Raine Weaver's new book

Tomorrow morning my family and I fly to Italy for three weeks with a side trip to Egypt. I will do my best to post something of my adventures over there but no promises.

Meanwhile I have some news I want to share concerning a good friend and fellow writer, Raine Weaver.

She has just had a new book, The Last Man on Earth, released by Samhain Publishing. I read this some time ago and loved it. Raine has a special ability to create unique characters and place them in an atmospheric setting which pulls you in and keeps your attention until the last word.
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/the-last-man-on-earth

This is NOT a test…
Iris Foley and Russell Carr are old friends who share everything. As they indulge in a marathon viewing of old, campy horror films on a stormy Halloween night, they are suddenly faced with the very real possibility that something has happened to the outside world.
Just as the last gasp of the Emergency Broadcast System issues a dire warning, they are plunged into isolation and darkness. Naturally, they decide to do what any frightened, civic-minded young couple would do.
They decide to have sex.
Now if only old fears, a surprise adversary, and the Apocalypse wouldn’t keep getting in their way…

Go to Samhain Publishing where you can buy this book. You will not be disappointed!

My Five Favourite Books

I decided to confine myself to books I have read in the last five years or so. Otherwise Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Lorna Doone etc. would sweep away all the others. I have chosen the first five to pop into my head otherwise it would have become a battle to decide. I read all the time so had hundred and hundred to chose from and had to narrow it down. As well as many memorable books, I have read many forgettable ones to. Anyway, here we go with the first five I thought of.

1) My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. This author is my favourite so she was the obvious first choice and though I love all her books, her best for me is undoubtedly My Sister's Keeper. Her books are subtle, emotional, deeply-felt reads which linger in your mind for a long time after finishing them. She has a new one out and I can't wait to leave on holiday next week because I will buy it at the airport and read it on the plane.

2) Chocolat by Joanne Harris. This book is loved by many and certainly by me. It is a magical, lush, feel-good book with gentle paranormal elements to lift it out of the ordinary. I've had enough of vampires, fairies and werewolves to do me for a lifetime but I love paranormal at this level - ghosts, telepathy, strange going-ons. I recently read the sequel to Chocolat but wasn't as impressed though it was still a good read. It had a pervading sense of malevolence which tipped the balance away from the essence of Chocolat. I have also read nearly all her other books and love them but none more so than Chocolat.

3) Moonshine by Victoria Clayton. My sister lent me this book and I was enraptured from the start. She is a wonderful writer who pulled me into the world of an old house in need of restoration and a cast of quirky, lovable characters. An unexpected love story is icing on the cake. I am reading another of hers now and though it hasn't captured me quite as well so far, I love her style of writing.

4) Chloe by Freya North. A friend put me onto this author and I will be forever grateful to her. She has a fresh, easy-to-read style that pulls you through the book at the rate of knots. Again I have read nearly all of her books and loved them all but this, the first, remains my favourite. It takes Chloe on a journey of exploration around the British Isles and we discover with her magical places and people as she searches for a purpose to her life.

1) Deep South by Nevada Barr. I have read many of her books and had great difficulty choosing my favourite because I love them all. But this one has a haunting, powerful feel with a scene near the end that will stay with me forever. Her main character (a woman) is a National Park Ranger and each novel is a mystery story set in a different National Park. So, apart from great writing and a complex main character, the parks come to life in a way that no geographical book could describe.