Author: Cathy Speight

Reviewer Cathy Speight is British and lives in England. The Kindle revived her passion for reading and after stumbling on a Facebook group of independent authors, she now does her best to encourage and assist indies as much as possible. Books by indie author form the majority of her collection. Cathy shares her views on the books she has read on her blog.

Spotlight on…Jonathan Gould

Reviewer Cathy Speight

Jonathan Gould is a Melbourne-based writer and – as he describes himself – a “doodler”. He refers to his writing as “dag-lit” because it doesn’t quite slot into defined genres. His stories have been described as “comic fantasies or modern fairy tales for the young and young-at-heart”. I can’t imagine anyone not being totally captivated by them. Jonathan is a very gifted writer. He’s creative and has an imagination which he manages to transfer on to his pages to engage you, fascinate you, and make you smile that smug smile that says, “I’m enjoying myself”.

I have turned the pages of three of his wonderful books – two short stories, Doodling and Flidderbugs and one novel, Magnus Opum. I can’t tell you which was my favourite – I loved them all. Continue reading “Spotlight on…Jonathan Gould”

Spotlight on…The Home Team

Reviewer Cathy Speight

I suddenly realised that I had overlooked what was right under my nose. It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that the auspicious IU team is made up of (apart from me, of course) an amazing group of talented, brilliant, funny, witty, and charming authors. With regret, I haven’t had time – yet – to sample all of these authors’ work. Clever and gifted as our Evil Mastermind is, he has yet to invent the 40-hour day. Come on, Stephen Hise, pull your finger out and get on with it – I need more reading hours.

So far, I have had the pleasure of reading books by three of our wonderful resident authors: Stephen Hise, Valerie Douglas, and Rosanne Dingli. Three outstanding authors, three very enjoyable books. Continue reading “Spotlight on…The Home Team”

A Helping Hand…Self-editing

editingI’m not going to suggest that self-editing should substitute a proper independent edit, but I have lost count of the number of times, after handing back a manuscript, post-edit, I have been told, “I can’t believe I didn’t spot that” or “I’m so embarrassed I missed that”. So, I wonder if I might be so bold as to offer one or two hints and tips for self-editing to help save a few red faces. Continue reading “A Helping Hand…Self-editing”

A Reader’s POV – Chick Lit

This is probably one for the girls…I can’t imagine there are many male Chick Lit readers out there – it’s a genre written by women for women. So, do we love it, do we hate it, or do we love to hate it?

There is no doubt it is very popular. Why? Well, it’s an effortless read, and it’s easy to identify with the main female lead; she’s like a best friend. She’s got man problems, she’s probably on a diet, she probably hates her legs, her bum or her hair, she probably lives in a bedsit or small flat, anguishes over the zit that appears just before a hot date, she’s probably got an annoying cat whom she adores, and you like her because she’s not quite perfect.  She’s actually quite normal. Continue reading “A Reader’s POV – Chick Lit”