Ladies & Gentlemen, Mr John Hibbs!

I’d really like to share something important with you and tell you about a friend of mine.

John Hibbs is one of my neighbours and is one of the most inspiring, amazing people I know.   If you can help John in any way however small (or large!), it would be awesome!

Aged 13, John joined Crewe FC in 1991. Unfortunately, his dreams were not to be realised and he was forced to retire due to the onset of arthritis, which has seen him endure the associated aches and pains of the disease. He has undergone numerous operations, and now attempts to combat arthritis with medicine, a controlled diet and exercise but continues to battle against the limiting effects of ‘dodgy knees’ as he calls them. 

In May 2008 John’s sister, Viki, was diagnosed with lupus aged just 25. As a family, they had never heard about lupus which affects predominantly women but can also strike men and children too. Lupus causes the immune system to become over-active and as a result can affect any part of the body with the swelling of joints, hair loss, extreme fatigue, rashes on the face and body and in some cases, where infection attacks vital organs, lupus can lead to death.

After watching the 2009 London Marathon, John decided to take up the challenge in order to show his support for Viki and raise much needed awareness of lupus.

So far ‘Team Hibbsy’ has raised over £16,000 and have no intention of stopping there. As well as raising funds they are committed to raising awareness to increase the chance of early diagnosis in new patients. Fundraising for ‘Team Hibbsy’ has included charity curry nights, the sale of signed portraits of famous footballers, car boot sales, and many other local events.

The highlight of this mission came in October 2009 when John tweeted Sarah Brown with the hope that she would re-tweet a message to her many followers. He could not have dreamt of the response that followed – she tweeted back with the offer of hosting an evening reception to talk about lupus. Within two weeks they were enjoying the most magical night inside No.10, putting lupus into the thoughts of thousands!

John continues to tweet about lupus (@hibbsy) as well as pointing people in the direction of this website to learn more. The website continues to receive hits from all over the world and with the support of JustGiving he has received sponsors from as far afield as Canada!

John may have dodgy knees but that hasn’t stopped him, and in September 2010 he ran the Great North Run. He has also completed the 2010 and 2011 London Marathon alongside his lovely wife Kate & will be attempting a hat-trick after securing a 2012 place.

Throughout John’s journey when the training has been tough he has been spurred on by Viki’s courage and determination to overcome lupus.

In August 2011 John received the wonderful news that he had been nominated by members of the local community for the London Olympic Torchbearer ‘Moment to shine’ campaign for his tireless work to raise awareness & funds to support lupus patients and their families.

 
Planning is underway for what will be John’s toughest challenge yet, cycling 200 miles in a single day from Lupus Way Ellesmere Port to Lupus Street London. Find out more & get involved!

In October 2011 John founded The Hibbs Lupus Trust to raise the profile of lupus and to support patients in his local community. Working with the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust Foundation the charity is already actively involved in the community and has received fantastic support from local businesses as well as celebrity endorsement from Sarah Brown, Beverley Knight and Stephen Fry. 

His motto is "Be All You Can Be!".  He most certainly lives up to it! Amazing isn't he?  Again, if all you can do is tweet this post, that would be fabulous.  If you can follow him on twitter to get updates, or like him on Facebook that would be great. If you are able to sponsor him in any way or donate anything to him to auction off for a charity event, that would be awesome. 

Thanks so much for reading this post,
Kim
x 

Review - One Pink Line by Dina Silver

This book took me back to the memories of enjoying my youth, and then brought me to my grown up life too!

A fabulously emotional story of love and life and how one pink line can change the course of a lifetime.   

Sydney is a sweet and lovely young lady, who falls madly and deeply in love with Ethan.  When she goes to college, away from home, she gets drunk and has a one night stand with a good friend.  She then finds herself in a situation where the decision that she makes will change her life, along with the lives of a number of people around her.  She is pregnant!  

Never contemplating a family at such a young age, she chooses to keep the child, at the risk of losing the love of her love because of her decision.  When she tells the friend, he tells her he wants nothing to do with the child, so she sets off on her new life as a young mother with her baby girl Grace, alone.

Two decades later, Grace is another lovely young girl, and finds out that her wonderful father isn’t her biological father and is devastated.  When she wants to get in touch with her real father, she finds out from her mom that he never wanted anything to do with her.   It beautifully tells Grace’s story about how she copes with this unexpected revelation. 

