Ashleigh Walker is in
love. You know the feeling - that intense, heart-racing, all-consuming
emotion that can only come with first love.
It's enough to stop her
worrying about bad grades at college. Enough to distract her from her
parents' marriage troubles. There's just one thing bothering her . .
Shouldn't it be her boyfriend, Dylan, who makes her feel this way - not Miss Murray, her English teacher?
A thought-provoking coming out story from a highly skilled author.
Published: 14th May 2015 Publisher: Indigo Goodreads : Click here Series or Stand-Alone: Stand Alone Source: Review Copy from Publisher
MY REVIEW
What I liked about this book... This was the first time reading a LGBT style book so I was really excited to see what I thought about reading this. What I liked the most has to be the character of Ashleigh and her development throughout the story. We see her at the beginning thinking that she was like everyone else (which she was apart from the fact that she felt more for her English teacher Miss Murray than her boyfriend Dylan). This was very much a coming of age story, watching Ashleigh grow from discovering the feelings that she had and leaning to deal with this.
What I didn't like with this book... If I had to pick something I would have to say that even though Miss Murray was the object of Ashleigh's affections throughout the book I felt that this character was just an 'object' in the story that came in and went. Honestly, it could have been any other person in the story other than Miss Murray and the story would probably be the same. In summary... This was a good interesting read especially for character development and discovering what it is like through the eyes of the person feeling what they feel. I felt this was more aimed at a younger audience than a mature reading audience.
Forget about having it all. Sometimes you just want to leave it all behind.
Audrey is often seized by the urge to walk out of her house without looking back – but she can’t possibly do that.
She is a single parent. She is needed. She has a job, a home, responsibilities…and a slothful teenage son’s pants to pick up.
But
no one likes being taken for granted – Audrey least of all – so the
time has come for drastic action. And no one’s going to stand in her
way…
Published: 25th February 2016 Publisher: Avon Goodreads : Click here Series or Stand-Alone: Stand-Alone Source: Review Copy from Publisher
MY REVIEW
What I liked about this story... Despite the fact that the main character in this book, Audrey, has quite a lot of 'downs' before she got to the 'ups' in her life in this book, I found it really fun to read. You have Audrey who at the beginning of the book is single mum having her grown up son (I would say he is late teens to early twenties, definitely left school type age) living at home with her, not working, not going to school and certainly not helping with anything really. He also has a girlfriend who practically lives with them and is equally as bad. It's not hard to see that Audrey needs a break from it all, to have some fun. When she won Dinner Lady of the Year she had first chosen the £5,000 price but upon learning from her son what he wanted out of the money (the list having been given to her with her birthday card and no present) she decides that she is no longer going to go for the money as her prize but a trip away to a cookery class. It was such fun following her journey through escaping from it all and learning something new. If I had to pick a favourite part of this book, honestly it would have to be when she arrives at the hotel and discovers the mini bar, that was funny!
What I was not fond of with this story... I know that there are certain characters in this book who are meant to be completely arses but they did wind me up a bit in this book. Certainly the son who seems to take advantage of his mum in every way and was definitely in for a bit of an awakening when his mum goes away to the cookery school and leaves him to fend for himself. There is also another character that I really didn't like and that is one of Audrey's 'boyfriend'. What a horrible character but he was meant to be so that was ok!
In summary... This was a really fun story, following Audrey through her lows at the beginning to picking herself up again at the cookery school and all that happens afterwards.
They are trapped,
frozen. Waiting. Straining against the wood that holds them. The unwary
catch a glimpse now and then - feel their desperate hunger, see a glint
of red eyes - and scurry out of the shadows of the wood, back to the
light. She's coming; it will be soon. They will run free on the moors again. The Hunt will return. And the ground will run with blood.
An
ancient curse placed on a family of witches foretells that twins will
be born - one good, one evil; and one will destroy the other. But who
can be trusted when no one is as they seem?
Published: 24th March 2016 Publisher: Orchard Books Goodreads : Click here Series or Stand-Alone: Stand-Alone Source: Review Copy from Publisher
MY REVIEW
What I loved about this story... This story was so much fun to read. You have twins Piper and Quinn who at the beginning of the story meet at their mother's funeral and discover that they are, in fact, twins but there's more than meets the eye with this story. There are definitely a lot of twists and turns in this book and what I enjoyed the most was trying to figure out each of the characters in this book and trying to figure out who were the goodies and who were the baddies. There is also a great sense of history and destiny in this book, more than what I was expecting. This story is so much more than what is happening 'present day'.
What I was not fond of with this book... I couldn't really pinpoint anything in particular that I was not fond of with this book but I have to admit that from reading the blurb I was expecting this to be more creepier than it was but that's just my personal reading experience. Maybe I bigged it up to be more than what it was
In summary... This was a really fun easy read with a lot of twists and turns that will keep you on your toes...
