No Exaggeration

by Cee Cee Evans

Mirroring a true story, the trials and tribulations of Catrin Thomas promise the reader a ticket to a literary roller coaster. The tales of her crazy past adventures will fascinate, scintillate and sometimes shock, whilst vying with vivid descriptions of the physical, erotic passion she shares with her soul mate, who she finally meets after having the strength to end a long term, crippled relationship. These accounts of her experiences all add to the unique ride that 'No Exaggeration' guarantees.
One of Catrins biggest regrets was not being able to tell her father how profoundly sorry she was for the devastating damage that she had caused him by some of her ridiculous antics over the years, will she finally achieve that ultimate wish?
Originally born in the North of England, now at the young age of sixty-two years, I live happily with my husband and an ageing pup, in a quiet rural part of Berkshire England. My passions include travelling to foreign lands, enjoying good food and wine, and of course, writing. 'No Exaggeration' is my debut novel and hopefully the first of many.

284 pages, Paperback

Published August 25, 2023

About the author

I came to writing later in life at the young age of 54, whilst on holiday in the Canaries. NO EXAGGERATION was born of my love of reading and writing, yet it took several years to perfect and be worthy of an agent. (Thank you Gilbert Parnell Literary Agency of New Zealand and Pharos Books of India who published me traditionally.) In August 2022 I held a copy of my treasured novel and cried, tears of joy! Not understanding that the real hard work was in front of me, marketing my book was going to prove to be a real bummer, as I now know. Hey, onwards as always, no looking back, just crawling up this literary mountain to my next base camp. Fyi, THE FIREWORK FILES is currently with my publisher and yes I have learnt from some of the comments received - get it edited to a higher standard! Oooo, and CHRISSY'S QUESTS is being formatted too. These are stand alone works, not sequels and although NO EXAGGERATION is based on true life (mine!) and consequently has some hard hitting elements that couldn't be excluded and have been frowned on by some, my next two novels are pure fiction where I controlled the story, it didn't control me.

Any way, less of that, a wee bit about me. Accepted onto the Goodreads Author programme last year, after much effort. now aged 63, my mission is to never give up my dream of being a recognised author with royalties to show for it, quit the heady world of retail eventually and maybe retire with my 'gawguss', long suffering hubby to the island where that dream began. Thank you for reading this - am taking questions! Ask me anything:) Stop press 21st November 2024 THE FIREWORK FILES is now available on Amazon!!

Reviews

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book needs an/another editor. The UK spellings are totally fine. I would never say an author had to use American English, but there's some punctuation issues and repeating words. There may also be an issue with overuse of descriptors and dependent clauses. It's a grey area, though. Sometimes, they make the sentence sound poetic, and sometimes it sounds like she's trying to fill a word count.

Additionally, I'm not always sure where I am in the timeline, and I think this is because the author goes on tangents. In the first half they feel natural (if sometimes confusing) because the story does jump around in time, but the second half is a mess. There's lists of drugs, people, political scandals, and vacations, and the loss of the transitions of the dream sequences makes the time jumps even more blurry.

The book could use a sensitivity reader as well. The author mentions some pretty tragic world events in a way I'm not sure is empathetic to the groups involved, and the way she speaks of Africa also felt off (for me specifically it was the way the airport guards were described, but that's why a sensitivity reader isn't a bad idea.)

There's some internalized body shaming and sexism.

We dabble in a bit of slut shaming poor "Knockers."

There's victim blaming someone who had been sexually harassed.

"Blatant transexuals" and "no-neck, fat, lesbian bitch of an officer" are actual phrases in this book.

There's these kinds of disturbing images painted occasionally like when the daughter furtively looks toward her step-dad's enormous junk when they pass a nude beach, and the dog's lust for his owner's blood.

But, the author really does have a poetic way with words. I enjoyed the way the narrator tells the story of her past through dream sequences in the first half of the book. Her desperate need to make peace with her deceased father and the way their trauma is shared as she raises her own daughter is absolutely gut-wrenching. There's a lot of real feelings in here, and I think fans of semi-autobiographical realism will be into this book.

[Mairi Byatt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so looking forward to this one, but sadly it was another entitled rich person, enjoying themselves to excess and trying to make more money from exposing their excesses!
Sadly I could not relate at all and my heart goes out to the poor child called ‘Cuckoo’

[Cee Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes it is my book! N yes its worth a look too!😊