Today I have the pleasure of sharing the prologue for The Christmas Cake Café, by Sue Watson, which is published today by Bookouture!

Happy publication day!

Prologue

The Christmas Proposal

It was Christmas Eve, the champagne was cold and sparkly, the tree was twinkling, and Bing Crosby was tinkling across the restaurant, filling the air with festive warmth and glitter. It was also the eve of my fortieth birthday, so it was extra special, and I was feeling particularly emotional looking at Tim across the table. The time was right. At last. He looked gorgeous. Not only was the candlelight warming his face, softening his big brown eyes, it was also rekindling our love. Despite the sparkle of the season I had to admit we’d been a little lacklustre on the love front recently.

‘This is just what we need,’ I sighed. ‘I know things haven’t been easy for us – you’ve been working so hard I’ve hardly seen you – but I’m glad we made this time for each other, Tim.’

‘Yes, I wanted us to spend tonight together,’ he said. ‘It’s been ten years now, and I think it’s time we talked about the future.’

A frisson of excitement bubbled up in my chest – though it may have been the champagne.

‘Yes, ten wonderful years,’ I said, smiling, gazing into his eyes and thinking of the good times. It had taken a while, and there’d been doubts along the way. It hadn’t been a bed of roses, and Tim had a tendency to put work before our relationship, coming home and burying his head in the computer, and often forgetting our anniversaries because he was so busy. But here, by the glittering light of candles, it seemed Tim was finally ready to put us first. He knew Christmas was my favourite time of year, and I’d often talked of a wedding in December, so perhaps we could organise it in time for next year? It was my childhood dream to be a winter bride, dressed in icy white, crystals and fur. I’d imagined being delivered to my soul mate by horse and carriage, cutting through a white landscape of snowy mountains and shimmering fir trees. And it looked like that dream was just about to come true, so I sat back and waited for the confetti to fall.

Tim lifted the champagne bottle from the ice bucket, tutting slightly at the drips on the table. I wiped them away with my napkin then folded it again, pushing the creases with my fingers, desperately trying to make it smooth.

‘The waitress should have brought a cloth,’ he sighed. ‘I wasn’t sure about buying this fizz anyway… it’s an inferior brand.’ He scrutinised the label then screwed up his face in that way he often did.

I smiled indulgently. How like Tim to want everything about the ‘surprise proposal’ to be perfect. We were quite alike really – both wanted a nice home, clean, tidy with a perfectly manicured lawn and a kitchen stuffed with high-end white goods. My friend Storm said we were in a rut, but as I pointed out to her, one girl’s rut was another girl’s life of domestic bliss. We both knew where we were and what the other was doing at any given time, nothing wrong with that – and we were both in bed by 9.30 p.m. every night, asleep by 9.35 p.m. I was happy; I felt safe with Tim. He wasn’t what you’d call spontaneous, but if spontaneity meant he’d run off with the first good-looking woman he saw, then give me predictable. Given our routine and the fact I knew him inside out, the proposal wasn’t going to be a surprise because I’d seen all the signs. There was mistletoe above the table, champagne in the ice bucket and deliberately vague references to it being time to ‘talk about our future’.

He’d also insisted I meet him at 6.30 p.m., which meant I had to miss taking part in the annual carol service at the hospital. My half-sister Jody was a nurse there, and I’d felt really torn about backing out – and Jody hadn’t helped with her emotional blackmail. ‘Don’t worry about the hospital charity, Jen. I mean if Tim wants an early dinner then sick patients will have to come second,’ she’d said sarcastically. For God’s sake, this was my Christmas proposal. It was everything I’d ever wanted and still she didn’t get it. I put Jody and her anger from my mind. It was my birthday tomorrow, and I was having a special Christmas Eve birthday dinner with my future husband. I looked round at the glittery lights, the mistletoe, the sparkling champagne and the man with twinkly blue eyes. I was a lucky girl.

As Tim lifted the bottle to pour our drinks, I discreetly checked the bottom of my glass flute to see if he’d popped the engagement ring in when I wasn’t looking. Tim wasn’t really a romantic – he always said grand gestures were just a desperate attempt for attention, or a cover-up for infidelity. I suppose that’s why he never bought me flowers and didn’t want to get engaged, until now. If I ever made vague suggestions about getting married (which I did, sometimes once a week) he’d always reject them quite strenuously: ‘Isn’t it enough that I come back to our shared home every evening?’ he’d say. But I knew if I waited long enough it would happen. And here we were, champagne on the table, Bing Crosby in the air – my moment had arrived.

‘So… to us,’ I said, raising my glass, looking into his eyes, offering him the moment. ‘And to love,’ I added, for good measure.

‘Whatever love is,’ he said in his best Prince Charles voice, which stung a little, but now wasn’t the time to compare our love to that of the doomed prince and princess, so I pushed forward.

‘I wonder what our future holds?’ I said, with a questioning but coquettish look, along with another rather blatant cue.

‘I don’t know.’

‘Oh.’ I put down my glass, still smiling. Was he teasing me? It wasn’t like Tim to tease – he was usually very serious.

‘I’ve been thinking a lot lately and tonight I want to share my thoughts with you,’ he started.

