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31 August 2014
It is your chance to re-cap your bookish week, what did your review last week, any new purchases, what will be coming up in your blog next week or generally anything you feel you would like to share with the blogging community.
So, what did I do last month?
This is my first Sunday Post after quite a while.... So, here it goes.
I did realise that blogging had taken over my life. Don't get me wrong, I do love it. I love reading, I love books, authors and one of my favourite - interacting with other bloggers. But I just did not get the balance right. Felt that in order to be successful, I will have to blog every day, have to take part in every meme etc. That would be fine if that was my full time job. Sadly, it isn't. Life continues, and a busy one as it is. But I don't want to give it up! So - here is me, but much reduced. I still blog, I still read and hopefully I can still interact with all of you. I just realised that this is my blog and I do it for me, so I'll post whenever I feel like it at the moment- sorry if this sounds a bit selfish arrgh. But that's how it is going to be. And you'll probably see me at the Sunday Post once a month.
I've also had a fab vacation at my mum's and dad's place in Germany in August. Here is me with my favourite activity - yes, my Kindle.
One thing a relaxing vacation does to me is to mull things over and make plans. I went to Berlin with my children to visit the Berlin Wall memorial. As some of you know, I grew up in East Germany behind the 'iron curtain'. My children loved this trip into history and asked me so many questions about the time. Yes, I was in Berlin the night the wall fell down. So I finally decided to write down my memories of my time in East Germany and when the wall fell for my children and in fact, anyone who might be interested in it. Not for self-publishing but happy to give to whomever wants to read it. I'm not really an author, have never written a book. But I always enjoyed writing, so I hope that I can do this.
I am intending to us my other blog The Pegster - Writes for this little adventure.
My 3 children and me
Remnants of the Berlin Wall at the Bernauer Strasse Memorial
The Coroner's Officer
I will continue with my feature 'the Coroner's Officer' talking about my day job and hope you find it interesting.
Since my last Sunday Post, I have covered:
7. The Coroner's Verdict and Prevention of Future Deaths
8. Murder and/or suspicious deaths
In the next few weeks, I will cover:
Road Traffic Collisions
Deaths at Work / Industrial Disease
Toxicology
Book reviews the blog last month:
Needful Things by Stephen King
Laying a Foundation (Love Under Construction Book 1) by Deanndra Hall
Not in the Flesh (Inspector Wexford) by Ruth Rendell
Tearing Down Walls (Lover Under Construction Book 2) by Deanndra Hall
And here is a book/author related article I picked up in the local News this week:
What?? Self-published author loses her job because she self-published an erotic novel.
Finish / Start
Finished:
Cats, Scarves and Liars by Kathryn White
(review to follow shortly)
Started:
Hollow Shotguns by Khalid Patel
Added to my stash
Received for review:
I'm especially thrilled about 2 cooking books I received in the post. thank you to the author Rinku Bjattacharya and Hippocrene Books Inc New York. Will post reviews as soon as I've cooked recipes from it!!
Bengali Five Spice Chronicles by Rinku Bhattacharya
Spices & Seasons: Simple, Sustainable Indian Flavours by Rinku Bhattacharya
also received for review:
What Passing Bells by Julian Moss
BioKill by Stuart Handley
TanDrex by Stuart Handley
Do I bother you at Night by Troy Ratliffe
And this I wanted to get for ages and when I've seen it on special offer on Kindle I had to hit the 1-click-buy option quicker than a flash ...
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
I am all so tempted to put all the review books away and start reading this straight away but I will be good and keep it so I can look forward to it :)
Happy reading all
Peggy xx
30 August 2014
Just found this is my local Kent news. This woman is Bettina Bunte, 51. She self-published an erotic novel 'The Lost Soul' under the pseudonym of Cass E Ritter. She also works at a local children's centre. Parents there complained as the book is 'explicit' and she lost her job.
Is it only me who thinks this is outrageous? Ok, I haven't read the book. But as long as it does not endorse sexual behaviour which is illegal (such as paedophelia) I can't see what she has done wrong. I presume she didn't read the to the children from her book.
