24 Dec 2023 52 Comments
in Spidey's Serene Sundays, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Christmas
“Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart.”
Polar Express
I just wanted to take a moment of your time, before the craziness of Christmas Day hits, to wish those of you celebrating a wonderful Christmas, filled with family, friends, food and festivity!
So enjoy your day, Peeps!
Wishing you a wonderfully peaceful Sunday, Peeps!
19 Dec 2023 4 Comments
in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blog Tour, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, Good Scammer, Guy Kennaway
Today, I am on the blog tour for Guy Kennaway’s soon-to-be released, Good Scammer.
The Blurb
Sometimes you must break the rules when your dignity and survival call for it.
With an unlikely partnership at its heart and based on true events, Good Scammer tells the extraordinary story of Clive ‘Bangaz’ Thompson, the local hero who has turned Campbell’s Cove into the scamming capital of the world, and Willy, a broke, middle-aged writer, who needs one more bestselling novel to save him from financial ruin.
Bangaz is an orphan born in West Jamaica, raised with no love, no education and no prospects of decent work. After losing his job within Jamaica’s booming hotel industry, and with a baby daughter to feed, Bangaz is forced to turn elsewhere for money. He devises an ingenious business model. For “a small handling fee”, wealthy Americans can avoid paying taxes on their recent surprise lottery win… His plan will bring millions of dollars to the little villages around the Jamaican coast each year, making Bangaz a very wealthy man – and a hero in his community.
But in building his empire, Bangaz has made some dangerous enemies, from local gangsters, to the FBI – and they’re closing in. Before it’s too late, Bangaz commissions Willy Loxley-Gordon, a washed-up English writer living nearby to write his story. Willy reluctantly agrees, recognising that this could be his last chance for success.
Compulsively readable and delivered with Guy Kennaway’s signature sense of quirky humour, Good Scammer is a transporting hymn of love to West Jamaica, which challenges our assumptions about the morality of crime, in an astute exploration of slavery, colonialism, theft and victimhood.
Releasing 23rd January, 2024
Good Scammer by Guy Kennaway
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love it when a book is written with the language or accent affectations of its setting.
Good Scammer is a fantastic book set in Jamaica, sprinkled liberally with Patois.
It tells the story of Clive ‘Bangaz’ Thompson, a local of Campbell Cove. He is not educated formally, with little literacy in English and only the minimal support of the aunt who begrudgingly brought him up. However, he has brains, which he uses to create a huge scam operation that brings prosperity to the community he lives in and provides for his family and partner, Pauline and their two daughters.
All this is done with no violence or guns. Bangaz feels like he has found a way to gain repayment of generations of debt from slavery and colonialism.
Things are never simple, and there are some real fixes he finds himself in, but I loved the way the story was told, with men showing that laidback attitude that is synonymous with the people of Jamaica.
Bangaz finds an author whom he wants to tell his story, with the idea of getting it published, and the story goes back and forth from the past to the present with Willy, the writer in question, trying to make sense of this unimaginable life of the gentle gangster in front of him.
I enjoyed this book.
About the Author
Guy is best known for his novels One People, about village life in Jamaica; Bird Brain, about a bunch of optimistic pheasants, and for his memoirs Time To Go about killing his mother (with her permission) and Sunbathing Naked and Other Miracle Cures. His most recent novel, The Accidental Collector, won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction in 2021. His most recent memoir is Foot Notes, a broad comedy about race and nationality which he wrote with his daughter-in-law’s brother Hussein Sharif.
In Jamaica, Guy runs a campaign called Speak Properly: Chat Patwa, encouraging the promotion of patwa as an accepted language.
‘In all my writing my aim is to delight and amuse,’ Kennaway has said. ‘Hopefully I make people laugh out loud. Laughter is our most effective weapon in the battle against the difficulties and struggles of life. If I can transport my reader to a happy, joyful world, my mission is successful.’
12 Dec 2023 6 Comments
in Book & A Brew With Ritu, Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book and a brew with Ritu, Hunter's Christmas, New Release, Val Penny
I have another repeat visitor!
Today, I am hosting prolific Crime writer and fellow Spellbound author, Val Penny, about her latest release, Hunter’s Christmas and Other Stories!
Hello, and welcome back to But I Smile Anyway, Val!
Thank you for inviting me to your blog today, Ritu. Let me tell your readers about my books, my main character, DI Hunter Wilson and my new book, a collection of short stories, Hunter’s Christmas.
Sounds like a plan, Valb ut let me just sort you out with a cup of Earl Grey tea, because I remember you like that!
I’d love a cup of Earl Grey tea, no milk, please.
No problem at all!
Right, so I’m settled with my Chai Latte. Tell us all about your wonderful books, Val.
I have been building a collection of short stories for a few years now, and at last, I have had the opportunity to share these with my readers.
I usually write crime fiction set in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, but this allowed me to set some of the tales further afield and explore new characters, too. This has been a joy.
I decided to write crime fiction because that is the genre I most enjoy reading. I was also a lawyer for many years, a lifetime ago and met many of the types of people I write about.
Life and experience are always fodder for a writer’s mind…
When I was initially choosing where to set my books, I considered creating an imaginary Scottish town, much like Peter Robinson who created the fictional English town of Eastvale in the Yorkshire Dales. However, When I thought about it, Edinburgh is a small city (about 600,000 people) and is a place many people know about through travel documentaries or have visited on vacation. It has a wide variety of types of housing, universities, a prison a beach and hills so why not base my stories there. But in this collection my characters are not all based in Scotland, some of the tales are set in Europe, and one in the USA.
