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 54 of 56

Guest Post from Lorna Peel: Writing Genealogy Fiction

I’m delighted to welcome Lorna Peel to my site today as part of her blog tour to celebrate the release of her latest work, Only You.

Over to you Lorna…

Writing Genealogy Fiction

Genealogy is the fastest growing hobby in the United Kingdom and North America. So I find it surprising that there aren’t more novels with a family history theme to appeal to this vast and ever-expanding market. Is it because people have a preconceived idea in their heads that all genealogists are nerds and geeks and only want to interact with dead people? I hope not, because in the many libraries and archives I have undertaken research in, I have seen genealogists, both amateur and professional, of all ages and from all walks of life. So the clichéd image of the nerdy genealogist is something I want to try and do away with.

I have always enjoyed reading thrillers and mysteries, but I didn’t want to write a predictable police procedural. A novel featuring a genealogist, or someone who teaches family history evening classes in Jane Hollinger’s case, is a great way of offering a new perspective on romantic fiction as it combines mystery with history. It also gave me the chance to write about what I know.

Just as in police detective work, researching family histories involves interviews, collecting evidence, following clues, piecing together puzzles and finding missing links. To keep this vital part of the story accurate, I drew on my experience researching my own varied family history. Only You will appeal to romantics, genealogists and mystery fans, combining the obsessions of this compelling hobby with a dark, outwardly impenetrable mystery in a unique way.

Only You

Excerpt:

The phone rang and she jumped. The number displayed was unfamiliar and she closed her eyes, hoping that it wasn’t yet another double-glazing salesperson.

“Hello?”

“Jane Hollinger?” a male voice asked.

“Yes.”

“This is Robert Armstrong. I hope you don’t mind, I found the number for your old genealogy research service in an old Yellow Pages.”

Mind? Her heart began to thump. “Er, no, not at all.”

“It’s just that I actually did start on my family tree and I’ve come across something a bit weird.”

“Weird?”

“Yeah, I found the birth, marriage, and death indexes on the net and it looks as though I had a twin brother I knew nothing about.”

“Are you sure?” She managed to sound calm.

“Positive. There was another name on the list above mine, a Michael David Armstrong. My full name is Robert David Armstrong, so I thought it was a bit weird and I ordered the birth certificate.”

“You’ve known nothing about a twin at all?”

“Nothing. No one’s ever said that I was a twin. It says nothing about me being a twin on my birth certificate.”

“Did you check the death indexes? Maybe he died soon after he was born?”

“No, I haven’t had time yet. What do you think? Strange, eh?”

“It is strange,” she admitted. “I think you should have a chat with your parents.”

There was a long silence and she began to squirm. She took the phone into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

“My parents and I don’t see eye-to-eye, actually. They didn’t want me to become an actor. We haven’t spoken in years.”

Blimey, how did he manage to keep that out of the press? “Oh, I see. Well, what about grandparents? Aunts, uncles?”

“I was close to my maternal grandparents, but they’re both dead now.” She heard a wry laugh. “I’m not making this very easy for you, am I?”

He could say that again. “Well, the first thing you should do is to try and see whether Michael David Armstrong is still alive.”

“Yes. But if he is, he could be anywhere.”

“I know. I’m more used to tracing dead people!” she laughed.

“You think I should make contact and speak to my parents?”

“That’s not for me to say.”

“You get on with your parents?” he asked.

“Yes, very well. Do you have any other brothers or sisters?”

“No, I don’t, that’s why this is so weird. I had no idea I had a twin brother.”

“Search forward in the General Register Office death indexes when you’ve time.”

“Yes, I will. Look, thanks, Jane.”

“No problem.”

“Mitch Burns is well and truly dead now, by the way,” he continued.

“I won’t say I’m sorry to hear that!”

“I thought not. Look, can I buy you a drink sometime as a thank you?”

“There’s no need,” she heard herself tell him and pulled an agonised face. “You bought me the lovely roses.”

“I heard Diana tell Dave they were probably stolen.” He laughed. “Mitch Burns was a bastard and probably would have stolen them. From a cemetery, I’d say!”