When widowed sisters,
Hester and Harriet, move together into a comfortable cottage in a pretty
English village, the only blights on their cosy landscape are their
crushingly boring cousins, George and Isabelle, who are determined that
the sisters will never want for company. Including Christmas Day.
On
their reluctant drive over to Christmas dinner, the sisters come across
a waif-like young girl, hiding with her baby in a disused bus shelter.
Seizing upon the perfect excuse for returning to their own warm hearth,
Hester and Harriet insist on bringing Daria and Milo home with them.
But
with the knock at their front door the next day by a sinister stranger
looking for a girl with a baby, followed quickly by their cousins'
churlish fifteen-year-old son, Ben, who also appears to be seeking
sanctuary, Hester and Harriet's carefully crafted peace and quiet
quickly begins to fall apart.
With dark goings-on in the village,
unlooked-for talents in Ben, and the deeper mysteries in Daria's story,
Hester and Harriet find their lives turned upside down. And, perhaps,
it's exactly what they need.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
1.
If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?
What
a fabulous idea! I'd want to work with another woman for sure but the
two writers who sprang immediately to mind are - alas! - no longer
with us: Bernice Rubens and Beryl Bainbridge. Both writers make me
shout with laughter, their sly, mordant wit undercutting the
narrative, constantly confounding expectations. They wrote with such
honesty and beadiness about women, their frailties and secret lives.
Who wouldn't want to learn from them?
2.
What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you
write?
Early
morning swim to clear my head and tease out any knotty plot points,
while trying to avoid the bully-boys who refuse to give way in the
water, damn them. Strong black coffee. Quick scan of the Guardian
(not allowed the sudoku or crossword until I've done my work), with
Radio 4 in the background. Into my study by 9, ideally. Move cat
obscuring the screen. Review yesterday's progress. Try to retrieve
deathless prose or new train of thought that floated into brain in
the small hours. Fail. Shoo cat off keyboard. Get something -
anything
- onto the screen. More coffee. Move cat off the printer. Repeat ad
nauseam (pretty much every day).
3.
What is the hardest part of the writing for you?
Switching
off. Once I'm off on a journey with my characters, they take over my
life.
4.
When and why did you first start writing?
I
always have. Toe-curlingly bad poetry as a youngster (come on,
we all do, don't we?), bits and pieces for performance, short
stories. The decision to make writing my full-time occupation after
years of dabbling in fiction and play-writing followed the deaths of
two friends in close succession in the same year that I spent a week
on a creative writing course on a Greek island. I suddenly thought,
'you only get one stab at this, so carpe diem.'
5.
How did you come up with the idea for your book?
I
was doing an MA in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University
and I wrote a short story about these two assertive, rather
cantankerous, sisters who happen upon an East European girl and her
tiny baby in an old bus shelter. Readers liked the characters and
said they wanted more. I was in the throes of completing a play at
the time but my dear friend and writing buddy set me a challenge to
write three chapters of a novel a week. I do love a challenge so I
said yes and, quick as wink, Hester and Harriet took up residence.
They've never left.
6.
Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?
I
am a huge reader and have been since I could
read. And I read quickly, so holidays, until I got a Kindle, were
always a problem as a suitcase full of books is so damned heavy! I'll
read anything – cereal packets, bus tickets, the back pages of
other people's newspapers – if I don't have a book to hand.
Currently, I'm tearing through Kate Atkinson's A
God in Ruins, which, although
it doesn't feature Jackson Brodie (bring him back!), is a engrossing,
witty read that wears its research lightly.
7.
Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?
If you really want to write because there's
nothing you'd rather be doing, write. Write every day: a chapter, a
paragraph, a sentence. Carry a notebook everywhere. Eavesdrop. Read
your work aloud. Learn to appreciate the positive things that
readers, agents and editors highlight about your work: why does one
always light immediately on the negative? Cultivate critical but
supportive readers amongst your friends and listen to their comments.
Don't be precious: your friends have read hundreds of books: they
know what they like; your editors have developed hundreds of books:
they know what works. Live – despite the setbacks (and there will
be many) – in hope.
What happens when, after a life-changing study-tour of Peru, a
successful US attorney abandons his law practice to volunteer with a
religious organization and travel to Peru to fight for human rights in
the midst of a culture of violence and terror? Not what he expected. In
his sometimes romantic, sometimes terrifying, always inspiring memoir,
John Wagner searches for love, spirituality, and the chance to fight
against injustice and oppression in a country not his own, while working
for a religious organization he could not trust.
Wagner lives under a death threat from the fanatical Sendero Luminoso
terrorist organization that he must keep secret from his religious
community. He develops an on-and-off love affair with Bella, a beautiful
but mysterious Peruvian teacher. He faces dramatic betrayals. He
accidentally travels into the heart of the drug capital of the world.
