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.

A Reader’s POV – Past or Present

Reviewer Cathy Speight

I have a question for authors this week…..

Looking at my list of books to review, it’s rather eclectic – there are all sorts of genres, fiction and non-fiction. I try not to turn away review requests (I don’t like to refuse a genre I haven’t tried, I might love it!), but to date, I have had to turn away three. The first was a non-fiction book that ‘teaches computer forensics to any level computer user’. With respect, I think I would prefer to pull my fingernails out. The second was 115 Reasons Why It’s Not Your Fault if You’re Fat. Puuuhlease. There is only one reason you’re fat – you eat too much and exercise too little. The third – and I felt just a teensy weensy bit guilty about turning this one down – aside from the fact it was 300k words long, it was in the present tense (3rd person). I confess I have only read one book in the present tense (Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen). I enjoyed that book (sort of), but I just did not warm to the present tense (1st person in this case). I have shied away from this ever since.

Continue reading “A Reader’s POV – Past or Present”

Spotlight on…Lia Fairchild

Reviewer Cathy Speight

Lia Fairchild describes herself as ‘a native Californian who loves reading, writing, movies, and anything else related to the arts. She holds a B.A. degree in Journalism and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. Her most enjoyable moments are spent with her family, traveling, spending time outdoors, or simply laughing and being together’.

Despite her busy schedule, she manages to find time to write and has written a novel – her first – In Search Of Lucy; short stories; and a series of short murder mystery stories called A Hint of Murder, which she has compiled into an anthology. Continue reading “Spotlight on…Lia Fairchild”

A Helping Hand…Shortcuts

Reviewer Cathy Speight

As well as reviewing books, I have taken on a role as an editor/proofreader. It’s something I really enjoy doing and a task from which I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction. It’s like renovating an old relic. I get quite a frisson from unearthing a pristine and shiny new treasure.

When an author and I discuss how best to approach the task with regard to the proofing options, I am often greeted with, “Oh, I’m not a techie, I can just about manage to switch the computer on!”

I have gone on quite a number of Microsoft courses in my working life and I had to prepare and edit countless geological reports for a slightly dyslexic geologist. I therefore know my way around Word (along with Powerpoint (many, many presentations) and Excel) quite well, so I just wondered if I might point the ‘L’ (learner) plate authors to a nifty little site that explains those rather handy shortcuts that will make your word-processing life a little easier. When I say ‘learner’ authors, I do mean in a word-processing capacity. (Phew! That was close).

Anyone who knows that CTRL C is a shortcut for Copy and has that Duh! expression can look away now! Continue reading “A Helping Hand…Shortcuts”

Spotlight on…Liz Borino

Reviewer Cathy Speight

Liz Borino is the author of the Taylor twins series. To date there are three books: Expectations, What Money Can’t Buy and Gifts From The Past. Her short story “Jesse” was included in the Lazy Day anthology, Indulgence. She earned her BA at Hofstra University in 2010 and is currently pursuing her MA in English at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. When Liz isn’t writing or doing homework, she enjoys travelling and has spent time in Europe. One day she will escape the suburbs of Pennsylvania for good, but until then she will “continue to give her characters more interesting lives than she has”.

The Taylor twins books focus on the twins, Matt and Chris (naturally!) and Chris’s lover, Aiden. They are a very likeable trio whom you come to adore. Continue reading “Spotlight on…Liz Borino”