Blog Tour - The Last Leaf
Blog Tour
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Book Information
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My Review
4☆ A Compelling Story of Friendship and Adventure.
The Last Leaf is a beautifully compelling story about Friendship, society, differences and family set in the Victorian times.
Jack and Isabella are best friends. Despite their differences the two have bonded through their loneliness, love of nature, learning, and zest for life.
You see Isabella is the little lady of Oakfield Hall and Jack is the son of the Head Gardener of the Oakfield Estate.
Due to Isabella's social class she should not be mixing with the 'staff '
But they are the only two children on the estate and are drawn to each other.
So they meet in secret as they embark on adventures.
Isabella teaches Jack education, and Jack teaches her about Nature, the world etc...
As the story develops so does their friendship.
But can their friendship last as social class dictates their future?
What I loved most about The Last Leaf was how much passion, thought and dedication Pritchard has put into writing this book, making it authentic and personal.
The story behind Pritchard writing this book was Touching and heart warming.
Although this is for the middle grade age group I do think it would be more suited to ages 10+ unless it was as a group or bed time read.
My reasoning for this is some of the subjects and wording is a little heavy and could be a little off putting for the younger reader.
Having said that, this would be a wonderful book to have in schools or for a book club to discuss topics such as Victorian era, cultural challenges, discrimination, grief etc..
The Last Leaf is an Enthralling, Fun, compelling and poignant read, with a good dash of wit and humour.
The story flowed along beautifully, the historical references were well written, the characters were charasmatic, believable, and well thought out.
It didn't take me long to be whisked away into the heart of the story.
If you are looking for a shorter historical adventure read set in the Victorian era, that has an Enchanting storyline, for the younger reader, then I would definitely recommend reading The Last Leaf.
I am looking forward to reading more from Pritchard aka " Gwynanory "
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Author Guest Post
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Author Bio
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If you enjoyed My Post then please Share so we can get Everyone Reading and Talking about......The Last Leaf by Gwyn Ellis Pritchard
You can also follow along with the Blog Tour by Checking out the Poster Below ⬇️
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The Last Leaf
by Gwyn Ellis Pritchard
On my blog today I have the pleasure of sharing with you......
The Last Leaf
I would like to thank Faye at Authoright and Gwyn Ellis Pritchard for inviting me on the blog tour.
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Book Information
Release Date: 26th March 2019
Genre: MG Historical
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clink Street Publishing
“You will have to place a small handful of the maggots under your tongue, and must hold them there for a full two minutes,” Jack instructed Isabella . . . .And boy did they wriggle! She struggled not to wretch!
Two worlds collide when a chance meeting brings together Jack and Isabella. Jack, the son of the Head Gardener of the Oakfield Estate, finds himself a friend in the lovely Isabella, the ‘little lady of Oakfield Hall’.
Set in Victorian times in the Southern Counties of England – with an intermittent welsh presence in the form of the Jones’ travelling gypsy family – much laughter, dance, music and cultural challenges lie before the two friends this summer!
How will the delicate Isabella fair among the unfamiliar countryside with its host of creatures and seasonal demands?
Will the rugged, uneducated Jack rise to the challenge of learning to read and write poetry about his beloved countryside – poaching, skinning rabbits and river fishing?
Every day is an adventure and it seems they are meant to be together, always. Or are they?
Read about their exciting adventures and discover the true meaning of friendship with them as they each discover new worlds and new challenges!
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My Review
4☆ A Compelling Story of Friendship and Adventure.
The Last Leaf is a beautifully compelling story about Friendship, society, differences and family set in the Victorian times.
Jack and Isabella are best friends. Despite their differences the two have bonded through their loneliness, love of nature, learning, and zest for life.
You see Isabella is the little lady of Oakfield Hall and Jack is the son of the Head Gardener of the Oakfield Estate.
Due to Isabella's social class she should not be mixing with the 'staff '
But they are the only two children on the estate and are drawn to each other.
So they meet in secret as they embark on adventures.
Isabella teaches Jack education, and Jack teaches her about Nature, the world etc...
As the story develops so does their friendship.
But can their friendship last as social class dictates their future?
What I loved most about The Last Leaf was how much passion, thought and dedication Pritchard has put into writing this book, making it authentic and personal.
The story behind Pritchard writing this book was Touching and heart warming.
Although this is for the middle grade age group I do think it would be more suited to ages 10+ unless it was as a group or bed time read.
My reasoning for this is some of the subjects and wording is a little heavy and could be a little off putting for the younger reader.
Having said that, this would be a wonderful book to have in schools or for a book club to discuss topics such as Victorian era, cultural challenges, discrimination, grief etc..
The Last Leaf is an Enthralling, Fun, compelling and poignant read, with a good dash of wit and humour.
The story flowed along beautifully, the historical references were well written, the characters were charasmatic, believable, and well thought out.
It didn't take me long to be whisked away into the heart of the story.
If you are looking for a shorter historical adventure read set in the Victorian era, that has an Enchanting storyline, for the younger reader, then I would definitely recommend reading The Last Leaf.
