Publisher – Carina – 21st March 2016.

4/5*

This is the first book I’ve read by T A Williams. I decided to request it from Netgalley after seeing it mentioned on Twitter. I read a lot of crime fiction / psychological thrillers so I thought this would be a nice change, and it really was.

The story is centred around Annie Brewer who is embarking on a new venture, setting up a new English School in Santorso. Annie is 37 and a widow. She lost her adventure seeking husband, Steve, in a tragic climbing accident two years previously. The worst two years of her life, but now she feels ready to start moving on and build a new life for herself. I liked Annie. I think she is someone I would get on with in the real world. All of the characters are very likeable and Santorso sounds like a lovely place to live.

Matt is another character I really liked. He was Steve’s best friend and was with him when he died. He is on hand to help and is a great support to Annie. She values his friendship highly.

Despite many comments regarding her dating again, Annie doesn’t feel ready for men. She wants to focus on her school for now and just enjoy her skiing. That is until she meets Alessandro. He seems perfect and she enjoys his company. Could he be the one or has her next truelove been under her nose all along?

What Happens In The Alps…. is a lovely, easy to read romance set in beautiful Italy. Skiing doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest, but I could totally imagine sitting with a coffee / hot chocolate and a book whilst admiring the views, which are described beautifully.

I would highly recommend to anyone who likes a good romance with lovable characters. I have to say Leo was one of my favourite characters!

With many thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for my advance kindle copy.

You can pre-order your copy HERE

Book description –

A sparkling romantic comedy guaranteed to beat the winter blues, What Happens in the Alps… is one story you don’t want miss in 2016!

Up in the magical, snow-kissed mountains…

Two years ago, Annie Brewer’s life was turned upside down when her adrenaline-junkie husband died in a tragic climbing accident. So she’s hoping that moving to the beautiful village of Santorso in the Italian Alps will finally put her life back on track!

…anything can happen!

She might be going into business with her oldest friend – notorious lady-charmer Matt Brown – but men are definitely out of the question for Annie! That is, until she bumps into tall, dark and delicious Alessandro Lago on the ski slopes…and spontaneously says ‘Yes’ to a date!

It must be the crisp, mountain air but suddenly, anything seems possible. The only trouble is, chivalrous Matt is looking more gorgeous than ever…

What reviewers are saying about T A Williams –

‘T. A. Williams has that gorgeous way of writing a feel good story and something which will easily make you smile…he’s absolutely backed up that men can write chick-lit.’ ─ Reviewed The Book (TOP 1000 Amazon Reviewer)

‘When Alice met Danny is maybe the first book in this genre I have read that is written by a man, and T. A. Williams has done a splendid job!’ ─ Rachale’s Reads

‘I have read others of the author’s books and have loved them equally. I wanted to jet off to join them and I bet you will too…Great characters, a fun and enjoyable read that will leave you with a big smile on your face.’ ─ Jilllovestoread

‘I had my doubts as to whether a ‘bloke’ would get it! To get beneath the skin of a woman and process how she’d feel in various scenario’s. Let’s just say I don’t have any longer – Trevor you nailed it.’ ─ Crooksonbooks

About the author –

Firstly, my name isn’t T A. It’s Trevor. I write under the androgynous name T A Williams because 65% of books are read by women. In my first book, “Dirty Minds” one of the (female) characters suggests the imbalance is due to the fact that men spend too much time getting drunk and watching football. I couldn’t possibly comment. Ask my wife…
I’ve written all sorts: thrillers, historical novels, short stories and now I’m enjoying myself hugely writing humour and romance. Romantic comedies are what we all need from time to time. Life isn’t always very fair. It isn’t always a lot of fun, but when it is, we need to embrace it. If my books can put a smile on your face and maybe give your heartstrings a tug, then I know I’ve done my job.
I’ve lived all over Europe, but now I live in a little village in sleepy Devon, tucked away in south west England. I love the place. That’s why you’ll find leafy lanes and thatched cottages in most of my books. Oh, yes, and a black Labrador.
I’ve been writing since I was 14 and that is half a century ago. However, underneath this bald, wrinkly exterior, there beats the heart of a youngster. My wife is convinced I will never grow up. I hope she’s right.

Today I’m delighted to welcome an author local to me, John Pye.

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your books please?

Hi, I am John Pye, a retired Detective formerly with Staffs Police and now swiftly approaching my 66th birthday. Writing has been both my passion and my hobby since retirement and my career as a police officer was without doubt the motivating force behind this. Of course I didn’t realise when I joined the force just how much written work was involved and as an eleven plus failure it was a big learning curve.

It wasn’t until I finally came to hang up my handcuffs some 27 years later that I realised that I’d become quite adept at writing and actually enjoyed it. I’ve always had a passion for history and so initially I completed a few articles for the local newspaper’s ‘The Way We Were’ supplement – these were published and I realised that I had been bitten by the writing bug!

