Guest Post by Claire Boley

I am delighted to welcome Claire Boley to my blog today.  Her novel, ‘If Only I’d Listened’ was published last year in paperback and as an eBook by Olympia Publishers.  Claire has written a lovely guest post which I really hope you enjoy reading.

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Hello everyone,

First I must thank Sonya for hosting my guest post and to say that I have never met her in person but on social media she comes over as a very approachable lady who has been kind enough to do a post about me and my second book which is my debut novel. The first book I wrote was a craft book which I was commissioned to write in 2011, title Hand Spinning and Natural Dyeing.

When I was at secondary school and in between lessons while waiting for the teacher to arrive I used to make up stories for my school mates who enjoyed sitting and listening to me telling them.

It was not until I retired from nursing that I thought about writing and decided the best way to start was to write articles for magazines which I did for a number of years on different subjects including hand spinning, natural dyeing, pottery, gardening to name just a few. After a year of writing articles I was approached by The Good Life Press to write my first book.

My debut novel – If Only I’d Listened is based in 60s’ London when 16 year old school girl Samantha Smithson gets pregnant by her 6^th form boyfriend Peter Knight in an era when pregnancy outside of marriage and especially when still at school carried a stigma.

The reason the story of Samantha and Peter is based in London is because I lived there from 1964-68 and know different areas well. I wrote about a school girl getting pregnant as I was a nurse in London in this era and heard quite a lot about pregnancy outside of marriage and how it upset family life.

Samantha spent most of the nine months in and out hospital due to high blood pressure caused by her parents behaviour over the pregnancy and not wanting Samantha to live with them once she had become pregnant – they felt that Peter’s parents should look after her and take full responsibility for her. All of this upset Peter’s mother and made her ill.

Peter spent his time going out and about in the West End of London to pubs and clubs and was encouraged by his mates to get drunk and meet other girls, all of this was in between studying for his A levels which he lost interest in.

There may be a sequel to If Only I’d Listened this won’t be until I have finished my second novel – False Teeth.

 

Book Blurb

IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND PREGNANT? How ready are you for that? How would you deal with becoming a parent before you’ve left school? One thing’s for sure, you can’t unmake babies. A fact that’s borne in on Peter Knight and Samantha Smithson, sixth formers at the South East Comprehensive in Deptford, living at a time when many parents are still of the old school and pregnancy outside marriage carries a stigma. Having to face their parents, their school friends, teachers and gossip is only the beginning. Pete’s plans for university are scotched as he must seek work and accommodation suitable for a young family. And all the time he still wants to have fun, with friends’ quite happy to tempt him to do it. As for Samantha, abortion is no easy option. Yet as her health and her faith in Peter goes up and down, she may have to think the unthinkable.

‘If Only I’d Listened’ is available from Amazon UK – http://amzn.to/2vG4AvX

 

About Claire Boley

I was born in Exeter during the war. Aged five my parents and I moved to Buckinghamshire where my father worked at Bletchley Park.

While at school in Aylesbury and in between lessons I used to tell stories to my school mates, looking back this must have been the beginning of my story telling. After leaving school I left home to train as a nurse so the stories went on the back burner until I retired.

One afternoon I visited W H Smith and read an article written by a friend and decided that perhaps I could write. From that day I have been writing articles on different subjects – hand spinning, pottery, gardening, natural dyeing and also cooking for many national magazines. In 2011 I was commissioned and given an advance to write my first book – Hand Spinning and Natural Dyeing. After finishing this book I decided to see if I could write a novel – it took three years. Once it was completed I soon found a publisher.

My debut novel – If Only I’d Listened is a family saga based in 60s London. Samantha Smithson a 16 year old school girl gets pregnant by her 6^th form boyfriend – Peter Knight, in an era when pregnancy outside of marriage carried a stigma. Having to explain to their parents, school friends and teachers about the pregnancy is just the beginning for Samantha and Peter. Along the way Peter is encouraged to go out and about enjoying himself with his mates in between studying for his A levels while Samantha spends most of the pregnancy in and out of hospital getting more and more upset by Peter.

 

Links

Hand spinning and natural dyeing – http://amzn.to/2DAe5Rp

Twitter – https://twitter.com/claireboley?lang=en

Facebook – https://facebook.com/claireboley

 

Guest Post by Simon Michael

Simon Michael’s new book, ‘An Honest Man’ is out on the 7th July 2016.  I recently read and reviewed ‘The Brief’ which I absolutely loved.  To coincide with his new book being published, Simon has written a guest post for my blog.

 

TRIAL BY JURY

The life of a criminal barrister is one of high stress, sweat-inducing responsibility, poor pay, unbeatable camaraderie and extremely funny stories.  I have often thought that the “life-and-death” issues in which barristers deal – like police officers, surgeons and firemen – make humour an essential coping tool.

