Book Review - The French Promise - Fiona McIntosh

The French Promise by Fiona McIntosh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I do not know how the author does it. Everytime I pick up a book by Fiona McIntosh I am instantly transported into her worlds, whether it is fantasy, crime or historical fiction. This author is a rare writer who can cross the genre barrier and I am thankful for it.

The French Promise picks up not to long after The Lavender Keeper. We go on a journey to Australia where Luc and Lisette have come to pick up the pieces of their lives and make a new future. I love reading the way we Aussies talk and I can picture the scenes quite easily. The author's writing weaves three different story-lines together and they form an intricate braid that comes together at the end. I felt a lot of emotion reading this book and I actually stayed up past midnight trying to get to the end before I fell asleep (unfortunately that didn't happen)

I teared up in particular sections and I am glad to have read the ending of Luc and Lisette's story.

Well done Fiona!

I highly encourage people to read the Lavender Keeper and The French Promise! Filled with well researched material, believable characters and brilliant descriptions, you will fall in love, hate and most of all forgiveness with the world Fiona has recreated.

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One Book To Keep

There is that one book on your shelf that defines you. One book that, while you may not have read it for awhile, makes you gasp in horror if somebody mentions you might want to let it go. We all have one and it is mind blowing to make the choice of which one is your favourite.  I have asked a few people in the book industry, what is that special book is for them and the response has been quite interesting.

Abigail Nathan from Bothersome Words Editing Services.

“ You know this is just a fancy way of asking "if you could only have one book..." and those questions are IMPOSSIBLE! I shall go with sheer sentiment and say Diana Wynne Jones's 'Charmed Life'. That was my first DWJ novel and I think it's the most reread book I own. It's one of the books that got me properly into fantasy/speculative fiction and probably the book that made me realise I wanted to spend my life working with books and words and fictional worlds.”

Alan Baxter – author of the upcoming martial arts/fantasy book Bound

“Oh, man, that is almost impossible to answer! One book? The horror! Errr. first that comes to mind is Clive Barker's "Cabal". And his book "The Great and Secret Show". And Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea". And and and... I can't just pick one!”

Michael Pryor, Author of the Law’s of Magic series and the new Machine Wars.

“The hardback copies of 'Lord of the Rings' I got when I was thirteen”

Kim Wilkins, author of Rosa and the Veil of Gold and winner of an AUREALIS Award.

“Beowulf”

Jason Fischer, author of the Tamsyn Web series and the short story collection Everything is a Graveyard.

” Definitely Mary Stewart's "Crystal Cave", beautiful piece of Arthurian storytelling.”

Karly Lane, author of Northstar

“Mine would be Cross stitch by Diana Gaboldon . I think it's called Outlander in the US. Best. Book. Ever!”

Pamela Freeman, author of the Princess Betony books

“So many... the poems of WB Yeats. Or Lord of the Rings. Tough to decide.”

Fiona Palmer, author of Outback Heart

“Vampire Academy series. It's my big escape “

Fiona McIntosh, author of the Quickening series and Tailor’s Girl

“Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay”

Carla Caruso, author of Catch of the Day

“Mine would be 'Looking for Alibrandi' by Melina Marchetta - I read it when I was an Italian-Australian teenager, like the main character, finishing high school and wondering what the heck I was going to do with the rest of my life. It still resonates! 'The Undomestic Goddess' by Sophie Kinsella is also a feel-good, comfort read I love dipping into again. “

Jacqueline Harvey, Author of the Alice-Miranda and Clementine Rose series.

“The Book Thief with a beautiful inscription to me from Markus.”

What is even more interesting is the fact the genres that these author’s write does not always reflect what they love to read. A lot of people assume that just because you write in a particular genre then that is all you will read. This goes to show that is not the case at all.

For myself, I don’t have favourite books. I am like most people who, when they are asked this question recoil in horror at picking just one book. It is simply a hard question that can make your mind go blank when you are trying to pick a title. If I had to choose on the basis of a book that I read the most, then I would have to choose Tamora Pierce’s ‘Song of the Lioness #1 Alanna the First Adventure’. I re-read that book (which leads into 20 others in the series all following the same characters for about 30 years) at least once a year. I’m not sure why that series draws me to it, but I love the relationships of the characters and I think it is one of the books that really cemented it for me that I wanted write.  Also there is Patricia C Wrede’s Lyra books.  I loved the grittiness and emotion found in that series.

