Month: March 2018

Celebrating my 5th #Blogoversary with a retrospective about why I appreciate reading #INSPY Fiction whilst conveying how blessed I am to start reading the stories penned by Kellie Coates Gilbert! Starting with the 3rd Texas Gold series novel: “A Reason to Stay”.

Posted Saturday, 31 March, 2018 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

Borrowed Book By: I originally crossed paths with Ms Kellie Coates Gilbert in [2014] wherein I met her through her participation in the group author blog “Southern Belle View Daily” which was affectionately known as ‘Southern Belle View’. I was a regular visitor who chatted with the authors on the blog and engaged in the content they were sharing. I had the opportunity to receive the first two novels of the Texas Gold series shortly afterwards, however, due to a variety of adversities which took me away from the joys of reading these past several years, it wasn’t until this New Year 2018 where I could lay heart and mind back into the stories I had to shelve for another day where I could focus properly on their contents.

I was originally gifted a copy of “A Reason to Stay” by my Mum, who knew how excited I was to start reading the Texas Gold series – this is within the year or so of this third installment’s release. I was going to surprise the author and read all three novels back to back whilst sharing my reactions with my readers as I have a self-directed focus on INSPY authors I am either re-discovering or just now becoming aware of as I re-start my readings in earnest into the INSPY realms of Fiction.

I go into why I had to borrow through ILL’ing (interlibrary loaning) this novel in this top anchour ahead of revealling my ruminations on the emotionally evocative story Ms Gilbert has written for us – however, I wanted to mention I am choosing to share my thoughts on behalf of this story for my own edification inasmuch as inspiring my readers to become acquainted with a #newtomeauthor I am truly blessed to have found. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

A unique introduction into the Texas Gold series – or rather,

why INSPY Lit is an important part of Jorie’s bookish life:

a retrospective whilst celebrating entering a 5th Year as a Book Blogger

I originally crossed paths with Ms Gilbert whilst she was part of Southern Belle View – a lovely group author blog I used to frequent six years ago, a bit prior to becoming a book blogger – of which I am celebrating my 5th Blogoversary *today!* on the 31st of March, 2018! This was the day I love to observe as the day I created Jorie Loves A Story – whereas I honour the day I launched my blog to the world on the 6th of August every year as the day in which my blog has its public ‘birthday’.

I was thankful to receive two of her novels – which she offered to send me to help me become acquainted with her Texas Gold book series as well as her writing style – as this was a few years ago, the series had just the first two novels recently released. I had hoped to have read both of them close to the time I first received them – however, most of the years I’ve been a book blogger, I’ve had a few set-backs with the plans I’ve made along the way. My health has been a big factor as well as personal strife & tribulations – as we all have lives outside of our bookish and readerly lives of which give us the most joy to share with our readership.

Earlier this year, I reconnected with Ms Gilbert – as I was trying to explain the distance between receiving her novels and being able to fully appreciate reading them this New Year, 2018 – as it was going to become my year back into reading Inspirational Fiction (#INSPY as I like to nickname it on Twitter) whilst proving to be the year I can focus on my *70 Authors Challenge* which specifically focuses on the INSPY niche of Literature as you can see on the main page I created for this personal exploration of a branch of Lit I am definitely passionate about reading! I’ve been a hybrid reader my entire life – moving in and out of INSPY and mainstream channels of interest since I was a young girl. This equated to regular visits to Christian bookstores (at the time, in the 80s and 90s the only place truly to find INSPY being sold) as well as big box, Indie and mall (remember those?) chain bookstores – to see a wide spectrum of both titles, genres and bookish realms!

I would also frequent used book shoppes – even before it was fashionable to gather a bit of insight into the books falling ‘off’ publication and/or the backlist of authors I might one day feel inclined to be reading. In essence, I’ve led quite a bookish life despite having a rocky start at learning to read (ie. as a dyslexic learner).

INSPY was a joy to be reading simply due to the beautiful uplift of JOY I received from reading the story-lines inasmuch as disappearing into fascinating worlds where kids like me were taking on keenly lived adventures! The Cooper Kids series and the Mandie series were personal favourites – of the latter, I had only hoped Ms Leppard could have lived long enough to pen the College years of Mandie’s personal growth rather than the single chapter of her University days. I cherish all of my Mandie editions, singularly regretting I never wrote the author a letter (if you can imagine, I have shy tendencies – these days I tend to reach out to authors directly on a regular basis – but I still have moments where I hesitate) and hope I have all of the installments as I had to remember which number I was on and collect as many as I could before they went out of print. Due to those fond memories of walking beside Mandie, Joe, Celia, Uncle Ned and her Grandmother – I started to explore adult INSPY Literature in my formative years. (see also the Mandie page on Wikipedia)

I settled on Judith Pella and then took a proper hiatus til I discovered Dee Henderson, Deeanne Gist and Julie Lessman. More recently in the early days as a book blogger (my 1st Year) I crossed paths with Brenda S. Anderson – of whom is now a beloved author for me to read with the added blessing of being on her Street Team. (see also the archive of my posts for Ms Anderson) I am still reading her Coming Home series this Spring – wherein I hope to reveal my thoughts on the last two installments of this series before moving into her Where the Heart Is series.

