Fairy lights twinkled in the kitchen. She eyed the twisted thin cables and the tiny bulbs. Even the simplest of twinkles are underlyingly complicated, she thought. She took a glug of bucks fizz from the bottle and felt the welcoming feeling of fuzziness. She sliced the blackcherry cheesecake into segments and stopped and gazed at the rain streaming down the window. She tried to recall a previous boxing day where it had rained but she had only remembered grey stillness and snow. She carried the sliced cheesecake into the lounge where chatting and laughing heads wore paper hats from christmas crackers. ‘Cheesecake anyone?’, she shouted above the voices and music, but their heads didn’t turn. She felt herself shrink like Alice. She threw the cheesecake at the nearest wall and collapsed to her knees. Feet began to dance around her as though she were a handbag and she shrank even further until she was head level with their prancing toes. She waded through a blob of cheesecake when the sweet fragrance of blackcherry hypnotised her into stillness and invited her to a place where exotic trees and flowers swayed in a caressing breeze. A place where birdsong serenaded her and where feathered wings provided a blanket.

Tuesday night music club,

The first of a million kisses,

Magic and medicine,

In and out of consciousness.

Love, angel, music, baby,

Love sensuality devotion,

So beautiful or so what,

Life in slow motion.

Poem by Donna Henderson (alittlebirdtweets) 2020

This poem uses music album titles only. Life on furlough has fuelled my creativity!

#poems #poetry #books #titles #albumtitles #music #albums #songs #thoughts #creativewriting #prosepoetry #prose #spokenword #writingduringlockdown #furlough #coronavirus #covid19 #alittlebirdtweets #writing #fiction

This is my truth tell me yours

On how life is

In and out of consciousness

We’ll live and die in these towns

Protection

Stripped

This is my truth tell me yours

Emergency on planet earth

Live and dangerous

Life in slow motion

Nurse

Hear my cry

Playing the angel

This is my truth tell me yours

The unforgettable fire

The long road

Around the sun

Day and age

Endless summer

This is my truth tell me yours

Magic and medicine

Paradise

Feels like home

Home before dark

Breathe in

Life in slow motion

Poem by Donna Henderson (alittlebirdtweets) 2020

I wrote this poem about our life during the Coronavirus pandemic. The poem uses music album titles only. I used a Manic Street Preachers album title at the start of every verse, and a part of their band name for the title. Life on furlough has restarted my creativity!

#poems #poetry #books #titles #albumtitles #music #albums #songs #thoughts #creativewriting #prosepoetry #prose #spokenword #writingduringlockdown #furlough #coronavirus #covid19 #alittlebirdtweets #writing #fiction

Placing book titles together to form sentences, poems, lyrics, thoughts, stories 📚

I see you, Songbird
the new bestseller
the shadow of your smile
Born scared

Poem by Donna Henderson (alittlebirdtweets)

I see you, by Clare Mackintosh
Songbird, by Josephine Cox
The Shadow of your Smile, by Mary Higgins Clark
Born Scared, by Kevin Brooks

#poems #stories #books #titles #thoughts #creativewriting #writingduringlockdown #alittlebirdtweets

She fails to fill the void, she is constricted inside, her heart squeezes into lime juice straight to her eyes, dissipating out through her pupils into the charcoal dusty skies. Her heavy metal voice spins sunrays into shrapnel, splinters etching her face into a plaster-cracked mural. Trey and her, they sway in circles, with upturned hands, fingerprints spiralled, they are reaching for their destinies with their parallel energies, their lip-balm scented breaths are blowing kisses in synergy, and just as the scorpion tosses its tail to the earth, she relives her dark demise and her remarkable rebirth.

Hello Readers!

Today, I finished reading the psychological-thriller ‘The Twins’, by Saskia Sarginson. I have written a review below which follows my usual ‘review from a writer’s perspective’. Instead of reviewing from a plot-based ‘this-is-what-happens next’ perspective, I review ad-hoc elements of a book which help me to develop as a writer. I capture notes on setting, character dialogue, theme and plot, along with all of the other elements, as I read, and I put them together into one big review. The review does contain spoilers, so if you intend on reading the book then please do so first. But please also visit again as I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I absolutely loved this debut novel from Saskia Sarginson. I purchased the book from a charity shop (as I love the re-use, re-love technique!), having been drawn in by the title, ‘The Twins’, and the accompanying image of two twin girls sitting side by side. I think the appeal was not only in the subject of twins and the psychology that exists between them, which I find fascinating, but I also think that at the time of buying, my mind was dwelling on another book that I had read a few years previous, which was also based on the subject of twins, and which I had loved. The book was ‘My Fearful Symmetry’, by Audrey Niffenegger.

