Tag Archives: book review

A review of my book, “Lost in the Labyrinth of My Mind”

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Many thanks to Annette for the following review of my collection of poetry “Lost in the Labyrinth of My Mind”:

“I am so happy to have a copy of this book. Author. Kevin Morris, has such capture of the world around him and uses his command of words to craft poetry
that stimulates the senses. One of the poems in this volume, spoke to me specifically. Autumn Breeze made me smile, as I am an autumn born, baby and that
time of year always makes me smile. Congratulations, K. Morris, on a most delightful, though provoking book that I shall read again and again”.

For the original review please visit this link, http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1737069156.

Kevin

A Review of my collection of short stories, “The Suspect and Other Tales”

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My thanks to Alain Gomez for this review of my collection of short stories, “The Suspect and Other Tales”, (http://bookbrouhaha.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/review-of-suspect-and-other-tales.html).

A Great Review Of “Lost In The Labyrinth Of My Mind”

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I was delighted to receive the below 5 star review of my collection of poems, “Lost In The Labyrinth Of My Mind”,
“This is the third book of poetry I have reviewed by this author, so my expectations were rather high. I did a full reading to get the overall feel for
the poems and the book. This is very much an autumn, winter book of poetry; the time of year when the landscape appears to die leaving one melancholy and
introspective about life in general. But this is not to say that there aren’t some humorous poems. In fact, the poems in this volume seem to cover the
full spectrum of life. And there is one thing which I realized upon my first reading, is that these poems were a pleasure to read aloud like all good poetry
should be. The phrasing allowed the words to roll off the tongue in contentment. One thing I would ask of the reader is to go to the last section of the
book, ‘Why I Write Poetry’ and read this before you start reading the poems themselves. It is my opinion that it will greatly enhance your reading of these
poems and poetry in general. A few of my favorites are, “The Path Through the Woods, The Lost Muse, December, Modernity, Swan, Paris Attacks, and Hurricane”,
to name a few. I highly recommend this volume of poetry by K.Morris”.
For the review please visit http://www.amazon.com/review/R2CWNSOVWULALC/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01AF5EPVY. To purchase “Lost In The Labyrinth Of My Mind” please go to http://www.amazon.com/Lost-labyrinth-my-mind-Morris-ebook/dp/B01AF5EPVY/ref=cm_rdp_product.
Thank you to the reviewer for taking the time to read and review “Lost In The Labyrinth Of My Mind”.

A Review of “Dalliance; A Collection Of Poetry And Prose”

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Many thanks to JC for taking the time to review my book, “Dalliance; A Collection of Poetry and Prose”. You can find JC’s blog here, (https://nimbus432.wordpress.com/). To download “Dalliance” please visit http://www.amazon.com/Dalliance-collection-poetry-prose-Morris-ebook/dp/B00QQVJC7E (for the US) or http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dalliance-collection-poetry-prose-Morris-ebook/dp/B00QQVJC7E (for the UK).

Disclosure: JC received a free copy of “Dalliance” in exchange for an honest review.

 

A Book Review of…

 

Dalliance; A Collection of Poetry and Prose

 

By K. Morris

 

The dictionary defines the word dalliance as ‘a brief or casual involvement with something’. Such is the title of a new book of poetry and prose by author K. Morris. True to the title, the reader’s presented with page after page of short verse and story, a dalliance of each you might say.

 

But a casual relationship is far from the truth as one begins reading. Though each title can stand on its own in meaning and structure, they immediately pull the reader in and before long, you feel as though this collections written for you and you alone as your own thoughts and interpretation bleed from each page. To me, this is a sign of great writing when an author can invoke in the reader a personal relationship with his work where the reader cannot ignore where a writer’s words are taking them.

 

Each poem and each prose in this collection symbolizes a different layer of consciousness. Love’s celebrated in I Heard the Birds Sing, the poignant Listening To the Rain, the lovely simpleness of Beauty in Bleakness and Let us Go; the humorous Bird Song on an Autumn Evening, the melancholy of Sun and Rain. Further along, we see hints of depression in Be Still and the metaphysical in I Am and outright darkness in Dark Owl, Enigma, Night Terrors and the title poem Dalliance.

 

This collection has glimpses of Edgar Allan Poe, Silvia Plath and Emily Dickinson along with a nod to John Keats and William Blake.

