interview with Alison Bell on bookshow 4th July 2013

Q.  Why are your books by A L Bell & not Alison Bell?

A.  My middle name is Linda and I thought AL scanned better.

 

Q.  So, Alison, please tell us about the book.

A.  the story teller is Mr Friedman.  It's christmas Eve in the orphanage and the magical Mr Friedman weaves wonderful tales for the children, conjuring up exotic food for them and transporting them to far away places, enchanted forests, all the things children dream of.

 

Q.  Is this your first publication and what made you put pen to paper?

A.  This is my first publication although I have written two more books.  I am hoping my second book will be published later this year in plenty of time for christmas, I started writing the stories when I was 18 and my father suggested I gather them together so I had to invent a linking character - Mr Friedman.

 

Q.  I looked on line for any reviews but found none.  Have you had any feedback and who is your worst critic?

A.  I haven't had any feedback so far, only from friends and children who've read it.  Adults take their time but children seem to race through it which is possibly a good sign.  My father encouraged me to go for publication and acted as my editor and was therefore my sternest critic but also my keenest fan.

 

Q.  Were you inspired by another author?

A.  I suppose the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis were my biggest influence and encouraged me to try my hand at folk fantasy fiction.  I also love the works of JRR Tolkien.

 

Q.  I know that you also play the guitar and sing (folk music you said) - what a talented lady.  Any other hidden talents?

A.   Yes I sing and play  folk music and I write my own songs which are inspired by the things I love (nature).  I am also a graphic designer.

 

Q.  Did you design the book cover or have any input?

A.  No, I approached the Writers Guild who took the book on and have been a marvellous help with cover design, marketing etc.  They have their own illustrator.  He showed me his design for the book cover and immediately I knew it was perfect for the book.

I would like to finish up by saying this is my first visit to Scilly and I think it is absolutely beautiful with lovely scenery and friendly people.

Patricia Jones - Boy From Space & Circles of Blood

Patricia was on the radio scilly bookshow today being interviewed with my other guests Jono Grossett age 11yrs and Pippa Grossett age 14 yrs. Jono read the Boy From Space & Pippa read Circles of Blood.
Patricia is a lovely, smiley lady who immediately puts you at your ease. She is over on holiday on the Isles of Scilly, with her husband. She contacted me a few months ago about coming on the show. She wrote her first story at age 5!
The Boy From Space is about two boys, Colin & Niloc, who live in a parrellel universe and look exactly like each other.
Circles of Blood was aimed at older children and is a murder mystery book set in France with two teenage detectives, Mark & Louise, helping Inspector Le Clerc.
One of her books 'The X-streamists' was entered into the Booktrust Nestle Smarties Book Award in 2005
Patricia has been signing copies of her new book 'Boy From Space, Journey to the Edge of Darkness' in Waterstones in Deansgate, Manchester.

31st March

another show with reccommendations for 'books your mum may like' for Mothers Day.
guests Brian Lowen & Babs Simpson.
One of Babs reccommended books (Moyes)won the Romantic Novel of the year award 2011 and she said it was well deserved but the title of the award could put a lot of people off reading it.
One of Brians books (Carew) threw up some controversy in the reviews on other websites as they say it was a book more borne of fiction than fact....?

show 17th March

Guests this week were Maggie Perkovic (aka Vera Lynne because of her love of the 'war era' books)and Babs Simpson. Besides the books they reviewed we also looked at some books for Mothers Day. My pick of the week was: 'The Room by Emma Donoghue'.

march 9th 2011

Jambo, the bookshow is back after a 3 week lay up while the host went to Kenya.
guests this week Brian Lowen & Malcolm Martland.

We are still always on the lookout for 'new blood' on the show. It's quite seemples! Like a book, read a book, write about it, then tell everybody! What you waiting for!

show 10th march

A pre-valentine show but no romantic books to review, we have some valentine ditties & a poem though.
Ro Bennett & Maggie Perkovich are my guests this week and Ro had a book with a valentine theme as it weaves around the Shakespearean tragedy 'Romeo & Juliet' (Juliet by Ann Fortier). The only association with her second book is the first name of the character - 'Valentino' - Heartbreaking & staggering about human endurance (What is the What by Dave Eggers). Maggies books are about human endurance too (Edith Cavell by Diana Souhami and Blood & Sand by the BBC war correspondent Frank Gardner).

