Bookable Space: A Space to Launch (and re-launch) Books

In this episode of Bookable Space with Yvonne Battle-Felton, we're joined by Sara Sartagne reading from The Year of Yes and No. About the AuthorHaving wanted to be a journalist when she was a teenager, Sara actually ended up in PR. From there, it was a short skip to writing for pleasure, and from there to drafting her first book, a romance series where gardens feature in a BIG way. This allows her to indulge her passion for gardening, inherited from her grandmother. Sara’s English Garden Romance series started as a trilogy and morphed into slightly more than a quartet. It has four novels, three novellas and a short story. The novels are The Garden Plot, Love in a Mist, The Glasshouse Effect and A Wilder Heart. All the novellas are available to subscribers from her website. Her dual timeline novels, the Duality Series, are stand-alone books which features two stories, somehow connected. These are The Visitor, which won a Prestige Chill With A Book Award; The Fern Keepers, which also received a Premier Chill With A Book Award; and her latest book, The Year of Yes and No. She’s currently working on a stand-alone contemporary story set in Corfu. She loves hearing from readers who have thoughts about her books and characters - and even about gardening! - so please visit my website (good for news and freebies!)About the BookA picture paints a thousand words, but sometimes you just need one.1802 Colchester Hall, Northumberland. Harriet has been invisible all her life, a dutiful daughter, a dutiful wife and, with her husband's recent passing, a dutiful widow.But when she inherits her husband's fortune, she discovers a freedom she has only dreamt of. Now wealthy, Harriet can say yes whenever she chooses – but only if she remains unmarried.Battling her ingrained sense of duty and her conniving mother-in-law, Harriet must fight for her new-found independence. But every day, her feelings for long-time confidante Alexander grow, leaving her with an agonising choice – freedom, or love. Which will she say ‘yes’ to?2023 London. Gabriella Sullivan has a lot to juggle. Taking on more responsibility at a London art gallery pays the bills, but being her family's default administrator, cook and babysitter is what drains most of her energy.When Gabriella stumbles upon Regency miniatures of Harriet Colchester, she's fascinated by the differences before and after Harriet’s marriage – one portrait deferential, the other devil-may-care.Inspired to research Harriet's story, it doesn't hurt that the investigation includes Hugo, the chocolate-voiced owner of the miniatures.Can Harriet's journey help Gabriella find her own voice, and say 'no' to her family's unreasonable demands?About the host Yvonne Battle-Felton is an author, academic, editor, podcaster, host, creative producer, and writer. Her debut, Remembered (Dialogue Books, Blackstone Publishing) was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction (2019) and the Not the Booker and shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize (2020). Curdle Creek (2024 Dialogue Books, Henry Holt), a gothic horror inspired by Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, is her second novel and has been nominated for the Shirley Jackson Awards. 

In this delightful episode of Bookable Space we're joined by Bram Stoker Award-winning editor, author Del Howison. Del reads from The Survival of Margaret Thomas and What Fresh Hell is This. Del has recently been awarded the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award.About the author:Del Howison is an author, journalist, and SAG actor. He is a Bram Stoker Award-winning editor of the anthology series Dark Delicacies: Original Tales of Terror and the Macabre by the World’s Greatest Horror Writers. He has written articles for Fear.net, Gauntlet Magazine, and Writers Digest among others. Del’s short story Cul-de-Sac appeared in Weird Tales Magazine #369. His western short story The Lost Herd was turned into the premiere (and highest rated) episode, The Sacrifice, for the series Fear Itself. His dark western novel The Survival of Margaret Thomas was shortlisted for the Peacemaker Award given out by The Western Fictioneers. He has been shortlisted for over half a dozen awards including the Shirley Jackson Award and the Black Quill. The Survival of Margaret Thomas is a dark female driven western novel and What Fresh Hell Is This? is a retrospective collection of published Horror up through 2023 including some new stories.About the host:Yvonne Battle-Felton is an author, academic, editor, podcaster, host, creative producer, and writer. Her debut, Remembered (Dialogue Books, Blackstone Publishing) was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction (2019) and shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize (2020). Yvonne has six titles in Penguin Random House’s The Ladybird series. Yvonne is former Senior Commissioning Editor at Hachette’s John Murray Press and is the Academic Director of Creative Writing at Cambridge University Institute of Continuing Education. Curdle Creek (2024 Dialogue Books, Henry Holt), a gothic horror inspired by Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, is her second novel and has been nominated for the Shirley Jackson Awards.

In this uplifting episode of Bookable Space with Yvonne Battle-Felton, we’re joined by Deborah Rudell. Deborah reads to us from Grace and Grit: The Transformation of a Ship and a Soul and talks to us about writing, the difference a supportive writing group can make, and getting to know herself through writing. About the author: A college professor in San Diego, California, Deborah Rudell participates in her city’s vibrant writing community. She is a graduate of Hay House Writer’s Workshop and the Certificate in Memoir Writing program at San Diego Writers, Ink. Her work has been published in the International Memoir Writers Association’s anthology, Shaking the Tree: I Didn't See That One Coming. Deborah lives with her black cat in a tiny house built in 1906 by a retired sea captain, who carved a sailing ship into the front door. This is her first book.About the book: Deborah Rudell’s world unravels when the leaders of her spiritual commune are exposed, arrested, and imprisoned for bioterrorism and attempted murder. Crushed and adrift, she moves her family off the commune to create a sense of normalcy. But when her husband seeks an opportunity to dismantle and rebuild a derelict fifty-foot schooner, Deborah uproots their children once again and joins him in Kauai.For the next five years, she dedicates her life to restoring a boat. Pouring herself into the work at hand can only distract her so much as disillusionment about the cult’s lies and manipulation slowly rises to the surface. While she grapples with emotional turmoil and contemplates a new life path, Deborah sets out to accomplish something she never thought possible: sailing across the Pacific to the Olympic Peninsula.Will the dangers that come with navigating the ocean be too much to bear, or will she find resolution and fortitude in the turbulent adventure? Grit & Grace: The Transformation of a Ship & a Soul is one woman’s account of conquering overwhelming challenges with tenacity and ingenuity and ultimately discovering her inner strength

In this episode of Bookable Space with Yvonne Battle-Felton, we’re joined by Moira Darrell.   Moira reads to us from Selena and Her Mysteries and Messed Up Choices, and talks to us about questions, secrets, writing, and more. 

