S.J.Budd

Coraline is a dark children's story that's not for the faint of heart. It centres around a remarkable little girl, Coraline Jones who moves with her parents to a new home which holds a secret door. Coraline has gone on to win the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young readers, the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella  as well as the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella. This is the third book I have read by Neil Gaiman and as usual I have not been left disappointed. Neil Gaiman possesses an extraordinary ability to take one of his unique characters and just leave them all alone in a most ridiculous situation facing the most dire circumstances. I have to admit when I read his books I always think this character will never find their way out of this hell hole. The plot seems too preposterous, Gaiman will never get out of this alive. But each time he creates these fantastic stories. His stories are so strange believable. They seem to write themselves. I am incredibly je

To me Cornwall is a wild and magical landscape still deeply in touch with its celtic roots and influences. A little corner of the British Isles where pixies and other fey creatures still roam. There's magic in the air. If you've never been to Cornwall you're missing out on a wonderful experience. This little book is one of those books that just mysteriously appear in your life. The short ghostly tales within capture beautifully the raw undiluted Cornish landscape and its  lingering aura of forgotten arcane history. This is not the Cornwall that the tourists know and love but of the older primal Cornwall. The author, Mary Williams is just as mysterious as her wonderful tales. She has written dozens of books yet there is very little information about her. She was born in 1928 and lived in Cornwall from 1947 until she died at the grand age of 97. She has published an impressive 17 volumes of ghost stories as well as romantic novels, all set in Cornwall. It's a shame