Day by day, he sees the increasing violence in Peru and overnight, he
sees Peru’s president become a dictator, shredding the rule of law.
After a terrorist attack in a small town, he confronts Peruvian Army
officers head-on to gain access to the scene. Then he must help prepare
for burial the bloody, ravaged, body of a campesina woman killed in that
attack. In this story, Wagner skillfully interweaves his inner
struggles, including coming to grips with a new language, a new culture,
a lower station in life, and a new perspective on his native
Catholicism. Finally, he stumbles into what would become a landmark
human rights case, stopping the Peruvian government from persecuting
human rights lawyers. Ultimately, Troubled Mission is the story of human
redemption. Many people seek personal change only to find unexpected
obstacles. Troubled Mission shows how we can find redemption—or
redemption finds us—in so many unexpected ways.
You can read more about John Wagner and his book at johnpwagner.com
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
1.
If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?
Joseph
Heller. His Catch-22 has influenced me more than any
other book. I know his book underwent substantial revisions and I
also know it was well-organized chapter by chapter. I would love to
discuss his writing techniques and thoughts with him. It's not enough
to have a great idea--you have to be able to express it and build on
it with an overall theme.
2.
What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you
write?
I
have now become a devotee of large desktop computers and don't write
on my laptop anymore. I write in my home office, my "studio."
I don't have a set writing schedule, it depends on the day and the
other activities I have scheduled. I prefer writing from late morning
or early afternoon to early evening or lnto the night. I hate trying
to write early in the morning. My brain just isn't ready to go yet!
3.
What is the hardest part of the writing for you?
The
endless editing and rewriting.
4.
When and why did you first start writing?
I
wanted to be a writer since early childhood. I wrote a poem in the
fourth grade. Also around that time, I tried to start a "newspaper"
on my toy typewriter. I did a lot of creative writing in college. But
then, life happened and I had a career that took all my physical and
mental energy. Even when I retired, I forgot that I had wanted to be
a writer. After about two years of trying various activities in
retirement, I remembered--hey, I wanted to be a writer. I then took
it seriously and began writing with a disciplined schedule.
5.
How did you come up with the idea for your book?
After
I did human rights work in Peru many years ago, I thought that work
might be a good subject for a book. But as I said, live intervened
and I just forgot about the idea. Suddenly I remembered it after a
few years of retirement.
6.
Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?
Yes,
I am reading something all the time and have very eclectic tastes.
Right now, I just finished what may be the last Watergate book--Bob
Woodward's The Last of the President's Men. I lived
through the Watergate days and am a Watergate junkie. Now, I've
started Wolfgang Herrndorf's Why We Took The Car. I was
looking for contemporary German literature and someone recommended
this. I didn't realize until I got it that it is considered Young
Adult literature. Oh well, I'm finding it interesting so far. I also
enjoy poetry and plan to soon re-read what to me is an all-time
favorite, Sharon Doubiago's Hard Country.
7.
Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?
My
advice for aspiring writers would be the same advice I give
myself--don't worry about how the book will sell or how it will be
categorized. Just get it down. Then hone it, hone it, and hone it to
show a clear and strong theme. And then hone it some more!
It is the year 2058,
and technology now completely rules the world. But New York City
Detective Eve Dallas knows that the irresistible impulses of the human
heart are still ruled by just one thing-passion.
When a
senator's daughter is killed, the secret life of prostitution she'd been
leading is revealed. The high-profile case takes Lieutenant Eve Dallas
into the rarefied circles of Washing-ton politics and society.
Further
complicating matters is Eve's growing attraction to Roarke, who is one
of the wealthiest and most influential men on the planet, devilishly
handsome... and the leading suspect in the investigation.
Published: July 1995 (first published) Publisher: Piatkus Goodreads : Click here Series or Stand-Alone: Book 1, In Death Source: Owned
MY REVIEW
Oh dear, I can see the beginning of an obsession starting here and do you want to know what the best thing about that is? This series has over 40 books in it so my addiction to this series can keep going for a very very long time!! I had first come across this series when I read Obsession in Death (book 40) and Brotherhood in Death (book 42) (which were very kindly sent to me for review). I loved both of those books so much that I wanted to start from the beginning. What makes this story unusual from the usual crime books is the fact that it sent in the year 2058, way in the future but is written in such a way that, unless for the smaller details of a machine that reproduces food and drink at the touch of a button and 'links' that people use to communicate to each other, it could really be at any time, any year and the story would still be relevant and good. With this first story, I got to see the beginnings of what makes Detective Eve Dallas who she is and why she is so good at her job as well as seeing her in personal situations. Eve has such a depth to her character that just pulled me in and want to like her instantly. With the introduction of a love interest, Roarke, this makes Eve (who is usually a very by the book type of person) think and do things she would nor normally. The main part of this story is obviously about the murder of a senator's daughter and what happens next. This was a story that had quite a few twists and turns and although I had a suspicion that I knew who it was who done it there was a further twist which meant that there was more to the story than meets the eye! I loved this first book and can't wait to move on to the rest of the series... *** Trigger Warning *** This story contains aspects of murder, violence and rape.
