The Saturday Morning Post (No. 205)

THE SATURDAY MORNING BOOK REPORT

I needed an antidote to the dreary grimness of the last book, This Tender Land, so I returned to O Douglas, who I knew would serve up a nice quiet story. One without two killings in the first 40% of the story. I believe this one is one of a set of three set in the same general area, the Border Lands of Scotland, with a few minor cross over characters.

My reviewer criteria. I like light, entertaining novels. I like smaller scale stories rather than epics. I like character focused novels featuring pleasant characters, with a minimum number of unpleasant ones. I greatly value clever and witty writing. I like first person, or close third person narratives. I dislike a lot of "head jumping" between POVs and flashbacks. I want a story, not a puzzle. While I am not opposed to violence, I dislike gore for the sake of gore. I find long and elaborate fight, action, and battle sequences tedious. Plot holes and things that happen for the convenience of the author annoy me. And I fear I'm a born critic in that I don't mind pointing out what I don't like in a story. However, I lay no claim to be the final arbitrator of style and taste, you need to decide for yourself what you like or dislike in a book.

Your opinions are always welcome. Comment below.

Love Comes Home by Molly Clavering  C+

To date I've enjoyed all the Molly Clavering novels I've read which include: Susan Settles Down, Touch Not the Nettle, Near Neighbors, Mrs Lorimer’s Quiet Summer, Dear Hugo, and Because of Sam. Like the first two books on the list above this was last of her first four books that she published under the pen name of B. Mollett. It was written in 1937. I think Molly was trying to be hip and modern in this one, unlike her more domestic focused stories later on.

Most of the story takes place in Scotland. The main characters are young people. The title character, Love, is the younger sister of Jane, the point of view character. Love has just returned from a year "finishing" in Paris. With her arrival home their mother summons Jane home as well. Jane had been living with her best friend, Kitty, and her husband, George, a naval officer stationed at Chatham naval base. Just before Jane returns to Scotland, George's best friend, John, corners her and asks her to marry him. These were the days when you had to get the brides father's consent, unless you were black sheep. So they decide to keep their semi-engagement secret for a time. However, once home, Love has other ideas as to whom Jane will marry, and after some mishaps and misunderstanding the occur when John is invited to visit Jane at home - he has a new posting in the navy that took him to Scotland - Love sets out to break up their their attachment by seducing John herself. And so the story plays out. You get a generous helping of the life of the Scottish gentry, roam the scenic Scottish countryside, plus some political observations, as the celebrations around the new king who was just coronated, the civil war in Spain, along with a passing reference to Nazi Germany.

The thing about this story is that it has the hackneyed device of both Jane and John refusing to make any effort to clear up the minor misunderstandings that keep them apart. If they had, the story could've called it a day after chapter four. But, since it is a romance, I'll give Molly a pass on that. What I found interesting, and, as I said above was her trying to hip, or at least modern, by making John and Jane's best friend Kitty morally free and easy. It was clear nearly from the beginning that after Jane left, her love, John, had an affair with Kitty, his best friend's wife. And in it was made clear that Kitty was as much to blame as John. But still, your best friend's wife? She has George, Kitty's husband, seemingly tolerating her affairs, which are not rare. And when Jane and John make up, she intends to tolerate his as well, since she knows that he won't be faithful to her. In short not very good people tolerated by better people, however unwisely in my view.

Miss Clavering as always delivered an entertaining read, but the rather unsavory nature of its characters substantially reduced my enjoyment of the story. I think the characters need not have been so unsavory and it still would've been a good story. But I have to think she wrote this way to attract a young, modern 1937 audience. Oh Well.

The Sunsets of Summer, 2026 Edition

 

I try to watch every sunset over the course of the summer, sitting in my rocking chair at the edge of our garage. And it has become a little tradition to post the best sunsets I saw while doing so. The photos of the sunset above and the two below were taken in May. We had some striking sunsets early in the summer, and then again late in August and September.

Below is not a sunset, but a storm cloud near to sunset. If I used AI I suppose I could get rid of the powerlines. But I don't. This is an authentic photograph. Well as computational photography can get to authenticity.

Below is a very rosy June sunset and another rather fiery one.

And now we skip to August for several sunsets. The first for the flock of little clouds. The second for a brooding sunset. The last one is a sunset in blue.

And finally, an October 1 sunset, from our back yard. It was a very intense orange evening for a few minutes with this sunset.

