Publisher: Lyrical Press (6th December 2016)

Description…..

Previously published by Mira in Australia and New Zealand
 
Amid the vivid beauty of Granada, a woman entrusted with unraveling a family secret will discover the truth about her heritage—and the alluring promise of love…

When her beloved grandmother falls ill, Charlotte Kavanagh will do whatever she asks of her—even if it means traveling to a country that broke her abuela’s heart. Can an unsigned painting of a flamenco dancer unlock the secrets of her grandmother’s youth in Spain? To find the answers she needs, Charlotte must convince the charismatic and gifted musician, Mateo Vives to introduce her to a secluded gypsy clan.

The enigmatic Mateo speaks the true language of flamenco, a culture Charlotte must learn to appreciate if she wants to understand her grandmother’s past—and the flamenco legend that has moved souls to beauty, and bodies to the heights of passion. As Mateo leads her into the captivating world of the music and the dance, Charlotte embraces her own long-denied creative gift and the possibility of a future rich with joy…

My review…..

Under The Spanish Stars is another book which has been waiting ever so patiently on my Kindle and Netgalley list.

When we first meet Charlotte, her Grandmother (Abuela) is a very poorly lady and has asked Charlotte to travel to Granada, where she spent her youth, to find out the truth behind an unsigned painting her father had given to her.

The story alternates between Abuela telling her story back in 1944 and the present day when Charlotte is trying to find out the truth of her Grandmother’s past. A past which she has spoken very little off previously.

It’s hardly a quick and easy journey for Charlotte given that she lives in Australia and she is torn between carrying out her Abuela’s wishes and being by her side whilst she is so poorly. Little does she know how at home she will start feel in Granada, especially when she finds herself drawn to the charismatic Mateo.

Under The Spanish Stars is a lovely romantic read, but with a lot more depth than I was expecting, if I’m honest. The chemistry between the characters is very real and believable. Their stories are both heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time. The story features a lot of Spanish history and the detailed descriptions of Flamenco are so full of passion. It was easy to picture the dancers and the musicians as they performed and I could almost feel the electricity in the room, as if I was there.

All sorts of family secrets are unravelled as Charlotte uncovers the truth, one which is especially devastating for Abuela. At the same time Charlotte finds herself imagining a future very different to the one she once saw herself living.

This is a captivating read which I am happy to recommend.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for my copy via Netgalley.

Buy a copy…..

Previous post featuring Alli Sinclair and her books…..

Q&A with author, Alli Sinclair @allisinclair

Today I have the pleasure of sharing a lovely extract from Rosie Millard’s The Brazilian, as well as giving you the opportunity to win a copy for yourself! 🙂

Many thanks to Imogen Harris at Legend Press.

Publisher: Legend Press (14th June 2017)

Extract…..

