New Publication Spotlight: Then And Now by R.J. Gould

Then and now by R J Gould

Sandy is about to retire following an illustrious career as editor of an upmarket fashion magazine.

Michael can’t retire, he thinks his work to explain the dangers of climate change is far too important.

Jonathan is considering retiring from running his fundraising consultancy.

These three were the best of friends at university before a tragedy wrecked their friendship. They haven’t spoken since.

Fifty years on, they arrange to meet at a reunion. Having reminisced about student life during a wild and self-indulgent era with its heady mix of free love, drugs and ground-breaking music, they share their life journeys since the Swinging Sixties – the successes and failures, the happiness and despair, and their optimism and fears for the future.

The reunion is drawing to a close. Dare they tackle the incident that tore them apart, an event that has brought guilt for so many years? If they are to have any chance of reconciliation they have to, but the clock is ticking.

Amazon UK                Amazon US 

R J Gould writes contemporary fiction about relationships, using a mix of humour and pathos to describe the tragi-comic life journeys of his characters. Then and now is his seventh novel, following The Engagement Party, Jack and Jill Went Downhill, Mid-life follies, The bench by Cromer beach, Nothing Man and Dream Café. He is a member of Cambridge Writers and a rare male member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Before becoming a full-time author he worked in the educational and charity sectors.

R J Gould lives in Cambridge.

Website: http://www.rjgould.info

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RJGould_author

Email: rjgould.author@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RJGouldauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rjgould_author

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6432126.R_J_Gould

Book Blog Tour Stop: Dream Cafe by R. J. Gould

Dream Café by R J Gould

“Why on earth am I here?” David wonders as he observes the juvenile antics of ex-classmates at the twenty-five year school reunion. Then he sees Bridget.

David draws up a list of all that he hopes to achieve to kick-start a new life now that his wife has moved in with his best friend – his ex-best friend. A relationship with Bridget is top of the list, opening an arts café is a close second.

Formidable women – an unfaithful wife, a reckless teenage daughter, a boss from hell, a disapproving policewoman – seem like insurmountable obstacles.

But it’s still OK to dream, isn’t it?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1803020628/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1803020628/

Richard writes under the pseudonym R J Gould and is a (rare male) member of the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA). His first novel was shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon Award following his participation on the RNA New Writers' Scheme. Having been published by Headline Access and Lume Books, he now self-publishes.

He writes contemporary literary fiction about relationships, loosely though not prescriptively within the Romance genre, using both humour and pathos to describe the tragi-comic journeys of his protagonists in search of love. Dream Café is his sixth novel, following The Engagement Party, Jack and Jill Went Downhill, Mid-life follies, The bench by Cromer beach and Nothing Man. [It is a rewrite of A Street Café Named Desire].

Ahead of writing full time, Richard led a national educational charity. He has been published in a wide range of educational journals, national newspapers and magazines and is the co-author of a major work on educating able young people. He lives in Cambridge, England.

Website: http://www.rjgould.info

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RJGould_author

Email: news@rjgould.info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RJGouldauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rjgould_author

New Publication Spotlight: Nothing Man by R.J. Gould

Nothing Man by R J Gould

One man in need of an overhaul. Two women determined to drag him there.

Neville Watkin’s life is so rubbish surely things can’t get any worse. Yes they can, because his wife leaves him, he loses his job, has a car crash and ends up in hospital.

Feisty Laura, the other party in the car crash, befriends him and sets out to turn his life upside down. For reasons he struggles to understand, Caroline, her equally feisty mother, seems to like him. Rather a lot.

All in all things are looking up, but is Neville courageous enough to seize these new opportunities?

Amazon UK

On kindle: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nothing-Man-humorous-quest-fresh-ebook/dp/B08YZ813VZ

Amazon USA

On kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Man-humorous-quest-fresh-ebook/dp/B08YZ813VZ

Richard writes under the pseudonym R J Gould and is a (rare male) member of the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA). His first novel was shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon Award following his participation on the RNA New Writers' Scheme. Having been published by Headline Access and Lume Books, he now self-publishes.

