#contemporary fiction

Beckenham Man wins Booker* prize shock!

* Not really..... Ok, so it's not the Booker Prize, and I'm not the only winner. But after thinking of myself at times as a Wooden Charlatan (Yes, Imposter Syndrome stalks the land of writers), it's nice to be declared a Golden Wizard. Have a look at the review below, by the CEO of The Golden Wizard Book Prize, Louise Jane. By the way, Book 1 of the trilogy, The Watcher and The Friend, was also awarded the prize! Review After finishing ‘A Cold Wind Blows’ by R.J. Barron, I find it still echoing in my mind; it is such acaptivating and reflective read that stays with you.Like the first installment in the series, this book presents an exceptional combination of youngadult fantasy and historical components, offering a distinctive and unparalleled reading journeythat you won't encounter anywhere else. Consequently, the plot is ingenious; it is not onlyfascinating but also rich in depth, brimming…

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Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

"Small pleasures - the first cigarette of the day; a glass of sherry before Sunday lunch; a bar of chocolate parcelled out to last a week; a newly published library book, still pristine and untouched by other hands; the first hyacinths of spring; a neatly folded pile of ironing, smelling of summer; the garden under snow; an impulsive purchase of stationery for her drawer.........." It's not until ten pages before the end that we get this list of small pleasures, the consolations of a life of duty and frustration and narrow horizons in a 1950's London suburb. And by the time we stumble across it, it seems not as pinched or pathetic as it might to our jaded and pampered twenty-first century eyes. Rather, these are the well-deserved daily rewards of an admirable character, who has the misfortune to live as a single, professional woman with no emotional sustenance in a man's world.…

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