Moving forward – when I first found Southern Belle View, I also found The Word Wenches (another beautifully lovely group author blog), the writerly reader blog of Ms Lauren Willig, the many blog visits of Ms (Julie) Lessman which were ‘organic blog tours’ of their own kind and the lovely blog of Ms (Mary) Ellis. I had a singular route I would visit and comment upon regularly – hence why I initially conceived of the spark of inspiration which lateron became ‘Jorie Loves A Story’.

In those early days of laying down the foundation of my blog, I wanted to re-focus on INSPY Literature – start reading the stories of the authors I was visiting with regularly in the book blogosphere and start to share my bookish life. However, I was such a newbie to book blogging – trying to sort out how I wanted to articulate my writerly style as a book blogger, whilst mindful there was a larger community out there I was slowly becoming a part of – from readers, to fellow book bloggers, to authors who had other author group blogs as well as wading into the realms of both INSPY and mainstream publishing channels of interest.

What I was surprised by is not finding a lot of other hybrid readers – those of us who move between both worlds of thought and regularly love to share our readerly adventures. I’ve been wanting to share glimpses into why I am drawn into certain INSPY authors and why I love reading INSPY Non-Fiction whereas in the past I was mostly a Historical INSPY kind of gal! Truly, as a regular time traveller of fictional worlds – you would have thought it would have dawned on me the historic past played such a pertinent role in my readerly tendencies! (sadly, it hadn’t fused to my heart until I was somewhere between my 2nd & 3rd Year as a Book Blogger!)

Fast forward – Southern Belle View was a group author blog who had a rotation of guest authors being featured each of the days they would host new posts & discussions. A few times they would host bookaways, but mostly it was a place to engage in light-hearted chatter, bookish topics and get to know the ‘writers’ themselves in an interpersonal way as you were commenting directly with them on each of their ‘daily’ posts – which is why the full name was ‘Southern Belle View Daily’ as each of the Belles themselves were living in the ‘Southern’ tier of the States – from Texas to Mississippi to Louisiana (I believe?) and someone I believe was in the Carolina’s. The uniqueness of their writing styles and the ways in which they interacted with their readership was what pulled me into their posts.

I fell lin love with Ms (Lisa) Wingate’s writing style when I first read “The Prayer Box” which touched my spirit and my heart alike – it also marked my first ‘blog tour’ as a book blogger of which I was forever grateful for JKS Communications for giving me a chance to participate in such an event during my first ‘live’ month on Jorie Loves A Story. My parents would gift me a copy of the next story in sequence as this became a series of stories – known best as the Carolina Chronicles – however, I still need to gather a copy of the omnibus edition of the novellas which released betwixt the others and the final story in the trilogy. I was planning to let this series become my gateway into other stories of the Belles but then, of course – I was honestly ‘distracted’!

As I became more active in book blogging and started to sort out how to work with authors, publisher and publicists – I sort of started to focus on garnishing a readership for Jorie Loves A Story whilst sorting out the kind of stories I wanted to focus on reading overall. I also was gaining traction on how best to balance my personal library readings with the stories I was borrowing through my public library – the balance of course remained elusive to my intentions until two years ago – wherein during 2016 I started to implement changes in my blogging schedules. I began a personal Renaissance of redirection and re-focus of my personal goals for Jorie Loves A Story in other words.

You can see the fuller effect of those efforts now in 2018 – as I purposefully schedule less blog tours, am ever more vigilant about being particularly particular about the stories I accept for review and am starting to reap the rewards of being able to read ‘more’ but read without hard deadlines (for the most part). I am also merging into a new vein of my bookish life where I am shifting towards a goal of reading 50% of the books via print editions and listening to 50% of the books via audio editions. This became more apparent as a personal need of mine when I noticed a reduction in my chronic migraines – hence why you see more audiobook reviews populating on my blog!

Towards that end – this year, I am gathering more audiobooks outside of blog tours – whilst taking advantage of being able to ILL (interlibrary loan) audiobooks on CD and borrowing eaudiobooks directly from my library’s OverDrive catalogue as well.

All of these small personal changes were leading me back to the world of INSPY Lit – whilst my Mum and Dad have been helping me as for the past year and a half they have spent my blogoversarsies and blog birthdays gifting me anthologies of INSPY novellas! You’ll see my reading adventures into those as the months move forward as I am slowly working my way through a personal list of #nextreads and #mustreads – most of which are listed on my *70 Authors Challenge* page. This gives a keen insight into the genres and themes of INSPY Lit I gravitate towards whilst owning to the fact even when I set a plan into action, I do deviate and ‘add’ more authors of focus! Laughs with mirth.

