Month: March 2019

4 Great Reasons why you should read indie books!

Lee Hall 4 Comments

March has been another great month for this blog, the views and numbers are the best ever.  My secret to that success is simple, Indie Book Reviews! And epic loyal followers like yourself.

Here’s the rundown of what I read and reviewed in the past month!

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Drake Peters; One Minute to Midnight by Kingsley Benjamin is a young adult sci fi story set in the near future and see’s the title character delve into the world of a secret academy that leads to a wider universe of aliens and powers of the mind.

I found this book to be very addictive and readable with the pages literally turning themselves. The flow breaks the usual mold of YA stories as quoted in my review  “Its very common for YA stories to spend too much time within the head and mind of a main character; ironically that doesn’t happen in this book and that is one of the many concepts that makes the story of Drake Peters accessible and full of pace which has the reader turning pages.”  

There were several nods to many stories I enjoy such as ‘Men in Black’, ‘Hunger Games’ and ‘X men’ making this book a must read!

Next up I read a book which sits in what might be my favorite genre of horror; exploration of an abandoned asylums…

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‘Building 51’ by Jenifer L. Place is a horror/historical fiction story with plenty of background information about an asylum located in the US (yes this place actually exists!). A group of friends decide to make an excursion to the place and come to realize something else is lurking in the dilapidated grounds and buildings.

‘Fusing elements of real history and the paranormal make this story and the characters in it feel like something is lurking and watching them. Something is and this gradually becomes apparent manifesting itself in a range of unique and creepy ways.’

We’ve all seen the films about abandoned hospitals but ‘Building 51’ is by far the most effective for the genre.

The third indie title I picked up in March was a unique young adult fantasy story with multiple lead characters. 

blue rabbit

Looking back at the time I spent reading ‘Blue Rabbit’ by Jimena Novaro, I must say I really really enjoyed this book. For anyone who is looking to write a multi character story would learn a lot from it.

I said in my review ‘the strength of this story comes from the multitude of great characters that help tell it’ but I would also add the imagination of such a story is a huge thing that made this book so great. There were many original concepts that culminate to a great final act along with characters that develop throughout the length of the story.

A lot of fantasy can be overwhelming but ‘Blue Rabbit’ serves as a great representation for the genre.

The 4th and final title I read this month was ‘Seeker: A story in the ChaosNova universe’ by David Noe and Laura Loolaid.

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I’ve never read a co-authored story and don’t let that put you off because this book is a credit to the sci-fi space travel genre.

The story is a journey for ‘Jewel’ the main character and bounty hunter who takes on a contract of great interest. What follows is a tale of deception, the unexpected and overall drama for our hero as she looks for the truth.

Shorter books don’t get enough credit, something which I have said before and its true, this book is well worth the investment. Like I said in my recent review, for anyone who liked TV cult classic ‘Firefly’ will want to take a look at this one.

And so that wraps up another month of indie reads.

All of my reviews feature on this blog and also get posted on Goodreads and Amazon. 

So the question is folks, are you an indie author? Are you looking for a review? Reach out and let’s get this ball rolling, I am always looking to add more titles to my TBR list. 

Remember above all, support indie authors! Leave a review and help them tell the world their work exists!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeker: A story in ChaosNova universe by David Noe and Laura Loolaid – Review

Lee Hall Leave a comment

Page turning sci-fi with plenty of drama, deception and the unexpected…

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‘Seeker’ is a story and journey of discovery set in a wide futuristic universe of space travel.

‘Jewel’ the M.C is a bounty hunter or ‘Seeker’ and her latest ‘contract’ sends her on a journey that becomes a little close to home. What follows is a story full of intrigue, tension and twists that takes the reader on an eventful ride for ‘Jewel’ who makes for a strong and independent protagonist looking for answers; something which readers will immediately align with.

The ChaosNova universe is delivered and described in a readable and enjoyable style making this story accessible and appealing for all readers; something which is hard to grasp in the world of science fiction. The co-authorship of this book works tremendously well in representing the genre and could even be comparable to cult TV show ‘Firefly’ in its approach. Shorter books don’t get anywhere near enough credit and this one deserves high praise for its detail and world building.

