Jenny Kane & Jennifer Ash

Jenny Kane: Coffee, cupcakes, chocolate and contemporary fiction / Jennifer Ash: Medieval crime with hints of Ellis Peters and Robin Hood

Category: Contemporary Romantic Fiction Page 43 of 56

Guest Blog from Deborah Carr: Looking Forward to Welcoming 2016

By

On December 29, 2015

In Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction

I’m delighted to welcome Deborah Carr, aka Georgina Troy, back to my site today to reflect on a truly non-stop 2015!

Over to you Deborah….

I write under my own name D M Carr (historicals for Green Shutter Books) and also a pseudonym Georgina Troy (my Jersey Scene Series for Accent Press). Writing is an addiction for me and one I can’t imagine ever wanting, or being able, to give up. It’s one activity that you can work hard at for years and still not achieve your ambitions, but it’s also something that you can completely lose yourself in, and seeing your books available to buy online, or in the shops is a joy I’ll never get used to.

D Carr

2015 has seen a few writing changes for me. Firstly, A Jersey Kiss (the first book in my Jersey Scene series) was a finalist in the Joan Hessayon Award for new writers and then I amicably parted ways with my fabulous agent, who represented me as Deborah Carr for three years.

Writing is an activity that rarely runs smoothly. Just when you think you’ve achieved something it doesn’t end up as you had expected it to. For example, my historical novel, Broken Faces beat 7,000 other entrants to be a runner-up in the Good Housekeeping Novel Writing Competition 2012, the book then received a Special Commendation from the Harry Bowling Prize, and then as if that wasn’t exciting enough, Luigi Bonomi, one of the judges of the Good Housekeeping competition asked to see the full manuscript and then offered to represent me. 2012 was an amazing year and I thought 2013 would be ‘my year’ – it was a good year but not in ways I’d expected. Luigi was wonderful and when Broken Faces almost, but not quite found a home with a publisher, I then wrote two psychological thrillers for him. Both were well received, but didn’t get taken up.

A Jersey Dreamboat

I then concentrated on my contemporary romances – The Jersey Scene series – which are based in Jersey but also Sorrento, South of France and Vietnam. This series is published by Accent Press with book 4, A Jersey Bombshell coming out next April. So, in 2013 I saw my first two books for sale online and in local book shops, then I signed a contract with Accent Press in 2014 for four books in the series and 2015 saw the third book in the series being published.

Still though, Broken Faces was languishing in the ether and having spent six years promoting other authors as deputy editor for Novelicious.com looking after the Alternative Thursday posts, interviews, reviews, etc, I decided I needed to step back and rethink my writing career. So Luigi and I parted ways, amicably, and for the time being I’m just reviewing and contributing for Novelicious – because they are the greatest team ever. This month my debut novel as D M Carr (me), Broken Faces, was published by Green Shutter Books. To finally see a book that’s so close to my heart finally published is a dream come true.

I’m excited to welcome 2016. I’ve already been contacted about three exciting events during the year, but none that I can share with you, just yet. All I know is that whatever happens I’ll keep on writing and loving it. Perseverance is the key when it comes to writing and I’m nothing if not persistent.

Happy 2016 everyone!

***

Georgina Troy -Headshot
Twitter:
@DebsCarr
@GeorginaTroy
Facebook:
****
Many thanks for a great blog Deborah, I wish you a very productive and happy 2016,
Happy reading everyone,
Jenny x

A VERY HAPPY COFFEE FILLED CHRISTMAS

By

On December 24, 2015

In Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction

I just wanted to pause from the merriment to wish you…

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

blue-christmas-2015-lights-missouri

Many many thanks for all your support over the last year.

I hope you are all having a truly peaceful and huggled Christmas, with extra coffee and a mince pie or three.

Christmas at the CastleCITC- New cover 2015ACOChristmas- New 2015

Much love,

Jenny xx

Emergency Christmas Kindle-ing: Naughty and Nice!

By

On December 22, 2015

In Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction

It’s almost here!! It’s almost Christmas!!

If you’re anything like me you are, despite all your intentions to the contrary, you are still buying last minute gifts! I had planned to have everything wrapped and labelled, and the tree up, and the shopping sorted….but of course, none of that has happened yet!!

So- what are you going to buy during your last minute shopping spree? Fancy a book or two? Not sure if you want a cosy coffee time read, or something spicy?

Here’s a few suggestions to help things along- paperbacks to pop in those stockings, or ebooks to adorn the new Kindles currently stock piled on Santa’s sleigh!

SPICY (OVER 18’s only)

Digging Deep (erotic romance)

DD cariad

An erotic romance novella set in an archaeological dig, in the grounds of the
Ancient Roman city of Leptis Minus in Tunisia by Kay Jaybee

As site supervisor on an archaeological dig, in the grounds of the Ancient Roman city of Leptis Minus in
Tunisia, Dr Beth Andrew’s hands are well and truly full. Her first foreign excavation, which she co-runs with the American archaeologist Dr Harrison Harris, gets off to a shaky start due to the jealous interference of Harrison’s ex, and an overzealous student… Love and lust really can cloud even the cleverest person’s judgement!

A Sticky Situation (erotic romance)

Sticky Situation- cariad

An erotic romance novella by bestselling author, Kay Jaybee.

If there is a paving stone to trip over, or a drink to knock over, then Sally Briers will trip over it or spill it. Yet somehow Sally is the successful face of marketing for a major pharmaceutical company; much to the disbelief of her new boss,
Cameron James.
Forced to work together on a week-long conference in an Oxford hotel, Sally is dreading spending so much time with arrogant new boy Cameron, whose presence somehow makes her even clumsier than usual.

