Requests direct from the author / publisher…..

 (mobi via author’s PA)

The perfect family, a house of full of secrets and an ingenious killer out for revenge…

Dr. Shelby Cooper is a busy modern woman trying to balance it all—career, motherhood and marriage to an ambitious corporate power player. But there’s more to Shelby than meets the eye. One afternoon, the perfect life she has meticulously built comes crashing down when a stop by the police for a broken taillight turns into a terrifying battle for survival. Shrewd, charismatic and untouchable, Jason Cooper is poised to become the next CEO of Orphion, a multi-billion dollar global technology company. To achieve his dream, no one must know he harbors a dark secret that could destroy his life and everyone in it. The Coopers’ world explodes in a burst of scandal and suspicion when Shelby is arrested for the murder of a close friend. A clever psychopath with a bitter vendetta is playing puppetmaster, and has orchestrated a series of cruel hoaxes to even the score. To unmask a killer and save his wife from a possible murder conviction, Jason must unravel the mystery of Shelby’s past. As the clock ticks, a series of stunning revelations threaten to ruin the Coopers for good. Yet nothing can prepare them for the mother of all deception—a truth so horrifying, it may leave them shattered forever. This diabolical psychological thriller chronicles the heart-wrenching unraveling of a family and exposes a shocking portrait of duplicity, vengeance, and betrayal that will keep you at the edge of your seat until the final, draw-dropping twist.

 (e-book from Felix Alexander)

When Olivia Villalobos finds a bloodstained love letter she endeavors to deliver it before Chief Inspector Sedeño finds it in her possession.

A city along the southern coast of Puerto Rico emerges in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. Olivia, daughter of a drunkard police investigator who never knew the truth behind her mother’s disappearance, finds a bloodstained love letter in the hidden compartment of her father’s coat. Convinced it belonged to the man recently found dead she sets out to deliver it to the Labyrinth of Love Letters. A mysterious place believed to be an urban legend where the transients of forbidden love leave missives for one another. She enlists the help of Isaac Quintero to find the Labyrinth and they soon realize their quest has opened the door into Old Sienna’s darkest secrets—the perils, madness and depth of tragic love.

 (mobi from publisher)

Emily and Elizabeth spend their childhood locked in a bedroom and terrorized by a mother who drinks too much and disappears for days. The identical twins are rescued by a family determined to be their saviors.

But there’s some horrors love can’t erase…

Elizabeth wakes in a hospital, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak. The last thing she remembers is finding Emily’s body in their bathroom. Days before, she was falling in love and starting college. Now, she’s surrounded by men who talk to themselves and women who pull out their eyebrows.

As she delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Emily’s death, she discovers shocking secrets and holes in her memory that force her to remember what she’s worked so hard to forget—the beatings, the blood, the special friends. Her life spins out of control at a terrifying speed as she desperately tries to unravel the psychological puzzle of her past before it’s too late.

Phantom Limb is a character-driven mystery that begs to be read in a single setting. The shocking and shattering conclusion will make you go back and read it again.

Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, Behind Closed Doors, and The Girl With No Past.

 (mobi from J.M. Richardson)

It lurks in the shadowy recesses of the French Quarter, among the flickering gas lanterns and Creole courtyards. In the humid, teeming swamps of Barataria. A dark secret. An ancient force. The will to remake one’s history. James Beauregard finds himself at the center of an insidious conspiracy, two hundred years in the making. From the backstreets of New Orleans to the once pirate-infested waters of the Gulf Coast, the race begins to unravel the mystery of The Barataria Key.

 (mobi from Craig A. Hart)

A cold-blooded killer has blazed a trail of dead bodies across the country, with no one to stand in his way…until he starts killing on Shelby Alexander’s home turf: the small Michigan town of Serenity.

A killer with a trail of dead bodies has come to Serenity, seeking to slake his thirst for death. As the first unspeakable murder shocks the sleepy Michigan town, the local media demands answers. Sheriff Wilkes, the crooked young lawman, targets Shelby Alexander, whose only crime is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Shelby moves quickly to clear his name, even as the killer closes in on his next victim…and this time it’s personal.

The second book in the Shelby Alexander Thriller Series, Serenity Stalked takes readers inside the mind of a terrifying killer. The stakes have never been higher.

If You Love These Authors, You’ll Love This Book

• Mark Dawson
• John Sandford
• Lee Child
• Nick Stephenson
• David Archer
• Steve Hamilton
• John Hemmings
• Christopher Greyson
• Robert B. Parker
• Elmore Leonard

 (mobi from Raoul Morris)

Milo is in a Paris bar, the usual story. He’s down after the last case, she’s alone, he’s alone. Perfect, if it wasn’t for the little matter of the head in the bag under the table. Pretty soon the body count is rising and he’s running to catch up. She seemed such a nice girl. That goes with the job if you’re part of the China12.

 (mobi via Emma Mitchell, blog tour organiser)

For Paul and Debbie it was meant to be the happiest time of their lives – a small village wedding in front of their family and friends, followed by a quiet honeymoon in Devon. Not everyone was happy to see them together. Someone from the past was intent on ending their marriage before it had really started. Now, supposedly away from it all in a picturesque log cabin, Paul and Debbie find themselves in the midst of mysterious happenings. Unexplained disappearances with people turning up dead, and all of it centred on the site of an horrific murder. A place the locals wish was a place that never existed.

Books I have requested on Netgalley….. (I have absolutely no self control!)

Pub Date 09 Mar 2017

Can a holiday romance ever have a happy ending? Escape with Kate to the sun-drenched city of Rome where a love affair is just about to begin …

When Kate’s husband Matt dumps her on Friday 13th she decides enough is enough – it’s time for her to have some fun and so she hops on a plane to Rome. A week of grappa and gelato in pavement cafes under azure blue skies will be just what the doctor ordered.

What she doesn’t count on is meeting and falling for sexy policeman Alessandro. But the course of true love doesn’t run smoothly – Alessandro has five meddling sisters, a fearsome mama and a beautiful ex Orazia. They’re all certain that Kate is not the girl for him.

Can Kate and Alessandro’s love last the distance? Or will she return home with the one souvenir she doesn’t want – a broken heart …

Fall in love with the colourful cafes and the cobbled piazzas of Rome and follow Kate’s dreams and her heart in this enchanting escapist read. Perfect for fans of Debbie Johnson and Carol Matthews.

Pub Date 09 Feb 2017

A heart-rending story of family tragedy, perfect for fans of Amanda Prowse and Jojo Moyes.

Is holding on harder than letting go?

Dan’s life has fallen apart at the seams. He’s lost his house, his job is on the line, and now he’s going to lose his family too. All he’s ever wanted is to keep them together, but is everything beyond repair?

Maria is drowning in grief. She spends her days writing letters that will never be answered. Nights are spent trying to hold terrible memories at bay, to escape the pain that threatens to engulf her.

Jack wakes up confused and alone. He doesn’t know who he is, how he got there, or why he finds himself on a deserted clifftop, but will piecing together the past leave him a broken man?

In the face of real tragedy, can these three people find a way to reconcile their past with a new future? And is love enough to carry them through?

Pub Date 23 Feb 2017

Vicky Seagrave is blessed: three beautiful children, a successful, doting husband, great friends and a job she loves. She should be perfectly happy.

When she risks everything she holds dear on a whim, there’s only person she trusts enough to turn to.

But Vicky is about to learn that one mistake is all it takes; that if you’re careless with those you love, you don’t deserve to keep them . . .

‘A tense and utterly engrossing story’ Tammy Cohen, author of WHEN SHE WAS BAD and THE BROKEN
‘A compelling page-turner which kept me reading well into the night.This book will make any woman look at her best friend with more than a touch of suspicion . . .’ Jane Corry, author of MY HUSBAND’S WIFE
‘A page-turner that explores how friendship, mothering, marriage, and events in the past can collide in unexpected and tumultuous ways’ Beth Miller, author of THE GOOD NEIGHBOUR and WHEN WE WERE SISTERS
‘A brilliant, gripping read. I couldn’t put it down’ Claire Douglas, author of THE SISTERS and LOCAL GIRL MISSING

Pub Date 01 Mar 2017

A compelling, heartbreaking tale that will make you laugh, cry and believe in the kindness of strangers. Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Lucy Dillon and Miranda Dickinson.

