I love to read. That’s probably a given seeing as though I like to write, but I do love a good book. There are some amazing authors out there and self-publishing has brought even more of them to the forefront. I am never without my kindle. It comes everywhere with me. I love how small and neat it is as well as the fact that it can hold thousands of books. I own a paperwhite edition and it wasn’t something that I thought I would like as much. You see, I love books. I love the feel of them, the smell of them, and just everything about them. My husband bought me a kindle for my birthday about two years ago now and since then I have devoured some many amazing books that I never would have had the pleasure to enjoy. So many of the books have been free too. I have discovered some really talented writers and I just couldn’t imagine life without my kindle now.
Now that you know that I love to read, I thought I would share some of my favourite books with you. If you are an avid reader and you like romance, you will probably already have heard about the books that I am going to mention. If you haven’t, I really do recommend that you read them.
Last year on one of the Facebook pages that I follow, all the women were raving about a new book called Carnage and how it was a real tearjerker. To be honest, I had never read a book that made me cry. I don’t think I had ever read one that made me laugh either. Well anyway, there was so much talk about this book and how it was going to make you “ugly cry” that I decided to buy it. I bought the book and started reading. It was good. It took me a couple of chapters to really get into it because the characters started off so young. I was reading it every chance I could get and was really enjoying the storyline. There were a couple of places where I had tears in my eyes but no “ugly cry”. I was about 90 percent done with the book and I presumed that was it. This book really wasn’t going to make me cry. Well I was in for a huge shock.
Carnage by Lesley Jones
I was parked at the school waiting for my children to finish for the day. It was lashing rain and I had brought my book. I had about 30 minutes or so to wait for them so I started reading the rest of the book. I was dying to see what was going to happen. I was reading away and loving what was happening, everything was wonderful. Then it happened, my whole world crumbled as I read the words. Every emotion was stirred and I cried. I don’t just mean a few tears either, I actually sobbed. I couldn’t stop. My heart was completely ripped to pieces. Even a couple of days later when I tried to tell my mother about the amazing book I read, I got teary. Even now just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.
It was an amazing book and there was even a support group set up for those who wanted to talk after reading it. It got such an amazing reaction that the author wrote a follow up book. People needed to have more. They needed to know what happened next. The second book didn’t disappoint either.
The other day I saw a post on Facebook about another book by this author called Conviction that was on sale for just $0.99. I didn’t hesitate and clicked the buy now button immediately. I am reading this book at the minute and it is another winner. I have laughed out loud, rolled my eyes, and even shed a tear. I haven’t finished yet and I have a funny feeling that there are more tears to come with this book. The author’s name is Lesley Jones for anyone that wants to look at her books.
Reading her books got me to thinking though. What makes a good book? What draws you in and keeps you turning the pages? What makes you want to do nothing but read until you finish the entire story? For me it has to be emotions. I have to become the character. I have to see what they see, feel what they feel, and live their lives. Lesley Jones can do this. She ripped my heart out with Carnage, as I know she did to hundreds of thousands of women around the world. And one of the great things about this, she self-published. She believed in her work and she put it out there.
Do you have a favourite author who moves your world? Have you discovered an author that you believe deserves to have their name blasted around the world? I do have another author who has really inspired me. Her name is Stephanie Hudson and she writes the Afterlife Saga. She is a self-published author who is also dyslexic and has been featured on the home page of Amazon.co.uk. I will tell you more about Stephanie another day. Today I wanted to let everyone know about Lesley Jones and Carnage. If you haven’t read it, please do yourself a favour and get it. You won’t regret is. Oh, a little word of advice, have the tissues ready and don’t let the beginning of the book put you off. The characters are young at the very beginning but this is just the back story. Keep reading and be sure to come back and let me know what you think. This is the link to Lesley’s Amazon page so you can check out all her books. http://www.amazon.com/Lesley-Jones/e/B00G87XO52
Conviction by Lesley Jones
I’m off to finish reading Conviction.
Until next time,
Amanda
Amanda J Evans is an award-winning Irish author and writing coach. Amanda writes adult romance that often crosses into paranormal and fantasy. Growing up with heroes like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, her stories centre on good versus evil with a splice of love and magic thrown in too. Her books have all won awards and her novella, Hear Me Cry, won the Book of the Year Award at the Dublin Writers Conference 2018. Amanda is also the author of Surviving Suicide: A Memoir from Those Death Left Behind, published in 2012.