This journey of mine has led me to the writings of Kellie Coates Gilbert – she blessed me with the first two Texas Gold novels whereas Mum gifted me the third novel “A Reason to Stay” – however, during an end of Summer cleaning, I ended up packing up a large portion of my books to unpack as I finish the ones I had on my bookshelves – as I had to reduce my bookcases two years ago. This gives me a rotation of stories rather than keeping them all unpacked all at once – of course, one day I hope to have a designated room again for all the lovely stories but until then, I sorted out how to make due with less space to greet them all on a daily basis. I thought for sure I had kept all of Ms Gilbert’s novels together – yet, one went missing! This very novel – the third installment of the series!

I fretted over it for a bit longer than I ought to have in February before Mum came to my rescue and said – before you go hog wild trying to find which box has which book, why don’t you just simplify it and borrow it through ILL’ing? You know how much you love to seek out your ILLs! lol She surely does know me well! The novel came rather promptly (in early March) however, March became a wicked horrid month for personal health – this is why I was severely under-read at the start of Spring.

I wanted dearly to read this series in order – though it is a true test of patience and faith to acknowledge not everything is meant to go according to plan! It is our continued quest towards remaining humble in our lives to realise it is ‘okay’ to do things outside of the plans we set for ourselves – owning to the fact sometimes doing things out of sequence is actually a ‘good thing’. At least this is what I resolved realising as ILLs are only with us for three weeks – given how I spent those weeks under the weather, I chose to read “A Reason to Stay” ahead of “A Woman of Fortune”.

The reason I wanted to share this longer back-story with you is to give you an insightful view of my journey back to INSPY Literature. I’ve yearned to pick up where I left off during those years where I was trapped inside a reader’s rut – researching authors and stories but never reading them. I even gathered half of my personal library during those years – spilt between as aforesaid INSPY and mainstream authors. (whether they were Indie or traditionally published as well)

One of the biggest blessings I’ve had these past five years is the JOY of reading without failure to connect to the stories – meaning, there was such a time where I felt disconnected from how novels were written as motion pictures were easier for me to ‘connect’ with in a quasi-visceral manner of enjoyment. Somewhere between the initial inspiration for Jorie Loves A Story – I not only healed my reading life but I reclaimed a passion for ‘writing’ as well. As my blog is an extension of my writerly life in a way I am sure might remain overlooked by most of my readers. You get a sense of my personal writing life if you move in and out of my posts – all five years worth – as there is a growth amongst the archives from day one to the present day.

I am overjoyed the story I get to share with you, as I celebrate my 5th Blogoversary as a Book Blogger – where I found a newfound passion for being a book cheerleader and a author’s advocate is “A Reason to Stay” because even before I read the story itself, the title struck a chord in my own heart. I found my own ‘reason to stay’ a book blogger when I realised by sharing my bookish ruminations, I get to leave notes of gratitude back to the writers who are enriching my life with their stories. I get to acknowledge how their stories affect me and what impressed me about how they approached their individual perspective of how stories can thrive when fused so eloquently with their own personal imagination and vision for the craft of writing.

I am staying a book blogger due to the pure celebration of ‘stories’ I love reading but also the continued love of pursuing the written word in all its facets of exploration – wherein the story itself is where my own enlightenment is actively found. I love spreading bookish JOY – thank you for being a part of my journey here on Jorie Loves A Story. May you remain with me as I continue to seek out the stories which touch my mind, heart and soul.

And, may 2018 be a year where I can finally re-merge my INSPY readings into my regular readerly life, as they become fused directly into my life once more – as they have been an absence I have missed reconnecting with these past five years. They’ve been there, of course, hovering in the background – but now, I am thankful they can take their rightful spot as co-navigators of my bookish world!

postscript: I am sitting on a lovely SURPRISE I received this year, connected to the Texas Gold series – as I am reading this series back to back – resuming where I left off within Faith’s story (ie. A Reason to Stay) by pursuing the journey I am about to take with Claire (ie. A Woman of Fortune) – you’ll simply have to wait to find out about the blessing I received and my further ruminations on behalf of this heart and soul centred series!

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

Notation on the condition of this paperback: Did you notice how well-loved this interlibrary loaned copy of “A Reason to Stay” is ?? This curling of the bottom pages is how it reached my hands – the cover is now ‘soft’ to the touch, hinting towards how many bookish spirits have entered this novel and the ways in which the pages easily turn speaks of how this story has touched a lot of hearts ahead of my own. Although I am dearly particular how I read my own books – I can recognise a smile of joy in seeing how well-read a library book is by the patrons like me who amplify their reading life by the collections of public libraries which give us a renewal of hope to be able to seek out all the stories we readily wish to be reading irregardless of our purchasing budget – as public libraries fuell our reading lives as much as our intellectual curiosities (in the Non-Fiction realms).

A Reason to Stay Book Photography Credit: Jorie of jorielovesastory.com. Photo edits and collage created in Canva.