Firstly, I must confess that I did find ‘The Twins’ difficult to connect with in the first few chapters, and at this point I was wondering if I was actually going to like the book. But I persevered, and I am so glad that I did! This really does show that you have to stick with a book in those times when you just want to give up!

The first person is told from the twins – Viola’s and Isolate’s perspectives, from the time of childhood to early adulthood. These perspectives are broken down into scenes in chapters and are given no particular order. Sometimes I did have to work out who was speaking, while other times it was made obvious from the outset. I feel that this haphazard technique (as opposed to ordered novels) made the book very interesting and natural. Sometimes we were thrown a little section of adulthood right in the middle of childhood, which I found brought the memory and the present day closer. We tend to see this technique a lot in films; where the scenes flick from past to present. I guess that sometimes showing memory and present day so close together gives both more emotional punch at that particular time (rather than spacing those connections chapters apart).

I am a huge fan of psychological thrillers, and I quite often love a character to be the leader over plot. I felt that in this book, plot and character were of equal measure, which was refreshing. I found that it took a bit of time to fall in love with the characters, but I think this goes with most books. May be humans need time to pass by in order for us to connect emotionally with a story, the more we become familiar with it. I am not entirely sure when the pivotal point was that I felt I began to love the characters – but it might well have been during Rose’s (their Mother) every day routines, and during her dialogue to her daughters. Rose came across as natural and wild which was a change from the familiar ‘heart in the right place / faced with a problem that tests him/her to the limit’ characters that we see in these genres.

I found the book had a huge emotional impact on me. The memories that were described in the present day (after us going through those events in real times in their childhood) is what had achieved this. There is a power in repetition – of living through an event and then re-living it through memory later on in years. Another powerful element was the use of showing ‘handwritten letters’ from one character to another. When a handwritten letter is used, we have the perfect medium of seeing how a character feels about another character, as opposed to a character speaking out how they feel through dialogue. The latter doesn’t quite have the same emotional impact as the first.

I loved how Saskia described location and setting, and how she used it during action and time of character reflection. Her choice of the natural world – the sea and beach, the trees and skies – were all perfect for the mood of the scenes and the story as a whole. The tower was particularly atmospheric too which to me made a connection to the dark fairy tales of childhood.

I thought the biggest negative element of the book was the inclusion of a storm at the end. The storm was used in order to stop the characters from contacting each other at a very crucial moment. This is a method used a lot in horror film. I think horror film gets away with it to a certain degree (as it adds to the fear and drama), but sometimes in books, I see it as somewhat cheating the reader. It is as though the story has been left to wander alone, left to chance, beyond character control. If there hadn’t been a storm for instance, then what would have happened? Would the characters have made a different choice? I suppose we could see that as being life in general – the cause and effect of our every day?

There was definitely a sadness to the book – a feeling of time lost, of regrets, of wanting to grab back the past. This is a universal emotion of which we can all relate. I also believe that it is one of the most powerful emotions in fiction – forcing our hearts to ponder over our own lives and experiences in the same way. Although we are living the characters experience, we are also very much living our own too. A parallel power.

The story also had a coming-of-age theme. We see the twins grow up and discover the twin boys as friends and first loves. We are also shown the dark side of eating disorders and how these can develop. Saskia approaches this difficult subject using such delicate yet powerful writing.

I would recommend this book to any one who has the tendency to feel nostalgic, and to those who often dwell on the past and daydream while doing so.

Before I say goodbye on this post, I’d like to give you an update on my writing and reading happenings. I have read seven books of varying themes this year, and my goal is to read eighteen. I have managed to review most of them, which can be found on Goodreads, but at the end of the year, I am going to write a 50-100 word review of each and post it here on my blog.

I have also been working on my first novel, which has been pending over many years. But I think this may be a good thing, because it seems to have morphed into something a lot more powerful than five years ago. I have an on-the-go file that I add to as I go about my day – popping in ideas on post its!

I hope you are having a creative year!

Will be back very soon!