This is an emotional, moving, deep and meaningful book but also with lots of humour thrown in, with two strong stories being told simultaneously.  The link between the two stories blends really well.  I really personally felt the emotions and the love that Sydney felt for her child Grace, described exactly like the love I have for my son, the way that Dina described motherhood came straight from the heart. 

If felt like I had gone back to my youth, with Sydney having a crush on Ethan.  Her sister was also her best friend and her family really came through for her in this book, and supported her showing that being a single parent doesn’t have to be too lonely.  Ethan did seem a little too good to be true, but this is a love story after all so I was delighted that he was as lovely as he was, a true fairytale romance. 

I found myself asking how I would have dealt with the many situations that were thrown up from the different angles.  The story really drew you in and made you keep on turning those pages and warmed your heart through to the very core.  A beautifully written story line, fabulous characters and lots of family love made this a thoroughly enjoyable read. 

Dina Silver graduated from Purdue University, and spent the past fifteen years working as a copywriter in the advertising industry. After seeing the bulk of her professional prose on brochures and direct mail pieces, she is delighted to have made the transition to novelist. She currently lives with her husband and son in Chicago, Illinois where she is working on her next book. Inspired by a true story, One Pink Line is Dina's debut novel. 

In her spare time she is an online Scrabble junkie, a red wine drinker, a Bon Jovi lover, watcher of the Daily Show and a cheese fry fanatic.

Links

www.dinasilver.com/

www.twitter.com/dinasilver

www.facebook.com/One-Pink-Line

To buy One Pink Line on Amazon, click here

Review - Never Can Say Goodbye by Christina Jones

What a delightful, funny, heartwarming story of life and life after death.

When Frankie inherits a dress rental shop in the little village of Kingston Dapple, and relaunches it as Francesca’s Fabulous Frocks, she was utterly delighted that this vintage frock shop became an overnight success.  When handsome womaniser Dexter takes over the village florist her feelings are questioned as after all the rumours she’d heard about him,  she knew she shouldn’t like really him, but she actually does and they become firm friends.  But is there room for something more?

When Maisie the hilarious village medium has a fainting attack in her shop, declaring that it is full of spirits, Frankie brushes it off but then finds out after she keeps meeting a elderly man in the shop that perhaps it is actually haunted after all.  Keeping this knowledge to herself becomes increasingly difficult, but if she shares what she knows with her friends, will they think that she’s completely bonkers? Or, will they help her to try to sort out the “issues” that are lurking in her shop and get them to the place they are desperately trying to find.

I absolutely adored this book.  Right from the start, I got so involved in the story.  I loved Frankie as a character and Christina is one of those writers who has the amazing skill of transporting you into the book feeling that you are watching from the sidelines.  I loved all the other characters too, particularly Dexter who was a real charmer, him and each of the others with their own individual personalities which blended so well into the story and all played a key part in their own way.  I felt like I had gone to this fabulous village, visited this fantastic shop and met these wonderful characters for myself.   

This book left me with the warm, happy feeling that when we leave this earth, we will meet up with our loved ones and just go on to live in a different world.    I like to think that one day I’ll be meeting up with my Mom once again and that’s a really comforting thought for me and this book just confirmed it for me.   I’ve visited mediums myself and can quite honestly say that I’ve never met one quite like Maisie!

Beautifully packaged with a gorgeous cover, this delightful book was everything that I wanted it to be, with a charming and romantic storyline and an ending that was just completely perfect.  With tons of amusing moments throughout, I really did feel blessed that I had read this amazing novel that truly brightened up my world.

Christina Jones is renowned for her engaging romantic comedies and lively, well-drawn character depiction.  A lifelong writer, she has accumulated a clutch of awards and nominations along the way.  She has written short stories and features for a wide range of magazines and newspapers and she lives in Oxfordshire with her husband, daughter and a houseful of rescue cats. 

Christina’s website can be found here

You can follow Christina on Twitter

You can like Christina on Facebook

You can buy Never Can Say Goodbye on Amazon here

Review - More Like Her by Liza Palmer

Really enjoyable read by an author that certainly knows how to surprise her readers!