He writes contemporary literary fiction about relationships, loosely though not prescriptively within the Romance genre, using both humour and pathos to describe the tragi-comic journeys of his protagonists in search of love. Nothing Man is his sixth novel, following A Street Café Named Desire, The Engagement Party, Jack and Jill Went Downhill, Mid-life follies and The bench by Cromer beach.

Ahead of writing full time, Richard led a national educational charity. He has been published in a wide range of educational journals, national newspapers and magazines and is the co-author of a major work on educating able young people. He lives in Cambridge, England.

Website http://www.rjgould.info

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RJGould_author

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RJGouldauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rjgould_author

Book Spotlight & Author Guest Post: The Bench by Cromer Beach by R.J. Gould

I’ll start with a confession – my name is Richard and I’m a coward. An agent once suggested that I should use a female pseudonym to further attract my largely female readership. “No way!” I declared with indignance, “people are going to have to accept me for who I am.” That evening I considered Rebecca, Rosemary, Rachel and Rita before opting for the cowardly compromise of using R J instead of Richard. In retrospect, I should have resisted the change because being a man writing Romance is worth shouting about. I’ve often been told by female readers that it has provided them with some fascinating new insights into relationships.

Actually, I didn’t set out to be a romantic fiction author, I just got placed there because I write about relationships. Of course, plot is important, but my fiction is character-driven. A fellow member of my local writing group, Cambridge Writers, suggested that since I wrote “sort of” romance I should join the Romantic Novelists’ Association. I did so and was soon to discover that only one percent of members are male. I stuck with it, put my novel forward for their New Writers’ Scheme, got accepted, received a highly positive review, was a finalist for their Joan Hessayon Award (yes, the only male), and was taken on by an indie publisher at my first RNA annual conference.

My writing explores the tragi-comic journeys of characters in search of or attempting to hold on to relationships while carrying cartloads of baggage – ex husbands and wives, stroppy teenage children, uncompromising bosses. As in real life, what may seem either an insurmountable obstacle or a devastating event at the time, can end up over the passage of time to be regarded with amusement. Why on earth did I get so worked up about that? Why didn’t I end that relationship years ago?

The idea for The bench by Cromer beach came during a visit to this beautiful, largely unspoilt, town on the North Norfolk coast. There is a line of benches overlooking the sea along the clifftop, frequently occupied by elderly citizens. One man, peering down onto the beach, particularly caught my attention and a fictional version of him is featured in this novel. He is one of five main protagonists whose lives intertwine over time. Why the bench in the title? It’s the starting point of the novel. What he thinks he is witnessing as he sits there turns out to be far removed from the reality.

The bench by Cromer beach by R.J. Gould

Five people in a sleepy English coastal town. One year that changes everything. 

They seem to have it all. They’re in good health and are financially secure. They live in a pleasant and comfortable town. But as their lives intertwine, cracks emerge and restlessness grows.  

For Clive, is retirement the beginning of the end? Can fun-loving Saskia break free from her adulterous husband? Will Andy marry his childhood sweetheart? Is Jamie prepared to change his dishonest ways? Might Ellie’s happy marriage be shattered by temptation?

Heart-warming and heart-breaking collide in this novel about aspirations, expectations and the realities of everyday life.

http://myBook.to/thebench

https://www.feedaread.com/books/The-bench-by-Cromer-beach.aspx

Visit https://www.rjgould.info/ for a free copy of R J Gould’s award-winning short story The Kiosk. 

R J Gould is published by Lume Books and Headline Accent and is the author of five novels: A Street Café Named Desire, The Engagement Party, Jack and Jill Went Downhill, Mid-life follies and The bench by Cromer beach. He is a (rare male) member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. Having been selected for the organisation’s New Writers Programme, his first novel was short-listed for the Joan Hessayon Award. ​​Ahead of writing full time, R J Gould led a national educational charity. He has published in a wide range of educational journals, national newspapers and magazines and is the co-author of a major work on educating able young people. He lives in Cambridge, England.

Website: www.rjgould.info

Twitter: rjgould_author

Facebook: R J Gould

Instagram: rjgould_author