A Reason to Stay
Subtitle: A Texas Gold Novel
by Kellie Coates Gilbert
Source: Borrowed from local library (ILL)

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction, Southern Lit, Women's Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9780800722746

Published by Revell

on 6th October, 2015

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 336

Published by: Revell (@RevellBooks)

an imprint of Baker Publishing Group

Formats Available: Hardback, Trade Paperback and Ebook

 The Texas Gold series:

A Woman of Fortune (Book One) | Synopsis

Where Rivers Part (Book Two) | Synopsis

A Reason to Stay (Book Three)

What Matters Most (Book Four) | Synopsis

About Kellie Coates Gilbert

Kellie Coates Gilbert

Kellie Coates Gilbert has won readers’ hearts with her compelling and highly emotional stories about women and the relationships that define their lives. A former legal investigator, she is especially known for keeping readers turning pages and creating nuanced characters who seem real.

Born and raised near Sun Valley, Idaho, Kellie now lives with her husband of over thirty-five years in Dallas, where she spends most days by her pool drinking sweet tea and writing the stories of her heart.

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission. Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Saturday, 31 March, 2018 by jorielov in 21st Century, 70 Authors Challenge 2013-19, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Based on an Actual Event &/or Court Case, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Birthdays & Blogoversaries, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Christianity, Clever Turns of Phrase, Contemporary Romance, Crime Fiction, Disabilities & Medical Afflictions, Equality In Literature, Family Drama, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Gabby Giffords, Humour & Satire in Fiction / Non Fiction, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Inspired by Stories, INSPY Realistic Fiction | Non-Fiction, Investigative Reporter | Journalist, Learning Difficulties, Library Catalogues & Databases, Library Find, Library Love, Life Shift, Local Libraries | Research Libraries, Medical Fiction, Mental Health, Modern Day, Neurosciences | Neurogenetics, Passionate Researcher, Political Narrative & Modern Topics, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Psychological Abuse, PTSD, Realistic Fiction, Southern Writers, Special Needs Children, Stories of Jorie, Texas, Women's Fiction, Wordsmiths & Palettes of Sage, Writing Style & Voice

Audiobook Review | “Scared to Death” (Book One: the Kay Hunter Detective series) by Rachel Amphlett, narrated by Alison Campbell

Posted Thursday, 29 March, 2018 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

Audiobook Review Badge made by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Audiobook By: I started to listen to audiobooks in [2016] as a way to offset my readings of print books whilst noting there was a rumour about how audiobooks could help curb chronic migraines as you are switching up how your reading rather than allowing only one format to be your bookish choice. As I found colouring and knitting agreeable companions to listening to audiobooks, I have embarked on a new chapter of my reading life where I spend time outside of print editions of the stories I love reading and exchange them for audio versions. Through hosting for the Audiobookworm I’ve expanded my knowledge of authors who are producing audio versions of their stories whilst finding podcasters who are sharing their bookish lives through pods (ie. AudioShelf and Talking Audiobooks; see my sidebar). Meanwhile, I am also curating my own wanderings in audio via my local library who uses Overdrive for their digital audiobook catalogue whilst making purchase requests for audio CDs. It is a wonderful new journey and one I enjoy sharing – I am hoping to expand the percentage of how many audios I listen to per year starting in 2018.

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “Scared to Death” via Audiobookworm Promotions who is working directly with the author Rachel Amphlett in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

What initially prompted me to listen to Scared to Death & why I loved it:

I became keen on Police Procedurals in my twenties – those were the years where I watched all the Law & Order series on television – where my preference was for the Original series and Criminal Intent.  I also watched a heap of NCIS – including getting caught up inside the spin-offs, but it’s the Original series which captured my heart – all because of Mark Harmon, as it was his character of Gibbs who truly anchoured me into the series overall. The ensemble cast was impressively connected – they had a chemistry of connection you love to find in a tight knit series such as this one.

As I was listening to Scared to Death, there were overtures of NCIS within how it was being written whilst the details of what make this a hard-boiled crime drama also echoed those memories of watching NCIS and feeling as if the series was pushing me to the very edge of where I could go with a crime drama. There is a certain layer of intensity I can handle and then, if it goes too far afield from there, I tend to pull back and seek lighter faire. I always knew NCIS was at the height of what I could appreciate whilst Criminal Intent on the opposite end of the spectrum was also winning the top spot for it’s own unique styling of how you shift focus from the crimes to the law and to the police in tandem.

Generally speaking, I do not oft seek out the harder hitting Suspense & Thrillers as I can only take so much visually – generally erring on caution as I am a sensitive hearted reader. Ergo, when I learnt about this series, there was a particular reviewer who was commenting about the aspects of it’s center core – of what is inclusive and what isn’t – of course, this is subjective per each reader, but something made me think perhaps this series was one I not only could handle but perhaps, one I would enjoy listening too.