When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford
is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an
ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
Rich
at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war
with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils ... Pagford is
not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the
parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town
has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion,
duplicity and unexpected revelations?
Published: 27th September 2012 Publisher: Little Brown Goodreads : Click here Series or Stand-Alone: Stand-Alone Source: Owned
MY REVIEW
Being a HUGE Harry Potter fan I was so excited when this book came out in 2012 but after hearing mixed reviews about it decided not to purchase it until later on. I decided it was time to pick up this book. A 503 pages, it is quite a huge book but managable by my standards. I already knew that I loved JK Rowlling's writing so that part I was excited about. Honestly speaking, if this was written by someone else and just by reading the description itm might not be something that I would have picked up but I am so glad that I did! I loved this book. Right from the very first page I was immersed in the story and the lives of the many characters living in Pagford. I always get uncomfortable when there are lots of characters in a story as with most that I read the more characters there are the more chance I will forget some of their stories at some point in the story. This book was not like that. Each character was memorable in their own way and I really enjoyed following each and every story. If I have to pick one particular character and their story that I liked the most, I honestly could not do it. I would have to put each character on the same level as each of their stories are no more important than another's. Another aspect that I found interesting read is the fact that you have this little town which seems to be split between the rich side and the poor side. Right from the beginning there is clear conflict between the two and now with Barry Fairbrother dead and there is a casual vacancy on the parish council the fate of the town seems undecided until that seat is filled. I loved this book from start to finish. This is definately one of those books that I will keep on my bookshelf to re-read time and time again! If you haven't picked this up yet or still have this on your shelf to read, pick it up now! You need to read this book!
For me, February was a very interesting month full of books that were completely different from each other. I had Every Little Kiss and Can You Keep a Secret in the chicklit section, Brotherhood in Death in a murder mystery section, The Faithful Couple and The Same Sky in the contemporary section (not sure if that is where they are supposed to be but that is what they felt like) and then I had This Raging Light which was young adult contemporary.
My favourite book of the month would have to be a tie up between Brotherhood in Death and Can you keep a secret? Brotherhood in Death is part of a very long series written by JD Robb (aka Nora Roberts) and made me decide that I definately want to go back and read the entire series (all 40 something of them!). Can You Keep a Secret? was a re-read for me. I was a little nervous going into it as it was a long time ago when I read this for the first time and I wondered whether it would still be as good but it definately did not disappoint....
I hope you all have had fantastic reading months and looking forward to seeing how March goes..
Received these beauties at the beginning of the month - for more details on
these books in my blog post, click on the picture above.
An achingly funny story from the author of the bestselling YOU HAD ME AT HELLO
What’s the one thing you DON’T do at a wedding?
When
Edie is caught in a compromising position at her colleagues’ wedding,
all the blame falls on her – turns out that personal popularity in the
office is not that different from your schooldays. Shamed online and
ostracised by everyone she knows, her boss suggests an extended
sabbatical – ghostwriting an autobiography for hot new acting talent,
Elliot Owen. Easy, right?
Wrong. Banished back to her home
town of Nottingham, Edie is not only dealing with a man who probably
hasn’t heard the word ‘no’ in a decade, but also suffering an
excruciating regression to her teenage years as she moves back in with
her widowed father and judgey, layabout sister.
When the world is asking who you are, it’s hard not to question yourself. Who’s that girl? Edie is ready to find out.
REMEMBER ME? BY SOPHIE KINSELLA When
twenty-eight-year-old Lexi Smart wakes up in a London hospital, she’s in
for a big surprise. Her teeth are perfect. Her body is toned. Her
handbag is Vuitton. Having survived a car accident—in a Mercedes no
less—Lexi has lost a big chunk of her memory, three years to be exact,
and she’s about to find out just how much things have changed.
Somehow
Lexi went from a twenty-five-year-old working girl to a corporate big
shot with a sleek new loft, a personal assistant, a carb-free diet, and a
set of glamorous new friends. And who is this gorgeous husband—who also
happens to be a multimillionaire? With her mind still stuck three years
in reverse, Lexi greets this brave new world determined to be the
person she…well, seems to be. That is, until an adorably disheveled
architect drops the biggest bombshell of all.
Suddenly Lexi is
scrambling to catch her balance. Her new life, it turns out, comes
complete with secrets, schemes, and intrigue. How on earth did all this
happen? Will she ever remember? And what will happen when she does?
