Author Interview: Georgina Troy

I'm delighted to welcome Georgina Troy back to the blog to talk about the latest book in her Jersey series, A Jersey Bombshell.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing journey? 
I wrote my first book about 18 years ago but did nothing with it. Then about 10 years ago wrote my second book and then a third – A Jersey Bombshell is my ninth book. I joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme, which enabled me to submit a full manuscript each year for a critique by a published but anonymous reader. 

In 2012 I entered the first three chapters of my historical, Broken Faces, written under my own name, Deborah Carr, into the Harry Bowling Prize. The judges gave it a special commendation and later that year the book was a runner up in the Good Housekeeping Novel Writing Competition. One of the judges, Luigi Bonomi, asked to see the rest of the book and then offered me representation, which I was delighted to accept. Luigi and I have now amicably parted ways, but Broken Faces has been published through a small imprint, Green Shutter Books. I’m now writing the sequel, Splintered Lives. 

A Jersey Kiss and A Jersey Affair were initially also published through Green Shutter Books and reached #3 and #7 in the local Waterstones Top Ten Bestseller chart. I was delighted when Accent Press offered to relaunch the two books with a contract to write a further two in the series. A Jersey Kiss was relaunched in September 2014, with A Jersey Affair the following spring. A Jersey Dreamboat came last September and A Jersey Bombshell is out this June.

A Jersey Bombshell is the latest in your Jersey Scene series and features Gabriel returning home to the Island to help his family run their hotel, did you need to do much research about the hotel industry?  
No, because from 1966 to 2007 my father and then later assisted by my brother ran a hotel in Jersey. When my grandfather died in 1962 the large home he and my grandmother lived in ended up being too big for her, so she moved into a smaller home and the building was altered and turned it into a hotel. The hotel I write about, although looking different to my father’s did have the rose garden, a row of huge pine trees at the front of it, and a large valley behind with geometrical ponds that had originally belonged to the house – just like in A Jersey Bombshell.

If you had to describe Gabriel in three words, what would they be?  
Brave, loyal, determined

I know that you live on the island of Jersey yourself, was that the deciding factor on basing the series solely on Jersey as opposed to featuring the other Channel Islands? 
It was. I love Jersey and there are so many places, both hidden and public, that are perfect settings for scenes in my books. Although I’ve visited the other Channel Islands, I don’t know them very well, and know places far away much better.

Guest Post: Writing the Difficult Second Book by Rebecca Bradley

I have to start this post by thanking Sharon for having me on the blog today, for giving me the space to talk and to share my experience of writing that difficult second book, my difficult second book, Made to be Broken. Thank you, Sharon. 

My first book Shallow Waters was released in December 2014, that's a long stretch of time between first book and the second.

With Shallow Waters I had all the time in the world to write it. There was no one waiting for it, there was no deadline, there was no one with any expectations, and I had no previous work out in the world with which anyone could compare it to. Book one for a new author is a walk in the park in a lot of respects, other than the steep learning curve of writing that is. But, learning to write is an ongoing process and it is one I don't think I will ever come to the end of. I hope to always be learning and improving and creating better work.

Now, book 2, is a different beast altogether. I had readers. Readers who had read Shallow Waters. Readers who had enjoyed Shallow Waters. Readers who had said they couldn't wait to read the next in the series. And while all those things where exciting and thrilling and boosted my confidence as a writer, they did, at the same time freeze me in my tracks. In my bum in seat, fingers on keyboard, brain functioning in head, tracks.

Why would my readers wanting more from me terrify me this way? Because now there were readers waiting for another book, readers with expectations, expectations that book 2 would live up to the enjoyment they felt when reading book 1. They now had something to compare it to.

Emma's Review: Florence Grace by Tracy Rees

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Florrie Buckley is an orphan, living on the wind-blasted moors of Cornwall. It's a hard existence but Florrie is content; she runs wild in the mysterious landscape. She thinks her destiny is set in stone. But when Florrie is fifteen, she inherits a never-imagined secret. She is related to a wealthy and notorious London family, the Graces. Overnight, Florrie's life changes and she moves from country to city, from poverty to wealth. Cut off from everyone she has ever known, Florrie struggles to learn the rules of this strange new world. And then she must try to fathom her destructive pull towards the enigmatic and troubled Turlington Grace, a man with many dark secrets of his own.

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Author Interview: Rhoda Baxter

Today is the start of another busy week on the blog, first up it's my pleasure to welcome Choc Lit author Rhoda Baxter back to the blog to talk about her latest book Please Release Me.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hello! I’m Rhoda and I haven’t had a cake for… oh hang on. Wrong group. Ha Ha I could also be a founding member of this group ;-)

Let’s try again.

I’m a former scientist who now writes romance with humour and a touch of cynicism for Choc Lit. I’m still a geek at heart and can witter on about science and Dr Who for hours. I’m a big fan of The Big Bang Theory, Firefly and The Octonauts. I firmly believe that toilet roll should be fed over the top of the roll.