From the very first moment I started listening to the narrating styling of Ms Campbell, I knew I had made a good choice – even if I knew going in – I was going to re-examine my ‘live on the edge of my seat’ listening experience such as the ones I had during NCIS – I was game for a dramatic crime series such as this one due to series I have been appreciating through Seventh Street Press. (ie. Hiro Hattori, Marjorie Trumaine, Anna Blanc and Samuel Craddock respectively – all of which you’ll happily find on my blog)Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Audiobook Review | “Scared to Death” (Book One: the Kay Hunter Detective series) by Rachel Amphlett, narrated by Alison CampbellScared to Death

"If you want to see your daughter alive again, listen carefully."

When the body of a snatched schoolgirl is found in an abandoned biosciences building, the case is first treated as a kidnapping gone wrong.

But Detective Kay Hunter isn't convinced, especially when a man is found dead with the ransom money still in his possession.

When a second schoolgirl is taken, Kay's worst fears are realized.

With her career in jeopardy - desperate to conceal a disturbing secret, Kay's hunt for the killer becomes a race against time before he claims another life.

For the killer, the game has only just begun....

Scared to Death is the first book in a new crime thriller series featuring Kay Hunter - a detective with a hidden past and an uncertain future....

If you like the Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons, Peter Robinson's DCI Banks series and the Erika Foster series by Robert Bryndza, discover Rachel Amphlett's new detective novels today.


Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ASIN: B076127JBZ

on 2nd October, 2017

Length: 8 hours, 27 minutes (unabridged)

Published by: Saxon Publishing

Order of the Kay Hunter Detective series:
Scared to Death | Book One
Will to Live | Book Two | Synopsis
One to Watch | Book Three | Synopsis
Hell to Pay | Book Four | Synopsis
Call to Arms | Book Five | Synopsis

About Rachel Amphlett

Rachel Amphlettt

Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.

She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore's TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

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Posted Thursday, 29 March, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 21st Century, Audiobook, Audiobookworm Promotions, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), British Literature, Crime Fiction, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Detective Fiction, England, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Good vs. Evil, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Indie Author, Lady Detective Fiction, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Modern Day, Mother-Son Relationships, Post-911 (11th September 2001), Psychological Suspense, PTSD, Realistic Fiction, Sociological Behavior, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, True Crime

Blog Book Tour | “The Invisible Hand” (Act I of Shakespeare’s Moon series) by James Hartley The first sequence of a 5 act series re-spinning the elemental aesthetics of #Shakespeare into new stories of #YALit!

Posted Sunday, 25 March, 2018 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

Acquired Book By: I started hosting for Rachel’s Random Resources at the end of [2017] booking several guest features for [2018] whilst noting I had a lovely opportunity to review a novel for one of the New Year’s tours. This blog tour marks my second with this touring company, as Rachel and I met through my chat #ChocLitSaturday which has since been renewed @SatBookChat! I look forward to spotlighting her authors, conversing with them and seeing how they respond to my guest topics. I may review a book here or there, but as most of her authors are in the UK / Europe market, I mostly was excited to cheer for their stories whilst awaiting to gather their stories stateside in print or audio.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Invisible Hand” direct from the author James Hartley in exchange for an honest review. I also received a complimentary copy of the audiobook “Heart of Winter” in exchange for an honest review not connected with this blog tour but for a secondary showcase forthcoming on Jorie Loves A Story. I added thoughts and reflections on behalf of the prequel “Heart of Winter” for my own edification and as it ran concurrent to my primary focus of featuring “The Invisible Hand” for this blog tour. For my own insight and understanding, I listened to the public domain version of ‘Macbeth’ via LibriVox (on their website) which features audiobooks of Classical Literature (see also Page). I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I was excited to be reading this series:

I couldn’t agree with you more – as atmospheric elemental components are what I personally feel attracted to myself whenever I am seeking a particularly compelling story to read set in the Gothic style or a certain sub-niche of Historical Fiction. Classical re-tellings, psychological suspense, Cosy Horror or a few other areas where writers can bend genre to their own will of imagination whilst evoking such a strong presence of how atmospheric under-threads of narrative tone can not only set a reader straight into the story’s setting itself but it can become evocative of the textural edges of how the writer envisioned his or her story to be read and seen.

Yes, I concur – one of the joys of reading Shakespeare is seeking the ‘questions’ he’s asking of us as we read. If we’re intuitive readers we’ll notice how he’s left a lot of doors open for interpreting his motives whilst he also paints strong clues towards where his own mind and heart were directing his own literary muse to tread. The joy for me (of course) is sorting it all out – whilst being caught up inside the ‘ways in which’ he chose to write his stories. He had a unique grasp of how a story could be constructed but it’s how he layered it all – how he fused the craft from what had come before and re-shaped it to be seen through the execution of plays and sonnets.

