“Determination can overcome so much.
Ritu Bhathal
For Linda’s #1LinerWeds Challengeb
One-Liner Wednesday – I CAN Do It
05 Apr 2023 16 Comments
in #1linerweds, #onelinerwednesday Tags: #1linerweds, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, determination
Chai And A Chat #230 #ChaiAndAChat
03 Apr 2023 23 Comments
in Chai and a Chat Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Catch Up, Chai and a Chat
Hello there! I am so relieved that it is the Easter holiday! I think I really need the break!
Have you got your drink?
- If we were having chai, I’d start by saying that school was pretty fun this week, though quite hectic. We had a four-day week, or 3.5, actually, with the children and centred most of our learning around Spring and Easter. On Wednesday, we had a great day as I had arranged a Bhangra workshop with one of Lil Man’s old Dhol teachers, who happens to now be a parent at our school. He, along with one of his Dhol colleagues, spent the whole day doing workshops for the whole school, and we were buzzing! There was also a film crew there all day, filming a new promo film for the school! Quite a fun but exhausting week.
- If we were having chai, I’d tell you that I also had an EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Group meeting with other colleagues in our new academy. It was pretty interesting to see the ideas that were swung around, with my own eye firmly on all three of the main concepts of the group. I can safely say that we are at a stage in our own school where we are pretty good at all three… and that our input, hopefully, will enhance the thinking of some others. We also visited some of the other schools on Friday, which was our INSET day, and all I can say is that though there are always positive takeaways from these visits, I am so happy to be working where I am!
- If we were having chai, I’d say that I had a pretty busy weekend (all will be revealed below!), but I managed to have my poached eggs, and read a lovely ARC, called Her Fixer Upper by Emily Kerr. A great book!
- If we were having chai, I’d subtly tell you that Book 2, Straight As A Jalebi, was put on Pre-Order on the weekend, and it has been pretty mad!
- If we were having chai, I’d excitedly say that we crept from #5 to #3, then #2 in the Hot New Releases in Asian Fiction! OMG!!! If you preorder, send me your proof of order so I can add you to a special competition, where I randomly pick one person who preordered to receive a signed copy when the paperback comes out!
- If we were having chai, I would update you on Sonu Singh, who has been busy on the promo campaign, too! He’s really boosted the preorders… I think he needs treats!
As I write this, I am in Birmingham with Pops and Mum, and Lil Princess. We have a couple of days here to visit them, then back home, ready for a Society of Authors meeting, and then the Easter Weekend. Not sure what else is planned, but I hope to get some words in, as well as relaxation!
And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!
Her Deadly Game by @robertdugoni #BlogTour #BookReview @FMcMAssociates #PoliceProcedural
02 Apr 2023 12 Comments
in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blog Tour, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, Her Deadly Game
Something a bit different from me, today. I am on the blog tour for a Police Procedural/Crime Fiction novel by Robert Dugoni, Her Deadly Game
The Blurb
Keera Duggan was building a solid reputation as a Seattle prosecutor until her romantic relationship with a senior colleague ended badly. Now, returning to her family’s failing criminal defence law firm to work for her father is her only option. But with the right moves, maybe she can restore the family’s reputation, her relationship with her father, and her career.
Keera’s chance to establish herself comes when she’s retained by Vince LaRussa, an investment adviser accused of murdering his wealthy wife. There’s little hard evidence against him, but considering the couple’s impending and potentially nasty divorce, LaRussa faces life in prison. The prosecutor is equally challenging: Miller Ambrose, Keera’s former lover, is eager to destroy her in court on her first homicide defence. But as a competitive former chess prodigy, Keera is confident she can outmanoeuvre him.
As Keera and her team start digging, they uncover more than they bargained for. Keera is sure that LaRussa didn’t kill his wife, but she’s starting to suspect that he’s not an innocent man. With a duty to her client, her family’s legacy, and her own future to consider, she’s caught in a deadly game…
My Review
Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I always say I’m not a crime fiction kind of gal, but then I pick up a book, like this one, part courtroom drama, part police procedural, with a whole load of family drama thrown in, and I find myself sucked in.
Her Deadly Game focuses on a lawyer, Keera, who, through no fault of her own, has to leave one job and go, tail between legs, to work with her father and sisters in their family law practice.
She becomes embroiled in one case that she ends up heading after being the after-hours lawyer on duty, which could make or break her.
A murder.
Someone with a motive, but many, many other aspects that don’t tie up, as well as an alcoholic father threatening to put the case in jeopardy and an ex who ends up causing her hell in the courtroom.
Keera’s old interest in playing chess also plays a part in the story. I’m not a chess player, so the different moves and names of pieces meant little to me, but I liked the parallel that was created between the tension in her working life and the online game she is playing.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this. A definite page turner.
About the Author
Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite series, which has sold more than eight million books worldwide. He is also the author of the bestselling Charles Jenkins series; the bestselling David Sloane series; the stand-alone novels The 7th Canon, Damage Control, The World Played Chess, and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, Suspense Magazine’s 2018 Book of the Year, for which Dugoni won an AudioFile Earphones Award for narration; and the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post best book of the year. He is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Book Award for fiction and a three-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He is a two-time finalist for the Thriller Awards and the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, as well as a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award for mystery and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Awards. His books are sold in more than twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than two dozen languages.
Visit his website at www.robertdugonibooks.com
Spidey’s Serene Sunday #421 – R & R
02 Apr 2023 23 Comments
in Spidey's Serene Sundays Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, rest, Spiderman, Spidey, Spidey's Serene Sunday
“If you get tired, learn to rest, not quit.”
Irish Proverb
Perfect, Spidey!
Today I am heading off with Lil Princess to Birmingham to spend a couple of nights with Pops and Mum.
The school Easter break is upon us, so we have two weeks off.
However, it is never a pure two weeks switch-off.
On Wednesday, I have a Society Of Authors meet then Easter weekend comes in. I need to pop into school one day, and Lil Princess has a sleepover at a friend’s one day, too
Coupled with the fact that she has exams, as soon as she goes back, and that Lil Man’s A-levels are a mere few weeks away, I think I will be trying really hard not to nag but encourage the revision to take place.
Hubby Dearest has a couple of days off, too, the second week, so we might try and do a quick getaway, but when we are all at home, it is rarely a rest for me, so, let’s see!
So the next couple of days, after the three-hour drive, I look forward to getting some rest, at least!
So, Peeps, enjoy your Sunday!😊
Straight As A Jalebi – Pre-Orders now open! #SAsAJ
01 Apr 2023 Comments Off on Straight As A Jalebi – Pre-Orders now open! #SAsAJ
in My Writing Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Pre-Order, Rishtay Series, Straight As A Jalebi
Head over to my Author blog for some news!
But I Smile Anyway... 