“Why play someone like that?” Her curiosity got the better of her.

“To see if I could. And to make sure that I’m not typecast. I’d hate to be offered the same type of roles all the time.”

“So the sex-mad genealogist is next?”

“Yes. In a couple of weeks. Which might give me enough time to try and solve the mystery of the missing twin.”

“Look, about that drink…” she began.

“I’ve got you curious now, haven’t I?” He chuckled. “I can gather all my stuff together and meet you in The Crown sometime?”

“Yes.” It came out as a squeak. She quickly covered the mouthpiece and cleared her throat. “When would suit you?”

“Tomorrow? I can’t do Tuesday because I have an interview with a journalist.”

“Tomorrow’s fine. Eight o’clock?”

“Eight o’clock it is. I’ll see you then.”

She ended the call and put the handset down on the table. She had almost talked herself out of a drink with Robert Armstrong. “You stupid, stupid cow.”

****

Blurb:

Jane Hollinger is the wrong side of thirty, divorced and struggling to pay the mortgage her cheating ex left her with. As a qualified genealogist, teaching family history evening classes is a way for her to make ends meet. But she begins to wonder if it’s such a good idea when a late enroller for the class is a little… odd. “Badly-blond Bloke” both scares and intrigues Jane, and when she discovers he is her all-time favourite actor and huge crush, Robert Armstrong, she’s stunned. Even more stunning to Jane is the fact that Robert is interested in her romantically. He’s everything she ever dreamed of, and more, but can she overcome her fear of living in the public eye to be with the man she loves?

http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Peel_Lorna/only-you.htm

lorna-peel

About me:

Lorna Peel is an author of contemporary and historical romantic fiction. She has had work published in three Irish magazines – historical articles on The Stone of Scone in ‘Ireland’s Own’, on The Irish Potato Famine in the ‘Leitrim Guardian’, and Lucy’s Lesson, a contemporary short story in ‘Woman’s Way’. Lorna was born in England and lived in North Wales until her family moved to Ireland to become farmers, which is a book in itself! She lives in rural Ireland, where she write, researches her family history, and grows fruit and vegetables. She also keeps chickens (and a Guinea Hen who now thinks she’s a chicken!).

http://lornapeel.com

http://twitter.com/PeelLorna

http://www.facebook.com/LornaPeelAuthor

http://pinterest.com/lornapeel

http://www.goodreads.com/LornaPeel

Thank you for featuring me on your blog, Jenny!

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tourbutton_lornapeel

Thanks again for coming by Lorna! Don’t miss any of the other stops on Lorna’s tour – http://www.writermarketing.co.uk/prpromotion/blog-tours/currently-on-tour/lorna-peel

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

 

 

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Christmas in the Cotswolds

This afternoon I signed the contract for my next Christmas novella for Accent Press! No sooner had the ink dried, than I received this- the latest cover in the Another Cup of…series- but this time we’re leaving the streets of Richmond behind, and heading to the frost covered villages of the Cotswolds…

Christmas in the Cotswolds brings ‘Another Cup of Christmas Cheer’ with a new challenge for Pickwicks’ waitress Megan…

Christmas in the Cotswolds

More details soon!

Hope you love the cover as much as I do.

Christmas in the Cotswolds can be read as a stand alone story, but if you want to read the previous Pickwicks adventures while you’re waiting for this novella to be released, you can find Another Cup of Coffee and Another Cup of Christmas from all good book and e-retailers.

Happy reading,

Jenny.x

Question Time!

I thought it would be fun to ask a friend to pretend she didn’t know me, and ask me some quick-fire questions she thought my readers might want to know the answers to! Yes- I know that’s a little bit mad- but I’m a writer- insanity is only ever inches away!!

Are you more like Kay (Jaybee) or Jenny in real life?

Jenny.

Do you love coffee as much as the characters in Another Cup of Coffee?

Even more than they do!

How do you take it?

Black- nothing added- Americano for preference

How many cups do you drink a day?

Too many

Do you really write in cafes and coffee shops like JK Rowling?

