Cover Reveal – ‘Escape to the Riviera’ by Jules Wake

I have another cover reveal for you today.  ‘Escape to the Riviera’ is being published on the 30th June 2016 by Avon as an eBook and in paperback.  I have already totally fallen in love with this gorgeous cover.  With it’s lovely scenery and colours it is absolutely stunning.  Read on to find out more about this book.

 

Book Blurb

In St Tropez, anything can happen…

Carrie Hayes leads a perfectly nice life, with a perfectly nice job, and a perfectly nice boyfriend called Alan.

But Carrie’s life wasn’t always like this. As a young, wild drama student, she married fellow actor, Richard Maddox, after a whirlwind romance. Life back then was full of possibilities and when Hollywood beckoned, Richard followed, leaving her behind.

Now an A-list superstar, Richard’s life couldn’t be more different to Carrie’s, so when their paths cross in glamorous St Tropez, she can’t help but wonder what might have been.

But with lovely, sensible Alan in tow, Carrie knows she needs to do the right thing. The only problem is, Carrie and Richard never quite got round to getting a divorce…

Lose yourself this summer on the French Riviera – the perfect read for fans of Lucy Diamond and Jane Costello.

 

‘Escape to the Riviera’ can be pre-ordered from Amazon UK:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Escape-Riviera-perfect-summer-read-ebook/dp/B01BB1XLL6?ie=UTF8&keywords=jules%20wake&qid=1462036804&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1

 

 

Cover Reveal – ‘No Turning Back’ by Tracy Buchanan

I am delighted to be taking part in this cover reveal.  ‘No Turning Back’ is being published on the 28th July 2016 by Avon as an eBook and in paperback.  This book sounds really good and is one I am planning to read.

 

Book Blurb

You’d kill to protect your child – wouldn’t you?

When radio presenter Anna Graves and her baby are attacked on the beach by a crazed teenager, Anna reacts instinctively to protect her daughter.

But her life falls apart when the schoolboy dies from his injuries. The police believe Anna’s story, until the autopsy results reveal something more sinister.

A frenzied media attack sends Anna into a spiral of self-doubt. Her precarious mental state is further threatened when she receives a chilling message from someone claiming to be the ‘Ophelia Killer’, responsible for a series of murders twenty years ago.

Is Anna as innocent as she claims? And is murder forgivable, if committed to save your child’s life…?

 

‘No Turning Back’ is available to pre-order from Amazon UK:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Turning-Back-Tracy-Buchanan-ebook/dp/B01BB1VMKI?ie=UTF8&keywords=tracy%20buchanan&qid=1461951070&ref_=sr_1_4&s=books&sr=1-4

 

 