I particularly enjoyed the way combat was masterfully described in a particular scene; something I would very much like to see more of in this universe along with ‘Jewel’.

Overall ‘Seeker’ is a story that represents the main character’s journey in learning about herself and her history along with a valuable moral about family. I am looking forward to reading more from the ChaosNova universe; a concept where the creators have put in a lot of work and it shows.

4 Stars   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Rabbit by Jimena Novaro – Review

Lee Hall Leave a comment

A unique young adult fantasy story with multiple characters…

blue rabbit

Blue Rabbit is an intriguing tale that follows a group of school friends who discover a gateway that leads to another world. As the story opens we learn that they have been visiting this place hidden in the Knoxville trees that seems like a forest but is a world totally different to their own full of creatures and immersive imagination by the author. A school kid called Mike follows this group one night and is seemingly captured by the creatures that reside in this other world and becomes a missing person. It’s up to the group of friends to find out where Mike was taken and look for a way of bringing him back, that is without knowing much about this other world.

The strength of this story comes from the multitude of great characters that help tell it. Five friends; Erika, Haley, Nathan, Sandra and Dorian all seem to take it in turn at the beginning stages to tell the story although Erika eventually breaks away from the group and becomes the lead somewhat with her assured confidence and even sarcastic style; something I enjoyed, even if she did come across as a being full of herself. And to begin with I wasn’t sure about any of the group, but over the course of the story they earned my affection, Sandra and Nathan’s chemistry over the course of the story added to the many dimensions of believable and relatable characters this story has. These five friends and their journey together and as individuals makes for some rewarding reading much like the book as a whole which is highly readable and immersive.

There are several original concepts that carry the story to a level that becomes quite epic in the latter stages with some action and real tension leading towards saving the day and world. Other characters such as ‘Riven’ and ‘Chloe’ really galvanized this story as a character led adventure with twists, turns and plenty of drama.

“I’m going to save the world. Who’s with me?”

4 Stars 

Weekly Ramble #28

Lee Hall 6 Comments

Success as a writer will always be in the eye of the beholder. The real aspiration is simple for me and plenty of other wordsmith folks out there. To get better. Everything else is just a reaction to the effort we put in as writers, a bloggers or content creators. 

Of course most of you know how much I appreciate the support. A follow, a like, a share or even a comment can propel amyone towards having a better day.

The arts will always be subjective. So will percieved success. Whether or not we reach such a thing doesn’t actually matter. To create something that takes just one person away from the mundane of life is to really succeed. I do this because I enjoy it and it makes me happy. To find something like that is rare. If you enjoy something make it your passion, want to get better at it by simply doing it. Put in the hours. Toil over the words, the characters, their conflict, the setting, everything. Listen to those closest to you and even those who are distant, especially when they give constructive advice, yeah we know they haven’t lived the lives we have through words, but their perspective counts, they live in this world too.

In every project I take on, I simply look to deliver it in a different way to the last as well as proving to those who follow me that I am getting better. Although I realistically do it for me, they are the ones who will be reading my work.

Progress may be slow, but then again when was the last time you turned around and realised not just a handful of loyal people were following you, but 200 plus. It took me 6 years, four books and 2 plays to convince enough people my voice was worth hearing, and still I try to prove to more people everyday.

Good things can happen in creating. The best results take time, work, honesty and above all, the desire to want to get better is all you need

 

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200 Followers Special!

Lee Hall 3 Comments

It’s finally happened,

I did it, more like we did it!

Lee’s Hall of information blog has reached 200 followers!

It’s taken the best part of 6 years but together we have built a following that is 200 strong. So this post is dedicated to those who have helped, inspired and shaped this blog. There are even some out there who aren’t aware of their influence and that can sometimes be what the definition of a writer or blogger is; creating something and not knowing how far it will stretch…

I will get to those individuals shortly but first and foremost to everyone…

THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING! 

This journey into the unknown of words began way back 2014 and now we are here!