Donna x

Hi Readers,

I hope you have all had a wonderful start to the year. I returned to work in January, after spending 15th ‘marvellous’ months on maternity leave with my daughter, Delilah. Returning to work in the first week brought on two emotions that seemed to clash. In one sense, I had felt sad to leave my baby and I had a fear of losing the close bond we’d created over the months. In another sense, I was looking forward to returning to my job as a data analyst, getting involved with spreadsheets, and of course, catching up with my wonderful colleagues. I had thought to myself that ‘time’ would be the only thing that could fuse together these two emotions into a ‘right’ – a normality. Five weeks on and my emotions and the daily routine are balancing out perfectly. Delilah has a beautiful mix of nursery and playing with other babies, being with me on a work-from-home Wednesday, and spending time with her Grandma. She has a variation of days in her life that will hopefully create a roundness, a confidence in her, and the vital life ability to be able to adapt to change. I am grateful every day of my life for the good that I have been given.

During the 15 months on maternity leave, I managed to read 12 books. These books were mostly quick-reads, which were perfect to fit around baby’s short naps. Since the start of my commute into London five weeks ago, I have returned to reading novels. A couple of weeks ago, I finished reading a fabulous gothic-mystery-crime book called Arrowood, by Laura McHugh. I must say, I read this book on my first day back and the plot and characters had helped to take my mind off of the sad emotions that I was feeling. Books can be a fantastic therapy, and a wonderful escape from reality for a while! I have written a review of the book ‘Arrowood’ below, and like all of my reviews, they are written from a writer’s perspective; I delve into the elements of writing that I see in a book, which I then note down to help me shape my own writing. Instead of giving a normal run-down of the plot, I take out elements, and these elements may contain spoilers. So if you want to read the book, then I’d advise you stop reading now. But do please come back to read it, as I would love to hear your thoughts!

Arrowood is the title of the book, the the surname of the protagonist, and the name of her childhood house (also the central setting of the book). Using this combination ties several of the major elements of writing together, and it gives them a strong connection. We don’t have to keep questioning the title of the book as we read, because it is embedded deeply in our minds from the very beginning. Arrowood – how can we forget it! The protagonist’s first name is Arden, which I found to be unique and memorable – the sound and echo of her first name really fused with the surname and title of the book. Arden Arrowood – what a fabulous name!

Arrowood is a stately home, which has been occupied by generations of Arrowood – whom are mentioned throughout the book. This gives us a sense of history and that all important ‘past, present, future’ that I believe all books should possess. The past generations that are spoken of in the book, bring a sense of age and a past ‘liveliness’ to the home (which is a contrast to the quietness of present). I tend to look for contrasts in all elements of novels, whether it be a contrast of characters, weather, dialogue, location, theme etc. They help to give that very important ‘lightness’ and ‘darkness’ that the reader must feel. As they say, the sweet isn’t as sweet without the sour.

In the present day, we see Arden return to her former childhood home of Arrowood. A perfect example of a winning story trigger, whereby a character ‘enters a new surrounding and endures a new goal and life’. Her and her family had left the house ten years previous, after a devasting family event had hit them; Arden’s two baby twin sisters had gone missing at Arrowood. In the present day we see Arden return in an attempt to find and relive the life she once knew. She has a yearning to reconnect with the twins, to find out what happened, and this inner yearning develops into passive detective work (when she meets and interacts with other characters and uncovers secrets along the way). I guess the goal grows stronger and stronger, and she and we then go on to find out what really happened to her sisters. This is what creates the page-turn – those burning questions that linger in our heads – what happened? Are they still alive? In general, I find books that pose big and clear questions are often the books I finish (even if those books are somewhat boring – Arrowood isn’t one of those). As writer’s, we must ensure that before we pose big questions to the reader, that we connect the reader with the character on an emotional level. The reader must care about them, or at least be intrigued by them, otherwise the question doesn’t have quite strong a hold on us.