Guest Post by Pamela Holmes

‘The Huntingfield Paintress’ is being published on the 2nd May 2016 by Urbane Publications.  The author, Pamela Holmes has written a guest post which I am very happy to be able to share on my blog.  There is also a chance to win copies of her book at the end.

~~~~~

Don’t Ask Them

I probably did many things wrong when raising our two boys. But one mistake I did not make was to ask: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’  I winced when a friend or relative, seeking to find something to say to awkward teens, posed that most dreaded of questions.  Why my dislike? Because I know there is no answer. What we want to be and to do changes as we go along, and that is to be applauded. For our lives and our wishes and even our skills change as we age. I have always feared that a child or teenager, keen to provide a polite answer to a polite question, may settle with equanimity, even relief, on an automatic reply, putting in place an assumption about what they ‘will be’ or ‘will do’ that he or she never re-visits.  How many lawyers and bankers and dentists have wandered into those professions because their mother or father did that job? Or worse, felt pushed to follow in the family business or job, having never asked themselves what they wanted?

Behind the question is an assumption that there is only one answer. But these days more of us are living longer, healthier lives so why should we settle to one profession or job or work type? Due to finances, health, caring responsibilities, even boredom – the prompts are myriad – many of us will change what we do and do so happily. I have worked as a farmhand, nurse, journalist, TV presenter, campaigner and dementia trainer. I am now embarking on a career as a novelist. My first book, The Huntingfield Paintress, comes out in May when I will be 61 years old. It is based on a true story, a Suffolk Victorian vicar’s wife who created a medieval ceiling, a fresco of angels and saints, in her parish church over a six year period starting just before she turned 50. As Mildred Holland worked from 1859 onwards, she would have been considered bonkers to risk life and limb painting up a ladder at this age.

Of course many people start writing in later life, and thank goodness for it. Diana Athill, Penelope Fitzgerald and Frank McCourt are examples of three people who, after employment or child-rearing or teaching, embarked on highly successful careers. Martin Amis may have argued that writers lose their edge once they reach old age (although I do not understand how he can deny that Tolstoy, Goethe, Yeats wrote with virtuosity as they aged) but he cannot challenge the fact that increasing numbers of people begin successful writing careers in later life.

Writing is not the only imaginative endeavour which marinates with experience and understanding. Many of us in the UK are engaged in creative activities but I wonder how many would have predicted in earlier years that this would be the case? So don’t ask the young what they want to be when they grow up. It assumes that we human beings stop developing and changing and growing as we go along.  I don’t want to do that. Do you?

 

Links

‘The Huntingfield Paintress’ is available as an eBook from Urbane Publications and the paperback can be pre-ordered – http://urbanepublications.com/books/the-huntingfield-paintress/

Can be pre-ordered from Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huntingfield-Paintress-Pamela-Holmes/dp/1910692662/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461510776&sr=1-1&keywords=the+huntingfield+paintress

Author’s Website – http://www.pamela-holmes.com

 

Competition

Matthew Smith of Urbane Publications is very kindly giving away three copies of ‘The Huntingfield Paintress’.  To enter just leave a comment telling me why you want to read this book.

 

Terms and Conditions

This competition is open worldwide.

The closing date is 11:59 p.m. on the 9th May 2016.

The winners will be notified of their win within 7 days of the closing date and their details passed on to Matthew Smith who will arrange to have the prizes sent out.

 

Good luck! 🙂

Cover Reveal – ‘Time After Time’ by Hannah McKinnon

This is the gorgeous cover for ‘Time After Time’ by Hannah McKinnon.  It is being published as an eBook on the 2nd June 2016 by Maze.  Read on to find out more about this book.

 

Book Blurb

Hayley Cooper, a powerful but now struggling lawyer, fantasizes about what her life would be like if only if she’d made different choices. It’s understandable; the past two years have been hell. She barely sees her kids, her boss is trying to sabotage her, and her marriage is falling apart.

Burnt out, Hayley goes to sleep wishing for a different life. When she wakes up married to her first boyfriend, one she has not seen in over twenty years, she realizes there might be some truth in the saying “be careful what you wish for”. Over a single weekend, like Ebenezer Scrooge, Hayley gets to see her life on other side of the white picket fence – not just with her first ex, but with each of her past loves. But is the grass always greener, and will she ever want to go home?

 

‘Time After Time’ can be pre-ordered from Amazon UK – http://amzn.to/1T74GfS

Hannah McKinnon is on Twitter – @MrsElectrilight

 

Interview with Zara Stoneley

Today I have an interview with Zara Stoneley, author of ‘Stable Mates’ and ‘Country Affairs’ for you.  Zara’s new book (the third in the Tippermere Trilogy) is coming out soon and I wanted to know more about it.

 

Can you tell me a bit about the type of books you write please?