I’m a bit of a cake fiend, although I am trying to quit ... well, cut down anyway … oh who am I kidding, pass the Battenberg.

Although I have interviewed you about Please Release Me before, can you give us a little refresher as to what the book is about?
It’s about Grace, who is slowly recovering from losing her parents, Peter, who is living from day to day while he waits for his wife to wake up from a coma (he doesn’t know IF she will ever wake up, or even if she’ll be the same person if that happens) and Sally, who is in a coma, but can hear what’s going on. I once read a book where the hero had a wife in a coma, but it was totally okay for him to sleep with the heroine because the wife didn’t really love him and trapped him by pretending she was pregnant etc etc. He seemed to have no remorse about sleeping with someone other than his wife. This struck me as a bit weird. Surely, you’d feel bad.

So Peter feels terrible when he realises he has feelings for Grace. Sally isn’t a nice person, but when Peter comes to visit, she has no choice but to listen to him talk to her and she slowly starts to get to know this man she married and by degrees really does come to love him, in her own way. Then she comes back as a ghost that only Grace can see. Both women are lonely and they need each other. I started off writing a rom com set in a hospice and ended up writing a book about friendship, grief and betrayal. Go figure.

What inspired you to set this story in a hospice and how much research did you have to do to enable you to portray the realities of living and working in a hospice?
I visited Martin House Children’s hospice and spoke to staff and families there. Actually, it was going to the open day there that made me think about using a hospice as a setting. The actual hospice in the book is made up. In my head, it looks a bit like the old Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford - from the outside at least. I did a lot of desk research on comas. In order to sense check what I’d written, I spoke to @ZGoodacre, who works in the NHS. She gave me a few pointers about palliative care and intensive care in hospitals vs hospices. I made a few changes to Sally’s condition based on her feedback.

The best thing about using a made up private hospice was that I could have them provide different levels of care which would not always be found in the same place. So, the floor that Sally is on is quiet and has patients who need long term specialist care. Further up there is a floor for people like Grace’s Mum and Margaret who need a bit more care than a care home can offer, but not full medical support.

The Scottish Diamond – and my love for romantic suspense by Helena Fairfax

Today it's my pleasure to welcome Helena Fairfax back to the blog to talk about her love of romantic suspense novels which inspired her latest novella The Scottish Diamond.

I love romantic suspense – J.D. Robb, Nora Roberts, and the old classics like Mary Stewart - but up until a couple of years ago it had never crossed my mind to have a try at writing in this genre. One day, though, I saw a call for submissions for a romantic suspense anthology. My mind began working subconsciously in that “What if…?” kind of way and shortly after seeing the call an idea for a story popped into my head, and I really wanted to write it down.

The story I dreamed up was a classic doppelgänger suspense, with a princess vanished in mysterious circumstances and a heroine who looks enough like her to play her part. Added to that was a handsome bodyguard, a housekeeper as creepy as Mrs Danvers, and a dramatic twist that surprised the heroine – and almost ruined everything for her.

To cut a long story short (pardon the pun!) the anthology didn’t go ahead, but the agent who had intended to put it together emailed me to tell me how much she’d loved my short story, and how she thought I should expand it into a novella.

I’d loved my characters, too, and I loved the idea of making the story longer, and especially of getting to know my bodyguard hero better :) And that’s how my novella Palace of Deception came about.

I released Palace of Deception last year as an ebook, and it will be published in large print next year. (At the moment, I’m offering all new subscribers to my newsletter a FREE copy of Palace of Deception. You can subscribe here: http://eepurl.com/bRQtsT)

I thought Palace of Deception would be the end of my foray into romantic suspense but Lizzie and Léon – my Mediterranean bodyguard and Scottish heroine – refused to bow out so easily.

Emma's Review: How to Find Love in a Book Shop by Veronica Henry

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Nightingale Books, nestled on the high street in the idyllic Cotswold town of Peasebrook, is a dream come true for booklovers.

But owner Emilia Nightingale is struggling to keep the shop open. The temptation to sell up is proving enormous - but what about the promise she made to her father? Not to mention the loyalty she owes to her customers.

Sarah Basildon, owner of stately pile Peasebrook Manor, has used the book shop as an escape from all her problems in the past few years. But is there more to her visits than meets the eye?

Since messing up his marriage, Jackson asks Emilia for advice on books to read to the son he misses so much. But Jackson has a secret, and is not all he seems...

And there's Thomasina, painfully shy, who runs a pop-up restaurant from her tiny cottage. She has a huge crush on a man she met and then lost in the cookery section, somewhere between Auguste Escoffier and Marco Pierre White. Can she find the courage to admit her true feelings?

Amazon links: Kindle or Hardcover

My Favourite Book Shop by Emma Crowley

As part of the blog tour for Veronica Henry's beautiful book How to Find Love in a Book Shop reviewers were asked to write about their local bookshop or a bookshop they often frequent as part of the Books are my Bag campaign for Independent Bookshop Week. So I have chosen my local bookshop - in fact the only bookshop - The Book Centre in Waterford City where I live. 

