Brenda’s review: ‘Long and Short Australian Stories’

I’m very pleased to be able to report that Goodreads Aussie readers moderator, Brenda,

has just posted the following review of my sixth title.

Long and Short Australian Stories
by Margaret Lynette Sharp (Goodreads Author)

Brenda‘s review

Sep 26, 13

4 of 5 stars

bookshelves: 2012-release, aussie-authors, gift-from-author, reviewing-by-request, own-read, read-on-kindle, short-stories

Read on September 26, 2013 — I own a copy

Long and Short Australian Stories is made up of twenty different romantic tales, mostly short, sweet and to the point. The first and last are a little longer, delving deeper into different aspects of life, love and family.

I’ve chosen to review the first of these stories, Run While You’re Young:

Rebecca had one year of schooling remaining with her domineering parents pushing her continually, so when Rebecca informed her parents she was in love with Daniel, all they could see was his standing in life, the fact that he wasn’t “good enough” for their daughter. After forbidding her to see him anymore, Rebecca and Daniel decided to take matters into their own hands.

When she ran away with Daniel, heading for his Uncle Garry’s place in the country, she left her parents a note so they wouldn’t worry – but she didn’t tell them where she was going. Rebecca continued her studies until she had completed her course, happy and content with her life at last. But would her happiness last? Would she have a future with Daniel, or would she have to return to her parents’ side, cowed and dominated?

This was a delightful story which spanned several years, with family a dominating factor. Rebecca’s strength of character stood out, and also Daniel’s love for Rebecca; but also his respect for her and her parents. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

I would recommend this anthology of short stories to anyone who loves a light romantic read.

 

It’s Out! ‘Reflections of Life and Love in Australia’ : Kindle Edition

It’s taken a while, but finally it’s happened.

My fourth title, ‘Reflections of Life and Love in Australia’ is now available on Kindle.

Around the world, readers can now have fast, inexpensive access to this, and all my other titles.

‘Reflections…..’ is the fourth and final title in my ‘Life and Love in Australia’ series, which includes the well-reviewed second book,  ‘A Taste of Life and Love in Australia’.

All titles in these series are vignettes and Short Stories of Australian relationships, with an emphasis on affairs of the heart. Written from varying perspectives, taken as a whole represent a highly readable variety of engaging tales.

Brenda’s review: A Taste of Life and Love in Australia

Wow! Was yesterday a red-letter day!

Not only did U.S. Goodreads member, Mark, post a lovely review of ‘Encore’, my newest release: but also, prominent reviewer Brenda ( a moderator of  Goodreads Aussie Readers) gave a most complimentary opinion of my second title, ‘A Taste of Life and Love in Australia’.

Here it is!

Feb 20, 2013

Brenda rated it  ·  review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-release, aussie-authors, gift-from-author, reviewing-by-request, own-read, read-on-kindle

This book, filled with twenty-eight short stories on love, romance, marriage and happiness is a gentle and easy to-read look at life in Australia. Written from varying perspectives, each short story explores a different aspect of life, from heartbreak, and despair, to delight and compassion. The simple manner of these stories makes them so enjoyable, with the author able to engage in the satisfaction of her characters with success.A delightfully relaxing and peaceful read.

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It’s Published: ‘Encore’ !

It’s with great pleasure that I announce the publication of my seventh title: ‘Encore’: a collection of vignettes and Short Stories.

Many months in the pipeline, it has finally emerged: a brand new ‘baby’, hopefully full of promise.

As its name suggests, ‘Encore’ is a celebration of what has come before it: uplifting stories of love, romance, and life. Certainly, within its pages  there are echoes of its stablemates, both in terms of themes and diversity of characters. In common with all the other volumes, it’s edited by my husband, the organ-builder best known for his massive creation in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: Ronald Sharp.

Of its twenty-five stories, my particular favourite is  ‘To The Beautiful Brigitte’:  a story of a relationship fostered by the writing of love-letters in that most romantic of languages, French. There is a twist to this tale which, if revealed at present, would tend to spoil the enjoyment of its readers: so I’ll leave it for your discovery.

If this is your genre, and you like to support Australian writers, then why not check out this brand new release? It will be on sale soon, both as a Kindle edition and in paperback through Amazon.

Australia Day Blog Hop!

Hi! Welcome to my contribution for the

Australia Day Blog Hop!

Thanks to hosts  http://bookdout.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/sign-up-australia-day-book-giveaway-hop/ and http://confessionsfromromaholics.com/ !

Another link to Book’dout: http://bookdout.wordpress.com/

This Australia Day, let’s celebrate Australian literature: Australian writing. Let’s enhance our connection between our writers and readers: and show the world what we’ve done!

