Pre-order your new kindle eBook before it’s release on Amazon on April 30th. The contemporary fiction paperback will arrive soon.
This bold new novel examines the complexities of marriage and the love bonds that hold us and sometimes kill us. It explores the irrationalities of human nature with a riveting narrative that challenges social convention. This moving family saga contradicts moral stereotypes, defying love-bonds that should last a lifetime.
Set in California, two couples are lifelong friends struggling with the sudden death of Mila Jones, leaving her husband, Alex, alone with his best friends, Fred, and Amira Davis. This contemporary romance uses humor and poignancy to investigate their forbidden love. They travel between New Zealand and America delivering a vibrant backdrop for what seems like ordinary domestic life, while experiencing an extraordinary love affair, often captured in private emails exchanged between the main protagonists. These well-crafted personalities buck social norms as they navigate their way through an emotional tempest that threatens to rupture them apart.
Only $3.99 for the eBook which downloads to various electronic devices including your mob phone. Get the FREE Amazon kindle App from your app store so you can read it on your laptop, tablet or phone anywhere, anytime.
Those who prefer paper will enjoy the new paperback due to be released by April 30th. Will keep you posted. Please share. THANKS
Somehow, with recent acts of violence, our thoughts go to the soldiers who lost their lives during world wars fought for our freedom and democratic rights.
There
are only two weeks until our Annual national ANZAC DAY commemoration on April
25th. It is an event that unifies us all. Will it be different this year, our
hearts and minds seared by new fear and anguish at the new way wars are fought?
With the country on high alert, all public gatherings, some now consolidated,
require heightened police presence.
Somehow,
with recent acts of violence, our thoughts go to the soldiers who lost their
lives during world wars fought for our freedom and democratic rights. Our
recent terrorist experience has raised awareness about violence and how
prepared are we for a modern ‘war on terrorism?’
Initially, it was heartening to read the outpouring of compassion and respect for everyone from all New Zealander’s in a catchall phrase, “we are one.” But over recent weeks trawling through social media, I have been astounded at the deep-seated racism very close to the surface of our social fabric. I hope these so-called ‘concerned citizens’ will pause to consider the massive sacrifice New Zealand has undertaken to secure our freedoms and rights to live and practice our beliefs, opinions and religious associations.
WWII was
the most prolonged and most critical land campaign ever fought by New Zealand
forces. During 1941 to 1943 about 14,000 kiwis were killed, wounded or became
prisoners of war. The war continued for a further two years until liberation
staggered across a broken Europe towards the end of 1945.
Back in
1939, New Zealand’s population was a mere 1.7 million people. As we tend to do,
Kiwi’s punch above their reputation for courage, bolstered by the heroic
efforts of the Maori Battalion and all the ANZAC soldiers who put in a massive
effort to win what was to become a World War. About 140,000 Kiwi’s served
overseas in WWII. Those who gave their lives in the long five-year battle
throughout Europe, the Pacific and North Africa amounted to 12,000 deaths. On a
per capita basis, this was the highest loss of life by any single country in
the commonwealth.
Apart
from the heavy personal losses to friends and families back home in New
Zealand, there was also the financial burden. New Zealand spent £574 million on
the war, money our small country could ill afford. Taxes contributed 43% while
41% came from loans and 16% from America.
As a unified country, our sacrifice for a war in the northern hemisphere was significant. A sacrifice for democratic rights and freedom of RESPONSIBLE speech give us pause to consider what this means. This is especially so when thinking about the ANZAC price our country paid to encourage positive, unified appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy today. New Zealand is a relative paradise where expression of opinion is everyone’s right. But remembering the other ‘Right’ about treating fellow Kiwi’s of all persuasions in a Right way, with respect and consideration is another way to reduce hate speech and dissent. Considerable verbiage is communicated in cyberspace that could easily explode in our backyard, fermenting extremist responses. Be compassionate, thinking Kiwis. Love one another and work towards unity, not racist segregation. Having lived in South Africa for 20 years, I know that never works! My hope on this national unifying ANZAC Day is that we all consider the way we express ourselves in the big wide, world. Make it positive.
Nicky Webber
is the author of No Ordinary Man, a unique true story about an ANZAC soldier’s
secret double-life.
Most of the comments, edits and changes have been handed back to me for my new contemporary romance, In the Deep End. I’m now in the highly technical phase of ‘turd polishing‘ as it’s officially known in the publishing industry. The BIG question is; How perfect and shiny can I get my second book before it hits the shelves?
It’s Autumn and I set myself an April deadline to get ‘In the Deep End‘ published. I can still get there but now in the cold light of early April, I can see there’s going to be a lot more spit ‘n polish required than first anticipated. Ahhhh yes those heady salad days of summer when it all looked perfect. UNTIL, on closer inspection, several chapters needed rewriting, some of the story line had veered off the tracks, taking the plot into hell and back. I’ve also had to cull segments of useless prose and rebuild that abomination into something magical. Sweat mixed with sleepless nights and aching finger tips connected to hunched shoulders. I mean, what am I doing writing this? There’s much more work to do!