This is the last show for 3 weeks as I am off on my hols to Kenya................

show 3rd Feb 2011

Todays show we had Corinna Christopher and Gordon Bilsborough.
One of the books being reviewed by Corinna carries a health warning from other reviewers "the story is sometimes explicit, violent, savage, brutal and disquieting"

Gordon has written three books which he has published on 'Amazon Kindle'. They are 'Conflict of Destinies', Yes Councillor' and 'Ultimate Solution'. Quote from Gordon:
'The great advantage of Kindle electronic books is that one can download about the first 10% of a book free of charge before deciding whether or not to buy it. The books can be downloaded to a computer as well as the Kindle electronic book. The Kindle software for doing this can be downloaded free from Amazon. Another advantage of Amazon electronic books is that authors receive a 70% royalty instead of 10% usually paid out by hard copy publishers, although these publishers do more advertising than the Amazon electronic books'.

Gordons first book is set around the Lancashire Cotton Industry in the late 1800's and his knowledge comes from his family having been in this industry. He says he gets his best ideas from real life. You may recognise the Victorian attired chap on the cover of his book as it is the author himself. I asked him about the designs for the advertising of his books - these are done by his partner Jane Hurd.
Gordon started writing when he was in College and later had a couple of short stories published.
Gordon has another full length political thriller: “Wotan’s Children” underway'.

show 23rd Dec 2010

bookshow christmas special this week with host of guests:
Malcolm Martland, Ro Bennett, Brian Lowen & Babs Simpson.
All got their fave xmas book to mention plus jokes & quips. Well that was how the show was going to start but Malcolm couldn't make it; then there were three!
Babs talked about her fav book 'Frenchmans Creek' by Daphne DuMaurier and Brian talked about one of his favs - Simon Hall.
Ro, however, brough in her IPad and talked about her fav downloaded book, with audio version too! This was: J.R.R. Tolkien: Letters from Father Christmas.
Her other chosen fav was: Michael Morpurgo: The Best Christmas Present in the world

show dec 9th 2010

Nice to see Keri back from Scotland (bit of a shock though seeing him with ginger hair & a kilt....glad I don't live next door when he practices his bagpipes....)
Brians recommended book for a Christmas pressie: Ken Folletts latest but it needs to have somebody help hold it up as its a massive hardback.
Maggies was the 'Strictly Dancing' annual!
My interesting finds were:
Top Gear Wheres Stig (sounds like a 'Wheres Wally' type book)
The Go-Kart Manual (has step by step projects for building your own! - quick way to get down the pub hey)
Teach Yourself to Raise Happy Chickens & Other Poultry (then eat them...)
A Simples Life The Life and Times of Aleksandr Orlov (Meerkat Mania) seemple!
Origami for children (give them something to do with that left over xmas wrapping paper...)

and don't forget cd & audio books for those who can't read so easily or just to listen to at bedtime even. Top 10:
Rudyard Kipling - Just So Stories
Roald Dahl - Phiz Whizzing
Harry Potter
Fry's English Delight & Fry Chronicles (Stephen Fry)
Michael McIntyre - Life & Laughing, My Story
Dick King Smith - The Water Horse
Brian Johnston - The Wit of Cricket
Agatha Christie - Endless Night

show 2nd dec 2010

My guests today should have been Corinna Christopher and Malcolm Martland but Malcolm rang me a couple of hours ago, to say he had a fall yesterday and so wouldn’t be able to make the show. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery go to Malcolm.
So my guest to day is Corinna Christopher and myself. In fact I rang Corinna just to make sure she would be able to make it that she wasn’t snow bound….Lovely sight last night when we had that fall of snow, not so deep, crisp & even..!
Fortunately Corinna was originally going to review 3 books but thinking we wouldn’t have time for 3 I chose 2 but now we are back to the 3, which are:
Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason (Icelandic thriller), The 10th Gift by Jane Johnson (drama set in Penzance & Morrocco), The Night of the Mi’Raj by Zoe Ferraris (suspense tale set in Saudi Arabia)

Besides reviewing these books, each week we will be looking at whats out there in the literary world for Christmas pressies. This week we start with the Sports category. So, put on the kettle, grab a cuppa and pull up a chair, seemple tk!
Sports books I mentioned were The Grumpy Golfer's Handbook by Ivor Grump (could have been Ivor complaint)… is a compilation of all things miserable about playing golf.
Plus the 6 shortlisted for the William Hill Sports book of the year Award 2010. WINNER OF Worlds Richest Sports book prize is former England and British Lions rugby union hooker Brian Moore who received the greatest honour in sports writing, for his gritty and revelatory autobiography Beware of the Dog:

show 18th November

Guests Brian Lowen & Maggie Perkovich.
Books being reviewed: Maeve Binchey’s Minding Frankie, Ava Gardner Love is Nothing by Lee Server, The Watchman by Chris Ryan, In My Wildest Dreams by Leslie Thomas.
Also we will be looking at the results of the ‘radioscillybookshow’ survey. Carol & Nigel kindly let me leave the blank pages in the Airport Lounge, over the latter weeks of the summer, for people to comment what their favourite read of the year had been.