Life is good for nurse Kat. That is until the man she intended to marry legs it, she’s unexpectedly promoted to a position with too much responsibility, and a patient arrives on her ward under strange circumstances.

Susan is a mystery. She refuses to speak or interact with anyone, she’s obsessed with a book of fairy tales, and the only name in her diary is that of Rhys – a plumber she barely knows.

Down-to-earth Rhys is trying to get his life back on track after the death of his beloved brother. His mum is his priority, and she needs him as much as he needs her. Or at least she did, until she starts disappearing, leaving him to find comfort in the form of his brother’s girlfriend.

Complicated is an understatement.

As the lives of these three lost strangers intertwine, will they find a way to lay ghosts past, present and future to rest? And when the chance comes to mend their broken hearts, will they be brave enough to take it?

Pub Date 02 Mar 2017

Chocolate fudge, butterscotch and raspberry bonbons… treat yourself to some sugary treats, a big slice of friendship and a sprinkling of romance at The Beachside Sweet Shop.

When Marnie Appleton inherited a sweet shop from her grandfather she was determined to do his legacy proud. The shop has been a much-loved feature of the little seaside town of Shipley for years, but now Marnie needs to bring it up to date, and she’s recruited gorgeous new assistant Josh to help.

Marnie gets busy redecorating the shop and choosing delicious new sweets to stock, but things are never that simple: new neighbour Isobel, a fame-hungry blogger, is on a crusade against sugar, and she’ll go to any lengths to secure bad publicity for Marnie’s shop.

Marnie fights back with homemade sugar-free treats, but with her best friend Beth heavily pregnant, her grandmother Celia recovering from an operation, and her very recently ex-boyfriend Alex returning to Shipley with a new love, Marnie has a lot on her plate.

And then there’s Josh, with whom Marnie is struggling to keep her relationship strictly professional…Will both the sweet shop and love flourish?

A deliciously heartwarming read about family, friends and handmade coconut ice. Perfect for fans of Cressida McLaughlin, Debbie Johnson, and Tilly Tennant.

Books I have bought or downloaded for free…..

 (A Christmas gift from a friend, from my Amazon wish list)

Some accidents are no accident…

Someone is murdering Greg Unsworth’s neighbours and staging the deaths to look like accidents.

Greg knows the truth, but when he’s grappling with OCD and simply closing his front door and crossing the road are a battle, how is he supposed to catch a serial killer?

From the internationally bestselling author of Where the Dead Walk, Vessel and Cold Sweats & Vignettes comes a cosy murder mystery with a difference…

Meet Greg Unsworth, afflicted with OCD, who begins to realize that a series of fatal accidents on his street are in fact a series of murders. After encountering Beth Grue at the scene of one such crime, the two bond over their shared fears and suspicions, and struggles: Beth has cerebral palsy. When the police repeatedly dismiss their concerns, they take matters into their own hands and attempt to discover the killer’s identity and expose him…

 (Kindle)

A gritty romance set in the world of international development that brings Ukraine vividly to life: from the beautiful lilac-filled city of Kiev and the ski runs of the Carpathians to the dangerous depths of the Donetsk coalmines and the chilling ghost town of Chernobyl

WINNER OF THE PEOPLE’S BOOK PRIZE FOR FICTION 2015/16 Patron Frederick Forsyth CBE

It is 1994 and an idealistic Vanessa Parker enters the world of international aid, bringing with her youth and passion to do good in the ‘Wild East’ of Ukraine after the sudden collapse of communism. The country and its people completely win her heart. As does Dan, a jaded American Deputy Bureau Chief of USAID.

Older, wiser, Dan laughs at Vanessa’s naivety. Corruption is rife. The mind-set of the Ukrainian people is at times impenetrable. Her efforts to coordinate millions of dollars worth of aid are met with ridicule, whilst the British aid experts throw up smoke screens. At times thwarted, Vanessa’s determination to help is set when she meets the resourceful, magnificent wives of a Donetsk mining village threatened with pit closures.

But then Dan springs a bolt from the blue, which throws her into turmoil…

In a world where millions of dollars can either wash away in a moment’s corruption, or turn around the lives of the neediest, Vanessa is then forced to pit her own naive desire to make a difference against the chaos of a country and people in transition.

 (Kindle first Prime member freebie)

The year is 1928. Kate Moore is looking for a way out of the poverty and violence of her childhood. When a chance encounter on a transatlantic ocean liner brings her face-to-face with the handsome heir to a Chicago fortune, she thinks she may have found her escape—as long as she can keep her past concealed.

After exchanging wedding vows, Kate quickly discovers that something isn’t quite right with her husband—or her new family. As Mrs. Matthew Lemont, she must contend with her husband’s disturbing past, his domineering mother, and his overly close sister. Isolated at Lakecrest, the sprawling, secluded Lemont estate, she searches desperately for clues to Matthew’s terrors, which she suspects stem from the mysterious disappearance of his aunt years before. As Kate stumbles deeper into a maze of family secrets, she begins to question everyone’s sanity—especially her own. But just how far will she go to break free of this family’s twisted past?

 (Paperback)

** Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2015 **

If you’ve never read a Patrick Gale, stop now and pick up the Sunday Times Top Ten hardback and paperback bestseller, A PLACE CALLED WINTER – picked for the BBC Radio 2 Simon Mayo Book Club and the Waterstones Book Club.

To find yourself, sometimes you must lose everything.

A shy but privileged elder son, Harry Cane has followed convention at every step. Even the beginnings of an illicit, dangerous affair do little to shake the foundations of his muted existence – until the shock of discovery and the threat of arrest force him to abandon his wife and child and sign up for emigration to Canada.

Remote and unforgiving, his allotted homestead in a place called Winter is a world away from the golden suburbs of turn-of-the-century Edwardian England. And yet it is here, isolated in a seemingly harsh landscape, under the threat of war and madness that the fight for survival will reveal in Harry an inner strength and capacity for love beyond anything he has ever known before.

 (Paperback)

1911: Inside an asylum at the edge of the Yorkshire moors,
where men and women are kept apart
by high walls and barred windows,
there is a ballroom vast and beautiful.
For one bright evening every week
they come together
and dance.
When John and Ella meet
It is a dance that will change
two lives forever.

Set over the heatwave summer of 1911, the end of the Edwardian era, THE BALLROOM is a historical love story. It tells a page-turning tale of dangerous obsession, of madness and sanity, and of who gets to decide which is which.

 (Kindle)

Join Izzy on her journey from January blues to joy. THE YEAR OF SAYING YES by Hannah Doyle will make you dirty-laugh, feel warm and fuzzy, and rediscover life’s magic – all thanks to one little word: yes. Fans of Lindsey Kelk, Mhairi McFarlane and Lucy-Anne Holmes, you’re in for a real treat.

The first of four exclusive part-serialisations of THE YEAR OF SAYING YES by Hannah Doyle.

Dear Readers

It’s drizzling outside, which totally matches my #currentmood. Pigs in blankets, all the mince pies and a festive Baileys or five are distant memories. You know the drill – it’s January. Everyone’s banning booze (terrible idea) or cutting carbs (impossible). To add to the misery pile, my plans to seduce the man of my dreams at the stroke of midnight flopped spectacularly.

I’m Izzy. I don’t just need a New Year resolution, I need a whole new life. And I need YOU. My dreary life is about to get a total makeover – it’s my ‘Year of Saying Yes’. And this is where you come in. It’s up to you to #DareIzzy. I’m saying yes to your challenges, no matter how nuts, adventurous or wild they are. The sky’s the limit – I’m at your mercy, readers!

Wish me luck. I have a feeling I’m going to need it.

Love

Izzy x

Don’t miss Part 2 of Izzy’s adventure, where Izzy is challenged to ask a total stranger for his number, pose naked for a life drawing class and, wait for it… perform at Glastonbury!

 (Paperback pre-ordered)

‘A CLEVER AND UNCOMPROMISING THRILLER’ Katerina Diamond, bestselling author of THE TEACHER and THE SECRET

GONE WITHOUT A TRACE is a compulsive thriller about a woman who returns from work to find her boyfriend has vanished. Fans of BEHIND CLOSED DOORS and THE SISTER will be gripped.

‘Has a twist I really didn’t see coming’ Cass Green, author of THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR

No one ever disappears completely…

You leave for work one morning.

Another day in your normal life.

Until you come home to discover that your boyfriend has gone.
His belongings have disappeared.
He hasn’t been at work for weeks.
It’s as if he never existed.