And so now I must acknowledge some folks who have influenced and helped me over the years… 

Way back before I took the path of indie publishing, I had a starry eyed view that some literary agent would notice my below par unpolished work and take me under their wing, a six figure publishing deal would follow and Spielberg would be on the phone at tea time. As far as I am aware, that didn’t happen, to me anyway, but like many indie authors out there, they are non trad published authors who never gave up and so I needed to start from the very beginning.

catherine ryan howardI needed a guiding light with self publishing. And this biblical level of advice came in the form of a self help book called ‘Self Printed: The Sane Person’s Guide to Self-Publishing’. Written by Catherine Ryan Howard; a now very successful author who has just got herself a huge publishing deal; a phenomenal achievement and also pretty damn inspiring for small time indies.

Self Printed’ is written in a light hearted and sometimes comedic style which works as a no nonsense useful guide to anyone who is interested in taking self publishing seriously. I particularly took inspiration from much of  her blogging advice and without that book this Blog would not exist! Her equally helpful blog has a huge amount of stuff that I must recommend to anyone looking for a guide in writing and blogging! 

mr streuli

Matthew Streuli is the go-to blogger for all things mental health; he has also been a close personal friend of mine for the best part of 10 years. Matt’s blog contains a wealth of personal mental health experiences that he has bravely shared with the world.

From battling depression and even a suicide attempt his blog is a vitally important contribution to mental health campaigning and awareness. Depression is something many of us will suffer from at some point in life and Matt has been leading the charge with his blog for many years. He has even written articles for the Huffington post as well as making many television and radio appearances. His contribution to blogging and the mental health community deserves to be acknowledged.

 

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Without Nicky Fitzmaurice there would be no ‘Open Evening‘, ‘Darke Blood‘, ‘The Teleporter‘ or ‘Cemetery House’. Nicky has worked with me as an editor, formatter, uploader, publisher and expert advisor for all of my books. It’s s a rare thing to find someone trustworthy, honest and reliable in the world of publishing and Nicky is all three and more! Without being over assured or straight up arrogant the reason why my books are as good as they are is because of the work that goes in after I have drafted them.

Specificly speaking, the ending to ‘Darke Blood’ was shaped by Nicky’s advice and the reason why ‘The Teleporter’ flows like it does; especially in the latter chapters is because of her wonderful work!

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It is also safe to say there would be no ‘Open Evening’, ‘Darke Blood’, ‘The Teleporter’ or ‘Cemetery House’ without Design for Writers, and these books would look nowhere near as good without their fantastic work on what are incredible looking covers. Andrew and Rebecca work trumendously hard and they have always been there for me and a huge array of authors. For what is such an important part of book publishing, I would always reccomend Design for Writers!

 

In more recent times I have changed my whole approach as an author and blogger. My belief now is that no wordsmith is an island, as you can see above the people that have influenced this operation. But by just interacting with others via social media you can build a readership and following; something every author needs.

During that journey of interaction I met a fellow blogger who has not only become a loyal reader/ follower but also a friend and blogging influence, plus she nominated this very blog for an award!

Jaycee Lynch has helped and contributed to the growing of this blog and my overall following as an author. I very much carry the simple philosphy that consists of paying back people who help you. Jaycee has always taken a genunine interest in my work and has left reviews, blogged about my stuff and has overall been a great supporter. In return I sent her a signed copy of Open Evening; something I feel obliged to do when I get support of this level. She has a blog also which has a crazy amount of followers and content. This place is basically a beaten up old shed compared to the castle that is the Thinking Moon Blog…

thinking moon

My final acknowledgement of those who shaped this blog is The Writers Community of the Tweet machine! Late last year I started taking Twitter ‘seriously’ and just put out some feelers to see if there were any indie authors who wanted a review….