Cameron, on the other hand, just hopes he’ll be able to stay professional, and keep his irrational desire to lick up all the accidentally split food and drink that is permanently to be found down Sally’s temptingly curvy body, all to himself.

 

***

COSY COFFEE TIME READS

Another Cup of Coffee

Another Cup of Coffee - New cover 2015

Thirteen years ago Amy Crane ran away from everyone and everything she knew, ending up in an unfamiliar city with no obvious past and no idea of her future. Now, though, that past has just arrived on her doorstep, in the shape of an old
music cassette that Amy hasn’t seen since she was at university.

Digging out her long-neglected Walkman, Amy listens to the lyrics that soundtracked her student days. As long-buried memories are wrenched from the places in her mind where she’s kept them safely locked away for over a decade, Amy is suddenly tired of hiding.

It’s time to confront everything about her life. Time to find all the friends she left behind in England, when her heart got broken and the life she was building for herself got completely shattered. Time to make sense of all the feelings she’s been bottling up for all this time. And most of all, it’s time to discover why Jack has sent her tape back to her now, after all these years…

With her mantra, New life, New job, New home, playing on a continuous loop in her head, Amy gears herself up with yet another a bucked-sized cup of coffee, as she goes forth to lay the ghost of first love to rest…

 

Another Cup of Christmas
ACOChristmas- New 2015
Another Cup of Christmas is a festive sequel (of sorts!) to Jenny Kane’s fantastic debut romance, Another Cup of Coffee. Five years ago the staff of Pickwicks Cafe in Richmond were thrown into turmoil when their cook and part-owner, Scott, had a terrible accident. With help from his friends, his wife Peggy, and the staff at the local hospital, he made an amazing recovery. Now Pickwicks is preparing to host a special Christmas fundraiser for the hospital department that looked after Scott.
Pickwicks’ waitress Megan has been liaising with the ward’s administrator, Nick, as all the staff who helped Scott’s recovery are invited are invited. As the problems of organising the fundraiser take up more and more of their busy lives, Megan and Nick contact each other more frequently, and their emails and phone calls start to develop from the practical into the flirty.
But can you actually fall for someone you’ve never met? As the fundraiser draws closer, Megan is beginning to think that she had imagined all the virtual flirting between herself and Nick – he promised to arrange to meet her for real, but he hasn’t done so. Now he’s bringing someone with him to the fundraiser, and they’re just bound to be everything Megan feels she isn’t …
Romancing Robin Hood
RRH- new 2015

Dr Grace Harper has loved the stories of Robin Hood ever since she first saw them on TV as a girl. Now, with her fortieth birthday just around the corner, she’s a successful academic in Medieval History, with a tenured position at a top university.

But Grace is in a bit of a rut. She’s supposed to be writing a textbook on a real-life medieval gang of high-class criminals – the Folvilles – but she keeps being drawn into the world of the novel she’s secretly writing – a novel which entwines the Folvilles with her long-time love of Robin Hood – and a feisty young girl named Mathilda, who is the key to a medieval mystery…

Meanwhile, Grace’s best friend Daisy – who’s as keen on animals as Grace is on the Merry Men – is unexpectedly getting married, and a reluctant Grace is press-ganged into being her bridesmaid. As Grace sees Daisy’s new-found happiness, she starts to re-evaluate her own life. Is her devotion to a man who may or may not have lived hundreds of years ago really a substitute for a real-life hero of her own? It doesn’t get any easier when she meets Dr Robert Franks – a rival academic who Grace is determined to dislike but finds herself being increasingly drawn to… 

 

****
Hope this has given you a few ideas!!!
Happy last minute panic shopping everyone!!
Jenny xx

The Christmas Do

By

On December 14, 2015

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction

Up and down the country- whichever country that may be- men and women are laying down their laptops, putting aside their PC’s, closing their diaries, and switching on the answer machines so that they can head out on their ‘Work Christmas Do!’

As a self employed writer, if I went on a ‘Work Christmas Do’ all that would happen would be that I’d have a gingerbread muffin alongside my usual cup of coffee.

Or should I say, would ‘usually’ be- because this year I was invited to the RNA Christmas meal for the SW Chapter (Wilts and Somerset)! I’d like to thank the lovely Rachel Brimble for organising a wonderful evening at The George, Lacock last week.

RNA evening in lacock

Even though I’ve worked ever since I was 15 years old, this was my very first works Christmas outing. Every year until this one, something has happened to stop me attending. Whether it was illness, snow, flood, bad timing, or life just not playing fair- or in the case of the company I have been employed for as an outworker for the last 15 years- never being invited, something has always prevented me attending. So as you can imagine, as I was travelling from Devon to Wiltshire to attend, I was on tenterhooks, waiting for something to wrong.

stuck in snow

OK, so when I got to Lacock I initially went to the wrong pub – such mistakes are very me! But once I’d found everyone, I had the best time; catching up on what we’ve all been up to over the last year, and putting the writing world in general to rights. Not only did I have a wonderful time with my author friends, I met new kid on the block Fay Keenan, who turned out to be an even bigger Robin of Sherwood fan than me!

Writing, by its very nature, is an isolating profession; this makes any writer get together very value. At Christmas, when our loved ones and friends are off to party after party, and we’re all living in our own imaginations at our desks, such gatherings are more precious than ever.

Whatever the time of year, whether there are Christmas cracker to pull or not, writers need writers- without each other to talk to, I swear their would be homes for bewildered authors springing up all over the world!

