The Independent Paperback Gift Shop

The Independent Paperback Gift Shop
The writer of this blog is currently on sabbatical

Tuesday 7 August 2012

The Sword Bearers, by Monique Rockcliffe

The Sword Bearers Book One

Perhaps the most beautiful cover on the site, South Africa's own Monique Rockcliffe's epic fantasy series "The Sword Bearers" is available at the Independent Paperback Gift Shop. 

Exquisitely produced and with a calming, soulful cover, Monique's epic tale would make a fantastic gift for fantasy fans this coming Autumn and Christmas period.

Biography

"I'm a fantasy author living in South Africa. My debut novel, The Sword Bearers, is an exciting fantasy adventure that travels across time and space with a vivacious, talented, powerful female hero to lead the way! The Sword Bearers is the first of a series of four books, a truly epic fantasy tale. The Sword Bearer's Journey is Book 2, and Book 3 is to be published soon!

I also have a desire to write Sci-Fi and horror, along with urban fantasy added into the mix!

Stay tuned for short stories published through Kindle soon!"

Monique Rockcliffe

Monique also constructs a well written and often inspirational blog on WordPress. Here's a sample of her work.



Extract from "Sword Bearers" Book 1
"The malevolence radiating from him was beginning to make her feel ill, and it took every scrap of will power she had not to reveal what she was thinking and feeling. She had an idea this was not a u’man man standing before her but something much worse. 
So, this was the creature that had finally seduced her son, and this was most probably the immortal Namic had told her about that appeared to be the leader of her enemy. She studied him carefully and he bore it with a contemptuous smile playing around his mouth. She refused to be baited and kept quiet, waiting with a pounding heart to hear what he’d say next. Movement at the throne room’s huge double door where guests usually entered caught her eye, and she looked past Malis to see who it was.
“I have brought someone with me that I’m sure you will want to see,” he said with great amusement.
Raising a hand without taking his burning eyes off her the throne room doors flung open and at least fifty armed u’mans and aliens came flowing into the room. Between two of the men they half-dragged, half-carried Jaryth, and Ahloren finally dropped her mask and reacted as any mae would at seeing her son so hurt.
Malis smiled wickedly. “Ah yes, it is he, Ahloren. A little worse for wear, but still alive.”
 Jo'Burg
Monique is a resident of Johannesburg in South Africa which, unusually, enjoyed snowfall today. It is currently winter in South Africa. Some might say that's the same season as the UK, but it will always be somehow more beautiful.

Back garden of best selling author's residence in Cape Town. Probably.


Facts about Johannesburg


There is only one other city on the continent that is bigger than Joburg, and that is the bustling metropolis of Cairo in Egypt. 

Johannesburg is the second biggest city on Africa.


With the rich archaeological site known as the 


Cradle of Humankind 

on the outskirts of the city, it’s not surprising that 40% of the planet’s human ancestor fossils have been discovered in the Jo’burg area.


Astonishing Egg Fact
It takes one-minute longer to boil an egg in Johannesburg than it does in the coastal cities of Cape Town and Durban. This is because Joburg is 2000m above sea level, and the air is not as dense.


Johannesburg plays host to hugely popular 
horse racing at Turffontein racecourse.

Turffontein Racecourse in Johannesburg, one of the most beautiful in the world.
Oh...and the South African cricket team are doing rather well against the English this year.

:-)

Contact Monique On:


Buy "The Sword Bearers" Book 1 and Book 2 (Kindle)
on

or at The Independent Paperback Gift Shop on Facebook.

Monique also has 1300 Twitter Followers apparently. That's quite a lot. 

I know nothing about such new fangled phoney type things so I shall leave you to find out how to follow her. Details and a prominently displayed TWITTER button can be found on her blog.
_______________

Sunday 5 August 2012

"Engulfed" by Jennifer Kane


Jennifer Kane
Jenny Is 26, a mother, a wife and a Christian. Originally from North Carolina and currently a resident of Southern Florida. 


She's am avid fan of History and the daily lives of ordinary people in the past. 






Look out for more of the Engulfed series soon.