I shimmered with excitement and, taking another gulp, I waited as he took a sip of his champagne. Now would be good, I thought – this would be the perfect memory with the candles and the musical accompaniment. Bing was reaching a climax – a few more festive lyrics and he’d be gone, leaving only cutlery clatter and murmured conversations. The Christmas proposal had to have a backdrop of good Christmas music, and I was worried about what would be piped through next, because I didn’t want this moment drowned by a shrieking Mariah Carey wailing about what she wanted for Christmas. I felt like a film director, longing to shout ‘Action!’ so it would all fall into place here and now – everything perfect, even the timing. You had to grab these perfectly framed moments so you could hold on to them forever.

And then he spoke. ‘We’ve had ten good years together… and the thing is… tonight I wanted to say… thank you…’

‘You’re welcome.’

‘But… but I think we’ve reached the end of the road.’

And my Christmas world stood still. Baubles stopped sparkling, candles went out – and Bing Crosby left abruptly, taking his white Christmas with him.

This wasn’t in the script. Tim was now supposed to be on one knee placing the ring on my finger as the restaurant erupted around us in applause. My mouth was suddenly very dry, and I took a large gulp of champagne before asking, ‘What do you mean?’

‘I’m not happy.’

‘Happy? Not happy?’

‘No… I don’t want this life… with you.’

My throat closed up and I couldn’t speak, breathe or swallow – my whole world had crashed, taking my past and future with it. No sparkly ring in my glass, no flower-framed wedding photos of the two of us smiling, my bouquet thrown in the air, my life fused with his.

I looked into his cold eyes, a tiny cell in my body still hoping against hope this might be an elaborate joke. But Tim didn’t do jokes.

‘How long have you felt like this?’ I asked.

‘Years.’

‘Years? YEARS?’

‘Yes… don’t shout, Jennifer.’ He looked over at the couple on the next table, giving them an embarrassed smile.

‘Oh I’m sorry, you’ve just thrown a bomb into my life, forgive me if I embarrass you by shouting,’ I snapped. ‘Tim, what the hell…?’

‘I’m sorry. I just haven’t felt… love… for you for a while now.’

This was a final stab to the heart. ‘But it’s Christmas… and it’s my birthday…’ I said, desperately searching for reasons for him not to do this, like it was illegal to dump someone at Christmas or on their birthday.

‘Why this… now?’ I asked, gesturing towards the champagne, the glittering candles, the perfect bloody setting for a perfect bloody proposal.

‘It’s your birthday. We always go out for your birthday. I wanted it to be pleasant…’

‘Pleasant? PLEASANT?’ I raised my voice again.

‘Ssshhh, you’re making a scene,’ he said, looking round furtively.

‘A scene? A SCENE? I yelled, aware I was simply repeating key words and saying them more loudly, but it was involuntary. ‘You dump me after ten years… my best years… We were on the cusp of marriage.’ He was shaking his head, but I wasn’t taking this on.

‘You’ve taken my youth, my fertile years – I wanted a baby, Tim.’

‘I’m sure you’ll meet someone…’ he started.

‘I WON’T. No one will want me. You’ve had the best years, the childbearing…’

‘Please stop shouting about fertility and childbearing in here.’ He was hissing, more concerned about how we looked to the rest of the diners than the fact my heart was splattered all over the table.

‘You’ve taken away my future, you bastard!’ I shouted this and in my rising fury picked up the bottle of champagne and hurled the rest of the contents at him. He yelped like a dog, and then the manager came over and asked if he could help.

‘Yes, kick him in the balls for me,’ I shouted, and grabbing my bag, I rushed out in a flurry of tears and heartbreak – just as Bing Crosby suggested we have ourselves a merry little Christmas.

Well, if that doesn’t leave you wanting more, I don’t know what will!

Buy your copy now on the links below…..

THE CHRISTMAS CAKE CAFÉ by Sue Watson out today! (14^th October)

UK: http://amzn.to/2beYIgr

US: http://amzn.to/2bp6pSB

Heart-warming and hilarious, a story that will make you laugh, cry and bring a smile to your face.  Get ready for another deliciously amazing Christmas treat from Sue Watson….

As the Prosecco chills and Bing Crosby croons, Jen Barker just knows that her long-term boyfriend is about to propose.  But instead of a diamond ring nestled in her champagne flute, Jen finds cold flat rejection.  Her once perfect life and dreams of a husband and family seem even further from reach.

A working holiday to the Swiss Alps with her younger sister Jody might not be the Christmas Jen had it mind, but it offers her the chance to recharge her batteries and recover from heartbreak.

When Jen meets handsome ski instructor Jon Zutter her hopes for a happy-ever-after seem within her grasp again. Jon is kind and gorgeous and as they bond over Sachetorte at the picturesque Cake Café, Jen thinks he might just be her perfect man. But a relationship with him comes with a catch – and there are some things even cake can’t fix.

As the snow falls and Christmas approaches, could this be the place that restores Jen Barker’s faith in love? 

About the Author

Sue Watson was a journalist on women’s magazines and national newspapers before leaving it all behind for a career in TV. As a producer with the BBC she worked on garden makeovers, kitchen takeovers and daytime sofas – all the time making copious notes so that one day she might escape to the country and turn it all into a book.

After much deliberation and copious consumption of cake, Sue eventually left her life in TV to write.  After a very successful debut novel, Fat Girls and Fairy Cakes Sue signed a three book deal with Bookouture.

www.suewatsonbooks.com

Many thanks to Kim at Bookouture for letting me join in with todays publication celebrations!  🙂

Publisher: Bookouture (27th October 2016)

Wow, this is one to get your heart racing!