I was a pupil barrister in the Chambers of Robert Flach QC, in the Middle Temple, of whom hilarious stories are legion – but this guest blog is not about him.  It is about two very green barristers, your writer and a man who was to become a close friend, whom I shall call Derek.  We were both about 23 years of age and pupils to an up-and-coming criminal barrister, hereinafter referred to as “Mr Smith”, who was at that time being led by an eminent QC in a high-profile criminal trial at the Old Bailey.

Mr Smith had left us to do some paperwork while he was in court that day and we were, as always, floundering around a mountainous pile of papers involving arcane and unfamiliar concepts, nattering away and finding every available excuse not to deepen our knowledge of the Law.

Then the telephone rang.  It was our senior clerk.  Mr Smith had left behind some important documents, and one of us needed to run the papers down to Court 2 at the Old Bailey immediately.  Enormous excitement – this would be the first time that we had actually been in the legendary Central Criminal Court.  Did we need to be robed?  Mr Smith didn’t say, replied the clerk, but better safe than sorry.

So we changed our Windsor collars for brand-new wing collars, pushing the brass and mother-of-pearl collar studs through the buttonholes closed with dried starch, tied our bands (those white things worn also by vicars) pulled on our gowns, and grabbed our wigs.  Then we looked for the papers on Mr Smith’s desk and found what amounted only to two short Statements, no more than ten pages.  So, only one of us was needed to make the delivery.

‘Toss for it,’ I offered.

‘Fair enough,’ agreed Derek.  I won.

‘Best-of-three?’ suggested Derek.  Like an idiot, I agreed.  He won the next two.

‘Best-of-five?’ I suggested.

‘No time,’ he said, looking at his watch, and off he scuttled, wig in one hand, statements in the other and black gown billowing behind him.  I followed; having changed into my fancy dress, there was no way I was going to miss the adventure.

It took us little more than five minutes to jog down Fleet Street, over Ludgate Circus and left into Old Bailey.  We paused outside the heavy swing doors of Court No 2 and Derek placed his wig on his red Irish hair.  Inside we could see the tall wooden dock in which sat our pupil master’s clients, the raked banks of jurors, the massed ranks of reporters and the packed gallery.  The back of the prosecution QC could be seen as he addressed the Recorder of London, who sat robed in black and purple, higher than everyone else in the court, under an enormous pediment bearing the crest and the words “Dieu et mon droit”.

‘How do I look?’ whispered Derek.

‘Fine,’ I replied.

‘Okay.  Here we go.’  He took a deep breath and reached for the door.

‘Don’t forget to bow,’ I reminded him.

He turned back to me, his face slightly pale.  ‘Right, thanks,’ and he pushed open the door.

The door made a loud squeak just as, unfortunately, there was complete silence in court.  The jurors turned at the noise, followed by the members of the press.  Derek’s progress down the centre aisle towards the barristers’ benches at the front of the court was followed by forty pairs of eyes.  The prosecution barrister began speaking again but realised that the attention of everyone in the court was on something going on behind him.  He turned, and every other barrister on the benches followed suit.  Within a few seconds Derek was the centre of attention of everyone in the court.

Blushing as red as the hair emerging from under his wig, Derek located Mr Smith in the second row amongst all the other identically-dressed barristers.  He walked along the front of the row and handed our pupil master the Additional Statements.  He then turned and, apparently remembering my last comment, bowed to the judge.  He bowed to the ranks of barristers.  He bowed towards the dock, causing the jurors to giggle.  Hearing the noise he then made a quarter turn, and bowed to the jury, causing the giggle to become a ripple of laughter.

He then backed back up the aisle – bowing once more to a surprised court usher holding a water jug – felt behind him for a door, opened it, and stepped backwards – into the exhibit cupboard, closing the door behind him.

Everyone in the court knew that poor Derek was now standing in complete darkness surrounded by boxes of exhibits, and they waited to see if he would emerge again.  Like the rumbling of distant thunder, the laughter grew until it became a crescendo of hilarity ringing around the court.  After about thirty seconds of what must have been complete torture to Derek, but during which he was utterly immobilised by embarrassment, the Recorder of London took pity on him.

‘For heaven’s sake, usher, let the poor fellow out,’ he directed.

The usher put the jug on a bench and walked up the aisle.  She opened the door to be greeted by a mortified pupil barrister standing in the dark.  Derek stepped into the court to an eruption of wild applause.  He cast about himself, saw me furiously beckoning from outside, and ran to the safety of the corridor.

I’m delighted to tell you that despite this setback, Derek enjoyed an extremely successful career at the Bar, but perhaps unsurprisingly he forsook practice at the Old Bailey, opting instead for the quieter life of a civil practitioner, toiling through mountains of papers, but safe from the ridicule of any jury.

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[Simon Michael’s The Brief was reviewed by me here https://aloverofbooks.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/the-brief-by-simon-michael/ and the sequel, An Honest Man, is to be published by Urbane Publications on 7 July 2016 but available for pre-order now.]