I think this is actually the beauty of what you’ve set out to achieve – an after canon focus on the stories themselves but without a direct adaptation of the ‘story’ as it once was envisioned but rather, to take those elements out of context and re-alight them in a new thread of enlightenment for younger readers who are drawn towards those elements by Shakespeare but perhaps, would rather have a taste of them in a different construction of story altogether. It is also a lovely bridge for the hesitations younger readers might feel in attempting to dig directly in Shakespeare. I know not all readers find challenges in literature as enjoyable as I once did myself or rather, as I continue to find as can we ever really say we’re done challenging our literary inclinations? I think not!

-quoted from the Guest Post I hosted on behalf of this blog tour to learn the *inspiration* behind this story & how Mr Hartley has found writerly joy in re-inventing how to fuse Shakespearean elements into a newly invented world for younger readers who might not have graduated into the original canon.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Blog Book Tour | “The Invisible Hand” (Act I of Shakespeare’s Moon series) by James Hartley The first sequence of a 5 act series re-spinning the elemental aesthetics of #Shakespeare into new stories of #YALit!The Invisible Hand
Subtitle: Shakespeare's Moon : Act 1
by James Hartley
Source: Author via Rachel's Random Resources, Librivox | Public Domain Audiobooks
Narrator: James Hartley

The Invisible Hand is about a boy, Sam, who has just started life at a boarding school and finds himself able to travel back in time to medieval Scotland. There he meets a girl, Leana, who can travel to the future, and the two of them become wrapped up in events in Macbeth, the Shakespeare play, and in the daily life of the school.

The book is the first part of a series called Shakespeare´s Moon. Each book is set in the same boarding school but focuses on a different Shakespeare play.

Genres: After Canons, Children's Literature, Classical Literature, Young Adult Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9781785354984

Also by this author: The Invisible Hand

Published by Lodestone Books

on 27th February, 2017

Format: Audiobook | mp3, Librivox | Public Domain Audiobooks, Trade Paperback

Pages: 168

Published By: Lodestone Books (@JHPChildren)

an imprint of John Hunt Publishing (@JHPFiction)

The series thus far along :

Hartley’s Shakespearean 5 act Quintet (after canon) series ‘Shakespeare’s Moon’

Heart of Winter | prequel to ‘The Invisible Hand’ (Synopsis) → previously an audiobook

The Invisible Hand | inspired by ‘MacBeth’

PlayFight | a short story within the series | Read via Wattpad

Cold Fire | inspired by ‘Romeo & Juliet’ (Synopsis) → #PubDay is 31.Aug.18

Converse via: #Shakespeare #Macbeth & #theclassicsclub

Find out why Mr Hartley claims to have been ‘betwitched’

by the muse behind ‘An Invisible Hand’ + ‘Heart of Winter’.

About James Hartley

James Hartley

James was born on the Wirral, England, in 1973 on a rainy Thursday. He shares his birthday with Bono, Sid Vicious and two even nastier pieces of work, John Wilkes Booth and Mark David Chapman.

His mother was a hairdresser with her own business and his father worked in a local refinery which pours filth into the sky over the Mersey to this day. They married young and James was their first child. He has two younger brothers and a still-expanding family in the area. As an Everton fan he suffered years of Liverpool success throughout the seventies and was thrilled when his father took a job in Singapore and the family moved lock, stock and two smoking barrels to Asia.

He spent five fine years growing up in the city state before returning to the rain, storms, comprehensive schools and desolate beauty of the Scottish east coast. Later years took he and his family to baking hot Muscat, in Oman, and a Syria that has since been bombed off the surface of the planet.

James studied journalism in London and later travelled through Ireland, France, Germany and India generally having a good time, before finally settling in Madrid, Spain, where he now lives with his wife and two children.

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Posted Sunday, 25 March, 2018 by jorielov in After the Canon, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Children's Literature, Classical Literature, England, Inspired By Author OR Book, Inspired by Stories, Literature for Boys, Rachel's Random Resources, Re-Told Tales, The Writers Life, Writing Style & Voice

Blog Book Tour | “In Spite of Lions” by Scarlette Pike

Posted Friday, 23 March, 2018 by jorielov , , , 2 Comments

Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

Acquired Book By: I have been a blog tour hostess with Cedar Fort for the past three years, wherein I took a brief hiatus from hosting before resuming August 2016. I appreciate the diversity of the stories the Indie publisher is publishing per year, not only for fiction and non-fiction but for healthy eats within their Front Table Books (cookbooks). I appreciate their dedication to writing general market, INSPY reads and LDS focused stories across the genres they publish.