A big thank you to everyone that participated in my post and I hope you all go and check out these wonderful authors and their many books and you may find that one book you can never get rid of!

What is your One Book?
Tarran

Book Review - Tapestry - Fiona McIntosh

Tapestry by Fiona McIntosh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

DUE MAY 2014

Another fantastic title from Fiona McIntosh.

This time she leads us to 1970's London which in turn leads us to 1714 Britain and the Jacobite rebellion against King George.

The authors characters are well written and engaging. You start on this massive journey with Jane Granger, who is determined to save her fiancé after he gets attacked. This journey involves taking charge of the past and helping a Lord of The Realm to escape the Headsman's axe. The fates of Will Maxwell and William Maxwell, Earl of Nithsdale are entwined and Jane will have to face a most difficult choice of what she wants if she is to find happiness.

I really enjoyed this book, in fact it only took me a couple of days to read it. I liked reading about Winifred, Jane, Will, Robin and Julius. All the characters well well rounded and interesting. What is even better is that this book is founded on an event that happened. The Count and Countess of Nithsdale were real life people who actually did what few people have done and Fiona does justice to the tale.

A very good book and highly recommended when it comes out :D

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It's Christmas Time Again!!

                    MERRY CHRISTMAS 2012
 
It is that time of year again. How did Christmas time come around so soon? The decorations are out, the trees are going up and are you getting excited?? I know we are :D This year there are some fantastic books out for Christmas. 

We have the last Bryce Courtenay book - Jack of Diamonds

The new Janet Evanovich - Notorious Nineteen

The new Fiona McIntosh - Scriviner's Tale

The new Tara Moss - Skeleton Key

And many more awesome titles..

Come in and have a look around, talk to our friendly staff about your favourite books and remember to help support your local bookshop :D

                      Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

Book Review - Lavender Keeper - Fiona McIntosh

The Lavender Keeper by Fiona McIntosh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When this book comes out I highly suggest you read it. It is well written, brilliant characters and gives a great sense of history without being boring.

I got an ARC of Lavender Keeper and I throughly enjoyed reading it. A ripping yarn that takes you back into war years and espionage. Lisette and Luc are very interesting characters that grow throughout the story (as one would hope they would) The human spirit is bright throughout the book and shows just how much you can change and adapt to circumstance. Not just a wartime book, it is basically a story of redemption and love.

A very good read! 

Due 22/03/2012

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Author Interview - Fiona McIntosh

We asked the lovely Fiona McIntosh to answer some questions for us about her writing, recipes and thoughts. Here is what she had to say! 

 What inspires you to write?

I’m inspired in my writing by emotions, particularly the most dramatic ones i.e. rage, revenge, betrayal, love and loss.

In terms of why I’m inspired to write it’s probably because I’m a control freak who loves the escape of stories and by writing I can create the sort of tales that I want to get lost in. I’m a daydreamer and storyteller…I guess that’s a very natural – in fact, genetic - combination that is inherent for a writer of fiction.


Why do you think that you have succeeded in crossing the genres when many other authors have failed?

Oh that’s a tough one. No one really fails if they finish their manuscript. I really believe anyone who does complete their novel is a winner. You are asking me - I think - how come I’ve been able to sell novels across several genres, which perhaps other people find challenging. This is a really tricky question because so many aspects of publishing come into play here. It’s a lot to do with crafting and delivering the right story at the right time. It’s a lot to do with luck of choosing to shift into the right genre at the right time too and coming together with an editor who loves the story. And then it’s about writing exactly what the legion of fans of that genre expect and want from their books. I’m wired very commercially. I’m never trying to write award winners or magnificent prose that make people weep. I am a nuts and bolts storyteller who will guarantee her reader a fast paced, absorbing escape into a story that I try to make very hard to put down. If you read my fantasy, my crime, my historical adventure/romances…even my children’s books – they have identical hallmarks. I tend to write tense, action-packed, strongly character driven pieces. So I never really change my style across genres. What’s happening, I suspect, is that people who read my fantasy for instance, are prepared to read me in other genres simply because they enjoy my storytelling and trust me that I’ll give them that escape whether the book is set in an imaginary world or our own, whether it’s contemporary or historical. I feel very privileged that readers do trust me and I do love being able to shift across such a variety of genres.