One way to create publicity for your self-published book I guess. I'd rather keep me job, thank you.
This is the original article, copied from the BBC website, available on above link.
A council worker at a children's centre in Kent has been sacked after writing a sexually-explicit novel which parents complained about.
Bettina Bunte, 51, was employed through an agency to work at the Kent County Council-run centre in Whitstable.
She wrote a novel based on her own experiences of a love affair between an 18-year-old and a married man 28 years older using "graphic vocabulary".
The council said it "took action" following concerns after its release.
'Appropriate actions'
Ms Bunte's novel, entitled The Lost Soul was written under the pseudonym Cass E Ritter.
The story charts a love affair between a married laboratory technician called Lom and an 18-year-old student called Nina and is based on Ms Bunte's own experiences.
In a statement, the authority said: "Ms Bunte was employed through an agency to work at one of our children's centres.
"Following the publicity around her self-published novel and concerns raised by staff and parents, managers met her to discuss the issues.
"It was felt the most appropriate action was to stop her employment as agency cover.
'Out of proportion'
"She will no longer be working for us."
Ms Bunte, who did not work directly with children but held an administration role, said the authority's actions were "out of proportion and judgemental".
She said: "I did describe a relationship that was passionate. I described it in fairly graphic vocabulary.
"Some novelists stop at the bedroom door, I went in with them and I tried to describe a relationship that was central, that was passionate and I described it in fairly graphic detail."
But she added that she had received permission from her superiors at the centre in Joy Lane to speak to the media about her novel and it was after that KCC took the decision to dismiss her.
She had worked at the centre for four years.
19 August 2014
This is how it works: Write down either the first paragraph of a book your are currently reading / intending to read or read in the past and share with us. I do like a good opening!
My current read is Cats, Scarves and Liars by Kathryn White. A review book I received and as I love cats, this just sounds perfect. The book is not too long, 188 pages so makes a perfect quick read.
Opening paragraph:
It started with a small voice.
‘Ouch.’
Ouch, Peppa wondered as she placed the kettle on the
stove. Just last week she had found the vintage, 1970s style
stovetop kettle at a market and could not resist handing over
the asking price of two dollars (yes, just two dollars, the
stallholder had assured her, a true bargain, never to be seen
again,) and Peppa had happily been using it to boil water
for her morning coffee ever since.
‘Ouch!’
This time, the voice was a little louder.
Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should be reading.
These are the rules :
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
‘His name is Charles,’ Peppa said, listening as he
began to purr. ‘Not Sylvester. And he’s a nasty little traitor.’
Peggy x
18 August 2014
Title
| Tearing Down Walls (Love Under Construction Series Book 2) |
Author
| Deanndra Hall |
Publisher
| Celtic Muse Publishing |
Publication Date
|
October 2013
|
Pages
| 465 |
Genre
| Erotic Romance |
The book contains adult material and would only be suitable for persons over the age of 18. It also contains reference to BDMS.
Blurb:
Second full-length novel in the Love Under Construction series!
That's easy - you pick the one who can't stand you.
And that's exactly what Vic has done. He's tried desperately to get the wrong woman out of his heart, and it looks like he may have succeeded. And just when he thinks everything in his life is falling into place, Cupid plays a nasty joke on him and he falls for the one woman who doesn't want to be anywhere near him, Somehow it isn't already bad enough that he has a secret keeping him from having a loving, long-term relationship; to make matters worse, if he wants to have a chance with the ice princess, he has to keep her alive long enough to tear down the walls she's built around herself.
Laura is as prickly as they get, but there's a reason. Her clothes hide a secret that she's sure would make any man run, and that secret is about to get her killed. The trauma she endured during her service to her country left her unable to feel any emotion or trust anyone, and the idea of ever letting a man touch her is out the window. When she returned home from Bosnia, her family shunned her and her harsh personality, so she's dealt with her demons alone and on her own for too long. But Laura didn't expect to meet a man who would promise to keep her safe and would die to keep that promise. That makes him a man worth trusting. And when her past wants to kill her to keep her quiet, can she open up to him before it's too late?