First of all, anyone who knows me well enough will know that I am a HUGE fan of Mel Sherratt and I’m proud to call her my friend. She is a lovely lady and the most fabulous writer. This in no way influences my reviews of her work though. I would be honest if I didn’t totally love one of her books, but anyone who has read Mel’s books before will know that this is unlikely to ever be an issue! I have read and thoroughly enjoyed all of Mel’s books and The Girls Next Door is right up there with them all. In fact, I think each book is slightly better than the last, if that is at all possible.

The Girls Next Door is due to be published by Bookouture on 27^th October, so you know it will be excellent because Bookouture have some of the most fabulous authors on their books.

I feel like I can’t find the right words to properly do this book the justice it deserves, but I’ll do my best…..

Detective Eden Berrisford is a new character and one I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know. She’s a feisty character who is obviously very good at her job. Her colleagues have a lot of respect for her and she has strong family values which shine throughout this story. She has a good relationship with her teenager daughter and is very close to her sister, Laura, and her niece’s, Jess and Sarah.

Eden, her team and the residents of Stockleigh are shocked when local teenagers are subjected to horrific and demoralising attacks. Are they revenge attacks or is there more to it?

Local teenager, Deanna, was fatally stabbed 6 months before and her murder case is coming up soon. I felt so sorry for her mother. Losing a child is every parents worst nightmare, let alone in such horrific circumstances. I also felt for Katie, who had been caught up in the tragedy and was now facing possible charges for a crime she didn’t commit. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but they can’t send her down when she didn’t do it. Can they? I could feel her mothers pain, seeing her daughter locked up for a crime she didn’t commit, when she had only been trying to help Deanna. As a parent of teenagers, I worry every day about these sorts of scenarios. It must be terrifying to live it!

Even more terrifying to find your daughter has been kidnapped! I just don’t know what I would do. I’d be hysterical so, for me, Laura’s reaction is totally believable when Jess is taken and time starts ticking on. Eden’s too as she battles to keep her emotions in check, as much as possible, to have the best chance of finding Jess alive.

My heart was racing as the search for Jess picked up pace. Would Eden and her team find her before it was too late?

The Girls Next Door is described as “a gripping, edge-of-your-seat crime thriller” and as far as I’m concerned this is spot on! The first page draws you in and the short chapters, each one of which ends in a way that makes you NEED to read the next, makes it a fast-paced and engaging read.

Just brilliant!

As with all of Mel’s books these characters are very real and (mostly) very likeable and I’m sure a lot of readers will relate to them and their stories. I have enjoyed getting to know the new characters and well as catching up with old friends from previous visits to Stockleigh.

I have to say also that although the actions of the kidnapper are horrendous, his story is heart-breaking.

If you’ve never read any of Mel’s books before you honestly don’t know what you’re missing. Why not give this one a go? I can guarantee you will be buying her others afterwards!

Many thanks to Mel Sherratt and Bookouture for my ARC of this fabulous book via Netgalley. I am very grateful and I will be recommending it to everyone!

Proud as always to be part of #TeamSherratt  🙂

Pre-order your copy of The Girls Next Door HERE

Description:

One warm spring evening, five teenagers meet in a local park. Only four will come out alive.

Six months after the stabbing of sixteen-year-old Deanna Barker, someone is coming after the teenagers of Stockleigh, as a spate of vicious assaults rocks this small community. Revenge for Deanna? Or something more?

Detective Eden Berrisford is locked into a race against time to catch the twisted individual behind the attacks – but when her own niece, Jess Mountford, goes missing, the case gets personal.

With the kidnapper threatening Jess’s life, can Eden bring back her niece to safety? Or will the people of Stockleigh be forced to mourn another daughter…?

A terrifying, compelling, police procedural which will thrill fans of Angela Marsons, Peter James and Rachel Abbott.

About the author:

I write gritty crime dramas, psychological suspense and fiction with a punch – or grit-lit, as I call it. Shortlisted for the prestigious CWA (Crime Writer’s Association) Dagger in Library Award 2014, my inspiration comes from authors such as Martina Cole, Lynda la Plante, Mandasue Heller and Elizabeth Haynes. Since 2012, all eight of my crime novels have been bestsellers, each one climbing into the kindle UK top 20 and I’ve had several number ones. I’ve also had numerous Kindle All-star awards, for best read author and best titles.

I also write contemporary fiction under the name of Marcie Steele – Stirred with Love was published in September 2015, The Little Market Stall of Hope and Heartbreak in December 2015 and The Second Chance Shoe Shop in April 2016.

I live in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with my husband and terrier, Dexter (named after the TV serial killer) and make liberal use of my hometown as a backdrop for some of my books. You can find out more at my website http://www.melsherratt.co.uk or I’m on Twitter at @writermels

***Not tried The Estate Series yet? For a limited time, you can grab a copy of the ‘behind the scenes look’ at the series, Secrets on The Estate. Just copy and paste this link into your browser for your free book: http://bit.ly/1fFPgmD ***

Previous books by Mel Sherratt…..

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You will find all of Mel’s books on her Amazon author page HERE

Writing as Marcie Steele…..

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Check out Marcie Steele’s Amazon author page HERE

My earlier reviews of Mel’s work (since starting this blog)…..