With
the same wicked humor and delicious charm that have won her millions of
devoted fans, Sophie Kinsella, author of the #1 New York Times
bestseller Shopaholic & Baby, returns with an irresistible new novel
and a fresh new heroine who finds herself in a life-changing and
utterly hilarious predicament…
I'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER BY SOPHIE KINSELLA I’ve lost it. :( The
only thing in the world I wasn’t supposed to lose. My engagement ring.
It’s been in Magnus’s family for three generations. And now the very
same day his parents are coming, I’ve lost it. The very same day! Do not
hyperventilate, Poppy. Stay positive :) !!
Poppy Wyatt has
never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish,
but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart. Not
only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill but in the
panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As she paces shakily around the
lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Finders keepers!
Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find
her ring. Perfect!
Well, perfect except that the phone’s
owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back
and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his
personal life.
What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable
turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives
through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations,
mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his
parents . . . she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise
of her life.
WEDDING NIGHT BY SOPHIE KINSELLA Lottie just knows that
her boyfriend is going to propose, but then his big question involves a
trip abroad — not a trip down the aisle. Completely crushed, Lottie
reconnects with an old flame, and they decide to take drastic action. No
dates, no moving in together, they’ll just get married . . . right now.
Her sister, Fliss, thinks Lottie is making a terrible mistake, and will
do anything to stop her. But Lottie is determined to say “I do,” for
better, or for worse.
THE LAST JUROR BY JOHN GRISHAM In 1970, one of Mississippi s more colorful weekly newspapers, TheFord County Times,
went bankrupt. To the surprise and dismay of many, ownership was
assumed by a 23-year-old college dropout, named Willie Traynor. The
future of the paper looked grim until a young mother was brutally raped
and murdered by a member of the notorious Padgitt family. Willie Traynor
reported all the gruesome details, and his newspaper began to prosper.
The
murderer, Danny Padgitt, was tried before a packed courthouse in
Clanton, Mississippi. The trial came to a startling and dramatic end
when the defendant threatened revenge against the jurors if they
convicted him. Nevertheless, they found him guilty, and he was sentenced
to life in prison.
But in Mississippi in 1970, life didn't
necessarily mean life, and nine years later Danny Padgitt managed to get
himself paroled. He returned to Ford County, and the retribution began.
When
Maggie Taylor accepts a new job in Manchester, she is sure it is the
right move for her family. The children have settled well although her
husband, Duncan, doesn’t appear to be so convinced.
But nothing
prepares her for the shock of coming home from work one night to find
that Duncan has disappeared, leaving their young children alone. His
phone is dead, and she has no idea where he has gone, or why. And then
she discovers she’s not the only one looking for him.
When a
woman who looks just like Maggie is brutally murdered and DCI Tom
Douglas is brought in to investigate, Maggie realises how little she
knows about Duncan’s past. Is he the man she loves? Who is he running
from?
She doesn’t have long to decide whether to trust him or
betray him. Because one thing has been made clear to Maggie – another
woman will die soon, and it might be her.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF RACHEL ABBOTT
I don’t think there
is such a thing as a typical day for me, and in some ways I’m quite
glad of that. At least life never gets boring!
As an independently
published author, I wear lots of hats. While I like to think of
myself primarily as a writer, I do have to think about marketing and
that takes up a very significant amount of my time, particularly
around the launch of a new novel. And, in common with all authors I
suspect, there are the admin tasks and the accounts to take care of.
So it’s not all a case of sitting thinking about my next book,
sadly.
On an average day, I
get up at 7 although I might give myself a lie in at the weekends
until 8. Then I usually burn my porridge. I put it on and whizz into
the office just to see what’s going on, check the emails, etc and I
get totally absorbed. Suddenly I leap to my feet and scurry back to
the kitchen to the aroma of cremating porridge, scrape whatever is
edible into a bowl, make a quick cappuccino and rush back to the
office. This isn’t a random occurrence. This is practically every
day, and I don’t seem to learn.
After that, how the day
develops depends on many things: the stage I am at with my writing;
whether my PA is coming in to work; whether I have a launch
approaching.
On days when I’m
writing, I try to do nothing else, other than answer essential
emails. I save the admin tasks up for the days my PA comes in to the
office, because they don’t required quite such intense
concentration. I drink several cups of cappuccino in the morning, but
never in the afternoon.
There isn’t really
any such thing as a typical writing day either. I may be planning,
researching, defining characters or sending long, detailed emails to
my police adviser to check that I’m not suggesting something crazy
in my story.
I’m quite organised
in my writing. I used Scrivener – a piece of software that allows
me to write as if in a word processor, but it has a whole range of
features that I use to keep control of my plot. I spend a lot of time
on character definition – I like to know what my main characters
enjoy in life and what their attitudes are to people around them. I
even selected images from the web that I think represent how they
might look. They need to be firmly in my head.