One reviewer said ‘Think Bridget Jones in the Country’ which is pretty accurate! I like to think they’re a more modern take on Jilly Cooper books – less intense, with a lot more humour and strong independent women – but still lots of sexy men! I hope they make you laugh, cry, and cross your fingers for the perfect romantic ending. They’re set in the Cheshire countryside so there are stately mansions, dashingly handsome men, horses and dogs, but also footballer’s wives, celebrities and a good dollop of sex, secrets and scandals!

 

What’s your new book, ‘Country Rivals’ about?

Country Rivals is the third Tippermere book (but you don’t need to read the other books in the series to enjoy it – they are all standalone). After a fire at her ancestral home, Lottie’s wedding business has to be put on hold, and she desperately needs to find a new source of income – but she’s got bride-to-be’s on the warpath, a film crew causing mayhem, scandalous reports in the press, marital problems and family tragedy – so life is far from straightforward. The race is on to see if she can see through all the deceptions, come up with a plan, and work out what she really wants before it’s too late – and she loses her husband as well as her home.

 

When is it due out?

The ebook is out on 26^th May 2016 (you can order it now), and the paperback on 11th August.

 

How long did it take you to write and was any research involved?

It’s taken about 6 months to write. I live in a village, and have always had horses and dogs, and know lots of wonderful characters ranging from competitive horse riders to farmers, and a nearby village is home to lots of celebs including footballers, so I didn’t need to do too much research! A friend of mine is involved with the Cheshire Polo Club, so I did go along to a few matches and chatted to some of the players.

 

Where did you get your ideas from for this book?

The initial idea for Country Rivals came from a real-life event – when a disgruntled guest at a function set fire to a country house hotel (which happened to be a castle) near here. In the second Tippermere book, Country Affairs, my heroine Lottie had set up a wedding business in her stately home (Tipping House) – I wondered what she’d do if this happened to her, if her business, and the means of keeping the family estate going, went up in flames? I then threw in a film crew (because there is so much filming goes on around here – check out the gorgeous Lyne Hall which was used for Pride and Prejudice for example), a man from Lottie’s past, some scandal (there is always lots of gossip in villages), and some emotional turmoil… and there you go!

 

What’s next for you writing wise?

My next book is a bit of a departure from my Tippermere books, its set in two locations – a UK country village and Barcelona in Spain. If you loved the film ‘The Holiday’, this could be the book for you! It’s already up for pre-order on Amazon and you can find it here.

 

Have you got any pearls of wisdom for anyone thinking of writing a book?

Know your characters before you start, set yourself deadlines and targets (even if it’s only 100 words a day), believe in your story.

 

Will you be doing any book signings?

I will – but I’m afraid dates aren’t finalised yet. I will be updating my Facebook page and website soon!

 

Describe a day in your life.

Coffee. Sit down and write at least 500 words. Breakfast. Write until lunchtime. Jog (this is new for me and I’m trying hard to keep it up!). Have a snack, catch up with emails and social media. Write any blog posts I’ve promised. Then mid-afternoon onwards I get back to my story and write until I run out of steam (which can be 6pm or late into the night!). At some point I fit in an evening meal and a TV break – which is when I tend to get more inspiration, so end up grabbing my laptop again.

If my son is home from Uni, or I’m in Barcelona with my husband, then mealtimes tend to be more rigid and I quit my desk mid-afternoon. We usually then go for a nice long walk along the beach.

 

Who are your favourite authors?

I’d hate to try and single out one or two as I do like to discover new authors. I love reading, my TBR pile is a dangerous thing, and I read all kinds – whatever suits my mood, sometimes a thriller, another day something light and funny, one day a full blown romance, the next a bonkbuster…

 

What three things could you not live without?

My family, coffee and something to write with.

 

Book Blurb

A hilarious, sexy rom com for fans of Jilly Cooper and Fiona Walker!

Dashing eventer Rory is ready to button up his breeches and settle down. His gorgeous wife, Lottie, wants a bank balance in the black so she can protect the beautiful family estate for future generations.

But with the wedding business at Tipping House going up in flames, and rumours that it was arson not accident, Lottie begins to wonder who she can trust with her future.

Tranquil Tippermere is under siege as movies moguls and insurance investigators invade the countryside, and as events gather pace rescue plans start to look too good to be true, and intentions may not be as honourable as they seem.

As a moody, but definitely marvellous, polo player enters the fray and squares up to the eventing hero of Tippermere, does Lottie stand to lose her husband as well as her home?

‘A great treat for readers…jam-packed with sexy men and horses.’ Bestselling author Fiona Walker

 

Author Bio

Zara was born in a small village in Staffordshire, educated in Cheshire, and went on to study at Liverpool University. After a successful career as an IT consultant, she decided to follow her heart and ran a dog grooming business for several years before becoming a full-time writer.