Mel Sherratt – The Estate Series

Mel Sherratt – Written In The Scars – The Estate Series, Book 4

That’s What Friends Are For by Mel Sherratt writing as Marcie Steele

The Second Chance Shoe Shop by Marcie Steele (aka Mel Sherratt)

**Blog Tour** Q&A with author, Marcie Steele

Today I am very pleased to welcome Rebecca Bradley to my blog 🙂 Rebecca is the author of the DI Hannah Robbins series. The prequel of which, Three Weeks Dead, is due out tomorrow! I hope you have a fab publication day, Rebecca.

I reviewed the audio version of Shallow Waters a while ago. I loved it! Made To Be Broken is on my TBR list, as is Three Weeks Dead!

I will share links to buy later on, but in the meantime I have a cracking Q&A for you to enjoy…..

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

Hi Kerry, firstly, I want to say thank you for having me on your blog. I really appreciate it.

I’m an ex-police detective, medically retiring after 16 years service. I’m now happily in a second career I love and that’s writing. How many people are lucky enough to get the opportunity to do two jobs they adore like that?

I write a series set in Nottingham with a female protagonist called Hannah Robbins. She’s a DI who works hard and on some pretty gruelling cases.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

My first novel, Shallow Waters was set in the world I was used to working in, and that was sexual exploitation. Though, of course, it wasn’t based on any true events. From there, all my ideas are snippets that jump into my head from things I see, hear or read. I have an ideas list written down and it now stands at about 15 ideas. I think I need to learn to write faster.

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

There is only one character who is based very loosely on anyone I know and that is DC Martin Thacker. I based him on my old tutor when I first joined the police. He is a great bloke. Kind, calm, easy-going and hard-working. Nothing ruffled his feathers. He did also hate doing the paperwork!

How do you pick your characters names?

Ah, this is something I hate. Really. I hate it. Names are ridiculously important in novels. Well, in any story. They convey so much about the character. And it’s another list I have stored on my phone as well as the ideas list. If I’m watching the TV, I keep an eye on the credits for names as they scroll by and not just the actors, but all the back room staff. So, I have a list of male first names, female first names and surnames. I also have a baby name book in my office. And with both of these means of choosing names, I still find I’m stuck for names for some characters. Honestly, I find it that hard. So, if you read one of my books and you hate one of the names, you know how long it took me to choose it!

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

My writing process has evolved/is evolving. I’m a fairly new writer, just releasing my third piece of work and working on my fourth. When I started my debut, Shallow Waters (DI Hannah Robbins #1) I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I opened a word document and started writing. I was what is known as a pantser. I had no outline. I knew the beginning and in my head I knew the ending, but other than that, I didn’t know anything else. It was a difficult process and it took me a long time to write it.

With Made to be Broken (#2) I decided to do it a different way, to plot things out before I started typing. I wrote a long synopsis so I had a plan of where it was going – including the middle. This made it easier, in one way to write – as a process – but not as book 2, in itself.

Do you have a favourite author?

I do have a favourite author, then I have a very close second. Karin Slaughter, the Sara Linton (from the very beginning because it’s morphed from one series into another) /Will Trent series. This is because she writes very character driven stories. I am invested in the characters and want to know what happens so I keep turning the pages and I buy her books without even reading the back blurb.

My close second is David Jackson. He’s a friend and an incredible writer. His work is also character driven and I’d also buy anything he writes without reading the blurb.

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

Without question Karin Slaughter. I’ve been lucky enough to meet quite a few authors at festivals and she’s one that I haven’t met. I’d ask her if she’d mentor me! Do you think she would??

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes. I can remember spending a lot of time in our beautiful library. Choosing books and reading books. I can remember I was a pretty eclectic reader. Picking up huge tomes of books sometimes. Losing myself in them.

When did you start to write?

I kept starting a first chapter for a couple of years and then not finishing it or losing it. It wasn’t until a large birthday loomed that I decided if I was going to do it then now was the time to do it. I was doing an OU degree in Geosciences at the time. I’d completed my level one courses and decided I was going to take a year out to see if I could write a novel. I never went back…

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

This has to be the hardest question I have ever come across! Does anyone ever answer it?? Okay, I’ve got it, I’m not sure which book it was, but the Patricia Cornwell book where she kills off Benton. I went to a talk by her once and she said she regretted that decision to kill him off, that she listened to her fans and that was the reason she brought him back. I think it was a very difficult time for her as a writer and if I could change it for her, I’d change the ending of that book. No writer wants to receive a backlash that huge that you reverse a decision that big.

What are you working on right now?

I’m writng a standalone at the minute. I’m really excited by it. It’s very different to the DI Hannah Robbins series. And that’s all I can really say about it at the minute. Sorry.

Do you have a new release due?

I do. Three Weeks Dead is a novella and also a prequel to Shallow Waters. It’s out tomorrow on all Amazon stores.

‘How far would you go if someone took your wife?

Especially, if you buried her a week ago.’

How can readers keep in touch with you?

On my blog at Rebeccabradleycrime.com I’m on Twitter (too much) at @RebeccaJBradley and on Facebook at Facebook.com/RebeccaBradleyCrime

Thanks again for having me Kerry.

Many thanks, Rebecca, for answering my questions and joining me on my blog today 🙂 It has been a pleasure!

Check out this rather fabulous cover!

Buy your copy HERE

How far would you go if someone took your wife?

