Books Read: Jane Green - Tempting Fate

When Gabby first met Elliott she knew he was the man for her. In twenty years of marriage she has never doubted her love for him - even when he refused to give her the one thing she still wants most of all. But now their two daughters are growing up Gabby feels that time and her youth are slipping away. For the first time in her life she is restless. And then she meets Matt... 

Intoxicated by the way this young, handsome and successful man makes her feel, Gabby is momentarily blind to what she stands to lose on this dangerous path. And in one reckless moment she destroys all that she holds dear. 

Consumed by regret, Gabby does everything she can to repair the home she has broken. But are some betrayals too great to forgive?

Amazon link: Paperback or Kindle

Character Interview: Meg Jefferson from Johnny Be Good & Baby Be Mine

Today I'm interviewing Meg Jefferson who we first met in Paige Toon's Johnny Be Good and Baby Be Mine, and who'll be back again soon in Johnny's Girl, an exclusive short story bringing us up to date with her life with Johnny.  

Meg’s life has taken a turn for the perfect. She is the envy of millions with her drop dead gorgeous husband, their two beautiful sons and her new mansion in Henley. Her celebrity PA days are over. But desperate to keep up with her rock star husband, Johnny Jefferson, she uproots her perfect family and moves back to LA. 

Meg has to learn to live with her new celebrity status and the insecurities of her old life, which keep reappearing. Under the paparazzi flash of an A-List party, complete with red carpet, champagne and canapés, Johnny’s rock star past catches up with him and Meg’s worst nightmare becomes a reality…

You and Johnny had a rocky past before you got your ‘happy ever after’ ending, what is about Johnny that you just couldn’t resist?
Urgh. He was such a shithead when I first met him, but a sexy shithead. There was something about him - and I'm not just talking about his looks - he's confident and talented and people are drawn to him. But once you cut past all the non-commitment crap, he's also very loving and loyal.

Guest Book Review: Jane Yeadon - Call Me Sister

Reviewed by Janine Cobain

Who'd have thought a missing bacon rasher and a teaspoon would play a part in advancing someone's career? 

It's the late '60s and Jane Yeadon has always wanted to be a district nurse. Staff nursing in a ward where she's challenged by an inventory-driven ward sister, she reckons it's time to swap such trivialities for life as a district nurse. 

Independent thinking is one thing, but Jane's about to find that the drama on district can demand instant reaction; and without hospital back up, she's usually the one having to provide it. 

She meets a rich cast of patients all determined to follow their own individual star, and goes to Edinburgh where Queen Victoria's Jubilee Institute's nurse training is considered the creme de la creme of the district nursing world. Call Me Sister recalls Jane's challenging and often hilarious route to realising her own particular dream.

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Books Read: Melissa Bailey - The Medici Mirror

'I have heard, but not believed, the spirits of the dead may walk again.'

A hidden room
When architect Johnny Carter is asked to redesign a long-abandoned Victorian shoe factory, he discovers a hidden room deep in the basement. A dark, sinister room, which contains a sixteenth-century Venetian mirror. 

A love in danger 
Johnny has a new love, Ophelia, in his life. But as the pair's relationship develops and they begin to explore the mystery surrounding the mirror, its malign influence threatens to envelop and destroy them. 

A secret history 
The mirror's heritage dates back to the sixteenth century, and the figure of Catherine de Medici - betrayed wife, practitioner of the occult, and known as the Black Queen.

 Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback 

Giveaway: Win a copy of The Pleasures of Autumn by Evie Hunter

Another day, another giveaway... You've certainly been spoilt this month as it has been a busy month of giveaways and as the month draws to a close I now have one more just for you!

I recently received a copy of The Pleasures of Autumn by Evie Hunter but, as I'm currently trying to work my way through a backlog and I don't review erotic fiction, the lovely publicist at Penguin Ireland have agreed that I can offer it as a giveaway prize to one of you lovely people instead.

