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A rarity in this day and age!

Richard Dockett

Rarely if ever does the average reader ‘get’ the story they have just read. Nor do they appreciate just how much its author reveals about themselves. Even when producing their review for the story, most have no clue what constitutes a review.

How many can only be classified as nothing more than a vitriolic diatribe; or, classic examples of the dreaded ‘Spoiler Alert’? The answer is – the vast majority!

Over the twenty-six years I’ve been writing, only a mere handful of reviews actually fall into the accepted rules which most never bother with. My good friend and fellow author Richard Dockett recently wrote the perfect and concise review for my latest offering East Wind. From the get-go, Richard cottoned on to just how much of my previous life was there for all to see when he read between the lines of the story. For those of you who buy via Amazon.com, click on the title in red, to see the reviews, and hopefully, buy a copy for yourselves.

Are there clearly an established set of rules that will guide you? The answer is not really. Commonsense and having the nouse to do what Richard did is probably your best course. The following is a link on the subject of Reviews.

 

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Review: BOXING CLEVER by Andy Costello

A Review from Michael

writerlywitterings

There are few sporting stories that combine the achievement of so much, followed by utter collapse, as that of Andy Costello.

I first met Andy some six or more years ago. He had called and asked me if we could get together over a coffee to talk about his life story. It sounded interesting, and I agreed to see him.

Andy was a tall, very wiry man with a calm, gentle aura. I knew he had been a serious fighter, that he had been in trouble with the police, and had spent a few years in prison. I confess, I was slightly nervous. After all, turning down someone who has a career as a cage-fighter could lead to my seeing a more aggressive side to him.

However, he remained polite and thoroughly professional at all times. I found myself warming to him.

He led me through his life story. There…

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No Time to Die – A Review

Daniel Craig never disappoints as James Bond. Just the opening sequence is enough to back up my assertion. No Time to Die is Craig’s last outing as the eponymous British Agent 007. Ralph Fiennes as M took a bit of getting used to after Dame Judie Dench made the role her own in more ways than one… The ‘woke’ brigade should feel content with M’s secretary Moneypenny and Felix changing colour. And as for a black female 007 replacement – really???

On the bright side, Bond’s favourite vehicle is still the Aston Martin. Spectre is still the enemy. Just as crazy and unpredictable as before. Technology-wise, there are even more gadgets than in previous Bond escapades. If you want to know more, watch it for yourself.  Enjoy. I did!

No Spoilers Here. 

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Another Review

East Wind get’s it’s third review:-

RJ DOCKETT

4.0 out of 5 stars Jack Eason writes fast, enthralling stories, this is another of those.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 January 2022

Verified Purchase
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Kafka and the Travelling Doll

More from my gorgeous friend Stefania in Rome

e-Tinkerbell

What is better that a good  story to make you feel in harmony  with the entire universe at least for a while? “Kafka and the travelling doll” is a beautiful story penned by Spanish writer Jordi Sierra I Fabra,  which, in a way,  throws a different light on Prague-born author Franz  Kafka (1883-1924). Kafka has always been pictured as a gloomy and pessimistic sort of  man, but Jordi Sierra  shows us his sensitive side narrating  an episode which  occurred to Kafka just a year before he died. It is not important to know whether it truly happened or not: it is just heart-warming.

At the age of 40, Franz Kafka, who never married and had no children, was walking through Steglitz Park in Berlin, when he met a little girl who was crying because she had lost her favorite doll. Kafka tried to help the little girl find…

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Notes on Glob and Goblindom

It’s’ about time you all got to know my dear old friend Globular and his family,,,

Have We Had Help?

Globular Van der Graff
For all those who have, or are considering reading Glob’s Tales, here is some additional information:
A Brief Description of the Goblins and Bejuss
All southern wood goblins have green leathery skin to blend in with their surroundings and are very short in stature – barely 3 foot tall. Their ears are pointed and broad. Their mouths contain sharp pointed teeth. They all wear jerkins, and willow bark boots stuffed with dry grass for warmth. In winter they wear squirrel fur mittens. Their eyes are normally chestnut brown. But when enraged, turn blood red.
None of them look old, despite their great age.
Glob is the oldest of the goblin brothers and their leader. He is slim, long suffering, dependable and worldly wise. His favourite pastime is fishing.
Byz is the youngest at barely five hundred summers, and the skinniest. Put simply he is a gentle…

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Beneath The Tree Of Dreams

More from Peter Wells

countingducks

However much she teased at life, dismissing the words of “frail” men, trauma would haunt her waking hours. She said she felt like an empty void, haunted by uncertainties.

Yet to find answers in her life, and out on a reflective walk, she introduced herself to me while I sat under some ancient oak, dreaming of tranquility. She threaded her arm through mine, and said, “I could love you if you choose.”

I had no centre in my life, I can not say it otherwise, but in her gaze I somehow rediscovered hope, gaining a purpose in my life, that she might find her home with me.

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East Wind’s first review

The following is East Wind’s first review on Amazon.co.uk.

Love in all its forms and seafaring adventure

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 January 2022

Verified Purchase
East Wind is a short, quick immersing read. It’s a love story celebrating how love can bring complete happiness but is fragile too.

Until that happiness is shattered…

The main protagonist Olaf Knudsen,
otherwise known as Bill, ‘all his life he had known nothing but trouble, ‘ a murderer but justly in his eyes, loves his ship and cares for it tenderly. To him, the ship is a lady to be cherished and protected from ill-treatment.

And Bill has known what it is to suffer the terrible wrath of ill-treatment.

The love of the vessel itself East Wind is conveyed … in stirring passages…

“From him down to the lowest deckhand, she stirred the hearts of these tough seamen. The captain recognized her Pilot Boat design. Her keel was laid in 1905. She was one of the last of a long line designed by Colin Archer, the Scottish Norwegian boat designer, famous for creating the design for Fridtjof Nansen’s indestructible arctic ship – Fram.”

East wind travels to many exotic and far-flung destinations and Bill does much to save himself and his beloved vessel from discovery.

Bill reconnects to the triad Matriarch Mamma Tan, in Singapore and through her he met Lin Mai, her granddaughter, and falls in love.

About Mamma Tan: ‘Nothing happened in and around Singapore that she didn’t know about. Even though she was elderly, she was as sharp as a tack.”

But all is not plain sailing… troubles amd sadness continue to follow Bill!

Later on in the story, a new love is introduced… for the third gender … when Bill meets transgender Katya and surprises himself by falling in love.

Well written, not quite what I was expecting! I should have read more into the blurb.

Particularly recommended for the LGBT community. But a short enjoyable read for those with an open mind, (mildly erotic,) who enjoy short stories about the high seas and love in all its forms.
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Festive Wishes

More from our Athens Correspondent

Letters from Athens

I am aware I have been less than prolific with my posts lately. I have been kept very busy with various mundane things such as work and holiday preparations and other, less mundane, such as seeing friends before everything is locked down again. I attended a very cozy and festive lunch with old school friends; and a party for refugees organised by the NGO METAdrasi which was the most fun I’ve had for a while. People were so happy to be there and spend a few hours just enjoying themselves. There was so much talent on offer—young people singing, playing the guitar and violin, kids singing carols and thanking their teachers for their Greek lessons, and a play.

What strange times we live in—I still cannot get used to seeing half of everyone’s face covered with a mask. It has lasted so long, and it’s not over yet. I am…

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