readers – E. De Sousa

Scat the Black Cat returns!

After a wobbly start to Scat’s re-launch, thanks to C19, Scat has finally found firm footing for his return. Ready to face his readers with a new cover and a revised version of his book, this wily feline feels confident that more children will enjoy his fabulous tale.

Bullying affects everyone. It’s not easy to overcome the sense of helplessness you feel when you are bullied by someone. Nor is it easy to understand that some bullies have their own terrible tales to tell. Scat follows the path of vengeance against his bully but soon learns that there are consequences to every action.

Watch Scat’s story here and share it with your family and friends.

What would you do if you were Scat?

Order your copy of Scat the Black Cat here.

Story Time at The Book Corner

blogs, Children, Uncategorized

I have been remiss in sharing some exciting local events with you where I will be reading my latest book, Space Dust.

So, without wasting words, here are my diary events for the next few weeks. Do come along if you can and join in the fun, creative activities at these events.

6th August- Story time at Ascot Heath Library

https://www.facebook.com/events/672897573148794/?ti=ia

7th August – Story time at Great Hollands Library

https://www.facebook.com/events/400143547520040/?ti=ia

13th August – Story time at Crowthorne Library

https://www.facebook.com/events/2280168355366297/?ti=ia

14th August – Story time at Whitegrove Library

https://www.facebook.com/events/479546879480809/?ti=ia

15th August – Story time at Sandhurst Library

https://www.facebook.com/events/2366487080285742/?ti=ia

19th August – Story time at Harmanswater Library

https://www.facebook.com/events/328304371394020/?ti=ia

22nd August – Story time at Binfield Library

https://www.facebook.com/events/326840254874154/?ti=ia

Please click on the links to check start times.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Cecil and Miranda’s Young Reviewers

blogs, Children

Working as a junior school librarian has given me the opportunity to see first-hand, how my books affect their readers. Young readers don’t get an opportunity to write book reviews for titles they’ve enjoyed unless it is in-house, that is, in their classroom or school library. I like to encourage my students to share their views with each other by offering up a suggestion box in our library which is filled with book titles chosen by my young readers. I’m happy to add Spoilt Miranda and Cecil the Bully have made the cut!

When discussing books, I get a lot of feedback from my younger readers that Spoilt Miranda is strange and takes the younger reviewer on a confusing journey of dreams before she resolves her situation. My older customers get it though and enjoy the ride. Sometimes scary, sometimes thrilling, the idea of Spoilt Miranda is controversial and encourages discussion on how her silly behaviour could have been dealt with in a better manner. I like this because it makes the reader think further than just the story.

Cecil, on the other hand, encourages my readers of any age to think of what steps they would take to sort out a bully. From standing up to him or joining his ranks, there are always amusing points of view. The slapstick comedy goes down a treat and adds to the entertainment factor of the book, according to the young reviewers. This is something to consider when I write the next sequel to the Arden White Primary School students.

Give or take the marmite reflections on my books by the young students at my school, I’m pleased to share the news that they are mostly enjoyed and well read. It gives me great pleasure to see this and I do hope more children are enjoying my books around the world.

Check out my other titles available from these links:

http://amazon.com/author/eloisedesousa

http://lulu.com/spotlight/eloisedesousa

Or give me a shout out on Twitter:

@mello_elo

Thanks for reading and good luck!

Review: The Iron Pendulum

adult fiction, Adult Fiction, Uncategorized

My editor, Lance Mitchell, wrote a lovely review for The Iron Pendulum.
Here is what he had to say:

Write to Inspire

The Iron Pendulum by Eloise De Sousa

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Declaration of interest: I am the editor of this book.

The author is already well known for her superb children’s stories and for a previous thriller, Deception. I was delighted to be invited to beta-read and edit her latest book.

It captured me from the first paragraph. I warn you that it is a fairly gruesome tale with lots of blood and flesh [literally] hanging around. The main story is interwoven with a lot of intrigue and a share of puzzles for the detectives and the reader to work out. I am sure that you, like me, will go off down several wrong tracks as you try to solve the mysteries.