When museum curator Sinead O'Sullivan is charged with stealing the Fire of Autumn, a dazzling ruby with a history of violence and treachery, bail is set at one million Swiss francs. Investigator Niall Moore is hired to stop her fleeing and to find the jewel. 

Their sexual chemistry is electric but logic says to ignore it. Desperate as she is to convince Niall of her innocence, Sinead cannot reveal everything she knows. And the feisty red-head's improbable tale tells him that she is not to be trusted. 

Debut Spotlight: Sander Jakobsen

This year I have really gotten back into reading crime fiction after doing a feature week on the blog earlier this summer.  One of the books that's been added onto my Christmas wishlist is The Preacher by Sander Jackobsen that is due to be published on 28th November.

Thorkild Christensen stares down at his murdered wife, Karen, and realises he knows almost nothing about her. How did she fill her days? Where did she really go every Thursday? Detective Thea Krogh is determined to find out as she immerses herself in town life. Yet Karen's secrets elude her at every turn. 

And then a second woman is shot dead. 

There appears to be nothing to link the two dead women. But there something, they just can't see it. Someone who knows all the pieces. Someone who is carefully knocking each piece into place, one by one. Someone who holds them all in the palm of his hand...

Books Read: Haley Hill - It's Got to Be Perfect

When Ellie Rigby hurls her three-carat engagement ring into the gutter, she is certain of only one thing, that she has yet to know true love. 

Following months of disastrous internet dates and conflicting advice from her dysfunctional friends, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Although now, instead of just looking for a man for herself, she's certain her life's purpose is to find deep and meaningful love for all the singles in the world. 

Five years on, running the UK's biggest matchmaking agency, and with thousands of engagements to her name, she has all the answers she needs. She knows why eighty-five percent of relationships fail. She knows why twenty-eight is the most eligible age for a woman. She knows that by thirty-five she'll have only a thirty-percent chance of marriage. 

Most of all, she knows that no matter what, it has to be perfect. Or does it?

Author Interview: Juliet Greenwood

This morning I'm joined on my blog by Juliet Greenwood, the latest author who's agreed to be interrogated, I mean interviewed, to enable us to get to know more about herself and her books.  So I'll hand you over to Juliet...

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 
Yes, I did – although it took me a long time to really get going! I always had my nose in a book as a child, and I studied English at university. I started trying to write in the 1980s, when I was in my twenties. The thing I hadn’t thought of was that you need to have lived a bit before you can understand your fellow human beings – which is where most books begin! I took myself terribly seriously and was a horrible failure. After a while I gave up and tried to follow a proper career, but my heart was never quite in it. I started writing seriously again in my forties, after a severe bout of glandular fever left me with M.E. for several years. I suppose I realised that it was now or never, and I had nothing to lose. This time I didn’t tell anyone until I had my first short story published. Just in case. 

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book We That Are Left and when it’s likely to be published? 
We That Are Left is set in Cornwall, Anglesey and France during The First World War. It was finished with the help of a three-month Literature Wales Writers’ Bursary, and will be published by Honno Press on January 13th 2014. It tells the story of women during wartime, both those who kept the country going at home and those working on the front line, and the ways in which their lives were changed forever. Elin, the heroine, uses her passion for baking to make the most of the produce from her kitchen garden, so the book also includes genuine recipes from WW1.

Elin lives a luxurious but lonely life at Hiram Hall. Her husband Hugo loves her but never recovered from the Boer War. Now another war threatens to destroy everything she knows. With Hugo at the front, and her cousin Alice and friend Mouse working for the war effort, Elin has to learn to run the estate in Cornwall, making new friends - and enemies. But when Mouse is in danger, Elin must face up to the horrors in France herself. And when the Great War is finally over, Elin's battles prove to have only just begun.

Guest Book Review: Matthew Quick - Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

How would you spend your birthday if you knew it would be your last? 

Eighteen-year-old Leonard Peacock knows exactly what he'll do. He'll say goodbye.

