Tag: Joel Hames

Books, Life, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

My review of Bankers Town by Joel Hames

gibbsdream

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This is the second book I’ve read by Joel Hames and once again I devoured it. The story does dip in and out of the present and the past and if you don’t like that style of writing then this book is now for you, but I love it. I like to see how the threads of the story weave together, and this book did that well. I love the author’s tone of voice, it’s an open and honest dialogue which you can relate to.

If you’re looking for a fast pace of action, this book doesn’t have it but it builds layer upon layer of information, drawing you in with each new nugget. It’s cleverly written, the characters are strong. I will be reading more by Joel Hames.

Pick up your copy of Bankers Town here

Books, Life, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

Round-up​ of the Week

gibbsdream

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News from around the world

Something a bit lighter today.

North and South Korea joined together to compete under the same flag as the women’s ice hockey team competed against the Swedish team. The Swedish team beat them 3-1.

News from London

Serial sex attacker John Worboys is believed to have been moved back to HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire prison having been moved from HMP Belmarsh in south-east London.

Worboys was jailed for a minimum term of eight years in 2009, convicted of 19 offences. Police believe that he may have committed over 100 rapes and sexual assaults. The parole board announced last month that Worboys would be released from prison. Sir Brian Leveson and Mr Justice Garnham will consider whether to allow the mayor of London and two of the victims’ to apply for a judicial review.

I’m a believer that when someone has served their sentence they should be allowed to re-enter society, however 9 years for 19 confirmed assaults, really? Crimes of this magnitude, on this scale, should not allow the perpetrator to see the light of day ever again. That equates to about half a year per victim – or at least all those he was convicted of. When the victims get to live with the effects of the abuse forever then so should the perpetrator.

My News

It’s been another busy working week which has taken up most of my energy and concentration, so much so that I forgot to take my disk lock off my motorbike when I left work on Monday. Needless to say, I ended up lying on the floor in the carpark and my bike suffered a broken mirror. We were both ok though despite the “lovely” gentleman who pulled up in front of us, looked at me and then drove off without even ascertaining whether I was alright.

Managed to get a gym session in, need to step these sessions up though in order to start my training for the half marathon.

I have started redecorating my living room, this is going to be a slow process with so little available time, I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed doing this.

I’m currently reading, and enjoying, “Banker’s Town.” by Joel Hames.

Writing News

This week hasn’t seen too much writing but I have added a little bit more to Illicit Love and I’m getting very excited about where it’s going. If you want to find out a bit more about this series.

Click here to pick up a copy of Is this Love?

Books, Life, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

#Booksarenotfree

gibbsdream

 

There is a growing trend in society to believe that books should be free or heavily discounted and we have all been guilty of feeding into it. I pick up freebies but I am also happy to pay for the books I want. Maybe I can’t get all the ones I want but hey isn’t that just life? I see lots of clothes I like and I might be able to pick up a new dress for a special occasion or a new pair of jeans because my old ones have holes in where no self-respecting forty-something wants holes but I can’t buy every item that my heart desires. Certainly not on my non-existent income as an author. Just as well I have a full-time job that stops me from being a starving artist languishing in a garret with only bread and water to sustain me. My day-time job takes up a huge portion of my week and often leaves me drained but from somewhere I have to find the time for my passion which is writing. My dream would be my writing to take off and be able to write full-time but alas that can’t be at the moment.

Everyone of us has had people who ask for a free copy, I’d like to quote my friend and fellow author Chris Turnbull “erm No! There is no such thing as a free copy…even I don’t get a free copy and it’s my book.” 

We do have a free copy on our computers, sure and we can send it to our Kindle device but if we want a print copy of our book, we have to pay – the proof copy isn’t even free. But let me tell you a bit more about what we’ve paid for: A beautiful cover, a feast to the eye, to tempt you, an editor to shape our words and spot mistakes and inconsistencies. And let’s be clear on this my editor and cover designer, both wonderful women who are also authors won’t accept it if I ask them to provide their services for free–which I wouldn’t do. Some people pay for marketing and do promotional giveaways.

I have three novelettes on the market at the moment and a pending novel (having the red pen treatment). A novelette is small, doesn’t require the same time frame to write it but I still used my time and I still paid for the above items. Yesterday was the two-year anniversary of my first novelette ‘As Dreams are Made on.’ Based only on the cover and editing alone I have lost £36.00 on it. So to recap, two years on and with 104 kindle sales and 16 paperback copies I am still in the red. I haven’t set my price high 0.99p/c because it is a short read. An hour or so of entertainment for under £1.00/$1.00 but still people want it for free. You could argue that if they like it they might buy one of my other books and yes that is true but lets also go back to the earlier paragraph where I acknowledged that I can’t buy all the books or clothes I like. So maybe it would generate sales–but maybe not.

Books aren’t just entertainment they are often an escape from reality –a reality that many people find challenging so given the duality of the product why do we question its value?

I’ve got an experiment for you to try (I won’t do it myself as I previously mentioned my busy schedule 🙂 )

Walk in to or phone your hairdresser and ask them if they will give you a free haircut.

Ring your garage next time your car needs a service or MOT and ask them to do it for free

Who loves having their nails done? Manicure? Pedicure? Facial? Let’s see about this freebie

The list is endless.
I would love to hear back from anyone who gets a freebie. Good luck and happy hunting.

But for this author who works endlessly and pays for the services I receive the only freebies I will consider are those that I choose to give for a promotional event which will require your participation.

For anyone who believes that authors should be paid for their work please leave a comment in support and it you are so inclined please share it with the hashtag #Booksarenotfree let’s get it trending.

If you are interested in my books follow the links:

US: https://www.amazon.com/Maria-Gibbs/e/B00SDDJV1U/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maria-Gibbs/e/B00SDDJV1U/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

If you want to know more about my books have a look at the other pages on this website. You can even see the reviews that I have left for the books I’ve read recently.

 

Books, Life, Self-publishing, Uncategorized

My review of: Brexecution by Joel Hames

gibbsdream
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I saw that this book was released shortly after Brexit and was interested enough to pick it up. I started reading this little book a few days ago and have been hooked all the way through.
The plot is clever, the pacing brilliant. I was taken straight into the story and gripped the whole way through. An unlikely hero, a middle-aged taxi driver who is thrown into a world so dark and shady because one of his passengers left a briefcase in his cab. I didn’t know where this story would go and I loved every minute of it. I am already planning to pick up more by this author.