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Posts Tagged ‘book-reviews’

Interview with Jemima Hardcastle Huntington

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on January 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Today I am interviewing Jemima Hardcastle Huntington to gather her views on the revelations contained in The Prudential Light- A memoir of a lady–Mrs Prudence Wainwright.

Me: Thank you for agreeing to this interview, Mrs Huntington.

Jemima: And Monster Slayer. You must not forgot that but do call me Jemima otherwise we will be here all day. I have things of a personal nature to attend to.

Me: And Monster Slayer. (Me dying to ask what monsters she has slain recently). Jemima what was your first reaction to reading The Prudential Light?

Jemima: (waves a hand). I had many reactions. I snuck a few reads of the draft while the memoir was in progress you know. My first reaction was, Aunt Prudence is not as old as I thought. My second was she has been through a lot and I realised that my life was not as nearly difficult as hers had been. I was only an orphan and sent to school aged fourteen. No hardship in that in hindsight.

Me: And other reactions? You being blood related?

Jemima: That was a surprise but I liked it better that way. I have grown fond of Aunt Prudence and she is nowhere as annoying as she used to be. She helped me during my confinement you know. Totally surprising at the time but when you read the memoir you understand better. Now that I have a child, I do not think I could have been as strong as she was when she faced such a traumatic separation.

Me: You have returned now to Willow Park. Do you think that you will spend time such a long time with Mr and Mrs Fulton again in future?

Jemima: I adore Fulton and Milly and we get along so well. I wish that we could all live together all the time. I imagine we will stay together either here or at Hatfield when the rebuilding is complete. As it is I write to Milly most days.

Me: I’ve been dying to ask about the Hardcastle talent that appears to run in your family. Was it a surprise that Aunt Prudence has this so called Prudential Light?

Jemima: I knew there was something about Aunt Prudence that needed explaining, which is why we all urged her to write her memoirs. What was contained therein was certainly astonishing. I am glad that she has the Prudential Light and that she was able to use it in defense of me. As for it running in the family, that is a surprise. I thought my power came from the Emerald Fire and also from the magic leaking into me from my Ruby Heart. It appears I always had some of my own. Edward’s magic is like a life force and as he made my ruby heart and he powered it with magic that has slowly come to me. Fulton has the same thing, except for him, the magic Edward placed into his arm and leg keep him alive and also make him strong.

Me: Now that you know Milly is blood related too, do you suspect her of having the Hardcastle traits?

Jemima: Oh you mean like magic? Milly is a wonderful person and she does not need magical talents. She has Fulton for monster slaying but I dare say Milly will surprise us all with some magical talent all her own. Only the other day I had a letter from her that has me quite puzzled. I believe she encountered a fae in the Hatfield estate forest.

Me: That does sound intriguing indeed. We must finish up our interview now. If you had something to say about The Prudential Light what would that be?

Jemima: Are you asking me to sum up the memoir in one word? How odious? Do you want me to say it is scandalous? Well it is indeed. I am glad for the present that is only circulated within the family. There would be an uproar and sell like hotcakes if it was for public release. It discusses all kinds of private things…come to think of it. How do you know about it? You are not family?

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Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Posted in A writer's life, Creative passion, epic fantasy, reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I’m a long time coming to this series. I can’t tell you why. No particular reason.

Back in 2008, I met Brandon Sanderson at Devention 3, the World SF convention held in Denver Colorado. He’s not going to know me from Adam though, but I recall chatting him and Patrick Routhfuss. Later on at the convention, Tor announced Brandon was going to finish the Wheel of Time series.

I had given up on Wheel of Time by then so I hadn’t read Brandon’s ending. That’s not to say that I won’t return to Wheel of Time but I’d like to start from the beginning and that takes time and commitment. Wheel of Time was inspirational to me. Reading the Wheel of Time taught me that back story can be fascinating and having bad things happen to your characters can be a good thing. Basically something I pursued in the Dragon Wine series.

I have met fans of the Mistborn at Supernova a few years ago, who cosplayed Vin and lovingly made vials for metals powders and hand made their cloaks.

Recently, I felt it was time to stick my nose in. I’m cheating a bit, because I’m listening to the series. I’m about half way through Well of Ascension. I am loving this series and there are a few reasons for this.

I find it inspirational. I want to go away and plan out a thoroughly in depth world, with magic systems and a cast of characters who are individualized and create a plot that is intricate and attention grabbing. Listening to this story inspires me to write something because I’m feeling it in the story.

Brandon Sanderson is clever. His magic system in the Mistborn series is to die for. I really love how he uses it–in hindsight it’s probably quite simple but it is an awesome backbone to the story telling.

Similar to the Game of Thrones books, there is the front story, the politics, the struggle and then there is the real threat lurking in the background. The one the audience is screaming ‘Look there!’ but the characters don’t know, or only one does.

I like the fact that Vin is a great female lead. Well done Brandon! I don’t know how it ultimately ends. I can guess, I suppose, but I’m going to finish the series. It is my guilty pleasure. It makes chores and drives fun because I can listen as I do things.

Since that time I first heard of Brandon Sanderson, he’s become something of a legend. He broke Kickstarter and made us all wonder. He has a great fandom and that’s fabulous. I read an article about him during the year about how he writes. What I want to know is how can he write on the couch, with a laptop on his lap and not get RSI, a sore back, a sore neck…is he superhuman?

