Shubbak Festival 2013!

I can't wait for this festival to kick off in London this weekend. I have already booked most of the events that fit my schedule. It sounds like so much fun! See you there! 

To book tickets and download the festival's guide, click HERE.

A BookFabulous Favourite for Summer!

I just finished reading this over the weekend and think it is genius. The writing is sublime and it is my recommended read for anyone going on holiday this summer. I will post a full review by the end of this week or early next week. 

Book Description (from amazon.co.uk)

Mark Wilkinson has three names. He left his own behind in the rainy north of England. U.S. immigration know him as Joe Novak. And at the Valhalla, the mysterious complex in Vegas where he sells lofty ambition and dark desires, he goes by Mr Jones. Since the age of eighteen, Mark has been running away, and hard. Away from everything that is flat and dull and ordinary: his market town. Away from disappointment: his vanished mother, his broken father. And away from heartbreak. Bethany Wilder, beautiful goth, carnival queen, partner in dreams, tragic ghost, never made it with him to America. He’s thirty now and again it’s time to flee – in the opposite direction, towards home. With shades of JG Ballard, Murakami, and Joseph O’Neill, this is an inventive and emotional novel about the power of dreams to destroy, of memory to distort, and of courage, ultimately, to heal.

About the Author

A former bookseller and editor, Stuart Evers is the acclaimed author of Ten Stories About Smoking, which won the 2011 London Book Award. He lives in London.

'An Invitation to Die' by Helen Smith

Winnie Kraster is an American book blogger who has just received an invitation from the Romance Writers of Great Britain (RWGB) to attend their annual conference held in London. Author of blog 'Tallulah's Treasures' Winnie is over the moon regarding the invitation as validation of her rising status in the blogosphere and confirmation that her reviews have been taken seriously by her favourite writers Polly Penham and Morgana Blakely who are among the RWGB's membership committee. Unfortunately for Winnie, her happiness is short-lived as she is found murdered only a few hours after she lands in Heathrow airport.

And so cue a murder mystery that would be incomplete without a cast of colourful characters with big egos and even bigger secrets to hide. Welsh fifty-something author Cerys Pugh from Cardiff whose hate for Winnie's blog is outspoken and holds all bloggers in contempt. Archie Mears, the slim mid-thirties writer who refuses to speak of his past, has dark dreams, lives with a fear of being trapped by fire or water and whose poetic looks betray the fact that he would "strike back speedily and effectively if provoked". North London sensual romance writer Zena, and self-proclaimed "North London Goddess" interested in nature continuously burning incense at an altar, physically intimidating and who reveals in an interview that she is "not afraid to strike at someone or something that is holding her back". Polly Penham, a soft spoken, friendly writer who has found fame and fortune and is the envy of everyone but is known for her dramatic episodes and conspiracy theories. Morgana Blakely, self-absorbed president of the RWGB's organising committee who is used to always getting her way even if it means tweaking some truths here and there.

And then there is Emily Castles, our amateur sleuth, who is a free lancer working the odd job here and there and who reminded me of a slightly older Nancy Drew. Other than the fact that she had just completed a job in Canary Wharf (her comment on the elevators rings so true), that she lives in South London occasionally looking after her neighbour's cat when they are away and that she is at the conference to assist Morgana Blakely there is little more that we are told about her. Emily is a no-nonsense likeable twenty six year-old woman, with a dry sense of humour, sharp wit and an equally sharp eye for details. Helen Smith takes it for granted perhaps that readers would already be familiar with Castles from the Emily Castles Mysteries, which unfortunately I myself have not read. It is equally important to stress here that this in no way impacts or detracts from the story but is merely an observation on my part. It is also worth noting that 'Invitation to Die' is the first full-length book in the Emily Castles mystery series and it has just been published by Thomas & Mercer in paperback and as an ebook. Smith has already published two novellas in the series, Three Sisters and Showstoppers.

This short novel packs a rather long list of characters that Helen Smith manages to mix together in the most effortless way coming up with a very convincing plot. Every one is potentially a plausible suspect even if not part of the RWGB crowd such as the chocolatier Monsieur Cyril Loman owner of one of the most prestigious chocolate shops in Knightsbridge who cannot let go of what he has witnessed in his past life before seeking asylum in the UK at the age of fifteen. Hotel manager Nik Kovacevic's ambition is to prove his worth at his new job and therefore willing to do what it takes to please his superiors and secure a bigger promotion. 