Especially, if you buried her a week ago.

When Jason Wells is faced with this scenario, he is confronted with the prospect of committing a crime that will have far-reaching consequences.

Can young DC Sally Poynter get through to him before he crosses that line, or does a desperate husband prove to be the case she won’t ever forget?

A prequel novella, set before Shallow Waters, the first in the DI Hannah Robbins series.

For fans of James Patterson’s Book Shots.

Buy your copy of Shallow Waters HERE

If you haven’t already and would like to, you can read my review of Shallow Waters here – Shallow Waters (Detective Hannah Robbins crime series Book 1) by Rebecca Bradley

Buy your copy of Made To Be Broken HERE

Watch this space for my reviews!

Happy reading 🙂

Today I’d like to introduce you to Kathleen Jowitt. Kathleen self-published her book, Speak Its Name. I have a copy on my reading list, so watch this space for my review. In the meantime, Kathleen very kindly agreed to an interview.

Enjoy…..

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

My name is Kathleen Jowitt and I’m the author of Speak Its Name, which was published in February 2016. It’s the story of a (closeted) lesbian evangelical Christian and her experiences at university, set against the backdrop of the drama of student politics.

I have a day job, working in the education department of a major trade union, and much of my writing gets done when I’m on the train to work. I enjoy experimenting with a wide range of genres, but a constant in my books is (as one of my friends put it) ‘people sorting their heads out’.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

All over the place! The book I’m currently working on came from a throwaway comment that my husband made when we were watching the Tour de France, that an endurance athlete would be more likely than most of the general public to understand the ‘spoons’ analogy of chronic illness. Speak Its Name is lightly based on my own experience at university. And I have one in the pipeline that seems to be the direct result of thinking too hard about seashells over the summer.

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

If anyone, they’re based on me! And by that I don’t mean that my novels are full of clones of myself, but that I extrapolate from my own experience to make the emotional landscape convincing. I take an aspect of myself and throw it as far as I can. This can produce some pretty varied characters – for example, of the religious attitudes of three major characters in Speak Its Name, Lydia’s struggle with legalism, Peter’s love of ritual, and Colette’s penchant for doing her own thing all came from my own. As did Olly’s secularism, for that matter.

I do recycle snatches of conversation, but they’re usually borrowed from strangers – it’s too weird trying to get into my friends’ heads.

How do you pick your characters’ names?

For major, sympathetic characters, I pick names that I happen to like, and then think what that means for their background, their family history, their political or religious affiliations, and so on. Sometimes a character just shows up with a particular name. Sometimes I have to change a name because it’s just not plausible in terms of age or culture – or, as happened more than once with Speak Its Name, because I meet someone with the same name and things just get too confusing. For minor characters, I just go for something vaguely believable that starts with a letter of the alphabet that I haven’t used yet.

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

Alice in Wonderland is told to ‘start at the beginning, and go on until you get to the end, and then stop.’ I simply can’t do that. My writing process is less like laying a road than it is connecting up islands of an archipelago. I start with two or three very definite pictures or ideas in my head, and will probably have a basic idea of their position in relation to one another. Writing those down will induce five or six other islands to erupt from the seabed. And they drag more up behind them. After that it’s a matter of building bridges, or causeways, perhaps throwing in an artificial island, perhaps bypassing three or four of the early ones, after all.

It means a reasonable amount of rewriting, to ensure that character development and such things are consistent. But that’s probably good for me anyway, and anyway, it’s the only way that I can do it.

Do you have a favourite author?

I can’t possibly pick just one! (I bet everybody says that!) If you were going to leave me on a desert island with the complete works of only one author, though, it would be Dorothy L. Sayers, who was equally good at mysteries, theology, and translating medieval Italian. I always find something new when I reread her books.

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

It would have to be the ancient Greek poet Sappho – so I could ask her for another copy of her poems to replace all those that have been lost over the intervening centuries.

Were you a big reader as a child?

Very much so. We didn’t have a television until after I’d left to go to university, which, combined with living way out in the countryside, meant that books were my main source of entertainment. Fortunately, my parents provided me with plenty of them.

When did you start to write?

In my childhood. I remember having ambitions to be Ladybird’s youngest author – and their youngest author ever was Jayne Fisher, author of the Garden Gang books, and she was nine. So I must have been younger than that. The first time I made a serious effort at a full-length book was when I was thirteen or fourteen, and the first time I finished a draft of one was when I was twenty-one, ten years ago.

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

Oh – what a brilliant question! A couple of Mary Renault’s contemporary novels come to mind immediately – I could delete the last chapter of North Face or the trainwreck that is the end of The Friendly Young Ladies. I’d have to toss a coin to decide which one got fixed.

What are you working on right now?

I’m on the first draft of a book whose working title is Wheels – it’s a sort of screwball romance between a disgraced ex-professional cyclist and a young disabled woman. It’s rather a steep learning curve as I’ve never written anything this long with a male first person narrator, but I’m enjoying it.

When can we look forward to a new release?

I hope to have Wheels out in summer 2017 – probably not under that name, but we’ll see! The only alternative I’ve thought of so far is Bonk, which is a bit, er, misleading… It makes sense in a cycling context, but I fear I’d disappoint a lot of Jilly Cooper fans.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I’m on Twitter at @KathleenJowitt, and my website is at www.kathleenjowitt.com.

Thank you for having me!

