This page is for those books and stories that don't necessarily fit in other sections such as crime or romance. Therefore, these stories and books are classed as 'General Fiction'. Welcome to it's page.
The Magic Touch: A Short Contemporary Fairytale
By Dara England.
Blurb
Fairy godmother Ambrielle is having an off year.
Placed on probation by the fairy council, she’s going to have to perform a miracle in twenty-four hours in order to stay in the god-mothering game.
Her assignment?
To help a reluctant young bachelor woo back his ex-girlfriend while turning his failing career around.
But with her stubborn charge fighting her at every turn and her godmother license on the line, is Ambrielle about to lose her first battle?
One thing’s for sure, she’s not going to hang up her wand without a fight.
Summary in my words
Ambrielle is a fairy godmother, who just so happens to have had a 'few mishaps' when it has come to her various charges (the people she looks out for).
Now, she has to prove to the other godmother's that she is great at her job or she is going to have to find another career path. Ambrielle decides to find the most pathetic, down on their luck charge to prove she is a great godmother.
Knocking on the door, in the middle of the night a very sleepy and blurry-eyed, Danny (the 'pathetic' charge) answers. Expecting a rather surprised and pleased welcome, Ambrielle was definitely not greeted in the way she wanted by an unhappy Danny.
Ambrielle has now barged into Danny's life and taken over his bedroom. Determined to get Danny to change everything round and make things right, when it comes to Danny's on again/off again girlfriend and his mundane, well paid job; Ambielle is definitely here to give Danny a right kick up the bum, while turning everything upside down in the process.
A modern-day, male-version of the classic fairy-tale, Cinderella.
My Thoughts
As my summary outlines, 'The Magic Touch' is definitely a great little story of all Cinderella fans. What a great, modern day twist to a classic tale, especially when things don't necessarily go to plan.
It was rather a shame that is was just a short story, this definitely would have been a great novel. However, as a short story it was easy to read and would most probably be better in a shorter form, similar to that of Cinderella.
If you are looking for a feel good, laugh out loud story full of mishaps, fun, love and friendships then this is the story for you.
My Rating
An adult version of a classic fairytale, with a twist. Definitely a great read and a must for all readers who enjoy a nice feel good story.
I rate this with 5 out of 5 books. Perfect short story to read at bedtime, on the bus, or just anywhere.
An adult version of a classic fairytale, with a twist. Definitely a great read and a must for all readers who enjoy a nice feel good story.
I rate this with 5 out of 5 books. Perfect short story to read at bedtime, on the bus, or just anywhere.
Product Details
Format: e-book Length: 116 pages Published: October 12th 2011 (first published January 1st 2011) ASIN: B005VHM7B2
Format: e-book Length: 116 pages Published: October 12th 2011 (first published January 1st 2011) ASIN: B005VHM7B2
For the Sake of a Child -
By Stevie Turner.
Blurb
Ginny Ford is pleased to win the coveted job of housekeeper to the directors of PhizzFace Inc.
However, her joy becomes tarnished by an accidental find whilst cleaning, leading her to suspect that all is not as it should be on the managerial corridor.
Delving deeper, she is shocked to uncover corruption and a secret paedophile network that has remained hidden for years, involving the very people she has come to know and trust.
Unable to live with her conscience any more, she decides that she cannot keep quiet and that she must find a way of helping all the children involved.
However, by trying to help the children she discovers that she has unwittingly put her entire family at risk.....
Ginny Ford is pleased to win the coveted job of housekeeper to the directors of PhizzFace Inc.
However, her joy becomes tarnished by an accidental find whilst cleaning, leading her to suspect that all is not as it should be on the managerial corridor.
Delving deeper, she is shocked to uncover corruption and a secret paedophile network that has remained hidden for years, involving the very people she has come to know and trust.
Unable to live with her conscience any more, she decides that she cannot keep quiet and that she must find a way of helping all the children involved.
However, by trying to help the children she discovers that she has unwittingly put her entire family at risk.....