The novel is very entertaining, gripping and fast paced with laugh-out loud moments (my favourite was to do with Nik, chefs and pickles). My only wish was that it were longer. However, I have no doubt that 'Invitation to Die' will instigate many a discussion around the blogger vs author relationship, which if the retort is anything to go by can be quite fiery and challenging. Helen Smith has conjured up an imaginary scenario where she has tried for the sake of fairness to include representations of various characters from the literary world (writers, bloggers, publishers, etc) - hence the diverse and long list of characters - offering up an insight to what they might say or do when they have to spend an entire weekend together (it gave me the feeling of being a fly on the wall). But the story has a major advantage in the parts where it deals with why people write what they write (be it books or blogs), rituals of writing (Archie) and how to clear the mind for the creative process (Zena). There are lessons to be learnt there people. 

Judgements, accusations, secrets and lies abound and yet this is one conference I'd love to attend provided I (the blogger) may be allowed to live to tell my tale.

Helen Smith is an English novelist and dramatist. She's a member of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain, English PEN and the Society of Authors. She lives in London. Check out her website 'The Emperor's Clothes' HERE.

Location Relocation: London & Abu Dhabi!

Once upon a time before children I worked in the publishing industry in a land far away from where this blog was conceived. I had been good at my job enjoying it tremendously. In the midst of it all, love came a knocking and I unhesitatingly followed to where my better half said 'Let's go'. A few countries down the line, one child, still very much in love, I felt I was ready for a new challenge. Blogs were all the rage back then and naturally that's where I headed. Before 'BookFabulous' I had written an anonymous blog that has seen its humble share of success (interviewed by the BBC) and looking back now I do believe that had circumstances been different the blog would have flourished (but hey I would say that wouldn't I?). However, the love of my life cried "Let's Move!" yet again and the blog met with its early end at odds with my husband's blossoming media career.

So, we moved. But I had been bitten by the 'blogging bug' and was hooked. I craved it, pined for it and desperately wanted to get back to it. However, this time round I had no intention of 'tying myself down' to a place or time. I wanted a blog I could carry with me like a favourite teddy wherever I went and have it be relevant and unconstricted. Since I was a child I have been a voracious reader. I had read 'War and Peace' by the time I was 9 and 'Anna Karenina' and 'Brothers Karamazov' by the age of 12. Books have always been a big part of my upbringing with a father who devoured books as if his life depended on them and his published pieces are a reminder of how much he valued 'his little hobby' as he would call it. My maternal grandfather, once a headmaster of a school, was rarely seen outside his study and the family's library is awash with his writings. And so without further ado, BookFabulous just had to be born.

The aim of 'BookFabulous' is to share my thoughts on books (and more) and to bring to light the reads that I have on my radar. The ultimate wish is to interact with like-minded readers that share my passion (maybe slight obsession) with all things books. If I had to coin what I do, I'd opt for 'professional reader', a term I unabashedly 'borrow' from NetGalley. This blog, along with Twitter, has provided me with a platform from which I have met and continue to meet the most amazing people from all over the world; Creative individuals who enjoy their craft and who make the world a better place for it. This blog has taught me that creativity transcends borders and is accessible to anyone, anywhere.

And my gut feeling was right: 'BookFabulous' had to be a versatile blog open to change because guess what? yup! the love of my life has blown the whistle signalling it's time to move again thanks to his now SKY- rocketing media career. So, 'BookFabulous' will divide its writing time between London and Abu Dhabi. The move -which I am very excited about- will take place in August.

The Middle East is undergoing various political changes that is having an impact on every aspect of people's lives particularly that of culture. The region is a hotpot for new and established writers that are producing relevant avant-garde work that I can't wait to tap into and ultimately document on this blog. As far as challenges go, I couldn't have asked for a bigger one.

What I'm Reading This Weekend!

'Eye Spy' by Tahir Shah

What it's about (from Amazon.co.uk):

The greatest eye surgeon of his age, Dr. Amadeus Kaine is fêted by royalty, dictators, Hollywood, and the international jetset. An epicurean of sophistication and dark obsessions, he’s devoted his life to locating the perfect food.

While treating one of Central Asia’s most depraved despots, Kaine is given a little pie to eat – a delicacy reserved for guests of the president. It’s the most delicious thing that’s ever passed the surgeon’s lips, and one that has seemingly miraculous effects. 

All of a sudden, Kaine finds that his bald patch is growing over with thick black hair, and that his body is healing itself from the inside out. But, best of all, he realizes that his mental faculties are stimulated in ways he never believed possible. He can write books in a few hours, learn languages in a matter of days, and effortlessly solve problems from world hunger to global warming.

The drawback is that the dictator’s little pies are prepared with human eyes, taken from convicts working in the opal mines. Horrified that he’s unwittingly become a cannibal, Amadeus Kaine can’t think of anything but getting his hands on some more of the illicit specialty.

Obsessed in particular by green eyes, he begins hunting for victims to satisfy his wayward craving. While perfecting his method, he learns to appreciate the subtleties in taste. As he does so, a terrible affliction strikes – Occulosis.

An eye disease that has jumped the species gap from industrialised poultry farming, the virus rips through society, robbing the masses of their sight. The only man who can save the world is the inimitable Dr. Kaine, who is himself on the run.

