Sir Terry Pratchett is the top of my list. If you know his writing this will need no explanation, if you don't know his work, then I have to ask, where on earth have you been for the last fifteen to twenty years? Google him, pick his books up in the library and get yourself hooked - my personal favourite character is Granny Weatherwax.
Neil Gaimen is second on my list. He hasn't brought out as many books as Sir TP, but he is just as good and his book "Stardust" was made into a hit movie. I love his dark humour.
The third person on this particular list is a relative newbie to the publishing world. He has the dry humour and sharp observational skills of Sir TP and the dark yet thoughtful world view of Neil Gaimen. I have the unvarnished honour of being one of his many friends and (before you think this is just Fangirl talk) I would be his friend even if I didn't like his writing.
His debut novel "Wizards" was published by independent publisher Pfoxmoor in December last year and his second novel "Hellogon" followed shortly from Night Publishing.
He is now bringing out a series of Novellas through Pfoxmoor and Smashwords. Who is this publishing marvel?
*smiles*
Why John Booth of course!
Young healthy men are dying, drowning in the Seine with alarming regularity. The only thing they have in common is that they look like each other. Can so many have given up on life and have chosen to kill themselves? There is the faint whiff of otherness about their deaths and when that happens the authorities of Paris turn to the one man who might solve the crime.
Inspector Monde walks the dark side of Paris where the supernatural can be found. Every police force has an Inspector Monde though they try to deny it. When the blood chills and the hairs on the back of the neck rise they send for him and don't look too closely at what he does. For the Inspector does not particularly believe in the Law but will fight for Justice to his last breath.
Marie: An Inspector Monde Tale of Strange and Terrible Adventures is a macabre tale in the tradition of pulp horror fiction, the chills leavened with John Booth's dry humour.
I love the way the author effortlessly draws you into the story with a few well aimed words and leave you wondering what else the Inspector has dealt with if he shrugs something like this off as normal!
And the icing on the cake for this eBook publication? It is available for FREE from Smashwords! Now that is definitely cool...
To pick up your FREE copy of Marie: An Inspector Monde Tale of Strange and Terrible Adventures by John Booth click on this link:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/44173
As it's been a while since I published the reviews on the blog, I'll re-run them for you...
Hellogon is a complex story of love, betrayal and power. John Booth has a writing style that immediately brings you into the world you are reading about. With a few well written paragraphs, he hooks you and before you know it, you’ve read more than you intended to.
The story challenges stereotypes and brings up difficult subjects like genocide and sexuality in a way that makes them easy to understand either side of the issue, but as well as making you think, it is also entertaining, perfect for its target market.
Peter’s relationships with the young women around him are handled deftly, with a touch of romance and a wry sense of humour reassuring the reader that the characters are taking the predicaments they find themselves in seriously. What sex scenes there are superbly crafted, in a way that is natural.
Hellogon discusses the uses of power and the basics of politics without making them boring. From a Teaching point of view, this books would make a brilliant book for a discussion group in secondary school, either for English or Personal and Social Education.
John Booth also knows how to craft a cliff hanger. The last chapter of the book had me alternately aghast at what had happened and agog to find out what happens next!
While the book is aimed at the Young Adult Market, the readers need to be mature enough to handle the subjects covered. It is a book that I can see myself giving to my son and daughter when they are older, safe in the knowledge that there is nothing in the story that would harm them at all.
Hellogon is an enthralling read and one that I can thoroughly recommend, not just as a Writer or Editor, but as a Teacher and a Parent.
To read a free sample: http://www.freado.com/book/8943/hellogon
To buy a copy of this marvellous book:
I love the way the author effortlessly draws you into the story with a few well aimed words and leave you wondering what else the Inspector has dealt with if he shrugs something like this off as normal!
And the icing on the cake for this eBook publication? It is available for FREE from Smashwords! Now that is definitely cool...