But that’s not possible, is it?

And there is worse still to come.

Because just as you are searching for him
someone is also watching you.

 (Kindle)

He spots the two girls through the cracked screen of beech, sycamore and leg-scratching gorse: a flash of red skirt and a unison of giggles . . . The smaller girl sees him first and she lets out a strange little squeak and jumps back, grabbing onto the other girl’s T-shirt, revealing a flash of milky white shoulder.
He grins.

Something happened to Claire and Jo in Black Wood: something that left Claire paralysed and Jo with deep mental scars. But with Claire suffering memory loss and no evidence to be found, nobody believes Jo’s story.

Twenty-three years later, a familiar face walks into the bookshop where Jo works, dredging up painful memories and rekindling her desire for vengeance. And at the same time, Sergeant David Gray is investigating a balaclava-clad man who is attacking women on a disused railway, shocking the sleepy village of Banktoun. But what is the connection between Jo’s visitor and the masked man?

To catch the assailant, and to give Jo her long-awaited justice, Gray must unravel a tangled web of past secrets, broken friendship and tainted love. But can he crack the case before Jo finds herself with blood on her hands?

 (Kindle)

THE KINDLE BESTSELLER IN PSYCHOLOGICAL CRIME THRILLERS.

Claire is an ordinary woman with a son and career. But below the facade of happiness lies the foundations which threaten to shatter the home she’s made for herself and her son. She is in thousands of pounds worth of debt and with nobody to help her out she has no option but to accept an offer from a stranger. One which is far more dangerous than she thought possible.

‘The man I am going to meet is called Ewan. He is a builder. He has green eyes and a kind smile. That is all I know. For One Night Only I am his and then I will be debt free.’

 (Kindle)

THE STUNNING THRILLER FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHOR, LOUISE MULLINS, DUBBED THE QUEEN OF DOMESTIC NOIR.

Annette is happily married, living in a beautiful house with her husband. Her two older daughters have left home. She no longer has to work. Life is perfect. But one day changes all that, awakening a sinister past she’d rather forget.

Annette thinks her husband is having an affair. He says she has been living a comfortable delusion for the past ten years. Annette decides to uncover the truth, but doing so might unearth more than she is prepared for.

Who should you believe?

What happened all those years ago to cause such friction in this couples otherwise content life?

And why is their marriage now on the brink of collapse?

If you enjoyed Apple Tree Yard, The Girl With No Past or No Kiss Goodbye you will love this.

 (Kindle)

From the best-selling author of Scream Quietly which has now been optioned for film rights.

A dark, chilling Psychological Crime Thriller for fans of Paula Hawkins, Graeme Cameron, Gillian Flynn and S. J. Watson.

Even though I’ve seen the newspapers, read the headlines and watched the television reports, it still doesn’t feel real. I still can’t quite believe he’s so damaged.

A serial killer is terrorising Berkshire.
Everyone is hiding something.
Kira: ‘I could kill that man.’
Nathan: ‘Some secrets can destroy you.’
Jonathan: ‘I’m not innocent. We’re all guilty of something.’

Each and every one of us is haunted by something. It’s what makes us human. We all sleep in darkness. It’s not the dark you should fear, though, it’s the light. That’s why some things are better left unsaid. Some wounds are too painful to re-open.

 (Kindle)

THE BEST-SELLING THRILLER WHICH HAS NOW BEEN OPTIONED FOR FILM RIGHTS BY GROUNDBREAKING PICTURES.

A dark, chilling Psychological Crime Thriller for fans of Gillian Flynn, S. J. Watson, Elizabeth Haynes and Chevy Stevens.

What would you do if you couldn’t trust your own memory?

What if everything you believe is a lie?

When your life is in danger and there is only one way out there is nobody you can trust, not even yourself.

After a car crash, Marieke is plagued by memories of events she can’t trust ever happened. During therapy, she begins to uncover a prior existence, one which she’d tried so desperately to hide from herself.

When she realises that the man she married is hiding something much worse she discovers that the past is not so far away after all. Leaving her with a decision which results in devastating consequences.

 (Kindle)

THE NEW PULSE-POUNDING THRILLER
FROM AMAZON BESTSELLER, LOUISE MULLINS

What do we really know about the people we love?

When his wife goes missing, Scott attempts to
piece together the fragments of her past
whilst remaining under the watchful eye of the police.
What he discovers though is more shocking than
he could have imagined, forcing him to
question everything he thought he knew about her.

Is it too late to save her?
Have they both fallen victim to their own destruction?

A compelling psychological portrait into
toxic relationships, deceit, and a past you can’t escape.

 (Kindle)

Lavender Fields is the perfect sanctuary. The remote Cornish cottage has been home to many a lost soul for generations.

In 1892 Helena runs the family inherited perfumery business here. Until one beautiful but isolated winter, almost consumed with loneliness, a stranger appears, altering her ordered world forever.

In 1940 Joseph finds a journal buried behind a stone in the hearth of his holiday home. He sets out on a quest to find out what happened in the cottage, all those years ago. But his curiosity is dampened when he is called to serve in the war effort. When he returns he soon uncovers the disturbing family secrets which Helena took to her grave.

Is it time to unravel the mystery which surrounds this idyllic landscape and finally lay to rest the ghosts of the past?

‘An intricately woven tale of love, betrayal and murder’

 (Kindle)

Haunted by the memories of the fire which destroyed her family home. Isabella is sent to an asylum by her husband. Upon her return, unable to forgive him of his overbearing presence she flee’s, seeking refuge with Anne, a once fellow resident of the asylum. But Anne has her own troubles and they are soon forced to leave the safety of Manor Farm. Will her husband reach her before she can find happiness? Or will Anne’s secret destroy her already fragile mind?

Almost a century later, Lillian and her husband inherit the house. But as they prepare to rebuild it memories of her childhood begin to resurface. Leaving Lillian unsure of what memories are hers and what belongs to another. A woman to whom she relates to. A woman who seems to remain within the walls of Oldbury Court, even after all of this time.

 (kindle)

Her breath rose and fell in fearful gasps but it was too late. She could already see what she dreaded most. The back seat was empty.

Her little girl was gone.

Abigail lives the perfect life with her doting husband and adorable baby Izzy. But someone knows a secret about Abigail and they want the truth to be told.

When Izzy is snatched from a carpark, it becomes as case for Detective Robyn Carter. Someone has been sending threatening messages to Abigail from an anonymous number. What is Abigail hiding?

Roby’s instincts tell her there’s a connection between Izzy’s abduction and two murders she is investigating. But the last time she acted on impulse her fiancé was killed. To break this case and earn her place back on the force, she must learn to trust herself again – and fast. Robyn is on the hunt for a ruthless serial killer. And unless she gets to the twisted individual in time a little girl will die ….

Gripping, fast paced and nail-bitingly tense, this serial killer thriller will chill you to the bone. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott and Karin Slaughter.

 (Kindle)

A serial killer to chill your bones

A psychopath more frightening than Hannibal Lecter.

He has planned well. He leads two lives. In one he’s just like anyone else. But in the other he is the caretaker of his family’s macabre museum.

Now the time has come to add to his collection. He is ready to feed his obsession, and he is on the hunt.

Jakey Frith and Clara Foyle have something in common. They have what he needs.

What begins is a terrifying cat-and-mouse game between the sinister collector, Jakey’s father and Etta Fitzroy, a troubled detective investigating a spate of abductions.

Set in London’s Blackheath, Rattle by Fiona Cummins explores the seam of darkness that runs through us all; the struggle between light and shadow, redemption and revenge.

It is a glimpse into the mind of a sinister psychopath. And it’s also a story about not giving up hope when it seems that all hope is already lost.

Added to my Amazon wish list…..

                                            

Happy Publication Day to Mel Sherratt and Bookouture! 🙂

This awesome book is out today for you all to enjoy!

My review will follow, as part of the blog tour.

Publisher: Bookouture (31st January 2017)

She got into bed but sleep didn’t come easily. Every creak in the house made her alert. She was waiting for him to come and get her.

The small city of Stockleigh is in shock as three women are brutally attacked within days of each other. Are they random acts of violence or is there a link between the victims? For Detective Eden Berrisford, it’s her most chilling case yet.

The investigation leads Eden to cross paths with Carla, a woman trying to rebuild her life after her marriage to a cruel and abusive man ended in unimaginable tragedy. Her husband Ryan was imprisoned for his crimes but, now he’s out and coming for her.