The Saturday Morning Post (No. 204)

 

THE SATURDAY MORNING BOOK REPORT

Another O Douglas story. At the time I was reading these stories, it was summer, and a hot week of summer at that, and so I had nothing better to do then move on to the next story in the omnibus ebook version that I have of O Douglas stories.

My reviewer criteria. I like light, entertaining novels. I like smaller scale stories rather than epics. I like character focused novels featuring pleasant characters, with a minimum number of unpleasant ones. I greatly value clever and witty writing. I like first person, or close third person narratives. I dislike a lot of "head jumping" between POVs and flashbacks. I want a story, not a puzzle. While I am not opposed to violence, I dislike gore for the sake of gore. I find long and elaborate fight, action, and battle sequences tedious. Plot holes and things that happen for the convenience of the author annoy me. And I fear I'm a born critic in that I don't mind pointing out what I don't like in a story. However, I lay no claim to be the final arbitrator of style and taste, you need to decide for yourself what you like or dislike in a book.

Your opinions are always welcome. Comment below.

The Proper Place by O Douglas  C

Another book of character studies. This time, the plot, such as it was, was meandering, actually disjointed, or perhaps, it might be described as a collection of plots. I don't know why this cover has this old lady on it. There are old ladies on it, but they're hardly key to the story, such as it is.

Our main character is Nicole Rutherfurd. age 24. She is a free spirit, loves everyone and everyone loves her. She lives with her widowed mother and her cousin Barbara, who is far more aloof and concerned with social status. They are of an old family, fallen on to hard times, so that they had to sell their country home and live on modest means in a house far enough away so that they don't run into their old circle of upper class friends. While Nicole readily accepts their fate and finds a new life, Barbara keenly feels their fall from their aristocratic stature. 

Throughout the story we get to know various people, like the people who purchase the Rutherfurd's country house, and the various residents of their new village, including a young boy, again. The story, such as it is, meanders through lots of meeting and mundane events, typical of O Douglas stories. What his story lacks is a sense of direction to drive the reader though all these character study moments, and the reflections on life and whatever, they generate. And what plot(s) there are are pretty predictable. 

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these novels is the effect of World War One on England, as most every family lost young men in the conflict. 

Comparing the Text-to-Speech Quality

 

I was curious as to how my books sound. Curious because I never listen to them. I probably should. If I had, I wouldn't have used "apparently" twice in the same paragraph... Oh well. So to compart the four auto-narrated book services I offer my readers, I recorded a brief section from the opening of The Darval-Mers Dossier, which happens to be on all four services; Amazon, Google,  Apple, and Spotify.  The Apple sample did not start at the beginning, but shortly after the other three, so it should give you a good idea of how it sounds.

With Amazon, Google, and Spotify, I chose the voice. I always choose a British English narrator. I usually have at least several to choose from, and choose the older, deeper voice. Apple does not give authors a choice of narrators. You get Jimmy Olson.

Below is a link to my Google Drive with a two minute audio-only video with the voices of the four services.

AUDIOBOOK SAMPLES

While I could make a game of it, I'll tell you the order. Let me know what you think of these voices and what one is best.

Amazon ($3.99)

Google (Free)

Apple (Free)

Spotify (Free)

Note: I recorded this on my phone from my Trivoli Audio radio and then played that recording from the phone to my computer, so that the quality of the sound is compromised. What we're concerned with is how human-like the narration is.

Note: 2 Since posting about my books being on Spotify, I learned that I can only publish 5 books with the current beta program. So the 4 Red Wine stories are up, and the first of the Nine Star Nebula Adventure/Mystery story, The Secret of the Tzaritsa Moon are available on Spotify. 

Some Small Dive Ebook Released

 

The ebook version of my great experiment Has been released and can be obtained from the fine bookshops listed below.

I'm looking forward to discovering just how my most boring book sells. Will readers take me at my word, and avoid it, or will they take my claim as a challenge or as a tease, and pick it up to see if it is as boring as advertised? Only time will tell. 

For several hours of late night, moody music to listen to while reading Some Small Dive, I put together a eclectic playlist on YouTube Music called, you guessed it, "Some Small Dive." It is a public playlist and you should be able to find it by searching for Some Small Dive.

Links to the book in the various store below the blurb, as they go on line.

Here we go!

My most boring book ever!

This from the author of “the dullest book I have ever read” – a reader, and “the only thing it did was put me to sleep” – another reader, another book.