Even if there had been other bookshops from which to make my selection I would have picked this family run shop situated in the heart of Waterford City in John's Roberts Square. It's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and I hope it will be for may years to come. You would think when asked to choose your favourite bookshop there would be an abundance to contemplate before making your final decision but sadly that is no longer the case. As is highlighted in Veronica's story bookshops are becoming that rare commodity in this day and age - they are that special place that nurtures a bookworms dream and allow us to indulge our passion for books. Where else can you go in and pick up a book enticed by the cover and sit down for a few minutes to read the blurb or a sample chapter before deciding whether this book is one for you or not? 

In the current era of  technology and the regular onslaught of all things social media books are in danger of dying out but I for one believe there is nothing like the feel of a paperback in your hands and the thrill of actually turning the pages as you venture deeper into a damn good read. I agree as with all things in life books have to move with the times and the Kindle has been a good addition to the book world but e-books will never replace the real thing. Although they have tried and their book sales are huge and e readers are handy the feeling of walking into a bookshop and discovering what new authors and books it has to offer will never die out (the teacher in me will always instill a love of books in my pupils). It would be such a shame for future generations not to experience this and as Emilia in How to Find Love in a Bookshop learns people need and want their local bookshop because if there wasn't one there in the local community there would be a huge gaping hole that would be extremely difficult to replace.

I've loved reading ever since I can remember. I was religiously brought to the library every Saturday by my Dad to pick out books ranging from Topsy and Tim to The Secret Seven from Anne of Green Gables to the Chalet School and many many more (I still remember that feeling of graduating from the children's library to the adult section and borrowing my first ever Maeve Binchy), I read everything I could lay my hands on. When I first started having some money of my own beginning with pocket money the obvious thing to do was to spend it on books and The Book Centre was where I turned to. 

Originally located on Michael Street in the city the shop was opened by a local family called the Ryan’s in 1971. The Ryan’s still own the shop today with their daughter currently running the shop. I remember the old shop from when I was younger, as you walked through the door there were shelves either side which ran from floor to ceiling full of the latest releases and well loved classics. The children's section was towards the back and I spent many a time carefully choosing my next read. I can't remember in what year the shop moved to its current location but it obviously outgrew its first premises and they moved to the old cinema in John Roberts Square where it remains to this day. 

The Old Savoy Cinema

The location is absolutely perfect as the square really is the centre of the city and without The Book Centre and Penneys (Primark) across the street the city would be dead. These two shops draw residents and visitors alike and you enjoy imparting your well earned euros. The shop is huge inside with vast ceilings that stretch as high as you can see. There is a huge wall dominated by a fabulous painting which once was the old cinema screen. My Dad has fond memories of watching films there but it's nice to think many more fond memories are being created in this unique shop which is loved by many.

Extract from Summer at the Comfort Food Cafe by Debbie Johnson

Today it's our stop on the Summer at the Comfort Food Cafe blog tour which Emma has already read, you can read her review here if you missed it, so I have a extract to share with you which features an first encounter for our leading lady Laura...  

We get to the car, I pass him the key and he effortlessly unlocks and lifts the roofbox lid. The one that took a whole lot of huffing, puffing, effing and jeffing for me to sort out the night before. I look on, standing on tiptoes and still barely able to reach. I am starting to hate him, a little tiny bit.

In the end I give up on my ineffectual stretching. It’ll be easier if I just let him get everything out and then the rest of us start to carry it back to Hyacinth. Of course, what I’ve temporarily expunged from my mind about the roofbox is the way I’ve packed it.

Actually, ‘packed’ might be too generous a word. What I’d actually done was put masses of the kids’ clothes and shoes into bin bags, put breakables and electrics into a cardboard box, added a few essentials like coffee and bog roll in one of those big reusable shoppers and then shoved most of my stuff down the sides, squeezing it all in to whatever spaces were left.

It had seemed to make perfect sense at the time, but as the man tugs hard at one of the tightly packed black bin bags, I start to regret it. It’s a mess, frankly. The kind of mess you only ever want to see yourself.

I start to regret it even more when he finally manages to pull the bin bag away, with a grunt of effort. As it pops free, it brings with it a big, squashed clump of my underwear, which promptly scatters around us like an explosion of over-washed cotton being shot from a knicker cannon.

One pair of briefs gets stuck on the car aerial and another is caught mid-air by Nate, who immediately makes an ‘uggh’ noise and throws them on the floor. Jimbo, who has ambled out to see what all the fuss is about, straight away makes a beeline for the pants that Nate has just discarded and gobbles them up into his mouth. He runs away as fast as he can, a disappearing black blur with a limp pair of white undies hanging out of his muzzle.

Extract 2 from Last to Die by Arlene Hunt

This morning I shared with you part of an extract from Chapter 1 of Arlene Hunt's Last to Die which is published tomorrow, if you've not read it yet then you can read it here.  It's now time to pick up from where we left off... 

