Today I’m delighted to be sharing an excerpt from The Deserter – a Tale of the Foreign Legion by Wayne Turmel as part of a blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club. Blurb Algeria 1908. Gil Vincente is a Boer War veteran, broken and adrift on the rough streets of Marseille. Desperate, he … Continue reading Excerpt ~ The Deserter – a Tale of the Foreign Legion by Wayne Turmel
My Reading – January 2026
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks The Boulevard du Cange was a broad, quiet street that marked the eastern flank of the city of Amiens. Girl at the Lion d’Or by Sebastian Faulks In those days the station in Janvilliers had an arched glass roof over the southbound platform as if in imitation of the big domes … Continue reading My Reading – January 2026
Spotlight ~ Dance of the Earth by Anna M Holmes
Today I’m delighted to be shining a spotlight on Anna M Holmes’s recently released novel Dance of the Earth as part of a blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club. Blurb From world stages to theatres of war, Dance of the Earth is a sweeping family saga. Set against the backdrops of London’s … Continue reading Spotlight ~ Dance of the Earth by Anna M Holmes
People mentioned in And The Women Watch and Wait
This is a list of the lesser known but real people who are mentioned in my novel And the Women Watch and Wait. It is a work in progress and I will be adding to it, slowly, over the next few months. So far, I have been unable to identify Private J Hopkins for whom … Continue reading People mentioned in And The Women Watch and Wait
Two Years of Reading – 2024 & 2025
For a variety of reasons that I can no longer remember, I failed to post my 2024 list of books read over that year. So, I am including those books here, along with my 2025 reading. My total for 2025 is only twenty-two books read, a third less than previous years because a large part … Continue reading Two Years of Reading – 2024 & 2025
My Reading – December 2025
Eileen: The Making of George Orwell by Sylvia Topp ‘Now that is the kind of girl I would like to marry!’ George Orwell told a friend excitedly, the night he met Eileen O’Shaughnessy. The Land in Winter by Andrew MillerHe was lying on a varnished wooden board, the top of a boxed in radiator.
Australia Will Be There
On 22 December 1914, just three days before Christmas, eight transports carrying soldiers from Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania sailed from Melbourne to join up with the rest of the second convoy of the Australian Imperial Force at Albany. For these men Christmas 1914 would be spent in the Great Australian Bight. The convoy, including … Continue reading Australia Will Be There
The O’Connors of Valencia Creek – All Creatures Great and Small
Like any farm, the O’Connor’s farm at Valencia Creek had a variety of animals. In their letters to the ‘Young Folks’ page of the Weekly Times between 1906 and 1914, the O’Connor children mention not only the farm animals but those living in the wild. And they also show the roles the children played in … Continue reading The O’Connors of Valencia Creek – All Creatures Great and Small
Too Far Standing Still by Lisette Brodey
Today I am absolutely delighted to be presenting Lisette Brodey's newly released novel, Too Far Standing Still - a psychological page-turner. Blurb How far would you go to realize your dreams? Tilly Henley was raised in a life of privilege. The daughter of prominent, wealthy New Yorkers, she wants for little. In her late twenties, … Continue reading Too Far Standing Still by Lisette Brodey
My Reading – November 2025
Four Letters of Love by Niall Williams When I was twelve years old God spoke to my father for the first time. Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder I has been six months since the wedding. She uncaps the pen.
Catherine Meyrick 