Chapter Two

Simon

Stansted Airport, 0730 hrs. The team stands, wearing large
anoraks and baseball caps, waiting for something known as
the ‘Carnet’. The Carnet is a customs document allowing
the admission of television equipment into a foreign country
without the need to pay duty. “Have we got the Carnet yet,
chaps?” shouts Simon to two men in the middle distance. He
chews gum anxiously. “Come on, come on.” Simon is the
director. It’s his job to get the crew to Ibiza.
His production manager, Kate, walks up to him. A woman
wearing a roll-neck jumper, carrying a large file and whose
only gesture to grooming is a sleek blonde bun of hair, she
rubs his shoulder affectionately. “IIWII,” she whispers. “It
Is What It Is.” Simon smiles, as if her touch is painful. Two
weeks of 24/7 filming in and around a beachside villa in Ibiza
putting a bunch of nobodies through a series of ridiculous
tasks. Particularly as they are all trying to be somebodies.
Plus one massive celebrity to arrive later. He sighs, thinks
of the money, all that overtime. It must be worth it. He’d far
rather be working on Panorama. “Come on, guys,” he mutters
beneath his breath.
While the crew fiddle around with a stack of bright, hard,
shiny, ridged cases, the nobodies sit at a table drinking tea
and, in one case, whisky. They are the cast for the latest
series of the well-known daytime ITV reality show called Ibiza (or Bust). Each of them has signed up to go on holiday
with nine other unnamed, vaguely notorious people. In
Ibiza. For at least a week, possibly more. The hitch? They
each vote each other off. Everyone gets a £3,000 fee for
turning up and taking part. The final person on the show gets
£20,000. They have all just performed the first task, namely
the staged ‘Meet’.
Simon told them each what to do and they obeyed
him to the letter, like children. Everyone was brought
out one by one. They were each obliged to kiss everyone
else, twice, on the cheek and gush with unbridled and
spontaneous happiness. As if they knew each other. As if
they were friends. Famous friends. They must enthuse that
they are all going on holiday together to Ibiza. The show
promotes togetherness, but is of course designed to highlight
separation, confusion and confrontation. They greet each
other but inside, their heads are whirring with alarm and
confusion as they struggle to identify each other. They are
strangers but must seem as friends, individuals pretending
to be a gang.
They have been selected by Simon. They include Philip
Burrell, a contemporary artist with as yet unfulfilled ambitions
on winning the Turner Prize and a TV financial adviser called
Alan Makin. Both of these characters live on a notoriously
prestigious square in North London. They do not like each
other. Then there is Gemma, a ‘celebrity estate agent’, who
Simon rather suspects will go out first, and an ageing man
known as Jasper The Wizard, who once had a magic show
a long time ago on ITV. Then there is a married couple,
Nigel and Jocelyn, presenters of Families Ahoy!, a travel
show on a distant satellite channel for ‘adventurous parents
and their offspring’, a ‘celebrity farmer’ known as Moo,
whose fame largely lies in the feat of feeding a baby lamb
with human breast milk on Breakfast TV, and his partner,
Cresta, an obviously sexy It Girl who may or may not have
provided the breast milk. Finally, thinks Simon, the chap he
keeps forgetting. A contemporary hippie and environmental
protester called Fish.
This bunch is going to be joined on the island by a tenth, as
yet unknown celebrity. It is this person’s availability that is
responsible for not only the time, but also the place of the
filming. This is someone who is properly famous, thinks
Simon. He’s told the other contestants, the nonentities, about
the arrival of a tenth celebrity and was gratified to see the
effect it provoked. There is a distinct sense of tension about
the group, aided by the faint aroma of body odour.
“Well,” says one of the Adventurous Parents, stretching
her hands high above her head and in the process, revealing
two dark patches that have already started to form underneath
her arms. “Hope getting away has been easy for everyone.
It’s been a piece of cake so far for us. We haven’t even had
to worry about clearing it with the kids’ schools.” She looks
around, hoping someone will challenge her on this. “Because
they are all homeschooled, of course,” she continues.
“How many children have you got?” asks Gemma the
celebrity estate agent, who has a strong sense of conversational
duty.
“Eight,” says the Adventurous Parent.
Gemma widens her eyes, and can’t think of anything to say.
“My pelvic floor is just fine, if that’s what you are
wondering,” says the Adventurous Parent, “isn’t it, Nigel?”
Her husband giggles inanely.
Gemma, who has no children, is lost for words.
“You’ve moved into the Square?” says Philip to Alan
Makin, the TV financial adviser, with scant enthusiasm. Philip
is not sure he is very pleased about this. Finding a neighbour
on this show was not part of his plan. Indeed, he had hoped
that he might achieve this daytime televisual challenge wholly
undetected. Philip is a snob about most things, but particularly
about daytime television.
“Indeed I have!” says Alan loudly, looking around at
the other candidates. “Hey everyone, Philip here and I are
neighbours! I judged a talent show there earlier this year.
Fell in love with the Square. Wonderful Georgian rigour.
Marvellous use of light in the main rooms. Do you know it,
Gemma? Part of your catchment area? Great heritage. Very,
very well refurbished, if I may say so. Didn’t, er, didn’t you
take part in it, Philip? The talent show, I mean. I remember
you were there, weren’t you? Great fun.”
“I may have done, dear boy,” says Philip, who remembers
the event quite well. “So many things going on at the moment.”
He stares off into the distance. He is already regretting signing
up for this nonsense, regretting leaving his wife Gilda behind,
regretting leaving all his work just sitting idle in the studio. His
assistant, Jas, is going away too. There’ll be lot of work when
he gets home. He’s damned if he’ll be voted off first, however.
Let that idiot Alan Makin go for the fall.
A silence descends as everyone muses separately on the
forthcoming challenge. “Well, here we all are,” says Gemma
unnecessarily, touching her hair. “I was really amazed to see
who else would turn up on this!” She examines a manicured
hand. “I mean, it’s going to be great fun. I really have no idea
what to expect! Who do you think is going to win? Although
of course I don’t think it’s about winning, of course. It’s just
about making some great telly, isn’t it! You guys. We are all
going to have a hoot! It’s just about fun!”
“No,” says Philip drily. “It’s about winning.”
There is a silence. Jasper The Wizard drains his whisky rather
loudly and stands up, barely concealing a burp. “Sorry, chaps.
Right. Anyone for Departures?”
“Are we all getting on?” asks Simon, bustling over to the
table. “Have we all got our boarding passes, hand luggage,
everything? Has everyone been to the loo?”
“We are not children,” says Philip acidly, quickly smiling
in Simon’s direction to let him know that he didn’t really mean
it. “Arse,” he mutters under his breath.
The group is herded by Simon beside the Body Shop
while a camera sets up the shot, and then on instruction from
Simon, moves together, talking and wildly laughing, towards
Customs. Cresta, the It Girl, leads the charge. Gemma notices
that Cresta always makes sure she is surrounded by a herd
of men, swinging her hair back and giggling whenever the
camera focuses on her.
“And… cut!” shouts Simon. “Brilliant! You are all
naturals!” Kate walks up to him and peers over his shoulder
at the group. “How on earth are we going to cope with this
gang?” she murmurs.
“I have absolutely no idea,” replies Simon. “But that is the
magic of television.”
At the gate, Alan Makin cheers up immensely because
he has been recognised by a member of the public. “Did you
see that?” he says, laughing loudly as he wanders back from
WH Smith. “Lady over there when I was buying a copy of the
Mail. Noticed me. Comes rushing over, oh she was so happy
to see me. Loves the shows! Think I probably made her day.
Of course, I had to have the obligatory selfie with her.” He
looks quickly across the group.
“That’s nice,” says Gemma. “I bet that happens to you a
lot.”
“Well, from time to time,” says Alan modestly. “I still have
the old fan base.”
The others remain silent. Alan’s fame and their
comparative lack of it, a lack that might prove fatal on this
show, hangs quivering in the air.
“I was once recognised on the Great Wall of China, funnily
enough,” says Jasper, presently.
Nobody says anything.
“Come on, then!” shouts Simon, making herding motions
with his hands.