 

For me the best way to read this book so as to get the most out of it is to first, read the book in its entirety, let the overall structure and balance of the work embrace you. Then come back for a second reading with an emphasis on each title, like a meditation if you will. From my first reading to my third, I found a subtle beauty and haunting sensation in this collection that will stay with me for some time.

 

This book would do honor to any bookshelf. I highly recommend it.

 

-JC

 

Free book promotion

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Several of my books will be free to download in the Amazon Kindle Store as set out below. If you download any of my books it would be great if you would please consider leaving a review on Amazon and/or your own website. Alternatively, please feel free to contact me with your comments at newauthoronline (at) gmail.com. For reviews of my books please visit the below web pages or go to http://newauthoronline.com/reviews-of-my-books/ For my Amazon author page please go to http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY for the UK or http://www.amazon.com/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY for the US.

Sting in the tail – February 28th – March 4th

A collection of short stories, many of which have an unexpected twist in the tale. The stories range from ghostly happenings through to tales of crime and moral conflict.

For the UK please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sting-tail-other-stories-Morris-ebook/dp/B00DFK6R54/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 or http://www.amazon.com/Sting-tail-other-stories-Morris-ebook/dp/B00DFK6R54/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 for the US

The Suspect – March 4th – March 8th

Tales of the unexpected, ranging from stories of crime and vengeance through to ghostly happenings in an ancient mansion.

For the UK please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Suspect-other-tales-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00PKPTQ0U/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 or http://www.amazon.com/Suspect-other-tales-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00PKPTQ0U/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 for the US

Samantha – March 8th – March 12th

Samantha tells a story of a young girl forced into prostitution in the city of Liverpool. Can Sam’s love for Peter, a man she meets in a nightclub, save her? Or will Sam end her life in the murky waters of Liverpool’s Albert Dock?

For the UK please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samantha-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00BL3CNHI or http://www.amazon.com/Samantha-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00BL3CNHI for the US

An Act of Mercy – March 12th – March 16th

A collection of dark and intriguing tales encompassing blackmail, murder and sex.

For the UK please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/act-mercy-other-stories-ebook/dp/B00EHS74CS/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 or http://www.amazon.com/act-mercy-other-stories-ebook/dp/B00EHS74CS/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 for the US

Streetwalker – March 16th – March 20th

In this collection of flash fiction we meet a variety of characters, many of whom have been deeply damaged by life. The stories range from a young prostitute who walks the dangerous streets of London to tales of vengeance and comeuppance. Serious issues of abuse of power are touched upon. Anyone who is looking for a comfortable read should avoid this book.

For the UK please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Street-Walker-other-stories-Morris-ebook/dp/B00HLRNDP4/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 or http://www.amazon.com/Street-Walker-other-stories-Morris-ebook/dp/B00HLRNDP4/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 for the US

Disquiet By A P Bullard: Book Review

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“Disquiet”, an anthology by A P Bullard and other writers was well worth the £0.99 I paid for the book in the Amazon Kindle store. While not all of the stories produced in me a feeling of disquiet, the majority of the tales had me on the edge of my seat (or bed as I finished the book in my bedroom), wondering about the fate of the characters.

The story which especially horrified me concerned a man who chooses to gouge out his eyes. The author describes with clinical precision, down to the instruments employed, how the unnamed man goes about accomplishing this gruesome task. As someone who lost the majority of my sight as a very small child due to a blood clot I find it hard to grasp why anyone would, voluntarily gouge out their own eyes. However there are psychologically disturbed people out there and the story held me spellbound (that probably is a bad choice of words but I can not, at this juncture think of a better one) with a sense of horrified fascination.

The other tale which particularly intrigued me concerns a group of 3 disreputable characters in an inn. It is the well established story of those perpetually doomed by a demonic presence to repeat an action (in this case the opening of a box) with no possibility of redemption.

For anyone who enjoys uncomfortable reads I recommend “Disquiet” which can be downloaded here (http://www.amazon.com/Disquiet-anthology-A-P-Bullard-ebook/dp/B00OQJGU0K) or here (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Disquiet-anthology-P-Bullard-ebook/dp/B00OQJGU0K/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1423812600&sr=1-2&keywords=Disquiet%3A+an+anthology).

Pages: 1 2 3

How Many Reviews Does A Book On Amazon Have?

