Category Archives: Books

Books, ebook

Three of a kind and a favourite

Since last Christmas Eve, I have published three books.

The Battle of Gravelly Hill, DragonRealm and also Koby Anand. Three different books, with some overlap between them in some fashion.

Koby Anand comes from the Fragments Universe. The same place from whence came Gorbind Phalla and with zombie caper The Battle of Gravelly Hill. He himself had his own story, in Kangana.

I have to say, I think I do, anyway. Gorbind is one of my favourite characters. I feel rather bad, when say he is my absolute favourite. But I daresay he is.

If you do you find yourself looking for a new read, a different read perhaps, over the coming festive season, then why not try these?

Kangana happened because of Devan Coultrie. Devan was my first foray into writing contemporary romance. He gave me the courage to write Kangana.

I would date Devan, Marry Gorbind and probably adopt and parent Koby. That is how those three go together.

Battle of Gravelly Hill and Dragon Realm are also short reads. Short bursts and bubbles of escapism that will while away a couple of hours each.

Books, ebook

Books for the Festive Season: Take your pick!

You can find links to all of these on the side bar, or at www.horticulturalhobbit.com/books.

A mixed bag for you to begin with.

The Devan Coultrie Saga, with it’s three parts, from the Peace Novella Series. He leaves Rugby, a broke-hearted man, to land in Peace Montana. His past catches up with, and Devan’s life changes in interesting ways.

Gorbind and Padmi have anything but a simple, straight-forward romance. Their family are involved for one.

Fragments, gave us a whole universe! But it started with six interlinked stories about loss. See how Gorbind and Koby came to be.

Behind The Scenes has characters as you’ve never seen them before. As well short stories inspired by Birmingham. Also contains the Battle of Gravelly Hill, as a bonus.

Winter is a good time to consider your garden. What might you grow, what could you then cook in your kitchen? How to grow things, how to make chutneys, jams and jellies; learn from my mistakes and see how easy it is to grow your own fruit and veg.

This year has been a busy year for the books and I. As well as the assortment of stops on the Book Odyssey-from Telford to Montana-there have been three releases since last Christmas.

https://amzn.to/3QWmaBP

A complicated Romance with Koby Anand to pull at your heart strings.

Does Gorbind Phalla survive the Battle of Gravelly Hill Interchange and all the zombies that land in Birmingham.

And what might happen, if Dragons land in the second city?

Books, ebook

New Street Authors Advent Calendar Day 4

Soo!!!!! I am one of the newest members of New Street Authors.

A group of Authors, who are committed to supporting fellow Indie Authors and ensuring we all get to find our readership. This is a really diverse group of authors who all write a variety of genres.

As a group, we’ve been participating in an Advent calendar. Here is my window, and it’s a couple of books.

Have you found them yet?

The Battle of Gravelly Hill Interchange, sees Zombies land in Birmingham. Dragon Realm….has dragons!

Links at www.horticulturalhobbit.com/books or even on the side bar!

Books

Commonwealth Games come to Brum

book links

In just over 24 hours, The Commonwealth Games will open in the city of Birmingham, United Kingdom.

I qualify that as UK, as there is another Birmingham in the USA.

Anyway. The City of my Birth, welcomes athletes from across the world to participate in what are the dubbed ‘The friendly’ games.

Birmingham, is friendly to it’s core. Here in Birmingham, the city of a thousand trades, we all come from somewhere. The former workshop of the world has connections to so many places. It’s richness and diversity is what makes it tick.

The City of Birmingham is also a backdrop for at least four of my books. I’ve been thinking for months, how could I make a link with the games?!

I didn’t figure that bit out. Only that I like Birmingham. So whether we think about the Bull Ring, the BMAG, Gravelly Hill, the Jewellery Quarter or the canals; you’d be making a bingo card for all things Birmingham.

It’s not often that Birmingham makes it into books. That’s to say, I’ve rarely encountered it. May be in an Austen, or even Jilly Cooper’s Appasionata, where there’s a bit of ragging towards the CBSO.

(I love the CBSO, and one day, I’ll write a story around them)

I feel positive about the Commonwealth Games coming into town, I hope they happen well.

And if you get time between the events, why not check out the books.

Books

The Fragments Universe

The Fragments Universe first came into being in 2017.

It started with Fragments. A book with sixth inter-linked stories based upon loss and bereavement.

Then came Kangana, with Gorbind Phalla in a contemporary romance.