Not to his mum - who he calls Linda because it annoys her - who's moved out and left him to fend for himself. Nor to his former best friend, whose torments have driven him to consider committing the unthinkable. But to his four friends: a Humphrey-Bogart-obsessed neighbour, a teenage violin virtuoso, a pastor's daughter and a teacher.

Most of the time, Leonard believes he's weird and sad but these friends have made him think that maybe he's not. He wants to thank them, and say goodbye. 

Amazon links: Kindle or Hardback  

Debut Spotlight: Tori de Clare

Today in my debut spotlight featuring I'd like to introduce you to Tori de Clare who published her debut thriller book Either Side of Midnight earlier this year.

Tori de Clare is UK author of Either Side of Midnight, a mystery/suspense thriller. It is currently in the adult and NA sections of the market. Tori's career has been in music. She has privately taught piano and theory of music for the last twenty-five years and is passionate about the Romantic Period, especially the works of Chopin and Rachmaninoff. Mum of four and one of seven children, Tori finds little time for hobbies outside of family, reading, writing and teaching. Her very busy life gives her the perfect excuse to opt out of ironing and all forms of keep-fit. The only working out she does is how to avoid accompanying her husband to the gym. For ever. Daughter of two pianists, music was destined to be her career. Her father died when she was 18 and always aspired to being a writer. Either Side of Midnight is dedicated to him, and to her mum who taught her to play the piano.

Author Interview & Giveaway: Emma Hannigan

Today I'm joined on the blog for a chat by bestselling author Emma Hannigan to celebrate the publication of her latest book Driving Home for Christmas which is out in the UK today.

Can you tell us a little bit about Driving Home for Christmas?
It’s a curl up and read in front of the fire type of book. Obviously from the title it encompasses all things Christmassy, but my main aim was to create a warm story around characters who come to realise the true meaning of family. 

Whether you love or loath Christmas this time of year evokes all sorts of emotions and I wanted to channel that sense of nostalgia and the longing that most of us have to be with our nearest and dearest at this time of year.

How hard is it to write a Christmas themed book when it’s not Christmastime?
Sadly, I am utterly addicted to Christmas. I would gladly have Christmas several times a year. So it gave me a wonderful excuse to listen to Wham’s, Last Christmas well into spring time. I genuinely adore Christmas and have great childhood memories to draw upon, so it’s actually incredibly comforting for me to be in a position to prolong the whole thing – even if it’s only fictional! 

Giveaway: Win a copy of Dark Possession by Carol Goodman

Last week I received a copy of Dark Possession by Carol Goodman, the third book in the Fairwick Chronicles series following Incubus and Water Witch, but as fantasy books are not really a genre I generally read and I've currently got a backlog, I have decided to offer it as a giveaway prize instead.

How far would you go for love?

Callie McFay is about to cross worlds and time...

Fairwick used to be populated by all manner of magical creatures but when a cabal of witches forced the closure of the last door to Fairie, the townsfolk had to choose sides. Now it is up to Callie to find a way back.

Books Read: Katie Cotugno - How to Love

This is a love story. But it's not what you think. This is not a first kiss, or a first date. This is not love at first sight. This is a boy and a girl falling in messy, unpredictable, thrilling love. This is the complicated route to happiness that follows. 

This is real. This is life. This is how to love. 

Before: 
Reena has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember. But he's never noticed her, until one day... he does. They fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town, leaving a devastated - and pregnant - Reena behind. 

After: 
Three years later and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter Hannah. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. 

After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer again?

Happy Birthday.... my blog is 2 today ;)

WOW I can't believe that it's been 2 years since I set up my blog, where did that time go, after a friend suggested I create one to write reviews on all the books that I read.  I certainly never expected to get the response I did, I honestly thought only my friends and family would read it, and certainly never expected that today there would have been over 85,000 views on the blog!

