Emma's Review: Coming Home to Maple Cottage by Holly Martin

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Isla Rosewood is creating a new life for herself and her sweet nephew Elliot in their cosy, yellow-brick family cottage, brimming with special memories. Living in Sandcastle Bay was never part of Isla’s plan but, after her brother Matthew’s tragic accident, her whole world changed as she unexpectedly became a mother to the little boy she adores so much.

Leo Jackson was always known as Matthew’s fun-loving and wild best friend. But now Matthew is gone, it’s time to put his colourful past behind him. His role as Elliot’s godfather is the most important thing to him. And even though Leo and Isla are two very different people, they both want to give Elliot the childhood he deserves.

As the three of them enjoy time together watching fireworks, baking cakes and collecting conkers, Isla begins to see a softer side to charming Leo, with his twinkling eyes and mischievous sense of humour. And, despite herself, she begins to fall for him.

But does Leo feel the same way? Isla knows their situation is complicated but is it too complicated for true love… or will the year end with a happy new beginning for them all?

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Emma's Review: Hope on the Waterways by Milly Adams

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

January 1945, West London: Sylvia Simpson is flourishing in her role aboard the Marigold and has quickly become an invaluable member of the crew. But as the V-I and V-2 rockets draw closer, someone from her past is about to burst into their lives. Now Sylvia must choose between keeping the promises she has made, and remaining loyal to the people she loves the most.

Polly and Verity are still waiting for their sweethearts’ safe return, and soon find they have their own battles to fight on the home front. It will take all their resolve to keep their heads above water, but as long as they stick together there will always be hope.

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Books Read: False Witness by Michelle Davies

7.15am: Two children are seen on top of a wall in a school. 
Shortly later one of them lies fatally injured at the bottom. 
Did the boy fall or was he pushed?

As a family liaison offer, DC Maggie Neville has seen parents crumble under the weight of their child’s death. Imogen Tyler is no different. Her son’s fall was witnessed by the school caretaker, a pupil is under suspicion, and Imogen is paralysed by grief and questions.

For Maggie, finding the truth is paramount if she is to help the mother. But as she investigates, further doubts emerge and the truth suddenly seems far from certain. Could the witness be mistaken about what happened, and if he is, then who is responsible? And how far will they go to cover up the boy’s death?

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Books Read: I Invited Her In by Adele Parks

‘I invited her in… and she took everything.’

When Mel hears from a long-lost friend in need of help, she doesn’t hesitate to invite her to stay. Mel and Abi were best friends back in the day, sharing the highs and lows of student life, until Mel’s unplanned pregnancy made her drop out of her studies.

Now, seventeen years later, Mel and Abi’s lives couldn’t be more different. Mel is happily married, having raised her son on her own before meeting her husband, Ben. Now they share gorgeous girls and have a chaotic but happy family home, with three children.

Abi, meanwhile, followed her lover to LA for a glamorous life of parties, celebrity and indulgence. Everything was perfect, until she discovered her partner had been cheating on her. Seventeen years wasted, and nothing to show for it. So what Abi needs now is a true friend to lean on, to share her grief over a glass of wine, and to have some time to heal. And what better place than Mel’s house, with her lovely kids, and supportive husband…

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Salisbury Literary Festival: Q&A with Asia Mackay

It's the start of a new week so it must be time for the next Salisbury Literary Festival post.  Today I'm delighted to welcome Asia Mackay to the blog to talk about her debut novel Killing It and her appearance at the festival next month.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing journey?
I’m a mum of four and Killing It is my first book. As much as I loved writing at school I’d never really pursued it. Then one night I was crawling across my kids’ bedroom floor trying not to wake the baby and I thought if only I had some kind of special ops training, maybe I’d manage to get out of here without him waking. It sparked the idea of a hard-core secret agent busy on important missions for the good of the country, but still having to rush home in time for bath time. 

I found myself jotting down notes on my phone when feeding - ‘Gun in nappy bag, pretend formula is cocaine, does breast milk have DNA in?’ – the mad ramblings of a sleep-deprived mother. After a few months of this I realised I needed to either make a go of it or just forget about it. I sat down one evening and started writing and the very first paragraph I ever wrote is still the opening to Killing It. I took the little I had written and a rough plot outline to a seven-month online Writing a Novel course at the amazing Faber Academy - and by the end of it I had a very rough first draft.