I don’t really break
off for lunch – usually I eat that at my desk. Bad, I know, but I
just get very absorbed. I usually have a bowl of salad that I can eat
with a fork and use the time to do some reading – usually research.
The marketing days are
a bit frenetic. I am a great planner, and I have detailed marketing
plans – especially around launch time. There is a huge amount of
preparation to do – not least for the launch party that I always
hold on Facebook. This is actually less about marketing and more
about thanking my fabulous readers for their support.
I won’t bore you with
admin days – there’s nothing exciting and glamorous about filing
and checking the accounts! I do enjoy them, though, because my PA is
a hoot and we laugh from when she arrives until she leaves.
Depending on how thing
are going with the book, marketing, and all the other tasks, I
probably stop work any time between 6 and 8 in the evening, and I do
generally work weekends too, squeezing in the shopping somewhere in
all that madness.
Despite all of this
frenetic activity, I also have a great social life. What Alderney
lacks in number of inhabitants (about 1800, at the moment) it makes
up for in enthusiasm for having a good time! There is always so much
going on, and everybody is always up for a party, a dinner, a book
club, singing, dancing, you name it. And of course, it’s the most
beautiful place to live.
The important thing is
that I look forward to getting up every morning. I can’t wait to
get into my office and get started on whatever the day has in store
for me. I work hard with very long hours, but I wouldn’t change a
thing.
EXTRACT
12 years ago –
May 7th
Sonia Beecham almost didn’t
recognise the eyes staring back at her in the mirror. They were still
pale blue, of course, but the pupils were slightly dilated with
excitement, and the eyelashes were tinted with grey mascara – an
unusual indulgence, but she wanted to look her best because today was
special. In fact Sonia thought it was her best day since starting at
Manchester University six months previously. She had always found it
difficult to make friends, and the eagerness on her parents’ faces
when she came home each night was painful to watch as they waited to
hear whether she had met new people. She knew it was out of love for
her, but they didn’t understand the pressure it put her under.
She was shy.
Painfully, embarrassingly shy. If anybody spoke to her, she blushed
bright red. It was an instant reaction, and one that made her turn
away. Never in her wildest dreams could she imagine starting a
conversation with anybody. She would rather stick her head in a vat
of boiling oil, if the truth were known.
She had heard her
parents talking once, a few years ago. They wanted to know what they
had done wrong – why their daughter had grown up the way she had.
So now she had that guilt to bear as well. If only she could make
some friends so they would know they had done nothing – nothing,
that is, except love her and shelter her from anything and everything
that would be considered by most people to be a normal experience.
Now, though, things
were changing. Her mum had been so concerned that she’d persuaded
Sonia’s father to stump up for some counselling. Sonia had been
horrified. The idea of sitting in a chair telling a complete stranger
how embarrassed she was to open her mouth in company made her legs go
weak. She had resisted for months, but after Christmas not only had
her mum arranged the counselling sessions, she had insisted on going
with Sonia for the first few meetings to be sure that Sonia was over
her initial embarrassment and was happy to carry on alone.
Sonia had hated it
to start with, but gradually her counsellor had given her some tools
to help build her confidence. The best of these was the name of a
website designed for people like her. She had heard of chat rooms but
never been in one. Within a month she had realised that she had
plenty to say as long as she could keep it anonymous and nobody could
see her face. The best of it was, people wanted to listen. She didn’t
have her own computer to access the site, but there were plenty she
could use at the university, and that was better because nobody would
know what she was doing. If she had had a personal computer at home
her mother would forever have been looking over her shoulder.
What she hadn’t
told a soul – because he had asked her not to – was that she had
met somebody online who was as crippled with shyness as she was. He
had told her he was surprised he could even type without stuttering,
and that had made her laugh. That was his issue, the burden he had to
bear. He couldn’t get a whole sentence out without this dreadful
stammer halting him in his tracks. They had been talking online now
for a couple of weeks, and he said that he thought he might possibly
be able to speak to her. They had agreed that if she went red, or if
he stuttered, it wouldn’t matter. They were both in the same boat.
And tonight she was meeting him for the first time.
She had lied to her
parents. She had never done that before, but Sonia had known what her
mum would say: ‘Bring him home, first, love. Let me and your dad
meet him – do it properly.’ Her mother didn’t seem to have any
concept of how things were done now. Not that Sonia wanted to behave
like some of the girls on campus, but having to be vetted before he
could even go for a drink with her was a sure way to frighten a man
off – especially one as shy as Sam.
Sonia hurried along
the towpath, ducking to walk through a long, low tunnel. She was
nearly at the meeting place. As she neared the end of the tunnel, a
tall figure stepped out onto the path and for a moment Sonia felt a
jolt of fear, but he gave her a little wave so she carried on
walking. She knew who he was. He was taller than she
expected, and as she got closer, she could see him smiling at her.