Want to win yourself a hard copy? (UK only I’m afraid due to postage costs) All you need to do is comment on this post, by Friday 1st September, and I’ll pick a winner at random! 🙂

Good luck!

If you’re not lucky enough to win then why not buy yourself a copy…..

About the author…..

(via amazon author page)

I am a journalist and author. Between 1994-2004, I was the BBC’s Arts Correspondent during which time the Tate Modern opened. This provoked my first book The Tastemakers (T&H, 2001) which analysed why contemporary art became so fashionable in the Nineties.

After the BBC I wrote for The Sunday Times and was Arts Editor of the New Statesman. I’m now a columnist for the Independent and write for lots of other papers and magazines. In 2009 my husband and I and our four kids went around the world on a crazy project to visit the French overseas departments, which resulted in 6 TV documentaries for the Travel Channel and a book, Bonnes Vacances (Summersdale, 2011), a comic account of how to go around the world without leaving France.

My first novel The Square was published in 2015; its a comic romp set in a London garden square and came out of a fiction writing course run by University of East Anglia. When I’m not writing, I’m usually working in Hull. I’m chair of Hull UK City of Culture 2017 which is going to be one amazing year.

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (15th June 2017)

Description…..

It was the happiest day of her life. Little did she know it was also the last.

When a woman’s body is found in the grounds of a ruined priory, Detective Imogen Evans realises she is dealing with a serial killer—a killer whose victims appear to die in a state of bliss, eyes open, smiles forever frozen on their faces.

A few miles away, single dad Ben Hofland believes his fortunes are changing at last. Forced to move back to the sleepy village where he grew up following the breakdown of his marriage, Ben finally finds work. What’s more, the bullies who have been terrorising his son, Ollie, disappear. For the first time in months, Ben feels lucky.

But he is unaware that someone is watching him and Ollie. Someone who wants nothing but happiness for Ben.

Happiness…and death.

The Lucky Ones is the terrifying new thriller from the #1 Kindle bestselling author of Follow You Home and The Devil’s Work.

My review…..

I was so excited when I received an ARC of this book from the publisher (Thank you!), especially as it was a total surprise! I was disappointed to have been unable to read it until now, but wow! It was totally worth the wait!

Mark Edwards is a natural storyteller. I have loved every one of his books I’ve read so far and this was no exception.

The Lucky Ones is a psychological thriller, but this serial killer is quite different. He likes to make his victims happy! This makes him even creepier than your average psychopathic murderer. You’ll know what I mean if you’ve read it already. If you haven’t, you’ll find out. There are some chapters written from the perspective of the killer which really did make my skin crawl.

One of the main characters, Ben, is very likeable. He’s recently separated from his wife and has custody of their young son, Ollie. When things finally start to look up for Ben and Ollie, he has no idea of the danger he is facing, until Detective Imogen Evans discovers that he may be the next victim and vows to protect him.

There are so many twists and turns in this story I almost felt exhausted for Imogen and her team, racing against time to find this murderer before anyone else got hurt. There are far too many people who have lost their lives at the hands of this killer already.

It is far from straight forward and although the story unfolds a bit more gradually at first, allowing me to get to know the characters, making me question everything and suspect pretty much everyone, the pace seriously picks up before long and I couldn’t read it fast enough to find out if they got there in time. My heart was beating so fast towards the end. Gripping is an understatement!

Outstanding writing, as always. Brilliant characterisation, clever plot, twists galore, fabulous setting (not far from me). It has everything that makes a great read for me. Even a hint of romance! Just brilliant! I highly recommend and I hope this is might develop into an Imogen Evans series!(?)

Buy a copy…..

About the author…..

I write psychological thrillers. My influences include writers such as Stephen King, Ira Levin, Ruth Rendell, Ian McEwan, Val McDermid and Donna Tartt and movies like Rosemary’s Baby, Single White Female, Fatal Attraction and anything in which scary things happen to ordinary people.

I love hearing from readers and always respond. I can be contacted in the following ways:
Email: markcity@me.com
Twitter @mredwards
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/markedwardsbooks

You can download a free box set of ‘Short Sharp Shockers’ by visiting http://www.markedwardsauthor.com/free

THE MAGPIES (2013) and BECAUSE SHE LOVES ME (2014) topped the Kindle chart in the UK, as did FOLLOW YOU HOME (2015) which also was a top five bestseller in the US, and THE DEVIL’S WORK (2016). My other solo novel is WHAT YOU WISH FOR (2014) and I have one short story, KISSING GAMES, available on Amazon. My new psychological thriller, THE LUCKY ONES, will be published in June 2017.