 

Amazon link: http://amzn.to/29ko0Iz

Criminal barrister Charles Holborne may have just escaped the hangman by proving he was framed for murder, but his life is now in ruins.  His wife is dead, his high-flying career has morphed into criminal notoriety, and bankruptcy threatens.  When the biggest brief of Charles’s career land unexpectedly on his desk, it looks as if he’s been thrown a lifeline.  But far from keeping him afloat, it drags him ever deeper into the shadowy underworld of 1960s London.  Now, not only is his practice at stake, but his very life.  Caught in the crossfire between corrupt police officers and warring gangs, can Charles protect himself without once again turning to crime?

Based on real Old Bailey cases and genuine court documents, An Honest Man is the second in the Charles Holborne series, set on the sleazy London streets of the 1960s.

 

About Simon Michael

Simon practised as a barrister for over 35 years, many of them spent prosecuting and defending murderers, armed robbers, con artists and other assorted villainy. He had several books published in the UK and the USA in the 1990s and his short story Split was shortlisted for the Cosmopolitan/Perrier Short Story Award.

In 2016 he retired from legal practice to devote himself to full- time writing. The Brief (September 2015) and An Honest Man (July 2016) are the first two books in the Charles Holborne series, set on the gangland streets of 1960s London, based upon his experiences. Simon is a founder member and co-chair of the Ampthill Literary Festival. He lives with his wife, youngest daughter and many unfulfilled ambitions in Bedfordshire.

 

Links

Website and blogs: www.simonmichael.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonmichael.uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonmichaeluk

Email: author@simonmichael.uk

Amazon author page: http://amzn.to/28ZFrwQ

 

‘The Brief’ by Simon Michael

‘The Brief’ was published last year by Urbane Publications.  I was very kindly sent a copy of this book to review.

The story is set in 1960s London.  In a city of gangsters, prejudice and terrifying gang wars, Barrister Charles Holborne seems to spend the majority of his time dealing with the worst examples of violent criminality.  Having successfully won a number of high profile cases, Charles is building a reputation amongst Soho’s criminal classes as a man who gets the job done.  This unfortunately doesn’t endear him to his establishment colleagues.

However, Charles isn’t all he seems and is in fact battling personal demons and his past.  When his philandering wife Henrietta is found dead with her throat slashed, Charles suddenly finds himself on the wrong side of the law and in serious trouble.  Arrested for her murder, can he discover the truth and escape the hangman’s noose?

I started reading ‘The Brief’ late last Saturday night and from the very first page I was totally engrossed.  It was literally a case of having to read one more chapter, followed by another one and another one.  After two late nights and many more hours besides I have now finished this wonderful book and want to shout out how great it is.

I thought ‘The Brief’ to be an extremely addictive read.  Split into five parts it is fast-paced, gripping and very exciting.  I love crime fiction and was most interested in learning more about the legal side of things.  Simon Michael has himself had a career at the Bar and has drawn on his experiences to write this book which makes it all the more real.  I really liked that court documents were included in the story.  I read the Transcript of Evidence with great interest and at one point even felt as if I was in the court too.

There were certainly some very dodgy characters in the story and it was hard to know at times who to trust.  I really liked Charles and hoped that he would get off his murder charge.  He was stitched up good and proper and he soon knew what it was like to be on the other side.

‘The Brief’ will keep you up for hours.  It will play on your mind and you’ll be dying to know what happens next.

I am really looking forward to Simon Michael’s new book, ‘An Honest Man’, which is due out next month and I will be eagerly following his future work.  Simon is already a firm favourite of mine.  I hope he writes many more books.

I give this book 5 out of 5.

 

‘Baggy Pants and Bootees’ by Marilyn Chapman + Competition

‘Baggy Pants & Bootees’ is Marilyn Chapman’s debut novel.  Out in eBook, it was recently published in paperback.

 

Book Blurb

When war baby Sophie joins the macho world of 1960s journalism she’s determined to prove that she’s ‘one of the boys’. Her career is threatened by a phone call from her estranged mother setting Sophie on a quest to uncover the secret of her birth. Was her father the all-American soldier she dreamt of when she was a child, or someone far more sinister? This is the story the ambitious reporter was destined to write. Helped by the charming but mysterious David, Sophie uncovers the story of a heartbroken wartime orphan, a GI romance and a terrifying rape that leads to an innocent man’s court martial – and finds clues to her own unhappy childhood. Torn between her secret love for Steve, the newspaper’s most eligible bachelor, and her desire to know who she really is, Sophie follows David to search for her father. Only when faced with the startling truth can she accept the tragedy of love, loss and betrayal, and begin a very different kind of future.

 

‘Baggy Pants & Bootees’ is available to buy from Amazon:-

Paperback – http://amzn.to/1rheyX5

Kindle Edition – http://amzn.to/1DBnuOS

 

Competition

One very lucky person has the chance to win a signed paperback copy of ‘Baggy Pants & Bootees’.  To enter just leave a comment telling me what books are on your wish list for Christmas.

 

Terms and Conditions

This competition is open to UK residents only.

The closing date is 11:59 p.m. on the 2nd November 2014.

Winners will be notified within 7 days and their details will be passed on to Marilyn Chapman who will send out the prize.

 

Good luck! 🙂