As Eden starts to close in on the attacker, she also puts herself in grave danger. Can she stop him before he strikes again? And can Carla, terrified for her life, save herself – before the past wreaks a terrible revenge?

An absolutely gripping and chilling police procedural which will hook fans of Angela Marsons and Rachel Abbott.

What readers are saying about Don’t Look Behind You:

‘The storyline weaves its way expertly towards a tense, thrilling and dramatic climax. Don’t Look Behind You is a definite 5-star read for me.’ Angela Marsons, author of Silent Scream and Blood Lines

‘Mel Sherratt has done it again! Loved this amazing book! This is a fabulous series and I adore Eden! A pacy, tense, thrilling read!’ Renita D’Silva, author of The Forgotten Daughter

’Don’t Look Behind You is a read full of twists and turns that will keep your heart pumping and your mind working overtime…I love Eden Berrisford and her team’ Caroline Mitchell, author of The Silent Twin

‘Wow. Yet again another gripping read by Mel featuring Detective Eden Berrisford. It was fab to learn more about this strong and inspiring character, and can’t wait for more in the series. The characters are so well written and presented that you’re sucked in to their stories and experience a real rollercoaster of emotions along with them.’ Vix Reading and Writing Blog 2016

‘Mel Sherratt has done it again. She’s kept me awake until I saw daylight coming through my window. There are vulnerable women within these pages and you tense up and your tummy knots up with each event that plays out. This is a breathtaking, twisty edge-of-your-seat read that when climaxes, really hits you for six. Read along with Sue

‘I loved that Eden was a strong female character who took no nonsense from anyone…I managed to read the whole thing in a matter of hours. This is a book which can definitely be described as “unputdownable”. Sal’s World of Books (5*)

‘The characters are deep and rounded, and some are very unsavoury. It got quite nail-biting in the end and I had to make myself breathe. I recommend this book 100%’ StefLoz Book Reviews

‘The second Eden Berrisford novel certainly doesn’t disappoint! Complex characters and a fast paced, multi-layered plot that only Sherratt can write, authentically combine with sensitive handling of the issues of domestic violence. As always, the writing feels real, raw and genuine’ Humble Tart Kitchen (5*)

Praise for the Eden Berrisford series:

‘Wow. What can I say? If you are looking for nerve-wracking and nail biting tension then look no further…A nerve wrenching, nail biting 5 stars.’ Jen Med’s Book Reviews (5*)

‘The Girls Next Door is the perfect recipe for an exquisite crime thriller … Emotional, gritty and full of some OMFG twists, I dare you NOT to want to read this book!’ Crime Book Junkie

‘Mel Sherratt has a knack for writing accessible, likeable and fundamentally human characters,I raced through it and couldn’t put it down as I reached the final few chapters!’ Bibliophile Book Club

Buy your copy HERE

Don’t miss the awesome #BlogTour, starting today…..

#TeamSherratt

Today I am over the moon to welcome Tara Lyons! 🙂

Happy Publication Day, Tara and Bloodhound Books!

Tara is a writer, mum to one, reader, tea and cider drinker! The second book in The DI Hamilton series is published today!

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

Hi, everyone. Thanks for having me on your blog today Kerry. I am a mother, a reader and a writer. I began writing in 2015, after my grandfather passed away and, with the support of some very special friends, I published my solo debut novel, In the Shadows, in March 2016. I also co-authored with M.A. Comley – The Caller and Web of Deceit: A DI Sally Parker novella, and signed a two-book deal with Bloodhound Books in August 2016. It’s been a rollercoaster few years. I’ve always loved reading and watching crime and thrillers, so it’s no real surprise to me that’s the genre I’m drawn too. I was never sure if In the Shadows would be a series, but I was over the moon when readers wanted to know about DI Hamilton. With the help of Bloodhound Books, that’s happened and we’ll be seeing more of him and his team this year.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

A lot of the time, ideas have sparked by something that happened in my life or something I have seen. But, that’s usually just the jumping off point. I love then delving in and going further with the idea. Real life stories, magazines and the news are also where I find inspiration.

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

Yes, a lot of my characters are. Not so much the “baddies” but then I think even they have some traits of people I know. But, there isn’t one character based on just one person I know. As they grow and develop in the story, I find them amalgamating different aspects – quirks, accents, flaws – of family and friends.

How do you pick your characters names?

Sometimes they just come to me as I’m typing, without a second thought. This was certainly true of Grace in In the Shadows and Rocky in No Safe Place. I’ve also started using Google – researching what names would have been popular when a certain character was born, which is really interested. While editing No Safe Home, I realised I had to many K names in one scene and decided to go back to the drawing board. I also enjoy using reader’s names for characters as I think it’s a lovely way to give back to them for all their support (or I run competitions to have a names character).

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

In a nutshell, every day is different and I don’t have a real routine. Not yet anyway. My son attends part-time nursery, four half days a week. So, actually sitting down to write, revolves around him. But, the actual process is that once I have a glimmer of an idea, I start writing notes. Names, places, plot, twists etc to build a foundation. From that, I try and prepare an outline for the book – but nothing to rigid, the characters like to surprise me while I’m mid-writing. Once I have the basics, I just start typing.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

This list can change on a weekly basis – depending how I’m feeling, what I’m reading or writing myself at the time. But, right now, the authors who have kept me going back to their books and who I’d buy without reading a blurb first…

Stephen King

J.K Rowling

M.A. Comley

Barbara Copperthwaite

Tammy Robinson

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

I’d love to meet Truman Capote. In Cold Blood was a book I chose to study for my dissertation at university and I was hooked by the story. It was a true crime and it took him six years to write, mixing factual details with stuff he didn’t know. I’d ask him to tell me all about this process and why he chose to travel to Kansas to follow that particular murder.

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes, I always had my nose in a book, magazine or even a colouring book! My mum would take me to the library at least once a week and I loved Roald Dahl, Sweet Valley High, Goosebumps and Point Horror.

When did you start to write?

I was always scribbling stories, from a small child, I liked to make up characters and take them to far-away places. When I finished university, I was an Assistant Editor of an in-house magazine for eight years. I started writing novels in 2015, when I turned 30 and was gifted a kindle, laptop and online crime writing course. My family and friends are so supportive, and encouraged me to take that leap.

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

I don’t want to contain any spoilers… but, I’ll have to say Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I understand the ending, but it made me cry like a banshee.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes because it is a novel that really got me reading the thriller genre. It’s clever, brilliantly-written and I held my breath a few times while reading it… masterpiece.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

It would have to be my guilty crush… Edward Cullen from the Twilight Saga. For obvious reasons, we’d have to go someone dark. So, it would have to be Cahoots – a secret, underground cocktail bar in central London. Whoops, no coffee then.

What are you working on right now?

Plans are well underway for book 3 in the DI Hamilton series. I have a general outline for the plot, I’m just getting to know the new characters before I start writing.

Do you have a new release due?

We don’t have a date planned for book 3 yet, but I am hoping it’ll be published later this year.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

There’s a few ways to keep up-to-date with all my news and ways to contact me:

Sign up to my monthly newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bN2KoH

http://www.facebook.com/taralyonsauthor

http://www.twitter.com/taralyonsauthor

http://www.instagram.com/taralyonsauthor

http://www.taralyonsauthor.blogspot.com

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

I’d just like to thank all the readers and bloggers who buy my books, leave reviews and help spread the word about them. I really hope you enjoy what I write, and that you’ll continue to follow DI Hamilton and his team.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Tara 🙂

Publisher: Bloodhound Books (31st January 2017)

Detective Inspector Denis Hamilton is haunted when the suspicious death of a teenage girl triggers suppressed memories. With a stalker targeting vulnerable women in Central London, and his team rapidly diminishing, Hamilton must conquer his emotions before another family is destroyed.

In a sleepy town in Hertfordshire, Katy has worked hard to rebuild her life after leaving behind everything she knew. But when her past catches up with her, and her young son’s life is threatened, Katy must admit her true identity if she has any hope of surviving.

A home should be a safe place, shouldn’t it?

But sometimes it is hard to know who you can trust…

London’s murder investigations team returns in the second novel from the bestselling author of In the Shadows.