I have co-written six novels with Louise Voss: CATCH YOUR DEATH (2012; a #1 bestseller), KILLING CUPID (2012), ALL FALL DOWN (2013) and FORWARD SLASH (2013). We are now writing a series featuring DI Patrick Lennon. The first two books are FROM THE CRADLE (2014) and THE BLISSFULLY DEAD (2015). In total, I have sold over 2 million copies of my books.

After a career that has taken in everything from answering complaint calls for a rail company to teaching English in Japan and being a marketing director, I now write full-time.

I live in the West Midlands, England, with my wife, our three children, a ginger cat and a golden retriever.

Please note: there is another author called Mark Edwards. If a title is not listed on my author page, it’s not by me.

Previous posts featuring Mark Edwards and his books…..

Follow You Home by Mark Edwards

The Devil’s Work by Mark Edwards *Review*

Today I am thrilled to be re-blogging my review of The Sister, to celebrate the release of the paperback copy!

The Sister will be available in Asda, Sainsbury’s and WH Smith from today (24th August) and in Tesco from September 7th.

Congratulations Louise Jensen 🙂

Here’s my review (originally published on 19th July 2016)…..

I knew I was on to a winner with The Sister as it’s published by Bookouture and they have some fabulous authors! Louise Jensen is no exception. It’s hard to believe this is a debut novel.

Grace has been struggling since Charlie died. They had been best friends since school. I really felt for Grace because I know I’d be devastated in the same situation. Being accused, by her mother, of causing her death and having no idea why only adds to her heart-break.

Everyone reacts to and deals with grief differently.

Grace seems to just be going through the motions of life, finding no joy in anything, and her relationship with Dan has been suffering as a result. Dan starts to stay out late more often, getting drunk, and is acting differently, but Grace has no idea what he’s hiding or if she’s just being paranoid.

When they were teenagers, Grace and Charlie make a memory box and bury it agreeing to only open it together in years to come. With Charlie gone Grace has no choice but to open it alone. She thought she knew Charlie inside out, but it appears not.

‘I did something terrible Grace. I hope you can forgive me……’ What did Charlie do that was so terrible?

Grace and Dan start a campaign to find Charlie’s father, something Charlie was keen to pursue once turning 18. A girl called Anna gets in touch claiming to be Charlie’s half-sister. Anna and Grace soon become close and Grace finds comfort in her being part of Charlie. However, it soon became obvious that something isn’t quite right with Anna.

I had no idea what was going on with this story, for the most part, which is why I loved it! Each chapter left me wanting to know more. It is full of suspense, brilliantly written with great characters and a shocking twist. A must read for all psychological thriller fans!

Many thanks, as always, to Bookouture for my auto-approval status on Netgalley. I am more than happy to recommend The Sister.

My original blog post

Now go find yourself a copy and enjoy!

Today I have the pleasure of being one of two stops on Anita Waller’s Strategy blog tour! 🙂

Many thanks to Sarah Hardy, at Bloodhound Books, for the opportunity to join in.

Guest post…..

(Anita Waller, 9 July 2017)

Murder, necessary murder

Since the publication of Beautiful, in August 2015, this has been my tagline. I use it because sometimes it really is nec(essary to murder a character, because that character, in one way or another, has really upset somebody else to the point where it is necessary to murder them. See?

Let’s look at 34 days, my third published book and a massive seller both here in the UK, and in the US. It has also spawned a sequel, Strategy, a new release for August 2017.

There are two lead characters in 34 Days, Anna who is married to an abusive husband, Ray, and Jenny who was raped by this same man virtually on the eve of her wedding to Anna and Ray’s son, Mark. This rape also resulted in the birth of a son, Adam. DNA testing proved Ray to be his father.

So now do you understand about necessary murder?

Once Anna found the courage to leave Ray, he was never going to be allowed to live, and Jenny set about doing the deed with a ruthlessness that shocked Anna. She was single-minded to the extent that she killed three people; Joan Jackson and James Oswoski, with Ray Carbrook sandwiched as a killing in between those two. She needed to make Carbrook’s death appear to be the work of a serial killer, so she had to kill the other two as well.

Necessary murders…

However, Jenny had an almost-conscience; she documented the murders in a series of letters to protect her family. If she had to go to prison for the murders, then so be it, just so long as nobody else in her family could be blamed in any way. Nobody was, her planning was meticulous, and she had an alibi of strength – she was in Sheffield with Anna, supported by additional confirmation from Anna’s neighbours, while Ray was being killed in Lincoln.

But it’s only an hour between Lincoln and Sheffield…

So just why did Jenny feel it necessary to kill this man? Why didn’t she just cry rape when it first happened? Initially she was scared she would lose everything. She loved Mark, and it was so close to the wedding. The pregnancy threw everything into further turmoil, and she had to try and put it behind her, and move on in their lives.