What I particularly liked was the way that the characters of the rather strange family members and the detectives are built into the main story…

View original post 62 more words

Book Tuesday

Uncategorized

Welcome.
For today’s book review, I am taking a look at Stephen King’s Thinner. This is an exciting book for me because it harks back to my childhood when my older brother and I used to voraciously read anything my dad put in front of us. From westerns to love stories, adventure to mystery and suspense, we were exposed to worlds away from our mundane home in Zimbabwe.

Thinner was one of the first books I read by Stephen King. I’m not sure how old I was at the time, but after reading Pet Sematary, I was looking for my next horror fix. My father had banned me from reading Cujo, he thought it was too frightening and violent for me at such a young age. I don’t think he knew that I had already read Pet Sematary!

My brother handed me a copy of Thinner and I was struck by its plot: Billy Halleck, an arrogant lawyer who runs over an old gypsy woman whilst driving, due to his wife distracting him, escapes murder charges thanks to his ties with the judge and police involved. Angered by the lack of justice, an old gypsy relative of the murdered woman curses the lawyer and those involved. Billy curse is one word…”Thinner!”. His disbelief at first and then his ineffectual attempts to stop the process leads him back to the gypsies and finding a cure.

The old gypsy man tells Billy that he should bear his own punishment but, if he wanted to be rid of it, he would have to give a slice of a special pie baked with his blood to the next victim of his choice. Choosing to give it to his wife, whom he blames for distracting him whilst driving, he awakes to find that his daughter and wife have eaten slices from the pie. In the end, Billy takes his slice and eats it, joining his family in their doom, thanks to him.

The story, written under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman and inspired by his own weight loss, leaves no sympathy for the main character, Billy Halleck. He is the epitome of our population; overweight, unapologetic and greedy for a quick fix. Though published in 1984, this book is just as relevant now as it was in the 80’s. With the politics and popular opinions flying this way and that in this world, we should be careful in case we become Billy Halleck. Who knows, there might be a gypsy out there ready to teach us a lesson on not facing up to consequences!

If you would like to read Thinner by Stephen King, please click on the pic below.

I do hope you have enjoyed this week’s Book Tuesday. Join me again next week for more of the same.

Have a great week.

Book Tuesday

blogs, Uncategorized

Hello, welcome to Book Tuesday.

This week I have read a rather interesting crime thriller called Before He Sees (A Mackenzie White Mystery – book 2) by Blake Pierce.

Mackenzie White is young police detective pulled from the backwaters of Nebraska and recruited to Quantico as an FBI rookie agent. Already a promising student, she is chosen to assist in a series of murders that have the FBI chasing their tales. The pressure to prove just how good she is mounts as another body is found and the powers that be who have given her the opportunity have set a deadline for her to solve the case or lose her job and career as an agent. Flashbacks of Mackenzie’s own troubled past mixed with previous experience from solving the Scarecrow Killer murders, which bear a similarity to the case she is helping solve, puts her in a precarious position. With no-one to turn to or share the burden of responsibility, she is pushed beyond her limits, testing her capabilities as a true detective and agent.

When she is pulled off the case and returned to the status of rookie agent, her own perseverance in cracking the case pushes the powers that be to give her a second chance, but their own stubborn arrogance forces her to take drastic measures which put her in danger.

This was a great thriller and I enjoyed the momentum of riding along with the main character as she pushed her way through a world of dominant characters bent on proving they are right! Though the end was predictable, I still enjoyed the thrill of the story unfolding and would recommend this book to readers who want a light crime thriller.

There are two more books in the Mackenzie White series and I look forward to reading them. If you would like to read Before He Sees, click on the pic below to order your copy.

As always, please leave a review for the author. It’s a great way for other readers to gauge the books. Thanks.

If you would like to read one of my crime thrillers, please click on the pics below to download your copy.

deception cover — Click here to order your copy.

Cecil The Bully

Children

Cecil and his friends are the best at playing pranks on others, especially their teacher, Mr Barns. But, after a seriously bad prank involving exploding Easter Eggs, Mrs Palmer, the Head Teacher, decides that Cecil and his minions have gone too far!

The Police are called in and a specialist teacher is sent to the school to teach those badly behaved Year 6’s a lesson they won’t forget. You might remember her: the tall, thin woman with the raven black hair. Her name is Ms Crow and she has a knack of finding children that don’t behave.

Will she teach Cecil and his gang a lesson, or will their pranks prove to be too much for Ms Crow?