimberly Derting

This post isn't going to be long (in theory. I just want to touch base on rereads). 

As you know over the past few months, I have talked openly about wanting to reread and discover some old fave authors and books (and maybe read some books from authors I have read in the past but not read). As a book blogger and someone who seems to be always adding new books on my To Be Read shelves and yet, am quite slow a reader at the same time, rereads are usually out of the question. Not always, sometimes you just want to reread something. And this year, with everything that has happened, rereading some books that are close to your heart or call to you are totally in order and, at times, desperately needed. 

And so, the past few weeks (since before my post of Future Rereads... Maybe...), I knew I wanted to reread Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder. It's been calling to me for quite a while and, in the end, I broke and went "Sod it!". 

This 2010 publication follows Violet Ambrose who has three problems in her life at the moment. The first is she has started to develop feelings for her best friend, Jay, and is unsure what to do with them. Second is her gift to sense the dead. Well, the dead that met a violet and murderous end. She sees/hears/senses the dead's echoes and the imprint that attaches to their killers. And third... a serial killer is on the loose and killing young, pretty girls in her small town... 

As you know, I love a good murder mystery/thriller and, due to COVID-19, the romance aspect appeals to me hugely of late (if you've seen the books I have requested from publishers or that I have bought the past few months, romance [straight or queer] have gone up hugely and this worries me). And when I read this back in 2010, I ADORED this book and devoured the series (the rest of the series is good and I enjoyed hugely but this first book can be read as a standalone). So, did going back make me like the book more or did me being ten years old change my opinion on it? 

No, not really. It was like coming back to an old friend. I had a wonderful time reading this as, while I knew the twists of the killer storyline (I did figure them out the first time I read this, truth be told), it was the romance between Violet and Jay that pulled me in this time. Funny how time changes us as readers. But I had a wonderful time rereading Body Finder. I have no plans to reread the rest of the series, as this was all I needed. 

Which leads me to Agatha Christie... Ok, now, backstory. I am 95% certain I read or audiobook Death Comes As The End in my late teens, but I can't remember anything about it. But, since the BBC announced that they were going to adapt it, I have been curious to reread/reaudiobook this and refresh my memory and, hopefully, this will give me the kick to read some Agatha Christies I have on my TBR (I had a few...)

Set in Ancient Egypt, a family is thrown into turmoil when head of the house, Imhotep, brings a beautiful concubine home from one business trip. His sons, their wives and his daughter are shocked and, while his sons and their wives are furious and plan to remove her from the house, the daughter tries (and fails) to befriend the beautiful concubine, Nofret. So when her body is found at the bottom of a cliff, no one really mourns her... but then more people start dying... is there a serial killer in the family and, if so, who? 

I make this sound more dramatic than it was. I remember really liking this in my teens but now... I just found it slow, boring and frustrating as, for a good chunk of the book, no-one was worrying about someone killing them off! And this book is such a product of the times, but I keep flinching at some of the terms characters use as they are racist and then, the writing felt odd and clunky. Not a normal Christie like I have read in the past. 

But, like I said earlier, we change as readers and I wondered if it was because I have been binging a lot of Christie over the course of the year as, after audiobooking Death Comes As The End, I audiobooked some Christies I've never read before: the Miss Marple novel At Bertham's Hotel, the Poirot short story The Mystery of the Spanish Chest and another short story Accident. I didn't like At Bertham's Hotel and I prefer the both short stories a little more, but I think I have Christie myself out. I have two novels on my kindle to read - Crooked House and The Pale Horse (I have low expectations with Pale Horse but high hopes for Crooked House) - and the rest I removed. 

But there's nothing wrong with rereading books and I have a few plans in mind over the next few months so you might see some more rereads on the blog or on Goodreads (goodreads.com/pewterwolf if you want to friend/follow me!) in future. Sorry/not sorry in advance! 

Audiobook Review - Piranesi

Oh yes. I audiobooked this. Actually, I preordered the audiobook to this a while ago and I kinda half forgot. But this title is a bit of a big deal. 

Before I give you all the info and affiliate links, let em explain quickly why. Susanna Clarke is the author who wrote Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, a monster of a book (1000ish pages) that main people have classed as a modern classic. I have tried to read it several times and it never really worked for me. That was fifteen years ago. Yes, FIFTEEN. Because of that, this (of course) is going to be a big deal. 

But is it worth the hype? 