To pick up your FREE copy of Marie: An Inspector Monde Tale of Strange and Terrible Adventures by John Booth click on this link:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/44173
As it's been a while since I published the reviews on the blog, I'll re-run them for you...
Peter Craig has been trained from childhood as a fifth columnist for the British Empire. He thinks he has been expelled from the Establishment for murder.When I read a Book, it has to grab my attention quickly and hold it. If I have to work too hard to understand what is going on or get lost in too much information, then I will often put it down as quickly as I picked it up. I suppose in that sense, I am very much like the Young Adults this book is targeted at.
The truth will take him to other worlds and lies will be his only hope of salvation.
Can he save two worlds or will he destroy one or both of them?
Is he a hero or a villain?
Hellogon is a complex story of love, betrayal and power. John Booth has a writing style that immediately brings you into the world you are reading about. With a few well written paragraphs, he hooks you and before you know it, you’ve read more than you intended to.
The story challenges stereotypes and brings up difficult subjects like genocide and sexuality in a way that makes them easy to understand either side of the issue, but as well as making you think, it is also entertaining, perfect for its target market.
Peter’s relationships with the young women around him are handled deftly, with a touch of romance and a wry sense of humour reassuring the reader that the characters are taking the predicaments they find themselves in seriously. What sex scenes there are superbly crafted, in a way that is natural.
Hellogon discusses the uses of power and the basics of politics without making them boring. From a Teaching point of view, this books would make a brilliant book for a discussion group in secondary school, either for English or Personal and Social Education.
John Booth also knows how to craft a cliff hanger. The last chapter of the book had me alternately aghast at what had happened and agog to find out what happens next!
While the book is aimed at the Young Adult Market, the readers need to be mature enough to handle the subjects covered. It is a book that I can see myself giving to my son and daughter when they are older, safe in the knowledge that there is nothing in the story that would harm them at all.
Hellogon is an enthralling read and one that I can thoroughly recommend, not just as a Writer or Editor, but as a Teacher and a Parent.
To read a free sample: http://www.freado.com/book/8943/hellogon
To buy a copy of this marvellous book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hellogon/dp/B004FV54SS
http://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/32945/1/hellogon
http://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/32945/1/hellogon
Jake is 18, unemployed, living with his parents. Jake has a secret in his bedroom – a hopscotch court.
He uses it to visit strange worlds. It helped him find his dragon and missing people, including Jenny, his girlfriend. She doesn’t think Jake is weird. Princess Esmeralda thinks Jake should repay past mistakes.
Jake is a wizard and his life is about to get interesting.
John’s style of writing is highly entertaining and “Wizards” would make the perfect present for the older teenager in your life. In fact I will go so far as to say that you will probably be fighting over who gets to read it first!
Jake is a kid when he discovers that he can use Hopscotch to jump to different worlds. And that he can use the same power to find people. So, when at eighteen, he is asked to find Jenny, he agrees reluctantly. Within a few months all hell has broken loose and not just because of his unusual pet!
“Wizards” is an entertaining, funny, light-hearted and serious look at growing up into your own powers, be it mind, magic or muscle, something that many teenagers will be able to empathise with.
Available in Kindle and Print from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wizards/dp/B004C44GN2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3TVV12T0I6NSM&qid=1291292708&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Wizards-John-Booth/dp/0982979150/
Jake is a kid when he discovers that he can use Hopscotch to jump to different worlds. And that he can use the same power to find people. So, when at eighteen, he is asked to find Jenny, he agrees reluctantly. Within a few months all hell has broken loose and not just because of his unusual pet!
“Wizards” is an entertaining, funny, light-hearted and serious look at growing up into your own powers, be it mind, magic or muscle, something that many teenagers will be able to empathise with.
Available in Kindle and Print from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wizards/dp/B004C44GN2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3TVV12T0I6NSM&qid=1291292708&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Wizards-John-Booth/dp/0982979150/
So that's everyone brought up to date on the published works of John Booth - if you would like to know more about him or read more of his wonderful work, visit his website - Scrawls in the Dust.
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