Of course, reality dictates that a turd can only be polished so much and I need to release my imaginary written world to the cut and thrust of public opinion. I still face the purgatory influences of wayward typesetting and formatting. A simple example, look back at the top of this article. See that indented dot outside the margin to the left of the first word? Standing their bold and defiant. What the hell? Even here the vagaries of body text and spell checking haunt me.
Anyway, deep slow breathing and grim determination will lead me away from temptation to check social media, go for a walk, pat the dogs or silently dream as the receding summer sun disappears for the new season to take a grip on my April deadline!!! No Pressure … NOT Much!!!
If you think everything’s already been written about WWII, think again.
Nicky Webber’s new book, No Ordinary Man, has a whole new take on this Kiwi
soldier’s life. This former journalist has developed a unique narrative about
this ANZAC soldier fighting in the trenches during the Western Desert War. This
true- story skillfully combines her creative talents with historical facts and
sheds an intriguing light on this unusual character.
To the outside world, Mick Thompson seems like
any other young soldier heading off to WWII in 1941. As the war is nearing its
zenith, Europe and America throw all their resources at the expanding Nazi
terror. But Mick hides a profound secret which he tries to repress as the war
expands across Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and into Italy.
Most would say he’s just an ordinary trooper
surviving in cramped trenches, where Nazi enemy forces relentlessly pound him
day and night. In these circumstances, most of us would revert to jibbering,
depressives. Instead, Mick creates an alter-ego that goes well beyond his
wildest imaginings. This fabrication is so addictive, Mick continues to
maintain the identity swap after his return to New Zealand in 1945. He soon
develops a love for his neighbour’s wife, forming the emotional crucible of his
real-life story.
Can this war hero maintain the fiction of his
restricted reality? Will his affair blow his cover and confidence? Mick’s
secret obsession is just one of his many aspects explored in this complex
character. This clever narrative examines the emotional and psychological
roller coaster of war, love, and sex with humor and insight across the backdrop
of the world at war.
“I’m no historian, so the book is written
as seen through the eyes of Mick’s real-life personality, with hours of
collaboration with his niece, diary notes, a few photographs and lots of
historical research to match his movements to facts,” explains Nicky.
“This is why it took more than two years to write this intriguing
story.”
Find out more and see 5-Star reviews on
Goodreads.com
BE IN TO WIN A FREE COPY of No Ordinary Man delivered to you anywhere in NZ. See video for details. Be quick! It closes on April 1st and winners will be notified later that day. PLEASE Share. THANKS
Just send an email to me nicky@how.co.nz with the word YES to be in the draw to win one of these three free copies of my new book. The draw will take place on 1st April, 2019, so make sure you contact me to be in with a chance. The winners will get their book delivered to them free anywhere in New Zealand.
Please be assured that my email is secure and your emails address will not be used by another other parties, businesses or individuals. I keep all my readers emails strictly private and secure with Bitdefender security software.
So you have less than a week to email me the word “yes” to be placed in the draw for your FREE book! Best of Luck! See my video about this on Fbk nickywebbernz or watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/17VnZEeqQPU
If you want to participate in the DRAW and live overseas please include which city and country you live in, so I can contact you with freight charges. The book and packaging will be FREE, of course, but you will need to pay for postage (estimated $USA10.00) Thanks.
I
started this book with doubts, as it dealt with war. Then I totally got
absorbed with the main character Mick, and waited eagerly every day for the
time to read. During the days I hurried things through as I wanted to get back
to Mick-and-Moira.
Now that I finished the book, I feel so
lonely, I miss them. I hope that the author writes more, what a reading
pleasure.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this amazing story. It is incredibly well researched and beautifully written. The characterisation is brilliant. No Ordinary Man describes the life and innermost thoughts and emotions of a war hero during his years in military service and how it affected his life after the war. It captures the atmosphere and situations he was in so that I had a picture in my mind throughout and felt I knew the characters. It describes the life of a cross dresser with great sensitivity without sensationalism. I highly recommend this book; it has a fascinating story and makes you appreciate what the young men went through to keep our country safe.
February 26, 2019
Berni reviewed No Ordinary Man and Rated
A great read and a hugely successful first novel.
I really enjoyed getting to know Mick. His struggle with cross dressing probably had a greater negative impact on his life than the war did. The detail in the book has been so well researched and Mick as a person came to life for me. What a great first book.
No Ordinary
Man was a book outside my usual reading genre. Despite
this, it only took a few chapters for me to drop into the zone of investiture.
And I had to keep on reading … from the brutalities of war, to the tenderness
of enduring friendships and unusual alliances, this book gripped me on a number
of levels. It ushered me alongside the life of this ordinary, yet (yes)
extraordinary man who exited the last page with that ‘twist’ that all good
ending novels should provide. Thank you Nicky Webber!
Many readers have asked me where did the story originate? By chance, I had moved house and was invited by a group of neighbours, none of them I knew, to have lunch. During the lunch I overheard one of them talking to another about her Uncle Mick and his unusual secretive double-life. Also about him being a WWII ANZAC soldier in Egypt, during the Western Desert War. I arranged to have coffee with her and within a few weeks had a bag of old documents, photos, news clippings and one tattered diary.