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When purchasing books online most people will look at the reviews. One or more good reviews may encourage the potential reader to part with their money. Amazon have, fairly recently allowed reviews appearing on amazon.com to show on the amazon.co.uk site. This is to be welcomed, however matters are somewhat confusing. Take, for example my collection of short stories, “Sting In The Tail and Other Stories” (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sting-tail-other-stories-Morris-ebook/dp/B00DFK6R54/ref=pd_cp_kinc_0). As of today anyone visiting the UK site will, at first glance see that “Sting In The Tail” has received 1 review. However, read down the page and (under the review which was posted on the UK site) appear 3 reviews written by readers who have purchased the book on amazon.com. It might be argued that people should carefully read all the information about a particular book. However, in the real world potential readers will frequently just glance at a book description, note that it has (apparently) 1 review and pass on to the next title. The situation is worse for authors when no reviews appear on the UK site but books have been reviewed on the US website. Again one can argue that readers (if they look at the whole page) will see that the book has, in fact been reviewed on amazon.com, but how many readers will read so far?

My suggestion for resolving this issue is for the total number of reviews on both amazon.com and amazon.co.uk to appear near to the top of the book’s page (after all a review is a review irrespective of which country it was written in).

As I said at the start of this post it is wonderful that Amazon do include reviews written on amazon.com on the UK site. However, in my opinion the total number of reviews should be made clearer ensuring that the potential buyer has the maximum amount of information at his (or her) fingertips and, hopefully helping authors to sell more books.

Caught In A Trap

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In order to sell books you need reviews as, in general readers are not going to pay cold, hard cash only to discover that they have been sold a pup. Of course my books together with those of many other writers are not pups but, as a potential reader it is hard to distinguish between a pup and a full grown pedigree dog in the absence of reviews. Now comes the rub, in order to get a review someone actually needs to have read your masterpiece and taken the time to put fingers to keyboard but, in the absence of any reviews why should one of those lovely readers out there shell out their hard earned money for my (or your) books?! We are, dear reader caught in a vicious circle from which it is impossible to escape!

Well that is not quite the case. Authors can provide free copies of their books in return for what is termed “an honest review” where the recipient of the book writes an unbiased review and states that they have received a complimentary copy of the author’s work. I have gone down this road with my collection of short stories, The First Time (you can find the resulting review here, https://cupitonians.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/the-first-time-book-review/). Writing to bloggers and others who write honest reviews is most certainly worth doing, however, prior to doing so check out what genres the reviewer reviews in order to avoid wasting both the reviewers time and your own!

Another excellent way to obtain reviews is by offering your books free or at a discounted price using Amazon’s KDP Select Programme, https://kdp.amazon.com/select. Human nature being what it is people are, in my experience more likely to take a chance on an unknown or relatively unknown author when their books are free (after all what has the reader to lose other than the time expended in reading the writer’s pearls of wisdom)? If you have a blog and/or a website use it to inform your visitors/followers that your book is available free and provide links facilitating it’s easy download.

I have had some success with KDP Select. My short story, Samantha has attracted 5 4 star reviews as a consequence of me offering it free via KDP Selectand publicising it’s availability via this blog, newauthoronline.com.

Ah but what about the elephant in the room I hear you ask. Free downloads don’t put money in an author’s pocket. This is, quite blatantly correct. However reviews gained as a consequence of offering your books free (assuming they are good reviews) means that it is more likely readers will open their wallets and purchase your books. Good luck with your writing and book sales!

(For my Amazon Author Page please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0).

Protecting Teenage Prostitutes?

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Yesterday I came across an interesting debate on Youtube regarding a Private Members Bill being piloted through Parliament by the Labour MP John Mann which, if it becomes law would make it illegal to pay for sex with a prostitute aged under 21, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHukn6AHHi4. Under UK law the age of consent is 16 for both men and women. It is, however illegal to pay for sex with anyone under the age of 18. John Mann and his supporters believe that those aged over 18 but under 21 are particularly vunnerable so making it illegal to pay for sex with this group would reduce the demand for young prostitutes giving these ladies (and men) breathing space and the chance to explore alternative career paths.

Opponents of the proposal argue that it is unenforcible and that the law should be left as it currently stands. Others believe that the Swedish model should be implemented under which those who pay for sex are prosecuted while men and women engaged in the sex industry are assisted to exit prostitution.