In this book, and sometimes in life, we learn that versions of a story can be kept and modified through generations – until the truth is distorted entirely. This can be from different versions of a memory, and also applying a different aspect to an event. And with new evidence uncovered, the facts can affect the present day and the future. This is especially true of childhood memory, which is something that affects Arden. She has a clear memory of her Sisters going missing – but then her memory is questioned by another character which then leads to her question herself, and thus it changes the course and events of the story. This is a great plot trick – whereby the reader is ‘on course’ and feels safe in his or her knowledge of the situation. The reader may even feel clever at this stage – as they feel that what they know is enough to provide them with an answer or several anwers to the big questions. Then boom! The reader is shocked as they are showed a new revelation, and have to take a new path and direction entirely. Being a step ahead than the reader is a big challenge for a writer. We must discuss every possible angle and answer of a story so that the reader does not feel fooled – yet we must provide a shocking answer that is both viable and acceptable for the reader too. This can create the wow factor.

As mentioned, the book mixes past present and future, and it shows us how all of these elements shapes us as the people we are today. The key message is that none of us can ever truly live in the past or the future, and that only the present is certain. This very second. We can store memories but they can never be truly relived as we once knew them – as Arden discovers. We can only really hold on to scenes and fragments of them in our minds. Memories can sometimes be clear and sometimes be blurred. If you asked ten different people their version of the same event, chances are they will all be different. This will be due to the different workings of our minds and how we use and apply our senses.

Lies and secrets are also a very big theme in this book, and they are explored wonderfully through character and dialogue. A character holding something back can prompt that wonderful thing called conflict. This occurs with Arden and various characters in the book.

All in all, I absolutely loved this book. But along with all the good bits, I must pick out one element that annoyed me – one which tended to appear throughout the book. I found that Arden’s experience of the setting she was in at that time (how she reacted to weather, the objects she was seeing etc.) felt like it disturbed the flow of dialogue between her and other characters. There is an importance in letting the reader know the surroundings, but I felt that there was a type of written pattern forming in every section of dialogue – and that each time I spotted the pattern, I turned to skim-reading just those parts. Sometimes ‘setting description’ can be a beautiful thing, but when it feels like it is padded out it has a different touch entirely.

The themes of darkness, loneliness, mourning for the past, and loss were very powerful in this book, and I would consider this to be the author’s strongest skill. I would definitely recommend this book to mystery lovers, readers that love a dramatic-old-house at the forefront of a book and a good old ‘missing persons’ plot.

I hope that you enjoyed reading the review, and I do hope that I have provided some writing insight on what I consider to be a fabulous book.

Whilst I was writing this review, I also managed to read ‘Strangeland’, by Tracey Emin. At first, I thought it was going to give me an insight into her work as an artist, but it turned out to be a fabulously shocking biography – in ‘memory-diary’ format. I have written in my notebook to follow up with reading a book that is based on her work. If there is one in existence.

I am almost approaching the end of ‘Thin Line’ by Michelle Paver, which I will be reviewing in the coming weeks. It is a mountaineering/survival/ghost story – a plot that intrigued me.

I look foward to hearing your comments and thoughts.

Until next time,

Donna x

With the long crawl of time a coldness in my heart a numbness in my mind I exhale droplets into the air and fast they fall like hail from clouds they smash to the ground I step to the platform edge I am a face of rage torn today my world has no tomorrow or no yesterday I am a woman scorned with no poems forged I hear countless raps of repetitive trains on repetitive mornings those early mornings when you are drinking water to wash the dust and dead skin from your dried-out throat and your dried-out eyes they no longer cry under the fluorescent lights where office suits and ties weigh you up weigh up your life when you hide behind your frizzy hair burned out from under summer’s long stare styled in tongs for too long brushed a billion times until the fallen strands become a train pad for selfish suits to comfortably sit with their legs crossed their newspapers upright their eyes fixed on Financial Times numbers stocks and shares supressed in their minds I wonder how weak we must be to ride the endless rock the endless rap motion upon track and ballast the rap rock sound a dismal rap track a dismal ballad without love we stand on a platform edge swaying we stare at the back of knitted-hat heads in cold feet with cold heart with cold stare we wait for the doors to open

Hi Readers,

I hope you are all well and you are having a fabulously creative year!

I have been busy reading books this year (more than writing) and I am happily on track to meet my reading goal of 12 books. I have read 8 so far this year. This is not too bad with a nine month old baby pulling at the pages as I feed her!

I have been reading quite a few Quick Reads books of late which I have loaned from the local libary. I love to support my local library as I feel it has such a vital part to play in the health of the community. When I walk in I often see babies and children in the children section, either reading or attending a monthly class. I often see elderly people relaxing with a newspaper and students looking up books in the reference section. A library is a wondrous places for people of every age. It crosses so many paths and lives.