A lot has changed in the last few years but one thing that hasn't is my love of books.... I would read 24 hours a day if I could LOL

So I'd like to say a BIG thank you to all the publishers and authors who have sent me books to review, the authors who have taken part in features, the blogging friends who I have met online who are always supportive but most importantly thanks to every single one of you who has visited my blog and read posts.  My blog would not have been a success without your support so...

Books Read: Hilary Boyd - When You Walked Back Into My Life

For eight years Flora's love affair with Fin was a whirlwind of fun and spontaneity - but when Flora wanted to settle down and have children, Fin vanished.

Life moved on and Flora's world filled with other people, other cares. There were benefits to being single - no socks under the bed, no mess in the bathroom - even if the memory of Fin could never be completely erased.

But then suddenly, shockingly, Fin reappears. He's a changed man, he says, and her wants her back.

Is this a chance to put right the wrongs? Or a massive mistake?

Amazon links: Paperback or Kindle 

Guest Book Review: Ross O'Carroll-Kelly - Downturn Abbey

Since inheriting a pile in Killiney, Ross O'Carroll-Kelly - schools rugby legend, lover of the ladeez and award-winning author - can add a new string to his not inconsiderable (you know what I mean) bow - lord of the manor. Downturn Abbey is the story of how he tackles his new responsibilities. Or not.

The century is not yet a teenager, yet everything is shrouded in gloom. People are tightening their belts, rationing and making do. Across Europe, there is uncertainty, with the possibility of, like, serious conflict hanging in the air. Yet, amidst the splendour of Honalee - a mock-something-or-other mansion that Ross and Sorcha recently inherited - life goes on.

The world is changing quickly - especially for Ross. As he stares down the barrel of middle age, he has decided that it's time to possibly do right by Sorcha and put their marriage back together. 

But he has even bigger challenges to face. His son has hitched his future to a family of commoners, his old dear is involved in a love affair that threatens disgrace for the family, and his daughter has turned into the worst little madam you can imagine. Oh, yeah, and he is about to become a grandfather at 31.

As Sorcha embraces her new life of afternoon teas on fine bone china plates and Downton Abbey theme porties, he is suddenly wrestling with duty, loyalty and the thousands of women out there who still desire the pleasure of his company.

Amazon links: Paperback or Kindle

Blog Blitz: Miranda P. Koerner - The Cheescake Queen

Today I'm taking part in the blog blitz organised by Fiction Addiction Blog Tours for the cover reveal of The Cheesecake Queen by Miranda P. Koerner which is being published by InkSpell Publishing on 21st November. 

Sugar Rule 1: Christmas is the perfect time for cheesecake. 

Sugar Rule 2: Men are as useful as burnt cookies.

After losing her reporting job to layoffs at the local paper, Caeleah Turner’s pity party at the airport is interrupted by a woman claiming to know the location of the world’s best cheesecake. Intrigued, Caeleah trades plane tickets with the woman and finds herself in Chestnut, Colorado, a tiny town hiding a woman known as the Cheesecake Queen. The Cheesecake Queen not only bakes the best cheesecakes in the country, but her cheesecake is known to cure everything from infertility to baldness—one woman even loses 100 pounds on it! There is a thick batter of secrets behind The Cheesecake Queen and her two sisters, who operate all the bakeries in town.

Guest Book Review: Anouska Knight - Since You've Been Gone

Reviewed by Louise Wykes

How do you learn to love again?

In one tragic moment, Holly Jefferson’s life as she knew it changed for ever. 

Now – to the external world, at least – she’s finally getting back on her feet, running her business, Cake. 

Then she meets Ciaran Argyll. His rich and charmed life feels a million miles from her own. However, there’s more to Ciaran than the superficial world that surrounds him, and he too is wrestling with his own ghosts. Will Holly find the missing ingredient that allows her to live again – and embrace an unknown and unexpected tomorrow?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback 

Books Read: Miranda Dickinson - Take a Look at Me Now

What a difference a day makes… 

Nell Sullivan has always been known as ‘Miss Five-Year Plan’. But when she finds herself jobless and newly single on the same day, Nell decides it is time to stop planning and start taking chances. 

