It's my 50th Birthday so let's celebrate with books

They say age is just a number and it's certainly a mantra I believe in the older I have become. But for me birthdays are also bittersweet as they are a reminder that my mum is no longer around as she died suddenly 3 days before my 29th birthday. And now that I've reached the big 5-0 milestone, it's also a reminder as to how young my mum was as I've now only got 2 more birthdays to go until I'll be the age she was when she died.

Sadly with the way life has been for us all in the last 10 months, birthdays, weddings and any other form of celebrations have been rather pared back and mainly celebrated with those in our households or social bubbles so we've certainly got a lot of catching up to do when it is safe to meet up again. Personally I wouldn't have liked a big party or anything but would have liked to have been able to arrange to go out with friends for afternoon tea, instead I'll be celebrating my birthday home alone although will be catching up with friends online. 

But not only is it a special day for me, but it's also a big new books day in the publishing world as there are a LOT of new books out today. Below are just a small selection of some of the books that have caught my eye and made it onto my wishlist. Which ones will you be buying?

Character Profile: Introducing Conrad Gillmare from All My Lies are True

Over the years I have read all of Dorothy Koomson's books but one of my all time favourites is The Ice Cream Girls so you can imagine how happy I was when I heard that there was finally going to be a sequel. Today it's my pleasure to welcome Dorothy to the blog as part of the special blog tour for All My Lies are True, out next week, which is introducing readers to some of the characters we will meet in the book.

As you may know, All My Lies Are True is the sequel to my bestselling novel, The Ice Cream Girls. The Ice Cream Girls is the tale of Serena and Poppy, two women who had an affair with their teacher, Marcus, as teenagers. When Marcus is murdered, both of them are publicly labelled The Ice Cream Girls and are put on trial for the crime. While Poppy goes to jail, Serena walks away free. Twenty years later, Poppy is released from prison, determined to get revenge on Serena. Serena has spent the last twenty years terrified of her husband and children finding out about her past, so she is determined to keep her secret. 

All My Lies Are True is set ten years after the events of The Ice Cream Girls. All the characters have moved on and Serena’s children have grown up, but a new, unexpected threat is now hanging over all their lives. During this special All My Lies Are True tour, you will get a brief rundown of the main characters from both books and find out where this new story takes them.

Conrad Gillmare

In All My Lies Are True Conrad is seventeen and about to sit his A-levels. He has been especially close to his sister, Verity, since their parents’ marriage troubles in The Ice Cream Girls, and is upset now that she seems to have pulled away from him. He is funny, doesn’t take too many things seriously and is a bit silly in a non-goofy way. He is confused and upset with what has been unfolding around him, especially when his sister is arrested for a serious crime . . . 

Illustrator Derren Toussaint

Festive Fun: My Fantasy Christmas Dinner Party

Tonight I'm kicking off what I'm hoping will be a fun feature that I will be hosting every night in the run up to Christmas.

The idea for this My Fantasy Christmas Dinner feature came about as over the last couple of years our company decided to have site based Christmas parties, with just a couple of free drinks and a buffet on offer, rather than the sit-down team meals that they used to pay for.  As I haven't had a traditional family Christmas for quite some time, I always love the chance to have a good catch up with friends over a meal and drinks especially if it's the chance for someone else to cook for me, so decided to host a virtual dinner party instead.

For this feature which I hope everyone will enjoy reading, I invited bloggers and authors to take part in hosting their own Fantasy Christmas Dinner party. My initial thoughts were for them to come up with 5 authors, dead or alive, who they would invite to the party and why they chose them. Then for an added challenge I suggested that maybe this could be expanded to include fictional characters and maybe plan the perfect menu or after dinner entertainment! So here's my feeble attempt as I'm definitely a reader and not a writer...

My first guest won't be a surprise for some of my friends as she wrote one of my all-time favourite books Little Women, Louisa May Alcott. I've lost count how many times I've read this book since my teens and my lovely blogger friend Linda Hill gifted me this gorgeous Macmillan Collector's Library edition for my birthday a couple of years ago.

