Welcome to my stop on the fabulous When Stars Will Shine blog tour! 🙂

When Stars Will Shine

When Stars Will Shine is a collection of short stories from your favourite authors who have come together to deliver you a Christmas read with a twist.

With true war tales that will break your heart, gritty Christmas crimes that will shake you to your core, and heart-warming tales of love lost and found, this anthology has something for everyone. And, with every penny made being sent to support our troops, you can rest assured that you’re helping our heroes, one page at a time.

From authors such as Louise Jensen, Graham Smith, Malcolm Hollingdrake, Lucy Cameron, Val Portelli, and Alex Kane, you are in for one heck of a ride!

When Stars Will Shine is the perfect Christmas gift for the bookworms in your life!

A Note from Emma Mitchell:

As the blurb tells us, When Stars Will Shine is a multi-genre collection of Christmas-themed short stories compiled to raise money for our armed forces and every penny made from the sales of both the digital and paperback copies will be donated to the charity.

Working closely with Kate Noble at Noble Owl Proofreading and Amanda Ni Odhrain from Let’s Get Booked, I’ve been able to pick the best of the submissions to bring you a thrilling book which is perfect for dipping into at lunchtime or snuggling up with on a cold winter’s night. I have been completely blown away by the support we’ve received from the writing and blogging community, especially the authors who submitted stories and Shell Baker from Baker’s Not So Secret Blog, who has organised the cover reveal and blog tour.

There isn’t a person in the country who hasn’t benefited from the sacrifices our troops, past and present, have made for us and they all deserve our thanks.

It has been an honour working on these stories, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have.

Full contents:

Fredrick Snellgrove, Private 23208 by Rob Ashman

Four Seasons by Robert Scragg

The Close Encounter by Gordon Bickerstaff

Believe by Mark Brownless

What Can Possibly Go Wrong? by Lucy Cameron

Mountain Dew by Paul T. Campbell

The Art of War and Peace by John Carson

A Gift for Christmas by Kris Egleton

Free Time by Stewart Giles

Died of Wounds by Malcolm Hollingdrake

The Christmas Killer by Louise Jensen

The Village Hotel by Alex Kane

A Present of Presence by HR Kemp

The Invitation by Billy McLaughlin

Brothers Forever by Paul Moore

Girl in a Red Shirt by Owen Mullen

Pivotal Moments by Anna Franklin Osborne

Uncle Christmas by Val Portelli

Time for a Barbeque by Carmen Radtke

Christmas Present by Lexi Rees

Inside Out by KA Richardson

Penance by Jane Risdon

New Year’s Resolution by Robert Scragg

Family Time by Graham Smith

My review

When Stars Will Shine is a fabulous collection of short stories written by some of the most talented writers and complied by the very lovely Emma Mitchell. Collectively they have worked together, donating their time and talent, to raise vital funds for Help For Heroes.

I am married to a veteran, we have many military friends and I have massive respect for our armed forces as a whole, so this is a cause very close to my heart and I take my hat off to Emma and all involved for what they have achieved with this beautiful book. You should all be very proud!

Now I’m not very good a reviewing short stories to be perfectly honest so I thought I would just share my very first thoughts of each story, as I read them. I hope that’s okay. Here goes….

Fredrick Snellgrove, Private 23208 by Rob Ashman

Heart-wrenching and heart-warming.

Four Seasons by Robert Scragg

A very clever tale of revenge.

A Close Encounter by Gordon Bickerstaff

Actually gave me goosebumps!

Believe by Mark Brownless

Creepy! I did not see that coming.

What Can Possibly Go Wrong? By Lucy Cameron

Quite amusing!

Mountain Dew by Paul T Campbell

Gave me goosebumps!

The Art of War and Peace by John Carson

A chilling mystery with a touch of romance.

A Gift for Christmas by Kris Egleton

Heart-warming. Sometimes the kindest people are those who don’t have much themselves.

Free Time by Stewart Giles

Hard hitting. A split-second decision with devastating consequences.

Died of Wounds by Malcolm Hollingdrake

A very powerful and emotional story, beautifully written.

The Christmas Killer by Louise Jenson

Made my blood run cold!

The Village Hotel by Alex Kane

Terrifying!

A Present of Presence by HR Kemp

So sad, but full of hope.

The Invitation by Billy McLaughlin

Heart-warming and heart-breaking.

Brothers Forever by Paul Moore

Spine tingling!

Girl in a Red Shirt by Owen Mullen

Captivating and thought provoking with a heart-breaking conclusion.

Pivotal Moments by Anna Osborne

So, so sad. I can’t imagine feeling so helpless, but there is always something, or someone, worth living for.

Uncle Christmas by Val Portelli

Just beautiful!

Time for a Barbecue by Carmen Radtke

Oooo, creepy!

Christmas Present by Lexi Rees

Lovely!

Inside Out by KA Richardson

So sad to think how much some people suffer from past traumas. This story is full of hope for a brighter future though and proof that just one person can make all the difference.

Penance by Jane Risdon

Oh my! Not what I was expecting at all. Very cleverly written,

New Year’s Resolution by Robert Scragg

Another thought provoking tale and an important message to us all.

Family Time by Graham Smith

A tale of sacrifice and truly being the bigger person. Beautifully written!

There really is something for everyone with this collection. I loved it and would highly recommend to all! Even if you don’t read (I don’t get that, but I’m told some people don’t!), buy it anyway! It will make the perfect Christmas gift for your family and friends. Don’t forget, all proceeds go to Help For Heroes! What more incentive do you need!?

Many thanks to Emma Mitchell for my advance kindle copy for review and for the opportunity to be a part of this awesome blog tour!

I did pre-order also and have since bought a beautiful paperback copy. I now just need to meet all the authors at some point and ask if they will sign it for me. What are the chances you can all make our next author/book blogger meet up in Stoke-on-Trent, in March!? 😉 A long shot, but that would be awesome! https://www.facebook.com/events/2458309034251599/

Follow the authors on Twitter

Robert Scragg: @robert_scragg
Paul Moore: @mooros69
Graham Smith: @grahamsmith1972
Malcolm Hollingdrake: @MHollingdrake
Alex Kane: @AlexKaneWriter
Owen Mullen: @OwenMullen6
Gordon Bickerstaff: @GFBickerstaff
Lexi Rees: @Lexi_Rees
Megan Steer: @tjsarcat15
Anna Franklin Osborne: @HomeOsborne
Stewart Giles: @stewartGiles
Jane Risdon: @Jane_Risdon
Louise Jensen: @fabricating_fiction
Rob Ashman: @RobAshmanAuthor
Carmen Radtke: @carmenradtke1
Val Portelli: @ValPortelli
Mark Brownless: @MarkBrownless
John Carson: @JohnCarsonBooks
Kris Egleton: @Mouse6420
Paul T. Campbell: @PtcCampbell
Lucy Cameron: @lucycameron22
KA Richardson: @KerryAnn77
Billy McLaughlin: @bilbob20