Nell blows her redundancy cheque on a trip of lifetime to a place where anything is possible – San Francisco. There she meets a host of colourful characters, including the intriguing and gorgeous Max. Very soon the city begins to feel like Nell’s second home. 

But when it’s time to return to London, will she leave the ‘new Nell’ behind? And can the magic of San Francisco continue to sparkle thousands of miles away?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Giveaway: Win a copy of The Forever of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen

Last week I received a copy of The Forever of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen but as I've currently got a backlog and I've not read the previous book in the trilogy, The Secret of Ella and Micha, I have decided to offer it as a giveaway prize instead.

Ella and Micha have been through tragedy, heartbreak, and love. When they are with each other, anything seems possible. But now they are thousands of miles apart . . .

Ella continues going to school and tries to deal with her past, desperate for Micha to be by her side, but she refuses to let her problems get in the way of his dreams.

Books Read & Giveaway: Caroline James - So, You Think You’re A Celebrity… Chef?

Mix together… A tough-cookie media agent who's clawed her way to the top, and a con-man who wants to open a cookery school. Add in a washed-up celebrity chef whose career needs re-building…

Flavour with…
An aging rock star fresh from rehab, and a Sloane Ranger food writer who gets her own TV show…

Bring to the boil…
At a Gourmet Food Festival, in Ireland, where anything goes!

When media agent Hilary Hargreaves travels to Ireland to look at a campaign for a new cookery school, she meets a blast from her past - the romantic but feckless chef Mickey Lloyd, who is hell-bent on resurrecting his flagging career. Her tough demeanour is rocked as it becomes apparent Mickey's intentions involve more than a stint behind a stove in his quest to pursue her. But as plans for the school gain momentum, she realises that she's developing more than a passing interest in reformed alcoholic Long Tom Hendry, who owns the crumbling old mansion where the school will be homed. Hilary has many ingredients to juggle with her demanding client list - which looks set to boil over if she doesn't keep control. From London's bustling Soho, to Southern Ireland and the sunny shores of the Caribbean, has Hilary got too much on her plate and is she really prepared to risk it all for love?

Debut Spotlight: Aven Ellis

My debut spotlight guest today is American author Aven Ellis whose debut book Connectivity is published today.  

Aven Ellis has been writing fiction since she was sixteen. She studied communications at a large Midwestern university, and after graduation, Aven worked as a reporter for a community newspaper, followed by a stint at a public relations agency.

But writing about city council meetings and restaurant franchises was not as much fun as writing for young women trying to figure out their careers and potential boyfriends. So Aven got herself a job in television that allowed her to write at night. Connectivity is Aven’s debut novel; Waiting For Prince Harry and Chronicles of a Lincoln Park Fashionista (New Adult romantic comedy) will be published next year.

Aven lives in Dallas with her family. When she is not writing, Aven enjoys shopping, cooking, connecting with friends on social media, and watching any show that features Gordon Ramsay.

Guest Post: The Sophie King Prize short story competition

Today I'm delighted to bring you news about the Sophie King Prize, a fantastic short story competition which aims to discover a great new romance short story.  The winning story will be chosen by best-selling novelist and short story writer Sophie King.

The competition is free to enter, and is open to both published and unpublished writers worldwide.  The winning story will be recorded by a professional actor, and broadcast from a dedicated online audio player.  the winner will also receive a pair of Silver-Plated Life Long Champagne Calices and £0 (approx $79) gift voucher courtesy of www.handpickedcollection.com. One runner up will receive a £25 (approx $39) gift Handpicked Collection voucher.

The Sophie King Prize is now open for entries. Entrants must submit a short story of between 1,500 to 2,500 words with a romantic theme. The submissions deadline is January 10th 2014 and the winner will be announced on February 14th 2014. To enter, go to:www.thesophiekingprize.com.  

