Saturday, 4 November 2023

My Coffee & Thorn Guest: A Festive Juxtaposition by Paul R Stanton


BOOKS PROMOTED or REVIEWED FOR
Coffee and Thorn Book Tours


Welcome to my Blog!
Wander through worlds real and fictional,
meet interesting people, visit exciting places
and find good books to enjoy along the way!


About the Book

It was Christmas Eve in the good old city of London. Everything was alive with the joyous sounds of festive exchanges; carols floated on the breeze and gently wafted across the cold waters of the river Thames. Multi-coloured lights appeared to festoon the streets in every quarter, and the fragrant heady smell of pine needles could be detected everywhere. There was nothing quite like it. It could be said that there was, in fact, magic in the air.

At that point the Devil arrived at Charing Cross station. He was dressed immaculately in an Astrakhan coat, leather gloves and patent leather shoes that were so brightly polished you could see your face in them. He sported a small black goatee beard and had features that could easily have been chiseled from stone. Smiling, he stepped out into the night. But what was his purpose for being there? Was it purely philanthropic? Or, did he have an ulterior motive up his sleeve? As the evening wore on, the good old city was about to find out.

Genre:  Contemporary fiction, Christmas story

Print length: 178 pages (45K words)

Age range: This is an adult novella, but would be suitable for young adults

Trigger warnings: deaths of miscreants, suicidal ideation and imagery in one brief section, religious themes

Amazon: 

https://www.azonlinks.com/1398494240

Goodreads: 

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/63185507

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The entertainment field has been no stranger to Paul Stanton over the years; having worked in both theatre and television. He has written numerous plays, novels and children’s books, before finally dedicating himself to what he considers to be his magnum opus: A Festive Juxtaposition. After much input it is a work Paul is finally happy with (having rewritten it a total of fifteen times) and regards it as a ‘little Christmas ditty’ that hopefully people will like and warm to.

PRAISE FOR A FESTIVE JUXTAPOSITION

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Please add this to your list of favorite reads. You leave this tasteful pleasure with more life than when you began the first sentence. Amazon review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Every once in a while, a book will come along that stands head and shoulders about the rest. A Festive Juxtaposition is such a book. It contains all the ingredients that make for a riveting read: the magic of Christmas, and everything that goes with it, a mystery that runs throughout the book – hence the term juxtaposition, and not forgetting the interesting snippets of history that fill its pages. It is a book that having read it once, it leaves you with the feeling of gladness and well-being. Like all classics it then becomes a book you will return to again and again. Excellent. Would love to see it made into a film Amazon review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

An exciting tale about the Devil’s appearance in London one snowy Christmas Eve, the individuals he encounters and the extraordinary events that take place during his visit! Amazon review




My review


I loved it! Entertaining, fun - poignant in places, (probably one of the best books to make you think seriously about homelessness!)

London, Christmas Eve. It's starting to snow but people are out and about, celebrating ... well, most of them are.

Then the Devil materialises at Charing Cross station. Elegantly dressed, he starts work... immediately you are expecting mischief and 'bad' things, but - no spoilers... 

Each chapter is its own little story about the homeless, or the troubled (and a few ne'er-do-wells) and Nick, as he usually introduces himself, becomes involved one way or another. There's more to it than that - but, like I said, no spoilers

Superbly written characters and story, with wonderful touches here and there. I particularly enjoyed the little 'asides', some small historical facts, for instance, I had no idea what the column of Nelson's Column is made of, and I loved the section about 'Nick' and Dr. Johnson of the first dictionary fame.

Some of the story chapters are sad, some made me laugh out loud. All were page-turners. And all kept me thinking 'What is his intention... Where is this going?"

The descriptions of London are spot-on. (I live in Devon now, but I am, born and bred, a Londoner.) 

My two small criticisms: I noticed quite a few typos - words and the occasional apostrophe missing from a sentence, but I might have been sent an ARC e-edition to review. I suggest the author has another read-through though, just to check, because this is a super book and it deserves to be perfect.

I think the cover could have been a touch more Christmassy. A few Christmas lights decorating the trees, maybe a Christmas tree in one of the windows - and some snow on the ground. I do like covers to have those extra connections to compliment the story inside.

That aside, a rousing 5 stars - highly recommended. An ideal Christmas stocking filler for any reader!

***** 5 stars

COFFEE AND THORN PROMOTES QUALITY FICTION, FOCUSING ON WORK PUBLISHED INDEPENDENTLY OR THROUGH SMALL PUBLISHING HOUSES. WE WORK WITH LOVE. ALL PAYMENTS TO US GO DIRECTLY TO FUND EDUCATION FOR GIRLS FROM A SLUM COMMUNITY IN SIERRA LEONE.