I believe blurbs should honestly introduce the book to potential readers so they know what to expect. That being the case, I must tell you that this is the most mundane of stories. Only the fact that it is set on a world other than Earth makes it slightly different from a light literary fiction novel. Readers who have found my work via science fiction and fantasy, may perhaps find this story boring. You’ve been warned. But what can all readers, new and old, expect to find in this novel?

First off, it is the third book in the loose series of my “Lorrian Novels.” It is preceded by Chateau Clare and Glencrow Summer. However, all of the novels are stand-alone stories. This one is set entirely in the city of Celora, half a year after the events of Glencrow Summer. Once again, it features a new cast of characters, along with a few cameo appearances by characters from Chateau Clare. However, unlike those first two novels, there are no science fiction/fantasy elements in this story. This story concerns the everyday concerns of the after work patrons of the Bleu Moon, the small dive of the title, including a slow burn romance or two.

Most of these patrons come from the newspaper industry. A managing director, several editors, a critic, an actor, and a novelist make up the central cast. Set in the distant future, all of the characters are very human, but now with a lifespan of around two hundred years. Thus, over the course of two centuries, most people will change aspects of their lives, jobs, and relationships at least several times. In this novel, all of the patrons of the Bleu Moon find themselves facing opportunities to change their lives. Some will take it, others not. Some Small Dive is their story.

Amazon paperback at $12.99 HERE

Amazon ebook at $3.99 HERE

Amazon audiobook at 3.99 HERE

Apple ebook Free HERE

Apple audiobook Free HERE

Bookshop.org Free HERE

B & B ebook Free HERE

Google ebook Free HERE

Google audiobook Free HERE

Kobo ebook Free HERE  

Smashwords ebook Free HERE

The Saturday Morning Post (No. 203)

THE SATURDAY MORNING BOOK REPORT

I needed an antidote to the dreary grimness of the last book, This Tender Land, so I returned to O Douglas, who I knew would serve up a nice quiet story. One without two killings in the first 40% of the story. I believe this one is one of a set of three set in the same general area, the Border Lands of Scotland, with a few minor cross over characters.

My reviewer criteria. I like light, entertaining novels. I like smaller scale stories rather than epics. I like character focused novels featuring pleasant characters, with a minimum number of unpleasant ones. I greatly value clever and witty writing. I like first person, or close third person narratives. I dislike a lot of "head jumping" between POVs and flashbacks. I want a story, not a puzzle. While I am not opposed to violence, I dislike gore for the sake of gore. I find long and elaborate fight, action, and battle sequences tedious. Plot holes and things that happen for the convenience of the author annoy me. And I fear I'm a born critic in that I don't mind pointing out what I don't like in a story. However, I lay no claim to be the final arbitrator of style and taste, you need to decide for yourself what you like or dislike in a book.

Your opinions are always welcome. Comment below.

Pink Sugar by O. Douglas  B+

Kristy Gilmour, an orphan since the age of eight had been living with her stepmother for many years. Her stepmother was a restless person, living from hotel to hotel for years, so when she dies, Kristy decides to return to her home in the Scottish Border Country to settle down. To that end, she rents a modest house, part of a larger estate, with the intent of helping her fellow human beings in little ways. Her first task in this regard is to take in three young children, along with their young governess/ Their mother has died, and their father, broken hearted, wants to travel to get over his grief. The children are related to her only through her best friend. She falls in love with the children, and dreads the return of their father, although he is very nice and attractive.

The first thing I've discovered about O Douglas is that most of her stories are about exploring all sorts of characters. Her plots serve to bring characters she wishes to talk about to the fore. In this case, she uses Kristy to introduce the reader to the various characters in the small Tweed River-side village she settles in. This provides the modern reader a window into life a hundred years ago in England and Scotland. How they lived, what they did to pass the time, and their various attitudes. Most of her characters are either wealthy enough to live without working, or have husbands who are working and wealthy. It is this idle class that we get a glimpse into, where the women go around visiting each other, having tea, or dinner with others of their class.

The second thing I've discovered about O Douglas is that she adores small boys. She grew up with a bunch of older brothers, and I gather she ran with them in all their adventures. And this love of the life of boys is reflected in all the stories I've read so far. In this case, we have two boys and one girl. The girl hardly gets mentioned. One boy is devoted to fishing, and gets some air time. But it is the young, "bad" boy who is always getting into mischief who is the star of the show. You'll see this repeated in the next O Douglas book report as well. Which is fine, I've nothing against it, I just find it interesting at  how large part these boys play in her stories.

