Resolute Books

19/06/2025

Today's Resolute Childhood Favourites comes from our author Ruth Leigh Writes:

"From the age of four, books were my favourite thing in the world. I read voraciously and every birthday and Christmas brought new ones. I must have been around nine when I was given Anne of Green Gables. I’ve still got it, with my name and, bafflingly, the name of my village, written in felt tip pen inside. I loved it at once. The descriptions of the countryside on Prince Edward Island drew me in and the second I met the skinny, freckled, red-headed orphan waiting hopefully at the station, I was lost. That first time round, I gasped at the confrontation between Anne and Mrs Rachel Lynde, was horrified as Minnie May appeared to be on her deathbed and was agog at the school room drama. (Ruby Gillis and her sisters! Plain Jane Andrews! Gilbert the obvious love interest! Horrible Mr Phillips with his creepy interest in the older girls!) Then we had the Green Hair Dye incident, the near-fatal recreation of Camelot, falling off the roof and of course the shock of the bank failing at the end. I simply loved it and I still have all the other books, all with my name written in them.

What drew me in then and still does now? I think the quality of the writing, the descriptive language and the characterisation is so good. You really care about Anne and wish her well, and LM Montgomery is so skilled at raising up new struggles and difficulties (and even the odd enemy) in each new volume. I still read them now and I don’t suppose I’ll ever stop."

You can get Ruth's latest book A Great Deal of Ingenuity here: https://amzn.to/40tyCA5

17/06/2025

Did you know it’s National Crime Reading Month? At Resolute, we have some criminally good reads to offer.

Here’s what readers have to say …

Can of Worms by Paul Trembling:
“I'm a big fan of crime books by the likes of Tess Gerritsen and PJ Tracy, and Paul's is certainly as gripping and as tense as any of theirs!” https://amzn.to/3G5n7H1

Local Killer by Paul Trembling:
“Written by a former CSI officer and seasoned crime writer you are in for a roller coaster of a ride. Well researched, full blooded characters and cracking case to solve I was sad to finish it …” https://amzn.to/47ywvMK

Banshee by Lindsay Rumbold:
“Two parallel stories - a 1964 military espionage and a murder investigation set in 2022 lead the reader on a twisty trail to one dramatic conclusion … If you enjoy John Le Carre and Alastair McLean this a must read for you.” https://amzn.to/41N1ELW

Tempted? Follow the links for paperback and ebook on Amazon now!

14/06/2025

Ruth Leigh Writes and Sarah Nicholson are the ladies in red today - you can't miss the at the Framlingham Author event.
The Resolute Books stall will also catch your eye with Sarah's sparkly book award in prime position ✨️

12/06/2025

Today's Resolute Childhood favourites comes from Sheelagh Aston, author of the upcoming In-Between Girl.

"Black Beauty was Anna Sewell’s only novel, for which she received the princely sum of £40 (about £3,000) but it was not published until shortly after her death at 57 in 1877.

I no longer have the original copy my mother read to me but the lovely classical edition my daughter (who I read the story to as a child) gave me a few years ago has many of the drawings and paintings of that original edition.

Today we would call the story of the chequered fortunes of the sweet natured black mare and her friends, Merigold the pony and chestnut Ginger, a moral fable. Sewell had a great love of horses, using horse-drawn carriages after a childhood accident left her unable to ride or to walk without crutches. She wrote it to encourage people to look after their horses properly at a time when many were maltreated. She is credited with helping to reduce cruelty to horses thanks to Beauty; for example, the use of bearing rains which prevent a carriage horse from moving their head from its high position were used less after the book’s publication.

I came from a family of horse lovers, both parents’ rode, and summers were spent at gymkhanas and cross-country events my older brothers competed in. Every time I read it, I am transported to those times and reminded how much we humans owe to those animals who carry out tasks that make our lives easier and give us pleasure.

11/06/2025

Our author Janet Hancock is on the Beneath The Page podcast!

'In this episode of the podcast, Sophie and Steve sit down with Janet Hancock, author of two powerful novels set during the Russian Revolution. The conversation focuses on her latest work, 'The West in Her Eyes' (Resolute Books) that crosses continents and dives deep into the turbulence of revolution and the personal stakes for those caught up in it.

They explore the themes of identity, talk about the tension between ambition and love, and discuss Janet's process.'

In this episode of the podcast, Sophie and Steve sit down with Janet Hancock, author of two powerful novels set during the Russian Revolution. The conversati...

09/06/2025

Today's childhood favourite book is brought to us by our author Sue Russell:

"I was a horribly precocious child who applied to join the adult library around the age of 11 - and they let me. Nobody policed my reading very much except when my mother found me reading Peyton Place at the age of seven and confiscated it. As a result I missed out on many of the children's classics, but I made up for it as an adult. I remember little about my early reading and have kept almost nothing, but one battered little book of verse still has a fond place on my bookshelf: A Puffin Quartet of Poets. Someone gave it to me, and there's serious stuff there, but my favourite was the wonderful E.V. Rieu, whose verse delighted me all those (many) years ago. It invariably rhymes and scans perfectly which probably added to my pleasure, but it was the funny ones I liked: Sir Smasham Uppe, The Lesser Lynx, and perhaps most affectionately remembered to this day, Mr Blob. Here's the last verse:

'My heart went out to Mr Blob the moment that we met,
And the sorrow of his going is a thing that haunts me yet;
For often when the clouds are low I sit at home and sob
To think that I shall see no more the face of Mr Blob.'