I enjoyed your Scottish-based stories and the others, too! I’ve never been to Scotland, but love reading stories based there. One day, though.
My characters face many unpleasant characters and difficult situations in my novels. I am often asked if these are based on real events. The answer is a resounding, sometimes.
Authors are terrible thieves and grab ideas or characters from all sorts of places: a couple overheard in a coffee shop, a man talking on the phone on a train, or an event reported in a newspaper or on television. I have notebooks everywhere to jot down ideas or phrases as they come to me. Indeed, as I live in the very wet West of Scotland, one of the best presents I ever got was a waterproof notebook! You will often see me using this at bus stops or in train stations during a sudden downpour.
Oh, gosh, I know that feeling, Val! I have to be so careful not to write specific characters, and instead, I use quirks and phrases instead to get a feel for the character I am writing, instead of just writing about someone straight!
My new book is my first venture into a collection of short stories instead of a novel. The title story, Hunter’s Christmas, takes a festive look at Edinburgh. However, there are a total of twelve stories, three featuring DI Hunter Wilson, three featuring DS Jane Renwick, and the others that showcase different characters in a variety of settings. I hope readers will enjoy the diversion.
Well, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I think it has whetted my appetite to read some of the full-length novels. They are officially on my TBR!
Although my stories and characters are not autobiographical, there is definitely a lot of me and my life experience in my stories, and I hope that readers enjoy that and their visits with me to Edinburgh, too.
I feel the same way about my writing, too. Thank you so much for sharing a bit more about your inspiration, Val. 🙂
Thank you again for inviting me to your blog today and allowing me to share some secrets about DI Hunter Wilson with your readers.
My pleasure 😊 Wishing this, and all your future releases much success, Val!
Now here is the blurb to whet your appetites! It sounds pretty good!
The Blurb
His team swing into action to catch his attackers but then receive information about an elf found dead in a car park and a car stolen by Mrs Claus.
Are the crimes by these Christmas characters connected?
Can Hunter’s team restore peace and goodwill to Christmas?
Hunter’s Christmas and Other Stories includes tales about DI Hunter Wilson and DS Jane Renwick along with those about new and different characters in this gripping collection of short stories especially for crime fiction readers.
My Review
Hunter’s Christmas and Other Stories.: A gripping collection of short stories especially for crime fiction readers. by Val Penny
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’ve not read Val Penny’s books as yet, but I was sent this collection, and I must say that this collection of stories has whetted my appetite for the different series Penny writes.
Each of the stories hook you in. Some are slightly longer, involving two of Penny’s famous DIs, and some are shorter, but each story is captivating, and I thoroughly enjoyed each one!
It has made me want to add the rest of Penny’s books to my neverending TPR pile!
Hunter’s Chase – https://geni.us/ic7r
Hunter’s Revenge – https://geni.us/a13c
Hunter’s Force – https://geni.us/f5eJb
The First Cut – https://linktr.ee/spellboundbks
Hunter’s Blood – https://tinyurl.com/8rrpp59x
Hunter’s Secret – https://tinyurl.com/ezer746e
Hunter’s Christmas – https://rb.gy/9d79us
Author Biography
Val Penny has an LLB degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.
Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.
Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters, of whom she is justly proud, and lives with her husband and their cat.
https://www.facebook.com/Authorvalpenny
www.facebook.com/valerie.penny.739
www.facebook.com/groups/296295777444303
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17300087.Val_Penny
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/val-penny
Twitter: @valeriepenny
02 Dec 2023 2 Comments
in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Bookapalooza, My Book Friends, Straight As A Jalebi
GOOD BOOKS. GOOD VIBES. HOLIDAY CHEER & GIVEAWAYS GALORE!
I’m part of a HUGE DAY OF GIVEAWAYS and want you to join in the fun and a chance to win books from over 50 authors. My Book Friends is hosting their annual SEASON OF GIVING BOOKAPALOOZA on Sunday, December 3rd!
Tell all your reader friends and join My Book Friends today and then mark your calendar for the fun that takes place all day long. #MBFBookapalooza2023 I’m so excited to be part of THE SEASON OF GIVING BOOKAPALOOZA over in My Book Friends.
You don’t want to miss this fun-filled day of giveaways from dozens of authors! Tell your reader friends and join My Book Friends today and mark your calendar for Sunday, December 3rd. #MBFBookapalooza2023
Get yourselves over to the page and request to become a part of this great group, and you could win the above, as well as so many other giveaways that are happening!
01 Dec 2023 5 Comments
in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book Auction, Guide Dogs
Hi Peeps,
You don’t hear from me forever, then you get several posts in a week!
But, from today, I have a lot for anyone to bid on for a signed copy of Straight As A Jalebi, and all proceeds go to raising funds for Guide Dogs.
Please, deep, if you can, my dear friends.
Bidding starts at 10am UK time!
Buy my book on Amazon - Just click the cover image!
Thank you all so much for the votes!!! Click the image for my Winner's Post!
Follow me on Flipboard too! Click the icon to be whisked away to my Flipboard page!
But I Smile Anyway... 