Yes I am SO sorry I am late with my Blog this week. I hope all my friends will accept my apologies for the lateness. But I hope this assortment will also please you too.
This week I am including a book review, a restaurant review with a story to follow. SO stay here and join me for these.
These questions came from myself, Scarlett adapted from the WIP questions, about a published book by the authors Jay McIntyre and Dan Jordan.
Q 1) What is the title of your book?
Lowther and Deardon: Tainted Gold
Q 2) What genre(s) does your book fall under (or land near really!)
Swords and sorcery, with a bit of hard boiled street crime thrown in, and near the end some Mission: Impossible style trickery.
Q 3) What actors would you choose to play the characters in the film version of your book (should you ever, ever get that honour really)
Hmmm. Tough one. I'm not that big on Hollywood. Maybe Clancy Brown for Lowther? Deardon could be some moderately funny comic actor. Tasha could be played by the person who gave me these questions, haha! Xarius....again, tough one. That redhead guy from CSI Miami, maybe, if he grew his hair out. Kusari....maybe Yee Jee Tso. No idea on the various baddies.
Q 4) What is the main outline for your book? (Alexandria calls it a pitch as a synopsis includes spoilers and I hate spoilers!)
From the book's own sale page (buy it!) [link] : The city of Lanteius is divided between three rival nations. A grim mercenary and a cynical bard are thrust into an investigation to uncover a conspiracy that threatens the balance of power. Swords and sorcery, magic and crime, intrigue and betrayal.
Q 5) Will your book be Indie published, self published or represented by an agency and sold to a traditional publisher?
It's being sold by online publisher lulu.com
Q 6) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The first draft? Four to five months between me and my co-writer Dan Jordan. Rewrites took longer; reformatting it for Lulu was a real hurdle. Were it not for that last, it might have been out months earlier. But I also wouldn't have tweaked it as much. So it's a trade off.
Q 7) What other books in this genre would you compare yours to?
The collected short stories of Hawke and Fisher come close, with a dash of Conan the Barbarian.
Q 8) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
We heard about the kid who wrote Eragon, and how it got turned into a movie. Basically, we said "Why not us?"
Q 9) What else about the book might pique the readers attention?
The cynical cleverness, the references, the Mission: Impossible style trickery near the end of the book, the epilogues that help flesh out the world and hint at the next book!
Restaurant Review
This week I am including a review of an absolutely fabulous restaurant I visited very recently called Grenache. This restaurant is situated in Walkden, Manchester.
This is a fine dining restaurant that uses fresh local produce as they say "without the toys"
Their lead chef is Mike Jennings and he is a Michelin trained chef. Having worked for Shaun Rankin, Gary Rhodes and Nigel Howarth.
The owner is Hussein Abbas, and a very convivial host he is too. In fact attention to detail and the friendliness of the staff was extraordinary, and made our visit a truly enjoyable one.
I can say unequivocally their food was full of gorgeousness (is that even a word? well it is now) I even took some photos of my food (it was THAT good)
Grenache was awarded entry to appear in the website Britain's Finest in 2011. This website lists the finest hotels, and restaurants across the country:
Grenache was voted the North West Regional winner for the annual awards for The Good Food Guide in 2013
There is an extensive range of wines available, with something to suit a variety of palates, and pockets. In fact over 60 varieties to chose from. In fact Grenache's accolade's are so many that you really need to visit their website and learn more.
Grenache can also cater for functions of up to 80 people. Whether it be for a christening, weddings, engagement parties, special birthday or business meeting.
