Inkitt launches a free program to help you turn your idea into a novel within 30 days.

Have you ever thought about writing a novel? There are millions of people in the world who have ideas floating around in their heads that they want to write down but never find the time. Inkitt, the world’s first reader-powered book publisher, will be launching their first ‘Writers Write Program’ on November 1st to help you turn your idea into an original novel. The 30-day program is completely free and filled with special benefits such as:

• Free, 30 min private sessions with professional writing coaches (including the editor of The Martian)
• Events and tips with bestselling authors like Andy Weir, Lauren Kate, and Gayle Forman
• A variety of community features such as the choice to get a writing buddy who you can exchange manuscript feedback with.

“Our intention is to enlarge the writing community by encouraging more people to become writers,” said CEO of Inkitt, Ali Albazaz. “The program is completely free so for us this isn’t about making money; it’s about encouraging talented and committed writers to keep going and finish what they started.”

If you are serious about taking on the challenge or want to finish (or start!) a manuscript then make sure to get your spot in the program now. There is less than a week left before it starts.

For more information click here. 

Retrograde - Peter Cawdron

Synopsis:

The international team at the Mars Endeavour colony is prepared for every eventuality except one—what happens when disaster strikes Earth?

Mankind has long dreamed of reaching out to live on other planets, and with the establishment of the Mars Endeavour colony, that dream has become reality. The fledgling colony consists of 120 scientists, astronauts, medical staff, and engineers. Buried deep underground, they’re protected from the harsh radiation that sterilizes the surface of the planet. The colony is prepared for every eventuality except one—what happens when disaster strikes Earth?

Review:

I love diving into more genres when I read, Sci-fi isn't a genre I often dive in to so when I first got this book I was apprehensive about how I would feel as I read this book but I was pleasantly surprised by it and actually loved it a lot more than I thought I would. I'm going to try and write this review without spoiling any of the story so please stay with me if at first it doesn't make sense.

We follow Liz and the other 119 people who are living in a colony on Mars. There are the Russians, Americans, Chinese and Eurasia - including UK, Japan, Spain and other countries. Told from the point of view of Liz we get to see the other colony inhabitants that she interacts with which provides us with a few main and some minor characters. Although we have all of these countries to interact with throughout the story there is an understanding that we don't have anything to do with several of the inhabitants. Writing it like this is so clever, it helps us gain a perspective on the size of the colony and its crew without having to make every person a main or minor character. They are all very intelligent characters and every time they do something that i see as incredibly cool or smart which is basically everything the do, it blows me away.

The characters are strong and well developed, I instantly loved Liz and all of those we read about, even those who aren't shown in the great light we wished everyone was. We have US Commander Connor, who is the ex military self taught astronaut who is right hand man to Harrison who's the gruff loud type who is soft underneath. We have more people, James and Michelle are the most notable. We see a small amount of the Eurasian contingent but of the Russian contingent we see their leader Vlad and their Dr, Anna. The other group we see more of compared to the Eurasians and Russians are the Chinese, with Doi as their commander and Jaiyun who is Liz's love interest. With all of these people interacting together throughout the story it's a great interplay of culture, emotions and personalities and it's done perfectly.

The plot is brilliant and maybe that's because the statement is coming from a girl who hasn't read much Sci-fi in her life? or maybe it is brilliant because well...it just is? the jury is still out on that one. As I read the first chapter I was just praying to myself that the book wasn't going to be hard to get into and wasn't going to drag out but it was a pleasant surprise to be hooked by the first chapter and every other chapter after. I was automatically trying to figure out what was going to come but I wasn't right with what I ended up with. There are so many great things about this book, most notably the great twists it holds, its incredibly suspenseful in parts. I feel like there are undertones of uniting no matter who we are, where we come from or the political issues going on that continue to have a hold on our world.

You can easily tell how much research and thought went into this book, it screams volumes and is incredibly effective. I think I had a mini emotional roller coaster as I read this novel and part of me wants way more from Peter that goes with this book, I'd happily have a 20 part series really and that's no lie. Thanks to Peters high volume of accuracy in detail it was easy for me to put the book down and still see all of what had happened. I was hooked and in love, the imagery was beautiful an I couldn't control myself when it came to talking to my mother about this book.

Cawdron has done an amazing job with this novel, its an easy 5/5 from me and I definitely want to check out more of his work.

Encore Moo: A Lawnmowers, Inc. Novella - P.J Benney

Synopsis:

Sometimes Nicholas Wyndham is happy, but it depends which one of him you ask. There are dozens of versions of him, and they’re trying to make contact. The laws of physics are of no concern to a man who can send emails to a parallel universe. Naturally, some of the Nicholases, the clueless ones, are getting worried. Their post keeps going missing, and their kitchens are haunted, and their partners grow suspicious. In the wake of the Lawnmowers, Inc. scandal, Nicholas Wyndham is having a crisis, and Nicholas Wyndham is the only man that can help him – if he can reach himself in time.

