Today I'm over the moon to not only be handing over to KT King, but also to be sharing my review of her delightful book, Little Eden.
With so much to get through let's kick things off by introducing you to the very lovely KT.
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| Photo courtesy of KT King |
As you’ll be able to tell from reading
Little Eden, I love afternoon tea, investigating all things spiritual and work
as a complimentary therapist (when my health allows). I try to help others as
much as I can. Making a contribution to someone else’s happiness or healing is
the only thing that keeps me going!
I couldn’t have a family or a husband
due to the ME but have nieces, nephews and a goddaughter, Grace, all of whom
inspire the children in Little Eden. When I’m writing Tambo I always picture my
eldest nephew, Fabian and for Alice – I always think to myself, what would
Gracie say?
I also love crafting, up cycling and a
bit of shabby chic! I sell some of my handmade jewellery in my Little Eden Etsy
shop where all the gifts inspired by Little Eden. I meditate daily and would
love to exercise more than the ME allows as I eat way too much chocolate! I
can’t read a lot these days but I chill out by watching TV adaptations of cosy
crime novels!
* * * *
2012.
Little Eden, London, England.
The
beautiful sanctuary town of Little Eden is under threat.
Human
greed, selfishness and disregard are about to turn the last 1,000 years to
dust.
Robert
Bartlett-Hart must make a choice.
With
the help his friends (plus plenty of tea and cake), Robert learns that there is
more at stake than just Little Eden.
Something
lies at the heart of Abbey; something that stands between mankind and
Armegeddon.
The
friends must navigate past lives, other dimensions, and even Heaven itself, to
find a way to save Little Eden and themselves.
Will
Little Eden survive to usher in a new age, or will humanity perish with it?
* * * *
Now that you know a bit more about KT and Little Eden I'm handing things over to the lady herself.
What inspired me to write my book
1. Becoming a published writer:
Having wanted to be writer since the age of five, I finally
realised my dream at forty-five!
A childhood friend reminded me that, in primary school, we used
to play The Famous Five but I didn’t want to be one of the characters - I
wanted to be Enid Blyton!
2. Being represented in literature:
“I
wanted to create a novel in which my friends and I could read about our lives.
A novel in which we could say – that really does happen and it’s just like
that!”
It was reading The
Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson which finally gave me the
confidence to write my first novel. When you are a complimentary therapist,
hypnotherapist, healer, psychic and spiritual counsellor the world of the
supernatural becomes the natural. No longer do you want your life to be
represented only in fantasy (as it usually contains too many vampires!)
3. Help raise awareness of ME/CFS:
I was born in1973, East Yorkshire, England. During my years at
university studying English and French literature I was struck down with
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (known as CFS) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (known as
ME). Back then ME was a new medical condition and considered as ‘yuppy flu’ at
best and ‘multiple excuses not to work’ at worst.
Neats has kindly invited me to write this article to help raise
awareness because this week is International ME Awareness Week 6th
-12th May 2019. You can find out more here.
I wanted to write a series of novels in which a character with
ME could be a heroine. Disability is more accepted by the media these days but
with ME we cannot go on reality shows or join the Para-Olympics. I feel people
learn best through entertainment rather than being ‘taught’. So what better way
to help raise awareness of ME than by weaving a character into a novel where
she can speak for us but not depress the heck out of the reader!
I didn’t want to write a novel about ME. I mean, who wants to
read about a dull, bedridden and housebound life? (Well, unless you can create
an absolute humdinger like The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.) Because
my heroine, Sophie Lawrence, is cared for, supported and loved by her friends, she
is given a valuable part to play in the action. This is not the case in real
life for most of us. We are mainly house and bed bound 90% of the time without
financial or physical support. I hope Little Eden will also inspire those with
ME to believe in their self-value again as feeling worthless is one of the
common emotions for us.
As Sophie says, “It’s like having the flu everyday but without
the snot!” If you have had flu you can imagine what your body and mind feels
like with ME but you have to add the fact that you will never recover because
there is no treatment, no known cause and no cure. Then add the stigma of
no-one, even in the medical profession, believing you – everyone is thinking
you are attention seeking, depressed and lazy…
More
people suffer with ME than with Parkinsons and MS combined and it is estimated
that more than 15 million suffer worldwide yet there is no help for us. It has
been likened to when HIV first broke out. Patients were blamed for their
illness and without Princess Diana’s help research would never have been able
to find a cause and a cure so quickly. ME patients still are waiting for their
Princess Di.
4. Creating a beautiful place for everyone to escape to:
The other inspiration for me to write Little Eden was I needed a
place to escape to. When you are locked inside a broken body, trapped in the
house, unable to see friends, family or go to work you need to create a place
in which you can find solace, joy and excitement. Mental and emotional health
are stretched to their limit with chronic illness and pain. Due to CFS/ME, I
can only ever work a few hours a week. In 2012 I had the biggest relapse of my
life so far and lost my healing business, my home and my independence - having
to go home and live with my elderly parents. I spent 2 years in bed 24/7 and
then began to write a series of novels in my head. Since 2016 I slowly typed it
up and then in 2018 I self-published for the first time!
Luckily
Little Eden is a place readers want to live in. I wanted to write a novel you
can go to for comfort and inspiration and never tire of re-reading it. I love
it when my dear readers get in touch, here is what some of them have to say:
I really
looked forward to snuggling up in bed and reading another chapter. - Natasha
A
magical place to escape to 'Little Eden' is a town you will want to visit over
and over again. It’s easy to imagine you are actually there. - Ruth
I must
say DO NOT read this book if you wake up in the night and want something to
send you back to sleep, you’ll find yourself reading till daybreak. - Ava
Great
story for people who want to know how spirituality works in real life. - Debby
Little Eden is the kind of book which
makes you wonder what is happening with the characters when you aren't actually
reading! - Kate
* * * *
Thanks for taking over the reigns at The Hippo KT, now, if it's ok with you I'm going to tell everyone what I thought about your magical book.
Little Eden is a difficult book to categorise, it has a little bit of everything, fantasy, thrills drama and spiritualism and it all makes for a wonderful story. Sadly after numerous searches on various estate agents websites, there doesn't seem to be any houses for sale there, which is a shame as I'd move there in a heartbeat!
When much loved, influential resident and Little Eden Trustee, Lilly Rose passes away no-one knew what a hornets nest it was going to open. Some people are desperate for change, as well as money, which could see the end of life as its residents know it. Lilly's nieces, Lucy and Sophie, enlist the help of close friends and family, past and present, to help them find a way to protect their little slice of paradise.
The community in
Little Eden is a close knit one - the shops there sound amazing,
especially The Daisy Place Cafe-Bookshop, I mean come on, cakes AND
books in one place, what's not to love - and they will do everything they can to help.
I loved this book, with it's sense of quirkiness, references to past-lives, crystals, spiritualism and healing, along with it's colourful cast of enchanting characters. KT King has created a truly magical world which I was eager to be a part of and the story is full of cliffhangers, so I was always on tenterhooks as to which way things were going to go. Of course I wanted a fairy tale, happy ever after ending for Little Eden and I had all my fingers and toes crossed for good to triumph over evil but I'm not going to give anything away. What I will tell you about the end of the book though is that there are some mouth-watering sounding recipes there - all courtesy of The Daisy Place Cafe-Bookshop.
If you're looking for true escapism, a captivating, charming and well written story then take a trip to Little Eden with KT King!
* * * *
You can find out more about KT, her book and connect with her on a variety of social media platforms and you can find them all using the link below:
Don't forget to check out her gorgeous Etsy shop and please do whatever you can to help support and raise awareness for International ME Awareness Week. 😉
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