Maria Savva's Blog

Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this book. It's quite unique. I'm glad I decided to read it. It kept me entertained on my journey to and from work for a few weeks. It's very imaginative and immersive. We follow Isaac Addy who is grieving the death of his wife. At his lowest point, at the start of the novel, he finds an Egg. I thought the characters were all very realistic and it was easy to feel sympathy for the main character and to understand the way he was behaving. "Isaac and the Egg" is cleverly written and keeps you guessing as to what or who the Egg might be or represent. It's a tale of loss, friendship, grief, mental health, hope, and love. Although a tragic tale, there is a good amount of humour throughout to help lift the mood.



View all my reviews

Kingdom's End by Charles D. Blanchard

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this book. It follows the trials and tribulations of a colony of rats that have set up their kingdom in a disused cinema. The description of the old cinema evokes nostalgia and it's easy to imagine such an iconic building that is no longer functional but still resonates with echoes from a past era. The author took his inspiration from "Watership Down", which features rabbits rather than rats. It seems unlikely that you could actually feel sympathy for rats but the author uses anthropomorphism to create characters that demand attention and I found it quite easy to get caught up in their stories and feel sorry for them, even though I'm a cat owner! It's quite a compulsive read and well written. It's dramatic and nail biting at times. It's the kind of story that helps you escape reality for a while and I found myself feeling sad when I was nearing the end of the book because I wanted it to continue. It is a very poignant ending too. A well-told tale of tragedy, loss, loyalty, and friendship.



View all my reviews

If you like short stories, you could try my collection Delusion and Dreams, which is currently available to download free on Amazon Kindle.

You don't need to own a Kindle ereader to read Kindle books, you can download the app free on Amazon and read on any device.

Delusion and Dreams was first published in 2013 and contains 12 main stories and 5 bonus stories.

Blurb:
Twelve stories of betrayal, greed, revenge, deception, dreams, and courage.

We all struggle to find our way. What you see isn't necessarily all there is. This collection takes you into the grey area, because the world is never just black and white.

Life is all about perspective. One person's delusion is another person's dream



Delusion and Dreams will be free until 11 September 2023. I hope you'll give it a try. If you enjoy it do let me know in the comments or leave a review here or on Amazon.

Links:
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Delusion-Dre...
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Delusion-Dream...

Thank you!

The fifth story from my "Pieces of a Rainbow" collection has now been released. The story FOREVER BLUE is a romantic tale that takes a look at lost love and how one moment can remain with us forever. It's probably my favourite story of the whole collection.

It's available on Kindle for just 99c/78p or the equivalent currency worldwide.

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C8F2NRCZ/r
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8F2NRCZ/r





The other four stories from the collection that have been released so far are also available on Kindle as individual stories.








My plan for the final two stories is to edit them and then release them as part of the paperback that I hope to release later this year. Also included in the paperback version will be some bonus stories, including two of the original drafts that never made it into the collection when it was first published in 2009.

I'll post some more news when I have it. I hope you are enjoying the stories so far.

"Forever Blue" is the fifth story of seven from my Pieces of a Rainbow collection. It's now available to pre-order on Kindle at Amazon worldwide and will be released on 17 July 2023.

I've been publishing newly edited versions of each of the stories from Pieces of a Rainbow individually on Kindle this year.

"Forever Blue" has always been one of my personal favourites from the collection.

This story is about how there are things we never forget and that stay with us forever.




Pre-order your copy:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C8F2NRCZ
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8F2NRCZ

You can find the first four stories on Amazon too:

My latest short story, "Envy", will be available to purchase on Kindle at Amazon on 22 May 2023. You can pre-order it now!

Envy is the fourth story from the "Pieces of the Rainbow" collection, which I am currently re-editing. The stories were originally released as a collection in 2009. That version is now out of print.

I'm hoping to release the whole collection on paperback eventually, when I have had time to re-edit all the stories. For now, I am releasing them one story at a time on Kindle.

About Envy:
Envy is Sandra and Mima's story. They first met at primary school and were best friends. This tale tells the story of how jealousy ended their friendship, and how perception and reality are often at odds.



Pre-order Envy:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Envy-Maria-Sav...
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Envy-Maria-S...

Other stories in the collection:

My latest short story, "Sign of the Times" is now available on Kindle at Amazon worldwide.

About the story:

"Sign of the Times" is the third story from the Pieces of a Rainbow collection. Originally published in 2009 and now out of print, these stories are being given new life.

Quote from "Sign of the Times":

"These sunny flowers always come to say hello when the winter is over; it’s like a message that no matter how hard life gets there will always be something beautiful to look forward to."



Buy a copy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXQPYXVS


You can purchase the first two stories from the Pieces of a Rainbow collection at Amazon:

Seeing Red: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQ7F83XN

Fire: /www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSS5FYMN

My latest short story, "Sign of the Times" is now available to pre-order on Kindle at Amazon worldwide.

About the story:

"Sign of the Times" is the third story from the Pieces of a Rainbow collection. Originally published in 2009 and now out of print, these stories are being given new life. You can find the first two stories, "Seeing Red" and "Fire" on Kindle. Look out for more stories soon.

Quote from "Sign of the Times":

"These sunny flowers always come to say hello when the winter is over; it’s like a message that no matter how hard life gets there will always be something beautiful to look forward to."



Buy a copy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXQPYXVS

If you enjoy reading short stories, I have a new one out this month. FIRE originally appeared in my collection "Pieces of a Rainbow", which was the first short story collection I released, back in 2009.

I recently decided to rewrite the stories and republish the collection. I've always liked these stories and it felt like the right time to republish them as the collection has been out of print for a while. I am currently working through the rewrites one story at a time and releasing them individually on Kindle.

The first story, "Seeing Red" was released last month: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQ7F83XN/



"Fire" is now available on Kindle at Amazon worldwide. You don't need to own a Kindle eReader to enjoy Kindle books, just download the app from Amazon and read the stories on your PC, laptop, smartphone, etc.

Get your copy of "Fire" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSS5FYMN

"Fire" is the second story from my collection "Pieces of a Rainbow". The collection was originally released in 2009 but is now unavailable. I will be re-releasing each of the stories over the coming months on Kindle. You can pre-order "Fire" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSS5FYMN/

About Fire

More than thirty years after a tragic event, fate brings Julia back to the place she had hoped to never see again...





"Seeing Red", the first story is now available: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQ7F83XN/




"Fire" will be released on 22 February 2023.