‘I don’t know. I was in the science lab. Someone said there was shooting. When I got down here the front doors were chained.’ He leaned in closer and whispered, ‘So is the fire exit by the bike shed.’

‘Do you think this is real?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Are all the doors locked?’

‘I don’t know. Principal Carmichael is checking the C Wing. I think we should get everyone outside.’

‘What can I do?’

‘You can help me get everyone outside and accounted for.’

She could see he was struggling to keep his voice calm. This alarmed her. Edwards was a tall man, good-natured but serious at the best of times and not one for panicking. More children were streaming in to the foyer. Jessie noticed the group she had spoken to outside her classroom.

‘I thought I told you to go outside,’ she said to the girl with the freckles.

‘The doors are locked. Someone locked them with a chain.’

Edwards raised his hands over his head.

‘Everyone, listen to me now. Stop pushing and slow down. Make your way to the rear emergency exit in a calm and orderly fashion. Come on now. I want everybody to move outside please. Everyone make their way to the basketball courts, nice and slowly. Miss Conway, can you make sure the cafeteria is empty?’

‘Sure.’ Jessie began to walk towards the cafeteria, but as she did, one of the swing doors opened and a tall youth she recognised as Kyle Saunders stepped out. He carried a semiautomatic weapon dangling from a long strap across his chest. Adam Edwards saw him; his eyes widened in surprise. He reacted fast. He grabbed the nearest child to him and shoved her towards a hallway.

‘Go!’

Kyle Saunders raised the gun. His face was shiny and his lips were peeled back over his teeth. His eyes roamed over the teeming foyer.

‘Hey maggots! Yo! Maggots, remember me?’

‘Kyle—’ Edwards put out his hands out before him, chest high. ‘Put the gun down, Kyle. Put it down now. We can talk about this.’

Kyle stared at Edwards for a moment, smiling a weird smile. Jessie could see some doubt come into Edwards’ eyes.

‘Kyle, listen to me now—’

Kyle opened fire.

The first spray of bullets took out the glass bricks that ran the length of the wall above the lockers. Children ran screaming in every direction. Some fell and were trampled; others flattened themselves against walls, covering their heads with their hands as though this might save them. One or two stood and stared, rooted to the spot in disbelief.

The second burst of gunfire was lower. A piercing scream was cut short. A round hit Edwards directly in the chest, spinning him where he stood. He took a step and dropped to the floor.

Jessie stared at Alan Edwards’ body, her face frozen, unable to comprehend what had happened.

‘Alan.’

Extract from Last to Die by Arlene Hunt

If you're a regular to the blog you will probably have noticed that there has been a distinct lack of reviews from myself in recent months, I still love blogging and sharing book news with you all but sadly I'm not really in the right headspace for reading which is normally my method of escaping from what's going on in the outside world.  Fortunately there has still been some amazing reviews on the blog from Emma to share with you including another one scheduled this weekend.  

But one of the books that is on the top of my reading pile as soon as my mojo comes back (hopefully before my week off work in August!) is Last to Die by Arlene Hunt which is published tomorrow so I'm delighted to have been asked by her publisher Bookouture to share an extract from the book with you all. 

He watches. He waits. He kills...

When Jessie Conway survives a horrific mass high school shooting, in the aftermath she finds herself thrust into the media spotlight, drawing all kinds of attention. But some of it is the wrong kind. 

Caleb Switch, a sadistic serial killer, has been watching her every move. A skilled hunter, he likes his victims to be a challenge. Jessie is strong, fearless, a survivor, and now… she is his ultimate prey. 

As Caleb picks off his current victims one by one, chasing, killing and butchering them with his crossbow, he’s closing in on Jessie... But will Jessie defy the odds and escape with her life? Or will she be Caleb’s final sacrifice… 

Chapter 1

Jessie Conway fanned herself ineffectually with her hand and wished for the umpteenth time that the relentless heat would let up a little. She was thirty-eight years old, tall but evenly proportioned, with shoulder-length hair, the shade of which was the envy of every bottle red-headed woman in Rockville.

‘Miss Conway?’

‘What can I do for you, Riley?’

‘It’s really hot. I’m really hot. It’s really hot today.’

‘Would you like me to open the window, Riley?’

He nodded.

‘Use your words please.’

‘Open the window.’ 

‘What else should you say?’

Riley scrunched his face, thinking. Jessie waited while he figured it out. Riley was fourteen and one of the smarter pupils in her class. Certainly, he had the potential to live some kind of productive life when he left school behind. Manners were crucial in this. Jessie hoped the universe treated him a little better in the future than it had thus far.

‘Please?’

‘Very good, Riley.’

Jessie rose from her desk, crossed the room and grappled with the sash window. Despite being pretty strong, she could barely raise it an inch. This section of Rockville High was old and in need of care and attention. Something it rarely received.

‘That child is never happy unless he’s complaining about something,’ Tracy Flowers, her Teaching Assistant muttered, sliding in beside Jessie to help her wrestle with the window.

‘He’s right though, it is hot.’

‘Don’t see how this will help; it’s as hot out there as it is in here.’