Hannah Fielding is an
incurable romantic. The seeds for her writing career were sown in
early childhood, spent in Egypt, when she came to an agreement with
her governess Zula: for each fairy story Zula told, Hannah would
invent and relate one of her own. Years later – following a degree
in French literature, several years of travelling in Europe, falling
in love with an Englishman, the arrival of two beautiful children and
a career in property development – Hannah decided after so many
years of yearning to write that the time was now. Today, she lives
the dream: writing full time at her homes in Kent, England, and the
South of France, where she dreams up romances overlooking
breath-taking views of the Mediterranean.
To date,
Hannah has published four passionate, evocative novels: Burning
Embers, a ‘romance like Hollywood used to make’, set in
Kenya; the award-winning Echoes of Love, ‘an epic love story
that is beautifully told’, set in Italy; and books 1 and 2 of the
Andalusian Nights trilogy, set in sultry Spain, entitled Indiscretion
and Masquerade. She is currently working on her fifth book,
Legacy, which will publish this spring.
A
glimpse of The Echoes of Love
She hadn’t been
there long, absorbed in her thoughts, her gaze lost in the scenery,
when she was aware of a slight movement in the shadows. Startled,
Venetia spun around, rocketed out of her daydreaming. Her heart gave
a jerking throb, and yet she stood motionless, feeling her limbs
heavy, although pulsing with life. Perhaps it was the effect of her
having waited for what had seemed like ages, even though barely
twenty-four hours had passed since she had arrived at Miraggio, but
she was acutely aware of Paolo’s presence, more strongly than ever
before.
He
stepped out of the shadows and stood very still. They looked at each
other dumbly in the penumbra, almost as if they had been strangers.
For an instant, they were alone in the world, isolated in this little
wood under a starlit sky, their souls exchanging a message that their
lips could not utter. Paolo’s eyes found hers and stared into them,
his gaze raking questioningly over her face. A strange little duel of
tension battled between them. Venetia’s heart seemed to have
snapped its moorings, and felt as if it was careering about inside
her. He was so close that she could hear his breathing and see the
almost imperceptible trembling of his mouth.
And then, just as
she was thinking that she could not stand another second of this
searing tension, Paolo held out his hand to her. He was only a few
feet away; all she had to do was accept it.
Ashley
has her life sorted out. After a painful divorce, she has now rebuilt
her life as an editor. She is happy with her life—until her ex-husband
Andrew walks into it, opening up the deep scars that even time has
failed to heal.
He’s gorgeous, funny and as utterly tempting as
he was seven years ago. Plus, being the editor for his new book, she
cannot avoid him. But Andrew has his own issues lingering from the past.
Bound together by work, every breath they take draws them
closer, into the same hopeless, passionate love that they once shared...
http://www.sashaclinton.com Sasha is offering the first
five chapters of the book (45 pages) as a free download to anyone who
subscribes to her newsletter
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
1. If you could work with any other
author, who would it be and why?
A-There are so many talented authors out there.
I'd be lucky to work with any of them. With collaboration, I think
it's more important to share a natural chemistry and similar writing
style with the other person than it is to admire their work. But I
think I'd love to work with Courtney Milan, even though I don't write
historical romances, because she's my author of the moment.
2. What would be a typical working day
for you? When and where do you write?
A-I write in my room, from noon till about three
in the afternoon, then again from nine pm to midnight. These are the
hours when I feel most creative. I'm a routine freak, so I attempt to
stick to this pattern as much as I can, but there are days when the
unexpected happens, so I try to flexible as well.
3. What is the hardest part of the
writing for you?
A-Dealing with the 'bad' days—there are days
when I feel like everything I'm writing is garbage and the story is
going nowhere. But I've come to realize that dealing with self-doubt
is as much as part of a writer's life as writing books.
4. When and why did you first start
writing?
A-I first started writing when I was nine or ten
years old. I used to write poems and short stories back then, some of
which were published in newspapers, magazines etc. My first 'novel'
was written when I was thirteen, but obviously, it wasn't a real
novel. I've been writing pretty much regularly since then, though I
did take a break when I was at university.
5. How did you come up with the idea
for your book?
A-I've wanted to write a second-chances romance
about a divorced couple who get back together for a long time, and
the book grew out of that desire.
6. Are you a big reader? If so, what
are you reading now?
A-I'm a big reader, but I tend to read in bursts.
I'll devour ten to fifteen books in a week or two, then not read
anything for a month. I'm currently reading a few books at
once—Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts, Once Upon a Marquess and The
Governess Affair by Courtney Milan, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, as
well as a few non-fiction books, but I'm not close to finishing any
of them.
7. Do you have any advice for other
aspiring writers?
A-Believe in yourself and write what feels true to
you. Writing is more about discovering yourself than trying to please
others.