One of the strangest tales of obsession, mania and intrigue ever told, 'EYE SPY' will quite literally change the way you see the world.

'Invitation to Die' by Helen Smith

What it's about (from Amazon.co.uk):

Twenty-six-year-old Emily Castles is out of work… again. So when famous romance author Morgana Blakely offers her a job helping out at a conference in London, Emily accepts. Just as eagerly, American blogger Winnie Kraster accepts an invitation from Morgana to attend as a guest, not realizing she has, in effect, accepted an invitation to die.

As a cast of oddball characters assembles at the conference hotel, grievances, differences, and secrets begin to emerge. When Winnie goes missing, and then is found murdered nearby, Emily begins to suspect that someone involved with the conference is responsible. Could it be one of the organizers, one of the authors, a member of the hotel staff, or even the supplier of the chocolates for the conference gift bags? Emily teams up with guest speaker and eccentric philosophy professor Dr. Muriel to find out.

Offbeat and engaging, this entertaining comic mystery is the first full-length novel featuring amateur British sleuth Emily Castles.

Q&A with Author Savita Kalhan

Savita Kalhan

Author Savita Kalhan, takes the time to answer a few questions about her   thrilling debut novel, The Long Weekend. Click HERE to check out my review of this gripping heart-in-mouth novel.

BookFabulous: So, let’s start with the theme of The Long Weekend: an abduction of two pre-teen boys. What was the reason behind wanting to take on such a heart-wrenching, traumatic topic?

Savita Kalhan: It is a traumatic topic, and it is heart-wrenching too. The news today from right across the world is full of such terrible stories. It’s a difficult subject for teen fiction – for the writer and the reader, so very little has been written for teenagers on the subject. I think it depends on how it’s approached – with sensitivity, without graphic details, and yet without shying away from the terrible reality of what happens when a child is abducted. And for me any such book must be gripping and real. Those are pretty difficult criteria to cover!

The initial inspiration for The Long Weekend came from a flyer that went round the local schools warning parents and children that a large flashy car had been trying to abduct kids after school. Parents and kids were warned to be alert and report anything suspicious. As a mother I know that the school gates at pick-up time is a frenzied chaotic period of time. I wondered how easy it would be for a child to be taken – particularly kids aged 11- 15, who think that it could never happen to them. But, as we all know, tragically it does happen.

A scenario came to my mind where it could happen with frightening ease. I set aside the story I had been writing as The Long Weekend took over.

BF: I thought this was a cleverly written book for the way you were able to convey the sizable trauma abduction victims suffer (whether during their ordeal or after) relying on insinuation rather than gruesome graphic detailed descriptions. Although having said that, this technique, in my opinion, added a scarier dimension to the novel. Was that done intentionally maybe due to the sensitivity of certain parts of the book with regard to the age group that the novel is mainly targeting?

SK: Yes, it was intentional. I didn’t want the book to be graphic in any way given the subject matter of the book and that young teenagers would be reading it. I don’t believe that a book has to be graphic in order to still have a strong impact on the reader, and indeed, it can, as you say, make the book feel even scarier. Our imaginations are very vivid. Where the words stop, the mind takes over and takes those few words and the unspoken words and images to paint a whole picture – particularly when the reader has stepped into the character’s mind.

BF: Lloyd and Sam are two boys who obviously come from two different social backgrounds. Lloyd is the rich cool boy at school who everyone wants to be like and Sam comes from a middle class working background with slightly stricter home rules (no mobile phones and no play station). Do you think this discrepancy in backgrounds played a role in how the two boys handled their situation? And do you think if Lloyd had been more like Sam he would have been spared his ordeal?

SK: The difference in the boys’ backgrounds facilitated aspects of the storyline in The Long Weekend, but I think it was their very different characters that played a larger role in how they dealt with the situation. In all honesty, I’m not sure Lloyd would not have been spared his ordeal if he had been more like Sam. The crux of the book would have changed, and the gut-wrenching aspect of what happens and how the boys deal with it would have been lost.

BF: What would you like the children who read the novel to get out of it?

SK: I’d like them to enjoy the book, to find it a gripping, absorbing read, and for it to be a memorable one, a story that stays with them long after they’ve put the book down. There is also a cautionary note to the story. Teachers have told me that The Long Weekend is far better than any school assembly talk on stranger-danger. Kids have told me the same.

BF: This is your debut novel. So how long did it take to complete ‘The Long Weekend’ and what were the main challenges you faced during the process?

SK: Once I had the idea for the book, the story and characters came very quickly. The first draft of the book was finished within a few months, except for the last chapter, the Epilogue, which was written several months later. During the writing process, the challenges came mainly from deciding how far to go in terms of how traumatic Sam and Lloyd’s experiences would be. I have to admit that I did have a few nightmares while I was writing the book – the monster was all too real! Once the first draft was written, I read it through and edited it. A couple of friends did the same for me. And then I left it in a drawer for a few months before sending it off. It was quite a different book to anything I had ever written before, so I was a little nervous of how it would be taken.