Excerpt - PART 1
CHAPTER 2
Ginny stepped out of the lift at the 15th floor and turned right. The thick blue carpet embedded with the PhizzFace logo that lined the directors’ corridor felt spongy under her feet, and slightly muted any clanking that the unfamiliar key ring made as it jangled in the pocket of her overall. At six o’clock on a Monday morning not even a pin was dropping as she made her way to the kitchen which she had been told was down one end of the passageway. Nearest the lift on the left-hand side she passed the solid teak door guarding the office of Mr Randolph Veck, Managing Director. Opposite this she noted an identical door bearing the name of Mr Dennis Veck, Director. Towards the end window on either side were offices belonging to Assistant Directors Mr Charles Standen and Mr John Ridley. She checked every gilt embossed handle as she passed, but all of the doors were locked.
Trying to locate the kitchen, she quickly backtracked past the lift to the other end of the corridor, noting the double doors of the conference room on her left, and another teak door opposite the conference room belonging to Miss Evelina Veck, Director. Finally, next to Miss Veck’s office and to the right of a large window on the end wall she eventually found the kitchen. Opposite the kitchen and next to the conference room she saw male and female toilets, but still with the same teak entry doors and gilt lettering. None of the doors yielded to her touch.
Ginny felt like an intruder as she took the new key ring out of her pocket and tried a selection of keys in each door until she had unlocked all the rooms along the corridor. She made a mental note to colour code and name the keys with some of Trudi’s stickers. She noticed that each office held its own particular smell when the door was pushed open, but she definitely preferred Miss Veck’s domain, with its overtones of pot pourri and perfume. She wedged open the heavy doors with chairs, thinking it would then be easier to trundle the vacuum cleaner in and out.
The kitchen and conference room were neat and tidy. Feeling slightly disappointed that she would not be paid for any extra hours that day, Ginny set to work. She tore a bin liner off a roll she found in the kitchen drawer, and went to and fro between the offices emptying all the bins into the black sack, leaving it next to the lift for collection by the concierge as she had been instructed to do. She then unlocked the housekeeper’s cupboard, finding in place a long cobweb brush, a bagless vacuum cleaner, and a mop and bucket, some bleach and various cleaning fluids. Next to spare rolls of lavatory paper stood a broom, a dustpan and brush, and a few cans of spray polish along with several square yellow dusters and pairs of brightly coloured rubber gloves.
Her orderly mind quickly formulated a plan; first the cobweb brush would be applied to all the ceilings. Then the kitchen sink and worktops could be wiped down and the kitchen tiles mopped. After this she would clean the toilets and sinks, polish the mirrors, and mop the lavatory floors. The conference table and the directors’ office furniture could then be dusted and polished, and lastly she would run over all the carpets with the upright vacuum cleaner. If there had been a Friday afternoon conference she decided to clear any detritus from the conference table and then polish and vacuum, but do any washing up and cleaning of the kitchen last, possibly after the school run if Larry had to leave early. In this way she could shut herself in the kitchen and not be in the way when the offices were occupied after nine o’clock.
Feeling rather pleased with her plan she took out the cobweb brush and inspected the low false ceiling along the corridor, and identical ones inside the offices. There were quite a few fine silk webs dotted here and there, but none that the brush with its long extension could not reach.
The kitchen looked as if it had been recently cleaned. She opened the cupboards to find cups, dinner plates and side plates in regulation PhizzFace blue. There were also crystal glasses, decanters, teabags and coffee. A locked larder yielded to the smallest key, and revealed a large store of various bottles of wine, sherry, beer, whisky and gin. A fridge-freezer in the larder was well stocked with milk, pizzas, loaves of bread, oven chips, and a tub of ice cream. Ginny frowned in puzzlement. She could not imagine the imperious Mr Randolph ever picking up a slice of pizza with his well-manicured fingers; in fact she could not see him in her mind’s eye enjoying pizza in any form at all, or giving it to his clients at a conference. On the few occasions she had seen him in the distance, he had seemed far too grand to ever consume anything less than the finest Beluga caviar off gold-rimmed square plates.