See the source image

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As you can see the response only got a few hits… it was at this moment whilst I was watching something on Netflix, I briefly looked at twitter via my google chrome app on my phone and realised…

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I used to have the app but deleted it to save phone memory…

Since that day I vowed to review all of the indie books! This year alone I have read and reviewed 10 indie books and that number is steadily growing. Without reading and reviewing some awesome titles, this blog would have never surpassed 200 follows! 2019.PNG

Final Thought (Jerry Springer style)

And so as the 203rd blog post, a 200 followers special comes to a close we should take some time to reflect and look to the future… Without that being an obvious plug to Jack Thorn; my sci fi dream novel which is going to be serialised via this here blog, I would like to just share with you what blogging progress looks like… 

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Bad times don’t last, but good words do, especially when they are followed by even better people! Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building 51 By Jennifer L. Place – Review

Lee Hall 3 Comments

Urban exploration horror filled with tension and some truth…

51

Building 51 follows the events of seven friends as they embark on an exploration excursion. Their destination the Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane; a real place with a real history that can be described as harrowing to say the least.

Exploration of abandoned places is a specialist niche in the genre of horror and one which I very much enjoy. Films such as ‘Grave encounters’ and ‘House on Haunted Hill’ come to mind but in terms of books, Building 51 is the benchmark and makes for a roller coaster tension filled read.

Fusing elements of real history and the paranormal make this story and the characters in it feel like something is lurking and watching them. Something is and this gradually becomes apparent manifesting itself in a range of unique and creepy ways.

The overall flow of the book is cinematic and even nods to the horror movie rules, some of which the characters unfortunately fall into. Many horror stories tend to run out of ideas near the end but not in Building 51 where the strong premise stands all the way to the end.

5 Stars – a great read that I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of horror and the urban exploration genre! 

Drake Peters: One Minute to Midnight by Kingsley Benjamin – Review

Lee Hall Leave a comment

Page turning sci-fi with an original concept and premise…

peterThis is a young adult novel with a difference and which breaks the mold and moves away from the usual tropes seen the genre. Its very common for YA stories to spend too much time within the head and mind of a main character; ironically that doesn’t happen in this book and that is one of the many concepts that makes the story of Drake Peters accessible and full of pace which has the reader turning pages.

We are introduced to Drake Peters who lives his life in the mundane and sometimes socially treacherous world of ordinary school life, that is until he realizes the power he has within his own mind. Soon enough he is whisked away to an academy that is run and influenced by aliens for those who are gifted in the mind.

This mind power premise is limitless and is explored throughout the story as Drake and the characters around him (fellow students) learn to hone their skills of the mind and try to figure out this world they live in. These are characters who range in diversity and ability all of which were believable and carried genuine motive.

Set in the not too distant future of corporations with an east verses west political climate I particularly enjoyed the science fiction elements and nods to various pop culture references. There are so many different influences the story is shaped by, some which are obvious whereas others were just skimming the edge. If you are a fan of the x men, the Hunger Games, Men in Black and even Fallout you will definitely enjoy this sophisticated take on YA sci-fi.

5 stars

 

Weekly Ramble #27

Lee Hall Leave a comment

Dreams are weird. There are so many people (probably all of us at some point in time) that say we want to do something and never get there. The amount of variables that surround us at one time deny us of achieving that dream or cut it short, then there’s the whole deep down fear of can I really do this which is in turn followed by do I want this?

Fear can keep dreams from being achieved. Even I’ve suffered from being somewhat scared of what people think. Coming out as a writer in 2012 was the biggest plunge into the unknown I have ever taken. Many around me still aren’t convinced, and that’s fine, opinions are allowed and this has always been a one person at a time deal. Overall it fuels me to prove what I am and what I will achieve. Then again I don’t really care what people think of my work, I do it because it makes me feel free in this world where we are all confined. To be able to create is to feel free and to to feel free is to truly live.

I’ve found my freedom in writing stories and building worlds. I first did this when I was 12 years old and haven’t ever thought twice about not wanting to write.

Success is another variable that combines itself with fear to keep us from getting to our dream. What if nobody likes my stuff? What if I don’t sell any copies? What if writing a book isn’t a success?

The biggest personal achievement in writing is simply being able to write ‘The End’ when you finish a project. Everything else, the hard stuff, comes later and actually doesn’t really matter. I’ve found that out gradually. Reviews are great and I am so damn grateful for the ones I have, sales also mean a lot along with social media follows and interaction. I have met and know so many awesome wordsmith people and bloggers along with readers. All of that is material compared to being able to say you wrote and finished a book. There are so many people out there who say they tried but never got there. The true success and achievements in writing come from where everything else does in writing. Our ability to write, our sustainability is creating, our editing skills, our scope for characters, theme, settings, characters, all of it comes from within.