Tracy was twenty-four years old. She had joined Rockville High the previous September and was without doubt the best Teaching Assistant Jessie had ever worked with. She liked to grumble, but she was tough, kind and, most importantly, she was scrupulously fair with the children. That day she was wearing a yellow sundress the colour of buttercups. Jessie thought it looked very pretty and would have liked to have said so, but Tracy did not take a compliment well and she did not enjoy people drawing attention to her.

Between them, they managed to force the window up by about a foot. Jessie leaned her hands on the ledge, savouring the slight breeze and the comforting drone of a lawnmower somewhere in the distance. It truly was a beautiful June day.

Only one more week until the holidays, she thought, smiling. She wondered if Mike, her husband, had called the realtor on the rental cabin like he had said he would that morning. Knowing Mike, he had probably forgotten. She decided she’d call him during recess to remind him.

As she turned back towards the class, Jessie caught a glimpse of a dark green Toyota cruising slowly along the ring road that encircled the campus. The windows were tinted and closed tight. Air conditioning, Jessie thought, something else the school board claimed they could not afford to repair. The car slowed, turned into the main parking lot normally reserved for staff and disappeared from view.

Giveaway: Win a copy of The Ends of the Earth by Robert Goddard

Since I set up this blog almost 5 years ago I have been lucky to have been sent many fantastic books to review although sadly not all of them make it onto the blog as there's only so many hours in a day that I can physically read.  So nowadays I have to be realistic and look at my existing TBR pile to see whether or not a book will be reviewed which is why when I received a copy of Robert Goddard's latest book The Ends of the Earth unexpectedly I emailed the publicist to see whether I could run a giveaway for it instead.

LIES.
SECRETS.
REVELATIONS.
1919 – The truth has never been in such short supply

Ex-flying ace James ‘Max’ Maxted’s attempt to uncover the secret behind the death of his father, Sir Henry Maxted, has seemingly ended in failure – and his own death.

Emma's Review: The Girl and the Sunbird by Rebecca Stonehill

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

East Africa 1903:When eighteen year old Iris Johnson is forced to choose between marrying the frightful Lord Sidcup or a faceless stranger, Jeremy Lawrence, in a far-off land, she bravely decides on the latter. 

Accompanied by her chaperone, Miss Logan, Iris soon discovers a kindred spirit who shares her thirst for knowledge. As they journey from Cambridgeshire to East Africa, Iris’s eyes are opened to a world she never knew existed beyond the comforts of her family home. 

But when Iris meets Jeremy, she realizes in a heartbeat that they will never be compatible. He is cold and cruel, spending long periods of time on hunting expeditions and leaving Iris alone. 

Determined to make the best of her new life, Iris begins to adjust to her surroundings; the windswept plains of Nairobi, and the delightful sunbirds that visit her window every day. And when she meets Kamau, a school teacher, Iris finds her calling, assisting him to teach the local children English. 

Kamau is everything Jeremy is not. He is passionate, kind and he occupies Iris’s every thought. She must make a choice, but if she follows her heart, the price she must pay will be devastating. 

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Author Interview: Caroline Grace-Cassidy

Today it's my pleasure to welcome Irish actress and author Caroline Grace-Cassidy back to the blog to talk about her latest book The Week I Ruined My Life which is out now in eBook format and will be published as a paperback this week.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing journey? 
I always loved writing essays in school and doing projects and since I could read never had a book out of my hand. I alwaysy felt I'd love to tackle the novel - but it was only when I fell pregnant and was off work as an actress I really gave it  a shot. 

I never took a creative writing class (although I wish I had, and I might still) I just read so much I got the format I was going to go into. 

To have and to hold, for better, for worse

Ali Devlin isn’t the type of woman to have an affair…

But as her marriage to her childhood sweetheart Colin turns bitter, she begins to rediscover the woman she once was. She seeks solace from her toxic relationship by throwing herself into a new job that she loves, by confiding in her best friend Corina and, most dangerously of all, by spending more and more time with her workmate Owen – who just so happens to be passionate, charming and everything her husband used to be.

Then one heat-of-the-moment decision on a business trip to Amsterdam sets off a series of events that will change the course of all their lives forever.

The Week I Ruined My Life is your 5th novel and features Ali Devlin, a bored housewife who is faced with the ultimate temptation, what was the inspiration behind this storyline? 
I was reading a copy of Vogue believe it or not. I was out of contract with my publishers and had felt strongly that I wanted to move on to a new publishers, even though I had another offer from my original publishers. I wanted to write a different type of story and this one line I read struck a chord.

"For the sake of the children"
I read and re-read the line what did it actually mean in 2016. That people  who have nothing in common anymore, stay together for the sake of the children? It made no sense. Why surround children in that horrible atmosphere. So this story of a woman - very unhappy in her marriage but with children came to me. What to do? What to do for the sake of the children. I just wrote and wrote and Black & White picked it up immediately much to my great joy!

If you had to describe Ali in 3 words, what would they be?  
Brave. Maternal. Real. 