Order your copy HERE

You will find all of Tara’s book on her Amazon author page

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Today I am thrilled to welcome Cheryl Rees-Price! 🙂

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

Hello, I’m Cheryl Rees-Price the author of the DI Winter Meadows series. I live in South Wales with my husband and three playful cats. During the day I work in finance and in the evening I plot murders. Fictional of course!

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

My ideas come from all different sources. Sometimes it could just be a comment that sparks an idea. For the first book in the series, The Silent Quarry, the idea came from walking the quarry footpath near to my home. A conversation with a relative who was having problems in work inspired the second book, Frozen Minds.

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

I often observe the personalities of people around me and use certain traits in some of my characters. DC Edris, although male, is loosely based on my daughter. He is the same age and has a similar quirky personality.

How do you pick your characters names?

For minor characters I use baby naming books. I try to find names that are popular for certain time periods. For the main characters I look for unusual and memorable names.

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

I fit in my writing around work and always have a notebook and pen to hand so I can jot down ideas and dialogue. Lunchtime is when I’m at my most creative. I try to write every day, the first draft is always handwritten then I move it to my computer and edit as I go.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Sharon Bolton, Linwood Barclay, R.D Wingfield, Catrin Collier and Harlan Coben.

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

I would love to have met Agatha Christie and ask her how she came up with all the plots for her books.

Were you a big reader as a child?

I wasn’t a big reader as a child. I did read The Hardy Boys, I had a bit of a crush on Joe Hardy. In junior school the teacher would read to us on some afternoons, the two books that had the biggest impact were The Hobbit and The adventures of Tom Sawyer

When did you start to write?

I didn’t start to write until I was in my thirties. My daughters were still young and I used to make up stories using them as characters. I then wrote plays for local church performances before gaining the courage to write my first novel.

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

I would re write the end of The Shack so that the little girl would be found alive although it would negate the main point of the book.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

There are many books I wish I had written but I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed them so much.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

I would invite Inspector Frost for coffee. It would be nice to invite him to my home and grill him for information on his cases. I think he would be very entertaining.

What are you working on right now?

I’ve just finished writing the third DI Meadows novel and I’m in the process of starting the next book.

Do you have a new release due?

My stand alone thriller Façade is due out in the summer.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I’m on Facebook, Twitter, and also have a website.

Links

Website

Facebook

The Silent Quarry

Frozen Minds

Bio

Cheryl Rees-Price was born in Cardiff and moved as a Young child to a small ex-mining village on the edge of the Black Mountains, South Wales, where she still lives with her husband, daughters and three cats. After leaving school she worked as a legal clerk for several years before leaving to raise her two daughters.

Cheryl returned to education, studying philosophy, sociology and accountancy whilst working as a part time book keeper. She now works as a finance director for a company that delivers project management and accounting services.

In her spare time Cheryl indulges in her passion for writing, the success of writing plays for local performances gave her the confidence to write her first novel. Her other hobbies include walking and gardening which free her mind to develop plots and create colourful characters.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, Cheryl 🙂

Publisher: Accent Press (5th December 2015)

In 1987 a quiet Welsh village was devastated by a brutal attack on two schoolgirls, Bethan Hopkins and Gwen Collier. Only Gwen survived, with horrific injuries and no memory of the attack. The killer was never caught.
Now, nearly thirty years later, Gwen has gone missing and DI Winter Meadows is assigned to the case. Charismatic and intuitive, he has an uncanny gift for finding the truth. But in this small and close-knit community, the past is never far away, and those who have secrets will go to any lengths to keep them. Tensions run high as old feelings and accusations are stirred. And DI Meadows has to battle his own demons as he uncovers a truth he wished had stayed in the past …
The Silent Quarry is the first in the DI Winter Meadows series by Cheryl Rees-Price.

Buy your copy HERE

Publisher: Accent Press (14th October 2016)

When a man is found murdered at Bethesda House, a home for adults with learning difficulties, local people start to accuse the home’s residents of being behind the killing. The victim was a manager at the home, and seemingly a respectable and well-liked family man. DI Winter Meadows knows there’s more to the case than meets the eye at first, though. As he and his team investigate, Meadows discovers a culture of fear at the home – and some very sinister dealings going on between the staff. Does the answer to the case lie in the relationships between the staff and the residents – or is there something even more sinister afoot?

Buy your copy HERE

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

Today I am delighted to welcome Jackie Buxton! 🙂

Hi Kerry, thanks so much for having me on your blog. You’ve asked great questions and I apologise in advance for going on and on and …

…Not at all, Jackie, thank so much for your lovely answers.

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

I’m lucky, my life is pretty much immersed in words. I write fiction, edit other people’s fiction and teach creative writing. When I’m not doing that I’m reading, although I am also slightly addicted to running and cycling so I spend my days seeing how I’m going to fit one or other of those in.

My latest book is Glass Houses which is contemporary fiction, the tale of two women who make stupid mistakes and what happens after that. It’s dark and heavy but not without hope. I’m also the author of self-help memoir, Tea & Chemo, based on my headlong collision with cancer and the difficult, doable and sometimes, downright amusing journey through cancer treatments.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

I can never place where my ideas come from when I first sit down to write but it will then become blindingly obvious that something in the news, for example, perhaps years before, had sparked the idea. I would say that most of my ideas come from the news, community, the funny things people do and say, the idiosyncrasies, our contradictions, or rather, the downright bizarre and wonderful way of the human species.

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

No, I don’t think they are. It tends to be an idea for the plot which gets me writing and it’s only when I’ve decided that the idea might have legs that I consider what kind of person I’d need to get this story told. It’s quite a clinical approach to finding character at first, more like a compiling of traits which I then package up into a person, rather than taking someone I know and trying to slot them in to do the job. Very quickly however, my characters become as real to me as my friends and family so they sort of join the clan, rather than being a duplicate of any one of them. I realise this makes me sound every slightly barking…

How do you pick your characters names?

Again, quite clinically in the beginning. I use a baby naming book or website to research the top hundred names in a given period to make sure they’re credible, then I see which one would suit my character. Next, in an effort to avoid reader confusion, I check that the characters’ names don’t begin with the same initial or have the same amount of syllables, particularly if they’re going to be introduced at a similar time. That said, I failed somewhat in Glass Houses because I know some people have wrestled with Tori and Etta – which one caused the crash and which one saved her?? Note to self for next time!

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

I err slightly more towards the pantser than the plotter but only just. I toss ideas around in my mind a lot and if I can’t sketch out the first chapter or the ending, then the ideas don’t get further than the notebook. I might then write the beginning and get very excited for the first 10k words but there comes a point where I have to stop, think carefully about who these characters are and where they’re going and compile a list of what I need to think about. I then abandon the wonderful ‘chucking the story down’ stage for a while, in order to do a heap of research. So, in the case of Glass Houses, I wrote about the initial car accident and wrote the final chapter, and they haven’t changed too much during the looong writing process, but in between I did a lot of reading. I met with road traffic accident victims and perpetrators, emergency services and hospital staff, ex-coma patients and their carers etc. etc. I do this to make sure I’m writing with some authority but it invariably informs the plot, too. And it’s a great excuse because I love research!

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Oh, this is tricky. I think the fairest way to do this is let them spill out. Maggie O’Farrell, Rachel Joyce and Jill Dawson for their brilliantly concise but oh, so evocative storytelling, Anita Shreve for plots which pack a punch and for being my reading mainstay in my twenties. Finally, it has to be Ian McEwan who always has me thinking way beyond the book. There are so many others, of course.

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

It’s a close call between George Orwell and Aldous Huxley (and other dystopian writers for whom I have enormous respect). I’ll plump for Aldous Huxley and ask how he saw so much of what was to come and whether he’s looking over now, worrying about what’s happened or nodding sagely and saying, ‘I told you so.’

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes. I loved everything from Enid Blyton to CS Lewis to Nina Bawden (particularly loved Carrie’s War) to Roald Dahl. The book I remember above all others was James and the Giant Peach because I read it in one night and thought that my parents hadn’t realised that I was still reading at midnight. Midnight! I was only eight, can you imagine?! I devoured that book and it started a pattern of good intentions of early nights which end up at 3am, usually in a cold bath these days.

When did you start to write?