I have an excellent memory, even though I work shift at the moment and that’s a sure fire way to frazzle some cells; I still remember the story that brought me to this point. After all these years, I still remember being 12 years old facing a windows 98 computer and writing a story about robots in the future called Jack Thorn. It’s not just some empty one dimensional action story and in the very preliminary stages it may seem like an out of date male lead character fest, but it isn’t and that’s the beauty of it. Jack Thorn isn’t just about Jack Thorn, it’s about humanity, equality, family, destiny and prophecy.

I know that story because I have carried it with me since then. It is my dream, and sometimes they can be weird.

(Jack Thorn – a science fiction story of the future will premiere on Thursday the 14th of March in serialized form on this very blog.)  

4 More reasons why you should read indie books!

Lee Hall 2 Comments

Reading indie books is becoming a hobby of mine. I have my reasons which are many. Firstly I know what its like to feel like nobody is reading my stuff let alone leaving a review. I understand the work and financial commitments to getting a book out there, and overall reading enriches the mind.

If you are published you’ve got to give back to the community and help the brethren of wordsmiths. No writer can expand by being an island, plus there are some amazing indie books out there that are as good as any trad’ published ones…

Like me, many authors can only talk about their stuff so many times until the inevitable broken record begins to play, so how about I talk about them instead!

Here’s the rundown of the 4 indie titles I read in February….

the pass

Over The Pass, and Other Stories by Susan Mary Malone was the first book I picked up in Feb and this immersive collection of shorts whisks the reader away to the sights of american country.

All of the stories are linked by a very human style of telling and description of feelings with a setting that moves in and out of focus.

I managed to get through the entire collection within a few days, and as my review said this is literary art of the highest caliber and a unique collection of stories…

 

Next up I read ‘Odd Spirits’ by S.T. Gibson

odd spirits

Like the title suggests this a story that delves into the spiritual and occult world but it’s done in a more lighthearted kind of way that makes this unique to the genre.

It’s a novella, but that doesn’t take anything away from the fact its a fantastic well paced story.

Quoting from my review ‘there are elements of several genres blended together in this book such as romance, paranormal and spiritual they are all combined in a light way that makes for some great and very addictive reading which would suit all readers.’

The story centers around a married couple who are both active in the world of witchcraft and spirits, their house is being ‘haunted’ by a presence which they must look within to exorcise.

Seeing as I have written a vampire book, I should also read vampire books, so Nocturnal Blood by Villimey Mist was next…

Nocturnal blood

This was quite a long read, but as I got further and further into the story I found myself supporting the main character who suffers from OCD and anxiety.

This is a brave and difficult thing to execute well and a real strong point of the book. We’ve all heard vampire stories and some think they have been done, but Nocturnal Blood proves there are more to offer from the world of blood suckers!

This book is journey within a journey and for anyone who likes the young adult genre, you should check it out!

Also the cover art is awesome, Design for Writers did a top job, they are also behind the covers of my stuff!

And so with only a few days left of Feb I consulted my TBR list and found a shorter book about fairies. 

silver pMy review for Silver Princess By Lea Carter literally dropped yesterday but I will say this is a charming story like nothing I have read before, mainly because I’ve never read a story about fairies but that didn’t stop me from enjoying a great well paced story that twists and turns.  This book truly proves that good things come in small packages…

This was a great way to cap off another month of indie reads and to quote my review this was ‘part love story and part coming of age, the book focuses on Rebecca; a fairy princess who is rescued by a mysterious man-fairy named ‘Scamp’. Their romance is subtle and gradually reveals itself much like the story as a whole making it an enjoyable read suitable for all ages, something which is rarely well executed in literature these days. Its a sort of princess and the pauper story until more is revealed in the latter stages.’

 

And so that’s it for another month of reading Indie books! How many reviews have you left recently? (I’m not sure if that was rhetoric or even slightly sarcastic, answers in the comments folks…)