Frannie is a speech and language therapist in a school.  She sees herself as the girl that is always left on the shelf.  Parting from boyfriend and fellow teacher Ryan, who had been seeing someone else, had left her feeling useless, sad and wondering what on earth life holds for her.   She feels that her whole life is spent being the person that people want her to be rather than who she wants to be for herself. 

When she meets her new Head Teacher Emma, she wishes she was more like her.  On the surface, Emma seems to have the perfect life, she is confident and assertive, with a great job, fab lifestyle, happy marriage, wonderful house and to top it all even a gorgeous dog. 

But appearances can be deceptive as this book shows in a mindblowing event.  Frannie and her fellow teachers find out the hard way that Emma’s life isn’t what it seems!

Difficult to say any more about the plot as it would be a real spoiler but OMG – what a surprise I had!  I even went to work the next day telling everyone about the shock I had in this book. 

It was highly emotional, disturbing and sad in certain moments, yet romantic at the same time.  I really enjoyed reading it very much and seeing how Frannie reacted to the events in her life and the new people that she meets.  It shows how when she thinks she’s a weak and defenceless person, she’s actually a very strong, courageous and lovely girl and how it just goes to show that people's perceptions can be very different to reality. 

I loved the relationship between Frannie and her close friends, they talk to each other the way that real friends do with love, sarcasm and humour.  I liked the colourful way that Liza painted the scenes in the book making them come alive easily.  I looked forward to how the confusing relationship between Frannie and Sam developed, they both pussyfooted around each other, not quite knowing whether the other wanted more from the friendship. 

Really enjoyed reading this book, it was extremely entertaining, enlightening and interesting.

Liza Palmer lives in Pasadena, with her dog, Poet.  She has written two plays that were performed in Los Angeles and is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts – West.  She is the author of Conversations with the Fat Girl which became an international bestseller in its first week of publication.  Her second novel was Seeing Me Naked and her third A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents was released in January 2010 and all three of these novels sound like fantastic reads.   Liza is hard at work currently working on her next novel as well as writing for VH1 Classic Show Pop Up Video. 

Liza’s website can be found here. 

You can follow Liza on Twitter  

You can like Liza on Facebook

You can buy More Like Her via Amazon here

Review - Mini Skirts & Laughter Lines by Carol E Wyer

A hilarious and enjoyable book that I think every woman will read and find at least one part of their life in it. 

Amanda is swiftly approaching 50 and her life with husband Phil is not the most exciting.  She thought that retirement for them both would mean that they would have lots of time on their hands to have plenty of fun when in reality the highlight of their week is the supermarket shop and how many bargains they are able to grab.  She makes many attempts to enrol them in classes or go to clubs and make new friends but to no avail.  It comes to something when her mother is having much more of a wild time than she is!

The return of their son from university and the way that he is treating both them and their house, is upsetting both Mandy and Phil, and they're not quite sure how to deal with him without it upsetting the family dynamics. 

Mandy finds comfort in blogging about her life and meets and makes some wonderful friends along the way.  She loves keeping in touch with old friends via social media and connects with her first boyfriend online.  He was "the one" who let her down years ago, who now lives in Australia and has a fabulous life by all accounts.  After playing online scrabble with him, and remembering the fabulous times that they spent together, he announces that he wants them to meet up again when he comes over to England. Should she go? Is it such a big deal if she does? Is the the excitement that she wished for finally coming her way?
I wish many times in my life that my Mom was still with us, during this book in particular because I know that she would have loved it as much as I did!  I think Carol was actually describing aspects of my Mom's life!  I can say that safely knowing that my Dad will a) never read this book and b) never read this blog!  Or will he?

This is a hilarious account, that I think most women would relate to regardless of how old they are, of the aging process and how it makes you feel.  I had a number of laugh out load moments, which got me some very funny looks!
Carol writes in a wonderfully bright and funny way.  The pages seem to turn themselves with no effort whatsoever.  The characters of Mandy and Phil are very real, and you can SO relate to the situations in the book that they find themselves in.   Her mother is hysterical and you can't wait to see what she's going to say or do next. 

I found this book to be a hugely enjoyable and entertaining read, with loads of laughs along the way and I would most definitely recommend it as a must read.   I shall look forward very much to Carol's next book Surfing In Stilletos.  Can't wait to see what Mandy's Mom gets up to in that one!