But she couldn’t forget. Adam was the constant reminder. And then Anna left Ray. Now her reasons came tumbling out of her memories, and she contacted Anna. Ray had become a necessary murder.

He was abusive to Anna.

He had raped Jenny and never acknowledged it.

He had fathered Adam, creating an issue with Jenny bonding with her son.

Necessary murders aren’t always solved. In Jenny’s case, because of a watertight alibi, she was never suspected, and we see her at the end of the book, still keeping a distant watch on Mark and the children.

But then she develops a Strategy, and along comes book two.

Jenny is a plotter, a planner, a strategist, a murderer. You might need to read Strategy…

Publisher: Bloodhound Books (10th August 2017)

Description…..

A gripping psychological thriller from an international best-selling author

How much can one family take?

Jenny Carbrook murdered three people to make it look as though there was a serial killer at work in Lincoln, when the only person she wanted to kill was Ray Carbrook, her father-in-law, who had raped her the week before her marriage to Mark, Ray’s son.

Jenny wrote letters detailing her crimes in order to protect everyone she loved, but was forced to go into hiding before retrieving the evidence against her.  Not only did she leave the letters behind but also her young daughter, Grace.

Now Jenny has a plan, a strategy, to get the letters back. But it’s not only the letters that Jenny has in her sights…

Strategy is the follow up to the international best-seller 34 Days, it can be read as a sequel or an unmissable stand-alone.

Anita Waller is the best-selling author of Beautiful, Angel, 34 Days & Winterscroft  

Buy a copy……

About the author…..

Anita Waller was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in 1946. She married Dave in 1967 and they have three adult children, Matthew, Siân and Kirsty along with seven grandchildren ranging in age from Brad at 23 down to baby Isaac at 2 ½ years.

She began writing when she was around 8 years of age, writing ‘compositions’ at junior school that became books with chapters.

In 1995 she sent Beautiful to a publisher and as they reached the contract stage the publisher went into liquidation. It was all to do with Eric Cantona and leaping over the barrier – don’t ask!
As a result, the book was consigned to the attic in dejected disgust but in 2013 it was dragged out again for an enforced complete re-type. The original was written on an Amstrad 8256 and the only thing that remained was one hard copy.

Anita is not a typist and it was painfully reworked over two years, submitted to Bloodhound Books who, within three days of reading it, offered her a contract. 31 August 2015 saw its release into the wide world.

Following the outstanding success of Beautiful, she began a sequel on 27 December 2015, finishing it on 19 March 2016. The new novel, Angel, was launched on 7 May 2016.

34 Days followed, with its launch in October 2016. This was a huge success, particularly in the United States. While this, her third book in the psychological thriller genre, was flying out in all directions, she began work on her fourth book.

Winterscroft was a change in genre. It is a supernatural tale, set in Castleton, Derbyshire, and its release date was February 2017.

While she was writing Winterscroft, it became very clear from reading reviews that a sequel to 34 days was needed, and she began work on that. Bloodhound Books will be launching her latest work, Strategy, on 10 August, 2017.

So where next? Her current work in progress is going by the working title A Legal Issue, and once again is a psychological thriller.

In her life away from the computer in the corner of her kitchen, she is a Sheffield Wednesday supporter with blue blood in her veins! The club were particularly helpful during the writing of 34 Days, as a couple of matches feature in the novel, along with Ross Wallace. Information was needed and they provided it.

Her genre is murder – necessary murder.

Links:

Amazon page:   https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=anita+waller

Facebook page:  @anitawaller2015

Website:  anitamayw.wixsite.com/anitawaller

Twitter:   @anitamayw

Beautiful:

www.amazon.co.uk/Beautiful-Anita-Waller-ebook/dp/B014RCH5WM/

Angel:

www.amazon.co.uk/Angel-Anita-Waller-ebook/dp/B01DR4USZC/

34 Days:

www.amazon.co.uk/34-Days-Anita-Waller-ebook/dp/B01IP6YE0M/

Winterscroft:

www.amazon.co.uk/Winterscroft-Anita-Waller-ebook/dp/B06XMY3JD3/

Today I have the pleasure of being one of two stops on Therese Loreskar’s The Queen Of New Beginnings blog tour! 🙂

Many thanks to Sarah Hardy, at Bloodhound Books, for the opportunity to join in.

Facts about Therese Loreskar…..

Name: Therese Loreskar

Age: 40

Living: West coast of Sweden, just beside the sea.

Family: 1 husband, one cat, two children and four dwarf hamsters.

Occupation: Write books and eat dark chocolate. (The latter might not pay me as much as I’d wish it did)

Spare time activities: Write books and eat dark chocolate

Best countries in the world: Sweden and England (used to live in Cambridge)

Biggest dream: Eat as much dark chocolate I’d like to without having to consider any possible side effects (bad or good), and see my novels become Hollywood movies.

Favorite authors: Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes.

Books published so far: Number 15 will be out just before Christmas. (Yes, this is truly crazy…)

Favorite food: Salmon and dark chocolate. (Not at the same time, duh!)