I received a complimentary copy of “In Spite of Lions” direct from the publisher Sweetwater Books (an imprint of Cedar Fort Inc.) in exchange for an honest review. I also read the copy my library purchased (due to my request) whilst finishing the story as I happily was the first person who borrowed the novel. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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Why I wanted to read this story:

I have been looking forward to reading this story for quite a long while – as I still remember finding out about the story *ahead* of Ms Pike contacting me about the blog tour! I was trying to sort out if this was going on a blog tour or if it was a book I ought to ask my library to purchase. In the end, I was able to join the tour *and!* find out the happy news my library accepted the purchase request! In the end, however, I nearly wasn’t sure if the book would arrive – from the publisher or the library, as was the last person to receive her copy to review. I ended up reading my review copy *and!* the library copy in tandem as I left one at home whilst the other was a bit more portable as I continued to read the story itself.

I was striving to make the last day of the tour – except due to my health issues these past few weeks and the tech difficulties I couldn’t circumvent (making blogging a nightmare!) – it turnt out I ran out of the hours I needed to finish the story prior to St. Patrick’s Day weekend. If my weekend had been without a small smidge of strife, I might have had a bit more time to read as well. However, the good news is I am able to run this review on Friday to catch everyone seeking out their #weekendreads! I am blessed to finish my readings and happily share my ruminative thoughts on behalf of this lovely debut novel: In Spite of Lions whilst moving through the tour route to see what everyone else had to say on its behalf.

The closer I was coming to receiving the novel in the Post, I spied Ms Bruno (of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours) reading a copy of the story and saw The Lit Bitch was keen on reading it as well! Imagine!? And, here I was thinking I’d be talking to them about it – rather than finding out they already knew! I love how those of us who *love!* reading Historical Fiction have the tendency to find the same books at the *exact!* same time! lol

Truly what initially convinced me to read this story is what I had mentioned on Twitter – who wouldn’t contemplate what the rest of the world was getting up to whilst Mr Darcy was trying to get acquainted with Lizzie!? As this was lead-in towards understanding the timescape via the author’s website. From that one small revelation – combined with the briefest synopsis I’ve seen in a long time – I felt an intense curiosity to seek out what was inside this novel!

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Notation on Cover Art: As soon as I saw the cover for this novel, I was transfixed on the image of Anna and the lion who is super-imposed through her portrait. The effect of which is quite incredible when your holding the book in your hands and it is becoming a fast favourite of all covers & the dimensional effects you can have whilst giving a glimpse into your story & characters.

Blog Book Tour | “In Spite of Lions” by Scarlette PikeIn Spite of Lions
Subtitle: They warned her that Africa was dangerous... they couldn't know it would be her santuary.
by Scarlette Pike
Source: Borrowed from local library, Direct from Publisher, Purchase REQ | local library

Genres: Biographical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Women's Fiction



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 978-1462120642

Published by Sweetwater Books

on 13th February, 2018

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 184

 Published By: Sweetwater Books (@SweetwaterBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFort)

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse via: #HistFic or #HistoricalFiction + #InSpiteOfLions

About Scarlette Pike

Scarlette Pike

Scarlette Pike became a writer by being an avid reader of Georgette Heyer and many other regency authors. She is a senior in UVU’s English program with an emphasis in Literature Studies. In Spite of Lions is her first finished novel inspired by her love for the regency era. The story has been carefully researched in order to preserve and promote historical accuracy.

Photo Credit: Alyssia Baird Photography

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Friday, 23 March, 2018 by jorielov in Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Book Cover | Notation on Design, Brothers and Sisters, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Christianity, Coming-Of Age, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Dr Livingstone and Mary Livingstone, Family Drama, Family Life, Fathers and Daughters, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Immigrant Stories, Indie Author, Life Shift, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Psychological Abuse, PTSD, Realistic Fiction, Siblings, Sisterhood friendships, Spirituality & Metaphysics, Twin Siblings, Women's Fiction, Women's Health

Author Guest Post | Jorie shares her bookishly geeky personality whilst celebrating the Bard, MacBeth and giving a hearty glow of light on an after canon author (James Hartley) whose re-inventing how to read #Shakespeare!

Posted Thursday, 22 March, 2018 by jorielov , , , , , 0 Comments

Author Guest Post Banner created by Jorie in Canva.

Hallo, Hallo my dear hearted Classical Shakespearean bookish mates!

(yes, this is a s/o to my lovely #theclassicsclub geeks!)

Says the girl whose all but suffered an EPIC FAIL for her first journey into said Classics Club whilst still attempting to right the stars on her fate of being seriously the most under-read of all clubbers in the Classical stacks! I appear, on the surface of things – wickedly in LOVE with Classical Lit but in the bare bones of trying to *read!* Classical stories – I seem to have opted for the after canons & re-tellings moreso than the original canons – naughty, Jorie! Except, I will soon be making enroads towards fixing this as I have a happy *surprise!* to share with my dear hearted readers of Jorie Loves A Story.. you’ll have to keep a keen eye for my latest #BookishNotBookish post,… that’s all I can disclose at this time!