So once again- thanks Rachel- you’re a star.

Happy Christmas Do-ing Everyone!

Jenny x

 

 

Christmas at the Castle: Scottish romance, with coffee

By

On December 5, 2015

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction

Read as a stand alone story, or as a sequel to Another Cup of Coffee, Another Cup of Christmas and Christmas in the Cotswolds, Christmas at the Castle takes author Kit Lambert away from the comfort of Pickwicks Coffee Shop, and into the beautiful Deeside region of Scotland…

Christmas at the Castle

Christmas at the Castle is a seasonal treat from Jenny Kane, featuring much-loved characters from her bestselling novel Another Cup of Coffee.

When hotshot businesswoman Alice Warren is asked to organise a literary festival at beautiful Crathes Castle in Scotland, her ‘work mode’ persona means she can’t say no – even though the person asking is her ex, Cameron Hunter.

Alice broke Cameron’s heart and feels she owes him one – but her best friend Charlie isn’t going to like it. Charlie – aka famous author Erin Spence – is happy to help Alice with the festival…until she finds out that Cameron’s involved! Charlie suffered a bad case of unrequited love for Cameron, and she can’t bear the thought of seeing him again.

Caught between her own insecurities and loyalty to her friend, Charlie gets fellow author Kit Lambert to take her place. Agreeing to leave her London comfort zone – and her favourite corner in Pickwicks Café – Kit steps in. She quickly finds herself not just helping out, but hosting a major literary event, while also trying to play fairy godmother – a task which quickly gets very complicated indeed…

tartan christmas

***

Here’s a tasty taster for you… Author Charlie, and her business woman friend Alice are in a café in Banchory, Scotland, discussing the literary festival they are trying to run. Charlie is convinced that Alice is holding out on her- but she doesn’t know why…

“…Charlie was convinced her friend was lying, but she wasn’t sure why. ‘Loads of Scottish towns have festivals. Come on, Alice, why did you choose here?’

‘It’s a beautiful place. More people should see it; although I grant you the festival is three miles away at the castle, so not everyone will come into the town itself.’

‘I can’t argue with the knock-out location argument,’ Charlie said, ‘but why really? Please don’t do the mysterious hot-shot businesswoman bit with me Alice..’

Not looking at her companion, Alice reached into her designer bag and pulled out a notebook and matching pen, and mumbled, ‘Cameron asked me to.’

Charlie’s cheeks instantly went red. ‘Cameron Hunter? He doesn’t live here anymore. I thought you guys were a thing of the past?’

‘We are. But I owe him. He asked me for help. He’s working up at Crathes Castle, running the estate management team. Tasked with bringing in new events to improve the out-of-season tourist figures.’

Speaking slowly, as if trying to get her head around a difficult sum, Charlie said, ‘Cameron Hunter is back? Cameron who treats me as though I’m invisible?’

Alice rolled her eyes. ‘He never thought you were invisible! Honestly, Charlie, I can’t believe you’re still going on about that. I thought you were paranoid at the time, but it was five years ago! And you wouldn’t want him now anyway, would you?’ She studied her friend more shrewdly. ‘Or would you?’

‘Not even if he was soaked in chocolate, but that is not the point.’ Charlie couldn’t believe Alice had put her in this position. ‘He made me feel small and worthless. I bet if you mentioned me by name to him he wouldn’t know who the hell you were talking about.’ Charlie closed her eyes for a second while she tried to calm the anger that was rapidly tightening in her chest. ‘We used to spend hours chatting while he waited around for you to beautify yourself, and yet the second you arrived he acted as though you two were the only people in the world.’

Alice raised her eyebrows. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, it was never like that. And it’s hardly his fault you got a crush on him.’ Shaking her head as if to dismiss a non-existent problem, like she would at work, Alice said, ‘The thing is, his job at Crathes is currently temporary. Cameron has to secure a profit-making event in the first four months of his job for it to become permanent.’

Crathes Castle

Crathes Castle

Charlie’s palms had gone as clammy as if it was the middle of summer. ‘But we’re holding the festival at the castle.’

‘That’s what I’m saying! Cameron couldn’t find anyone willing to run an event at such short notice so close to Christmas. Craft fairs have been done to death and it’s too cold for outdoor theatre. So he came to my company for ideas.’

‘The man whose heart you broke. The man you left without a word so you could go and be a big city success?’ Charlie couldn’t get her head straight. ‘Why didn’t you tell me he was here, or that it was his festival I was helping plan?’

Sensing that she might have pushed Charlie’s good nature too far, Alice said, ‘Because you’re my friend. You’re helping me, not Cameron. I need you, sweetie. My reputation is on the line. I promised I’d make this one hell of an event.’

Seeing the thunderous expression on the normally calm Charlie’s face, Alice realised she was close to losing the help of the person she’d been depending on most. ‘Please, Charlie! I’ve secured a top line-up of authors and no one wants to see them!’

Speaking through gritted teeth, Charlie said, ‘You mean I’ve secured you a top line-up of authors.’

‘Yes, well, same thing,’ Alice flipped open her notebook. ‘But despite that, this festival isn’t getting any local interest.’

Keeping quiet her thought that things not going to plan for once could do Alice a lot of good, Charlie had to agree that even though the posters displayed all over town proclaimed a line-up of bestselling authors that would be the envy of many established festivals, the situation was far from rosy.

There were eight main events, but not one ticket had been sold. The website for the festival was up and running, but no one had visited it yet. The Facebook and Twitter pages were in full working order, but the number of followers was lacklustre to say the least. People obviously had more important things to spend their money on so near to Christmas.

