News...


 

 

 

Chatting about

Only Human

with

Rachel Schofield

and Rosamund Lupton

at the 

Chiswick Book Festival 

September 2020


Some of the other authors who featured at The Chiswick Book Festival 2020,

with thanks to www.chiswickbuzz.net for the photo


Interview in the new writing magazine, The Social Bubble.

 

Click for link 


 

 

 

Interview with writer Jonny Keen of

The Magpie Book Club

 

Click here for YouTube link

 

 

 

 


Launch day!

Celebrating with the incredible Stephanie Zia, CEO of Blackbird Books,

my editor and co-founder of Creative Writing Workshops London


Only Human

published by Blackbird Books

buy from Amazon or Waterstones

click either link to shop

 

 


Original artwork for Only Human cover by Maddie Chandler



 

 

 

 


 

 

 

WATERSTONES BRUSSELS

 

EVER FANCIED WRITING A BOOK?

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

HOME HOUSE PRIVATE MEMBERS CLUB

 

UNSYMPATHETIC FEMALE CHARACTERS: VICTIM OR BITCH?

https://homehouse.co.uk/events/victim-bitch-meet-female-authors/

 


 

 

 

WATERSTONES CHISWICK

 

LOCAL AUTHOR EVENT

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOVEL LONDON

 

WATERSTONES COVENT GARDEN

 

(SEE READING OF MOONDANCE CHAPTER ONE : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfBC-fbT42k)

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ SPOT THE COVER CHANGE TO THE ROAD TO DONETSK]


 

 

 

 

 

W4 LOVE BOOKS, CHISWICK

 

 

(all photo credits: Alastair Hilton, www.Londonw4photography

 

 


 

 

 

 

LORNA KO OF CHISWICK BUZZ TV 

ON THE LAUNCH OF MOONDANCE 

 

 

 

 

(photo credit Chiswick Buzz TV)


 

 

 

 

THE CHISWICK CALENDAR INTERVIEW

ON THE LAUNCH OF MOONDANCE

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HI5Ir7TMPo

 


 

 

 

MOONDANCE LAUNCH PARTY

 

 

 

THE UKRAINIAN INSTITUTE

 

HOW EFFECTIVE WAS OVERSEAS AID TO UKRAINE JUST AFTER THE FALL OF COMMUNISM?

 

(WITH DUNCAN LEITCH PHD)


 

 

CHISWICK BOOK FESTIVAL LOCAL AUTHOR EVENT

 

WATERSTONES CHISWICK


 

 

AWARDS CEREMONY OF THE PEOPLE'S BOOK PRIZE 

 

SKY NEWS footage at 20.30 mins here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0fCuNbY-ns


 

RICHMOND ADULT COMMUNITY COLLEGE - WRITING FROM LIFE

 WITH FELLOW AUTHOR SUSAN LEE KERR, ACTOR CLIVE WARD AND RACC CREATIVE WRITING HEAD BARRIE SELWYN


 

 

 

 

 

 

KYIV INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL

 

PRESENTING THE ROAD TO DONETSK

 

 

 

KYIV INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S CLUB

 

DISCUSSION ON THE ROAD TO DONETSK 


 

 

 

KYIV, UKRAINE

 

MEETING WITH ANDREY KURKOV, AUTHOR OF DEATH AND THE PENGUIN


 

 

CHISWICK BOOK SHOP

 

WRITING FROM LIFE : HOW DO WE WEAVE MEMORIES, RESEARCH AND IMAGINATION INTO OUR NOVELS?

 

[WITH FELLOW AUTHOR SUSAN LEE KERR]


 

 

 

DEPARTMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, LONDON 

 

HOW EFFECTIVE WAS WESTERN AID TO UKRAINE? : THE ROAD TO DONETSK 


 

 

 

 

 

RICHMOND ADULT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

 

WRITING A BOOK? HOW WILL YOU PUBLISH?