Favorite music: Out of the blue Oxford and Glee

If I could have super power: The ability to fly, and dance ballet (again, not at the same time)

Working on: A bestseller who’s going to hit Hollywood hard time (hm…correction… writing a crazy story about three people meeting at a death café….it’s possible that no one will ever read this).

More info: http://enbergagency.se/therese-loreskar

Publisher: Bombshell Books (10th August 2017)

Description…..

A laugh out loud comedy about starting again

Kajsa lives in a large house in Stockholm along with her three children and their dog. Since coming clean about lying on her popular blog she no longer has any work. Not only that but she has kicked her husband out because of his sex addiction.

While her husband is in rehab trying to fix his little problem, Kajsa’s mother-in-law is thrown out of her retirement home and comes to live with her daughter-in-law.

Then Kajsa receives an unexpected offer to move to a fashionable part of London. But having to look after her mother-in-law makes life complicated.

Can Kajsa rid herself of her baggage and make a fresh start with her children in England?

This laugh-out-loud comedy looks at the daily struggles we all face with our families and asks if starting again is ever really possible.

The Queen of New Beginnings is a laugh out comedy that you won’t be able to put down. It’s the follow up to Therese Loreskar’s hilarious Queen of Blogging, but you can easily enjoy this one as a stand-alone too!

Buy a copy…..

Author bio…..

Therese Loreskär started her carrier in 2010 as a Swedish author. She self-published her first novel which was very well received and quickly sold out!

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (1st August 2016)

Description…..

When Sara Hardy inherits a cottage in the small town of Redemption, Connecticut, it is just the break she needs to draw a line under her past—to begin again, on her own.
Sara never thought she’d be starting over. She was married, successful, and the mother of a beautiful girl. But the life she thought was on the right path has taken a series of wrong turns…
Meanwhile Jake Mathieson has a lot on his plate. Still reeling from a tragedy for which he feels responsible, he finds himself unexpectedly caring for his six-year-old nephew. In desperation, he comes to Redemption to enlist the help of his Aunt Cilla, a widow with demons of her own.
Jake is intrigued by Cilla’s cautious new neighbor. Like him, Sara is desperate to put the past behind her but not quite sure how to begin. Can Redemption offer either of them a second chance to find hope and happiness—perhaps even to take a risk on new love?

My review…..

Saving Sara is a lovely read. Another book which has been waiting patiently on my kindle. I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it.

When we first meet Sara, she is attending a funeral. The funeral is for her 3 year old daughter, Lucy, which is just heart-breaking. We don’t find out what happened straight away, but as well as losing her daughter, Sara’s marriage is falling apart and she finds herself in Redemption, in a house left to her by her grandmother, in an attempt to heal.

Jake is also trying to heal. He still can’t forgive himself for an accident he feels he caused, but he has to pull himself together to some degree when his sister asks him to take care of his nephew whilst she gets herself well. Jake also finds himself in Redemption when he enlists the help of his Aunt Cilla, who lives next door to Sara.

Now, it is quite obvious that Sara and Jake are going to click, but it’s far from straight forward and I thoroughly enjoyed their story. They are lovely characters and I was routing for them all the way through. Cilla too!

This story is full of raw emotion, which I felt on every page. There is unimaginable loss and grief, but also learning to live again. It’s a beautiful romance with the happiest of endings.

I will be purchasing book 2 in this series.

Buy a copy…..

Enjoy!

Today I have the pleasure of being one of two stops on Rob Ashman’s Pay The Penance blog tour! 🙂

With thanks to Sarah Hardy, at Bloodhound Books, for the opportunity to take part.

Extract…..

Chapter 1

New Jersey
June 1985


_Fabiano Bassano was watching baseball in his man-cave.

The room was full of excited chatter as the additives

from the fizzy drinks and chocolate snacks began to kick in and the kids went a little crazy. He liked nothing better than watching the game with his five grandchildren. They were mad about baseball and mad about Grandpa.

Whenever they got together it was always the same. The kids talked over the commentary, walked in front of the TV, and bombarded him with questions about the rules, but that was fine. For Fabiano Bassano, enjoying the ball game with his grandchildren had nothing to do with the ball game.

‘Hey, what’s going on,’ he cried, holding up an empty beer bottle. ‘Who’s on bar duty?’

One of the children reached up, snatched it from his grasp and dashed into the kitchen, returning a minute later with a frosted replacement, courtesy of Grandma.

Zak, the youngest, snuggled on to the chair alongside him.

‘Grandpa, why do you have this silly picture?’ His shock of black tousled hair hid his face as he gazed at a silver framed photograph in his tiny hand. He looked up, his moon face and bright eyes waiting for his favourite playmate to respond.

‘Yes, that is a silly picture, isn’t it?’
They both laughed.
‘What is it?’
‘I don’t know. Someone gave it to me. I like it, don’t you?’ ‘Yes, I like it too.’

‘It makes me smile.’
‘It makes me smile too, Grandpa. Who gave it to you?’
‘A friend of Uncle Chris.’
‘Is he the one who died?’
‘Yes. He died when you were small.’
‘I like it.’ Zak turned the picture over in his hands and the

frame caught the light.
‘I’ll let you into a secret.’ Fabiano bent his head and whispered

into the child’s ear. ‘Do you know what today is?’ ‘No, what?’