The second full-length novel in the Love Under Construction series, Tearing Down Walls is a fun, erotic, romantic, and suspenseful romp that takes you back into the world of the Walters family of Louisville, Kentucky. It features many characters over the age of 40 and contains too many steamy, hedonistic sex scenes to be suitable for anyone under 18 years of age. Step into the Walters' world and have some fun!
WARNING: This book contains BDSM activities, criminal violence, and coerced sexual acts. Not suitable for readers under 18. Reader discretion is advised.
My review:
The good thing about books in a series is that you are firstly already know most of the characters and their background stories, so you don't have the first few chapters 'oh I wish I could understand what is going on here'. Also, you are already used to the authors writing style, and this gets you right back in into the story. My own view is that this book can stand-alone, though it is recommended that you do read the books in order and certainly read the prequel.
All our favourite characters are back. This is book 2 in the Love under Construction Series, and the main focus of this book is the relationship developing relationship between Vic and Laura. Though the other characters from the Walters family like Tony, Nikki, Clayton, Brittany etc are all there, they are all mostly mentioned in passing and we don't learn anything new about them. had taken Laura in my heart from the prequel, so was really happy that this book focuses on her. Both Vic and Laura have had a lot to deal with in their lives which is slowly revealed in the book. And as the previous book in this series, again both the main characters Vic and Laura are in their 40's with life stories and life scars. I personally found the fact that Laura is overcoming her difficulties and how she overcomes them very encouraging. Might not be for everyone but it worked for her and I can actually imagining this as not too far removed from reality. Confusing? Well, give it a try - I don't want to reveal too much.
This is an erotic story with a lot of detailing on sexual practices. BDSM also features extensively in this book. This is not something I knew anything about, and so for me, it was quite surprising, interesting and at times, really quite technical (without being unpleasant at all). If you would like to learn about this scene on a neural basis or are generally just curious, I can recommend this book as a very informative read. And again - finally an erotic book where the main players are not in their teens and twens.
The cover is probably exactly like I would image Laura and Vic to look like, though (and this is a very personal thing!) I don't like men with moustaches so I'd probably rather imagine him without one.
All our favourite characters are back. This is book 2 in the Love under Construction Series, and the main focus of this book is the relationship developing relationship between Vic and Laura. Though the other characters from the Walters family like Tony, Nikki, Clayton, Brittany etc are all there, they are all mostly mentioned in passing and we don't learn anything new about them. had taken Laura in my heart from the prequel, so was really happy that this book focuses on her. Both Vic and Laura have had a lot to deal with in their lives which is slowly revealed in the book. And as the previous book in this series, again both the main characters Vic and Laura are in their 40's with life stories and life scars. I personally found the fact that Laura is overcoming her difficulties and how she overcomes them very encouraging. Might not be for everyone but it worked for her and I can actually imagining this as not too far removed from reality. Confusing? Well, give it a try - I don't want to reveal too much.
This is an erotic story with a lot of detailing on sexual practices. BDSM also features extensively in this book. This is not something I knew anything about, and so for me, it was quite surprising, interesting and at times, really quite technical (without being unpleasant at all). If you would like to learn about this scene on a neural basis or are generally just curious, I can recommend this book as a very informative read. And again - finally an erotic book where the main players are not in their teens and twens.
The cover is probably exactly like I would image Laura and Vic to look like, though (and this is a very personal thing!) I don't like men with moustaches so I'd probably rather imagine him without one.
16 August 2014
#8 Murder and/or Suspicious Deaths
In a murder and/or suspicious death, the Coroner's involvement is actually limited.
Any body (quite literally) is, by law, the 'property' of the Coroner. In England, the police will generally attend every sudden death as a matter of course. It is than the police who decide that the death is being suspicious - this is not a Coroner's decision. Often, it is quite obvious that the death is suspicious (shooting, knife wounds etc). Sometimes it is not so obvious. But - not for the Coroner to say - it will be the police who makes that decision to treat the death as suspicious or non-suspicous. The Coroner than only looks after the body for the police i.e. take it into the mortuary. But it will be up to the police to do all the investigations, forensics etc.