• Title And Author: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 272 Pages or 6 Hours 58 Minutes

Piranesi lives in the House. Maybe he always has. Maybe he hasn't... 

In his notebooks, Piranesi writes carefully about the wonders and mysteries of the House: its labyrinths of Halls, the thousands of statues, the clouds in the Upper Floors and the seas and tides in the Lower. He is alone, barring the fourteen Dead and, on Tuesdays and Fridays, he is visited by his only friend, the Other. But, for the most part, he is alone. 

But now, he's not so certain. Piranesi is sure there is someone else in the House. Someone who is writing messages in chalk for him. Someone he calls Sixteen and someone the Other calls a threat and a danger. 

But who is Sixteen? Who is the Other? Who is Piranesi?

Barking 'Bout Books Tag

I'VE BEEN TAGGED IN A BOOKISH TAG!!! I know... you think you guys would learn better by now. But no! I'M BACK! And it's all pet related. Ok, dog related, but I love dogs so this is fine! Yes, I own a cat (own is the wrong word for when you have a cat. I'm basically his servant and his b****), but I love my little ball of fur and pins. His name is Bagheera (yes, named after the panther in the Jungle Book) and he is, at this moment in time, on my bed, asleep. And I got him for my 30th birthday and he's, basically, my baby. 

So yeah... Oh! I was tagged by the creator of the tag, Erik from Breakeven Books! Am popping the video underneath, but am going to give you links to his YouTube, Twitter and his Blog. I discovered him randomly earlier in the COVID-19 lockdown (two/three months ago, I think. Maybe round the time Taylor Swift released folklore but I might be wrong. Erik?) and he reads and talks books that I go "OOOOH!" over (you know you've discovered a good bookTuber/blogger/etc when they talk about books and you sit up and pay attention). So, thank you Erik and I apologise for my bog-standard/very-typical-for-me answers! 

Oh well, let's get this party started!

Audiobook Review - The Thursday Murder Club

You thought that this month, I was only going to be reading and talking spooky things? Oh please, October is when the nights are drawing in so, of course, crime and thrillers are going to be high on my TBR radar throughout October and possible November. 

So, let’s start with this, shall we? 

• Title And Author: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
• Publisher: Penguin
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Audiobook and eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof given by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review and Audiobook bought on Audible
• Length: 400 Pages or 12 Hours 25 Minutes

In a small retirement village in Kent, four unlikely residents becomes friends and meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders. But when a local property developer dies - bludgeon to death - Elizabeth, Ibrahim, Ron and Joyce find themselves in the middle of their first real case. 

All four might be in the late seventies, early eighties, but they have a few tricks up their sleeves and have seen life. Can they solve the crime and catch the killer before someone else ends up dead? And, if another person did turn up dead, are the Thursday Murder Club looking for one killer or two?

Don't Walk Round The Stone Three Stones...

I know Halloween is a few weeks away, but I thought it would be fun to get us into the spooky spirit (see what I did there?) but putting something up on one of the spookiest days - the 13th. Ok, it's not Friday 13th, but cut me some slack! It's today or Friday 16th and that didn't have the same creepy factor to it...

But today, to get things all spooky, I am thrilled to welcome Danny Weston, author of the new ghostly horror novel, The Witching Stone!

For those who haven't heard of this, The Witching Stone follows Alfie who, after a messy break-up, goes away on holidays with his dad in the small village in the north of England.

There, he meets Mia, who tells him about the local superstition about a boulder in the local graveyard and its strange inscription. "If you walk three times around the stone and say 'I don't believe in witches,' Meg will come after you..."

Alfie, in a reckless attempt to impress, accepts the superstition as a challenge. He might come to regret that...

As you know, I am not much of a horror fan, but I do love a good ghost story so, while chatting to Graeme from UCLan Publishing, one of us mentioned something along the lines of "Danny could do a guest post about horror writing" (I can't remember exactly who. Sorry Graeme, but I suspect it was you) and the other went "Yes!". And then, forgot about it like I normally do, then Graeme emailed me this post and oh, it's good!

Now, before I hand you over to Danny talking g about his top tips, I just want to thank him for finding time to write this post for the Pewter Wolf! I, also, want to thank Graeme at UCLan for chatting to me and starting the book rolling! Now, I don't believe Danny is on social media, but if you want more info about The Witching Stone, you can check out UCLan Publishing!