Like so many, I was a diary writer. I have journals and journals written between the age of 13 and 23 (when I had a Forrest Gump moment and just decided there and then that I didn’t want to write a diary any more). I sorted my life out in those diaries and they definitely made me realise that writing was therapy for me. Tragically, my first love died when he was 17, falling from Ben Nevis and I was, as you can imagine, absolutely devastated. Writing my diary really helped. For years I had the idea of writing a book for teens who found themselves in the same situation. It would be fiction but it would have a positive thread, how life could become ‘good’ again, that, in a period of your life when everything is so black and white, time really would help. I wanted to write that book because it was something I needed to read, when I was going through it and I couldn’t find it. I never wrote the book because I always felt I’d need to ask my boyfriend’s approval and of course, that wasn’t possible. But it was certainly this period in my life which sewed the seed that writing something for other people to read, would be something I’d love to do.

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

This is difficult because I don’t want to be negative about an otherwise wonderful book and with all novels, there’ll be many readers who’ll disagree. But here goes! I felt a little under-whelmed by the very last line to A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys Bray, having devoured every word up until that point – definitely a getting-out-of-a-cold-bath-read – but I felt sad about Claire, grieving mother and wife to a pretty dysfunctional and unaffectionate partner, turning back to the life she’d had. I’d have preferred her to take a different path altogether. I hope that isn’t a spoiler for anyone who’s lucky enough to still have this otherwise gem of a book in their TBR.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

I go back to the dystopian novels, the science fiction which is so cleverly conceived that you can absolutely imagine how a society might think it were a good idea to go that way, but that the end result is terrifying. I think I’ll say Animal Farm by George Orwell because to write a book which will be read by O-level and GCSE pupils for decades, which is almost universally respected and enjoyed by even the most anti-establishment of pupils, has to be commended in my opinion.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

I struggled to choose for a while but suddenly remembered half-gypsy, Kizzy, in The Diddakoi by Rumer Godden. She was horrendously treated by her townsfolk but happy because she had the love of her grandmother and horse. But then her gran died and I was heart-broken for her. As if that wasn’t enough, Kizzy’s wagon burnt down. It was the last straw – I’d have cheerfully had Kizzy come and live with us, and not just taken her out for coffee! I guess it wouldn’t have been a coffee back then, but a hot chocolate with marshmallows, crucially bought with my own pocket money because reading that book was an early salutary lesson in how lucky I was.

What are you working on right now?

I’m half way through the first draft of a novel with the working title of, ‘The Tree House’. It’s the story of a little girl, much misunderstood, who ends up in prison, and why she’s quite happy about it. I need to work on my two sentence pitch – I’m hoping the story isn’t as dark as that might sound.

Do you have a new release due?

No, thankfully! I’ve had a madly busy two years with Tea & Chemo being published only six months before Glass Houses and all the edits and promotion that entails. I’ve loved every minute of it but combine all that with my editing, teaching and mum responsibilities and I’ve taken my eye off The Tree House somewhat. But I’m back with a vengeance in 2017, determined to write at least ten hours every week and managing it so far. Wish me luck!

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I’d love to hear from you. You can find me:

Blog: https://jackiebuxton.blogspot.co.uk

Website: www.jackiebuxton.com

@jaxbees and https://www.facebook.com/jackiebuxton40/

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

I’d just like to thank you for having me on your blog and to your readers for reading this far – hope you had a cup of tea with it, was a bit of a long one…

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Jackie, and good luck with The Tree House 🙂

Publisher: Urbane Publications (7th July 2016)

‘When she sent that text, all our lives changed for ever…’

51 year old Tori Williams’ life implodes when she sends a text while driving on the M62 motorway and allegedly causes the horrific crash in which three people die. Public and press are baying for her blood, but Tori is no wallflower and refuses to buckle under their pressure or be a pariah in society.

Instead, she sets about saving the nation. But can she save Etta, the woman who saved her life? Or will Etta’s secret be her downfall?

This incredibly topical and contemporary morality tale appeals across generations and will find favour with fans of authors such as Liane Moriarty, Marian Keyes and Kathryn Croft.

Buy your copy HERE

Publisher: Urbane Publications Limited (25th November 2015)

At the age of 45, wife and mother Jackie Buxton was diagnosed with breast cancer. Lurching between the crippling fear that the cancer had spread, and the great comfort of knowing she was one of the lucky ones who could be treated, she did what she always does when life presents her with a challenge: she wrote it down. Jackie quickly realised that even with cancer, life was far from bad. Never known for her scientific prowess, she nonetheless became a ‘bit of an expert’ – at least in the field of hair loss, water retention and biscuits – and decided to use her writing to share experiences and help others recognise you don’t have to be defined by your cancer. Tea & Chemo is full of laughter, tears, honesty and hope, and offers inspirational words to everyone facing the life challenges that cancer inevitably brings. All proceeds from the sales of Tea & Chemo will go to three incredibly important charities, whose compassionate care and professionalism make the difference to so many lives: The Haven, Breast Cancer Now and The Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre, Harrogate.

Buy your copy HERE

Enjoy!

 

Today I am delighted to welcome Claire L Brown! 🙂

Claire’s twitter bio states: ‘Independent author; Movie fan, dog lover, Home design junkie. Experimenting in beauty & fashion. Making my way one page at a time.’

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

Hi my name is Claire L Brown, I was born in Sunderland, Northeast England where I currently live with my dog Hero and my family.

I’m a BA Honors Graduate in Media Studies with American History from Sunderland University and was an exchange student attending Western Washington State University, USA for period of time.

As well as writing her novels, I’m a blogger charting my lifestyle and I’m the Chief Executive of The Poppy Garden Appeal a charity established to fund a recuperation centre for service personnel and their families.

My latest book, The Poppy Garden is a romantic drama based on how my grandfather developed his own methods of coping with PTSD following his experiences in WW2. I used his example and inspiration from the women in my life who have dealt with caring for their partners through times of trouble.

The book has also inspired the set up of a charity to support veterans and their families by providing support and recuperation assistance.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

Life is like a book with every day and every experience you have filling in another page to your story. While I know some of the pages in my grandfather’s book there were many that are left blank. I know the basic outline of the pages but not the detail and unfortunately I can no longer ask him directly to fill in the blanks. I always wanted to tell his story but while I have some of the facts a lot of the detail isn’t available to me. So one day while working in my own garden I was thinking about him and realised all the times I spent with him as a child in his garden was part of his way of coping with what had happened to him. He focused his stress, his fears, his upset and channelled it in to his garden creating his own safe haven and his own place of sanctuary.

As I worked I realised there was a different side to his story I could tell just in a different way.

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

Elements of my two main characters, Sky and Nick, come from My grandfather and my grandmother. I also looked to my mother and other strong women I knew who had dealt with situations that needed them to be strong in ways they had never imagined.

How do you pick your characters names?

I have chosen the names in this book carefully as I wanted them to be characters in their own right but also have links to the people who were involved in my grandfather’s story, in a way dedication to thank them for the sacrifices they gave which ensured I am living my life today and am able to write freely.

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

I would call myself an organic writer. I tend to work in the best way that suits the story. For this book, I started with an outline roughly jotted down after the spark of the idea. I then developed the characters and kept a profile for each of them which I added to and edited as I worked.

The chapters were written without much planning – I knew the major themes and a rough outline but generally the story just flowed and grew as it went.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Agatha Christie

Arthur Conan Doyle

Gaston Lerox

Shakespeare

Julian Fellowes

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

I would love to chat to Agatha Christie about her characters and how she worked out her mysteries also I would love to know what happened in the missing week of her life that still remains a mystery!

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes, I was taught to read by my Parents and Grandparents at an early age. I used to read all the time and also had a large collection of audio books. I loved fairytales and still do but the story from my childhood that stays with me to this day is the Phantom of the Opera – not a children’s book but it was something I loved to read.

When did you start to write?

I don’t remember a time that I didn’t write. I was quite a lonely child and filled my time in telling stories to myself. I would also rewrite a book if I didn’t like it’s ending or if there was a character I thought deserved their own story. My best friends were book characters and my greatest adventures were in the pages of the books I read.

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

I always thought as a child I would change the ending of the Snowman – Raymond Briggs – as I didn’t want him to melt!

There are so many stories where I wonder what if -what if it worked out differently. IN fact that is the theme that runs through my second novel Jonah Axe and the Weeping Bride which takes place on board the Titanic.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

I think The Poppy Garden is the book I’m most proud of so far in my career and I hope that I have a lot more stories to tell. While other writers inspire me, I don’t think there’s a book that I covet as my own. I just hope I can write as well as some of my favourite authors and inspire others to write they way they have inspired me.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

I think it would be Miss Marple – I would take her to an old fashioned tea room, for tea and cake and listen to all of her stories. I always imagine her the way Geraldine McEwan played her on TV and think people often over look the unassuming grandmother sitting knitting where as she sees everyone and notices everything.