Though the character studies play an important part in this novel, there is a plot to it, several romances, the question of the fate of the children, and several of the characters evolving as the story goes along. I enjoy the glimpse of the past and the company of nice people going about their everyday life. I think some of the other woman authors of this period wrote more focused novels, but I enjoy my time spent in the company of O Douglas's creations.

My Audiobooks On Spotify

 

I am happy to announce that a selection of my stories will be available as audiobooks on Spotify.

Spotify recently announced that they will be offering to convert ebooks into auto-narrated audiobooks at no cost to indie-publishers. So, of course, I've taken advantage of their offer. I must admit that I've not made any deep study of audiobooks on Spotify, but I've heard here and there, that they have a growing business in audiobooks, and that Audible, though still commanding the majority of audiobook sales is seeing its market share fall as a result of competition like Spotify.

The best news, for me, is that I can offer them for free on Spotify. That said, I have very guarded expectations. The other venues offering my audiobooks, are more focused on readers, with the audiobooks offered as an alternative to ebooks. With Spotify it is an audiobook play only, and I'm not sure how many people, if anyone, will come across my books. However, I don't believe in passing up opportunities. We'll get to see just how free audiobooks on Spotify fare.

There are, however significant limitations at present. The first is the length of books they are willing to convert. That limit is 500,000 characters. When I tried to upload my first published book, A Summer in Amber I discovered it was too long to be made into an audiobook. My next attempt, The Darval-Mers Dossier which I knew to be shorter, worked. The Darval-Mers Dossier comes in with about 290,000 characters. To put that into real terms, its print version runs 164 pages. On the other hand, A Summer in Amber comes in at 626,000 characters, with a print version running 335 pages. 

Given those character limit, I will be able to offer only a limited selection of my books. I believe I'll focus on the two series that I know will come in under the limit. They are:

The Red Wine stories that include;

The Darval-Mers Dossier, The Founders' Tribunal, The Isle House Ghost, and The Poison Pill Will

And the Nine Star Nebula Mystery/Adventure stories;

The Secret of the Tzarista Moon, The Secrets of Valsummer House, Shadows of an Iron Kingdom, and The Aeirie of a Pirate Prince 

While I have several other books that would likely clock in under 500,000 characters including, Keiree, A Night in Isvalar and Some Day Days, I will hold off on those at least until I see what, if any, sales and feedback I garner from Spotify.

Update; I discovered that the program is limited to five books only. In addition, you can only make four "generations" of a book, i.e. revise it four times, including setting it it. For instance, if you change the voice after generating the audiobook, but before submitting it, that is still a generation. And once made, they can't be swapped out for a different book. So it looks like it will be the Red Wine Series, all of which are now available, and The Secret of the Tzarista Moon available on 1 October 2026 for now.

Like any new service there is a learning curve. 

You first have to find where to apply. It isn't on their usual web page. You'll have to Google to find it. Try "Spotify for Authors." You have to sign up for Spotify, if you aren't already.

It is only open to residents of the United States. You'll have to register your bank and tax info, so they can distribute your royalties, and file tax info to the tax people.

Once signed up and on the site you'll be given, or choose some company id, since this system is also used for companies uploading their self-produced audiobooks as well. To upload your ebook, you'll need to select the ebook input option. You then upload you ePub file... and the funny thing is that it generates your blub automatically. No doubt some AI scraped it off Amazon or some other site, which was weird. You then put in all the usual information, title, genre, categories, etc.

They offer a modest selection of voices, some 6 male and 4 female voice to choose from, including an English voice, which is the one I always choose. It sounded pretty darn human. They also provide a list of words that you might need to edit the pronunciation for, which is helpful.

An interesting twist is that you can select a 3-5 minute selection from your story to act as a free teaser for the book, making it easy for listeners to sample your writing and the narration without buying.

All in all, while the set up is different form the other services, it is also the same. The same basic pieces looking and acting a little differently. Audiobook covers have to be 2400x2400 pixels or larger.

As of this post I have only uploaded my trial story, The Darval-Mers Dossier, but I will be uploading the rest of the planned books over the next week or two.

Spotify users should be able to find The Darval-Mers Dossier on Spotify HERE for free.

I'll let you know how this experiment goes. Stay tuned.