The Book with the most hits was Steig Larssons Millenium Trilogy.
Second Was 'The Island' by Victoria Hislop & Khaled Hosseini 'Thousand Splendid Suns'.

show 18th Nov 2010

Grab your cuppa tea it’s the Bookshow on radio scilly 107.9fm. On the show this week is Brian Lowen and Maggie (Vera Lynn) Perkovic
Books being reviewed are:
Maeve Binchey’s Finding Frankie, Ava Gardner Love is Nothing
The Watchman by Chris Ryan, In My Wildest Dreams by Leslie Thomas
Also we will be looking at the results of the ‘radioscillybookshow’ survey. Carol & Nigel kindly let me leave the blank pages in the Airport Lounge, over the latter weeks of the summer, for people to comment what their favourite read of the year had been.
The results of the survey are on the blog

show 11th Nov 2010

Grab your cuppa tea it’s the Bookshow on radio scilly 107.9fm. On the show this week is Guru (Ro) Bennett and Malcolm (all things great & small)Martland. Welcome back to Malcolm hope you are fully recovered. Books being reviewed are:
Between Sisters by Adwoa Badoe , Giles Coren Anger Mangement for Beginners, The Barn Dance by James Twyman, Jo Nesbo The Snowman.
Anger Mangement for Beginners, so did it work then Malcolm – NO IT DIDN’T!!

show 4th November 2010

Recorded at The Wheelhouse, at the end of the monthly meeting of the local book group.
Lesley Jones, Linda Wornes & Corinna christopher were the hapless victims left behind.
They reviewed 'The Help' by Katherine Stockett.
Lesley reviewed Ian Rankins 'The Flood'
I reviewed Val McDermids - 'Place of Execution'

1st October show

Hello and welcome to the bookshow on radio scilly 107.9fm, the bookshow is sponsored by Bourdeaux bookshop of st marys.

Barbara Simpson & Brian Lowen are guests on the show this week. Brian is reviewing Val McDermid's A Place of Execution & John Grisham's The Last
Juror. Babs' is going to be a surprise....as she doesn't know what she has
read yet..due to the host not asking her til the last minute as I was bogged down in trying to get a holiday sorted - why is it always the woman who has to sort these thing. So, what is Babs reading, well, ... Anthea Halliwell - Cuckoos Parting Cry & Mary Wesley - Sensible Life

Did you know..29 Sep 1973 W. H. Auden died. His poem 'Stop all the Clocks' featured in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Plus,the Flinstones celebrate 30yrs anniversary it started on 30th Sept 1960, and if you look at Google they have done a lovely play on letters to celebrate.

A Place of Execution by Val McDermid
one reviewer tells us why they enjoy her books:
'characters are believable ,and the setting throws up lots of interesting side issues,such as the prejudice of those living in the hamlet.the fact that the story is intertwined with the real life murders gives it an extra edge and its attention to detail and its realism were so good i trawled the net to see if it was a true story'.
(Hey simon kernick is suggested 'a like author' for val mcdermid.. - Brian agreed)

Anthea Halliwell - Cuckoos Parting Cry (I gotta say Babs, this is a Maggi kind of book)

The Last Juror by John Grisham
Reviewers on 'amazon' said:
'Good, but not the best, well written, full of interesting characters, but not entirely plot driven'.
ok book a good build up, but then just fizzled out'.
Brian disagreed - he loved the book