Short Story Extract: One Bride and a Bombshell by Catherine Ferguson

Today it's my stop on the blog tour for Catherine Ferguson's latest novel Four Weddings & a Fiasco, I'll be reviewing the book shortly but this morning I'm sharing with you part of an exclusive short story that Catherine has written for her blog tour, One Bride and a Bombshell, which is being serialised each day throughout the tour.  Parts 1 and 2 were shared on The Reader's Corner and This Chick Reads on Thursday and Friday and today it's my turn to host the next part of the story.  Hope you enjoy reading.    

ONE BRIDE AND A BOMBSHELL

3

So, heart beating frantically, I phoned the number and spoke to Camilla Radcliffe’s secretary, who sounded reassuringly cheerful (and not the slightest bit beaten down with stress, as I’d half-expected). The upshot was a meeting with the woman herself in the Greshingham Hall Hotel, a few miles from Mum and Dad’s house.

So that Wednesday, I left work early and hopped on a train to Willows Edge, in time for Sienna to drive me to my meeting.

‘Good luck, Sis,’ she said as she dropped me outside the rather grand hotel entrance. ‘I’ll be back in an hour to collect you. And don’t worry. Camilla is going to love you.’

I smiled, touched by my little sister’s utter faith in me. Despite the age difference, we’d always been incredibly close and were each other’s biggest support. I knew we were lucky. I had friends who seemed to bicker and fall out with their siblings all the time.

‘Oh, my God,’ I squeaked, sensing I was on the brink of something important. ‘I think I’m going to be sick!’

Author Interview: Ava Marsh

Today it's pleasure to welcome author Ava Marsh to the blog for the first time as part of the blog tour for her second novel Exposure which was published yesterday.  I did treat myself to a copy of Ava's debut novel Untouchable last year but like so many of my own personal books, it has been sadly neglected in one of the many toppling TBR piles... 

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing journey? 
Thank you for hosting me, Sharon, and yes, I’d be happy to. I’m an ex journalist, so have always been writing, one way or another, since leaving university – though I have to say handling something the size of a novel takes a very different set of skills to producing a 1,500 word article. It took me a long time to pluck up the courage to try my hand at fiction and to decide what kind of novels I’d like to write; in the end I plumped for thrillers, because there’s nothing I love more than a terrific story that keeps you wondering what’s going to happen next and where it’s all going to end. 

Your debut novel Untouchable featured a high-class escort and your latest novel Exposure revolves around the porn industry, what inspired you to write these sexier style of crime thrillers? 
Several reasons. I was curious about the impact of Fifty Shades on the marketplace, which came out around the same time as Gone Girl, and I thought it might be interesting to try combining the two. And while there’s plenty of ‘vice’ girls in crime thrillers – usually turning up as dead bodies - I’d not seen much written from their perspective. I felt strongly that call girls and porn girls are essentially ordinary women – they’re not born intending to earn money from sex – and I wanted to explore what might tip someone into that kind of industry, and how the world would look from their perspective.

Kitty Sweet isn’t like anyone you’ve ever met before.

She’s an infamous porn star, imprisoned for double murder. As damaged as she is charismatic, as dangerous as she is charming. 

But once no different from you or I.

Kitty’s past is full of heartbreak and desperation, of adulation and glamour. Of ruin. She’s descended to an underworld most people can only imagine, and lived to tell the tale . . . 

This is her story.

How did you go about doing your research?  
Oh, it’s pretty boring really. I just read around as much as I can. For Exposure I read half a dozen porn star memoirs, and anything I could get my hands on about the industry behind the scenes. I also read one or two books about life in a British prison, though in-depth accounts are surprisingly hard to come by. I’d have liked to have done exciting things like go along to a porn shoot or visit a prison, but those are pretty difficult to arrange! 

If you had to describe Exposure in one sentence, what would it be?  
Kitty Sweet, a notorious young porn star, relates her side of the story that led her to be jailed for double murder. 

Giveaway: Win a signed copy of Letting in Light by Emma Davies

To help celebrate the republication of her novel Letting in Light earlier this week author Emma Davies has kindly offered me the chance to run a giveaway for a follower of the blog to win a prize package which will include a signed copy of the book, some hot chocolate to enjoy drinking whilst reading plus a magnetic bookmark to help you keep track of your place. 

Rowan Hill means many things to many people, but to Ellie Hesketh it represents new beginnings. Putting her life back together after a break-up is going to take time, but the crumbling country estate—as much in need of TLC as she is—seems the perfect place to do it.

But Ellie is not the only person for whom Rowan Hill is a refuge. There’s Will, damaged and complicated, whose secrets almost nobody knows. And Finn, his brother, who’s finally decided to stop running from his own past. As Ellie is drawn further into saving the estate, she can’t help but try saving the brothers too—and she’s sure she knows just how to go about it. The trouble is, she’s been accused of meddling before…

Emma's Review: Love or Nearest Offer by Adele Geras

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

What if your estate agent could find you not just your perfect house, but your perfect job, your perfect partner... your perfect new life?