Can you share your writing process with us, in a nutshell?

I started to work on a mostly humorous account of my police service and I ‘self-published’ this in paperback form. But the learning curve was still ‘curving’ as it cost me a small fortune and with all the promoting also being down to me there was little chance of the book ever becoming widely read.

With many lessons learned, but never disheartened, I wrote my first novel (Cathedral of Lies). I soon gained an insight into the world of ‘proper’ publishing when I realised how difficult it is for a new unknown writer to become noticed. Those publishers’ gates were all firmly closed – there was simply no way in. My manuscripts were returned unread on countless occasions and I’d already learned that there was no future in self-publication – I’d certainly got the Tee shirt on that one!

I was lucky enough to have a chat with another local author, Mel Sherratt and the story she told me put me onto a different course. Mel had started out by publishing on kindle (ebooks) – YES, kindle is another form of self-publishing, but ‘Indie’ – independent publishing costs the author absolutely nothing. There are no printing costs and you instantly have a world-wide market, although promoting your books will be down to you (mostly through social media). Mel had done well from kindle and her style and prolific output had got her noticed by the people behind the gates (the publishers) and the rest was history for her! It’s a good lesson for many disheartened authors – keep at it and maybe your work will get noticed.

My first novel ‘Cathedral of Lies’ is a crime thriller… what else from a retired detective? I pounded away at my computer keyboard for a long time with strange ideas and odd characters which constantly morphed from one form into another along with an ever changing storyline before suddenly, overnight, the story began to take shape and evolve into a complex and interesting ‘search for the truth’.

I found myself researching bizarre real life events for inspiration until I hit upon a fascinating true tale which I was able to hinge the entire story upon. This real life unsolved crime became so interesting to me that it generated the excuse for a four day trip to Belgium with my wife for more of that ‘research’.

As the story really started to take on some shape and evolve into what it became I was able to begin to tweak and alter. I’m sure this is when my own style started to develop and my flair for adding twist and turns and creating suspense developed. Keeping the readers on the edge of their seats will also keep them turning the pages. I found my comfort zone when dealing with police procedure and so was confident of a good degree of authenticity.

My second crime novel ‘Field of Lies’ is of course number two in that series. It is well liked by readers and has accrued plenty of super reviews. Once again I used a real life event as an inspiration for the tale.

I have also published a kindle story entitled ‘The vampire of The Villas’. It’s a short but true (dramatized) tale of something that happened to me as a young copper years ago.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

Looking back on my time as a police officer I realise that it was often the black humour and mischievous antics which helped to get us though some tricky and unpleasant events. That rascally mind-set has always stayed with me and often comes to the surface in my writing. An impromptu comedy scene occasionally appears in the midst of a serious setting (this was always so true to life).

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know and how do you pick your character’s names?

During my police service I regularly found myself in all manner of awkward situations engaging with a variety of strange, odd and unpleasant people as well as a plethora of wonderful helpful folk. Consequently I tend to model characters upon former colleagues as well as criminals and casual acquaintances. My choice of names for these individuals stems from a mix of real life names – a jumble of Christian names and surnames. The occasional scan through the phone directory can also provide a great ‘handle’ for a new character. I feel however, that it is important to try to stay close to the real world – it might seem like a good idea at the time to give your main ‘action man or woman’ a flashy name but it can be a turn off for the reader if it’s too improbable.

Do you have a favourite author?

I love Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus books and readily identify with the reality he creates. I also love Frederick Forsyth and Joanne Harris as great authors.

Were you a big reader as a child?

I did not read that much as a child and spent most of my time at school fooling about and playing sport, although when I look back I did have a bit of flair for English and loved essay writing.

What are you working on right now?

I have just released (on kindle) a completely re-written version of my original paperback account of my police service. I thought it would be a simple straight forward job to do this, but found that my first attempt needed so much ‘tweaking’ that it took nearly 12 months to get it right. The book is a complete divergence from crime thrillers and is titled ‘The Nick of Time’. If you get the chance to give it a try I’m fairly confident that it will make you laugh and maybe even cry a little!

When can we look forward to a new release?

Several things have kept me back from getting on with number three in the ‘Of lies’ DI Doug Taylor series, but finally I can say that I have started. Sadly I suspect that it may be early 2017 before it’s done, but if I get properly into gear perhaps a bit sooner.

John has a Facebook page for his ‘of lies’ series HERE. I’m sure he would appreciate a like 🙂

Book links:

Cathedral Of Lies

My little review on Amazon, back when I didn’t elaborate much:

This grabbed my attention from the very start. It’s very fast paced with lots of twists and turns. Very well written with interesting characters. I look forward to the sequel John!