Is it strange to cross genres?

Not at all. I welcome it and relish it because it keeps me sharp. After reading a huge fantasy trilogy the last thing I feel like is reading another huge fantasy series. I’m often not ready to let go of the world, the story and especially the characters. I need to let it all settle. So, as a reader after a big fantasy series I’ll often switch over to crime or historical. It’s no different with my writing. After writing a huge half million word trilogy set in a world of my own imagination, I have no desire to leap into another one immediately but I don’t mind the change over to a crime thriller set in contemporary London for instance or a WWll adventure romance.

 In Fields of Gold, it is known that the story is loosely based on your family history. What fascinated you about those characters to make you want to write about them?

Everything about them fascinated me. The setting of India. The era of the 1920s. The inter-racial marriages that created the Anglo Indian community and how they straddled both nations, believing themselves British while remaining entirely sentimental about India, its people, its culture. I was fascinated by both my grandfathers being such adventurers and the backdrops of the goldfields and the dangerous pursuit of mining in those times felt irresistible to write about. And now that I’ve cut my teeth on historical fiction I want to write so much more!

What do you like writing more - Crime, Fantasy, General Fiction?


I am increasingly pursuing more mainstream fiction because it provides me with so much scope to take my writing wherever I please but I honestly don’t love one genre more than the other. Fantasy is a comfort zone – I love it and I won’t let it go. Crime is what I like to read a lot of and so it’s fun to write my own. General fiction gives me the whole world to play in and because I’m a great traveller from childhood days, I tend to make these stories move across nations and exotic settings. I’ve always enjoyed learning about history and so setting my general fiction in decades past makes it fun and enriching because I enjoy the research for these tales. And I actually don’t entirely subscribe to the whole genre thing. When I’m writing fantasy I’m writing general fiction with magic in it. When I’m writing crime I’m writing general fiction with a villain and a detective. When I’m writing general fiction I’m probably writing magic realism because I often introduce ethereal aspects to my stories and there’s always death and mystery in my general fiction so the crime creeps in…as does romance. I prefer to say I write fiction that everyone can enjoy and I ignore that whole boxing up of genres. I firmly believe that if someone loves The Lavender Keeper for instance, they’re going to love Beautiful Death or the Valisar Trilogy.

What was the spark that made you want to write Lavender Keeper, your new book?

The spark was a publisher asking me to give him my next idea for an historical action adventure. I was on my way to France – sitting in Melbourne international terminal. I had just returned from Tasmania, where I’d learned about its amazing lavender farm. I just threw the two together and came up with the idea for The Lavender Keeper, which I scribbled down in two paragraphs of an email and my publisher at Penguin loved it, bought it.

Are you going to be basing any more of your fantasy works in the world of the Trinity series.

I never say never. I’ve returned to the lands of Morgravia and Briavel for the next adult fantasy coming out later this year and while I have no immediate plans to go back to Tallinor, I mention it freely in other series and I see absolutely no reason why I wouldn’t return sometime and see how they’re all getting on. I like the idea of all my fantasy lands being part of one world anyway.


 How much research goes into one book?

Loads! Months of my time! Thousands of dollars worth of travel and hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of research books. It’s easy to get lost in the research because it’s a bottomless abyss, especially for something like The Lavender Keeper that is set in wartorn Europe of WWll. I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve read, watched, listened to, travelled to..just in order to set the scenes right in my mind. But it’s worth it – as you’ll see when you read the new novel . No research is ever wasted.

Can you describe The Lavender Keeper and what it means to you?

This is essentially the story of three people set against the enormous and traumatic landscape of WWll – particularly Occupied Paris - and how their lives connect. It’s action packed, full of tension and heartbreak. It’s about survival, enduring love and loyalty.

It is my favourite story that I’ve written. I loved everything about crafting this tale – the era is perfect for me, the setting of Provence and Paris is delicious, the characters are each so strong that they made the challenge of writing them a lot of fun. The emotions run very high in this story and that really appealed. The heartbreak and helplessness of the war made me cry, not only while I researched but even as I put together scenes. That’s powerful stuff. I feel energised through this book and definitely enriched for all that I’ve learned about World War ll in order to understand what I was writing.