Thanks for answering my questions, Kathleen 🙂

Paperback – Publisher: Kathleen Jowitt (22nd January 2016)

Kindle – Publisher: Kathleen Jowitt (28th January 2016)

A new year at the University of Stancester, and Lydia Hawkins is trying to balance the demands of her studies with her responsibilities as an officer for the Christian Fellowship. Her mission: to make sure all the Christians in her hall stay on the straight and narrow, and to convert the remaining residents if possible. To pass her second year. And to ensure a certain secret stays very secret indeed. When she encounters the eccentric, ecumenical student household at 27 Alma Road, Lydia is forced to expand her assumptions about who’s a Christian to include Quaker Becky, bellsandsmells Peter, and bisexual Methodist Colette. As the year unfolds, Lydia discovers that there are more ways to be Christian, and more ways to be herself, than she had ever imagined. Then a disgruntled member of the Catholic Society starts asking whether the Christian Fellowship is really as Christian as it claims to be, and Lydia finds herself at the centre of a row that will reach far beyond the campus.

Buy your copy HERE

Happy reading 🙂

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Sara Bailey to my blog. I have a copy of  Dark Water on my to-be-read list, from the lovely people at Nightingale Editions. I’ve seen lots of glowing reviews of this book already so I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.

In the meantime I have a lovely Q&A with the lady herself. Enjoy!

1. For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

I live in Orkney. I grew up here till I was 16 and then returned about a year and a half ago. I’d come back to say goodbye to the island and to organize a memorial bench for my Dad who had died the previous year. I met up with an old boyfriend and everything went from there. I moved back and we got married last year.

I’d written Dark Water as part of my Ph.D and put it away once I’d got my doctorate thinking that it wasn’t really publishable. My husband thought it was insane to do all that work and not publish. So I did some rewrites and sent it out. After several rejections, I sent it to Blackbird – Digital. They decided it wasn’t for them, but emailed to say they were starting a new imprint – Nightingale Editions and would I like to be their debut author. I jumped at the opportunity.

2. Where did/do you get your ideas from?

Everywhere. This book came out of an exercise I did for my MA on memory and place. I wrote about Orkney and the book just sort of spiraled out from there.

3. Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

No, not really. Characters are an amalgamation of different characteristics from different sources, so while there are elements from people I know, no one person made up one character. I’d say there is an emotional truth in some of them, but that’s all.

4. How do you pick your characters names?

Names will naturally emerge usually. I tried to resist the name Anastasia for a variety of reasons. But then I heard some people talking one day about someone they knew, ‘She calls herself Anastasia now, what’s wrong with Stacey I’d like to know,’ and I thought, they could have been talking about the character I was writing, so it stuck.

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

I try to find as many things to do as possible to avoid sitting down and writing. I know it’s getting bad when I start doing ironing or baking bread. However, once I get going on a project I’m usually pretty good at getting into a routine. Walk the dog, grab a coffee and get to the computer.

6. Do you have a favourite author?

Yes, several – Joanne Harris is one, I follow her on Twitter and I love her tweet stories. Helen Dunmore is another, she’s brilliant with language and has a lovely poetic style. I love Michele Roberts for her spikiness and wit.

7. If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

I met Fay Weldon when I was in my 20’s and asked her to adopt me. I was such a fangirl.

8. Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes. I read everything. We had a big bookcase on the stairway at our house and I worked my way through it. I always had my nose in a book. I love audio books as well physical books, because I can read in the car without feeling sick or listen while I’m driving.

9. When did you start to write?

I wrote all the time as a child. We were all encouraged to be creative in our family and while my siblings were all quite good artists, I was hopeless at drawing (I still struggle with stick men!) so I wrote poems and short stories instead.

10. If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

I wouldn’t dream of interfering with another writer’s work. I know how hard it is to get a satisfying ending, so I think I’d have to respect that.

11. What are you working on right now?

My next book. Also set in Orkney but more about the Orcadians this time round rather than outsiders coming in. They have a thing they do here called ‘telling the kin’, which is basically locating a person through who they are related to – so if we were speaking about ‘Joe Bloggs’ for instance, there would be a whole backstory related about Joe, his dad, possibly his grandfather and uncles as well as his brothers, who they married and their children.

12. When can we look forward to a new release?

I’m writing as fast as I can. So as soon as I can get it finished.

13. How can readers keep in touch with you?

They can contact me via Twitter @baileysara or my blog http://www.scribblingwoman.co.uk and, of course, through Nightingale Editions http://www.nightingale-editions.com

Many thanks to Sara for answering my questions and joining me on my blog today 🙂

Watch this space for my review!

Publisher: Nightingale Editions (3rd October 2016)

Friendship doesn’t die, it waits…

“I couldn’t help but be fascinated by this book. It uses the Orkney setting beautifully, and the islands are intertwined with the story of a woman facing the past she’d evaded for years: both in the clarity of the light and the roughness of the sea. It uses suspense and structure with skill …The final scene was brilliantly described. Suspense, sex and selkie girls: irresistible!” – Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun, Winner of the Wainwright Prize 2016

A haunting and lyrical novel, ‘Dark Water’ is a psychologically intense portrait of adolescent yearning and obsession, set in the beautiful Orkney Islands.

When Helena returns to her childhood home in Orkney to care for her father after a heart attack, she is forced to face memories that she has spent half a lifetime running from.