Today, I finished reading a Quick Reads horror story called ‘The Little One’, by Lynda La Plante, which I found to be excellent. The story was one where the paranormal meets human; a subject I am always fascinated with. Keeping in mood, but slightly different in theme, my next read is going to be another Quick Reads book called ‘Wrong Place, Wrong Time’, by Simon Kernick. It is basically about friends who go out hiking and encounter a half-naked girl who cannot speak English. She is running away from someone and it is up to the friends to decide whether they should help her, even if it means putting themselves in danger. Ths synopsis totally grips me and I am so excited to read it.

I have been posting reviews on Goodreads for some time now. Some reviews are more detailed than others and some contain my views from a writer’s perspective. I guess that there are certain books that don’t leave much to say and so ask for a very simplified review – not to say these are bad books – but they are books that perhaps didn’t spark anything substantial to note down. Then there are those reviews in which I ramble and cannot get my words out quickly enough as I am filled with inspiration.

So what else have I been up to? Well in the beginning of July, I attended the amazing Buckingham Literary Festival, over three days. There I attended two talks by well known authors, Peter James, Louise Doughty and Clare Mackintosh – where I received signed copies of there books. These talks were super inspiring with the authors talking about their inspirations, how they approach writing and their thoughts on the Police unit. I have lots of notes on the talks, which I intend to write up and post on here very soon. I also attended two talks on writing; one on fiction writing and one on publishing. Again, I have lots of notes from these which I shall share with you in the near future. At the festival, I had been given a leaflet about a fiction writing class, which well known author Judith Allnatt will be heading. I signed up immediately and I cannot wait to attend in October. As writers, I think it is wonderful to find a network of people in the same world as you. There are so many wonderful literary festivals in the United Kingdom, and I am noting down Hay festival as a must visit for next year.

Readers, on a different note, have you heard of Trello? Last week, I discovered the Trello app by chance. It is a project management app, but one which I believe will also be perfect for my novel planning and research. With Trello you can collect all of your ideas, notes, images and keep them together in a given order via a card system. I am now using it for my first novel and I really think this is going to help me make quicker progress with that all essential ‘dipping in’ and ‘dipping out’ system that seems to work between baby feeds and nappy changes. I really recommend you try this app, if like me you tend to have bits of your novel everywhere and in no particular order.

Lastly, if you would like to keep up to date with my literary happenings, then please do follow me on Twitter and Facebook and Goodreads, which I use for all those little posts that I don’t necessarily want to use on my blog. I do like to keep my blog exclusive to my writing, occasional updates and book reviews. You can find me here;

Facebook Author Page link;

https://www.facebook.com/alittlebirdtweets/

Twitter Author Account link;

alittlebirdtweets (@alittlebirdtwee) on Twitter

Goodreads as Donna Henderson

I hope to see you there!

Best Wishes,

Donna x

Crimson, mauve lights, flicker on smooth nineteenth century stone and converse in round whirlpools. The interval. A cello is off-key, eager to catch the racy strum and leg-kick of the bassplayer. Or is that just the distorted sound of Jazz? Eager mouths, alive with applaud, contort into triangles and squares in round stained glass windows. Hundreds of guts wreathe with laughter. And the white suited joker, mic taller than him, his hands reaching up, exhales his final line, his brow gaped in wonder at their very wonder of him. And I can feel the musk air that has likely never seen light, seep through the long varnished seating and into my bare thighs, letting out a shudder just like the kick of ginger root beer that catches my tonsils, my breath. I swallow, knowing that in this very minute, this moment, the world is sparkling and thriving and alive. I swallow, unaware we have escaped the gunshots, the explosives, the blades, only three miles away, or thereabouts, at London Bridge.

​Hello Readers,

I hope you are all well and you had a fantastic and creative 2016 – and a most marvellous Christmas and New Year celebrations.

I had an amazing year due to some big and spectacular life changes which I am going to tell you about shortly. These life events took priority over my writing and reading which is the reason why I haven’t updated my blog in a good few months – so I apologise if I haven’t managed to reply to your likes and comments. I will do. I promise.

On 1st October, me and my fiance Paul moved into our new house. I was heavily pregnant at the time so it had been a struggle for us both. But when all of the boxes were in the new home and the door clicked closed, we had let out a sigh of relief. We were in at last and we could take our time. Two months on and we are now practically sorted – bar a couple of rooms to be painted and furnished. We arrived in our new home in autumn/winter and we cannot wait to spend some summer days in our first garden.