Forgetting her determination not to let her hair do its unruly impression of a haystack, Charlie ran a hand through its curls and let out a strangled cry of frustration as she got to her feet.

‘You’re right, you do need help.’ Charlie grabbed her bag and scarf. ‘I’m glad you’ve finally worked out you can’t always be a one-woman band. In a small town, you need lots of volunteers to run something like this. You also need to learn how to ask nicely for that help, rather than assuming one flutter of your eyelashes will do the trick.

‘Obviously, I won’t be helping any more. You knew that I wouldn’t be able to once I learned Cameron was involved, which is presumable why you didn’t tell me before.’ Without pausing, Charlie leant across the table and whispered, ‘You let me watch while you took what you wanted from Cameron, knowing I liked him more than you did, and then, once he’d fallen for you hook, line, and sinker, you disappeared and dumped him by text. I made a total fool of myself trying to comfort him. The relief I felt when he left was huge, and yet, fool that I am, I still missed seeing him around. The only good thing I ever got from Cameron was the plot to The Love-Blind Boy!’

Catching her breath, gratified by the shocked expression on Alice’s face, Charlie added, ‘As it happens, I don’t want this festival to fail. Too many hardworking authors are travelling a long way to come here.’ She scribbled two names onto a paper napkin. ‘These people might help, if you’re nice to them.’

Slamming the napkin onto the table, Charlie gathered her coat into her arms and walked away, leaving a stunned Alice staring after her…

***

If that has whetted your appetite, you can find out what happens next, and if there is a literary festival left, by the time Kit Lambert leaves London for Scotland, you can buy Christmas at the Castle from-

Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-at-Castle-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B015J87DTI/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1442588560&sr=1-2&keywords=christmas+at+the+castle

Amazon US

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-at-Castle-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B015J87DTI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1442603723&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+at+the+castle

***

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

Christmas in the Cotswolds: Coffee, Art and Choirs

By

On December 1, 2015

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction

With this years festive story, Christmas at the Castle, still looking new and shiny on the eBook shelves, I have been looking back at its predecessors this week. On Saturday I treated you to a free read from Another Cup of Christmas. Today I’m looking back at last year’s festive offering, Christmas in the Cotswolds.

Christmas in the Cotswolds is the festive (short novella) sequel to Another Cup of Christmas – which in itself follows the novel, Another Cup of Coffee. Rather than being set in the Pickwicks cafe in Richmond however, for this adventure, I took Megan, Pickwicks regular waitress, away from her day job, and sent her on a mercy mission…

CITC- New cover 2015

Blurb Izzie Spencer-Harris, owner of the Cotswold Art and Craft Centre, is due to host the prestigious Cotswold Choir’s annual Christmas carol concert in her beautiful converted church. Or at least she was, until a storm smashed a hole right through the chancel roof. Days from Christmas, Izzie suddenly finds herself up to her neck in DIY, with her last dodgy workman having walked off the job. She does the only thing she can … calls in her best friend Megan to help. Leaving Peggy and Scott to run Pickwicks Café in her absence, Megan heads to the Cotswolds for Christmas. Within minutes of her arrival, she finds herself hunting down anyone willing to take on extra work so close to Christmas. It seems the only person available to help is Joseph Parker – a carpenter who, while admittedly gorgeous, seems to have ulterior motives for everything he does … With Izzie’s bossy mother, Lady Spencer-Harris, causing her problems at every turn, an accident at work causing yet more delays, and the date for the concert drawing ever nearer, it’s going to take a lot more than Mrs Vickers’ powerful mulled wine to make sure everything is all right on the night …

***

I’ve always loved the Cotswolds, and was lucky enough to grow up not too far from their villages filled with yellow stoned picturesque cottages and stunning churches. For me, once I’d decided to take Megan away from Pickwicks for a while, the Cotswolds was the obvious choice of location. It is precisely the type of area I can imagine Izzie setting up an arts and craft centre, which- were it real- I have no doubt would flourish! I’d go there for sure. It has a cafe after all!

Extract

Izzie closed her eyes and counted to ten as the door of the Cotswold Arts Centre slammed shut.

There was no point in panicking. She simply didn’t have time for such luxuries if her converted church was going to be ready to host a Christmas carol concert by the renowned Cotswold Choir in nine days’ time.

Bored of being propositioned by men who weren’t remotely interested in her until they discovered she was a daughter of the gentry, Izzie had ejected the carpenter through her front door before he’d quite had time to work out just how insulting her rejection of his latest lurid suggestion was.

 

Now, her hasty tongue having deprived her of a desperately needed pair of tradesman’s hands, Izzie sat with a heavy thump onto the nearest pew. She knew she had to find fresh help, and fast. A task that wouldn’t be easy so close to Christmas.

‘Although,’ Izzie addressed the image of Noah, who smiled benevolently at her from his stained-glass window, as if grateful he hadn’t been smashed to pieces by the tree branch that had come through the top of the chancel and caused so much seasonal inconvenience, ‘I’m damn sure I’m not asking my mother to help out ever again!’

Reaching for the offending package of invitations that had arrived by courier first thing that morning, Izzie emptied it onto the table. The invitations were supposed to have been posted by now. As soon as she’d seen them, Izzie understood why her mother had left them to the last minute.

Unfussy, cost-effective, and with a medieval Christmas flavour in keeping with the spirit of the converted fourteenth-century church where the concert was to be held. That’s what she’d asked for.

What she’d got was decadent Victorian-style gold-edged invitations which weighed so much, Izzie was sure that posting them alone would break the bank. And if that wasn’t bad enough, her mother had done the one thing that she had expressively forbidden. She’d put Izzie’s full name on the invitations.