(He also has his own spin-off The Battle For Gravelly Hill Interchange)

Now, we have a third.

Koby Anand was also a character in Fragments. A young boy, we read about how his family cope with the lost of his mother.

Now, he is older, mature, and arguably even more dramatic. The latest addition is a contemporary romance.

And it’s not all that fluffy!

Books

New release. Koby Anand 7th July 2022

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Available on kindle 7th July 2022

Pre-order today!

https://amzn.to/3A9dDFS

At last. Koby Anand appears to have it all. A good job, a beautiful wife. A family that would do anything for him. They have been with through thick and thin. They help him stay standing.

Koby has been broken, bruised and in both physical and emotional pieces. His road to recovery, hasn’t been easy. The road he travels, is about to get bumpier and then some.

But his life isn’t all that it seems.

Koby has his secrets, as does his wife Arya.

They both have a story. A story with two sides.

Books, ebook

Behind The Scenes: A flash fiction Fragments Compendium

get your ebook copy https://amzn.to/3O2Dun6

Apparently, today is National Flash Fiction day.

This automatically made me thing of Behind the Scenes. The first third of the book at least.

The first third of the book is a compendium of Flash Fiction that relates the to the Fragments Universe.

What is the Fragments Universe?

Well, it stared with the book of the same name. Fragments, a book based upon a grief model that had six inter-related stories. There have been subsequent spin-offs; Kangana for one, as well the Gorbind Phalla Novelette that is The Battle of Gravelly Hill Interchange.

This selection of flash fiction is a behind the scenes peek into the lives of fictional characters. What is it, that they get up to when they aren’t clogging up my fountain pens.

We have Gorbind, Padmi, Devan Coultrie as well as Hades,Lord of the Underworld and the vampire, Lady Aurelia. Some of them, are established characters from fountain pens. Aurelia and Hades are waitig in the wings.

To be honest, Aurelia and Hades have two interesting stories in Behind the Scenes. Aurelia’s a business woman in the eighties, with Hades visiting The Women’s Hospital where meets The Angel Gabriel.

They both have respective works in progress sat next to my desk.

Aurelia also has a second book, that involves werewolves and a cabal of vampires.

When it comes to flash fiction, there is a second volume to be worked upon and developed. We see more of Gorbind and Padmi, which might be rather interesting.

Books

7. Books the Breakdown: Battle of Gravelly Hill Interchange

A bit like dragon realm, what happens if Zombies come to Birmingham,

Oh, and what’s Gorbind doing with himself.

This Gorbind Phalla Novellete was originally part of Behind the Scenes.

However, it felt to special, to nice to be left there.

Published as book in it’s own right, we see Gorbind, Padmi and other sights of Birmingham cope with a pandemic

Yes, yes; we’ve sorta seen what feels like.

This is an apocalypse in Birmingham. Gorbind Phalla is the de factor Lord of the Manor. This is not Birmingham as we know it.

And what’s Spaghetti Junction got to do with it?

Well, have a look inside.

Books

6.Books the Breakdown: Dragon Realm

Whilst Tolkien was inspired by Sarehole Mill, I’m at a loss to identify other pieces of fantasy, apocalypse or such drama to be set in the West Midlands.

I mean, why do aliens, zombies and creatures otherwise unspecified go to other geographic locations?

Why shouldn’t Birmingham not be a backdrop?

Please don’t get me wrong. I love Birmingham; Brummie Born and Bred. I am not tempting fate, being disparaging. Not in the least.

Working with Author city for the book event anthology, I picked the theme of a city of a thousand trades.

And chose to marry that with Dragons.

Here we have ten short stories that see Birmingham become home to some rather interesting creatures.

Books

5.Books the Breakdown: Behind the Scenes

Writing assorted characters is rather fun, to be honest.

Imagine though, what they might get up to when I’m not trying to write them.

Behind the scenes contains three different things.

First, an insight into the lives of the characters that I write, beyond my ink pens and my imagination.

Second, there are short stories inspired by the City of Birmingham. We have some historical romance with Lady Eleanor. A counsellor-there’s a surprise-romance in Digbeth. There’s even a space ship!!!

And what might happen, if Hades Lord of the Underworld came to The Women’s Hospital.

Second, GORBIND!!! Gorbind and zombies. But hold on. I’ll tell you about that in abit.

This was a book-of a few- that I wrote as the world started to get to grips with global pandemic. As such, it’s got a little bit of everything in there,