Mary Wesley - Sensible Life ...(author of the Camomile Lawn - became one of Channel Four's most successful dramas, telling an intricate story set during World War II and over two days in 1984) .another book about children during the war period ....- ..........I think you'll be taking over Maggies title of Vera Lynn soon, Babs!
Elizabeth Buchan a suggested like author - Babs agreed

show 23rd Sept 2010 interview with Simon Hall

This was a special show which was recorded Weds night in St Marys Hall. I had a special guest to interview - Simon Hall. I also invited Corinna christopher & Sam Grossett to come along as we had all read his book.
Simon Hall is the BBC Crime Correspondent for the Devon and Cornwall area and the author of 'The TV Detective' novels in which a tv reporter and a detective work together to solve a series of crimes. The main character, Dan, essentially does the same job as the author, i.e. a crime correspondent on the BBC South West News.
To listen to the recorded show go to the link on the blog page

show 16th Sept 2010

Guests this week were: Maggie (Vera Lynn)Perkovic & Ro(Guru)Bennett.
Books under the mic were:
FROM A CLEAR BLUE SKY : SURVIVING THE MOUNTBATTEN BOMB
by Timothy Knatchbull. One review said" Classiebawn is a focus of much of the family interaction and, of course, where the fateful fishing expedition set out from. It is an historic symbol of repression and colonialism but this is lost on the author whose bewilderment at the attitude of many of the locals betrays an astonishing ignorance of their historical, political and economic divide".
Maggie totally disagreed with this comment and said it was clear from the book that the author and Mountbatten clearly did understand!
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
West End Girls by Barbara Tate (couldn’t help but break into song with the title of this book as it was a song by the Pet shop Boys) one reviewer said "This book will make you laugh out loud and cry in parts, but it fills you with admiration at the strength of the human spirit".
U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton
Also laughed at the 'Stella Awards' which aren't for lager but for the daftest law suits to be granted.

show 9th Sept 2010

Fun show today which was recorded on Saturday whilst having a leaisurely coffee on the sun roof of the Atlantic Hotel, on a glorious sunny morning.
I thought I would have a 'harem' of ladies but only ended up with two and a Sultan!
Babs Simpson, Di Peat and Neil Middleton were the unsuspecting guests this week.
I posed the question 'What is your favourite book on your bookshelf and why?
We had Rose Tremain 'The Colour'
Diana Gabaldon 'Cross Stitch'
Neville Shute 'Town Like Alice'
JRR Tolkien 'The Ring'
Daphne Du Maurier
Susan HIll 'The Woman in Black' elequently reviewed by Neil.
Wind in the Willows (given to him by his beloved Gran)
The Shack by Paul Young.

Plus we talked about the audio version of the Karma Sutra! What would happen if the tape stuck in a delicate spot or you fast forwarded by mistake...!

Trivia: September and back to school ….did you know that: while marking exam papers one day in September a teacher named J R R Tolkien scribbled down, "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit." - the first line of what was to become one of the most popular books of all time.
Fun thought:
If you think nobody cares whether you're alive or dead, try missing a couple of mortgage payments!

show 2/9/10

guests this week Corinna Christopher and Maggie (Vera Lynn) Perkovic. Books being scrutinsed are:
Our Precious Lulu by Ann Fine. Serena by Ron Rash. Brooklyn by Coln Toibin & Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

I need a nick name for Corinna who is always reviewing unusual & varied books and is very articulate in her reviews - anybody any ideas?

A reviewers comments about Anne Fine's book who agreed with Maggie: I realised, with disappointment that I wasn't actually enjoying this much as I'd hoped. The writing seemed hectic and unnecessarily fraught.

An interesting review from Amazon about 'Serena': "most of it is plagiarized. It is a thinly disguised tale of an old Hedy Lemarr movie called The Strange Women".
I asked Corinna if she would or could get to tsee this film and se if she agrees...

Most reviewers liked it but one reviewer commented: "Not up to the standard of The Blackwater Lightship, Lacked depth and feeling".
Maggie will try and get a copy of this to read and review.

Craig Silvey: check out the author girls, he’s fair dinkum!!

show 26th August 2010

Special show today as we have author Ellen Renner being interviewed and two young readers (Pippa Grosset, 13yrs young, and Jonno Grossett 10yrs) reviewing Ellens books which are:
Castle of Shadows and City of Theives.
The covers of these books are really beautiful.

I asked Ellen about her favourite authors:
Diana Wynne Jones,Margaret Mayhew, Joan Aitken.

Favourite Present authors who write for children:
Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching
Philip Reeve's Larklight (but mentioned her dislike of Here Lies Arthur as a childrens book)
Garth Nix's Abhorsen
Celia Rees for older children
Sally Gardner Silver Blade & The Red Necklace liked by Pippa as well.

Ellen said how she is fascinated by science and mentioned Einstein and Horishima which was made reference to in her 'city of Thieves' book.
Also, her passion for fencing came in very handy when she wrote the fight scene in 'Castle of Shadows'
but to find out more about this lovely author visit her website:
ellenrenner.com