women's fiction | Suzanne Rogerson Fantasy Author

I can’t believe how time has flown and I haven’t posted anything for a month and a half! Yesterday was the blog tour for my newest audiobook, Love, Loss and Life In Between – a short listen perfect for those who like to dip in and out of audiobooks.

Thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising the tour and of course thank you to all the bloggers who listened to the collection and have been posting their reviews over the last few weeks.

It’s great how everyone connects with different stories for different reasons and I just love to read their reviews. Of course I also like to share them with you, so here’s a round up with my review highlights. Here goes…

Lara Maynard gives listeners a taste of the stories in this collection in her post on Instagram. ‘The stories include “Garden Therapy” (to which gardeners like me will relate), “A Cat-Shaped Hole” (which might make pet lovers misty-eyed), a story around domestic abuse, and a second chance romance. Most of the stories are broadly in the domestic fiction realm, with flavours of romance or thriller, but a couple veer into the paranormal.’

The Bookish Hermit says ‘…a selection of very emotionally charged stories that have been written with care, respect and love. The audible version is narrated perfectly by Sandie Keane who does a fantastic job of bringing the author’s (Suzanne Rogerson) words to life.’

Just Katherine Blog says ‘…A quick-paced collection of wonderful little stories that are all so different and capture the difficult task of moving on after loss and tragedy. There’s a message that runs through them all: whatever happens, you have to do your best to move on and be strong…’

Bookworm86 shared mini reviews for each story. ‘A beautiful collection of 10 short stories filled with emotion from heartbreak to love, sadness to new beginnings…
📱 ‘The Phone Call’: This story is definitely my favourite one!! It is one of those stories that hit you straight in the gut and will stay witjh me for a long time!’

Jessica’s reading room shared her review ‘Several of the stories deal with death and moving on. Rogerson did a great job with capturing the emotions of a story in just a few words!’

Lis Carey’s Library shared ‘”A Cat-Shaped Hole” is a sweet story of a cat who makes someone’s day brighter, while “Not Just For Christmas” is a story of a family grieving their departed dog deciding it’s time to welcome a new dog into their family. Both brightened my day.’

Niki Preston says ‘I found Suzanne’s writing style was wonderfully creative and really lent itself to this anthology. You really get drawn in and each story feels complete even though they are all short. She definitely gets to the heart of each one with a precision that makes you wonder how on earth she managed to create each differing story with such honesty. A great listen all round.’

Romance that’s out of this world also shared a review saying ‘An eclectic and delightful selection of short stories, which are perfect for listening to when you fancy a few minutes relaxation, or you just want to dip in and out. They range from the slightly eerie to the ‘feelgood’ and ‘cosy’ tale, so there is something for everyone…’

Juliereadzintherockies shared an Instagram post ‘The narrator was lovely as she read through these deep, dark, and passionate stories. I love thrillers but it’s nice to step away and sample something meaningful and touching once in a while.’

A review from MJ Porter says ‘Garden Therapy, with its slight otherworldliness was delightful, and A Mermaid’s Tale was a beautiful account of a young girl coming to terms with the loss of her mother, whereas Catalyst was quite edgy. Not Just for Christmas is a tale many pet owners with feel resonates with them.’

Books we’ve read and loved say ‘I really enjoyed each story. They were like little windows in to different worlds – whole stories in their right but that let you build a world for the characters all of your own. I found myself creating pasts or futures for the characters.’

Storied Conversation was impressed with the narration ‘Sandie Keane did a wonderful job of narrating these stories. I loved her voice and was able to get lost in the stories without having her voice over power them.’

The final review is from Seaside Book Nook. ‘Suzanne Rogerson did a great job pulling me into the story very quickly while telling very touching stories. The stories cover the three Ls: Life, Love, and Loss. After each story, I was able to reflect on the meaning of the story and how it was connected to one of the three Ls. ‘

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Wow, that was quite a list to go through. A big thank you to everyone who took part, I hope I haven’t missed anyone off.

If you’ve been inspired to check out the audiobook by these wonderful reviews, here’s the link for Audible. Also available on Amazon as ebook, paperback, audio and hardback.

Thanks for reading and have a brilliant weekend.

Today’s Book Spotlight is for ‘A Distant Summer’ by Deborah Martin – contemporary fiction / women’s fiction.

Published 22 February 2021.

Note from the author

“Writing the book gave me a chance to think back about my childhood growing in Midwest USA. We all have those moments of wondering ‘what would have happened if….’ and that was the starting point for my story. I wanted to look at how reliving those memories can affect us and I also wanted to explore the idea that our perception of our past lives may not be as accurate as we think.”

‘…an evocative account of a woman’s life, from girlhood with all it’s anxieties, hopes and dreams to her adult life and it’s daily challenges. The past discovered through letters is a good device and seamlessly takes us from present day to that ‘distant summer’. Highlighted political and world events act as a back drop to the times. All contribute to an easy but satisfying read.’ Amazon Reviewer

‘A brilliant read. Written so well that you could easily picture the people and the lives they lived…’ Amazon Reviewer

Blurb

The discovery of letters from a pen pal 50 years ago pushes Elizabeth to review a past which was mostly forgotten. Against the backdrop of the tumultuous year of social unrest and politics in 1968, she was a teenager at risk of being in love with someone she had never met. Her family was in danger from the encroachment of the Vietnam war and its own internal battles. It’s a quiet farming area of Indiana where nothing seems to happen, but an accident causes a rift through the family and Elizabeth’s uncle is expunged from its history by the strict Methodist patriarch, Grandpa Ernest. Now settled in suburban Virginia with her husband and about to become a grandmother, Elizabeth is helping to clear out the family home after her father’s death. Looking back, she is taken over by a restlessness to know whether a life with the boy from the letters would have been a better path than the one she took. She yearns to discover what happened to him and to locate another childhood friend. In her quest to find them, she catches glimpses of an alternative narrative to that distant summer.

The book has just gone live on Reedsy Discovery. Check out this great review of A Distant Summer and don’t forget to upvote it.

‘This is a riveting contemporary fiction that draws you in from the first page through the last.‘ – Gail Kaufman Reedsy Reviewer

About the author

Deborah Martin has drawn the setting for her debut novel, A Distant Summer, from her origins in MidWest America. Her recollections of life in a farming community feed into the characters of the story.

She’s an example of how life can take unexpected directions as she surprised herself in living most of her adult life in the UK after moving there to marry an Englishman.

Wanting to write a novel since her teens, she has taken a wandering path through a variety of jobs and hobbies before accomplishing that goal, but now hopes the next book will not take as long.

To Buy Links

A Distant Summer is available as an ebook and paperback on Amazon UK Amazon US

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

This book is on my TBR for 2021 so I will return with a book review later this year. Why not check it out now and let me know what you think.

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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy and heart-warming romance

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