 My Birthday Presents – Happy Birthday Cake |
I’ve been twenty-seven for a fortnight now, and I’ve discovered that it’s no different than being twenty-six. I had a brilliant birthday which involved: spending time with family & friends, visiting The Druid Circle & Millom Castle and lots of lovely presents.
I remember turning twenty and having a fear about losing my youth; I was quite down about it until I realised that it’s inevitable. Although there’s no difference between twenty-seven and twenty-six, every birthday causes me to stop and reflect on my life. This years birthday has made me think about love. I met my first love when he was around twenty-seven years old. I was younger than him and he had to decide whether he was going to risk his heart or play it safe. |
He choose to play it safe. I understand his decision now; more so than I ever did before. By twenty-seven he must have experienced his heart break several times. It’s a natural to have mechanisms to protect yourself from further pain.
But I hope that next time I meet someone special, I don’t let my past get in the way. Instead I hope that I believe in them, believe in love and make positive choices that lead to happiness.
Take care,
Antony
Tuesday 28 May 2013
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In His Secret Life is Mel Bossa‘s latest book. Allan has taken care of his sister Elise and her daughter Fay ever since Elise was dumped by Fay’s father. But when Elise meets Dayton, Allan knows things are going to change. It’s not long until Elise & Dayton get engaged and Allan gets to meet Dayton’s family.
Allan meets Davinder, one of Dayton’s brothers who is married with two kids. Something about Davinder captivates Allan and he’s about to break his one and only rule: never fall for a straight guy. In His Secret Life is a love story about a seemingly impossible relationship, which is told over decades. It gives the reader a moral dilemma. On the one hand Davinder is a married man, but on the other it’s clear that he’s unhappily married and that he loves Allan. |
The story is written in three parts. In the first part the characters are introduced and Allan & Davinder meet. The second part is about Allan & Davinder’s affair and the duality of their double lives. The third and final part is about Allan & Davinder’s journey on separate paths back to one another.
There’s something magical about Mel Bossa‘s writing that hypnotises the reader from the first word. All of the characters are likeable and the story is written from Allan’s perspective. The reader empathises with Allan’s loneliness, as well as the highs and lows of love – that he likens to drug addiction. The use of perspective and these emotions – that everybody has experienced at sometime in their life, creates a connection between Allan and the reader.
Allan & Davinder’s sexual relationship develops a bit too quickly in the beginning and their was a scene that gave the impression that Allan had drunkenly drove home. But apart from these minor details the plot is perfectly paced, well thought out and exceptionally well written.
Mel Bossa‘s use letters and emails to show other characters perspectives was a really clever idea. The description ignites the readers imagination, giving a flawless image of the characters, settings and events. The end this book made me cry (with happiness) and was heartwarming.
In His Secret Life is Mel Bossa‘s best book to date and is one of those incredibly rare books that comes into your life and leaves you feeling changed somehow.
If you want a book about impossible love made possible, that will make you question yourself, leave you feeling satisfied and joyous then I recommend In His Secret Life by Mel Bossa, which is available to buy on Amazon.
Write soon,
Antony
Sunday 26 May 2013
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In Split by Mel Bossa we meet twenty-eight year old Derek whose recently moved into a new condo with his boyfriend Nathan. Derek’s quiet, stutters when he speaks and has red hair. He’s had a hard childhood, his mother had a mental breakdown after she lost an unborn and afterwards his father worked away a lot.
Nathan is a ‘closer,’ big in the Sales world. He loves Derek and pays for everything, giving Derek a life of luxury. Nathan proposes marriage to Derek and he is unsure but accepts. One day while Nathan is away at a Sales Conference in London, Derek’s Aunt Fran comes round to see him and the new condo. I immediately sensed that Derek and his Aunt Fran have a close relationship. Aunt Fran still smokes even though she’s got cancer and throughout Derek’s turbulent childhood was the one stable adult influence. |
Aunt Fran presents Derek with his diary that he wrote at 11 years old. In this diary he writes to Bump, his mothers unborn. Eleven year old Derek is naive and just starting to experience puberty, we’ve all been there so it’s completely relatable and gives the reader a lot of empathy for him. Derek is about to read about his traumatic childhood and so are we the readers.
As we read the diary entries we are introduced to Derek’s neighbours the Lund family. Boone Lund is Derek’s age and his best friend; Lene Lund is younger and is eccentric but very funny; and Nicolai is wild. Derek can’t eat around Nicolai, craves to be around him and have his attention and realises when Nicolai disappears that he loves him.
We discover that Derek bottles up his emotions until he explodes; think of a pressure cooker – if you don’t release the steam sooner or later it’s going to explode. Derek’s inability to express his feelings resulted in asthma attacks in his childhood; but in present day his emotions are building up again as he faces the past and finds himself back in contact with Boone, Lene and Nicolai.
Bossa’s use of diary entries is a brilliant idea and one that is very well executed. I did feel that some of the diary entries were longer than necessary whereas others were shorter than I would have liked. Bossa’s mix of diary entries along with events in the present kept the storyline moving along at a good pace.
In the present Derek learns to express his emotions, finally finding his voice towards the end of Split. This leads to an extremely satisfying happy ending that leaves the reader contented. The ending of the book is stretched out but this only gives the reader more of the happy ending to enjoy.
On a personal level Split filled me with hope for love and I found myself wishing for a love that Derek comes to experience at the end of the book. This made Split a piece of literature that is beyond superb and that I will read time and time again.
Considering that Split was Bossa’s first novel it is incredible. Bossa should be proud of Split and her unique writers voice that gives her a gift for story telling. I’ve become a fan of Bossa and still have Suite Nineteen of hers to read and review. After that I will have to eagerly await future books.
As always I’d like to thank Publishers Group UK for sending me Split by Mel Bossa to read and review. Split by Mel Bossa is available to buy on Amazon. I’d recommend Split by Mel Bossa for any gay man who wants some inspiration to believe in love.
Review soon,
Antony
Thursday 24 January 2013
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Antony Simpson - Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.
Author of eight books.
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