I am looking forward to reading more from Pritchard aka " Gwynanory "
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Author Guest Post
How do you research for your books? How did you research for this book?
Someone once told me that Book Authors as a breed are compulsive liars, because how else could someone be so creative into fooling people into believing that some fictitious event did or did not happen. Therefore, as a writer, how do you research something that never happened?
There will always be aspects of a story that needs some form of credible validation to prove that the author really knows what they are talking about. There is nothing worse than when you are reading a story which suggests that an event that took place at a certain time in history, could not have occurred. A little bit of research could have avoided this blatant blunder. Such errors are a complete turnoff, and the reader could soon lose interest and might even mark the review as, “badly researched”.
If you refer to an actual event, such as the First World War, the first Man on the moon, or the Wedding of Charles to Dianna, then the dates of these events must match with those in your story timeline. If the war is a made up war, or Royal family members are totally imaginary, then little research is required. Although, readers relate better to factual significant events, so make sure you get your facts right!
So where should we do research? The internet is an obvious place. But do remember that the information stored on the Internet is often unverified, or is someone’s opinion and so might not by 100% accurate!
Always validate your data with another source, and stick to recognised internet sites. Libraries are often seen as an old-fashioned source for information, yet they have access to masses of information much of which won’t be available on the Internet. Be nice to your local Librarians, they are your gateway to gain access to this knowledge bank, and they can direct you to books and other resources to help you to fully research information about pretty much anything.
In my book, The Last Leaf, I refer to the Boer War in South Africa so internet searches were carried out to confirm the dates before I went into print. I originally referred to two children playing Pooh sticks on a bridge over a small river, yet a quick check showed that The House at Pooh Corner, by A. A. Milne, where Pooh sticks were first mentioned, was not written until 30 years after my story was depicted. Doh!
Checking with people who have ‘Expert Knowledge’ is very useful, and often uncovers other interesting facts that can be used in your story. In The Last Leaf, there is an incident where Jack goes fishing and convinces Isabella to place a handful of maggots under her tongue for a full two minutes. Many people have heard of fishermen doing this, but why do they do it? I checked with one fisherman who said he did it originally as a dare. Another fisherman said the maggots drink your spit and they become bloated, and fish like bloated maggots. Then a third fisherman told me that the maggots become warm under your tongue, and when they are attached to a hook and cast out into the cold water, they wriggle like mad trying to get warm and catch the eye of the fish. I checked in a book on coarse fishing, and found the latter to be true.
So the message is clear, check your facts carefully, validate them with other sources and then, check them again.
I have a motto in life which covers me for all sorts of eventualities, “If in doubt, chuck it out!”. So when my wife asks me “Do you think this bacon is off?” or “I’m not sure whether to get this or not”. My answer is always the same, “If in doubt . . . “. And I use this when I’m writing, if I really cannot validate something and, it is not that important to the story, then it might be best to leave it out.
Be careful though, you can take this motto too far! So when my wife asks me questions like, “Do you want to keep the recording of Wales beating England in 6 Nations Rugby?” and, “What shall I do with these old jeans?” Now these types of questions are clearly not a “Should I, shouldn’t I”, but a test to see how far the rule can be taken. Oh, and in case you were wandering, both the recording and my favourite jeans have mysteriously disappeared.
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Author Bio
My name is Gwyn. I am 60 years old, married with two grown up children. I have worked in the IT industry for almost 40 years. Both parents were Welsh speakers preferring to keep their secret language to themselves rather than pass on this heritage to their children.
My Father was an Auditor attached to the British Forces on the Rhine, and we were constantly being moved around from town to town. My early schooling was therefore haphazard, and I struggled to achieve academically in the British Forces education system. So I was sent to Boarding school in Norfolk from the age of ten to sixteen years old. The standard of teaching there was poor and had a very high turnover of teachers as well as pupils. But it was there that I developed my passion for rugby, and at the age of 15, along with a couple of chums, I was invited to play for Diss Rugby Club. I later played for Delyn Rugby club in North Wales for a number of years but sustained too many injuries to take the sport any further.
I have always been interested in storytelling to younger children, being nicknamed “Gwynanory” by one family group who benefitted from me making up stories to fit situations such as; finding a lost teddy, being bullied at school, going to the dentist, or being over excited for Christmas.
I must confess that I am not an avid reader. I do like certain biographies, and I also enjoy crime thrillers. But I mostly enjoy reading about the history of my spiritual homeland in the mid Wales region. I am an impatient reader though. If I do not get the point of the book early enough, or if the style of writing annoys me, then I might just abandon the book and move on to the next one.
The Last Leaf is my first book and I loved writing it. I get quite emotional when I read it back, and then when I do, I wonder if I could have explained a situation better, or added another chapter or two or three. I’m looking forward to carrying on writing and have so many more stories to share.
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If you enjoyed My Post then please Share so we can get Everyone Reading and Talking about......The Last Leaf by Gwyn Ellis Pritchard
You can also follow along with the Blog Tour by Checking out the Poster Below ⬇️
#LastLeafBook
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