‘Today is its birthday.’

‘Its birthday?’ Zak was fixated, not taking his eyes off the image. ‘How can a picture have a birthday?’

‘Well, it’s one year ago today that the photograph was taken.’

‘Wow, then it does have a birthday.’ Zak and his grandpa sang Happy Birthday. But Grandpa struggled on occasion to get his words out. When they finished he dabbed his eyes with his sleeve.

‘Now put it back and we can watch the game.’
Zak shuffled off the chair and placed it on the shelf. It was an odd photograph.

Publisher: Bloodhound Books (8th August 2017)

A stunning serial killer thriller from The Mechanic Trilogy

Murder. Corruption. Revenge. 

Lucas has been tracking a killer, known as Mechanic, when his world is shattered. Unable to continue his hunt for the murderer he is forced to rely on his friend and colleague Dick Harper. But Harper has a knack for not playing by the rules. And he doesn’t disappoint.

Meanwhile Detective Moran is trying to piece her life back together. The police stumble upon new evidence without grasping its significance and she must divert the investigation if she is to survive.

The police are closer to Mechanic than they realise which puts Moran right in the firing line.

Mechanic, as usual, has other plans and the consequences for Lucas and Harper are terrifying…

Pay The Penance can be read as a gripping stand alone or as part of the thrilling Mechanic Trilogy

Also available:

Book 1: Those That Remain

Book 2: In Your Name

Reviews for The Mechanic Trilogy:

“Wow what a gripping, seat clenching , addictive read this book is, can’t wait for sequels to come out”

“Top class entertainment. An excellent debut novel full of fast paced action, thrills and spills.”

“I think I have just found myself a new crime thriller author and series that will be going straight on my “must read authors list”.

“Kept me on the edge of my seat so many twists and turns”

Buy a copy…..

About the author…..

Rob is married to Karen with two grown up daughters. He is originally from South Wales and after moving around with work settled in North Lincolnshire where he’s spent the last twenty-two years.

Like all good welsh valley boys Rob worked for the National Coal Board after leaving school at sixteen and went to University at the tender age of twenty-three when the pit closures began to bite. Since then he’s worked in a variety of manufacturing and consulting roles both in the UK and abroad.

It took Rob twenty-four years to write his first book. He only became serious about writing it when his dad got cancer. It was an aggressive illness and Rob gave up work for three months to look after him and his mum. Writing Those That Remain became his coping mechanism. After he wrote the book his family encouraged him to continue, so not being one for half measures, Rob got himself made redundant, went self-employed so he could devote more time to writing and four years later the Mechanic Trilogy is the result.

When he is not writing, Rob is a frustrated chef with a liking for beer and prosecco, and is known for occasional outbreaks of dancing.

Rob is delighted that all three books in the Mechanic Trilogy will be published with Bloodhound Books in 2017.

You will find all of Rob’s books on his Amazon author page

Enjoy!

Today I have the pleasure of being one of two stops on Jo Huey’s Transition blog tour! 🙂

Many thanks to Emma Mitchell for the opportunity to join in.

Extract…..

***Mine is extract 3, so please make sure you visit the previous stops, as shown on the banner above, if you haven’t already.***

Stimulating my brain and being active was important, I felt like a vacuum wanting to suck up all the information. Unfortunately, my mum found this frustrating and difficult.

You may have heard of the saying ‘children should be seen and not heard’, I got the feeling that is what my parents wanted from me. I wasn’t like Daisy; she would just do as she was told with no questions. She would never ask why or challenge what people said, they were her elders and she had the utmost respect for them.

It didn’t matter to me who I was asking, as far as I could see they were questions, nothing rude – just me needing and wanting to know more. But at that time children had their place and it wasn’t for a child to know things that weren’t relevant or their business.

It was hard to know how to improve my relationship with my mum; we are different people and just because we are family doesn’t guarantee we will get on. I’ve heard other people say this and whilst it is hard to hear, it is true. Thankfully, I’ve managed to realise that how I’ve been acting towards my mum is from a place of anger and hurt and learning to let that go and forgive has been a long time coming. Sometimes you just don’t like or get on with your family, I know I had periods with Daisy where we just didn’t like each other. But we do still love each other.

Dad was forever saying that I would never be able to do the things I dreamed about and I should be ‘realistic’; choose options at school that would help me get a job etcetera.

Dad never inspired me or supported me in a way I believe a parent should do. I see now how my friends treat their children and whilst part of me admires it, a big part is jealous and often I feel like they are spoiling their children.

But that isn’t the case at all. They are just doing what parents do, taking their kids to clubs, events, parties and school; supporting them with their homework; telling them they can achieve and do whatever they want to. They listen to their troubles, and tell them they don’t have to worry about anything.