Lady Perdita Spencer-Harris had been unable to comprehend why her daughter didn’t want to use the family name to help sales. She simply didn’t understand that Izzie wanted people to come to hear the choir for its own sake, or because they wanted to see what she’d done in her art centre; not because she was a young and single female member of the landed gentry.

Miss Isadora Spencer-Harris

cordially invites you to a magical festive evening at

The Cotswold Arts Centre, Chipping Swinton

to hear the renowned Cotswold Choir’s

Christmas Carol Concert

Saturday 21st December

7 p.m. for 7.30 p.m. start

£25 per ticket

Refreshments provided

RSVP by 18th December to Harris Park

Wrapping her stripy woollen scarf more tightly around her neck, Izzie breathed warm air over her cold fingers. Deciding it wasn’t cost effective to heat the church this late at night just for her, she gathered up the invitations, and with one last check that the polythene sheeting would keep the rest of her chancel roof in place overnight, Izzie headed home.

Izzie scooped up three Christmas cards from her doormat. A smile replaced her frown as she opened the first envelope to see a cartoon robin wishing her a Merry Christmas. Inside, beneath the seasonal greeting, her friend Megan had written Must meet up SOON! I’d love to see your new art centre.

‘Should I?’ Izzie was sure her dearest friend from college would help. Megan always helped. Izzie addressed the picture of the robin, ‘But won’t she be hugely busy at Pickwicks café this close to Christmas?’

Switching on her laptop, Izzie started to hunt for a replacement tradesman to help repair her church roof. Half an hour of searching later, and her quest was looking increasingly hopeless by the minute.

It was no good, if she wasn’t going to be forced to ask her parents to bail her out – which was an ‘over her dead body’ situation as far as Izzie was concerned – she needed alternative assistance. Izzie picked up her mobile before guilt at disturbing her friend’s life at Christmas overtook her.

‘Megan, thank goodness you’re there! How can I put this … help!’

***

Church roof

Although Christmas in the Cotswolds is a sequel, it can also be read as a standalone story.

If you’d like to have a read, you can buy my latest novella from all good e-retailers including-

Amazon UK- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Cotswolds-seasonal-short-story-ebook/dp/B00PK2MA3I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415899501&sr=8-1&keywords=Christmas+in+the+Cotswolds+jenny+kane

Amazon.com – http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Cotswolds-seasonal-short-story-ebook/dp/B00PK2MA3I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415899535&sr=8-1&keywords=Christmas+in+the+Cotswolds+Jenny+Kane

***

Happy reading,

Jenny x

A Little Sip from Another Cup of Christmas

By

On November 28, 2015

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction

With Christmas at the Castle, the third festive sequel to follow on from my novel, Another Cup of Coffee just out, I thought it would be fun to return to my first Christmas special today, Another Cup of Christmas, and treat you to a tasty sip from its eBook pages.

This was my second outing as Jenny Kane, and, like its predecessor, Another Cup of Christmas, was set in and around Pickwicks Coffee House in Richmond (on the outskirts of London). Five years have elapsed since the close of Another Cup of Coffee, and there are a few new faces to be spotted amongst the old.

ACOChristmas- New 2015

Here’s the Blurb-

Five years ago the staff of Pickwicks Cafe in Richmond were thrown into turmoil when their cook and part-owner, Scott, had a terrible accident. With help from his friends, his wife Peggy, and the staff at the local hospital, he made an amazing recovery. Now Pickwicks is preparing to host a special Christmas fundraiser for the hospital department that looked after Scott.

Pickwicks’ waitress Megan has been liaising with the ward’s administrator, Nick, as all the staff who helped Scott’s recovery are invited are invited. As the problems of organising the fundraiser take up more and more of their busy lives, Megan and Nick contact each other more frequently, and their emails and phone calls start to develop from the practical into the flirty.

But can you actually fall for someone you’ve never met?

As the fundraiser draws closer, Megan is beginning to think that she had imagined all the virtual flirting between herself and Nick – he promised to arrange to meet her for real, but he hasn’t done so. Now he’s bringing someone with him to the fundraiser, and they’re just bound to be everything Megan feels she isn’t …

***

A novella rather than a novel, Another Cup of Christmas can be easily consumed in one delicious cinnamon flavoured mouthful! I would recommend a quiet afternoon curled up on the sofa with a mince pie and a hot drink to hand (a cup of coffee perhaps??), and an hour’s escape into the adventures of Peggy, Scott, Kit, Phil, Nick and Megan…

Coffee blog- Full Bean Cafe Somerton- Hot Choc

Here’s how Another Cup of Christmas begins…

Chapter One

December 4th 2012

Having politely escaped her third ‘So what are you doing for Christmas?’ conversation of the day, Megan Johnson was retreating back to the counter when she spotted Pickwicks’ most regular customer sit up from her work and brush a stray red hair from her eyes.

Knowing it had been at least half an hour since Kit’s caffeine addiction had been attended to, the waitress swiped up the percolator jug and headed in her direction.

Without bothering to ask if it was required, Megan poured the steaming liquid with practised care, before taking advantage of the lull in Christmas shopping trade, and sitting down opposite her friend. ‘Going OK?’

Swivelling the laptop round to face Megan, Kit rubbed the back of her neck, ‘I’m sure I’ve missed something. What do you think?’

Pickwicks Festive Fundraiser!

Spoil Yourself With An Afternoon of Pickwicks’ Finest Festive Fare.

In Aid of the Royal Free Hospital’s Spinal Ward.