Carol Wyer lives in Staffordshire alone with her husband now that her son has flown the nest.  She admits to being a social networking addict and is a regular blogger.    She is writing a series of novels which take a humerous look at getting older. 

To learn more about Carol, her website can be found by clicking here. 


Carol blogs at http://www.facing50withhumour.blogspot.com/

You can buy this book via Amazon by clicking here You can also follow Carol on Twitter

You can like Carol on Facebook

Interview with Jessica Thompson

I'm so lucky that I've been introduced to a fabulous new author called Jessica Thompson who is launching her debut novel This is a Love Story this month.  The book is just amazing and you can read my review by clicking here.  

I'm delighted that Jess agreed to do an interview with me and our conversation is below.   Hope you enjoy learning more about her, as much as I did, and I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about this special lady in the future. 

Hi Jess, Firstly just want to say thanks for letting me interview you and to congratulate you on your fantastic debut novel.  I hope it's a massive success for you.  It was a wonderful read, even if I did read the last few chapters through that many tears that I could hardly see!

How did you feel when you knew that your book was going to be published? It was totally surreal! I still can't quite believe it is all happening. Ever since it was confirmed I have woken up in the morning, and found myself forgetting about it for the first couple of minutes and then I remember. It's like waking up and going into a dream. It's lovely and I am thrilled to bits.  I have always liked Hodder as a publisher too, so I was delighted when they said they would like to publish This is a Love Story.

How long was your journey from your ideas about writing the book, through to publication? It was about a year and a half. I came up with the idea quite quickly because it was a theme that sprung to my mind almost immediately. I wrote the book in about six or seven months and then it was presented to Hodder. After that it went through a few weeks of editing and then it was a matter of waiting patiently for it to come out.

As a busy journalist, how on earth did you find time to write a book? It is tough to find the time and energy, but it's something I love doing so I make time for it. I spend evenings and weekends writing and editing, but I still find time to see friends and do other things too. It is a challenge, there's no doubt about it, but I love being busy. I feel really inspired when I am writing, so I lose track of time and I look forward to being able to get lost in the world of writing for a few hours at a time.

Where, what and who inspires you to write? Funnily enough, music is a big inspiration to me. For a lot of the scenes I write, there is a connection in my mind with a particular song. Lyrics bring about a lot of visual imagery, so I find just listening to music really helps. When I go to the gym or go out running, it's a really good time to mull over ideas, or work out ways to overcome problems in writing. In terms of plot line inspiration I think all my life experiences have inspired me, even stretching back to when I was a child. This is a Love Story is a culmination of things I have seen and experienced brought together into a fictional world and storyline.  

Can you describe the place where you write? I write at home at the kitchen table, and often in bed with my laptop! It's all a bit chaotic sometimes. The table I am writing on, or any surface nearby usually ends up covered in cups of tea and various notes. I normally write in my pyjamas or some random get-up I found on the floor! I am just being honest here! I live with two kittens and they often try to climb onto the keypad. When they aren't doing that they sometimes just sit and listen to the furious typing coming from my general direction with confused looks on their faces.

Your characters in This Is A Love Story are fabulous.  How did you go about creating them? It's strange because I didn't really sit down and write a plan of how I wanted each character to be. They were very clear in my mind from the very first line, so it was a matter of making sure I was communicating them effectively to readers. I felt like I got to know the characters inside and out, I knew everything about them down to the clothes in their fictional wardrobes and how many sugars they take in their tea! It was a lovely basis for writing a book, and they ended up doing their own thing as I wrote too. A lot of the character's looks and quirks have been inspired by people I know too, because it's so nice to call these characteristics into my mind.

The way you describe feelings and emotions is utterly amazing.  How do you do that? Thank you, that's really nice feedback! I'm not sure how actually. It just comes out on the page as I write. As I mentioned before, I think I really listen to song lyrics and they are often poetic and metaphorical. I think I have subconsciously adopted this style with my writing, and that makes it possible to describe things with emotion and colour.

Who or what gave you the idea to write about a character who had narcolepsy? I know a man who has narcolepsy, and I was struck by how positive and upbeat he is despite the challenges he faces. I had been exposed to narcolepsy before I met him through film and TV, and found it always took quite a mocking view of the condition. But when I met this guy, I was just bowled over by the reality of living with narcolepsy and I was keen to incorporate such a moving thread in my story.

