'The Shaping of Water'. The People's Book Prize and Montmorillon Book Fair

Here is the video about the book - please click on the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz6JuSsero0

Please support me by tweeting the People's Book Prize and voting for 'The Shaping of Water'

You can now vote for The Shaping of Water by @RuthHartley9 to win @PeoplesBkPrize Fiction category! http://www.peoplesbookprize.com/book.php?id=1113 …

Here is all the information about my book on my website. Do look at the video about the book.

www.ruthhartley.com

On Saturday and Sunday I will be at this Book Festival  - it looks like a wonderful way to spend a weekend.

http://www.citedelecrit.fr/

I will be sitting outside James and Patsy Fraser's Book and Antique Shop "The Glass Key" with 'The Shaping of Water' hoping to find more readers for it.

http://glasskey.wordpress.com/

I write because I have stories to tell - I want readers to enjoy my books. I am looking for more reviewers for my novel. Feel free to write one about the book.

Here is an unsolicited  review of 'The Shaping of Water' by Helen Baggott from the Amazon site.

http://www.helenbaggott.co.uk/.

"Ruth Hartley has produced a novel that covers a period in modern history that's remembered for brutality and injustice. With our ability to reflect on those past events, there could be a sense of impending doom. Instead, the author has created an air of change - you could almost smell it in the air.

The story is told through the experiences of a number of women, all connected to the region of the Zambezi Valley and the man-made lake that shapes the water. Through their lives we witness the birth of new states and new regimes.

A common thread, violence and change aside, was the struggle to develop and nurture the earth - for gardens and for food. The determination to turn a patch of dust into something full of life and life-giving seemed a metaphor for the struggles in this land.

Whilst I wasn't necessarily drawn to Charles and Margaret - the two main characters, I did feel the others were carefully crafted and complete. In particular, Jo and Marielise had a passion for their country and each other. That passion leapt from the pages. Perhaps the staidness of Charles and Margaret was a deliberate contrast?

With her wealth of knowledge, the author has created a piece of work that is immensely detailed. At first I was a little baffled by the movement of time - back and forth. But I decided to go with the flow, enjoy each chapter and accept that I would eventually find my place in time.

The book contains so much factual information that there were times when I found it a struggle to fathom the details. But this is a complex subject and perhaps it shouldn't be an easy read - although occasionally I found the facts were being shared in a heavy-handed manner. This is the challenge of writing a novel based on such an involved topic but on balance, the author got it about right.

A little polish would have made this novel really sparkle, but it's still a gem.

Edited 17th May: I've thought long and hard about this wonderful book and feel I've been a little harsh with my four stars - so I'm delighted to 'up' my review to five stars. Yes, a little polish is needed here and there - but it is one of the best books I've read this year."

I am grateful to all my reviewers - I learn to write better because of them.

More than anything I want readers but I also write to make a living so I need more readers - more discriminating readers - too.

My next novel 'The Tin Heart Gold Mine' is set half in Africa - half in London. In it  Lara learns how to make art, but not how to make money; how to make war - and how not to make love.


I am also writing a memoir  'A Bad Girl in Search of Love' which will both shock and delight you!

Thank you Troubador Publishing!

http://www.troubador.co.uk/