Saturday 22nd December from 2pm.

Deluxe Buffet And Festive Fundraising Fun!

Tickets are ONLY £25 per person

Don’t miss out!

Book your place at Pickwicks Coffee Shop, Richmond – NOW!!

Megan scanned the poster. ‘Oh, that’s fabulous! I thought you were writing your latest novel.’

‘To tell you the truth, that’s exactly what I should be doing, but Peggy asked me to do some publicity for the fundraiser and I thought I’d better get on with it. Time seems to be dissolving. It’ll be the 22nd before we know it.’

‘I know what you mean.’ Megan started to collect the dishes left by a couple who’d just vacated a nearby table. ‘The next three weeks are going to fly by.’

‘Two and a half weeks!’

‘Oh, hell! Really?’

‘That’s why I want to get these done; otherwise everyone will be too booked up with their own celebrations to have time to come.’ Gesturing towards the kitchen, Kit asked, ‘How’s Scott doing out there, or shouldn’t I ask?’

Megan’s permanent smile widened further across her lightly freckled face. ‘He’s amazing. I have no idea how he does it. The temperature in that kitchen is tropical, and yet Scott’s still beaming that massive toothy grin of his. I’m seriously beginning to think he is physically unable to stop cooking! Surely he must have pre-prepared as much as he can for the fundraiser by now?’

Kit nodded. ‘He probably has, but Peggy is getting paranoid there won’t be enough food.’ Glancing around, checking that Megan wasn’t needed by a customer for a moment, Kit pointed to a fresh pile of abandoned cups. ‘If I clear those, will you have a proper read of the poster? I’m sure I’ve missed something obvious but I can’t put my finger on it?’

Kit was already standing up and taking a tray from Megan’s hands before the waitress said, ‘On one condition.’

‘Which is?’

‘I can check my emails? I’m supposed to be liaising with the hospital about this for Peggy, but we’ve been so busy over the last few days I haven’t had time to see if Nick has got back to me about how many of the ward staff are coming.’

‘Nick?’

Megan silently cursed her inability to prevent the involuntary warm pink blush that hit her pale cheeks, ‘Yeah, he’s the admin guy for the ward that cared for Scott after his accident.’

‘Nice, is he?’ Kit gently teased the petite blonde waitress, wondering, not for the first time, why someone as kind and pretty as Megan hadn’t been snapped up years ago.

‘I’ve never met him, but he seems friendly. Well, he does via email and over the phone at least.’

‘You’ve spoken to him then?’

‘There are loads of things to sort out.’ Megan, knowing that the crush she’d developed on Nick’s Irish accent was utterly ridiculous, turned her full attention to the poster on the screen before her…

****

I hope that’s whetted your appetite for this feel good festive romance!

Another Cup of Coffee - New cover 2015

Although Another Cup of Christmas follows on from Another Cup of Coffee, it can also be read as a standalone piece.

If you’d like to buy Another Cup of Christmas it is available as a downloads from all good eBook suppliers including-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-Cup-Christmas-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B00GMO4ZIQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1384329366&sr=1-1&keywords=another+cup+of+christmas+jenny+kane

http://www.amazon.com/Another-Cup-Christmas-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B00GMO4ZIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384329400&sr=8-1&keywords=another+cup+of+Christmas

***

Happy reading,

Jenny x

Guest Blog from Alice Raine: What have I learnt since getting my first book published?

By

On November 26, 2015

In Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction

I’m delighted to welcome fellow Cariad Romance author, Alice Raine, to my site today to share some of the things she’s been getting to grips with since she entered the mad world of writing!

Over to you Alice,

It’s been just over a year and a half since my first book The Darkness Within Him was published, and I recently sat down to consider just what I have learnt in that time. The short answer to that would be MASSES. So much in fact, that I would need to write an entire series of blog posts to even begin scratching the surface. In no particular order, here are the top things that sprung to mind.

Unmasked

Editing might be dull, but is vitally important

At first I used to glaze over when editing. OK, so sometimes I still do. Reading a sentence, re-reading it, and then re-reading again just in case, can be incredibly tedious to say the least. It is however vital if you want your book at its best for the reader, which let’s face it, we all do.

Editing has taken on particular importance for me recently though, since I discovered that I have a very bad little habit. Unbeknownst to me, it would seem that I am a complete tinker where it comes to leaving words out of sentences. My brain must think of the line quicker than my fingers can keep up and type, because the amount of missing the’s, or and’s I’ve had to add in during editing is phenomenal.

Now, instead of trying to do it until my eyes have dried up and are attempting to leap free from my skull, I break my editing into chunks – fifty pages in one sitting is my maximum.

Holding your book in your hand is the best experience in the world.

All the long hours, knock backs, headaches and stress are worth it when you get to hold the first paper copy in your hands. It is an incredibly humbling experience, and as well as grinning from ear to ear, I’m fairly sure I shed a happy tear when I got the paperback of my first ever book. It is all so very worth it.

Research, research, research

At first, as a newbie I probably lacked research in certain areas, but the longer I write, and grow into my style, the more focus and attention I put on details. Detail is everything, it allows your reader to slide into your novel and get lost in the sensations, smells, sights and stories, which is exactly what I aim to achieve with my books.  I would almost go as far as to say that I am obsessive about research now. If you read about a running route or a taxi journey in one of my books, for example, then you can be sure that it has been plotted out and checked on google maps first. If I mention an amazing cocktail, a fabulous restaurant, or some succulent sushi, then I’ve either sampled it first hand, or used the internet to check menus and read reviews.  Bus timetables, theatre seating plans, park locations, world time zones, the best pancake house in Los Angeles … you name it, I have probably searched for it on the internet!

