The Write Stuff with... Katey Lovell

Today it's my pleasure to hand the blog over to author Katey Lovell to talk about Acts of Kindness for the festive season.

Kindness is at the very heart of my Christmas novel Joe and Clara’s Christmas Countdown – it’s present in the community work of the youth group the protagonists run and in Joe, Clara and big-boss Deirdre’s commitment to raising funds for The Club on the Corner.  It’s evident when Joe, prompted by Clara’s guttural response to run when she sees her philandering ex, decides to prove to her there are decent men out there, and when Clara decides to take it upon herself to shower Joe with advent gifts to rekindle his love of the festive season.  

However, you don’t need to go to such dramatic lengths to spread a little joy this festive season.  Here are just a few ideas of simple ways you could brighten someone’s day.

1. Donate to a local food bank – tins, non-perishables, toiletries.  Many have websites with lists of items they most need at any given time.
2. Pay someone a compliment.  It might be just the boost they need.
3. Leave a review of a book you love on Amazon or Goodreads.  It will make an author smile and help spread the word.
4. Support a chosen charity.  This could be by giving time, money or raising awareness via social media channels.

Emma's Review: The Singalong Society for Singletons by Katey Lovell

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Monique and Issy are teachers, housemates and lovers of musicals! Their Friday night routine consists of snacks, wine and the Frozen DVD. So when Monique’s boyfriend moves to America for a year and her sister Hope moves in because of her own relationship woes, Friday nights get a new name… ‘The Singalong Society for Singletons’!

It’s a chance to get together, sing along to their favourite tracks from the best-loved West End shows, and forget the worries of work, relationships and love (or lack of it). But when Issy shares the details of their little group further afield, they get some unexpected new members who might just change their opinions on singledom for good….

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Debut Spotlight: Katey Lovell

Today it's my absolute pleasure to welcome Katey Lovell into the debut spotlight to talk about her Meet Cute series, the first of which The Boy in the Bookshop is published today with two more, The Boy at the Beach and The Boy at the Bakery, being published in November.

Katey Lovell is fanatical about words. An avid reader, writer and poet, she once auditioned for Countdown and still tapes the show every night. Getting the conundrum before the contestants is her ultimate thrill.

She loves love and strives to write feel-good romance that'll make you laugh and cry in equal measure. 

Originally from South Wales, Katey now lives in Yorkshire with her husband and their seven year old son.

Twitter: @Katey5678
Website:  http://kateylovell.blogspot.co.uk

Can you tell us a little bit about your debut #MeetCute series?
They’re a bit different to the majority of romance out there, mainly because they’re short stories. Each story focuses on a different couple and plays out the scene they get together for the first time – hence the ‘meetcute’ of the series title.  I like to describe them as the ‘once upon a time’ before the ‘happily ever after’ and I hope they’ll bring a little bit of cosy romance to commuters, coffee break readers and anyone looking for a bite-sized romantic fix.

Describe the first story The Boy in the Bookshop in one sentence?
Ooh, this is hard!  Although they’re short stories, I think they pack in quite a lot of detail.  I’m going to go with ‘the sweet, romantic story of when often-misunderstood book store assistant Jade first meets literature loving Marwan.’

My Favourite Book is... by Sarah Hardy, Helena Fairfax & Katey Lovell

Sarah Hardy from By the Letter Book Reviews

One of my favourite books is actually one that I read fairly recently. It is a book by a new author which is her debut and is called Out Of The Darkness: A tale of love, loss and life after death by Katy Hogan.

There are many reasons why it is one of my favourite books but probably the main one was that I cried at the end because I didn't want it to end, which surely has to be the sign of a great book. I loved everything about the book, the story, the characters and that it made me feel a whole array of emotions.

Death is something that has always been at the back of my mind even as a child and I have constantly worried about it over the years, not just for me but also my family and what happens when we die. Through the story line and the characters losses it helped calm my fears and brought me some comfort when thinking of the future.

The book is far from doom and gloom though and I cried tears of joy as well as sadness and it is one of those books that I will definitely read again in the very near future.