If I’ve ever dreamed of a movie being made about one of my novels, it’s this one!

If you were to have a cuppa with any person from history, who would it be and why?

Right now that would be Adolf Hitler. I want to ask him what the hell was in his head?

What is your favourite recipe?

Oh Tarran. So many! I think it has to be the coffee ice cream I’ve perfected (very hard to get a rich and real coffee flavour into anything) which I’d serve with my favourite hot chocolate fondants, collapsing beneath my fork into a volcano of dark chocolate lava.

 Thank you Fiona!! I must say that coffee ice cream sounds delicious!! I have been experimenting with ice creams lately myself and really enjoyed making them.
 
Fiona's new book The Lavender Keeper will be on shelves 28/03/2012 and I for one am looking forward to reading it!! 

If you want to find out more about Fiona, then go to her webiste here and start reading all the books this wonderful author has written for us.

Tarran's picks of the week!

I am going to suggest some really good books for people to read. These are all books that I have read and I really enjoyed! Also they are not going to be all fantasy titles either (sigh, I love fantasy) I am going to be good and revel this weeks Tarran's Picks (hmm might need to think of a new name haha)

General Fiction:

At the end of the Great War, two young men find themselves far from home, with everything to gain or everything to lose…

 Charismatic womaniser Jack Bryant has the world at his feet, but when trouble catches up with him he's forced to flee Britain for good.

 Handsome, honest Ned Sinclair is on a family adventure in Rangoon when he is dealt a bitter blow. With all the odds against him, he risks his life in a desperate bid to escape. 

 Both men hope to start their lives anew, seeking their fortune in India's fields of gold. Their paths collide in the colourful city of Bangalore, where they form a friendship like no other. In the years that follow, they remain inextricably bound by a dark secret, while their love for the same woman threatens to tear them apart.

 Website

 The ancient order of the Knights Templar possessed untold wealth and absolute power over kings and popes . . . until the Inquisition, when they were wiped from the face of the earth, their hidden riches lost. But now two forces vying for the treasure have learned that it is not at all what they thought it was-and its true nature could change the modern world. Cotton Malone, one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, is enjoying his quiet new life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen when an unexpected call to action reawakens his hair-trigger instincts-and plunges him back into the cloak-and-dagger world he thought he'd left behind.

 Website

Tamara Goodwin has always got everything she's ever wanted. Born into a family of wealth, she grew up in a mansion with its own private beach, a wardrobe full of designer clothes, a large four poster bed complete with a luxurious bathroom en-suite. She's always lived in the here and now, never giving a second thought to tomorrow. But then suddenly her dad is gone and life for Tamara and her mother changes forever. Left with a mountain of debt, they have no choice but to sell everything they own and move to the country to live with Tamara's Uncle and Aunt.

When a travelling library passes through Kilsaney Demesne, Tamara is intrigued. She needs a distraction. Her eyes rest on a mysterious large leather bound tome locked with a gold clasp and padlock. With some help, Tamara finally manages to open the book. What she discovers within the pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to its core. 

 Website

Crime:

Elizabeth Peters's unforgettable heroine Amelia Peabody makes her first appearance in this clever mystery. Amelia receives a rather large inheritance and decides to use it for travel. On her way through Rome to Egypt, she meets Evelyn Barton-Forbes, a young woman abandoned by her lover and left with no means of support. Amelia promptly takes Evelyn under her wing, insisting that the young lady accompany her to Egypt, where Amelia plans to indulge her passion for Egyptology. When Evelyn becomes the target of an aborted kidnapping and the focus of a series of suspicious accidents and mysterious visitations, Amelia becomes convinced of a plot to harm her young friend. Like any self-respecting sleuth, Amelia sets out to discover who is behind it all.

Website 

 

Once, Special Agent Smoky Barrett hunted serial killers for the FBI. She was one of the best - until a madman terrorized her family, killed her husband and daughter, and left her face scarred and her soul brutalized. Turning the tables on the killer, Smoky shot him dead - but her life was shattered forever. Now Smoky dreams about picking up her weapon again. She dreams about placing the cold steel between her lips and pulling the trigger one last time. Because for a woman who's lost everything, what is there left to lose?

She's about to find out

 Website

Paranormal:

 An erotic thrill ride about genetically altered Breeds with feline DNA-and the humans who arouse their lust.