How did it feel to be shortlisted and eventual runner up in the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition?
When you’re spending evenings alone typing away into your laptop it’s very easy to be swallowed up by self-doubt and fear you’re spending time on something that no one will ever read let alone enjoy. Therefore being shortlisted meant everything to me – it was much-needed validation that my writing might actually have some potential. Becoming the eventual runner-up and being offered a two-book deal was more than I ever could’ve hoped for when I first thought of my gun-toting lactating heroine, so I feel very very lucky.

If you had to give an elevator pitch for Killing It, what would it be?
When an assassin returns to work after maternity leave, she must juggle her latest high-stakes mission with rushing home for bath-time. 

Books Read: The Songs of Us by Emma Cooper

If Melody hadn't run out of de-icer that day, she would never have slipped and banged her head. She wouldn't be left with a condition that makes her sing when she's nervous. And she definitely wouldn't have belted out the Arctic Monkeys' 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' in assembly at her son's school.

If Dev hadn't taken the kids to the zoo that day, then the accident wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't have left Flynn and Rose without a dad. Or shattered the love of his life's heart.

But if they hadn't seen the missing person report that day, they might never have taken the trip to Cornwall. And, in the last place they expected, discovered what it really means to be 'Us'.

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Giveaway: Win a copy of Macbeth by Jo Nesbo

Today is my pleasure to be taking part in the blog tour for the paperback publication of Jo Nesbo's retelling of MacBeth. I'm ashamed to admitted that I've never read Shakespeare's original Macbeth, and sadly wasn't in a position to read this version, but instead I have a copy of Macbeth to give away.

He’s the best cop they’ve got. 

When a drug bust turns into a bloodbath it’s up to Inspector Macbeth and his team to clean up the mess. 

He’s also an ex-drug addict with a troubled past. 

He’s rewarded for his success. Power. Money. Respect. They’re all within reach. 

But a man like him won’t get to the top.

Plagued by hallucinations and paranoia, Macbeth starts to unravel. He’s convinced he won’t get what is rightfully his. 

Unless he kills for it. 

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The Write Stuff with... Marianne Holmes

Today it's my stop on the A Little Bird Told Me blog tour and it's my absolute pleasure to hand the reins over to author Marianne Holmes.

It’s very special to be able to share my writing tips on Shaz’s Book Blog. As so many great writers have already written brilliant books about writing, I thought I’d just share a few of the things that have helped me.

• Write for your own pleasure, because it makes your heart sing and brings joy to your life. But take it seriously because there will never be a better time to start unless you find it and guard it fiercely. Sometimes your house will be dirty. This is normal.
• Read as much as you can and without discrimination, you never know what unexpected treasure you’ll discover. All the time you’re reading you’re also effortlessly absorbing the beautiful variety of language and story. Of course, if you’re not enjoying a book just put it down, life’s too short and there are plenty more on the shelves.
• Learn to welcome criticism and find people who will be honest with you. Don’t take it personally, use it to make your work better. How you make it better is up to you. Unless they’re your publishers and they suggest a much better title than you ever could, those guys are always right!

Salisbury Literary Festival: Q&A with Claire Fuller

Today I'm delighted to welcome Claire Fuller to the blog to chat about her latest book Bitter Orange as well as her appearance at Salisbury Literary Festival next month.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your writing journey? 
I started writing short stories when I was forty. In the eleven years since, I’ve had three novels published (Our Endless Numbered Days, Swimming Lessons, and Bitter Orange) and have continued to write short stories as well as flash fiction. While studying for an MA in creative writing I wrote my first novel, which was subsequently bought by Penguin. 

If you had to give an elevator pitch for Bitter Orange, what would it be? 
I’ve been practicing but it’s difficult! Frances Jellico is dying and remembering twenty years previously, to the summer of 1969 when she was commissioned to write a report on the follies in the grounds of a dilapidated country house. For a month or so she stays in the attics and meets Cara and Peter, a bohemian couple staying in the rooms below hers. She becomes dazzled by their way of life (drinking, smoking, staying up late) and the stories they tell. But Frances discovers a spyhole in her bathroom floor and she cannot resist spying on her new friends. As the hot summer rolls on and the stories become more outlandish, a small crime brings on another which will change all three of their lives forever.