Review:

This is such a fun Novella I actually cant contain my good emotions whilst reading it. There are dozens of Nicholas Wyndham, and its quite fascinating to watch them discover what's happening to them and try to figure out what to do about it. Its a quirky novella at that, I mean it's just brilliant to read because there are so many versions of Nicholas and some of him freak out some of them find it perfectly logical when it comes to explaining recent happenings in their lives. There's also Beth and Violet, each of them playing parts in many of Nicholas' lives (this is very absurd and slightly confusing to write) Depending on which one of him you ask but they're more loved by him than not so that's a positive for them. It's great to see that Present Violet is linked to Déjà Moo in the way that she would write vegan friendly recipes for Lawnmowers Inc, well that was before it went in flames anyway.

I don't think I can make this review as long as my others just down to the fact it's a novella and I refuse to ruin anything for you all because there's no fun in spoiling anything for anyone. Take my word for it, Encore moo is funny and exciting and although seemingly confusing to follow its easy peasy.

A plot that's so twisty turny and funny that part of me can't understand how P.J.Benney managed to stay on track whilst writing this and even bought up the question of did he get confused at all? We do get to see a few familiar faces come the ending of the novella and it was a nice way to end it.
Once finishing Déjà Moo I knew I had to read Encore Moo just to allow me to fill the hole left in my life now I had finished the first book. Once again P.J Benney did a great job mixing his humour into the writing creating something unique and quite beautiful. I loved how even though a Novella and nearly nothing to do with Déjá Moo how Benney managed to keep a link between both stories.

It's an easy 5/5 from me, I cant say a single bad thing about the Novella, its a perfect little read to fill a period of time with and tie you over until Bovine Intervention coming in 2018. Even though not a genre I have read lot of besides Déjà Moo. The door has definitely stayed opened and I'm looking forward to reading more of the genre and P.J Benney's work.


Links
Click here to see Déjá Moo: A Lawnmowers, Inc. Novel on Amazon
Click here to see Déjá Moo: A Lawnmowers, Inc. Novel on Goodreads

Click here to see Encore Moo: A Lawnmowers Inc. Novella on Amazon
Click here to see Encore Moo: A Lawnmowers Inc. Novella on Goodreads

Click here to see P.J Benney's Twitter
Click here to visit P.J Benney's Website

Life And Other Near Death Experiences - Camille Pagan

Synopsis:

Libby Miller has always been an unwavering optimist—but when her husband drops a bomb on their marriage the same day a doctor delivers devastating news, she realizes her rose-coloured glasses have actually been blinding her.

With nothing left to lose, she abandons her life in Chicago for the clear waters and bright beaches of the Caribbean for what might be her last hurrah. Despite her new sunny locale, her plans go awry when she finds that she can’t quite outrun the past or bring herself to face an unknowable future.

Every day of tropical bliss may be an invitation to disaster, but with her twin brother on her trail and a new relationship on the horizon, Libby is determined to forget about fate. Will she risk it all to live—and love—a little longer?

From critically acclaimed author Camille Pagán comes a hilarious and hopeful story about a woman choosing between a “perfect” life and actually living.


Review:

I was hooked 20 pages in, even less than that if I have to be honest. It kicked off right away, the emotions and surprises came out of the woodwork instantly.

Libby is or point of view, she's middle ages and has a personal vow to herself to stay away from funerals and has done so until her mothers which she attended as a small child. I instantly fell in love with her as instantly as possible. She is a very truthful person, and maintains that part of her personality all the way through. I also loved how blunt she was with people about how she's feeling etc..

Curving the balls thrown her way, after finding out two critical pieces of information, A) Her Health B) Her husband isn't who she thought he was, Libby abandons Colorado and heads to the Caribbean in hopes she can forget Colorado and everything that happened there. Once set on the Caribbean and forgetting and living, she meets Sihloh. The pair grow close and you can probably guess what happens there.

The storyline is somewhat grim, though about a failing marriage and the big C, Libby and her eye opening journey have a sense of humour to it and a sense of hope. Libby's character and her twin Paul and all of the other characters within the story were well written and perfectly crafted, their behaviour and their reactions to were not far fetched. the characters were a great combination, unique and diverse.

I adored the great happenings throughout and my heart dropped at the bad times in the story. it was a well paced progression of storyline and I managed to finish it within a day. I fell in love within 20 pages even more so after 200. I'm pleased that there were no loose ends and had a well written ending.

A truly addictive read, a mix of humour and the harsh reality of cancer. 5/5 and I will definitely be looking into reading more of Camille's work.



I got this book for free on my Amazon Kindle 7 day free trial