A special post mortem is carried out for suspicious deaths. While the Coroner has to give his/her permission for the special post mortem, it would be a very unwise Coroner who would not allow the police access to the body. In fact, I have never heard that happening, and quite frankly, there is no reason to. Those special post mortems are more in-depths than a 'normal' post mortem. For example, every inch of the body will be looked at (skin), swaps are taken, often fingernail clippings, hair roots. The police will have special forensic guys there for this, also photographs will be taken which may be needed for a future prosecution. So while the the purpose of a 'normal' post mortem is only to find the cause of death, for a special post mortem in addition to the cause of death the police will also look for evidence on the body which can assist them with a potential prosecution (or, indeed, to let someone of the hook, of course). All those investigations will be done by the police, not the Coroner.
And it is also the police who does the whole 'whodunnit' investigation - nothing to do with the Coroner.
There are , of course, cases where the police initially deems the death as non-suspicous and than, during a 'normal' Coroner's post mortem we do find something untoward. Rare, but it can happen. Than we report back to the police, and in most cases, the police than order a special post mortem. An example of this might be that a person gets found deceased in his house. No outward sign of violence, maybe he was even known to be ill. But than during a normal post mortem, the pathologist finds a torn liver and blood in the abdomen, indicating that he may have been hit in the stomach. Than we usually stop the normal post mortem straight away and inform the police. They will than take it from there usually.
A potential suspect who has been charged with the death is, by law, entitled to a second post mortem on the body. This than gets arranged by the defence solicitor. As Coroner's Officers, we just have to make sure that we don't release the body for funeral arrangements for the family of the deceased before this has taken place. A very unpleasant job and not easy to explain to bereaved families that the person who is potentially responsible for their loved ones death is now entitled (via their solicitor of course) to have access to the body. But I always try to tell them that the law is as such, and they surely don't want to compromise a future trial etc. We will try, of course, that this process is going to be as quick as possible. But it does usually take about 4 weeks.
If a person gets charged with the death and send to court, the Coroner will adjourn the Coroner's investigation, and there is not going to be a Coroner's inquest. This is because the circumstances of the death will now be heard at a different court (=the criminal court rather than the Coroner's court). It does not make a difference whether the person gets found guilty or not guilty, only that the circumstances of the death were heard at court. Remember - the Coroner's court is not about blame, guilt or not guilt. It is quite simply to state the circumstances of a death.
If after several years no person is charged with the death and it clearly is a suspicious death, than the Coroner will hold a very brief hearing (maybe only 10 minutes) where the police outline the circumstances of the death. It has little bearing on a future prosecution and is less or more 'just' a formality to close the case with the Coroner. Also, for the bereaved family of course, to hear some circumstances of the death, but usually, the little the Coroner can say is what they would know from the police anyway (i.e. on 05 July 2012 Mr Bloogs was shot death outside 204 Main Street by person unknown.)
As always,
Stay Safe!
Peggy x
15 August 2014
Feature and Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. Head over to their blogs to check them out.
Feature and Follow is exactly what it says… a weekly feature of two chosen blogs, and a question or a task for us to participate in.
The aim is to get new followers to your blog and, of course, follow other blogs out there and get to know other bloggers, browse their blogs, leave comments and find stuff which interests you. For me, apart from books of course, this is what book blogging is all about - connect with others and chat about our favourite hobby.
This week's featured bloggers are: Karina @ Watcha Reading and Alie at The Reading Habits of a Recovering Daydreamer
This week's question / task:
Social Share! What is your favorite social network and leave us a link so we can join you!
To be honest, for a long time I only had Facebook - mainly to connect with my family who are in other countries. Not a lot about my reading on FB - mostly it's my family pictures etc.
Since becoming a book blogger, I've also done a Twitter account - but I hardly ever use it. Mainly because I am a bit overwhelmed by it? I can never seem to find anything on there….
Oh and I'm on Goodreads
Goodreads
Opps, I think I've answered the wrong question for today!! Suggestions for further F&F?
Hmm? Are you also a writer and what genre or did you ever consider writing? Introduce your family. (this may have been covered already?) Tell us about your day job.