My life was the opposite of that. I had to get myself everywhere I needed to go, bike or bus. Dad rarely took us anywhere and Mum didn’t drive. Dad was absent much of the time; and Mum wasn’t academic – she tried, but she wasn’t always able to help with homework. At the time, I felt my dreams were never encouraged; and I had to face the cold truth that I wouldn’t be able to even attempt achieving my dreams or take a risk. Sometimes I came up with random ideas like wanting to be a pop star or something but I didn’t want to hear I couldn’t do it, that completely shattered my excitement. It didn’t matter to me whether it was a practical idea or that it was likely, I just wanted to embrace it and have fun with it.

Mum did listen at times to my troubles but I always felt it was with half an ear out for something else. Her attention never felt like it was 100% on me in any given moment. This is understandable now because she had so much on her plate at home and I do believe she did her best. As for worrying about things, I felt I had the world on my shoulders, and the responsibility that came with living in an alcoholic environment felt too much for me. I spent far too much time worrying about things and feeling on edge, anticipating what was going to happen, if an argument was imminent or if I was going to be shouted at.

One thing I recall vividly is that my home was never a safe place to be, it should be the main place where you feel safe but for me there was danger, a lot of unknowns, and I had little or no way of protecting myself.

An autobiography of Jo’s life from the trauma and unpredictability of living in an alcoholic home, through self-development transformation to the more content, happy and successful business woman she is today.

Jo shares her many insights into alcoholism and the effects on the family. An honest and brutal account of Jo’s experience with her father’s addiction to alcohol, she shares the highs and lows of life with an absent father and busy mother.

After life hit an all-time low in adulthood she decided to turn her life around and start a journey of self-discovery. Jo transformed herself through therapy, self-help books, groups, events and more which she shares in the book.

If you have experienced the challenges of living with someone’s drinking, then you’ll relate to Jo’s experience and feel the connection with her story.

If you are interested in an inspirational and motivational story, then you won’t be disappointed. Within the book, Jo shares several techniques you’ll be able to learn and use in your life if you really want the change you seek.

Jo Huey is an inspirational & motivational speaker, coach and author.

Jo gets up every morning wanting to help those with experiences like hers, those affected by someone’s drinking. She connects the dots to form a new picture using practical tools & techniques with the aim that they would genuinely feel better about themselves and live a calmer and chaos free life.

Buy a copy…..

Facebook Q & A

Thursday, 10 August at 8.00 p.m.

https://www.facebook.com/events/527916960872822

About the author…..

Jo is an inspirational speaker, coach and author. She is also an adult child of an alcoholic and shares her personal story of living with an alcoholic father for 16 years and how that has impacted her adult life.

Jo is brutally honest about her experience, explaining how she coped as a child in an alcoholic home and the self-development journey she took in her twenties to overcome the trauma.

If you’ve experienced the impact of living with a heavy drinker, someone’s addiction or mental health problem you’ll relate to Jo’s story. For those of you that haven’t experienced what an alcoholic home brings it will give you an insight into the damage it causes to the family.

Jo shares her story for two reasons, the first is to connect with those that have been affected so they know they aren’t alone and the second to educate and inform others about this very hidden problem.

Description…..

Everyone has a breaking point. Is this marriage based on unconditional love or an unhealthy obsession?

Susan Branch’s life revolves around the care of her charming and inscrutable husband John, a man born into wealth and prestige who lost his family’s fortune when his mysterious chronic illnesses left him bedridden. Together they live a decrepit existence beholden to the current owners of his family’s former estate.

After years of devoting herself to John’s care, Susan is worn out and frustrated. Yet she is determined to scrape together whatever resources she can to keep John comfortable and happy. This includes stealing Demerol from the doctor’s office where she works to feed John’s ever-increasing need for pain medication.

As John’s condition continues to puzzle doctors, Susan begins to notice strange objects appearing around her house. Ever wary of creepy Old Pete, the groundskeeper, Susan decides to confront the elderly man and put an end to his snooping for good.

John suffers a critical emergency, but he is saved and is soon released from the hospital. As his health begins to improve, Susan dreams of a normal life, but her hope for a miracle transforms into a nightmare one fateful afternoon when she discovers the true cause of John’s sickness.

My review…..

It didn’t take me long to read Sick, as it is a novella, and I always find short stories hard to review as it’s so hard to do so without giving too much away, but I’ll do my best.

John is sick, very sick. His wife Susan has been caring for him for years. His chronic illnesses have meant that most of her time has to be devoted to taking care of him and she struggles to hold down a job and keep on top of the ever increasing medical bills. Is this really her life, her marriage? In sickness and in health and all that, but she is becoming increasingly frustrated. So much so that she risks her job, and more, by stealing medication from work, to pacify John. However, things just go from bad to worse.

When she starts finding odd objects around their house she thinks the creepy grounds keeper is responsible. She is totally not prepared for the truth!

Sick packs an awful lot into it’s relatively few pages. A lot of emotion, mainly stress and anxiety on Susan’s part in particular. It’s a difficult subject matter, but I feel it is very well written with a shocking conclusion.

Thanks to Christa Wojciechowski for my review copy.

Buy a copy…..

Previous post featuring Christa Wojciechowski…..

Q&A with author, Christa Wojciechowski