After interviewing Mick’s niece and reading through the info, my journalistic instincts told me this was a true-story worth telling. She had approached two other journalists over the years since Mick’s death but neither proved interested. But I saw, as a fictionalised narrative based on historical facts, this story was intriguing and would have broad appeal to readers everywhere.
It took two years of historical research and many discussions with his niece to pull the story together. Apart from getting the facts straight there was the dramatisation of the Mick’s life as seen through his eyes, building the character and his relationships. It was tough going living in the head of a 20 year old ANZAC soldier in the Western Desert War!! But I was able to create an intriguing story that would fascinate readers. And so on 26th January, 2019 No Ordinary Man was born on Amazon.
Check out the 5-Star reviews for No Ordinary Man, on Good reads and Amazon. You can read up to five chapters for FREE.😍
This is an intriguing WWII true story about an ANZAC soldier’s secret double-life, which he maintained while fighting in the trenches during the Western Desert War, and after he returned home to his girlfriend. This historical romance will have you hooked from the start with this original love story and insight into Mick Thompson’s secret obsession.
Look inside this new release – try before you buy!
Follow the Author Nicky Webber on her WordPress Blog http://www.nickywebber.com and on her author page on Facebook, search nickywebbernz to read more information and the back story to this fascinating book. Be the first to hear about promos and freebies by following.
BE IN TO WIN A FREE COPY of No Ordinary Man delivered to you anywhere in NZ. See video for details. Be quick! It closes on April 1st and winners will be notified later that day. PLEASE Share. THANKS
Just send an email to me nicky@how.co.nz with the word YES to be in the draw to win one of these three free copies of my new book. The draw will take place on 1st April, 2019, so make sure you contact me to be in with a chance. The winners will get their book delivered to them free anywhere in New Zealand.
So you have less than a week to email me the word “yes” to be placed in the draw for your FREE book! Best of Luck! See my video about this on Fbk nickywebbernz or watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/17VnZEeqQPU
There will be more copies of No Ordinary Man arriving in the first week of April. Contact me direct or on my author page on FaceBook nickywebbernz if you want to pre-order. They will cost $20 +$5 for postage anywhere in NZ. Apologies to those outside NZ but you will need to purchase your copy from Amazon.com or .UK, Goodreads.com, Book Depository.com and a number of other online retailers.
Waiting on a new shipment of Books from Amazon.com after selling the first two crates freighted from the USA. All sold out!! Spent a lovely afternoon helping curator, Jenny Scown at Inspirit Gallery in Cambridge yesterday with a bus load lovely Howick art lovers and book buyers!
Reading a couple of short excerpts from No Ordinary Man to a gathering of four Book Club members and locals in Tairua two weeks ago. Sold a whole box load to this group of keen readers of historical fiction. Many thanks to Marilyn Rawlinson and Jan Addleington!
Two great events in the past couple of weeks have bought up all my books! I will be bringing more copies of No Ordinary Man, to my next speaking engagement to the Focus Group in Tairua on 2nd May. I’ve been told to expect around a 100 good keen readers! I’m looking forward to an interesting and lively conversation with them all. See you there!
The stark, white-tiled bathroom almost hurt Alex’s eyes as he surveyed the room. He stood clutching the door frame to steady himself. The light bounced off the hard surfaces as he became aware of a faint chemical smell. Tears had welled up into his eyes. He glanced down into the bath again where his wife’s dead body lay. Mila Jones was fully dressed, awkwardly slouched against the cold porcelain. There were no apparent signs of a struggle, no blood nor injury. Her sheer white blouse innocently clung to her breasts and was tucked into the waist of her jeans. Her feet were naked, her shoes neatly positioned on the bathmat.
Somehow the sight of her two beautiful bare feet stabbed him with pain. Something was haunting and isolated about her lying there. She would never walk beside him again. He would never sit on the sofa, gently rubbing her feet as they watched television together as she drifted into a relaxed sleep. He gasped out loud. The sharp loss cut into his very soul. Moments earlier he had tried unsuccessfully to lift her, but in his panic soon realized he needed to call the police. Once his address was established the response was unmistakable.
‘Don’t touch anything!’ The female emergency responder said into his muffled ear. Was it his voice or had sobs and screams already escaped into the room? The painful noise in his head was overwhelming. He couldn’t think. He didn’t know how to explain or what to say. She repeated herself and reassured him the police would soon arrive. He dropped the receiver and strode back to the bathroom. Hoping against cold reality that he had somehow misunderstood. Mila couldn’t be dead. He carefully walked towards her again, her mouth, slack-jawed, a gas mask shoved half over her head. He had pulled it from her face and pushed it back over her long dark hair which straddled the rim of the bath. He felt her neck for a pulse again, his fingers concentrating their efforts to pick up a heartbeat. Nothing. A gas canister and rubber hose lay slumped on the tiled floor. Suddenly the full realization of her death slammed into his consciousness.