On paper, Iris Atkins is an estate agent, but she's not just good at finding suitable houses for her clients. In fact, she has a gift: Iris is able to see into their lives and understand exactly what is missing and what they need - and not just in bricks-and-mortar terms either.

Of course, concentrating so much on fixing other people's problems doesn't leave much time for examining your own. Over the course of one whirlwind year Iris discovers that while she may know what's best for everyone else, she doesn't necessarily know what's best for herself - and what she finds out could make her happier than she'd ever dreamed of.

Amazon links: Kindle or Hardcover

Emma's Review: The Little Village Bakery by Tilly Tennant

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Meet Millie. Heartbreak has forced her to make a new start and when she arrives at the old bakery in the little village of Honeybourne she is determined that this will be her home sweet home. Her imagination has been captured by the tumbledown bakery but with no running water and dust everywhere, her cosy idea of making cakes in a rural idyll quickly crumbles.

Luckily the locals are a friendly bunch and step in to help Millie. One in particular, Dylan, a laid-back lothario, soon captures her attention.

But just as Millie is beginning to settle in, an unexpected visitor from her past suddenly turns up determined to ruin everything for her. It’s time for Millie to face the skeletons in her closet if she’s going to live the dream of running her little village bakery, and her blossoming romance with Dylan. 

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback 

Author Interview: Tilly Tennant

It's publication day for Tilly Tennant's latest book The Little Village Bakery and also our stop on her blog tour, first up I'm chatting to Tilly about her writing and the new series, then later this afternoon Emma will be reviewing The Little Village Bakery so make sure you check back to see her thoughts.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing journey? 
I’m married with two teenage daughters. I was born in Dorset but now live in Staffordshire and until recently worked at the local hospital. I’m writing full time now, after ten years of juggling it with the day job, which I’m really enjoying.  I’d always dabbled, but I really started writing properly while I was doing an English degree as a mature student, and on that course was where I really learned my craft.  I had the best time ever during those three years and wrote two novels during my breaks from classes. I used to read my stuff out loud at creative writing events, which was nerve wracking to say the least, but there’s nothing like a bit of abject fear to focus you on creating the best story you can!

You have recently been announced as the latest signing into the Bookouture camp, how does it feel to be part of such a tour-de-force in the digital publishing market?  
In a word – unbelievable! I never imagined I would be lucky enough to land a three book deal, let alone one with the hottest new publisher around! I’m so excited to be part of their team and so far I’m having the time of my life working with them. 

Describe Millie in three words.
Kind, loyal and brave. 

Emma's Review: A Family Holiday by Bella Osborne

Reviewed by Emma Crowley 

She’ll do whatever it takes to keep this family together…

As the nanny to four quirky but loveable children, Charlie French has learnt that if there was ever a cement shortage Weetabix would be a viable substitute and that YouTube videos can go viral in seconds, much to her horror. But, most importantly, she's learnt that whatever happens you stick together as a family.

When tragedy strikes, Charlie is forced to decide whether it’s time to move on or fight to keep the children she loves. With the distraction of the children's gorgeous Uncle Felix and the chance of a holiday in stunning Antigua, she’s left wondering if turquoise seas can wash away their present troubles. Is the pull of white sand beaches too tempting to resist or will paradise fail to keep them all together?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Author Interview: Julie Ryan

Today it's my pleasure to shine the spotlight on author Julie Ryan who has recently republished Jenna's Journey, the first book in her Greek Island Mystery series. 

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? 
Hi Sharon. I’m a writer and book blogger living in Gloucestershire with my husband and young son. In the past I’ve lived and worked in France, Greece, Poland and Thailand, each experience contributing something to the person I am today. When not writing or reading, I love taking part in the annual pantomime that our local amateur dramatic group puts on and did I mention that I’m mad about cats? I have two; a feral farm cat that we’ve had for over ten years and a stray cat who adopted us two years ago. I run the local post office in our village and also work as a distance language tutor teaching English to French companies.

You have written 3 books set on a Greek Island, can you tell us about the Greek Island Mystery series? 
I never intended to write a series. To be honest, although I’d always dreamed of writing a book, Jenna’s Journey, the first in the Greek Island mysteries started life as a short story. It was only when I met another writer by chance that it developed into a novel. After that, the location stayed with me and I found myself writing a series. It just took on a life of its own for which I am extremely grateful. Each book is set on the same island but with different characters and although they do sometimes overlap they can each be read as a standalone. ‘Pandora’s Prophecy’ has a slightly more paranormal feel to it – oh and there’s also a serial killer on the loose!

 

What inspired you to set the series in the Greek Islands?  
I lived in Greece during my twenties and the experience stayed with me. One cold winter morning as I looked out of the window of my home in Gloucestershire, I had a kind of ‘what if’ moment as I idly wondered how my life might have been different if I’d stayed in Greece.  If you’ve ever seen the film ‘Sliding Doors’, you’ll know what I mean.

