I’ve created another unboxing video for my latest novel, Deadly Words an Innocent Gossip in Little Mallow.
I had help, but my partner in crime has a reputation to uphold and so declined to be credited with the camera work! As is often the case, the book is much better than the film!
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Emotional with a pinch of hope
I’ve had a rather wonderful review of the audiobook version of my novel Paint Me A picture.
Paint Me A Picture by Patsy Collins is like a burst of sunshine on a rainy day! This story is deep and emotional with a pinch of hope. This story feels so real, so raw, and so relevant nowadays, I can’t believe it was first published in 2012!
The main character Mavis… oh my, all I wanted was to give her a massive cuddle! There wasn’t a reference to autistic trades (and in 2012 there wasn’t kind of enough awareness out there) but for me, it felt that Mavis falls into the Neurodiverse pond. I loved to see the daily struggles and successes through Mavis’s eyes!
Mavis has a plan to end things, she had enough at the same time she will take any chance to delay her plan. And then things and events unfold and life takes completely different turns!
This is my second book by Patsy Collins and I found that I absolutely love her writing! It’s so friendly, so down to the ground, and it connect with you on completely different level!
I listened to an audiobook narrated by Deborah Keating and this is one of the books where you feel how the narrator connects with the book and the combination of writing style and narration brings a brilliant experience. Absolutely and highly recommend this audiobook!
I am looking forward all other books by Patsy Collins that I have and who will be released!
If you read and loved The Maid by Nita Prose you will love this book!”
Paint Me A Picture is available here to buy as an audio book, ebook, paperback or through kindle unlimited. It’s on Audible (as a free trial for new listeners) it can be ordered through bookshops, or requested at your local library.
Wednesday word of the week – Blurb
A blurb is a short description of a book or film for promotional purposes. They’re devilishly difficult to write (though not as bad as a synopsis!)
Talking of blurbs here’s the one for my latest cosy crime novel, which will be released later this month and can be ordered here.
Muriel Grahame has kept a secret for seven decades. It’s protected her and loved ones, given them freedom and opportunities. She’s grateful for the chances, the happiness, she’s had. Her wish is to give those gifts to others.
Crystal Clere has mysteries to solve. Some are fun, like the test her police colleagues set to celebrate her move to CID. Others, like Adam’s belief he’s discovered vital information and friend Ellie’s non existent love life are just puzzling. Murder, and further attacks on residents of Little Mallow, are puzzling too but no fun at all.
Muriel wanted to silence gossip for fear it would lead to her secret being uncovered. Now she worries more people will suffer unless she reveals it. But how can she, when the secret is not hers alone?
Crystal gets people talking with cake baking, birthday parties, coffee and questions, questions, questions. She’s sifting through insinuations, speculation and lies to get at the truth.
Can the two women replace fear with joy, and move on with their lives?
Wednesday word of the week – Evince
Evince means to reveal the presence of a quality or feeling, or to make clear and plain. I believe this photo of our front garden evinces my love of flowers.
Evincing is also a word, evinced by its presence in my dictionary.
Two freebies
My short story collection A Clean Bill Of Health and romance novel Firestarter (with firemen and a few flames!) are both free to download until 23rd December.
I hope you enjoy them. If you do, I’d very much appreciate a review!
Wednesday word of the week – Logorrhoea
Maybe you’ve heard, or even used, the phrase ‘verbal diarrehoea’ for someone who talks too much? Logorrhoea is actually the correct word to use as it means an excessive flow of words. It’s prononunced log-oh-ree-a.
Cover reveal!
This is the cover for the third book in my Little Mallow cosy mystery series. It will be available early next year. If you’d like to receive a free review copy a couple of weeks before the official release, please get in touch
Free ebook
My short story collection Keep It In The Family, is currently free to download. Offer ends 7th December. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, a review will be greatly appreciated.
Here’s the blurb –
Alec thinks he’s suffered a medical emergency, Dr Kuttemopen says the same about his patient, and Jake and his granddad will be at risk from one if they carry on as they’ve been doing. With the support of loved ones, they could all put these predicted and suspected health problems behind them. Uncle Boris’s condition will never go away, but neither will Aunt Jonna, so he’ll not just cope, but enjoy doing so.
Everyone has problems or concerns from time to time. Some deal with them by always moving on and never looking back, others by asking the right question. They might try to keep them hidden, insist on bringing them into the open, or allow the sea to wash them away. Most will turn to their families for help, but all Miss Frencham’s are gone. All she can do, is tell people about the bodies.
Anne’s spent a lot of time waiting for her daughter; a whole lifetime, but it’s been worth every second. Daniel’s mother and Dizzy’s father-in-law won’t wait a moment for them, until they come to their senses and reunite their families. Stephanie’s waiting for the right kind of snow, and Adam’s waiting for the wrong sort of Santa. Their reward will be to know they did the right thing.
Families, whether we’re born or married into them, or choose them for ourselves all have stories to tell. This collection contains 25 of them.
A few words on AI
I don’t use AI to write my books. My readers are real people and I don’t think it’s fair to ask them to buy a book and spend time reading it if I can’t be bothered to write it myself.
If you’d like to read any of my novels or themed short story collections, you can request them from libraries, order through bookshops, or buy them here.
Wednesday word of the week – Catchword
This book is ‘Display of Heraldry’ which was published in 1660.
Back then it was only the very rich who could afford books (the kind of people who had heraldry to display). It wasn’t uncommon for workers, even skilled ones to be illiterate. You can imagine this had to potential to cause problems when some of those skilled workers had the job of binding individual pages into a book.
To ensure the pages were stitched together in the right order a catchword was used. The last word at the end of a page would be repeated at the start of the next. This meant that even those who couldn’t read the text could match up these two words and avoid expensive errors.