The Things We Thought We Knew - eBook Cover.jpg

I am delighted to share Mahsuda Snaith’s debut novel The Things We Thought We Knew and is being re-launched with a new eBook cover. A story of a young Bengali woman is who confined to bed with chronic pain since an accident some years previous. Here she now reflects on the past.

Author

Ravine has not left her bed in the last decade, confined to the council flat in Leicester since her best friend Marianne disappeared. She has just celebrated her 18^th birthday and with a bleak future ahead of her, she cannot leave the flat because she is in so much pain her mother as you can imagine is desperate for her daughter to try and make an effort ‘Will you at least try’ are the words from her mother. There is a sense that coming through the story that Ravine is using the pain as she is not in any hurry to make any effort. Her mother gives her a notebook to use as a pain dairy and then we journey back through the years as Ravine uses the diary to open her heart about her best friend Marianne and her disappearance. What really happened that day? As Ravine writes the reader is pulled into an intriguing journey and a story on an affecting friendship. It is clear that Ravine is hiding from the outside world even scared and hiding beneath the duvet provides her with security.

An intriguing coming of age story that will keep the reader guessing as to what really happened to Ravine’s best friend. This outstanding debut novel has some great characters that are so believable that weave through the story. With Mahsuda Snaith writing the initial novel when she was only sixteen. Impressive writing from a new and exciting author. From here I look forward to future books from Mahsuda Snaith.

Thank you to Thomas Hill at Transworld for the opportunity to share the new cover for Mahsuda Snaith and The Things We Thought We Knew in eBook.

The Things We Thought We Knew by Mahsuda Snaith is published by Transworld Digital and Here

Targeted and Trolled by Rossalyn Warren

Review Date: 21 October 2015

Author: Rossalyn Warren

Release Date: 22 October 2015

Publishers: Transworld Digital

52pp

Available in Kindle

The Last Word Review

Such an important book that deserves to be read by a wide audience

There have been a number of high profile cases of people being attacked through Social Media by ‘trolls’. At last we now have an account of what it is like from the victim’s perspective to face the appalling threats every day.

Targeted and Trolled by Rossalyn Warren is a book that I would urge people to read, as this really is a first-hand account of a woman being targeted and attacked online. I must admit I was not sure when asked what to make of such a book but I am now delighted that I was asked as I have now learnt so much about the appalling acts of online terror that these ‘trolls’ do to their victims.

Rossalyn Warren’s book is primarily aimed at the online attacks aimed at women as they tend to be much more serious in their threats. Some of the attacks are really horrific in nature.

At the dawn of the age of the internet and then Social Media networks I do not honestly believe that anyone could have seen anything like this happening to the appalling level that it has reached.

Targeted and Trolled is a short eBook running at about 52 pages but as I found out Warren pulls no punches in her description of what she had to endure everyday she switched on her Computer. No woman should ever have to endure daily online abuse and sickening threats.

To quote from the book, ‘In fairy tales trolls are a supernatural being that lives in the wilderness or lurks under a bridge. Internet trolls are similar but lack the supernatural folklore, these trolls pervade the internet looking for their next victim’. That alone sounds like a line from a top selling thriller novel but in fact what we have here is actual fact. That is frightening just thinking about it.

Warren through the book looks at the reasons as to why women are the primary targets not ignoring men who are targeted just that the level of threat to Women is much more severe.

The fact that many who commit online abuse whether that is through issuing threats to their victims, stalking, revenge porn or trolling they feel that their behaviour is entirely justified and acceptable. I was shocked to read that and left me not only cold but asking why?

A number of cases in recent years have involved some high profile women including Sue Perkins just because she was being tipped as one the new presenters for the BBC show ‘Top Gear’

How do we move forward and stop this from happening that is what Warren also looks at and it is good to hear that Some countries are now taking positive action in not only identifying the perpetrators of these crimes but also holding the individuals to account. Social Media outlets also must do more to prevent attacks and track down perpetrator’s.

I must warn you that some of the detail is disturbing but I feel that Targeted and Trolled is a book that had to be written and now needs to be read by a ‘wide’ audience.

Thank you to Transworld Publishers for a review copy.

The Targeted and Trolled blog tour is currently under way and further details are available on the poster below were you can read more as well as interviews with the author Rossalyn Warren.