When it comes to the Bard, I fell hard for his style of Literature as a frustrated freshman (in h.s. you guys, let’s just get that out of the way!) – it was refreshingly brilliant. I was seeking harder lit at the time, having graduated out of my childhood authors & shifting forward straight into a swirling pot of stories from contemporaries such as Clancy (Jack Ryan – OM sweet ghouls, right?); Crichton (the bloke who left hardly a hair on me head from the terror of his thrillers! yet, inspired my LOVE for Science & all things Ian Malcolm! Let’s face it – between the Genetic codes & Chaos Theory I was swooning!) and Grisham (who crushed my soul every single time!) – I was ready for a cosmic shift in my literary choices.

Similar to my lifelong appreciation on behalf of *Jane Austen!* prior to reading her stories – I had a fever of excitement over William Shakespeare. Let’s face – the *language!* and mannerisms of his choices in words & wordplay is enough to convince my younger self his stories would one day touch my heart with fierce admiration. I wasn’t wrong either – except it wasn’t the traditional love affair for Romeo which swooned my heart – instead it was the politico intrigue inside Julius Caesar & the dramatic undertone of Macbeth.

Mind you, I *devoured!* Caesar’s story & I helped the seniors ace their final exams for the latter – without reading the whole play, I only had a single layout (two pages) of the text in which I examined the context & eloquently explained it. I just tapped into the soul of Macbeth – ever since then, I’ve kept the play at an arm’s length. Mostly as whenever you feel so deeply connected to a story or a character – do you dare re-visit it?! I’ve had mixed feelings about this as I’ve previously re-examined stories from the past,..

I leapt into this blog tour before I fully examined the construction of the series Mr Hartley was building because I was wicked impressed by the components he was pulling together – so much so, this was my first reaction after finding out about the tour itself:

I pray I’m in time to join this blog tour — two words: Shakespeare & Macbeth overtures are right up my alley plus this is meant to be an introduction to the Bard for younger readers?! Ooh, my yes! It mentioned there are paperbacks to review on this tour, does that extend to the States?! If so, I’d love to join for a *review!* and a guest feature – I just finished reading “The Seven Sisters” – I sat down at six thirty last night and it’s now nearly 9am…

I love how he’s bringing each play to life through a boarding school setting,…

Shortly hereafter, my paths crossed with Mr Hartley in the twitterverse, however, that particular story will be saved for a latter date! As this post is meant to give him the chance to explain what inspired him to re-direct his own museful creativity into the collective works of the Bard we all know, trust & love as much as readers have for half a millennia. I simply wanted to give a bit of a back-story into how I came to *love!* the Bard myself and why this particular tour held such a strong appeal for becoming a part of as a book blogger.

Find a cosy comfortable place to alight, sip your favourite cuppa tea or java & ENJOY this essay – about a writer who found inspiration within the text & symbolism of MACBETTH.

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Author Guest Post | Jorie shares her bookishly geeky personality whilst celebrating the Bard, MacBeth and giving a hearty glow of light on an after canon author (James Hartley) whose re-inventing how to read #Shakespeare!The Invisible Hand
Subtitle: Shakespeare's Moon : Act 1
by James Hartley

The Invisible Hand is about a boy, Sam, who has just started life at a boarding school and finds himself able to travel back in time to medieval Scotland. There he meets a girl, Leana, who can travel to the future, and the two of them become wrapped up in events in Macbeth, the Shakespeare play, and in the daily life of the school.

The book is the first part of a series called Shakespeare´s Moon. Each book is set in the same boarding school but focuses on a different Shakespeare play.

Genres: After Canons, Children's Literature, Classical Literature, Young Adult Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9781785354984

Also by this author: The Invisible Hand

on 27th February, 2017

Published By: Lodestone Books (@JHPChildren)

an imprint of John Hunt Publishing (@JHPFiction)

The series thus far along :

Hartley’s Shakespearean 5 act Quintet (after canon) series ‘Shakespeare’s Moon’

Heart of Winter | prequel to ‘The Invisible Hand’ (Synopsis) → previously an audiobook

The Invisible Hand | inspired by ‘MacBeth’

PlayFight | a short story within the series | Read via Wattpad

Cold Fire | inspired by ‘Romeo & Juliet’ (Synopsis) → #PubDay is 31.Aug.18

Converse via: #Shakespeare #Macbeth & #theclassicsclub

Find out why Mr Hartley claims to have been ‘betwitched’

by the muse behind ‘An Invisible Hand’ + ‘Heart of Winter’.

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Topic I Proposed to Mr Hartley:

How did you develop your hauntingly ethereal Gothic style of re-interpreting Shakespearean plays? As your stories hone in on the elemental and atmospheric aspects of psychological suspense – what were your inspirations for writing these kinds of after canon sequels on behalf of the Bard? Likewise, is there one of his stories which stands out as being your ultimate favourite?

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Posted Thursday, 22 March, 2018 by jorielov in After the Canon, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Children's Literature, Classical Literature, England, Inspired By Author OR Book, Inspired by Stories, Literature for Boys, Rachel's Random Resources, Re-Told Tales, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, The Writers Life, Writing Style & Voice