Now, over to Danny to tell us his top 5 tips to writing horror!

Cane Warriors Extract Alert

I HAVE AN EXTRACT FOR YOU GUYS!!!

Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle follows Moa, who only knows the life of working on the Frontier sugar cane plantation in 1760s Jamaica. But Moa has learnt of an uprising, lead by the charistamic Tacky. Moa is to be a cane warrior, hoping to escape and help the fight for freedom of enslaved people in nearby plantations. But before he can do that, Moa and his friend, Keverton, must face their first task: they must kill their Overseer, Misser Donaldson... 

I'm hoping to read this in the coming few weeks as I have read a few pages and it's GOOD, and I can tell it's going to be powerful and gripping. So, when Robert from Andersen Press emailed and asked if I wanted to share a small extract from the book with you guys, I jumped at the chance (Thank you Rob)! 

Plus, this year and 2021 looks like it's going to be HUGE for Alex! Steve McQueen (yes, Steve ****ing McQueen!) has an episode of Small Axe, based on Alex's life. It will be aired on BBC One in earlier December (I believe 6th December) in the UK & Amazon Prime airing in the US a few days later. Not only that, Noel Clarke and his production company, Unstoppable, is adapting Alex's Crongton series for TV and Crongton Knights was adapted for theatres and was receiving huge praise (and then COVID happened and we all know how that and the Governments of the world is affecting the Art Industry...)

Now, before I give you the extract, just going to point you in directions of where you should go. If you want to say hi to Alex, you can go over to this website of alexwheatle.com or pop him a tweet at @brixtonbard! And if you want more info on Cane Warriors, pop over to Andersen Press. And, if those of you curious over Small Axe, I will pop the BBC trailer below and am putting the BBC Media Centre link here for more information:

BBC National Short Story 2020 & BBC Young Writer Award 2020 Press Release

Bit late to the party as on mini-break but HERE NOW SO SHARING NOW!!! 

 SARAH HALL 

BECOMES FIRST WRITER TO WIN 

BBC NATIONAL SHORT STORY AWARD TWICE 

www.bbc.co.uk/nssa #BBCNSSA #ShortStories

Four-time nominated Sarah Hall has won the fifteenth BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University (NSSA) for the second time with ‘The Grotesques’, a ‘timeless and unsettling story’ set against a backdrop of privilege and inequality in a university town. Exploring themes of powerlessness and privilege, dysfunctional mother-daughter relationships, covert control, identity and scapegoating, the judges praised Hall for her ‘extraordinary’, ‘layered’ and ‘masterful’ writing and cited her second time win as ‘recognition of her standing as the country’s foremost writer of short stories’.
The first double win in the Award’s history, the news was announced live on BBC Front Row this evening (Tuesday 6 October) by 2020 Chair of Judges Jonathan Freedland in a special programme celebrating 15 years of the Award. ‘The Grotesques’ is available to listen to on BBC Sounds and appears in Hall’s latest collection Sudden Traveller, published by Faber in 2019. Its titular story was also shortlisted for the Award in 2018.
  
Chair of Judges, journalist and author Jonathan Freedland commented:
“In perhaps the strongest field in the history of the BBC National Short Story Award, Sarah Hall’s story still stood out. A timeless, unsettling story rendered in exquisite prose, ‘The Grotesques’ yields more with each reading, offering layer upon layer of meaning. It is the work of a writer who is not only devotedly committed to the short story genre but, has become a master of it. Sarah Hall has now won this Award twice, recognition of her standing as this country’s foremost writer of short stories.”
Sarah Hall, winner of the 2020 BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University, said:
“I’m stunned to have won. No one expects to repeat a shortlisting, let alone be honoured with an award like this twice. It’s an incredible privilege and reward. And with this prize comes a tremendous amount of support for the form itself - from tenacious, passionate advocates at the BBC and Cambridge University, to expert judges, and the writers who continue to innovate, experiment and create astonishing, vital, questioning worlds within stories. We can see from this year’s shortlist the diversity and range showcased. In the hands of these writers, over only a few pages, so much is possible and words become utterly potent. It’s hard to turn a good story, it requires the compression and alchemy of so many aspects, ideas, details, experiences and observations. I truly love the form, its disproportionate power, disquiet and refractive metrics, its ability to stir the reader or listener, even, at best, to overturn our secure notions of who we are and what we believe. There are days when we are lost, when not much makes sense and answers to the vexing human question seem impossible. On those days nothing is as companionable as a short story. That goes for writing them too.”.