How did the title Bitter Orange come about? 
For a long time while I was writing, the book was going to be called Blood Orange, because there is an orangery in the novel, with one old orange tree growing in it. But just as I was doing final edits for my Penguin editor we learned that another book was going to be published called Blood Orange, and I had to change my title and some of the story. In the end, I’ve found I prefer Bitter Orange; Blood Orange seems to suggest a crime novel, and although there are crimes in the book, it’s not really that genre. 

Bitter Orange features a socially awkward spinster and a hedonistic young couple whose paths cross whilst staying in a dilapidated country house, where did the inspiration come from? 
It started with a flash fiction story of 100 words, about a man spying through a hole in a ceiling-rose onto a woman in the flat below his. I thought it would be interesting to make the person doing the spying a woman and the person below, a man. 

From the attic of a dilapidated English country house, she sees them - Cara first: dark and beautiful, clinging to a marble fountain of Cupid, and Peter, an Apollo. It is 1969 and they are spending the summer in the rooms below hers while Frances writes a report on the follies in the garden for the absent American owner. But she is distracted. Beneath a floorboard in her bathroom, she discovers a peephole which gives her access to her neighbours' private lives.

To Frances' surprise, Cara and Peter are keen to spend time with her. It is the first occasion that she has had anybody to call a friend, and before long they are spending every day together: eating lavish dinners, drinking bottle after bottle of wine, and smoking cigarettes till the ash piles up on the crumbling furniture. Frances is dazzled.

But as the hot summer rolls lazily on, it becomes clear that not everything is right between Cara and Peter. The stories that Cara tells don't quite add up - and as Frances becomes increasingly entangled in the lives of the glamorous, hedonistic couple, the boundaries between truth and lies, right and wrong, begin to blur. Amid the decadence of that summer, a small crime brings on a bigger one: a crime so terrible that it will brand all their lives forever.

I'm looking forward to your panel at this year's Salisbury Literary Festival, how did you feel to be invited to be part of the festival? 
I was absolutely delighted. Salisbury is a wonderful city, and a lovely place to visit. And there are some really interesting writers speaking. I’m also excited to be judging the adult category for the Salisbury Story Prize; I’m looking forward to finding some gems amongst the entries. 

Books Read: After He Died by Michael J Malone

You need to know who your husband really was…

When Paula Gadd’s husband of almost thirty years dies, just days away from the seventh anniversary of their son, Christopher’s death, her world falls apart. Grieving and bereft, she is stunned when a young woman approaches her at the funeral service, and slips something into her pocket. A note suggesting that Paula’s husband was not all that he seemed…

When the two women eventually meet, a series of revelations challenges everything Paula thought they knew, and it becomes immediately clear that both women’s lives are in very real danger.

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Giveaway: Win a copy of The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March

Last weekend I headed up to London for an event with a difference, a brainstorming brunch at the  Books and the City head office to talk about all things books.  It was an amazing experience and the hours just literally flew by, it's always great to talk about books with fellow book lovers and who better than a group of publishing experts and fellow bloggers.

Photo courtesy of Sara-Jade at Simon & Schuster UK

As a thank you for attending we were given a fab goody bag filled with books and stationery, a bookworms dream 😍

One of the books in the goody bag was an older book that has been given a fresh new look by the lovely design team at Simon & Schuster UK, the new edition of The Meryl Street Movie Club by Mia March is published this Thursday.  I bought a copy of this book when it was first published in 2012 so I have decided to run a giveaway for this latest version for one of you lucky followers to read.

On the coast of Maine sits The Three Captains Inn, a haven for tourists and locals alike. When Lolly, the owner, summons her nieces home, they assume she’s planning to sell the inn, the place they called home after they lost their parents in a car accident that also claimed the life of Lolly’s husband. Little do they know, the truth is far more unimaginable...