Engulfed



"Possibly the most enticing cover in your shop, Marky" (MH, 36, Gift Shop Customer)


Synopsis

Endless nightmares, haunting memories and frustrating silence. 

That is Jane's life. Jane fears for her sanity and struggles to move past the night she witnessed her mother's murder, her father's torture and became a mute. Jane welcomes the distractions of growing up the daughter of a rich land owner and enjoys matching wits against those who would cross her and between her stepmother trying to improve her and her nasty neighbor plotting against her Jane has much to occupy her mind in the day light hours but Jane is about to get more then she bargained for when strange travelers come in to play bringing poison and betrayal with them.

She will soon find herself facing the monster of her nightmares. Will she be able to defeat him alone or will she be Engulfed in the past?



Review

"I really knew nothing about this book, but was pleased on this rainy saturday to sit and devour it.It was a very good plot and was woven and tied together masterfully. With the rain falling on the roof as a backdrop, I felt as though I was a part of the story and became engulfed in this book. Though I wish it had of been longer and could have more information on the murderer but I guess I'll be waiting for a sequell and another rainny day.It was cool the way the girl was able to use her surroundings to defend herself and get help to the others. Beleivable is important.The way people used to visit back and forth and things that were important to them was helpful in drawing me into the plot.I found myself wanting to experience the christmas season with them in that era." (Stuart, Amazon)


You Tube Book Trailer

Being young, Jennifer has embraced computer technology and here's a You Tube trailer for Engulfed!!



Florida


Fun facts about Florida

Florida is home to one of the biggest Greyhound Racing stadia in the world at
Jacksonville. They race eight dogs in America and just six in Great Britain.

Miami is the setting of one of the greatest novels of the modern era - Charles Willeford's "The Shark Infested Custard"

Oranges from Florida are particularly juicy.

The state of Florida is roughly the size of England and Wales covering an area of 58,000 square miles.
Florida has over 1,300 miles of coastline with 800 miles of beaches.
There are 30,000 lakes and over 1000 golf courses.
Florida receives over 41 Million visitors each year.(abridged from http://www.myflorida.org.uk/htm_pages/my_florida_fun_facts.htm  )

Of course, everyone knows Florida is famous for its alligators, which can often be found on front lawns and in bedrooms. One famous take on the Florida alligator experience comes in the form of the classic Roger Moore Crocodile Escape scene in the film "Live and Let Die." The insane stunt man responsible is Ross Kananga - ironically, the name of the Yaphet Kotto villain from the film.


Engulfed can be purchased from the following website - at EIGHT outlets!!!

Worth having for the high production value cover alone, according to one customer!! The best of luck to Jennifer from all at the Gift Shop.


Thursday 2 August 2012

"Lollipops of Dust"



Today we feature Lollipops of Dust, a memoir about a childhood in Botswana, beautifully recounted by accomplished poet and author, Sue Lobo


For those of you who have never read her blog, you are in for a treat.

Sue is a poet of real talent and vision and the blog is a literary cave of magnificently elegaic poems and prose pieces.


Unfortunately, I tried to steal a poem (there are so many) to add lustre to this blog article, but Sue's blog is brilliantly protected.

However, please allow me to link you to a poem I discovered therein.


A lovely, simple piece of work and like many poems on there, deserves a wider readership. I have been lucky enough to have met several people educated and raised in Africa and their use of English, both written and spoken, is something from a bygone age. "Lollipops" is one of those books which will have even the most experienced of writers enrolling on English classes. Flawless grammar, perfectly placed syntax and rules strictly observed. In a world where this no longer matters, Sue is one of those writers who shows us a glimpse into a sadly fading past.

Here she is.


Sue Lobo

Sue lives in Benidorm, Alicante and is the author of two books. 


Interestingly, Sue studied as a Druid with the BRITISH ORDER OF BARDS-OVATES & DRUIDS FOR 4 YEARS and is now qualified!




Druids at Stonehenge

Sue's blog readers and purchasers of "Lollipops of Dust" will know how much she pines for Africa, specifically Botswana.





Botswana, home of the pink Elephant


This book would make an absolutely ideal Christmas or Birthday Gift, offering hours and hours of memorable reading.

You can buy Sue Lobo's "Lollipops of Dust" from