Still haunted by the disappearance of her best friend, the charismatic Anastasia – who vanished during a daredevil swimming incident – Helena must navigate her way though the prisms of memory and encounter not only her ghosts but also her first love, Dylan, the only one who can help her unravel the past and find her way back to the truth of what really happened that night.

“Like a selkie through the cold North Sea, the story of Helena’s past ploughs inexorably towards its dark conclusion, every line haunted by the ghost of her enigmatic former best friend, Anastasia. With the island of Orkney as the most dynamic of backdrops, author Sara Bailey lures you into a story of intense teenage friendship, first love, and family ties, keeping you spellbound until the very last word.” – S.E. Lynes, author of ‘Valentina’

Sara Bailey’s startling debut from Nightingale, an imprint of Blackbird Digital Books

Buy your copy of Dark Water HERE

Enjoy!

…..I started this book blog!

I had no idea what I was doing (I still don’t really, but I seem to be winging it ok, so far 😉). I have loved every minute of it. I couldn’t do it without you though. The support shared amongst the book loving community is just amazing!

I want to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who has supported Chat About Books over the last 12 months. I’m thankful for every time you read, like, comment on and share my posts. I hope I can keep you interested enough to continue to follow.

To my friends and family, I love you.

To my fellow book bloggers, you are all awesome!

To all of the lovely authors whose books I have had pleasure of reading and reviewing or have featured on my blog in any way, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you all. I am forever grateful for the ARC’s I have received and for the requests I continue to receive. I’m looking forward to the next 12 months’ reading. 😃

Not forgetting the fabulous publishers who also help to make book blogging such a pleasure. As well as the wonderful Book Connectors group and all of it’s members.

Thanks also to Laura at Newcastle Life Magazine for my recent feature.

I’m in awe of anyone who can write so for as long as I’m able to help spread the word about brilliant books and authors, I will!

I thought I’d offer a little giveaway to mark my 1st Blogiversary…..

I have this lovely tote bag to give away, which may contain a couple of other treats too!

Anyone who leaves a comment on this post will be included in the draw. I will choose a winner at random on Saturday 15th October 😊

Thanks again for a great year!

Kerry

X

Today I have the pleasure of sharing an extact from One Christmas in Paris by Mandy Baggot.

Happy Publication Day to Mandy and Bookouture! 🙂

I’m loving this gorgeous cover…..

One Christmas in Paris

By Mandy Baggot

One

Up-Do Hair, Kensington, London

Leo:[EMAIL] I’m sorry. Can we talk?[END EMAIL]

Ava Devlin swiped the email hard to the left and watched it disappear from the screen of her iPhone. That’s what you did with messages from liars and fakes who had whispered one thing into your ear, as they wrapped their arms around you, and did the complete opposite when your back was turned. She swallowed back a bitter feeling. She had always worried that Leo – successful, rich, good-looking in a Joey Essex kind of way – was maybe a little bit out of her league.

‘Boss or boyfriend?’

The question came from Sissy, the hairdresser who was currently coating Ava’s head in foils and a paste that felt as if it was doing nuclear things to Ava’s scalp.

‘Neither,’ she answered, putting the phone on the counter under the mirror in front of her. A sigh left her. ‘Not any more.’ She needed to shake this off like Taylor Swift.

Giving her reflection a defiant look, she enlarged her green eyes, flared the nostrils of her button nose and set her lips into a deliberate pout she felt she had never quite been able to pull off. With her face positioned like she was a Z-list celeb doing a provocative selfie on Twitter, she knew she was done. With men. With love. With everything. Her ears picked up the dulcet tones of Cliff Richard suggesting mistletoe and wine, floating from the salon sound system. Her eyes then moved from her reflection to the string of tinsel and fir cones that surrounded the mirror. This rinky-dink Christmas crap could do one as well. Coming right up was a nation getting obsessed with food they never ate in the other eleven months – dates, walnuts, an entire board of European cheeses – and a whole two weeks of alterations to the television schedule – less The Wright Stuff and more World’s Strongest Man. And now she was on her own with it.

‘Well,’ Sissy said, dabbing more goo on Ava’s head, ‘I always think Christmas is a good time to be young, free and single.’ She giggled, drawing Ava’s attention back to the effort Sissy was putting into her hair. ‘All those parties… people loosening up with goodwill and…’

‘Stella Artois?’ Ava offered.

‘You don’t drink that, do you?’ Sissy exclaimed as if Ava had announced she was partial to Polonium 210. ‘I had a boyfriend once who was allergic to that. If he had more than four it made him really ill.’

‘Sissy, that isn’t an allergy, that’s just getting drunk.’

‘On lager?’ Sissy quizzed. ‘Doesn’t it mix well with shots?’

Ava was caught between a laugh and a cry. She swallowed it down and focussed again on the mirror. Why was she here having these highlights put in? She’d booked the appointment when she’d had the work do to go to. Now, having caught Leo out with Cassandra, she wouldn’t need perfect roots to go with the perfect dress he’d bought her. She didn’t even like the dress. It was all red crushed velvet like something a magician’s assistant might wear. Like something her mother might wear. But Leo had said she looked beautiful and she remembered how that had made her feel at the time. All lies.

‘Stop,’ Ava stated abruptly, sitting forward in her seat.

‘Stop?’ Sissy clarified. ‘Stop what? Talking? Putting the colour on?’