The Write Stuff with... Jules Wake

Today it's my stop on the A Girl's Best Friend blog tour and it's my pleasure to welcome Jules Wake to talk about the inspiration for her latest book.  Originally when I was asked to take part in this blog tour I didn't think I would have time to read and review A Girl's Best Friend alongside this post, but over the weekend when I wasn't feeling too great it was the perfect book for me to pick up and start reading.  I'm hoping to finish reading it today so if I do manage to find the time to read I'll try and write my review this evening when I get home from work.

I’m often asked what inspires me to write my books and the answer depends on the book. Sometimes I’ve heard something on the radio which sparks a story, other times listening to people relaying a story will send me off on an imaginary journey of what if this happened next. But with A Girl’s Best Friend, I was inspired by the experience of dog sitting.  We are a dogless family because we are all so busy and it wouldn’t be fair to have one, however as Sharon knows, for my day job I work in a school, so I do have the holidays. 

With friends away skiing, I volunteered to dog sit for them one half-term holiday.  As a complete novice, I was a tad nervous, but Ash the black Labrador seemed pretty well behaved (in that he came when he was called, sat when he was asked and went to his bed went requested) and besides what could possibly go wrong?

Salisbury Literary Festival: The Write Stuff with... Tom Bromley

As I live and work in Salisbury it seemed only fitting that I should run some regular features on the blog to help support and promote this year's Salisbury Literary Festival which is taking place next month.  Over the next 6 weeks I'll be running weekly features on Mondays with guest posts, Q&A's with some of the authors taking part as well as a couple of giveaways for a pair of tickets.

First up it's my my absolute pleasure to welcome festival director Tom Bromley to the blog to talk about how the Salisbury Literary Festival came about, an insight to the challenges faced with organising this year's festival and an introduction to a few of the events.

Paul Clifton Photography

There’s a great early 1980s song by the singer Jona Lewie called You’ll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties. Jona Lewie might not have been there in this particular case, but it was in the kitchen at a friend’s party that the seeds of the Salisbury Literary were sown.

The discussion started over why Salisbury had never had a literary festival. There are lots of place near Salisbury that do – Marlborough, Winchester, Bath, even Mere, yet Salisbury was oddly absent, despite having a literary heritage that was second to none, from William Golding to Terry Pratchett, Dorothy L Sayers to Thomas Hardy. That talk became a reality and the literary festival was born.

The inaugural literary festival took place in October 2017. We tried to create a literary festival that wasn’t too ‘literary’ if that doesn’t sound too counter-intuitive, but one that felt friendly and accessible, with writers from across the genres. We wanted to focus primarily on fiction and to avoid the circuit of celebrities selling their memoirs. We wanted, too, to have a strong local content – not just celebrating the writers of Salisbury past, but those of Salisbury’s present and, through creative writing workshops, those of the future too.

There were many highlights of that first year, with a string of fantastic authors including Joanna Cannon, Sarah Winman and Gail Honeyman, but one of the highlights was undoubtedly Philippa Gregory, who drew a crowd of just under 500 in Salisbury Cathedral. We were privileged, too, to have William Golding’s daughter, Judy, talk about her father and Rob Wilkins, Terry Pratchett’s manager, speaking about his long-time friend. We were also lucky in terms of the weather and also the support of those who helped with the festival – the event is one staffed and organised entirely by volunteers, and their passion and enthusiasm helped make the festival the success it was.

The Write Stuff with... Josie Silver

Today it's my stop on the One Day in December blog tour and it's my pleasure to hand the reins over to Josie Silver to talk about ideas and inspiration.

I've been writing fiction for more than a decade now, so I've become really used to picking up on possible story lines around me in every day life. Everywhere and everything can be a source of inspiration - the news, magazines, gossip with friends, snippets of conversations overheard in cafes or on the train. I'll hear something and it sets me off thinking 'what if?' - but what if this happened, or what if that hadn't happened, and what if this had happened instead? It's a good way to find a starting point. 

Or sometimes, an editor can be looking for a particular kind of book. That's how One Day in December came into being - my editor especially wanted a really romantic Christmassy book, something that might make readers feel the way Christmas movies like Love Actually and The Holiday does. We talked about it, and I came up with a few possible ideas. I've always wanted to write a love at first sight book, so this became an opportunity to explore that too. 