What are you working on right now?

I’m just starting on my forth novel, and I’m venturing in to the Chick-Lit drama, it’s not a genre I’ve tried to write before so I’m challenging myself to try something new and develop my self as a writer.

Do you have a new release due?

The Poppy Garden was released on the 11 November 2016 and is available for Kindle and in paperback from amazon

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I’m on social media and can be found at the following;

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ClaireLBrown.MyLifeAsAWriter/

Twitter @CLBrown_author

Website clairebrownempire.wix.com/clairelbrownauthor#

My Life as a Writer Blog – http://clairelbrownauthor.blogspot.co.uk

My Life as a Writer; When I’m Not Scribbling – http://myifeasawriterwhennotscribbling.blogspot.co.uk

Bloglovin’ – https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/my-life-as-a-writer-14287437

Pinterest – https://uk.pinterest.com/clbrown34author/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/clbrown_author/

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Claire.

The Poppy Garden

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (31st October 2016)

What would you do if the love of your life didn’t know who you were? What if he forgot you? Forgot the first time you met, your first kiss, the day he proposed and the day you married? What if six months after your perfect start it was all taken away in the blink of an eye? Sky Flynn thought she had it all, she was the happiest she’d ever been from the moment she met Nick Robinson until the moment a military officer showed up at her door, then things changed. Fighting to save her marriage and help her husband recover from both physical and mental scars of war Sky has to find away to cope and overcome. Inspired by memories of her grandfather and how he channeled his PTSD into his garden she sets out to create somewhere for recovering service men to go, to assist in their recovery and create a place of beauty to share with their families. But will the beauty of the garden heal her husband’s wounds and bring him home to her forever?

I will certainly be adding The Poppy Garden to my reading list and I’m sure you will want to also. You can buy your copy HERE

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

Enjoy!

Today I am thrilled to welcome Alice May! 🙂

Hi Kerry, thank you for giving me the opportunity to take part in your Q&A.

For those who don’t already know can you tell us a bit about yourself and your books please?

My name is Alice May and I am the author of ‘Accidental Damage’ which is book 1 in the series entitled ‘Tales From The House That Sat Down’.

I am currently working on the sequel ‘Consequences’. There is also a third book (as yet un-named) in the series which is in the early planning stages. In addition to these projects I am writing and illustrating a children’s book.

‘Accidental Damage’ is the tale of a family of six (mum, dad and four kids) who suddenly find themselves homeless after their old cottage falls down completely out of the blue one day. With nowhere to go they are forced to move into a tent in the garden. The tent is supposed to be a temporary solution but when their house insurance company refuse to help them the tent becomes a more permanent fixture.

Told retrospectively from the mother’s point of view, ‘Accidental Damage’ is packed with both humorous anecdotes and brutally honest emotional reactions to what it is like to live in your garden whilst working out how you are going to rebuild your home.

It is a tale of family love and loyalty, proving that if you pull together as a team and look after each other you can survive anything.

Where did/do you get your idea(s) from?

‘Accidental Damage’ was inspired by a real life event. My husband, four children and I spent a year living in our garden after our house fell down.

I felt it was such an unusual experience to go through that it was important to write about it. In spite of the horrible circumstances it was a time of massive positivity and growth for the whole family. Once we accepted that we couldn’t live in our house and couldn’t really go anywhere else we just had to knuckle down and get on with life.

So many funny and ridiculous things happened to us on our journey to rebuild our home it made such a cracking story on which to base my first fictional novel.

In fact there were so many ideas developing in my head from that time that I had to accept that it was going to be a series of books and not just the one.

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

The characters of the family in ‘Accidental Damage’ are based (loosely) on my own family. Nobody else would do I am afraid. The book is written retrospectively from the mother’s point of view and I wanted to convey to the reader the complex interactions of a large family under such uniquely stressful circumstances. (Don’t worry my husband and kids have all read the book and approve.)

No other characters in the book are actually based on real people but over the years I have been involved in a number of building projects so have had a lot of interactions with various builders, roofers, electricians, architects and structural engineers etc. As a result some vague characteristics may well have been drawn on during the creative process to develop the personalities within the plot but the characters themselves are fictional.

The cat is definitely our cat.

How do you pick you character’s names?

Character names are a difficult one as it is important to make your character as approachable to your reader as possible. I have used specific personality traits for each person as the main basis behind the choice of name.

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

Writing ‘Accidental Damage’ was a bit of an out-of-the-blue event because I literally sat down one day and started writing.

Once I started I couldn’t stop and so I wrote day and night for three weeks. My beloved husband thought I had gone nuts but just kept bringing me cups of tea and snacks in the hope that I would eventually return to the real world. When I finally ground to a halt I had 60,000 words and the first draft of my novel.

With subsequent pieces of work I am a little less manic. I generally try to spend the mornings writing (after the school run) and the afternoons and evenings sorting out the children and the house.

However I always find that the best ideas come when I am too busy to stop and focus on writing. As a result I always have a notebook on hand to scribble ideas down. Then then next day during my official morning writing hours I trawl through my illegible scrawls and translate them into the computer documents I am working on.

Ideas don’t always come fully formed, I just have to make notes and wait for the ‘light-bulb’ moment that pulls all the strings together. It is very exciting.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

As a prolific reader I have to admit that this is hard question. Picking only 5 authors from so many talented people is difficult. So in no particular order my top 5 favourite authors are:

Lisa Gardner.

Lisa Gardner writes the most amazing crime fiction. I particularly enjoyed ‘Love You More’ but have read many others of her books. She also writes as Alicia Scott.

Anne McCaffrey

I was introduced to Anne McCaffrey’s world of Pern in my early twenties and it has been a delight to read her books ever since. I had thought I didn’t like science fiction at the time but she opened my eyes to a whole new genre and I cannot thank her enough.

Kate Fenton

I really enjoy the irreverent humour in Kate Fenton’s books my particular favourites are ‘Too Many Godmothers’ and ‘Picking Up’.

Katie Fforde

I love the way that Katie Fforde’s characters are strong independent women overcoming the odds. I particularly enjoyed ‘The Rose Revived’, ‘Stately Pursuits’ and ‘Thyme Out’.

Trisha Ashley.

Trisha Ashley’s books are packed with quirky, different but highly believable characters. Reading one of her books is like sinking into a warm hug. I look forward to treating myself to each new book as it is published.

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

If I could have met Richard Adams author of ‘Watership Down’ I would ask him how it felt to have influenced so many generations of children with his amazing story. This was the first book I remember buying with my pocket money at the age of ten and it completely mesmerised me. I read it so many times the book eventually fell apart.

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes I was a prolific reader as a child and that hasn’t really changed as I have grown older. (I won’t say I have grown up because I really haven’t.) Fortunately my Beloved Husband puts up with the fact that I have always got my nose in a book when I am not writing.

I do try to remember to feed the children and do some housework but reading is so much more fun than doing chores.

My best decision was to encourage the children to love books as much as I do because then we can all pile on the sofa with a book or two each and I can pretend its educational time. 

When did you start to write?

I have always written short pieces and played around with storylines and ideas, but I never sat down with the intention of writing a book until last year when I wrote ‘Accidental Damage’.

Now I have seriously started writing I don’t seem to be able to stop.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them.

I think I’d like to go for a coffee with Pamela Torres the female lead character from ‘Undercover Thief’ and the sequel ‘Thief Underground’ both part of the ‘Victoria Institute series by H. T. King.

Pamela is a sassy go-get-em-girl with such character, skills and energy. I’d love to spend some time chatting with her. We’d go somewhere in Cornwall on the cliffs where they serve fantastic coffee and we can look at the sea and just chill.

Is there a book you wish you’d written?

I rather wish I had been clever enough to write ‘Winnie the Pooh’ by A. A. Milne. Such a classic piece of work and so beautifully illustrated. Deeply meaningful and yet deceptively simple. Ingenious!

What are you working on right now?

I am currently engaged in two projects at the moment. Firstly I am half way through the first draft of ‘Consequences’ Book 2 – More Tales From The House That Sat Down. I am finding this immensely inspiring and am thoroughly enjoying the creative process.