BF: Away from the ‘The Long Weekend’, have you always known you wanted to be a writer and what influences shaped or continue to shape your journey? Have you got a writing regime that you abide by or do you write when inspiration strikes?

SK: When I was growing up I never thought I would be, or could be, a published writer. The journey has been a very long meandering one. I started writing while I was teaching English in the Middle East. The city I was in had one book shop, everything was vetted by the authorities and most books and magazines were censored, many banned, so I used to hide lots of books in my suitcase when returning there after holidaying in the UK. I was reading everything then, and still do, but I was going through an epic fantasy phase and sharing my books with a friend, which led us to try our hand at writing one. Well, my friend decided I should write the first chapter and she would write the next, but what actually happened was that I ended up writing the whole trilogy, and she became my reader. 

I do have a writing regime and without it I would be lost. I do the school run in the morning, then to the gym, and aim to start work by about ten. I usually aim to work right through the day into the early evening, and sometimes into the weekend too. It all depends on the story. If I take a break it’s to walk down to my allotment, which is great for thinking, for getting over writer’s block, and for switching off for a while too.

BF: ‘The Long Weekend’ is your debut novel. Has getting it published affected your writing in any way? Are there certain aspects in the publishing world that you found challenging or even helpful based on your experience?

SK: As much as you don’t want it to affect your writing, what you write and how you write it, there is an inevitable impact. In the publishing world today, writers are told they need a ‘brand’, something which sets them apart from other writers in their field. The parameters of that branding are shrinking, the niche becoming all-important. They want you to own it, make it yours, so they can sell and promote you better. That’s great for them, but it’s a challenging time for writers.

BF: With regards to marketing the book, what technique had most impact on your sales? And where do you see social media’s role in the fame of an author and consequently the sales of their book/s?

SK: Social media has a huge role in a writer’s career. Publishers want to see their writers being active on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. Writers feel pressured to blog, to be active on the internet. Book bloggers love reading and writing about books, so publishers and writers want them reading and writing about their books. Obviously all of this is important in terms of promoting your book, your name, your brand as a writer, because if no one has heard of you, no one will have heard of your book. 

For me, Twitter has been very good. It led me to lots of amazing book bloggers, who have loved my book and wanted to read and shout about it! And, yes, it does help sales, but it also spreads your name as a serious writer.

BF: What advice would you give to aspiring writers or for those with the dreaded ‘writer’s block’?

SK: Every writer you speak to will have different techniques for trying to get over that ‘writer’s block’ moment. It helps me to talk over the plot with someone I trust. Those brain-storming sessions have helped enormously. If the story is really stuck, I go back to the beginning and start reading it again, tweaking things here and there while I’m waiting for inspiration or for that ‘light-bulb going on’ moment. Setting the manuscript aside for a while and writing a short story or some opening chapters of other story ideas has worked for me too. And if all else fails, take a walk, take a few days off. A short break can work wonders.

BF: According to research, kids are reading less and particularly boys. Do you think this is due to modern lifestyle such as electronic games and gadgets or is it due to the fact that authors are failing to spark boys’ interest with subjects that aren’t relevant enough?

SK: The modern lifestyle of most teenagers, boys and girls, doesn’t help – they see relaxation as switching on their PlayStation or going on You Tube, Facebook etc., and this is definitely more the case with boys than with girls. Having said that, boys are still reading. They take a little more to be inspired to read and the choice of books for them has definitely dwindled. Browse through the teen section of any book shop and you’ll see that for yourself. My teen son despairs at the shelves full of one particular type of fiction that’s clearly aimed at girls, with very little choice for boys. It’s not to do with the writers. It’s because of publishers trying to get the maximum sales from the group they think buys the most books. Not so long ago, there was space on the shelves and a little more vision on the part of publishers for a wider variety of books.

BF: When you read, do you prefer traditional paper books or e-books?

SK: I have to say I still prefer paper books, although having said that I wouldn’t be without my Kindle! I usually have a book on the go in both formats.

BF: What are you reading now?

SK: I’ve just started Toby’s Room by Pat Barker.

BF: And finally what’s your favorite book of all time?

SK: Now if you had asked me for a top ten I would have struggled! My favourite book of all time is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, and I would thoroughly recommend it if you haven’t had a chance to read it yet.

The Long Weekend has a book trailer, here’s the link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14TfYyHgD6Y and you can find Savita Kalhan on Twitter: @savitakalhan and on 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Long-Weekend-Savita-Kalhan/117223691628538?ref=hl

Savita Kalhan's website: http://www.savitakalhan.com/