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about writing a book? Keep coming up with ideas until you find the one that sets you on fire. If it doesn't, then it's going to be really tough to write when you are 90,000 words in and there's no coffee in the cupboard! Be determined, and never give up, and don't be afraid of feedback and learning new things all the time. 

Are you a reader?  What types of book do you like to read and who are your favourite authors? I am a reader, although I am studying with the Open University at the moment so it can be tricky to find time to read as much as I would like to.  I like a range of different books, from Lionel Shriver's We need to talk about Kevin, to Caitlin Moran's How to be a woman. I love darkness, I love humour, and I love books that make me cry. Jojo Moyes' latest novel Me Before You made me cry! 

What's next for you? Are you writing more (I do hope so!) and if the answer is yes, can you tell us a little more? I have finished my second novel and I am now deep into the editing process. I am really enjoying it, although the book is challenging as it has a lot of threads. It is really fast paced, and covers a lot of ground in a short time. I look forward to developing it further and getting more feedback on it.

Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot. I'm thrilled you like Tials so much and I look forward to reading your review.

Jess

x

Jessica Thompson lives in North London and  is a multimedia journalist working for a series of London newspapers.  In her spare time she loves to run and sing as well as write!   She felt very moved by the work of the charity www.narcolepsy.org.uk and would like to continue to help to raise awareness of this hard working charity. 

www.twitter.com/jthompsonauthor

www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Thompson

You can buy this book here : http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Love-Story-Jessica-Thompson/dp/1444734210

Review - This Is A Love Story by Jessica Thompson

WOW! What an adorable and emotional story and an incredible debut novel from Jessica Thompson who is surely an author to look out for!   

Sienna and Nick’s eyes met on a crowded train.  A shared moment that they thought was over as soon as it began.  Yet it wasn’t!  When Sienna arrived at the job that she’d started a couple of weeks ago, she found herself looking straight into those beautiful eyes once more.  She discovered that the man that all her colleagues had all been talking about at work, who had been away, was Nick.   They immediately fell head over heels in love with each other, but neither thought that the other could possibly feel the same, and they missed many opportunities in time, to tell each other how they really felt.  

Instead, they became the best of friends and much to the distress of their various partners over the years, were forever joined at the hip.  If they couldn’t be what they really want to be to each other, then they’d be the next best thing. 

When this book arrived, I immediately loved the cover, turquoise, white and shiny and after reading the description thought it sounded like it was going to be a good read.  It was actually not a good read but an absolutely incredible one that I enjoyed SO very much.  The story of Sienna and Nick was just as adorable as the cover.  They missed so many opportunities to tell each other that they were in love with each other that I was so frustrated I just wanted to shout at them and make them sort it out.

Jessica writes from the heart, and the characters were perfectly formed.  Sienna is an absolute sweetheart, beautiful, caring and clever, she just wants to be the best person she can be and help anyone who is in her life whether they want help or not.  Nick is just perfect, handsome, strong, funny – all the qualities most women look for in a partner. Jess’s father a wonderful, accepting, amazing character that is a complete inspiration.   Jess raises awareness of the conditions narcolepsy and cataplexy, both of which I was aware of but never really thought about how devastating it was to live with it every day of your life for not only the person who has the condition, but also those caring for them.   

I read the last few chapters through so many tears streaming down my cheeks, that I could hardly see the words. I felt every raw emotion as if they were my own. 

Once again, I spent a Sunday stuck with my nose in a book.  I'm afraid the housework had to wait!  
 
So hard to believe that this delightfully compelling book that had me spellbound from the very start, wasn’t penned by an author who’d been writing for years.  I’m sure that given the reading enjoyment that this book gave to me, Jessica Thompson will be a well established author that we’ll be seeing for many years to come. 

I am delighted that Jess has agreed to be interviewed by little old me, and I will be posting that interview tomorrow so that we can learn the inspiration behind this amazing debut novel and find out more about this wonderful author.

Jessica Thompson lives in North London and  is a multimedia journalist working for a series of London newspapers.  In her spare time she loves to run and sing as well as write!   She felt very moved by the work of the charity www.narcolepsy.org.uk and would like to continue to help to raise awareness of this hard working charity. 

www.twitter.com/jthompsonauthor

www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Thompson

http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Love-Story-Jessica-Thompson/dp/1444734210