Twice nominated for the Man Booker Prize, Sarah Hall previously won the BBC NSSA award in 2013 for ‘Mrs Fox’. She was further shortlisted in 2010 and 2018. The award-winning author of five novels and three short-story collections, she was born in Cumbria and lives in Norwich. 

Di Speirs, Editor of Books at BBC Audio and judge of the Award since its launch said: 
“There are few writers who make even the shortlist more than once. In one way this reflects the wealth of talent writing in the UK; in another it shows how very hard it is to consistently write new original short fiction and make it different, entertaining, gripping, provocative, again and again. 15 years ago, we began this award hoping to reward the writers who –- against the odds and fashion and publishers’ preference for a novel – not only persisted but revelled in taking up the particular challenges of short fiction. To keep writing really excellent short stories requires audacity, invention and practice. So I’m particularly delighted that, from a brilliant shortlist, Sarah Hall, a virtuoso in this field, sees her long service in the short story game recognised again.”

Hall beat stiff competition from an extremely strong shortlist that included established and new voices, comprised of: 26 year old British-Ghanaian writer and photographer Caleb Azumah Nelson whose eagerly anticipated debut novel Open Water is released in 2021; James Tait Black Prize winner Eley Williams; poet and newcomer Jack Houston and EU Prize for Literature for Ireland 2019 winner Jan Carson.  

This years’ judging panel was chaired by journalist and author Jonathan Freedland and included Commonwealth Prize winner Lucy Caldwell, who was shortlisted for both the 2012 and 2019 BBC NSSA; British-Nigerian writer Irenosen Okojie, a Betty Trask and Caine Prize winner; Edge Hill Prize shortlistee and Guardian short story columnist Chris Power; and returning judge Di Speirs, Books Editor at BBC Audio.

Established in 2005, the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University was originally established to highlight a literary genre regarded as undervalued and under threat. Its aim was to recognise and celebrate the very best writers of short fiction who had no prize equivalent to major literary awards like the Man Booker Prize. 15 years on, the short story is in robust health and the BBC National Short Story Award is recognised as the most prestigious for a single short story with the winning writer receiving £15,000 and the four shortlisted writers £600 each. 

Dr Midge Gillies, Academic Director, Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, said:
“Sarah Hall’s unsettling short story takes a good, hard look at power structures and inequalities – not just in the fascinating mother/daughter relationship at the heart of ‘The Grotesques’ – but in the wider associations between the homeless and the entitled in an ancient university city. As a second-time winner, Sarah Hall proves, again, how adept she is at introducing us to fascinating new characters and the strange worlds they inhabit.” 

Alongside the BBC NSSA, BBC Front Row also announced the sixth annual BBC Young Writers’ Award with First Story and Cambridge University, an award created to inspire and encourage the next generation of short story writers. Open to 13–18 year olds at the time of entry, it is a cross-network collaboration between BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 1. The award was won by Lottie Mills, 19, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire for ‘The Changeling’. Lottie was previously shortlisted for the BBC YWA in 2018. Her story is also available on BBC Sounds.

The Hungry Ghost Blog Tour Alert

Blog tour time! And it's a review - I know! I know! I broke my own rule about doing reviews on blog tours. But when this book came on my radar, I was intrigued enough to go "Ok, just this once, I'm going to break my own rule as I am fairly certain I am going to like this!"

Hang on! Let me give you the vital information and I will get onto talking about Hungry Ghost! 

• Title And Author: The Hungry Ghost by H.S. Norup
• Publisher: Pushkin Press
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/write-up
• Length: 256 Pages

Freja has just moved to Singapore to live with her father, her new stepmum Clementine and her baby step-brothers, and Freja is in freefall. She's guilty for her leaving her mum behind in Denmark, not sure how she'll fit in in her new, happy family nor her new home city. 

Plus, she's come during the seventh month, the month of the Hungry Ghost Festival. The festival where ghosts are said to come back and roam the streets and families must offer their ancestors offering to appease them. So, who is the mysterious girl with long black hair and dressed in white, seeming to beckon to her? And what secrets do both girls need to reveal to themselves before the festival is over?

Fire Burn Cauldron Bubble

Double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble...

Well, I had to start the month of Halloween like this, didn't I? I HAD to! And what real way to kickstart this month than to be involved in the blog tour for Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble, to get us in the spirit of things (see what I did there...?)!

Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble is an anthology of poems, featuring magic. Ranging from unicorns, dragons, witches, magic flying carpets, trolls, wands, spells going awry to nice (and not so nice) hauntings. With illustrations by Eilidh Muldoon and collected by Paul Cookson from a wide range of poets (including [takes deep breath] William Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Benjamin Zephaniah, John Agard, Valerie Bloom, Matt Goodfellow, Joshua Seigal and AF Harrold among others]), this collection of poems will get you in the mood for things that go bump in the night and ask for a trick or a treat...

I am so thrilled to be involved in this tour and I can not wait for you guys to read the guest post from Paul Cookson, chatting about poetry and why poetry is so important to him. It's an interesting post (and it comes from me who is a bit uncultured when it comes to poetry!)

Now, before I hand you over to Paul, I just want to thank Paul for finding time to write this post, and to Blue from Kaleidoscopic for asking me to be involved in this tour. Also, if you want to find out more about this collection (if case the post inspires you), you can check out Bloomsbury's website. 

Now, over to Paul we go! 

October 2020 TBR

Am trying, for once, to get ahead of the game by writing my October TBR several weeks in advance. I'm trying to add some order to the Pewter Wolf for the remainder of 2020 (might not do this in 2021 as I never fully stick of my "This is my TBR list for This Month"! I mean, I put four up last month and I only really stuck to one, two at a push!). 

And October 2020's is going to be exactly the same. I have a few on my radar, but am going to keep these quiet as I don't want to jinx myself and I want some room to change my mind and go with my mood. 

But, I did have plans. A few months, I decided to take part in a readathon throughout October - the Charmed Readathon. This is inspired by the TV series Charmed, starring Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan (let's not talk about the drama happening between a few of the actors, shall we?). I had plans to do a few of the prompts. I even bought a few of the book spinoffs to read during this time... 

... and yet, I realised in late August/early September that there was NO WAY I could take part. My TBR is getting out of control and I wanted to attack some of my backlog of crime/thrillers throughout the month. An unofficial Murder Month, if you will. 

So, while that's my trail of thought for October, there is one book I know for a fact that I will be reading to get me in the mood for Halloween. A creepy yellow number that should give me the creeps. I know some of you guys have already read and loved this so this won't come as a huge surprise to you!

But yes, am hoping to read Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis this Halloween. I don't think I need to go too in-depth with it - most of you have read it - but Lola's famous movie director dad filed Nightjar, a cult horror classic at Harrow Lake. She knows all about it. She knows about the caves under the fairground, the sunken graveyards, the tree in the woods that are hung with teeth (eww!). But she doesn't know about the town's secrets and as she tries to discover why this town has such hold over her family, someone is watching her every move... 

So yes. That's my solid "I WILL READ YOU" read as I won a copy a month or so ago and I knew, as soon as it arrived through my letterbox, that this was going to be my Halloween read! So, I'm curious: what are you planning to read this spooky month? 

The Wit & Guest Post of Hilda Ffinch

Possible my last blog tour alert for a while, but this caught my eye randomly and I knew I had to get involved in this tour in one form or another!

So, The Wit and Wisdom of Hilda Ffinch. In the small village of Little Hope in deepest, darkest Yorkishire during the Second World War, villagers are trying their very bet to Keep Calm and Carry On. It isn't exactly easy, not with the air raids, the evacuees and the shortage of knicker-elastic (THE HORROR!), but they are trying.

Enter Mrs Hilda Ffinch. A bored but terrible rich lady of the manor who decides, after a glass or too many gin and tonics, to do her bit and become Agony Aunt for the local paper... I mean, what can go possible wrong with this?

... yeah, you can see why I wanted to be involved in this tour, can you|?

Now, before I hand you over to a guest post from the lovely Juliet Warrington, I want to thank her for finding time to write this guest post, chatting about Hilda. I, also, want to thank Blue from Kaleidoscopic for asking if I wanted to be involved in this tour.

And, before I give you Juliet's guest post (where she chats about her favourite things about being a writer), if you want to say hi to Juliet, you can do so via her Twitter (@authorjulietwar) or check out her website, mrsfoxgoestowar.co.uk. I, also, want to thank Blue from Kaleidoscopic Tours, for asking if I wanted to be involved in this blog tour. 

With that out of the way, OVER TO YOU JULIET!