As my share of the Blog Hop, I am offering the chance to win one paperback copy of my second book:  proudly Australian in title, too.

Here it is: ‘A Taste  of Life and Love in Australia’.

‘A Taste of Life and Love in Australia’ is a collection of Short Stories and Vignettes set in modern times.  Mostly tales of romance, it has been rated by several reviewers. Here’s the link to that of Shelleyrae at Book’d out.  http://bookdout.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/review-a-taste-of-life-and-love-in-australia-by-margaret-lynette-sharp/#comments

I’m a self-published Australian author of six titles available through Amazon.  Currently,  four titles are available as Kindle editions.  My seventh book is nearing completion. All are edited by my husband, the creator of the Grand Organ in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House, Ronald Sharp.

Entries for the giveaway close at midnight, January 28, 2013 AEST.

Sorry: the giveaway is restricted to residents of Australia. To enter, please leave a comment, and indicate that you are eligible.

Of course, overseas readers are more than welcome to comment, too.

The winner will be announced on 4nd February.

Be sure to check out the links to other, fabulous blogs!

Enjoy the Blog Hop, and Good Luck!

‘Long and Short Australia Stories’: a lovely surprise!

These last several weeks, I’ve had  a Q&A on the social reading site known as Goodreads, about my latest publication: a book entitled ‘Long and Short Australian Stories’. It’s edited by my husband, the creator of the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ: Ronald Sharp.

‘Long and Short Australian Stories’ is a collection of mixed length stories and vignettes of romance and human interest, set in present-day Australia. Although serious in tone, nevertheless the scenarios lend themselves to uplifting outcomes.

A Goodreads member named Mark has participated in the Q&A ; announcing recently that he had purchased it as an e-book.

Clearly, he enjoyed it, since just this evening I found that he had posted a review both precise and concise on the book’s Goodreads page. He rated it 5 stars.

I’m overjoyed that it’s off to such a good start!

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http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/368139202

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Simplicity: That’s My Style

‘You are your style’, or so they said, way back when I studied writing. So, how do I see my own style?

Simplicity!

And, it seems others share my view. For better or worse, I aim to write clearly, and for the enjoyment of readers. Sure, there are plenty of literary buffs who just love to mull over hidden meanings, and smile upon innovations that dismiss punctuation, or require immense concentration and effort to decipher and interpret. Very likely, these readers would reject my style as pared down and basic.

Still, others who appreciate ease of reading, which goes hand in hand with comprehension, may well enjoy my volumes of Australian Short Stories. Not to mention my most recent volume, ’60 Questions, Insights and Reminiscences’: the quickest and easiest to digest of all my offerings.

Here’s to 2012: the Year of Simplicity!?

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Ronald Sharp and ’60 Questions, Insights and Reminiscences’

At every chance, my husband likes to Ron talk about our newest book, ’60 Questions, Insights and Reminiscences’, which will shortly become available through Amazon.com.

Many readers of this blog will know that Ron is the creator of the Grand Organ in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House.

While he speaks with enthusiasm by phone, it’s the in-person encounters which provide him with the best opportunity to show what we’ve done. That’s one indisputable virtue of having a proof copy!

Yesterday’s meeting with a friend provided the perfect opportunity, and, happily, he responded with equal excitement, interest and positivity.

Although the words and ideas in ’60 Questions….’ are mine, Ron has magically enhanced their presentation by his skillful, innovative editing; not to mention his attractively designed, unusual cover with compliments those of our ‘Life and Love’ series of modern, Australian Short Stories.

If you’re reading this, please spread the word!

Thanks!

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A Day of Happy Surprises

What a pleasant day it’s been!

My first surprise came in the shape of a most encouraging comment from one of you, about my article ‘What Makes a Collector?’

Next came the extraordinarily rapid appearance of my latest collection of Short Stories, ‘Reflections of Life and Love in Australia’, on the Amazon site.  I typed in my name, clicked onto ’25 Stories of Life and Love in Australia’, and there it was: a miniature of my newest book, which was produced in collaboration with my husband Ronald Sharp B.E.M.;  and a link to its web-page!  Wow!

The final surprise came in the form of an unexpectedly sunny, mild day.  After a rather gloomy weekend, weather-wise, it was a treat to get out for a walk, and smell the Spring flowers.

What will tomorrow bring?

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Book Five on the Way!

I’ll let you in on a secret: I’ve started my fifth book!

Is writing addictive? The ink had scarcely had time to dry when I was overcome with the urge to start again! Not with Short Stories, but with something quite different.

I’m actually enjoying this project a great deal: more than my previous books, which started off as fun but became a Herculean task towards the end of the series. At least, people tell me that they have enjoyed what they’ve read.

I’ll let you know how my latest challenge goes. Fingers crossed!

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