Deadlines are killers

Writing is a solitary existence, and I’m happy with that, because usually I’m quite sociable outside of my writing hours, but when a deadline is looming I become the most unsociable hermit the world has ever seen.

“No, I can’t come out for drinks, I have a deadline.” **said whilst tugging large chucks of hair from my scalp**

“Go out for a meal? For food? I have a deadline, there’s no time to eat!” **screamed with a disgusted look on my face as I grab my laptop and go to hide under the stairs**

My readers are the best people in the whole wide world

I am genuinely so humbled and appreciative that people are reading my books. I still have to pinch myself sometimes to check that this is all real, and it is, and that is all down to the people who chose to pick up a copy of one of my books. The feedback, comments, reviews and general support I have received is just incredible, and I’ve made it a personal mission to reply to each and every comment, email and interaction.

Hearing someone read my book out loud is the strangest feeling (and not an entirely pleasant experience)

When my first book came out on Kindle I received a call from a male friend telling me he now had a copy of my book. That was lovely, and obviously I was very appreciative of his support. But then, to my horror, he chuckled and started reading some of it out to me down the phone – it was one of the rather spicy parts – which was quite literally one of the most uncomfortable moments of my life! To make it worse, I was sat in a busy sushi restaurant at the time, and by the end of the call (it took me a while to get him to stop), I was as red as a post box.

People need to know about your book

Don’t just rely on a bit of time posting things on Facebook, actually tell people about your books. Do blogs, attend events, and generally promote yourself. I’ll admit that at first I was a little hesitant to tell people about my books – purely because the genre is a little saucy, and I thought people would judge me – but now I just shrug it off, I know the books are fictional so if they judge me that’s their issue, not mine.

Scary, but true: I’m now self-employed

Suddenly my writing was no longer just a hobby for my own personal enjoyment. People are buying my books, reading my words, and so as crazy as it seems, I’m not just a recreational scribbler anymore… I’m a self-employed writer. That is a scary and bizarre concept, and also means I have to consider the dreaded T word. Tax. And Tax returns. Ugh. Just the mention of it makes me shudder. Luckily I have a very good accountant, but I have had to retrain myself to get better at keeping records, stashing receipts and generally talking it all a bit more seriously now.

This Is What I Want to do Forever As cheesy as it sounds, I’ve learnt that I absolutely LOVE writing. Losing myself in a plot, creating characters, settings, and new worlds is incredible. I feel so humbled that people have liked what I have written so far, and it is because of those lovely readers that I get to do what I love every single day now. Losing myself in words is just the best feeling in the world. I wasn’t sure I’d ever find a career that I genuinely loved, but I have now, and I want to do this over and over again, forever.

I could keep on about this topic for a very long time, because I really have learnt so much in this past year and a half, and I have a feeling that that is only the beginning of my learning curve. At this point I’m trying to become a sponge and absorb as much as I can so that this incredible journey can continue for a little while longer.

Thank you for reading.

A huge thanks to Jenny for hosting me today!

Alice xx

***

Ordering links for Unmasked, book 1 in my new Revealed series:

Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unmasked-Revealed-Book-Alice-Raine-ebook/dp/B014FF81WY/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Unmasked-Revealed-Book-Alice-Raine-ebook/dp/B014FF81WY/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Alice Raine

Connect with Alice:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AliceRaineAuthor

Twitter: @AliceRaine1

Website: www.aliceraineauthor.com

***

Many thanks for such a great blog Alice,

Happy reading,

Jenny x

COSTA BOOK SIGNING EVENT: 23rd November at Tiverton, Devon

By

On November 22, 2015

In Books For Children, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, crime, Fiction, Historical fiction

Costa poster

OUT TODAY! Christmas at the Castle

By

On November 14, 2015

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction

OUT TODAY! CHRISTMAS AT THE CASTLE

The fourth in the Another Cup of Coffee series

Read as a stand alone story, or as a sequel to Another Cup of Coffee, Another Cup of Christmas and Christmas in the Cotswolds, Christmas at the Castle takes author Kit Lambert away from the comfort of Pickwicks Coffee Shop, and into the beautiful Deeside region of Scotland…

Christmas at the Castle

Christmas at the Castle is a seasonal treat from Jenny Kane, featuring much-loved characters from her bestselling novel Another Cup of Coffee.

When hotshot businesswoman Alice Warren is asked to organise a literary festival at beautiful Crathes Castle in Scotland, her ‘work mode’ persona means she can’t say no – even though the person asking is her ex, Cameron Hunter.

Alice broke Cameron’s heart and feels she owes him one – but her best friend Charlie isn’t going to like it. Charlie – aka famous author Erin Spence – is happy to help Alice with the festival…until she finds out that Cameron’s involved! Charlie suffered a bad case of unrequited love for Cameron, and she can’t bear the thought of seeing him again.

Caught between her own insecurities and loyalty to her friend, Charlie gets fellow author Kit Lambert to take her place. Agreeing to leave her London comfort zone – and her favourite corner in Pickwicks Café – Kit steps in. She quickly finds herself not just helping out, but hosting a major literary event, while also trying to play fairy godmother – a task which quickly gets very complicated indeed…

***

Here’s a tasty taster for you… Author Charlie, and her business woman friend Alice are in a café in Banchory, Scotland, discussing the literary festival they are trying to run. Charlie is convinced that Alice is holding out on her- but she doesn’t know why…

 

“…Charlie was convinced her friend was lying, but she wasn’t sure why. ‘Loads of Scottish towns have festivals. Come on, Alice, why did you choose here?’