The second guest is an author I would have loved to have met in person, but sadly I never got the chance to meet her although she was always so lovely to interact with on social media and had been a guest on the blog many times, Emma Hannigan. Emma was an inspirational women who sadly died last year after a long battle with cancer. Her final book The Gift of Friends is still sat in my TBR as I know that once I've read there will be no more new books coming from her but think I might bite the bullet and read it during my time off over Christmas.

Books Read: The Friend by Dorothy Koomson

What secrets would you kill to keep?

After her husband’s big promotion, Cece Solarin arrives in Brighton with their three children, ready to start afresh. But their new neighbourhood has a deadly secret.

Three weeks earlier, Yvonne, a very popular parent, was almost murdered in the grounds of the local school – the same school where Cece has unwittingly enrolled her children.

Already anxious about making friends when the parents seem so cliquey, Cece is now also worried about her children’s safety. By chance she meets Maxie, Anaya and Hazel, three very different school mothers who make her feel welcome and reassure her about her new life.

That is until Cece discovers the police believe one of her new friends tried to kill Yvonne. Reluctant to spy on her friends but determined to discover the truth, Cece must uncover the potential murderer before they strike again . . .

Amazon Affiliate Links: Kindle or Paperback

Quick Reads 2018 campaign launches today

Today it's my pleasure to be spotlighting this year's Quick Reads campaign which is being launched tonight at Foyles, Charing Cross in association with The Reading Agency.

For me I cannot even imagine not having a book in my hand, and love nothing more than being able to switch off from the real world and lose myself within the pages of a book, but I have seen first hand that something I take for granted can be a real difficulty for others.  This is why I didn't hesitate when asked to be part of this Quick Reads launch day promotion as it is a fantastic scheme that should be applauded.

If you've not heard of the Quick Reads campaign before it was first introduced in 2006, so is now in it's 12th year, as a means to provide accessible and shorter, easier to read stories for less confident readers.  But they are also suitable reads for those who no longer read for pleasure, those with a busy lifestyle that don't have the time to read a fuller length story, or for anyone who simply enjoys reading short stories.

Every year six big name authors are approached to write for this campaign and this year’s stellar cast of authors is no exception, there is truly something for everyone in this diverse, engaging collection of stories that takes us across the globe and features themes of friendship, secrets and lies, marriage and the horror that losing your phone can bring..

Food & Drink Month Giveaway: Win a copy of The Flavours of Love by Dorothy Koomson

One of the things I have loved since I started blogging is the camaraderie of the book and blogging community, whether you are having a good day or a bad one there is always someone on hand to support you and I have made some good friends for life.  One such friend is Louise who has very generously donated today's giveaway prize, a copy of The Flavours of Love by Dorothy Koomson, which will be ordered from Amazon or Book Depository to be posted direct to the winner but that's not all as Louise has also bought a few small items to send as a happymail surprise to the winner as well. 

'I'm looking for that perfect blend of flavours; the taste that used to be you.'

It's been 18 months since my husband was murdered and I've decided to finish writing The Flavours of Love, the cookbook he started before he died. Everyone thinks I'm coping so well without him - they have no idea what I've been hiding or what I did back then to protect my family. But now that my 14-year-old daughter has confessed a devastating secret, and my husband's killer, who was never caught, has started to write to me, I know it's only a matter of time before the truth about me and what I've done will be revealed.

My name is Saffron Mackleroy and this is my story. 

Books Read: That Girl from Nowhere by Dorothy Koomson

‘Where are you coming from with that accent of yours?’ he asks.
‘Nowhere,’ I reply. ‘I’m from nowhere.’
‘Everyone’s from somewhere,’ he says. 
‘Not me,’ I reply silently. 

Clemency Smittson was adopted as a baby and the only connection she has to her birth mother is a cardboard box hand-decorated with butterflies. Now an adult, Clem decides to make a drastic life change and move to Brighton, where she was born. Clem has no idea that while there she'll meet someone who knows all about her butterfly box and what happened to her birth parents. 