I have plans for the third book in that series and another completely separate general fiction book but they will have to wait their turn. I am constantly surprised how so many plot ideas can arrive at once leaving hardly a moment to write them down let alone follow them through to completion. All in good time!

I am also in the process of publishing a children’s book that I wrote and illustrated a few years ago. Having learned a very great deal through the publishing of ‘Accidental Damage’ I feel that now is the time to move that project forward.

Do you have a new release date due?

Yes, ‘Consequences’ will be published this summer (2017) hopefully on August 1^st to coincide with the anniversary of the release date of ‘Accidental Damage’ but we shall see……

How can readers keep in touch with you?

Readers can contact me through my website www.alicemay.weebly.com

via my Alice May Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AliceMayAuthor/

or on

Twitter @AliceMay_Author

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

Accidental Damage is available from Amazon.co.uk as a paperback or in kindle format. I really hope you enjoy my story. Please let me know what you think.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Accidental-Damage-Alice-May/dp/1535450371/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484833748&sr=8-1&keywords=alice+may

Thanks for answering my questions, Alice 🙂

Alice sent me a lovely signed paperback copy of Accidental Damage, so watch this space for my review!

Accidental Damage

If you think the normal school run on a Monday is entertaining you should try doing it from a tent in your back garden surrounded by the jumbled up contents of your entire home. It is vastly more diverting.

Our heroine has survived the sudden collapse of her home – or has she?

Certain events two and a half years ago led her to deliberately destroy an important piece of herself, hiding away all remaining evidence that it ever existed. What happens when she decides to go looking for it?

Does she really deserve to be whole again?

Inspired by a true story, this is an account of one woman’s secret guilt and her journey in search of forgiveness!

Today I am thrilled to welcome Anna Franklin Osborne 🙂

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

I am a new author but also a chiropractor, teacher, singer, mother and wife, not necessarily in any discernible order! In a determined attempt at a (spectacularly early) mid-life crisis, I joined a wonderful choir, and now sing with the fabulous, Bournemouth-based choir, ‘Chicken Soup.’ This helped me explore my more creative side, but as I haven’t picked a paint brush up since I was about 6, I felt that writing could be my outlet. I began with late night typing into the note section of my smart phone, resulting in a severe case of RSI and several short stories, but Walking Wounded is my first novel.

The idea for the book, a war story and family saga based on family folklore mainly from my mother’s side of the family, was born whilst walking on a D-Day beach waiting for a ferry back to England after a camping holiday in France, describing to my children the events of D-Day, and how three of my great-uncles stormed that very beach, while paratroopers jumped with silk parachutes that my grandmother had toiled laboriously to stitch. I always said ‘I couldn’t write a novel’ and that short stories were ‘more my thing,’ but my husband Neil looked at me that day and said – ‘well there’s your story.’

The story focuses on those left behind whilst their men folk went to war, how they survived and how their relationships evolved through periods of violence, loss and reunion. It is a very personal story set upon a world stage whose history has shaped us all through its effect on our close relatives in the generations above us.

It spans the period from the Armistice of the First World War to the exodus of the Ten Pound Poms to Australia in the 1950s. It is a family saga whose internal violence is mirrored by the world stage upon which it is set, but what I hope shines through is a story of courage and survival.

Walking Wounded was launched in October, and is available to order through www.goosewingpublications.com, Amazon, and all good bookstores.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

Mostly from my mother’s family, but also taking poetic licence and picking stories from my father’s side too. What I find fascinating about this period of history is that it is still so tangibly close. We all have stories, even now, of what people really quite close to us did in the Second World War, it is a history which still touches us all.

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

Yes, very much so. They are all figures from my fairly immediate ancestry, May, for example, was my gran, and Lydia my fabulous ‘Auntie Lil.’ Lots of the events were true, but I blended the story with fiction as there was lots I didn’t know, and lots that I could certainly never ask. The violence, for example, was true (although I don’t really know the details) and I wanted to explore the different kinds of courage – what makes you brave enough to stay? What makes you brave enough to leave??

How do you pick your characters names?

Again, some were real, some were a mix of family names from that era. I am struggling now with my next book on this one! I HAVE to like the name, and it HAS to mean something to me!

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

I wrote Walking Wounded in the car, on the school run. I have kids and 2 jobs, so I have to write around the edges… the only unspoken-for time in any given day was the time I spent parked in the school car-park waiting for my kids to emerge- so I bought a tiny tablet and typed furiously for 10 minutes every day for 2 years… in fact, my tiny ‘office’ is about to be featured in the March edition of Prima magazine!! I am trying to reinvent my writing time now though, as my daughter now exerts the right to walk home and I’ve lost my tiny window of time… but I have just bought a little camper van and I hope to type the next book parked by the beach with my dogs at my feet and a coffee at hand. That’s where I am now, typing this!

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

I really find this a difficult question, I love so many different genres!

But if I look at which books I have bought the most of, then it woudld be Patrick O’Brian ( I live in the past, especially in the Navy around Nelson’s time!), Jodie Picoult, Cecilia Ahern, Louis de Bernieres and Julia Donaldson (my kids and I can recite the Snail and the Whale word-perfect).

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

Isabelle Broom, and ‘can I come with you, please?’

I have just read A Year and A Day, then immediately after that, I read ‘My Map Of You.’ Not only did I love the stories, but she made the places so real that they felt like travel guides but without the boring bits! I would very much like to go wherever she deems it important to write about!

Were you a big reader as a child?

Massive, to the exclusion of all else. I blame Enid Byton, I was hooked early. This got to the point that my parents got quite worried – each week I was allowed to read a book of my choice and one of theirs ( I think they were trying to slow me down and also hoping to bore me a bit so that I might go out and actually play with my friends) so I read Anna Karenina at the age of nine… it didn’t stop me, though! It’s possibly the reason I read anything and everything now.

When did you start to write?

Tortured poerty as a teenager, then nothing until I was 44.

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

Any of Anita Shreve’s! I love her writing but the endings are always so desperately traumatic – to the point that I have repressed them, and although I can remember the stories, I simply cannot recall any of the endings! Beautiful, beautiful writing but so, so sad – not like me to only read a book once but I am afraid to revisit these!

Is there a book you wish you had written?

yes – my next one!! I just want to get on with it and I am champing at the bit – I am so frustrated that I am not finding the time right now! I urgently need to win the lottery so I can give up my day job and just immerse myself in it…

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

Stephen Maturin, of Master and Commander fame. I love this sensitive, witty, complicated character. I would take him to my sailing club and try to explain the ‘weather gage’ to him, just as Jack Aubrey tried to do, so many times.

What are you working on right now?

Theoretically, my next book – historical fiction again. But honestly? I am focussing on trying to rearrange my life a little to make more time…

Do you have a new release due?

Walking Wounded took me 3 years from the idea through to publication. Realistically, I am just going to plug away – being an Indi publisher and having day jobs, at least I don’t have a dead-line, although in some ways I probably need one..

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I’d love people to stay in touch! Probably the best way is through FB on GooseWing Publications, but I am also getting to grips with Twitter and my handle (is that really what it’s called?!) is @HomeOsborne

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

Yes – my 11 year old daughter is my cover model (she cost a hot chocolate and a muffin) and my 13 year old son created my website, www.goosewingpublications.com. This cost a little bit more. I seem to have spawned rather fabulous children, for which I may also thank my lovely husband, Neil!

I’d just love you to read Walking Wounded. It is a scary feeling, putting out not only your first book but a departure from treating patients and my teaching… I badly want it to be enjoyed!

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Anna 🙂

Walking Wounded

Publisher: Amolibros (30th September 2016)

Born at the end of the First World War, a young girl struggles to find her own identity in her big family and is pushed into a stormy marriage through a terrible misunderstanding from which her pride refuses to let her back down. As her own personal world begins to crumble, the foundation of the world around her is shaken as Germany once again declares war and her brothers and young husband sign up with the first wave of volunteers.
Walking Wounded tells the story of those left behind in a Blitz-ravaged London, and of the web of loyalty, guilt and duty that shapes the decisions of the women awaiting the return of their men-folk as the war draws to a close.
Spanning the period from the Armistice of the First World War to the exodus of the Ten Pound Poms to Australia in the 1950s, Walking Wounded is a family saga whose internal violence is mirrored by the world stage upon which it is set.

Buy your copy HERE

Enjoy!