‘It’s a beautiful place. More people should see it; although I grant you the festival is three miles away at the castle, so not everyone will come into the town itself.’

‘I can’t argue with the knock-out location argument,’ Charlie said, ‘but why really? Please don’t do the mysterious hot-shot businesswoman bit with me Alice..’

Not looking at her companion, Alice reached into her designer bag and pulled out a notebook and matching pen, and mumbled, ‘Cameron asked me to.’

Charlie’s cheeks instantly went red. ‘Cameron Hunter? He doesn’t live here anymore. I thought you guys were a thing of the past?’

‘We are. But I owe him. He asked me for help. He’s working up at Crathes Castle, running the estate management team. Tasked with bringing in new events to improve the out-of-season tourist figures.’

Speaking slowly, as if trying to get her head around a difficult sum, Charlie said, ‘Cameron Hunter is back? Cameron who treats me as though I’m invisible?’

Alice rolled her eyes. ‘He never thought you were invisible! Honestly, Charlie, I can’t believe you’re still going on about that. I thought you were paranoid at the time, but it was five years ago! And you wouldn’t want him now anyway, would you?’ She studied her friend more shrewdly. ‘Or would you?’

‘Not even if he was soaked in chocolate, but that is not the point.’ Charlie couldn’t believe Alice had put her in this position. ‘He made me feel small and worthless. I bet if you mentioned me by name to him he wouldn’t know who the hell you were talking about.’ Charlie closed her eyes for a second while she tried to calm the anger that was rapidly tightening in her chest. ‘We used to spend hours chatting while he waited around for you to beautify yourself, and yet the second you arrived he acted as though you two were the only people in the world.’

Alice raised her eyebrows. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, it was never like that. And it’s hardly his fault you got a crush on him.’ Shaking her head as if to dismiss a non-existent problem, like she would at work, Alice said, ‘The thing is, his job at Crathes is currently temporary. Cameron has to secure a profit-making event in the first four months of his job for it to become permanent.’

Crathes Castle

Crathes Castle

Charlie’s palms had gone as clammy as if it was the middle of summer. ‘But we’re holding the festival at the castle.’

‘That’s what I’m saying! Cameron couldn’t find anyone willing to run an event at such short notice so close to Christmas. Craft fairs have been done to death and it’s too cold for outdoor theatre. So he came to my company for ideas.’

‘The man whose heart you broke. The man you left without a word so you could go and be a big city success?’ Charlie couldn’t get her head straight. ‘Why didn’t you tell me he was here, or that it was his festival I was helping plan?’

Sensing that she might have pushed Charlie’s good nature too far, Alice said, ‘Because you’re my friend. You’re helping me, not Cameron. I need you, sweetie. My reputation is on the line. I promised I’d make this one hell of an event.’

Seeing the thunderous expression on the normally calm Charlie’s face, Alice realised she was close to losing the help of the person she’d been depending on most. ‘Please, Charlie! I’ve secured a top line-up of authors and no one wants to see them!’

Speaking through gritted teeth, Charlie said, ‘You mean I’ve secured you a top line-up of authors.’

‘Yes, well, same thing,’ Alice flipped open her notebook. ‘But despite that, this festival isn’t getting any local interest.’

Keeping quiet her thought that things not going to plan for once could do Alice a lot of good, Charlie had to agree that even though the posters displayed all over town proclaimed a line-up of bestselling authors that would be the envy of many established festivals, the situation was far from rosy.

There were eight main events, but not one ticket had been sold. The website for the festival was up and running, but no one had visited it yet. The Facebook and Twitter pages were in full working order, but the number of followers was lacklustre to say the least. People obviously had more important things to spend their money on so near to Christmas.

Forgetting her determination not to let her hair do its unruly impression of a haystack, Charlie ran a hand through its curls and let out a strangled cry of frustration as she got to her feet.

‘You’re right, you do need help.’ Charlie grabbed her bag and scarf. ‘I’m glad you’ve finally worked out you can’t always be a one-woman band. In a small town, you need lots of volunteers to run something like this. You also need to learn how to ask nicely for that help, rather than assuming one flutter of your eyelashes will do the trick.

‘Obviously, I won’t be helping any more. You knew that I wouldn’t be able to once I learned Cameron was involved, which is presumable why you didn’t tell me before.’ Without pausing, Charlie leant across the table and whispered, ‘You let me watch while you took what you wanted from Cameron, knowing I liked him more than you did, and then, once he’d fallen for you hook, line, and sinker, you disappeared and dumped him by text. I made a total fool of myself trying to comfort him. The relief I felt when he left was huge, and yet, fool that I am, I still missed seeing him around. The only good thing I ever got from Cameron was the plot to The Love-Blind Boy!’

Catching her breath, gratified by the shocked expression on Alice’s face, Charlie added, ‘As it happens, I don’t want this festival to fail. Too many hardworking authors are travelling a long way to come here.’ She scribbled two names onto a paper napkin. ‘These people might help, if you’re nice to them.’

Slamming the napkin onto the table, Charlie gathered her coat into her arms and walked away, leaving a stunned Alice staring after her…

***

If that has whetted your appetite, you can find out what happens next, and if there is a literary festival left, by the time Kit Lambert leaves London for Scotland, you can buy Christmas at the Castle from-

Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-at-Castle-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B015J87DTI/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1442588560&sr=1-2&keywords=christmas+at+the+castle

Amazon US

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-at-Castle-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B015J87DTI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1442603723&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+at+the+castle

***

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

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