In this episode of Bookable Space host Yvonne Battle-Felton is joined by Valerie Nieman. Valerie reads from Upon the Corner of the Moon: A Tale of the MacBeths. She talks to us about writing, researching, and imagining.About the author:Valerie Nieman is the author of Upon the Corner of the Moon, In the Lonely Backwater (Sir Walter Raleigh Award), five other novels, a short fiction collection, and three poetry books. A graduate of West Virginia University and Queens University of Charlotte, she has held NEA and regional writing grants.About the book:Deeply researched and thoughtfully constructed around themes of women's lives and spirituality, the power of storytelling, and the complex politics of northern Europe between the invasions of the Vikings and the Normans, Upon the Corner of the Moon is the first of two books telling the story of real people who’ve been rewritten into emblems of evil. “Steeped in the myth, mystery, politics, and culture of Celtic Scotland, Upon the Corner of the Moon presents the world of the young Lady Macbeth and Macbeth with authenticity, a deft hand, and a poet’s voice,” says Susan Fraser King, author of Lady Macbeth: A Novel.  At the dawn of the second millennium, two royal Scottish children are swept away from their families—Macbeth to the perilous royal court of his grandfather, Gruach to the remnants of the goddess-worshiping Picts. Macbeth learns that blood bonds are easily severed while Gruach finds her path only to lose it when she’s summoned back to the patriarchal world. They struggle with gaining and losing power, guided and misguided by prophecy and politics as their paths converge in a fiery bid for royal succession. Upon the Corner of the Moon separates literary legend from the reality of rulers who changed the face of Scotland. "Upon the Corner of the Moon is a haunting and bloody tale of Scottish history. It’s also a finger tracing along a set of scars, ones we already know are too deep to ever really heal,” said the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

In this delightful episode of Bookable Space, we're joined by Natalie Leon. Natalie reads from The Japanese Art of Living Seasonally and talks about travel, living seasonally, and believing in your projects.About the Book: The Japanese Art of Living Seasonally, is a treasure trove of the traditional Japanese foods, flowers, festivals and folklore that have delighted and inspired me since I started travelling to Japan almost a decade ago, which has forever changed how I connect with the natural world and the seasons.This beautiful guide unlocks the secrets of Japan's seasonal culture to help you relish the seasons wherever you are.About the author: Natalie Leon is a British Japanologist and non fiction author based in London. She is a seasonality specialist and a practitioner of The Way of Tea. Passionate about slow living, traditional Japanese art, culture and tea.

In this episode of Bookable Space, we're joined by Maisie Nesbitt. Maisie reads to us from Stay Calm and Cheerful. We talk about writing, safe spaces, and more. About the writer: Maisie Nesbitt is the nom-de-plume of a teacher who has dabbled in poetry since the Covid-19 pandemic. Writing about her experiences with online learning and more broadly, the rollercoaster of emotions that is relating to her pupils and colleagues, Maisie now delves into something more personal with this newest work. She enjoys cooking, practicing yoga and mindfulness (with awonderfully contradictory passion for to-do lists ). She remains sane thanks to singing ina choir and adding books to her ever-growing Shelves.About the book: Started as a way to elaborate the loss of a sibling by suicide, the poems in this collection are a raw, honest narrative of what grief can bring in its day-to-day challenges. The collection also explores topics of friendship; familial relationships; mental health; career hopes and pressures; and the experience of conception and family planning . Hoping to provide a relatable insight into all of this and more, "Stay Calm and Cheerful" also hopes to ground and normalise the uncomfortable thoughts we may not always be able to explain or share.

In this episode of Bookable Space, we're joined by Kristina W. Kelly. Kristina reads to us from Tavern Tale and Imaginari and talks about writing, gaming, and the joy of exploring the side quest.About Tavern Tale: What if the side quest is really the main quest?Divine has chased the thief who stole her talisman across half of Trelvania. The talisman is the key to accessing her magic well, and without it, she is powerless. Divine meets Saph, a flirty tavern owner with an eyepatch who will help Divine locate her talisman if Divine helps her complete a mysterious quest in a chest.About the author:Kristina W. Kelly writes fantasy, sci-fi, and poetry. Her works include her coauthored epic science fantasy series The Etherea Cycle, her fantasy romance Tavern Tale, and her sci-fi and fantasy poetry collection, Imaginari. Kristina is a trumpet player, plays video games, and tends to her flower garden and two children in Indiana.

In this episode of Bookable Space, host Yvonne Battle-Felton is joined by Allie Cresswell. Allie reads to us from The Cottage on Winter Moss.About the author:UK-born Allie Cresswell has a BA and an MA in English Literature.She was a print-buyer, pub landlady, bookkeeper and college lecturer, but nowadays she writes full time, producing the kinds of books that she herself enjoys reading; character-driven historical and contemporary fiction and prose as delicious as a rich, truffle chocolate.She lives in remote, coastal NW England, where The Cottage on Winter Moss, her 13th novel, is set.