Tag Archives: book reviews

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

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

 

My Author Interview On Kev’s Blog

The ever generous Kev Cooper has interviewed yours truly. Many thanks to Kev for his tireless work on behalf of fellow authors. You can find my interview here (http://kevs-domain.net/2015/03/27/kai-presents-kevin-morris/).

 

Kevin

Free book promotion

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

Update to my review page

I have updated my review page where you can find links to reviews of my books. If you are interested in writing an honest review of any of my books in return for a free copy please contact me at newauthoronline (at) gmail.com
Please put ‘book review’ in the subject line of your email.
For my review page please go to: http://newauthoronline.com/reviews-of-my-books/
Thank you

Guest Post: Why I Started My Blog By Inspired By A Book

Many thanks to Inspired By A Book for her great post. Its wonderful to know that there exist young people out there who are passionate about reading. Please do check out Inspired By A Book’s website together with her Instorgram. You can find Inspired By A Book’s blog here (https://inspiredbyabook.wordpress.com/).

 

 

I was so honoured when Kevin Morris asked me to do a guest post for ‘newauthoronline’; I jumped at the chance of getting the name ‘inspiredbyabook’ out there, giving it the opportunity to reach a wider audience, and hopefully get me the recognition I’ve always hoped for.

I chose to write a piece on why I started my blog, in hope for it to give other people the confidence to follow their dreams and if they’re wanting to, start their own blog.

Firstly at 17 I never had the idea of wanting to start my own blog, until one day I was in a English lesson and me and my friend were joking about starting blogs, which at that point I realised ‘’oh I’d quite like to have a go on that and see how it goes’’. When I got home that night I created a new email account ‘bookreviewss@hotmail.com’, and asked my mum and dad what their opinions were, both was up for me doing it but they didn’t think I’d last at it! How wrong were they? I made the decision to use a cover name, instead of my own because I didn’t have the confidence for all my friends knowing I was starting blog. I wanted it to be a personal experience ‘my own little world’’

I’ve always loved reading, so I put two and two together and created an instagram about books, originally it was called ‘review_that_book’, but eventually I felt this didn’t represent me as a person, or been able to post a wide variety of things on my instagram. Eventually this lead to the birth of ‘inspiredbyabook’, and new found ideas of creating my own website! Which I did less than a month ago, and already I’ve got 500+ followers which mean the world to me!

With the new name and website, I finally could share something I’m passionate about and thoroughly enjoy! Having a website helped me reach a wider audience and share my own thoughts and opinions, instead of writing a thousand mile long explanation on instagram! Sharing my opinion is how I got the opportunity to write this guest post, because Kevin liked ‘eBooks or paperback’ which expresses my opinion very well. I’m defiantly hoping to achieve my dreams from doing this, and my main goal is to get in contact with some publishers, and start requesting and receiving ARC copies of books to review! I refuse to stop, until I’ve got where I want to be.

Finally I’d just like to say, if any of you have dreams but are afraid, no matter what age you are, just go out and grab them! There is no one there stopping you, and you have full control! In the end you will be so proud of yourself, every struggle, down days or when you feel like giving up only make you stronger, and so keep at it! At 17, I’ve achieved so far in the space of around 3 month, more than i could have ever dreamed, if I can do it, around college and work life you can to!

Happy reading J

Book Review – Trafficked: The Diary Of A Sex Slave By Sybil Hodge

I recently read Trafficked: The Diary Of A sex Slave by Sybil Hodge. Below is my review of Hodge’s (fictional) account of people trafficking,

 

“A gripping account of a young woman tricked into becoming a prostitute by a person previously regarded as a friend. The victim is trafficked first to Italy

then, on attempting to escape is moved to the UK where she is forced to have sex with wealthy men in a luxury apartment. I won’t spoil the ending but would

recommend Hodge’s book”.

(for the original review on Amazon please visit the following link, http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R22AQIBFX62W5O/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B005GAC5VQ).

Opening Pandora’s Box

During the past 10 days I have been busy contacting reviewers to ascertain whether they would write an honest review of my books in return for free copies of same. While searching for book review blogs I came across one site which states that it only reviews romances. As most of my stories are, broadly speaking in the crime genre I rapidly reached for the back button on my web browser. My finger paused in mid air as I considered my short story, “Samantha”, the book blurb of which reads as follows,

“Samantha tells the 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?”

The focus of Samantha is Sam’s entanglement in (and her desire to escape) the world of forced prostitution. However there is, throughout the story a strong romantic strand. Samantha falls head over heels in love with Peter and struggles with her conscience due to the inability to confide in him that she is, in effect a sex slave. Had Sam and Peter met under other circumstances (with Samantha holding down a job as a secretary for instance) they would, very probably have walked off into the sunset hand in hand. However Sam’s lieing about her profession means that the course of true love runs far from smoothly. Consequently Samantha is no Mills and Boon romance.

Having written the above I realise that my metaphorical pen has run away with me. When I wrote Samantha the romantic aspects of the story did not figure significantly in my conception of the plot. Samantha was, for me primarily a tale of a young woman brutally forced into sex slavery by her pimp, Barry. However, looking back I see that Samantha took on a life of it’s own with the romantic angle playing a greater part than I envisaged.

As authors, characters and plots spring from our imaginations. However, once Pandora’s Box is opened we are unable, try as we might to close the lid. Characters and plot take on a life of their own frequently leaving the writer surprised at the unexpected turn of events.

In conclusion I remain of the opinion that Samantha is primarily a story about a young girl forced into the sex trade, however the “love interest” does play a greater part than I, as the author foresaw when penning my story.

For Samantha please visit http://www.amazon.com/Samantha-K-Morris-ebook/dp/B00BL3CNHI.

Free Book Promotion – Sting in the tail

Sting in the tail is free in the Amazon Kindle store from the 22nd – 26th January 2015.

To download Sting in the tail for the UK please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sting-tail-other-stories-Morris-ebook/dp/B00DFK6R54 or http://www.amazon.com/Sting-tail-other-stories-Morris-ebook/dp/B00DFK6R54 for the US

If you download Sting in the tail or any of my other books please do consider leaving a review on Amazon and/or your own website.

To visit my Amazon author page please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1 for the UK or http://www.amazon.com/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1 for the US

Book Review – “This Present Garden Of Pain” By Sonya R Simon

I have just read and reviewed “This Present Garden Of Pain” by Tanya R Simon, which movingly chronicles the life of an abuse survivor. For my review on Amazon please visit the following link (http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RC6TSVMG04E7K/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00PMDOKG0).

 

A 4 Star Review Of My Collection Of Poetry And Prose; Dalliance

I was delighted to receive the below 4 star review of my recently published collection of poetry and prose, “Dalliance”,

 

“I found this book to be delightful! And a surprise, because it contained some flash fiction that was well written. It made me laugh out loud and melancholic,

great variety. And a sly wit underneath it all. I enjoyed myself and I think you will too!”. (For the original review please visit http://www.amazon.com/review/R1RHK4FDZD7320/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00QQVJC7E). Many thanks to the reviewer for taking the time to review “Dalliance.

(Please note, the reviewer received a free copy of “Dalliance” in return for an honest review. No monies changed hands.

I have agreed to write an honest review of the reviewer’s latest book which will be a frank reflection of my opinions. Again no monies have changed hands. For my post in which I requested expressions of interest in writing honest reviews of “Dalliance” please visit, http://newauthoronline.com/2015/01/10/seeking-readers-willing-to-write-an-honest-review-of-dalliance-in-return-for-a-free-copy-of-my-book/).