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Website: https://helenhollick.net/

Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick 





The Jan Christopher Cosy Mysteries
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nautical adventures set during the Golden Age of Piracy

If you liked Pirates Of The Caribbean?
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Wednesday, 1 November 2023

My Coffee Pot Book Club Guest: Who She Left Behind by Victoria Atamian Waterman





Welcome to my Blog!
Wander through worlds
real and fictional,
meet interesting people,
visit exciting places
and find good books
to enjoy along the way!


About the Book

Book Title:   Who She Left Behind

Author:           Victoria Atamian Waterman

Publication Date: October 17, 2023

Publisher:       Historium Press

Page Length: 230 Pages

Genre:            Historical Fiction

“Who She Left Behind” is a captivating historical fiction novel that spans generations and delves into the emotional lives of its characters. Set in various time periods, from the declining days of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey in 1915 to the Armenian neighborhoods of Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the 1990s, the novel completely immerses its reader in a lesser-known era and the untold stories of the brave and resilient women who became the pillars of reconstructed communities after the Armenian Genocide.

It is a story of survival, motherhood, love, and redemption based on the recounted stories from the author’s own family history. The narrative is framed by a mysterious discovery made almost six decades later of a pair of Armenian dolls left at a gravesite. 

Read An Excerpt

“Where?” Her whisper struck the silence like gunfire; Victoria winced, searching the ground near the tree for a good spot.

“Shush. There.”

Neither girl had experience digging holes in hard-packed, root addled soil. The morning’s soft rain hadn’t softened the soil much. For what seemed like hours, they traded the spade until the hole was nearly big enough for their bundle.

Victoria’s stomach clenched when she pushed the bundle into the misshapen hole. The dolls didn’t know what was happening, but she couldn’t bear to think of their unseeing eyes, like dead girls in a grave. Yegsabet’s eyes were huge and wet with unshed tears.

Victoria took the spade. “Tell Nuri to be a good girl, and we’ll be back when she wakes up.”

The mound of disturbed soil was obvious when they were done.

“Let’s find some rocks and cover it up.”

The rocks didn’t make a lot of difference; the disturbed ground was obvious, but they were out of time. The light was shifting.

Sweating and chilled, they slipped through the house, stashing their dirty clothes under the bed and washing hastily. Mayrig would be furious with them for sneaking out if she found out.

Buy Links:

Universal links:

Hardcover: https://geni.us/ze4W9eQ    

Amazon UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Left-Behind-Victoria-Atamian-Waterman-ebook/dp/B0CHJK7YQX

Amazon US:

https://www.amazon.com/Left-Behind-Victoria-Atamian-Waterman-ebook/dp/B0CHJK7YQX

Amazon CA:

https://www.amazon.ca/Left-Behind-Victoria-Atamian-Waterman-ebook/dp/B0CHJK7YQX

Amazon AU:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Left-Behind-Victoria-Atamian-Waterman-ebook/dp/B0CHJK7YQX

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1144042403?ean=9781962465021

Kobo: 

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/who-she-left-behind

Historium Press: 

https://www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/victoria-atamian-waterman


About the author

Victoria Atamian Waterman is an Armenian American storyteller and speaker who draws inspiration from the quirky multigenerational, multilingual home in which she was raised with her grandparents, survivors of the Armenian Genocide.

Her empowerment of today’s women and girls makes her voice ideal for telling the little-known stories of yesterday’s women leaders. Her TED Talk, “Today’s Girls are Tomorrow’s Leaders” has been seen by thousands of viewers. When she is not writing and speaking, she is reading, puzzle-making and volunteering.

Victoria lives in Rhode Island and is enjoying this next chapter of life with her husband, children, and grandchildren. “Who She Left Behind” is her first novel. 

Author Links:

 Website: https://www.victoriawaterman.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoria.waterman.9

Facebook Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/authorwaterman/

LinkedIn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriawaterman/

LinkedIn Author Page:

  https://www.linkedin.com/company/77096030/admin/feed/posts/

Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/victoriawatermanauthor/


Follow the tour

Twitter Handle: @cathiedunn

Instagram Handle: @victoriawatermanauthor @thecoffeepotbookclub

Bluesky Handle: @cathiedunn.bsky.social

Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #ArmenianFiction #WomensFiction #WhoSheLeftBehind #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page:  

https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/10/blog-tour-who-she-left-behind-by-victoria-atamian-waterman.html



*** *** 

You might also like 

books written by Helen Hollick 

Website: https://helenhollick.net/

Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick 



*

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Annie Whitehead, J.G. Harlond, Helen Hollick, Anna Belfrage,
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