Books Read: Linwood Barclay - A Tap on the Window

When Cal Weaver stops at red light on a rainy night while driving home, he ignores the bedraggled-looking teenaged girl trying to hitch a lift. Even when she starts tapping on his window. But when she says, ‘Hey, aren’t you Scott’s dad?’ and he realizes she’s one of his son’s classmates, he can’t really ignore her. OK, so giving a ride to a teenage girl might not be the smartest move, but how much harm could it do?

Over the next 24 hours Cal is about to find out. When the girl, Claire, asks to stop at a restroom on the way home, he’s happy to oblige. But the girl who gets back in the car seems strangely nervous, and it’s only when they get nearer their destination that Cal realizes she no longer has the nasty cut that he noticed on Claire’s hand. After he’s finally let her out of the car he remains puzzled and intrigued. But it’s only the next morning that he starts to really worry. That’s when the police cruiser turns up at his door and asks him if he gave a lift to a girl the previous night. A girl who has now been found brutally murdered.

If Cal is going to clear his name he’s going to have to figure out what Claire was really up to and what part he played in her curious deception. But doing so will involve him in some of the small town of Griffon’s most carefully kept secrets – and a conspiracy as bizarre as it is deadly.

Amazon links: Hardback or Kindle

Giveaway: Win a copy of Finding It by Cora Carmack

Last week I received a copy of Finding It by Cora Carmack to review but as I've got a backlog, and New Adult is not a genre I would usually read, I've decided to offer it as a giveaway prize instead.

Although part of a series following Losing It and Faking It, Finding It can be read as a standalone as the main character this time is Kelsey, best friend of Bliss from Losing It.

Kelsey Summers is looking for love in all the wrong places.

Spending a few months travelling around Europe - with no parents, no responsibilities and a no limit credit card - Kelsey's having the time of her life.

Books Read: Alexandra Brown - Me and Mr Carrington

Georgie Hart can’t believe her luck. It looks like Tom, the hunky boss of Carrington’s Department Store, in the picture-postcard town of Mulberry-on-Sea, is as hot for her as she is for him. After a romantic Italian get-together leaves her on Cloud Nine, Georgie is brought back down to earth with a bump when she has to get back behind the counter of the Luxury Handbags section.

But when Georgie is left open-mouthed by a revelation from one of her well-heeled customers, it seems like Tom hasn’t been entirely honest with her. Has Georgie done her usual trick of adding two and two together to make five?

Ever wondered what happened when Georgie first got together with Mr Carrington himself? This deliciously funny short story is perfect for anyone who loved Cupcakes at Carrington’s, and for those discovering the lovable Georgie Hart for the first time.

Author Interview: Zanna Mackenzie

This afternoon I'm delighted to welcome Zanna Mackenzie to my blog for a bit of a chat.

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 
I think I probably did yes. When I was about 8 or so I used to chop up magazines, cut out photos and articles and stick them on to paper to make a little book with them. At high school I wanted to be a journalist but realised I didn’t have the right personality for that job so went for my second career choice instead - working in travel. It didn’t take long though before I started writing travel articles and brochures – the writing bug was back!

How long did it take you to get your first book published? 
That’s a tricky one to answer. The first book I wrote was probably completed about six or so years ago. Then I wrote 2 more books and all of the books went through professional manuscript appraisal schemes and I learnt lots from that experience but I never actually dared to send any of the books out to agents or publishers until last year. My husband nagged me to start sending the books out, so I decided to be brave and go for it. I sent one of the books to Astraea Press and another book to Crooked Cat Publishing. I thought I would receive standard rejection letters soon after. Instead, 2 months later I had been offered contracts from both of the publishers. I was stunned, still am in fact!

Giveaway: Win a copy of This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

I recently received a paperback copy of This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith but as I'd already read and reviewed this book earlier this year I'm offering one of you lucky people the chance to win it to read for yourselves.

If fate sent you an email, would you answer? 