Field Of Lies

I really need to bump this up my TBR list!

Vampire Of The Villas

My review from October 2013:

This is a very interesting story about a case I knew nothing about previously. It did happen before my time though!
As I am from Stoke-on-Trent, (well, Newcastle-under-Lyme) I enjoyed learning about this little piece of local history and will be interested in finding out if any of my older relatives remember anything about it.

The Nick Of Time

This is also on my TBR list.

You can follow John on Twitter @CathedralOfLies

Also, check out his website cathedraloflies.com

Many thanks for joining me on my blog, John.

Publisher: Corvus (3rd March 2016)

5/5*

WOW!

First of all, what a cracking opening chapter! I can’t imagine anyone reading it and deciding not to continue. I read this book in 6 days, which is quick for me. This is partly due to spending Friday in London, eating lunch in Costa and lounging around the Washington Mayfair hotel whilst my husband was at a work luncheon, but I don’t think it would have taken me much longer to read had I been at home with my usual distractions.

Sophie Gardener is about to turn 40. She wakes at 2am to find an intruder in her bedroom. If this wasn’t terrifying enough, he puts a letter on her bedside table with strict instructions to open it at her 40^th Birthday party the following evening. He knows of her family (he has pictures and everything as proof) and threatens their safety should she not follow these instructions exactly. He has clearly been hired by someone she knows, but who would hate her enough to send such a threat?

This book is described as a ‘fast-paced, gripping psychological thriller’ and I think this is a very accurate description. Unputdownable is another word I would use, even though it’s not a real word! I just had to find out who had sent this letter to Sophie and why it was so important that she read it at precisely 8pm, at her 40^th Birthday party. It turns out it was to be much more than a Birthday party, but I won’t say more than that as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone.

Needless to say I would recommend this to everyone. An easy 5 stars for me.

I won my paperback copy via a giveaway Lucy Dawson held on her Facebook page. Many thanks to Lucy. I loved it!

You can buy your copy here – You Sent Me A Letter

Book description –

At 2 a.m. on the morning of her fortieth birthday, Sophie wakes to find an intruder in her bedroom. The stranger hands Sophie a letter and issues an threat: open the letter at her party that evening, in front of family and friends, at exactly 8 p.m., or those she loves will be in grave danger.

What can the letter possibly contain?

This will be no ordinary party; Sophie is not the only person keeping a secret about the evening ahead. When the clock strikes eight, the course of several people’s lives will be altered for ever.

About the author –

Lucy Dawson has had four books published in the UK, the first of which – His Other Lover – was a bestseller in 2008. Her fifth book will be published by Corvus in 2016. She lives in Exeter with her husband and children. Find out more at http://www.lucydawsonbooks.co.uk

Click here for Lucy Dawson’s Amazon author page

Published – 3rd March 2016

Publisher – Corvus

I am currently reading You Sent Me A Letter having been one of the lucky five to win a paperback copy via a giveaway on Lucy Dawson’s Facebook page. I am thoroughly enjoying it so far and would just like to wish Lucy a very Happy Publication Day!

Book description –

At 2 a.m. on the morning of her fortieth birthday, Sophie wakes to find an intruder in her bedroom. The stranger hands Sophie a letter and issues an threat: open the letter at her party that evening, in front of family and friends, at exactly 8 p.m., or those she loves will be in grave danger.

What can the letter possibly contain?

This will be no ordinary party; Sophie is not the only person keeping a secret about the evening ahead. When the clock strikes eight, the course of several people’s lives will be altered for ever.

You can buy your copy here You Sent Me A Letter

What reviewers are saying about You Sent Me A Letter –

A gripping read with an intriguing and unsettling mystery at its heart. It kept me guessing all the way through. I found it impossible to put down. –C.L. Taylor on You Sent Me a Letter
Kept me guessing until the very last page. –Erin Kelly on You Sent Me a Letter
You Sent Me A Letter grabs you by the throat in the first chapter and doesn’t let go throughout. I didn’t breathe the whole time I was reading! Lucy Dawson creates fantastically sympathetic and realistic characters and the reader is pulled along with them at breakneck speed. Compelling and wholly satisfying, I had chills by the end. This isn’t my first Dawson read and it certainly won’t be my last. Love love loved it. Recommended to simply everyone. –Jenny Blackhurst, author of How I Lost You
I’m not exaggerating when I say that this book gave me palpitations. Make sure you don’t have anything pressing to do, because once you pick it up there is absolutely no way you’ll be able to put it back down. –SJI Holliday on You Sent Me A Letter

A clever and compelling read –Freya North on The One that Got Away

About the author –

Lucy Dawson was a children’s magazine editor before she had her first bestselling book, His Other Lover, published in 2008. Since then she has published three other novels and her work has been translated into numerous languages. She lives in Exeter with her husband and children.