She wiped around the kitchen sink, and passed a cloth over the worktops. The floor was clean; likewise the lavatory floor, toilets and sinks. She checked the cubicles had enough lavatory paper, and then she polished the long mirror above the sinks and quickly mopped the floors.
Then it was time to start on the offices; the nearest one to her was that of Miss Evelina Veck. A large canvas photo taken many years before showed Evelina with her parents and brothers, and hung on the wall behind her desk. Looking at the photo and remembering her few glimpses of Mr Randolph, Ginny could see that in his youth PhizzFace’s managing director had been extremely good looking, with darkish eyes and cherubic blond curly hair framing a square-jawed and sensitive looking face. Mr Dennis, shorter, slightly darker and more ordinary-looking in the photo, stared rather sulkily out into the distance, not quite looking at the camera. Evelina, obviously older than her brothers, stood smiling next to her mother, with one hand dropping down onto Dennis’ shoulder.
Another photo Ginny picked up to dust showed Evelina presumably as she was now. Ginny had only glimpsed her briefly in passing a few times, but she was impressed at the older woman’s flawless skin. She was very interested to find out if any of PhizzFace’s products had caused such a halt in the march of time, or whether Evelina had possibly succumbed to the surgeon’s knife on several occasions. She polished Evelina’s large mahogany desk until it shone, and then carefully replaced each framed family photo back in its exact original spot. After vacuuming and dusting the rest of the furniture and watering the multitude of trailing plants, Ginny locked the office and moved further along the corridor.
The two Veck brothers’ offices were almost completely identical, apart from Randolph’s ticking clock on the wall and Dennis’ digital clock on his desk. Ginny noticed that each office had a small ante-room for a secretary, with both rooms almost barren of furniture and personal possessions except for those which were absolutely necessary. She could see no family photographs on either desk; there were no pot plants, the shelves were empty, the leather Chesterfield sofas were unsullied, and the rooms seemed rather impersonal and unlived-in.
After cleaning through and locking the offices, she moved on to the last two on the corridor. She looked around; books and papers were stacked haphazardly on the shelves, there were dusty plants in corners, and spare coats and umbrellas draped over chairs. She was pleased to see that Mr Charles in particular looked like a happy family man, positively beaming out from the photograph on his desk, surrounded by his radiant wife and five adult children. Mr John she could see looked somewhat bemused, standing stiffly next to his wife in what was obviously a wedding photo. She looked around for photographs of Mr John’s children, but there were none as far as she could see.
By the time she had cleaned all the offices and locked up, the time had moved on towards 08:15, but there would still be plenty of time to take Trudi to school. As she waited by the lift she noticed that Will had already noiselessly collected her bag of rubbish. She waved to him as she opened the door of the disabled entrance, and flashed him a smile when the concierge raised his arm in acknowledgment. Within ten minutes she was home.
“How did your first day go?” Larry picked up his car keys and gave his wife and daughter a kiss.
“No problem really. If you saw two of the offices you would think that nobody worked in there at all.”
“Perhaps they’re on the golf course all day.”
“Lucky old them.”
“Yeah.”
CHAPTER 3
It was not until the following week that Ginny was able to mark up her timesheet with some extra hours. When she unlocked the door to the conference room on the second Monday her heart sank slightly. Dirty plates, cutlery and cups littered the table; the carpet was covered in food crumbs, and the whole room looked as though a bomb had fallen upon it overnight.
Sighing, she piled the used crockery and cutlery onto a hostess trolley standing idle against a far wall. She wheeled the trolley, rattling and clanking, into the kitchen, saving the washing up and tidying of the kitchen until after she had cleaned the rest of the rooms along the corridor. She went over to her coat hanging up in the kitchen and took out her mobile phone, sending a text to Larry to let him know she would be late.