Even bigger news than the house – on 23rd October we gave birth to our beautiful daughter Delilah, whom will be eleven weeks tomorrow. She was two weeks early and weighed 6lb10oz. I will be posting a photo on my facebook author page if you are curious as to what her little face looks like. Her character is developing very quicky and she is already smiling at rattles and toys and sucking her hands. We are so very happy that she will have her own nursery – a room that will be hers to enjoy for many years to come – and will no doubt undergo many transformations as she grows. We will certainly be filling it with many books. I want her mind to be filled with wonderful stories to stir her imagination. I am proud to say that Delilah has also joined the local library and has her very own library card – you can’t start books too soon. I visualise us spending many Saturday mornings in the library browsing the shelves.

Now that we are in January, and the festivities have come and gone, I really do feel that I can take a deep breath from life and begin to focus on my creativity again. I will be on maternity leave for a year and not only am I excited about spending this special time strengthening my bond with Delilah, I am also excited about the freedom that I am going to have to read books and write (in between those baby naps). Prior to maternity leave, I was commuting long-lengths into London, and tiredness would often overwhelm me and pierce my creativity bubble. I would manage to write, but most often with tired eyes. Although I do still get tired, I can honestly say that commuting and work is a tougher kind of tired than being baby tired. So I feel that this year is going to be a fabulously creative one.

Today, I started reading Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty – my first read of the year. I managed to read ten books in 2016, so this year my aim is a realistic twelve books. Instead of writing a to-read list as with previous years, this year I am keeping it random. Although, I do want to delve into more of Dean Koontz’ books. They always stay in my mind.

As always, I will be looking forward to staying connected with you all, meeting new bloggers and reading all of your wonderful and inspiring posts.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year,

Catch you soon,

Donna x

​Hi Readers,

Yesterday, I finished reading the thriller, ‘The Girl on the Train’, by Paula Hawkins, and I must say that this was a complete page-turner from the very beginning. Before I continue, please note that the following review does contain spoilers. So if you are planning to read the book I advise you stop reading now. As some of you may be aware from my previous book posts, I tend to analyse and review books from a writer’s perspective; as a means to teach me to become a better writer, and this can sometimes mean giving away elements of the book.

The first thing that grabbed my attention with this book (and actually made me buy the book) was the title, and the fact that I am also ‘a girl on the train!’ I have commuted on trains into London for eight years now, and I have used different lines on the London Underground, depending on where I have lived. From the very first description of setting in the book, I was reminded of Putney Bridge (on the District line) and my days of looking out of the train windows at the Victorian houses and the roof terraces. The fact that you can see up-close into the gardens and windows of the houses had a strong link with the real setting in the novel. I believe that the subject of the train, commuting, and the passing of numerous houses on the journey is quite a universal subject in which every human can relate. I also believe that the universal theme is what makes the book so successful. It certainly makes me think of my own work and themes as a writer – would I want my work to relate to a majority of people, or the entire world?

The Girl on the Train is a straight-forward read when it comes to the thriller genre. The reading focuses entirely on the characters and plot, which every great novel should do. There are no over-arty sentences or paragraphs, and there are certainly no over-the-top descriptions, as with some other books that I have read in the genre. Although I am a lover of poetry and creative descriptions, there is a time and place when it comes to novels. I find that sometimes over-used description can have a detrimental effect on the progress of the story, slow it down, and often irritate me as a reader. I think a great solution is to weave in the beautiful settings and descriptions through the actions, which I think this novel does brilliantly.

The book follows the perspective of three women. Rachel is the lead character ‘the girl on the train’, and she becomes entwined in the lives of Megan and Anna, from what she witnesses on the train, on her daily commute. As a trio of characters, together they slowly reveal a love/murder mystery, and this occurs through different time-frames (dates and times which are printed on the heading of each chapter). I particularly love the first-person perspective in writing and it works wonderfully with these three characters; each of them has their own unique voice and personality, yet there is a similarity in voice that ties them together. Although the first person can be a restrictive point-of-view (in that you only get to experience the story through that characters eyes and thoughts) you do tend to get the strongest connection between character and reader with this view-point – because it is as though the character is talking to us, the reader, directly. I think had Paula only told us the story from Rachel’s perspective then the book would have certainly felt restricted, but the fact that we have three characters narrate, makes the novel much more rounded and colourful. And whilst I am speaking of characters, another element I particularly loved about this book was the small number of characters. There were just enough to make the novel interesting, yet not too many characters which can make us feel disconnected and confused.