It's June - seventeen-year-old Ellie O'Neill's least favourite time of year. Her tiny hometown is annually invaded by tourists, and this year there's the added inconvenience of a film crew. Even the arrival of Hollywood heartthrob Graham Larkin can't lift her mood. 

Guest Book Review: Alison McQueen - Under the Jewelled Sky

Reviewed by Danielle Pullen

London 1957. In a bid to erase her past, Sophie Schofield accepts a wedding proposal from ambitious British diplomat, Lucien Grainger. When he is posted to New Delhi, into the glittering circle of ex-pat society, old wounds begin to break open as Sophie is confronted with the memory of her first, forbidden love and its devastating consequences. This is not the India she fell in love with ten years before in a maharaja's palace, the India that ripped out her heart as Partition tore the country in two.

And so begins the unravelling of an ill-fated marriage, setting in motion a devastating chain of events that will bring her face to face with a past she tried so desperately to forget, and a future she must fight for. This is a tender story of love, loss of innocence, and the aftermath of a terrible decision no one knew how to avoid.

Amazon links: Paperback or Kindle

Debut Spotlight: Holly Martin

Today I'm delighted to be introduce you to Holly Martin whose debut YA novel The Sentinel is being published next week. 

I live in sunny Bedfordshire in a house with round windows. I studied media at university which led to a very glitzy career as a hotel receptionist followed by a even more glamorous two years working in a bank. The moment that one of my colleagues received the much coveted carriage clock for fifteen years service was the moment when I knew I had to escape. I quit my job and returned to university to train to be a teacher. Three years later, I emerged wide eyed and terrified that I now had responsibility for the development of thirty young minds. I taught for four years before History Off The Page came to my school to do a Tudor day. I now drive round the country in my little white van, dressing up as a Viking one day and an Egyptian High Priestess the next.

I love to write. The characters do exactly what I want them to do, most of the time. Sometimes they do seem to go off and do their own thing without my permission. It is complete escapism into a world where I have full control.

I've been writing for four years now, every spare second I have, I'm scribbling ideas in a notebook or typing a scene on my laptop. I have written three romantic fiction books. Changing Casanova and The Chainsaw Masquerade were recently shortlisted for the Festival of Romance New Talent Award. In June, this year, my short story One Hundred Proposals won the Belinda Jones Travel Club short story competition and was published in the Sunlounger anthology.

Books Read: Vanessa Greene - Tuesdays at the Teacup Club

A lot can change in a year . . . 

The children's books Jenny writes and illustrates from her countryside studio are doing well, and after a lifetime of looking after everyone else, she's finally putting herself first. Meanwhile,Maggie's ordered world is thrown into chaos when her baby son Stan arrives. Candlelit baths have made way for endless night feeds, and she and partner Owen are struggling to find any time for themselves. It's been a long year of financial sacrifice, but working-mum Alison has fulfilled her dream at last - she is now the proud co-owner of a café and art gallery. 

But when Alison's happiness is threatened and news from home shocks Jenny back to reality, the women must band together. Suddenly their friendship is more important than ever. 

Author Interview: Zana Bell

Today is publication day for Zana Bell's latest book Close to the Wind, her first for Choc Lit UK, so I'm delighted to welcome her to my blog.

Zana Bell grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe and studied English Literature at the University of Cape Town. After travelling for several years doing a wide range of jobs, she immigrated to New Zealand where she now lives with her family and cats in a small harbourside community.

She began writing, just for the fun of seeing whether she could actually complete a novel and immediately became hooked. Research is her primary love and writing gives her an excellent excuse to be obsessive or just plain nosey. She enjoys writing in a variety of genres but has a particular fondness for all things historical.

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book Close to the Wind? Where did the inspiration come from?
It’s Georgette Heyer meets Romancing the Stone in 1860s New Zealand. 