 

[WITH PUBLISHER STEPHANIE ZIA, FELLOW AUTHORS JACQUI LOFTHOUSE, SUSAN LEE KERR]

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 THE ROAD TO DONETSK - COVER NUMBER ONE

 

 

 


 

 

 

THE ROAD TO DONETSK - COVER NUMBER THREE

 

 

SUMPTUOUS HOME HOUSE PRIVATE MEMBERS CLUB

 

THE REAL STORY OF OVERSEAS AID - AS TOLD IN THE ROAD TO DONETSK


 

WRITING A BOOK? HOW WILL YOU PUBLISH?  

WATERSTONES CHISWICK 

WITH PUBLISHER STEPHANIE ZIA, FELLOW AUTHORS JACQUI LOFTHOUSE, SUSAN LEE KERR AND BRIDGET OSBORNE EDITOR CHISWICK CALENDAR


 

 

 

ASSOCIATION OF UKRAINIANS IN GREAT BRITAIN (AUGB)


 

 

THE ROAD TO DONETSK

LAUNCH PARTY

 

"A touching love story that illuminates the aid business. Compelling and enjoyable." Clare Short, former Secretary of State International Development


 

 

 

 

 

Review of The Road to Donetsk by ONLINEBOOKCLUB.ORG 

Official Review: The Road To Donetsk by Diane Chandler

Post Number:#1 by Heather » 20 Feb 2015, 19:19 

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Road To Donetsk" by Diane Chandler.]

Book Cover
3 out of 4 stars
Review by Heather
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The Road to Donetsk, by Diane Chandler, is a fictional story that takes place mostly in Kiev and Donetsk, Ukraine, during the 1990’s. Vanessa Parker, an international aid worker from England, has just arrived in Kiev in 1994 as the program manager for a new aid program focused on helping the Ukranians find new jobs in their transition from communism. She hasn't been there long when she meets Dan, another aid worker and the Deputy Head of USAID, who not only steals her heart, but also introduces her to the people of Donetsk, who steal her heart in a whole different way. Donestk is a mining community, but there is talk that the mines are going to close, and even while they’re open, the workers don’t always receive their wages. Vanessa is instantly drawn to the people in Donestk, especially the smart and hard-working women who do anything they can to help get their families through these rough times, and she is determined to focus a portion of the aid program on this special village. The story goes on through Vanessa and Dan's budding relationship, as he helps her navigate the political and cultural issues she faces in her determination to make a difference in the lives of the Ukranians. 

I really enjoyed this book, and I’m a bit sad that I have no more of it left to read. The writing was great; descriptive, but not in that throw every single detail, of every single thing, in every single scene in your face kind of way. The characters were well developed and I feel like I really got to know them. Even better, I liked them. I can’t stand when I don’t like the main characters of a book. But this wasn't like that. I was rooting for Vanessa the whole way through. At the same time, the characters weren't perfect. They had flaws. They made mistakes. They were human. 

As for the setting, I have to admit that I knew pretty much nothing at all about Ukraine before I read this book. Getting to know the area, especially the village of Donestk was great. Everything was described in such a way that I felt like I could actually picture it in my mind. I could see the stretches of deserted, snow-covered land around Chernobyl. I could see the gray buildings in Kiev, with bars on the windows, and smell the stench of cigarettes in their stairwells. I could picture the beauty of the lilacs in bloom in that same city, and dandelions in the grass. I could see the woman bent over a washtub in Donestk, scrubbing a shirt clean. I really enjoyed getting to know the people, their hardships, and their culture. 

It did take me awhile to get into this book, however. The way the first part of the story was laid out occasionally threw me off, and I had trouble following it for a bit. And there was a lot of information to be introduced to, as well as a lot of people. There were also a lot of British phrases and words that I had never heard before, but instead of it being an impediment, I found it rather interesting. Eventually the story sucked me in and I couldn't put it down.

The second half of the book is what leads me to rate it as highly as I do. The first half was interesting, but the second half was full of human emotion. I felt for the characters. I felt their pain, their frustration, and their joy. And I felt it strongly. It had the kind of emotion that keeps me turning the pages of a book long past when I should have put it down.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading about different areas of the world, or enjoys a love story. And to anyone who gives it a shot, my advice is to keep going even if the beginning doesn't hook you. I give this story 3 out of 4 stars, and I would definitely be interested in reading future work from this author.