My Thoughts
This is a well written story. Stevie Turner has managed to touch upon a horrific story of child exploitation in a very sensitive way. Ginny (The main character) stumbles across this paedophile ring and struggles with what she should do with the information - The way her story develops, Ginny coming across this, her loss of her own baby and then finding a child she and her husband wish to adopt, is very believable.
This is fiction, yet Stevie has managed to make this story 'For the Sake of a Child' to seem almost real.
Personally, this is not the type of story I would read, but when I started to get to know Stevie, I was willing to give it a go. I can now say, although the story was horrific and I don't plan on reading another book about such subjects again; Stevie managed to keep me in the story - It was great to see the two worlds collide (between a disgusting 'ring' thinking they will always get away with it and Ginny - who is someone out to do good and how she struggles with the dilemma of what she should do about what she now knows - I mentally did a fist pump in the air to know that some good can come out of a situation such as this one). I am pleased I read this.
I truly think Stevie is a brave author, to both take on and write such a story which is normally seem in the non-fiction section. She has managed to write this in a way that makes you think that is could possibly happen. She was able to keep it moving, so there was no real 'lull's' in the story which for me is good.
All I can say is it is an emotional story so I would recommend having tissues. It will pull at your heart strings and unfortunately, may stay with you for a while. It truly is a dark, horrific and psychological ride which puts Ginny and her family in peril - all she needs to decide is whether or not to forget what she now knows or to do the right thing.
If you are like me and can't bear to read about such things as child neglect and abuse, I would still say to you just give it a go. I was surprised and I am sure you will be too.
This is a well written story. Stevie Turner has managed to touch upon a horrific story of child exploitation in a very sensitive way. Ginny (The main character) stumbles across this paedophile ring and struggles with what she should do with the information - The way her story develops, Ginny coming across this, her loss of her own baby and then finding a child she and her husband wish to adopt, is very believable.
This is fiction, yet Stevie has managed to make this story 'For the Sake of a Child' to seem almost real.
Personally, this is not the type of story I would read, but when I started to get to know Stevie, I was willing to give it a go. I can now say, although the story was horrific and I don't plan on reading another book about such subjects again; Stevie managed to keep me in the story - It was great to see the two worlds collide (between a disgusting 'ring' thinking they will always get away with it and Ginny - who is someone out to do good and how she struggles with the dilemma of what she should do about what she now knows - I mentally did a fist pump in the air to know that some good can come out of a situation such as this one). I am pleased I read this.
I truly think Stevie is a brave author, to both take on and write such a story which is normally seem in the non-fiction section. She has managed to write this in a way that makes you think that is could possibly happen. She was able to keep it moving, so there was no real 'lull's' in the story which for me is good.
All I can say is it is an emotional story so I would recommend having tissues. It will pull at your heart strings and unfortunately, may stay with you for a while. It truly is a dark, horrific and psychological ride which puts Ginny and her family in peril - all she needs to decide is whether or not to forget what she now knows or to do the right thing.
If you are like me and can't bear to read about such things as child neglect and abuse, I would still say to you just give it a go. I was surprised and I am sure you will be too.
My Rating
I have decided to give this book a rating of 4 out of 5. It didn't get the full marks as I personally didn't like the subject it was regarding. However it does get this high rating purely based on the way Stevie Turner has managed to write in such a sensitive way, but to also keep her readers in the story until the very last page.
Congrats to Stevie, Although it isn't a story I am fond of reading, I am pleased I read this and would most definitely would be interested in reading another book from her collection.
I have decided to give this book a rating of 4 out of 5. It didn't get the full marks as I personally didn't like the subject it was regarding. However it does get this high rating purely based on the way Stevie Turner has managed to write in such a sensitive way, but to also keep her readers in the story until the very last page.
Congrats to Stevie, Although it isn't a story I am fond of reading, I am pleased I read this and would most definitely would be interested in reading another book from her collection.
Product Details
- Format: Kindle Edition(£0.95) File Size: 722 KB Print Length: 145 pages Publisher: Smashwords (12 Sept. 2014) Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. ASIN: B00NK0MGTA