In my story, Samantha, Sam is forced into prostitution in the city of Liverpool by her brutal pimp Barry and it is touch and go as to whether she will survive or end her brutalised existence in the murky waters of Liverpool’s Albert Docks. In The First Time we meet Becky, a young graduate who becomes a prostitute in order to pay off her debts. The First Time explores the psychological effects of working in the sex industry on Becky and her fellow escort and friend Julie. In neither story do I refer to the age of Samantha or Becky, however I had in the back of my mind that Becky is 21 while Sam is 18 or 19 (Samantha is studying at university when she becomes entrapped into prostitution).

 

For Samantha please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samantha-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00BL3CNHI (for the UK) or http://www.amazon.com/Samantha-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00BL3CNHI (for the US).

For The First Time please visit http://www.amazon.com/First-Time-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00FJGKY7Y/ref=la_B00CEECWHY_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393147163&sr=1-1 (for the US or http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-First-Time-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00FJGKY7Y (for the UK). For a recent review of The First Time please visit https://cupitonians.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/the-first-time-book-review/.

My collection of short stories, An Act Of Mercy is free in the Kindle Store until Tuesday 25 February. To download An Act Of Mercy free please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/An-act-mercy-other-stories-ebook/dp/B00EHS74CS (for the UK) or http://www.amazon.com/An-act-mercy-other-stories-ebook/dp/B00EHS74CS (for the US).

Have You Ever Interviewed One Of Your Characters – Interview With Becky From The First Time

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I have published two previous posts containing interviews with characters from my story, Samantha, http://newauthoronline.com/2014/02/14/have-you-ever-interviewed-one-of-your-characters/. Today I am interviewing the leading character from my story the First Time, a young graduate named Becky who enters the world of prostitution in order to clear her debts.

 

 

Interview

 

Me: “What is your earliest recollection?”

 

Becky: “Collecting bluebells with my grandfather. I remember the sun was shining, the birds singing and I was so happy to be with my grandfather. Those memories are incredibly precious”.

 

Me: “It sounds as though you had a happy childhood?”

 

“Becky: “Yes, I was surrounded by people who loved me. Mummy and daddy doted on me. Both of them  read to me, I grew up in a house full of books which is why, I guess I ended up reading English literature at university”.

 

Me: “much of the research into why people enter into prostitution appears to indicate that they suffered childhood abuse or some other trauma. From what you have told me about your childhood it doesn’t appear that you fit in with this stereotype”.

 

Becky: “You mean what is a nice middle class girl like me doing working as a prostitute?”

 

Me: “Not to put to fine a point on it, yes”.

 

Becky: “I ran up a huge credit card debt. There was no way, as a part-time barmaid I would ever be able to clear it. One of my friends, Julie worked as an escort and, in desperation I asked her to help me to enter the sex industry, as a prostitute which she did by introducing me to one of her clients, Mike”.

 

Me: “Didn’t you consider turning to your family for help?”

 

Becky: “No, mummy and daddy would have been so disappointed in me. They brought me up to live within my means, not to borrow accept for a mortgage. If you can’t afford it then you should save up for it or do without. That is there philosophy. I would have died of shame if  they had found out about my debts”.

 

Me: “What do you think their reaction would be if they found out that their daughter was working as a prostitute?”

 

Becky: “they would be horrified! Christ I would die of shame if they found out, that will never happen though.  I live in London and mummy and Daddy live in York”.

 

Me: “Do you feel that you have a choice in prostitution?

 

Becky: “If I haden’t entered sex work I would have had a huge credit card debt and it would have been impossible for me to live as all my money would have gone in paying off my card. I wasn’t physically compelled to become an escort but I had no other choice given the state of the jobs market”.

 

“Me: “do you enjoy your work?”

 

Becky: “What kind of a question is that?! I hate being treated like a piece of meat. Some men are nice and, of course it’s easier if the man is polite and converses with you rather than grabbing you as soon as you come through the door, doing the deed and then throwing you out in 30 minutes or so, but no I don’t enjoy being treated as a sex object”.

 

Me: “Can you see yourself giving up working as an escort?”

 

Becky: “I’d like to but, although I hate the work I like the money. You can make thousands a month if you work as an independent escort as you don’t have to give a percentage to the escort agency. I’ve seen girls who hate the work but love the money. I’m afraid that I may end up like one of them”.

 

Me: “Many thanks for talking to me Becky”.

 

—

 

For a review of The First Time please visit https://cupitonians.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/the-first-time-book-review/