14 August 2014
Title
| Not in the Flesh |
Author
| Ruth Rendell |
Publisher
| Arrow |
Publication Date
|
July 2008
|
Pages
| 322 |
Genre
| Crime |
Blurb:
Amazon.co.uk
The wait is over: here’s a new Wexford novel. And Not in the Flesh is one of the sharpest, most astringent outings for Ruth Rendell’s doughty copper in some time. Rendell's studies in dark psychology (which have at their centre characters who appear only in individual novels) are the most highly regarded among aficionados of her wok, but the unalloyed good feeling prompted by a fresh appearance for her long-term protagonist Inspector Wexford is something to be savoured, and we are once again in safe hands here.
A man taking his dog for a walk in a wooded area stumbles across a grim object -- a severed human hand. The body to which it belongs has been hidden from sight for years, as Wexford subsequently finds out. Of course, with the uncountable numbers of missing persons in police files, Wexford is well aware it will be an uphill struggle tracking down the identity of the body. Shortly after, in the basement of a disused cottage, another victim of violence is discovered, and Wexford and his reliable team find themselves attempting to discover connections between the murders.
My review:
A body gets found in an old overgrown field by a dog walker. It is quickly established that the body has been there for around 10 years, and could not have died from natural causes. In good old fashioned detective story style, we have several suspects. There is grumpy John Grimble, owner of the field where the body was found. Grimble is your arch-typical does-not-get-on-with-authority-person. He wanted to develop the fields into housing, but this was not allowed. Indeed, he has started already to dig - almost 10 years ago! - but than was not allowed to continue. On the grounds of this field is also an old cottage where Grimble's old dad used to live. And another body gets found there, dead for at least 8 years so it can be established. It is reasonable to assume that there is a connection between the two bodies. Most neighbours have various kind of alibis, but all of them seem to come apart one way or another.
Let's face it - with book 21 in this series, we certainly know what we are going to get here. An Inspector Wexford book with all the usual trimmings. Good old style English crime, a 'whodunnit' in modern day setting. Several suspects - some more in the frame than others, red herrings, getting nearer and nearer to the real suspect until the reader can have a good guess. And part of this good guess is being mistaken (or being at the right) in the end.
The setting of the book in the english countryside makes for a quiet pace of the investigation. No inner-city tough cop, but Wrexford and his team who certainly know what they do. And I don't mean this in a bad way. If this is the crime story you enjoy this is exactly what you are going to get. The plot is interesting, with many twists and turns, but not over-complicated.
A book for a fan of the 'Whodunnit' genre which will keep you entertained.
About the author:
Biography
12 August 2014
This is how it works: Write down either the first paragraph of a book your are currently reading / intending to read or read in the past and share with us. I do like a good opening!
I am currently reading Book 2 Tearing Down Walls in the Love Under Construction Series by Deanndra Hall. The books are not supposed to be stand-alone, and are meant to be read one after the other. It is a romance / erotic story and aimed for over 18's only.
Chapter 1
"Hey cuz! How's it going?" Vic asked when he answered the call from his cousin, Tony Walters.
"It's all going great. They've got the plans done, so maybe we can go over them next week. In the meantime, I've got a favour to ask," Tony told him.
"Name it." He'd gladly do it, whatever it was. Tony had been his boss until just a couple of weeks before but had stepped down to go into semi-retirement; Tony's son, Clayton, had taken the reins. But Vic's new position as president of the Walters Construction Lexington office didn't mean he saw Tony as any less of an authority figure. In reality, Tony seemed much more like a father figure to Vic than a cousin or brother, even though he was only a few years older.
"McCoy called me yesterday. Seems he has a club in Lexington. Know anything about it?" Tony asked.
"No, news to me." Steve owned a club?
Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should be reading.
These are the rules :
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
From: Tearing Down Walls (Love under Construction Series) by Deanndra Hall
"Oh my god, I haven't been in a club like this in, well…. a long time. Does Tony know…"
'I have no idea. Never thought to ask. It's not like I keep it a secret or anything."
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