published my first novel, "And I Shall Be Healed" on Christmas Eve 2013 click here for review.
Since then it has picked up some very good reviews.
However, I have decided to move my book from the American Amazon / Createspace platform to the German platform, Epubli.
I have been in touch with my typesetter, Tricia Kristufek and cover designer, Dafeenah Jameel for resizing and as soon as the cover comes back, I can make the transition. Sadly, as I have to buy an Epubli ISBN, I have to say goodbye to my own publishing company, Quickbeam Press for the time being, but who knows what'll happen in the future!
The other thing is that, to make the changeover go smoothly, I will have to "unpublish" the current edition from Amazon and I suspect all the lovely reviews I've been given will disappear. So, in the interest of posterity (and my own self-esteem), here they are:
5 stars of 5 starsThis is a must read.
By Cake on 23 May 2014
Format: Paperback
This is a moving, thoughtful, powerful story centred on Leo, an Army Chaplain and his time spent in The Great War. Leo was a wonderfully portrayed character who really gave me an insight to what all the men felt and suffered during their time in active service, despair, friendship, love, strength, hope.
I was transported to the fields of France and Belgium and really felt like I was there beside Leo on his often harrowing journey. This is a wonderful book and I would say that especially now as we are remembering the Great War in its 100th year since it began that everyone should read this novel. Beautiful, just beautiful.
Well done Julia Lee Dean.
5 Starts A thoughtful and absorbing novel
By A. Wright on 26 January 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I really loved this novel! It's a thoughtful and absorbing read, and told from the point of view of an army chaplain, offers a new view of the Great War. The central character, Leo, is likeable but with an intriguing past, which I was eager to get to the bottom of. The author does not dwell on the horrors of war but the emotion of the men at the front is vividly and powerfully portrayed, often to heartbreaking effect.
I thoroughly recommend this book!
Since then it has picked up some very good reviews.
However, I have decided to move my book from the American Amazon / Createspace platform to the German platform, Epubli.
I have been in touch with my typesetter, Tricia Kristufek and cover designer, Dafeenah Jameel for resizing and as soon as the cover comes back, I can make the transition. Sadly, as I have to buy an Epubli ISBN, I have to say goodbye to my own publishing company, Quickbeam Press for the time being, but who knows what'll happen in the future!
The other thing is that, to make the changeover go smoothly, I will have to "unpublish" the current edition from Amazon and I suspect all the lovely reviews I've been given will disappear. So, in the interest of posterity (and my own self-esteem), here they are:
5 stars of 5 starsThis is a must read.
By Cake on 23 May 2014
Format: Paperback
This is a moving, thoughtful, powerful story centred on Leo, an Army Chaplain and his time spent in The Great War. Leo was a wonderfully portrayed character who really gave me an insight to what all the men felt and suffered during their time in active service, despair, friendship, love, strength, hope.
I was transported to the fields of France and Belgium and really felt like I was there beside Leo on his often harrowing journey. This is a wonderful book and I would say that especially now as we are remembering the Great War in its 100th year since it began that everyone should read this novel. Beautiful, just beautiful.
Well done Julia Lee Dean.
5 Starts A thoughtful and absorbing novel
By A. Wright on 26 January 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I really loved this novel! It's a thoughtful and absorbing read, and told from the point of view of an army chaplain, offers a new view of the Great War. The central character, Leo, is likeable but with an intriguing past, which I was eager to get to the bottom of. The author does not dwell on the horrors of war but the emotion of the men at the front is vividly and powerfully portrayed, often to heartbreaking effect.
I thoroughly recommend this book!
- < >First World War story
By Amazon Customer on 30 December 2013
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
A really good read. The book gave an unsentimental view of life in the trenches without being too graphic. Told from the point of view of an Army Chaplain it made a slightly different story to the usual. The plot line relating to his life at home was not as strong as the story set at the front, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
4 Stars I didn't want to say goodbye to Leo!
By MBA on 28 October 2014
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
We met Julia at a charcoal burning course at the Weald & Downland museum, close to where this book is set. Her obviously dedicated research and attention to detail abounds in this book. Initially I felt the first person prose a little awkward and slow to develop and the paragraph structure unusual. By the middle I was gasping at the tension and by the end I had stopped talking to anyone so as not to disturb the drama and to race to find out what happened to Leo. A great read with an unemotional yet graphic portrayal of the horrors of war told in a sensitive voice. The underlying theme of the fragile nature of the human body as well as the psyche united all the characters. Looking forward to the next book and hoping to see a detailed description of the art of charcoal burning!
5 Stars A powerfully human story
By Miss M D Posada Estevez on 3 March 2014
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Hurt and haunted by his memories and past the young curate of an English village goes to the front of the Great War as an Army chaplain, seeking to help others to heal their broken spirits and bodies, the young chaplain will find too the way to heal himself as the same time that he discover the meaning of his own life.
The story is set very convincingly in different scenes between England and France during the course of the First World War, in which the author does offer us a vivid and believable feeling of the way of life and the extent of the human tragedy endured by the people who fought in the war and lived during that period.
Not to be missed
5 Stars And I shall be healed
By Barbara Rose on 2 January 2014
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
A beautifully written book. A journey of self discovery set to the background of a war that is described without sentimentality yet shows us the sorrow, suffering, love and friendship that can be found there.
5 Stars
5.05 out of 5 starsFirst World War
By Sophie Harwoodon 4 January 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
An interesting and warm story. Although not always comfortable reading, it is, nevertheless, a rich portrait of the life of a priest during the Great War
5 Stars Wonderful stuff
By M. T. McGuire on 12 July 2015
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
I am not sure where I picked up this book, possibly from a conversation on facebook or a tweet but as someone born and bred in Sussex, not so far from Singleton, where the main character of the book hails from, I had to give it a go. I am very glad I did. The minute I started reading I was hooked. Written in the present tense, we follow Leo an army chaplain in the first world war as he finds out who he really is and what the real cause was behind a rift with a friend which has left him bruised and hurt. It's beautifully written and the fact we follow one person gives it an extra intensity that I really appreciated. It's uplifting, but not schmaltzy and there are some wonderful awkward conversations which are so true and touching that I actually shed a tear at one point. Leo is a lovely chap and many was the time I wished he was real so I could find him and give him a hug.
This is a wonderful, uplifting, sensitive bit of writing; touching, heartfelt, fulfilling. I was completely caught up in the story and I didn't want it to end.
Recommended.
5 Stars NewestAnd I shall be healed.
By Rita Spence on 5 January 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
What a great story. When reading this novel you are with the characters and almost feeling their suffering from the very first chapter. A wonderful ending. Well written.
4 Stars competent and engaging
By Mac on 3 February 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
A sensitive story that blends trauma at home with the emotional strain experienced in the conflict of the First World War.