Mr Blob, I should add, was a cheerful little drawing."

You can grab Sue's latest book, The Art of Life, here. https://amzn.to/3LTqFf8

07/06/2025

Another Saturday, another stall.
Today inside beautiful St Mary's Church Hadleigh Suffolk as part of the Hidden Gardens event.

05/06/2025

Well done to our author E.M. Carter Author. What would you like to see in a prequel to the Newland Trilogy?

Reviews are rolling in at the moment. Sometimes have to pinch myself! Thank you so much to all of you who have read and reviewed. I'm so super grateful and amazed that people out there are enjoying my daft books!

I am working on a prequel... I have an idea in mind, but if you could choose a prequel idea for Newland, what would it be? :)

03/06/2025

Our next childhood favourite books entry comes from our author John Stevens, whose first novel will be published later this year.

'I often read of famous authors reflecting on their book-saturated childhood, their wonderful eccentric story-telling mothers, or winning their first literary prize aged 15.

Does it leave me feeling rather small? Yes.

My childhood brush with books was distinctly average…and disrupted. Despite this, I can see with my time-reversing specs on, that they did their work forming a world-view, inner longings, a bizarre sense of humour, and the surreal.

Number 1. Winnie-the-Pooh and the rest, including Now We Are Six
I suppose they did carry me through to about six-years old. It’s difficult to know whether I related to any of the characters more than others, but I think that’s its brilliance; we can all relate to each at different times. There’s humour, friendship, daring…that’s not bad going. And delightful poor spelling, Piglit.

Number 2. Famous Five et al
I remember these books as the first that I read cover to cover, understanding, if not all the words, then the vast majority. Maybe from age 5 to 7? But there it is again, close-nit friends, humour, daring…and a dog.

Number 3. Third equal: Dr Seuss (various) and ‘The Good Loo Guide to London’ and ‘The Dog’s Ear Book’, maybe enjoyed when 8 or 9. All three appealed to my funny bone. Still do.

The disruption.

I can’t disentangle two events that put paid to my childhood reading. When I was 8, my sister left home and my parents (finally) rented (!) a black and white tv. Which of these two events blocked out reading – and music, oddly – until mid/late teens, I can’t say. But there it is. Reading was confined mainly to a stream of science fiction if and when I was holed up ill in bed.

In my late teens, I emerged from my book-exile – partly as a result of a spiritual quest which ended in a conversion to Christ - since then, I’ve been in catch-up mode.

Spiritual quests are difficult to pin down, but now I think of it, even in early childhood, perhaps The New Testament should replace Winnie-the-Pooh in top spot. The daily readings during school assemblies and whenever I was taken to church on Sundays also wormed their way into my developing inner world. It did its work.'

26/05/2025

You’ve only a few more hours to pick up Lindsay Rumbold’s Cold War thriller, Banshee, for 99p on Kindle.

An Amazon review says: “An excellent cold war thriller. Two parallel stories - a 1964 military espionage and a murder investigation set in 2022 lead the reader on twisty trail to one dramatic conclusion.

The author has painstakingly researched both the military and law enforcement worlds to create a fascinating and realistic engrossing read that gathers momentum leading to a satisfying reckoning.

If you enjoy John Le Carre and Alastair McLean this a must read for you.”

Tempted? Head over to Amazon now and get an ebook bargain! https://amzn.to/41N1ELW

25/05/2025

The Resolute Books stall will be out and about all over Suffolk in the next few weeks.

Saturday 31st May - Wenhaston Village Hall. 🏫

Saturday 7th June - St Mary's Church Hadleigh, for the Hidden Gardens event.🪻🌷🌻🌺

Saturday 14th June - Framlingham Showcase of Suffolk authors. 🏰

Come and say hello 👋 and sort out your holiday reading 📚

23/05/2025

In need of some Bank Holiday reading? Our Cold War thriller, Banshee by Lindsay Rumbold, is just 99p on Kindle this long weekend!

Here's what author S.C. Skillman has to say about it:

“A gripping tale of espionage and conspiracy”:

“I loved the way in which the complex puzzle is finally unravelled, finding it ingenious and ultimately both poignant and moving. I felt particularly engaged by the theme of long-held secrets coming to light many decades later through the involvement of the next generation, and perfectly integrated with a spur-of-the-moment decision by one individual sixty years before. To me the ending was sad, contained a satisfying element of poetic justice, and gave me so much to reflect upon and to speculate about, especially the subsequent destiny of one particular key character!"

Have you read it yet? If not, head over to Amazon right now and pick up the ebook for just 99p until Tuesday 27th May! https://amzn.to/41N1ELW