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The Prudential Light-launches tomorrow

Posted in A writer's life, blurb, new release, Steampunk, strong female lead, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

The ebook is loaded on all the platforms.

I’ve started the process for print production. Just in time because Frauke, the cover designer is taking off on holidays! There will be a paper back version, a hardback version and a large print accessible version (mostly for libraries).

We have updated the blurb. I saw ‘we’ because Matthew Farrer did the hard yards. I send him my thoughts and he turns them into blurbs.

New and updated blurb

A book of manners, magic and mayhem

Aunt Prudence Wainwright, famously daunting dragon lady of the Hardcastle family, has set herself to writing her memoirs. But which Prudence will have her story come out?  

Will it be the maiden aunt who lived quietly in a small village, bringing up her niece Milly and sewing and embroidering to her heart’s content? Maybe it will be the outrageously-dressed, old busybody whose battle of wills with her niece, Jemima, unfolded in Ruby Heart? Better yet, the doughty old warrior hidden under the lace and brocade, who fought off villains with her hatpins and umbrella in Emerald Fire?  Perhaps it will be the family matriarch featured in Amber Rose, prim, dependable, astute at procuring baked goods and deft at baby wrangling, who is at times a tad flirtatious with the older gentry?  Or will these memoirs reveal yet another side of Prudence that the rest of the Hardcastles have yet to see?

With the family’s magical gifts running through her veins, there will be plenty to astonish her relations: adventures, abandonment, heartbreak, secret loves, and dangers. But with new babies on the scene, marriage proposals, battles with rogue magicians, and the very past she is recalling bursting back into her life in startling ways, how will she ever find the time to finish writing!

I’m very excited to see it out there in the world. I can’t wait for feedback, truly. It might be a bit different from the other books in the series.

I’ve started work on The Gentleman Magician but I’m getting lots of ideas for Book 5 so much so that I found it hard to sleep last night. I’m going to be playing around with tropes and cliches. I’m currently contemplating a title too.

Some pre order links but it is also listed on Google Play Books, Barnes and Noble.

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It’s all happening!!!

Posted in A writer's life, Amber Rose, Book launch, Cry Havoc series, Digital Publishing, Steampunk, victorian paranormal, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Amber Rose is up for pre order at major e retailers! !!

Amber Rose is up at Ingrams for a paperback, a hard back and a large print hard pack, with accessible font.

Phew!

I’m currently working on the universal links. Books2Read this time. Here is the link.

Get your pre-order! Date of release is April 10, 2025. All the files are up so it’s just waiting.

I’ve got to send a newsletter as well today and I have a release day blog post to prepare for the ARRA website.

I’ve also been dictating/narrating one of my Dani Kristoff books because I think I should narrate them myself. Aussie accent and all that. And, gee, Amazon and others offering AI readers. I’d rather have a human.

I also have ideas burning out of my brain for A Prudential Light, a short novel about Aunt Prudence Wainwright. This ‘memoir’ is foreshadowed at the end of Amber Rose and I think it’s going to be a beautiful and poignant story, some of which will be set in Singapore (colonial times). I am heading to Singapore in June so I was hoping to wait until then but I’ll have to make notes as the ideas are rushing out of my brain.

Here’s the cover and the blurb for Amber Rose again in case you missed it. Many thanks to the awesome Maxine McArthur of editing and proofreading and also feedback during drafting.

Also, if anyone ones a review copy please contact me on my contacts page.

Blurb Amber Rose

A book of manners, magic and mayhem…and, perhaps, a tad too many scones

All Ambrose Fulton wants is to enjoy his idyllic life at Hatfield, helping his wife Milly raise their little son, tolerating Aunt Prudence and entertaining their friends.

What he gets is a ferocious assault from a violet-eyed automaton that devastates the estate and makes off with his enchanted clockwork arm, brutally ripped from his shoulder. To the rescue, barely in time to save his life, come friends Edward Huntington, gentleman magician, and his wife, the monster-slayer Jemima.

Whoever sent the machine can only have wanted one thing: to glean the secrets of Huntington’s magical mechanical designs for purposes clearly nefarious. Now as well as wrangling an anxious innkeeper, a fake heir, interfering magistrates, odd magicians and some thoroughly unexpected visitors, they must uncover their mysterious enemy’s identity and stop them or who knows what evil ends Huntington’s inventions will be put to?

A final word as this is topical. I love technology and I think AI can be a useful tool for many things. However, I don’t think it’s good for creative things personally. I don’t use AI in my writing and my covers. As I haven’t bought a cover recently, I don’t think my cover artists use it either. I will, however, keep an eye out for it. This is a personal choice for me.

I am a bit of a geek. When I first used Skype and I was over the moon. This is Star Trek come to life. We have moved on from that. I had an Ericksson flip out phone back in the day. Yes, because it was like a communicator from Star Trek. I read science fiction and have loved it ever since I can remember. I have hope for the Human race, although that hope, that belief has been sorely tested of late. I’ve had an iPhone since the early days. Back then people criticised me for staring into my phone, playing with my phone. Now I watch other people do it while I look at the view or what’s going on around me. I still spend way too much time on my phone. I do Duolingo, puzzles, read books, listen to books, read the news, social media (no longer X) and communicate with people via email and text. I love my iPhone and I love tech, but I guess we must have boundaries.

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