‘All of it,’ Ava said. She put her fingers to the silver strips on her head and tugged.

‘What are you doing? Don’t touch them!’ Sissy said, as if one wrong move was going to detonate an explosive device.

‘I want them off… out…not in my hair!’ Ava gripped one foil between her fingers, pulling.

‘OK, OK, but not like that, you’ll pull your hair out.’

‘I want a new look.’ Ava scooped up her hair in her palms, pulling it away from her face and angling her head to check out the look. Nothing would make her jawline less angular or her lips thinner. She sighed. ‘Cut it off.’ She wanted it to come out strong, decisive, but her voice broke a little at the end and when she looked back at Sissy, she saw pity growing in her hairdresser’s eyes.

‘Well… I have to finish the tinting first.’ Sissy bit her lip.

Ava didn’t want pity. ‘Well, finish the tinting and then cut it off,’ she repeated.

‘Trim it, you mean,’ Sissy said, her eyes in the mirror, looking back at Ava.

Ava shook her remaining silver-wrapped hair, making it rustle. ‘No, Sissy, I don’t want it trimmed. I want it cut off.’ She pulled in a long, steady breath. ‘I’m thinking short… but definitely more Bowie in his heyday than Jedward.’

‘That short.’ Sissy was almost choking on the words.

‘You did say a change was good,’ Ava answered. ‘Change me.’ She sat back until she could feel the pleather at her back. ‘Make me completely unrecognisable even to my mother.’ She closed her eyes. ‘In fact, especially to my mother.’

With her eyes shut, she blocked out everything – Cliff Richard, the tinsel and fir cones, Leo. A different style was just what she needed. Something that was going to go with her new outlook on life. A haircut that was going to say, You can look, but if you set one eyelash into my personal space, suggesting joy to the world, you will be taken down. Nothing or nobody was going to touch her.

Ava’s phone let out a bleep and she opened one eye, squinting at the screen. Why didn’t Leo just give up? Why wasn’t he suctioned to Cassandra like he had been for God knows how long? She was betting Cassandra had never had to use Clearasil.

Sissy leant forward, regarding the phone screen. ‘It says it’s from Debs.’

Cheered considerably, Ava reached for the phone, picking it up and reading the message.

[TEXT STARTS]I know I said not to bring anything, but I totes forgot to get something Christmassy. Can you get something Christmassy? To eat… like those crisps that are meant to taste like turkey and stuffing or roasted nuts and cranberry. And bring red wine, not white, because I got three bottles of white today. And if you’ve completely forgotten all about coming to mine tonight for neighbourly nibbles before I leave for Paris then this is your reminder. Debs xx[TEXT ENDS]

Debs texted like she was writing a dissertation. There was no OMG, FFS or TMI with Ava’s best friend. And Ava had forgotten about the ‘neighbourly nibbles’. That was what having a break-up on your plate did to you – addled your brain and fried the important relationship circuits. Well, she was taking control now – elusive and aloof to anyone but her best friend – and the only frazzled motherboard was going to be the one with wires connected to men.

Ava looked into the mirror at Sissy. ‘After you’ve cut it, Sissy, I want you to make me blonder,’ she stated. ‘And not the honey kind.’ She smiled. ‘The Miley Cyrus meltdown kind.’

Another lovely book to add to my reading list 🙂

Add it to yours too, via the links below…..

ONE CHRISTMAS IN PARIS

Out today – 7th October 2016

UK: http://amzn.to/2bTThnR  

US:http://amzn.to/2bUedJY

They say Paris is the City of Love, so bring your je ne sais quoi and don’t forget the mistletoe!

Ava and her best friend Debs arrive in Paris just as the snow starts to fall. The Eiffel Tower glitters gold and the scent of spiced wine is all around, but all Ava can think about is Leo, her no-good, cheating ex.

Debs is on a mission to make Ava smile again, and as they tour the Christmas markets, watch lamplight glittering on the river Seine, and eat their body weight inpain-au-chocolat, Ava remembers there’s more to life than men … Until they cross paths with handsome, mysterious photographer Julien with his French accent and hazelnut eyes that seem to see right inside her.

Ava can’t ignore the intense chemistry between them, but her fingers have been burned before and she can’t forget it, especially when her ex, Leo, starts texting again. Can Ava really trust Julien – and what exactly is his secret?

Will Ava go home with a broken heart, or will she find true love amongst the cobbled streets of Paris?

Join Ava and Julien in the most romantic city in the world this Christmas, as they discover the importance of being true to themselves, and learn how to follow their hearts.

One Christmas in Paris is a gorgeous, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy – perfect for fans of Jane Costello, Miranda Dickinson and Lucy Diamond.

About the author:

Mandy Baggot is an award-winning author of romantic women’s fiction and a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. In Feb 2016, her Bookouture novel, One Wish in Manhattan was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year award. A contributor to writing blogs and short story anthologies, she is also a regular speaker at literary festivals, events and women’s networking groups.

Mandy loves mashed potato, white wine, country music, Corfu and handbags. She has appeared on ITV1’s Who Dares Sings and auditioned for The X-Factor and lives in Wiltshire, UK with her husband, two children and cats Kravitz and Springsteen.

www.mandybaggot.com

https://www.facebook.com/mandybaggotauthor

https://twitter.com/mandybaggot

Many thanks to Kim at Bookouture for letting me join in with today’s Publication celebrations 🙂