Bob Studholme

Bob doesn't usually write about himself in the third person, but it seems appropriate to a slice of author information, so...
Bob works as an English teacher in the UAE (and if you think Brendan Earle stretches the limits of credibility, you should hear some of his stories from there). He is married to Midori and they live in the middle of the desert with their daughter Aki (who is not even trying to get off with Daniel, whatever her dad's writing might make you think).
Bob has practised Judo, Aikido, Brazilian Ju-jitsu, Tai Chi and Shotokan Karate at different times. He's been universally bad at all of them, but he can write as though he knows what he's talking about, especially if he's talking about how much it can hurt him when he does it wrong.
Bob still thinks of Brendan Earle as a Science Fiction Fairy Story. It may be the only one in the world, which could make it the best that's ever been written. (People have got into the Guinness Book Of Records on claims that aren't as credible as that).
The story is currently being continued in book two of the series, which has the working title of The Chronicles of Brendan Earle, Virus. In it everyone learns that they have been lied to, a vampire gets a real speaking part (and you want to hear his opinion of Twilight), Maldon makes a comeback and we meet the two most deadly killers in the Land – Laurel and Hardy.
In book three things will get complicated and strange. Promise.

Facebook: Facebook profile
Blog: http://bobstudholmewriting.blogspot.com/

computer intelligence    magic    science fiction    the nature of god    vampires that look like victoria beckham   

• The Time Traveler's Guide to Grammar on Jan. 31, 2012
  
  This is an initial review based only on the sample. I'll write a full one when I've finished the book. It's fun. The concept is very original (not a vampire in sight so far, but if she has one, I'm sure I'll laugh at it) and the writing is good. The prose has a very nice feel: light and bubbly, but always very readable. This is one that I will recommend to my daughter - eleven going on about thirty. She has just got out of her Jaqueline Wison phase and is looking for writers who can tell stories well - she's tried Malory Blackman and thought the idea was good, but the execution weak. I think she wouldn't have that objection here. Four stars until I find out if the early promise is maintained till the end.
  
• The case of the Vanishing heart on April 14, 2012
  
  I read this as a copy that I'd been sent to review. I'd have to admit that when I read the first chapter, I wasn't too impressed. Competently written, but something that had been done before and better. I was thinking of writing back to the author suggesting that she really needed to come up with some angle that would grab the reader. Something novel, something I hadn’t seen before. Then I read chapter two and realised that she’d more than beaten me to that punch. The first chapter was a knock off of a Raymond Chandler type private detective, but not PV Tkach’s. Her character is Persephone and the detective, Jersey, is Persephone’s. She’s writing the characters that just appeared in her head and, while she’s an ok writer and gets much better during the course of this book, she isn’t going to win any prizes. PV Tkach, however, has a huge range and could probably write the scotch out of the hand of Chandler. Chapter two didn’t just give me a clue that this was a more interesting piece of writing than I thought, it grabbed me, wrung me out and made sure I wouldn’t stop reading until I’d found out what was happening here. Chapter three took me back to Jersey and his secretary Pearl. By now, however, I was fascinated to see not only how their story was going, but how it reflected what was happening in Persephone’s life. It just got better and better. I got involved with Persephone, really felt for her, her kids and her conflict with her ex-husband and I got involved with Jersey and Pearl, really wanting them to solve this case and pay the rent. This is a remarkable story in its own right, but also a revealing look at the writing process and how the author reacts with their own work. It becomes a vehicle for Persephone’s own liberation as solutions to her problems start to boil out of the invention of Jersey’s world. I can’t recommend this highly enough. It’s a starling cross-genre piece whose separate parts do so much more than just complement each other. I wouldn’t normally read this kind of women’s fiction, though I have read a lot of Chandler. After finishing it, I’m still not sure that I’d read so much women’s fiction, though I will if Tkach writes it.
  
• My Poetry Book on Aug. 01, 2012
  
  My favourite of these was the final piece, My Soul. For me, it was the best in that it communicated the feelings most clearly and eloquently.
  
• Hudson's Voyage On The Dolphin on Aug. 01, 2012
  
  Short, but well written and beautifully illustrated. This would be a good children's book for the under ten's.