As the tangled truths about her adoption and childhood start to unravel, a series of shocking events cause Clem to reassess whether the price of having contact with her birth family could be too high to pay...

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Extract from That Girl from Nowhere by Dorothy Koomson

As a fan of Dorothy Koomson's books I'm thrilled to have been asked to kick off the blog tour for her latest book That Girl From Nowhere which is being published in paperback this Thursday.  This morning I am sharing with you the Prologue from the book and my review will follow shortly for this fabulous book. 

‘Where are you coming from with that accent of yours?’ he asks.
‘Nowhere,’ I reply. ‘I’m from nowhere.’
‘Everyone’s from somewhere,’ he says. 
‘Not me,’ I reply silently. 

Clemency Smittson was adopted as a baby and the only connection she has to her birth mother is a cardboard box hand-decorated with butterflies. Now an adult, Clem decides to make a drastic life change and move to Brighton, where she was born. Clem has no idea that while there she'll meet someone who knows all about her butterfly box and what happened to her birth parents. 

As the tangled truths about her adoption and childhood start to unravel, a series of shocking events cause Clem to reassess whether the price of having contact with her birth family could be too high to pay...

Prologue

With Her, sometime soon, Brighton
‘You will help me, won’t you?’ she asks.

‘If I can,’ I reply. I wonder what she thinks someone she has just met will be able to help her do when she has a whole family down the hall in the living room who are at her beck and call. ‘What is it you want help with?’

Giveaway: Win a copy of The Flavours of Love by Dorothy Koomson

Today is publication day for The Flavours of Love by Dorothy Koomson and to celebrate I have a copy of the book to giveaway to one lucky follower.

'I'm looking for that perfect blend of flavours; the taste that used to be you.'

It's been 18 months since my husband was murdered and I've decided to finish writing The Flavours of Love, the cookbook he started before he died. Everyone thinks I'm coping so well without him - they have no idea what I've been hiding or what I did back then to protect my family. But now that my 14-year-old daughter has confessed a devastating secret, and my husband's killer, who was never caught, has started to write to me, I know it's only a matter of time before the truth about me and what I've done will be revealed.

My name is Saffron Mackleroy and this is my story.

Books Read: Dorothy Koomson - The Flavours of Love

‘I’m looking for that perfect blend of flavours; the taste that used to be you. If I find it, I know you’ll come back to me.’

It’s been 18 months since my husband was murdered and I’ve decided to finish writing The Flavours of Love, the cookbook he started before he died. Everyone thinks I’m coping so well without him – they have no idea what I’ve been hiding or what I do away from prying eyes. But now that my 14-year-old daughter has confessed something so devastating it could destroy our family all over again, and my husband’s killer has started to write to me claiming to be innocent, I know it’s only a matter of time before the truth about me and what I’ve done is revealed to the world. 

My name is Saffron Mackleroy and this is my story.

 Amazon links: Kindle or Hardcover

Books Read: Dorothy Koomson - The Ice Cream Girls

As teenagers, Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe were the only witnesses to a tragic event. Amid heated public debate, the two seemingly glamorous teens were dubbed 'The Ice Cream Girls' by the press and were dealt with by the courts.

Years later, having led very different lives, Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what really happened, while Serena wants no one in her present to find out about her past. But some secrets will not stay buried - and if theirs is revealed, everything will become a living hell all over again...

Books Read: Dorothy Koomson - The Rose Petal Beach

Every love story has a dangerous twist. 

Tamia Challey is horrified when her husband, Scott, is accused of something terrible - but when she discovers who his accuser is, everything goes into freefall. Backed into a corner and unsure what to think, Tamia is forced to choose who she instinctively believes. But this choice has dire consequences for all concerned, especially when matters take a tragic turn. 

Then a stranger arrives in town to sprinkle rose petals in the sea in memory of her lost loved one. This stranger carries with her shocking truths that will change the lives of everyone she meets, and will once again force Tamia to make some devastating choices...