Debut Spotlight: Minna Lindgren

As a blogger I love discovering new authors, whether they're already published authors who have been under my radar until now, but also hearing about new authors whose writing career I can now follow from the start.  One such author I've recently heard about is Finnish author Minna Lindgren whose The Lavender Ladies Detective Agency series is now being published in the UK by Pan Macmillan, the first book Death in Sunset Grove is published this Thursday.  

Minna Lindgren is a well-known journalist and an expert of classical music. She is the also the author of several non-fiction books. Minna was inspired to write The Lavender Ladies Detective Agency after researching the treatment of the elderly in Finland for a magazine article. The article won the 2009 Bonnier Journalism Prize, considered the highest journalism honour in Finland. 

The Lavender Ladies Detective Agency: Death in Sunset Grove is her first novel.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing journey?
I have always known I was a writer even though my first fiction book (not translated) was only published in 2011 (when I was 48). Writing as a journalist has been very satisfying and a good school for a novelist and since I left my permanent job in the Finnish Broadcasting Company in 2008 I was just waiting for a good story to pop up. These old ladies gave it to me.

Your debut novel Death in Sunset features two elderly women Siiri & Irma who between them have experienced a lot of life, what inspired you to write this story?
I have always loved old people. I remember how the oldest in the family were my favourites as a child. I guess it is the free spirit and capricious sense of humour that inspires me and was fascinating for a child, too. The way we talk about old people in the media is opposite to what I have experienced – there are only problems and only big problems around senior citizens. I wanted to tell people how exciting it can be to live a long life - for isn’t it, after all, something we all wish? At the same time I was able to write a satire of the modern society which has always been my favourite genre. Everything turns out a little funny when you look at it through the eyes of a 95 years old lady.

Emma's Review: Last Dance in Havana by Rosanna Ley

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Cuba, 1958. Elisa is only sixteen years old when she meets Duardo and she knows he's the love of her life from the moment they first dance the rumba together in downtown Havana. But Duardo is a rebel, determined to fight in Castro's army, and Elisa is forced to leave behind her homeland and rebuild her life in distant England. But how can she stop longing for the warmth of Havana, when the music of the rumba still calls to her?

England, 2012. Grace has a troubled relationship with her father, whom she blames for her beloved mother's untimely death. And this year more than ever she could do with a shoulderto cry on - Grace's career is in flux, she isn't sure she wants the baby her husband is so desperate to have and, worst of all, she's begun to develop feelings for their best friend Theo. Theo is a Cuban born magician but even he can't make Grace's problems disappear. Is the passion Grace feels for Theo enough to risk her family's happiness?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Debut Spotlight: Michael Grothaus

Today it's my turn on the Epiphany Jones blog tour so it's my pleasure to shine the debut spotlight on author Michael Grothaus, one of a growing number of exciting authors who have been signed by Karen Sullivan to Orenda Books.  

Michael Grothaus is a novelist and journalist who spent years researching sex trafficking, using his experiences as a springboard for his debut novel Epiphany Jones. Born in Saint Louis, Missouri in 1977, he spent his twenties in Chicago where he earned his degree in filmmaking and worked for institutions including The Art Institute of Chicago, Twentieth Century Fox, and Apple. As a journalist he regularly writes about creativity, tech, subcultures, sex and pornography, the effects of mass media on our psyches, and just plain mysterious stuff for publications including Fast Company, VICE, Guardian, Engadget, and more. He’s also done immersion journalism at geopolitical events including the Hong Kong protests against Beijing in 2014. His writing is read by millions of people each month. Michael lives in London.

Can you tell us a little bit about your debut novel Epiphany Jones?
EPIPHANY JONES is the story of a man named Jerry who suffers from a number of addictions and psychological afflictions. The biggest affliction is that he sees people who don’t really exist as easily as you or I see people who do exist. As if Jerry’s life weren’t bad enough already, things take a major turn for the worse when he’s accused of stealing a million dollar painting from a museum he works for and then gets framed for the murder of a colleague by a woman who says she talks to God. Jerry is then blackmailed by this woman into helping her on her crusade against a sex trafficking ring that caters to the Hollywood elite.

What inspired you to write a book with sex trafficking as its main theme?
I actually started out wanting to write a satire about our society’s addiction to sex and celebrity. This is mainly because I used to work in the film industry and grew sick and tired of the inherent shallowness of it and the self-importance of those in the industry. I’ve always been fascinated with this tabloid society we live in where we voyeuristically follow the latest celebrity breakups and spats and gossip, while ignoring news that actually does make an impact on our life; a world where a leaked sex tape could make a wannabe actress into a household name and global brand, but one where most people couldn’t tell you who the Leader of the Opposition was.

But while working in the industry and seeing some questionable things at some of the after parties that are held during the Cannes Film Festival I started researching sex trafficking and was shocked to discover how widespread this modern slavery is—especially in some elite circles. That’s when I decided to still go forwards with the satire on Hollywood culture, but combine it with the much darker story of sex trafficking among the Hollywood elite.