Her fun, romantic, romps draw on her experiences of village life, and her various love affairs with dogs, cats and horses. These days if she’s not at her laptop, you can usually find her trudging across fields on foot, or sat on the back of a horse.

Zara divides her time between a country cottage in Cheshire and an apartment in Barcelona. Her most recent novels include the popular Stable Mates, Country Affairs and Country Rivals.

 

Links

You can buy ‘Country Rivals’ from Amazon or visit Zara’s website to see all buy links.

And you can grab the other Tippermere books (all the books can be read independently) here –

‘Stable Mates’   –    ‘Country Affairs’    –     ‘A Very Country Christmas’ (FREE!)

 

Find out more –

Website     Twitter    Facebook    Amazon    Pinterest

 

Cover Reveal – ‘Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner’ by Helen Cox

I am delighted to be taking part in this cover reveal today.  It’s a very retro cover isn’t it?  I love all the sparkle.  ‘Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner’ is being published as an eBook only on the 4th July 2016 by Maze, the digital-first imprint from Avon Books.  Read on to find out a bit more about this book.

 

Book Blurb

Next time you’re in New York, take a turn off Broadway onto East Houston Street.

There, you’ll see it: The Starlight Diner. A retro eatery curious enough to delight tourists and locals alike. Fifties tunes stream out of the jukebox long into the night, and it serves the tastiest milkshakes in the five boroughs.

Esther Knight waitresses at The Starlight Diner. She’s sharp, sarcastic, and she’s hiding something. Nobody at the diner knows why she left London for New York – or why she repeatedly resists the charms of their newest regular, actor Jack Faber.

Esther is desperate to start a new life in the land of the free, but despite the warm welcome from the close-knit diner crowd, something from her past is holding her back. Can she ever learn to love and live again?

 

‘Milkshakes and Heartbreaks at the Starlight Diner’ is available to pre-order from Amazon UK – http://amzn.to/1Xp5mB8

Helen Cox is on  Twitter – @Helenography

 

Blog Tour – ‘In Her Wake’ by Amanda Jennings

I am absolutely thrilled to be part of this blog tour.  ‘In Her Wake’ has already been on one hell of a journey this year and it’s only April.  It’s been published as an eBook, limited edition hardback of which I am the proud owner of a copy and now it’s out in paperback as well.  How amazing is that!

Imagine living your life and then one day discovering that it was all a lie and that you are not who you think you are.  Unthinkable isn’t it?  That’s exactly what happened to Bella.  When a tragic family event turns her whole world upside down, Bella makes the decision to find out the truth.  After a bit of digging around she embarks on a trip to Cornwall where past betrayals and 25-year-old mystery threaten not just her identity, but also her life.

You know when you open a book, read the first page and you know straightaway that it’s for you?  Well, I can’t tell you just how much I enjoyed ‘In Her Wake’.  It’s a truly wonderful and beautifully written story which I absolutely loved.  Full of twists and turns and shocking revelations it kept me reading and dying to know what was going to happen next.

There were some interesting characters in this story.  I really wasn’t too keen on Bella’s husband David though.  He was a control freak and that together with the suffocating childhood she had did nothing to really help Bella, though at the time I guess she wouldn’t have seen it that way.  I think she was very brave to go it alone and discover the truth for herself.  It helped her grow as a person.  What Henry and Elaine did was totally wrong and not acceptable at all but as you’ll find out later there was a reason why they did what they did.

I enjoyed reading about Cornwall where the story is mostly set.  It sounds beautiful and is a place I would really like to visit one day.

I have already read a number of great books this year but ‘In Her Wake’ is definitely on my list of favourites.  This is one brilliant psychological thriller which I won’t forget in a hurry.

I give this book 5 out of 5.

 

About Amanda Jennings

Amanda Jennings made her literary début with the internationally bestselling novel Sworn Secret. Her second book, The Judas Scar, was optioned by a film and television production company shortly after release. She is fascinated by the ways people react to trauma and deal with its long-lasting effects, and also the complex relationships within a family unit. She used to work at the BBC, but now writes full-time and looks after her three daughters and a menagerie of animals. She writes a popular blog and is a regular guest on BBC Berkshire’s Book Club. She enjoys running writing workshops, is a judge for the Henley Youth Festival creative writing competition, and is involved with the Womentoring Project, which offers free mentoring by professional literary women to talented up-and-coming female writers who might otherwise not have access to such an opportunity. She is a regular speaker at festivals and book events, combining her childhood love of the stage with her love of writing. She likes to be active, preferably beside the sea or at the top of a snow-covered mountain, and when she isn’t writing she can usually be found walking her dog and enjoying the peace and solitude of the great outdoors.

 

‘In Her Wake’ is available to buy from Amazon UK – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Her-Wake-Amanda-Jennings-ebook/dp/B016721USK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460204931&sr=1-1&keywords=in+her+wake