I’m a huge Heyer fan but instead of regencies, I had a yen to write a NZ historical based on the 1860s gold-rush. Within months of the first discovery of gold, colourful characters were pouring in from all over the world, risking all in a crazy gamble. Small towns were hastily thrown up as fortunes were made and lost overnight. There were hotels and bars – lots of bars! – theatres, brothels etc. I wanted to capture some of that exuberant energy. 

Books Read: Tracey Garvis Graves - Covet

When Daniel Rush falls for Claire Canton, there's only one slight problem: Claire's husband, Chris.

Claire, Chris and their two children are a picture-perfect family, and Claire is a devoted mother and wife. But she and Chris have been at a crossroads in their marriage ever since Chris lost his job. He's coped by retreating to a dark place where no one can reach him, not even Claire, and she feels she has no one to talk to and nowhere to turn - until she meets Daniel.

For her, Daniel fills a void and provides almost everything that is missing in her life. Daniel, meanwhile, knows that Claire is married, and convinces himself that friendship is all he's interested in. 

And Chris? Chris is under too much pressure to even notice that his marriage is floundering.

As Claire and Daniel grow ever closer, and she and Chris drift further apart, Claire realises that she's going to have make a choice. But how do you choose when you want the best of both worlds - and can't bear to hurt either of the men in your life?

Author Interview: Helen Moorhouse

This morning I'm delighted to be interviewing Irish author Helen Moorhouse whose latest novel Sing Me to Sleep has just been published.

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 
Always. It was the one thing that always stood out for me. I was a constant scribbler as a child, making up little stories and dreaming of my book covers! I went on to study journalism in college but my career path veered off in different directions and I ended up working behind the scenes in radio for years, not thinking I’d ever actually be published. I wrote my first novel, The Dead Summer, while on maternity leave with my first daughter and was lucky enough to get a publishing deal and it’s all taken off from there. Subsequently, through fate and circumstance, I was forced to give up full time work a couple of years ago and this has led to my becoming a writer to earn a crust, as well as for pleasure! With all of my various experience, I now work as a speechwriter, newspaper commentator, radio and brochure copywriter and also VO artist from home part time.

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book Sing Me to Sleep? 
Sing Me To Sleep is quite a sad story about how life turns out because something terrible happened, and how maybe that was the way it was meant to be all along. Jenny Mycroft dies in a car crash in 1997, leaving her husband Ed and baby daughter Bee behind. But Jenny can’t leave, Her spirit lives on in their home, watching helplessly as their lives go on without her. The story spans thirty years – from Ed and Jenny’s first meeting at college, through Ed’s new love with Rowan, through Bee growing to adulthood. We also learn why it is that Jenny can’t leave her family and what drives her to stay on and watch over them. Can she ever find the peace to move on? Or does she really want to?

I love the idea of a ghost hanging around watching over those she loved.  I often feel that my own mum is still with me, where did the inspiration come from to write about a ghost? 
I love that idea too – I’ve always been fascinated by ghosts and the afterlife. On one hand, it seems so impossible but then on the other, something happens in your daily life and you really can’t help but think there’s a presence still there – by the way as I just typed that, my house alarm went off completely out of the blue! Sign or short wire?! Who knows!

My first two novels, The Dead Summer and The Dark Water were pure ghost stories, telling the tales from the point of view of living people being haunted by the dead and delving into the past to find out why. The stories of the hauntings in both cases were told parallel to the backstory of the people behind them and the reasons why they came back after death. With Sing Me To Sleep, I wanted to explore the story from the other side, however – why someone might feel unable to pass over completely, why they might not want to leave those they’ve loved behind and their helplessness at having to watch their own life unfold without them. 

I originally started Sing Me To Sleep a couple of years ago but had shelved the story in favour of another. In the summer of 2012, however, I lost a friend to cancer – someone I very much admired – and it really affected me deeply. She left behind a young family too. Her death came after a period in my life which had been quite traumatic and I thought that the time felt right to revisit the story – I felt I had a lot of sadness that I needed to put somewhere, sadness that just comes from everyday life and loss – but also the feeling that despite it all, life goes on – and it can be good.