There was one element in the book that I did find rather annoying, and this was the author’s tendency to over-mention Rachel’s alcoholism. Rachel has an alcohol addiction, which although is very relevant to the story and how she acts as a character, the repetitive ‘nipping to the off-license’ and ‘going to the fridge to grab wine’ scenes became irritating. When you find yourself feeling this way when reading, you have to ask yourself, as a reader and a writer, ‘Is there a need to mention it again? Does it do anything for the story, move the scene forward? How many times do we need to be told this? Readers are intelligent, and sometimes it need only take several mentions to get us to be aware of the character’s habit. I think it was important for us to be aware that Rachel was an alcoholic, and I can understand the repetitiveness to a certain degree, but I think this was one thing that was negative about the read, mainly because it took my thoughts away from the story.

Although I loved the book and it had me gripped, I must admit that I did find the ending to be rather rushed and very ‘convenient’. I got the impression that the author had written the ending first, as many authors do, and this was probably because of the faster pacing towards the end. The wrapping up of loose ends and any holes were perfectly applied by Paula, but I did find that the end suddenly ‘jumped’, just to meet the advice of the writing books. For instance, we know a character must nearly always change and learn something by the end of the story, but Rachel suddenly gives up alcohol for 12 weeks and moves to a new place without any natural push from the plot.

Overall, this was a great book, and I highly recommend it. Especially if you like your characters to be a little strange and if you like a little mystery that needs to be unravelled.

This is the ninth book that I have read this year, and I am so delighted to have read it before the movie is released in the UK in October – I can’t wait to see it! It is always a pleasure to get to read the book before the movie – especially when you get those spoilers whom tell you about the movie and end up ruining the book.

Until next time,

Best Wishes,

Donna x

Hello Readers,

It has been a while since I have posted on my blog, and this has been due to two very big reasons. Firstly, me and my fiance are expecting our first baby in November, and secondly, we are also due to move into a new house in the next few months (fingers crossed!). Two big life-changing events running in parallel. As you can imagine, life has become very busy with mountains of organising, paperwork and to-do lists! My head sometimes floats from one idea to the other, like a game of tennis.

Although my writing has been slack, I have been fortunate to find the time to keep up with my reading – which has been my welcome escape route when I have needed to switch off from all that has been going on. I read mostly on my London Underground commutes to work, and I get a good number of pages in over that hour and ten minutes each way. I am currently reading ‘The Skeleton Cupboard’ by Tanya Byron, which is an absolutely amazing read. Tanya recounts her life as a trainee psychologist during some short stories – which are all about her meeting and treating patients with psychological problems. Although they are recounts, obviously some of the facts had to be fictionalized due to patient confidentiality. The stories are very moving, even chilling at times, and if you love psychology then this is a must-read.

I am also reading a couple of baby books. One which takes you through the stages of pregnancy. And another called ‘Baby Sense’ by Megan Faure and Ann Richardson, which is particulary interesting as it delves into the world of baby senses and how they connect with the world around them. I have also been glancing through a baby names book. I am thinking that these reads will definitely benefit my writing with regards to character development and creation. The baby psychology that I have already learned could be very useful material should I ever find myself creating baby characters – a world I haven’t yet delved into! The baby names book is also guaranteed to provide me with endless inspiration in character naming too. The book gives a brief definition against the name which is always intriguing to read. As writers, we certainly know the importance of choosing a meaningful name for a chatacter in fiction.

I am hoping to get a new written piece of fiction on my blog in the next few days. The new worlds and new inspirations that I have encountered in the past few months can only but colour my writing (I hope!). 

I will still be visiting all of your wonderful blogs too, now and forever. I promise.

Until next time, happy reading and writing my dear WordPress friends.

Best Wishes,

Donna

May your golden wings fall from the sky,
Shatter into fragments,
At my feet.

May your fingers twist my wounds,
Prompt my arms to flail like an
Inquisitive insect.

May you whisper timeless lyrics,
Mutate them,
Into significance.

May the last nine strums of your mandolin play.

@alittlebirdtweets2016