Emma's Review: Summer of Secrets by Nikola Scott

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

August 1939

At peaceful Summerhill, orphaned Maddy hides from the world and the rumours of war. Then her adored sister Georgina returns from a long trip with a new friend, the handsome Victor. Maddy fears that Victor is not all he seems, but she has no idea just what kind of danger has come into their lives...

Today

Chloe is newly pregnant. This should be a joyful time, but she is fearful for the future, despite her husband's devotion. When chance takes her to Summerhill, she's drawn into the mystery of what happened there decades before. And the past reaches out to touch her in ways that could change everything...

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Emma's Review: Victory for the Shipyard Girls by Nancy Revell

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Sunderland, 1942

With the war showing no sign of abating, Helen is thriving in her role as shipyard manager. But at home the return of her father brings a shocking discovery that tears her family apart.

Gloria is shouldering the burden of a terrible secret. If the truth comes out there could be dire consequences, and it will take all her resolve to resist the pressure around her.

Meanwhile Rosie is throwing herself into her work, taking on as many shifts as she can. Anything to keep her mind off the fact that she hasn’t heard from her sweetheart in months…

With life in the shipyards tougher than ever, will the strength of their friendship see them through to victory?

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Emma's Review: The House Across the Street by Lesley Pearse

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Twenty-three year old Katy Speed is fascinated by the house across the street. The woman who lives there, Gloria, is the most glamorous neighbour on the avenue, owning a fashionable dress shop in Bexhill-on-Sea. But who is the woman who arrives in the black car most Saturdays while Gloria is at work? Sometimes she brings women to the house, other times they have children.

Hilda, Katy's mother, disapproves of Gloria. She wonders if these mysterious visitors have just been released from prison. Is Gloria secretly bringing criminals, or worse, into the heart of the community?

Then one night, the house burns down. In the wreckage, the bodies of Gloria and her daughter are found. Katy is sure the unexplained visitors must be responsible until her father is arrested and charged with murder. Have the police arrested the correct person? Are the rest of the street safe? Can Katy find the truth before it's too late?

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Debut Spotlight: Joanne Sefton

Today is day 2 of the If They Knew blog tour and it's my pleasure to be shining the spotlight on author Joanne Sefton and her debut novel which was published in eBook format yesterday.

Joanne Sefton lives in Bath and as well as writing is a working barrister and a mother. She is short and Scottish and will generally be wearing unsuitable shoes. With an MA in creative writing from Bath Spa University, her first novel If They Knew (Avon) is a tense and action-packed psychological thriller in which a fifty-year-old secret threatens to tear a family apart.

There were several threads of inspiration that contributed to If They Knew. One of the less obvious, perhaps, was the idea to use a motorway service area as a location in the novel. As a child, I often made long journeys with my family to see the grandparents we’d moved away from and breaking the monotony at the motorway services (along with I-Spy and my dad’s Chris Rea tapes) is part of the backdrop of those childhood memories.
  
Later, as an A-Level student, I got a holiday job in the retail shop at Charnock Richard services on the M6. I worked there for three years, on and off. It was opened in 1963 with an architecturally-experimental restaurant situated on the bridge of the motorway, so diners could view the traffic below. When I started there in the mid-1990s, the restaurant was still a waitress-service Little Chef, complete with staff in frilly aprons, leather booths and balloons and lollipops for children, but soon after it was quickly dismantled and turned into fast-food outlets. 

Books Read: The Memory Collector by Fiona Harper

Heather Lucas lives her life through other people’s memories.

Heather doesn’t want to remember her childhood, not when her mother’s extreme hoarding cast her family life into disarray.

For Heather’s mother, every possession was intimately connected to a memory, so when Heather uncovers a secret about her past that could reveal why her mother never let anything go, she knows there’s only one place she’ll find answers – behind the locked door of her spare room, where the remains of her mother’s hoard lie hidden.

As Heather uncovers both objects and memories, will the truth set her free? Or will she discover she’s more like her mother than she ever thought possible?

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