Jess Whitby's Blog

Listen this THURS 13 FEB to my interview on The Authors Show about my debut novel, Running From Dust. Streaming all day from midnight EST. Click on the link below and choose Jess Whitby : Running From Dust. Please do let me know what you think 😁👍
https://wnbnetworkwest.com/channel/5

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


***POTENTIAL SPOILERS***

I really enjoyed this book and am surprised by some of the criticism that has been levelled at it. The only reason I've given this a 4 out of 5 is that at just over half way I was desperate for the main protagonist to "resolve" things. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but inside I was screaming at the book, "No, don't do that!" or "Do this!" Surely that's a sign of a great book - that you become immersed in the characters and storyline. The characters in this book were very well formed.

Some comments have been made about what some refer to as "Supernatural" elements. If you are looking for a ghosty story then this isn't it - I think the term supernatural could be a bit misleading here. This isn't a "things that go bump in the night" with scary music playing in the background. Perhaps better to describe the story as having some para-normal elements. My dictionary says this "denotes events or phenomena such as telekinesis or clairvoyance that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding." This story is a psychological thriller or suspense with some para-normal elements thrown in to mess with your head. I love that it refuses to sit purely in one genre and wish more books would be brave enough to do this. It's a kind of everyday paranormal that makes it down to earth and so much more believable.

Thank you Sarah Pinborough for a great novel.

This is my first read of this author and it won't be my last!




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So, if you click here you should be able to view the cover of my new book : Edgy Tales: Short Stories From The Brink #1. The book will be available from next Fri 22 November.

The book contains three short stories: Aftermath, The Therapist and Astronaut. You can pre-order the book from some retailers and then it will become everywhere from 22 Nov.

Here's some info about each of the stories :

Aftermath

A young man struggles with flashbacks and nightmares in a society which has a new and controversial way to deal with violent crime. Some say this new form of justice. Others say it's criminal. 

The Therapist
What would you do if the person who relentlessly bullied you as a child walked into your therapy room asking for help? One counsellor writes her confession of what she did when it happened to her.

Astronaut
Ben, aged 8 years old, wants to be an astronaut and fly to Mars. His mum and dad support him every step of the way. But is everything really what it seems?

For more info, check out https://www.facebook.com/jesswhitbybooks

The Secret of Cold Hill by Peter James

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this book. After finishing I read some other reviews and am surprised by some of the bad / not great reviews it got.

Firstly, I liked the initial character development and the interactions between the four main characters. Some reviews have said the amount of details (e.g. the number of expressos the main character drinks) is too much. Personally, I feel these kinds of details bring the book into the everyday and makes things more relatable.

I found myself really want some progress in "defeating" the underlying curse of Cold Hill to be made and the fact that that didn't really happen was the only very slight disappointment.

Great build up towards the end and the "cross-over" into the other life was especially good and thought-provoking. I enjoyed the other Cold Hill book and any similarities to that added to the enjoyment of this one.

I read one reviews at least that said Peter James has "lost it." Bit harsh. If this is someone losing it then it'd be great to "lose it." This was an enjoyable addition to the Cold Hill books and I hope there will be another.

Thank you Peter James for another great story.



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I'm excited to let you know that my new book will be coming out "soon."

The book will be available as an e-book and audiobook and is a collection of three short stories.

There will be lots more info to follow so please do watch this space for more news :-)

Thanks for your support!

Jess

The Other Wife by Michael Robotham

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I loved this book mainly because I really enjoy the Joseph O'Loughlin series and this book offers more of the same characters who have developed over time. I really enjoy Michael's writing style which I only realised in this book is written in the present tense. I find that refreshing and different from most other novels I've read which are usually written past tense.

In terms of the solving of a crime, this one doesn't feel so much focussed on that (although there is a crime involved) as perhaps Joseph finding out and coming to terms with who his father really is. I won't hesitate to pick up the next in this series - if there is one.

Thank you Michael Robotham for another engaging read.



View all my reviews

Each time I see a new review on here I am genuinely thankful that someone has taken the time to write down what they think of my first novel, Running From Dust. I know that sounds a bit twee but it is true.

It may be a good or bad thing but I do tend to take most reviews to heart. When someone writes that the characters in the book are believable or that this book is not their normal genre but they enjoyed it or even that they couldn't put it down it makes all the hard work worth it!

Unlike many authors on Goodreads, I'm not yet in the privileged position to be able to write full time. I work full time as a therapist and then spend what spare time I have writing. Often those times are not as long as I'd like.

The second draft of Running From Dust was especially difficult to complete and at times felt unending. There were moments when I felt like giving up. The book has gone through a fair share of teething problems. There were problems with the formatting of the paperback and that had to be re-done as did the cover. I have probably spent considerably more on publishing this book than I'll ever re-coup.

But when I read a review that says the book has kept someone turning the pages and it has been enjoyable, that makes every bit of struggle worth it.

So, thank you again to all those who have reviewed or have chosen this book to read. I hope to keep on at it and bring you many more enjoyable reading hours to come :-)

Jess

I'm currently really enjoying a Book Tour hosted by Silver Dagger Book Tours who are doing a great job. I'm just about half way through the tour now with about 12 or so days to go. Phew!

I'm loving getting to connect with lots of new people via various blogs. I genuinely am grateful for every single follow, read of my book and of course review. Thank you to all of you - I don't take this at all for granted.

Full details of what is left of the book tour can be found here :

https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sds...

For those that are interested, a few days ago I finished the first draft of my next novel. I also have a bit of a treasure trove of short, but not always sweet, stories which I may well get to publish before the next novel. We'll have to see how it goes....

Thank you again for all your support.

Happy reading!

Jess

After some helpful feedback from fellow authors I've decided to change the front cover of Running From Dust.

Several people said that the original cover might not convey clearly enough to potential readers what the book was about and what type of genre it belonged to.

I've been greatly helped by Rocking Book Covers who have done a superb job for me and have really gone the extra mile.

Hop over to Amazon to see the new cover now but I'm hoping it will update on here soon as the link to my book refreshes. (Quick clue - the old cover had a hand on it, the second is blue).

Please do let me know (nicely!) what you think :-)

Happy reading!

Jess

Running From Dust appears today on The Red Headed Book Lover's site. The review is pretty gushing (I'm a little embaressed to even put the link here) but hopefully it will encourage more people to get out there (or click) and buy the book.

Here's the link to the review https://redheadedbooklover.com/runnin...

Please do leave a comment here or on the site and of course, encourage people to read Running From Dust if you enjoyed the book :-)

Thanks!

Jess