I have this, most likely completely false, idea of Brits competing in the strangest ways – giant pumpkins and crazy perfect gardens – and now I know they also do it with cupcakes. Compete, that is.
We do it here too…I think. They at least have people competing in cake-baking on TV so I’m assuming we have cupcakes too. I would say there is one big difference, though, one thing I really love about the picture I’m painting of the UK, and that’s these village traditions. We don’t really have that here, not in that way at least.
By now I bet you’re wondering what the heck it is I’m talking about. I’m talking about The Great Village Bun Fight by Debbie McGowan. This is a story about Henry, who begat Herny, who begat Henry, who begat Henry and just so you know I begat a Henry too. If he becomes a baker, we’ll see.
So Henry Jones started a bakery in 1874, and all the Henrys after him were bakers too, until Henry the 8th got into a bit of trouble and Henry the 7th refused to change Henry Jones and Son to Henry Jones and Daughter – it has to do with tradition you see. An end of an era, which lead to THE Village Bakery opening and left the Joneses without any bakery to call their own.
But as Henry the 9th is denied a wedding cake when he’s to marry his partner because Margaret, owner of THE Village Bakery, can’t give her blessing, things escalate.
This is such a lovely story. I snuggled up with a blanket and a cup of coffee and followed the battle of the bakeries until only one remained :D. The Great Villiage Bun Fight is sweet and funny – the narrator my absolute favourite – and I had this Wallace and Gromit feeling – that’s a compliment, just to make it clear. Wallace and Gromit guard the giant vegetables in their village just as the Joneses and Sharpes guard their giant bun LOL.
* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
It’s Friday, and I was this (imagine me holing up thumb and forefinger really close together) close to skipping writing a blog post today. But here I am, well caffeinated and ready to tell you about an excellent author I’ve kidnapped – no, not really, but he’s become a good friend of mine.
Machete Betty and the Office Sharks is one of the most bizarre stories I’ve read this year – in a good way!
Tim is part of a highly professional team trained to spot anomalies, in other words, mass hypnosis and stuff. They’re bored working at their office, but no one has noticed anything strange…or maybe but…
Things escalate pretty fast, even the shark in the screensaver begins to act weird, and soon the team are up to all kinds of things. It can’t be described, it must be read!
It’s hot, it’s surreal, it’s an office romance, and it has a merman. Yup, it’s true, a chain-smoking merman.
And while all this is really really good, the best of all is that Mr Flowers will join Amy Spector and me in this year’s Buried Desires. The manuscripts are with our publisher and have you noticed things getting a little scarier? The evenings are darker, the mist is rolling in over the fields, and there are strange noises here and there. That’s because Halloween is getting closer, people. Ghosts, zombies, and serial killers are on the way…
Tim is in the A team, professionally trained to investigate allegations of the potential mass hypnosis of the nation… But Tim is bored and horny. Who wouldn’t be? The office is full of idiots, and summer just keeps getting hotter and hotter. Reality starts to blur, screensavers come to life, and before he can say jiggyjig, he finds himself cavorting with a chain-smoking foul-mouthed merman.
Tim’s training is forgotten as he becomes immersed in fishy hedonism and office shenanigans. Can he save the day? Or will the team be forever lost in shameful acts of bouncybounce?
Find out in this tail of office boredom and surreal fun.
Warning! This story does not reflect realistic relationships with mermen or sharks.
* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Yesterday, It Doesn’t Translate was released. A sci-fi story, yes sci-fi. I never thought I’d write one, not one taking place in space at least, and you’ll never find me writing hard sci-fi, sorry. I’m not techy enough to pull that off. But everyone needs a little alien love now and then.
I wouldn’t say that I read a lot of sci-fi, but I have my periods when my iPad is filled with spaceships and aliens. Many of these stories I’ve read several times so I thought I’d share in case you’re on the lookout for a good read. I won’t do any ranking because that changes from day to day depending on what I’m in the mood for.
Bone Rider by J. Fally. I love this book so much, I’ve read it several times, and I would say it’s one of my absolute favourite stories, sci-fi or not. It takes place here on earth. A spaceship crashes and an alien armour system that crawls into a man and connects with his being escapes. At the same time Riley Coper, super hot Texan guy, figures out his boyfriend, Misha Tokarev, is an assassin for the Russian mob and runs away. This is such a great story, you get sci-fi, the mob, love, and a great adventure. Awesome!
Blind Space by Marie Sexton. Now, we’ve gone on board on a spaceship. Captain Tristan Kelley is taking the Prince on a luxury trip when the ship is boarded by pirates. The Pirates uses a device that makes Tristan blind for a few weeks. They keep him as a prisoner, but one of the pirate captains (yes, there are several) takes an interest and soon love is in the air, there is just this little problem of them being pirates and someone in Tristan’s crew being a traitor, and all of that. If you like space pirates and a little lace with your men, check this one out.
Freighter Flights by Drew Zachary. Some days I just want a healing-power-of-sperm book. You know when the traumatised MC meets Mr Right, they have sex, and then all troubles are fixed…if only real life what like that. Will is a pilot on a spaceship, Tab is his mechanic, and they too run from space pirates. This book is mostly arguing and sex, it starts out with a good plot but ends up in bed LOL. And some days that’s alright.
Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala. While we’re in space, we might as well land on a planet, right? Here we have purple aliens with tails. Liam is a trader and a linguist, and he trades with Ondry, one of the Rownt (alien race). I love this story because of the cultural differences. It’s actually a BDSM story, and that’s not my thing, but I like this one. Liam is a sub, and Ondry most certainly isn’t, but it’s about living in a D/S relationship and not about the sex, and about living with an alien in a different culture of course. I’ve read this entire series, or I thought I had, because now when I went to check that I had the title right, I saw there’s a new book. Yay!
Rarely Pure and Never Simple by Angel Martinez. This was published back in 2013, and it says it’s #1 but there isn’t a #2, I want a #2! Okay, we’re back on Earth again. Damien and Blaze are variants, humans with special talents. Damien is a human GPS and Blaze tends to blow things up with his ability to create fire. Damien isn’t doing well around people, but he has to find several variant children that have gone missing. There is also evil scientists, always a good thing. I love this one!
Seven by Adrienne Wilder. While we’re talking about evil scientists… This is a gruesome story. Seven is on the run, has been on the run for a long time, which isn’t easy when he has people with special talents hunting him. He can’t afford to get tangled up with Chase, love is not in the cards for him…or is it? This story is funny but there is also so much cruelty it’s hard to understand how anyone can do the things they do…but then again they’re not real, because they’re just characters in a book.
Falloucaustby Quil Carter. Now we’re really taking a step into the dark and gruesome. It’s been a long time since I read this story, and it hasn’t been one that I’ve re-read, but it’s hard to forget. We’re in a dystopic world where cannibalism is the new black. It’s long and, while I’ve read it’s now been edited, I read it unedited (if you want to give this a go, get yourself an edited copy). It’s unforgettable, but not for everyone! Cruel and dark and amazing LOL.
The Disassembled Life of Duncan Cole by S. Hart. Now we’re stepping into another subgenre – steampunk! Every time I read a steampunk story I tell myself I need to read (and write) more steampunk. This is a long read, but I love Duncan so much, and his conversations with his coffee machine. It needs to be read. There is steam, and trains, and inventions, and love, and adventure.
That’s it, people! I’ve probably forgotten a few but, at large, these are my favourite sci-fi reads. What are yours?
* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
All’s fair in love and war. But not in baking.
Ofelia Grand 