In this heartrending
and poignant novel, award-winning author Amanda Eyre Ward tells the
story of Alice Conroe, a forty year old Texas barbecue owner who has the
perfect life, except she and her husband long for a child. Unable to
conceive, she’s trying desperately to adopt but her destiny is quickly
altered by a young woman she’s never met.
Fearless
thirteen-year-old Carla Trujilio is being raised by her grandmother in
Honduras along with her four year old twin brothers. Her mother is
sending money home from Texas where she’s trying to make a better life
for her family, but she only has enough to bring one son to her. When
Carla’s grandmother dies, Carla decides to take her fate into her own
hands and embarks on a dangerous journey across the border with Junior,
the twin left behind.
Two powerful journeys intersecting at a
pivotal moment in time: Alice and Carla’s lives will be forever and
profoundly changed. Heartbreaking, emotional, and arresting, this novel
is about finding the courage to trail blaze your own path in life with
faith, hope and love, no matter the struggle or the tragedy. Published: 4th February 2016 Publisher: Blackfriars Goodreads : Click here Series or Stand-Alone: Stand-Alone Source: Review Copy from Publisher
MY REVIEW
What I loved about this story... This was a very interesting book to read. I went into it not really reading much about it and barely reading the description above. After reading the quote from Jodi Picoult on the front (see picture above) I thought it would be a good idea to go into this knowing not much of the story. I liked the way that this story is split into two different perspectives - one of Alice who cannot have children and one of Carla who has been abandoned by her mother and left with her brother and grandmother. Very early on in the story, the grandmother dies leaving Carla to try to survive with her brother living in a very rough area where thieving is common place. I liked how the story was split so one chapter we would read about Alice and the next about Carla and so on. If I had to pick the story that I liked the most, it has to be Carla's. Her story was the most interesting as after her grandmother dies she decides to take her brother and go and find her mother who lives a long way away (for reasons that are explained throughout the story).
What I was not fond of with this story... Unfortunately, I just could not connect with the characters in this story. Even thought the plot was very good and I enjoyed finding out what happened next I just couldn't connect with the characters enough to really get invested in their story so when it came to a twist in the story near the end I kind of suspected that was going to happen and wasn't really the surprise than it was probably expected to be.
*** Trigger Warning **** This story does contain aspects of assault, drug addiction and rape.
Meet Emma Corrigan, a
young woman with a huge heart, an irrepressible spirit, and a few little
secrets:
Secrets from her boyfriend: I've always thought Connor looks a
bit like Ken. As in Barbie and Ken. Secrets from her mother: I lost my
virginity in the spare bedroom with Danny Nussbaum while Mum and Dad
were downstairs watching Ben-Hur. Secrets she wouldn't share with anyone
in the world: I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is.
Until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. At least,
she thought he was a stranger.…
Until Emma comes face-to-face with Jack
Harper, the company's elusive CEO, a man who knows every single
humiliating detail about her...
Published: 27th December 2005 Publisher: Dell Goodreads : Click here Series or Stand-Alone: Stand-Alone Source: Owned
My Review
What I loved about this story... This story brought so much back to me. The first time I read this story was pretty much after it had come out, around 10 years ago, so it has been a while but starting to read this book again I could remember mostly everything about it and I loved that. I loved the fact that I knew what was going to happen next. In almost everything that Sophie Kinsella has written that I have read I have found her writing to be funny, laugh out loud hilarious but has undertones of seriousness underneath. With this story you have Emma who has family issues as well as many other issues which she 'reveals all' to the man on the plane so its not really surprising that it seems as though she is nearly on the edge of having some kind of 'episode', hence what happens on the plane. If I have to pick one thing that I liked the most about this book, I would have to choose a part of this book that is only touched upon for a bit of the book but speaks volumes to the character of Emma and that is her relationship with her parents and her 'sister'. I have used the speech marks for a reason and that becomes clear when you read the book. I particularly liked that part of the story as there is clear conflict which gets resolved in one way or the other nearer the end of the book. What I was not fond of with this story.... Honestly there is one part of this book that I really did not like at all and that was something that happens near the end of the book (and I won't go into too much detail here as I don't want to spoil the story for those who have not read it yet) but there is one particular character who takes matters into their own hands and I completely disagreed with the way in which it was dealt with and the fact that this scene was in the book I found to be completely irrelevant and didn't need to be there. In summary... Just love Sophie Kinsella (apart from the Shopaholic series, which is not a series that I particularly enjoyed very much as I found the main character to be quite selfish and irritating so did not continue with the series past book 1). I love the way she makes me laugh and cry - sometimes both at the same time! I have been collecting her books and now have all of her stand alone novels ready to read this year. I can't wait to get to each one. If you are looking for an easy read that is funny but at the same time has a great story, you definitely need to pick this one up!