The runt of the lab she was created in, Dawn Daniels endured years of torture by her pride brother and the council soldiers. Finally freed from her torment, she's now a Breed Enforcer, in control of her own life. Until she's assigned to protect the one man destined to be her mate- and realizes it's far too easy to lose total control.

Website

 Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette. Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate. With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

 Website

Fantasy:

A fabulous epic of deadly assassins, desperate journeys and the desire for vengeance ...

Slave has been owned by Sondelle, and kept prisoner, since he was a child. Finally escaping through the catacombs, Slave is almost killed by a revenant warrior spirit. He gains his freedom only by swearing fealty to this dangerous creature.

Befriended by Ileki, Slave begins to learn about the world outside. However, in a fight to the death, Slave discovers that the revenant warrior has given him a ′blessing′ - a form of berserk rage that makes him virtually unbeatable in combat, but also makes him lethal to anyone in the immediate area, friends and foes alike. When he is left alone, Slave heads for Ileki′s home city to make amends and seek help. Also heading for the same city are a number of other desperate runaways ...

Meanwhile, an evil pirit imprisoned for centuries beneath a city finds its freedom ... and seeks its revenge.

 Website

 When a routine hanging goes wrong and a murderer somehow survives the noose, the man announces he is an immortal. And not just any immortal, but Cayal, the Immortal Prince, hero of legend, thought to be only a fictional character, a figure out of the Tide Lord Tarot, the only record left on Amyrantha of the mythical beings whom the part-animal, part-human Crasii believe created their race.

Arkady Desean is an expert on the legends of the Crasii. At the request of her childhood friend, Declan Hawkes, the Kings Spymaster, she is sent interrogate this would be immortal, hoping to prove he is a spy, or at the very least, a madman.

Set the task of proving Cayal a liar, Arkady's own web of lies, and that of her husband and the King's Spymaster will start to unravel. Nothing is really as it seems around Cayal, the Immortal Prince - the lies seem plausible, his stories improbable and truth more than any of them bargained for.

 Website

 The World Tree rises up out of the seething clouds like a green mountain. All creation nestles in its green branches. There is no world besides this one ... or so the people believe.

Tymon grows up at Argos seminary in the lush heart of the Central Canopy, where science is a heretical pursuit and travel beyond the Tree is banned. But he yearns to break free of these rules and discover new horizons. When he meets a despised Nurian slave in the city baths, his dreams of freedom take on a completely different meaning.

Banished to a drought-ridden colony, Tymon falls in with a group of Nurian rebels and finds himself facing difficult choices. Fighting for freedom and power is not so enticing when it may mean betraying his own people and severing all ties to the world he knows ...

Website 

Young Adult:

 Twin brother and sister, Lenis and Missy, are slaves aboard the powerful airship the Hiryu - but when the airship is stolen on its maiden voyage, they find themselves working for a captain whose noble quest seems to make no sense. Relentlessly pursued by the Emperor's own airships, they fly over the perilous Wasteland, where corrupted Demons lie in wait. When Lenis dreams of Apsilla, the Blue Dragon of the East, the captain decides to help the twins find Apsilla's daughter. The survival of the last Totem may be their only hope - but will they find Apsilla's egg in time, or will their enemies find them first?

Website

There's a magical and political storm brewing - and Aubrey Fitzwilliam is making sure he's right in the centre of it ...

Aubrey Fitzwilliam is the son of a prominent ex-prime minister. He's also brilliant at magic, but he's stuck at boarding school. At least he has his best friend, George, there to back him up. George would follow Aubrey anywhere - and with Aubrey's talent for thinking up daring schemes that will get them both into trouble, that's no easy thing to do.

At a weekend shooting party at Prince Albert's country estate, the boys find themselves in a hotbed of political intrigue. They discover a golem, a magical creature built to perform one task: to kill Prince Albert. Aubrey and George are hailed as heroes for foiling the attempt on the prince's' life - but who sent the golem, and why? Aubrey is far too curious to let the authorities handle this one, and he and George start investigating ... 

Website

Okay hmmm, it looks like I fibbed a bit. There are a lot of fantasy books on my list mwahahahaha. I tried I really did >.>  -_-  <.< All these authors are fantastic and everyone should read them!!

Signing Clip