I really do – I even have my very own corner!! You can read all about it on Novelicious!! (bit.ly/1vyNnh8

Jenny Kane

What is your favourite hot drink – apart from coffee?

Coffee is the only hot drink I like- I HATE tea, and I’m allergic to milk, so can’t have hot chocolate, latte etc

Favourite colour?

Purple

Boots, trainers or heels?

Boots – I am not sporty, and I’d break my neck in heels. I am very clumsy!

Are the characters in Another Cup of Coffee based on real people?

Some of them are.

Which ones?

My lips are sealed.

Spoil sport- give us a clue?

I knew three of them at University- although I obviously wrote exaggerated versions of them- and they are all still my friends and totally lovely.

What did you study at University?

I did an Archaeology degree and then a Medieval History for a PhD.

Ohhh- like Amy in Another Cup of Coffee did…?

Yes- just like Amy did- well, the archaeology bit- I think I can guess the next question!

ACOC full print

So are you Amy?

I am a little tiny bit, but only a little bit. I more like Kit- but not too much!!!

You feature Kew Gardens in the book, have you been there, or did you just research in on Google?

I’ve been there a few times. I really like just wondering around the various greenhouses- and sitting in the cafes of course!

Jack and Rob run a bookshop in Another Cup of Coffee, is that based on a real place?

No, that I invented.

What is Jenny going to do next?

I’ve just finished writing the second spin off Christmas novella to follow Another Cup of Coffee.  It will be called another Cup of Mulled Wine, and should be out I November.

***

I hope this made you smile! I am certainly smiling- for Another Cup of Coffee is still selling well! THANK YOU. xx

If you fancy seeing what all the fuss is about- then you can order your copy of Another Cup of Coffee here…

 

Amazon UK- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-Cup-Coffee-Jenny-Kane/dp/1783751126/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377605533&sr=8-1&keywords=another+cup+of+coffee

Amazon US – http://www.amazon.com/Another-Cup-Coffee-Jenny-Kane/dp/1783751126/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377605667&sr=8-1&keywords=another+cup+of+coffee+jenny+kane

 

Thanks for dropping by!

Jenny xx

 

Romancing it in Cornwall

With all the excitement of Another Cup of Coffee hitting the bookshops, and Romancing Robin Hood coming out, my new novel hasn’t really had a look in blog wise! I’m delighted to say that Jenny Kane book number 5 (novel number 3), is well underway!

Abi’s House, is set in the gorgeous Penwith Pensula in Cornwall, and will be published in late spring/early summer 2015 by Accent Press.

 

Sennen, Cornwall

Sennen, Cornwall

 

Here’s a little bit of a potted plot background for you…

It was the chocolate muffins that had been the last straw for young widow, Abi Carter. How was she to know they were supposed to be chocochino flavour and not plan chocolate as usual?

Abi is desperate to escape from the suffocating town in Surrey where she lives (a town that is convinced it’s actually a village), and tired of the overbearing ‘perfect’ executive wives that go with it.

Her late Luke had wanted her to be one of them- and she’d tried so hard to fit in, but somehow Abi never had.

Feeling guilty because, even though Luke had only been dead for six months (struck down by a stress related heart attack), Abi realises that she doesn’t miss him. The easy going, kind funny man she’d fallen in love with had disappeared with his high speed rise through the ranks of his job in the City. In only a year, he’d changed from easy going Luke, to an uptight man who had to have the right look, the right gadgets, the right car and the right house, and he expected Abi to want the same.

Abi yearns to live in a place where she won’t feel bad if she gets mud on the carpet, or where her baking skills won’t be judged. She wants to have messed up hair, own a dog that can get hairs on the carpet, and where she can go out when she likes. Most important of all, Abi wants to have friends she has chosen for herself, rather than people that Luke has decided are right for her.

Abi decides the time has come to fulfil her own dream of moving to Cornwall, where she spent her earliest family holidays. As a child she fell in love with a small end terraced home called ‘Abbey’s House’ – but she can’t quite remember where it is…

Minack Theatre

****

As a child I, like Abi, spent many a family holiday in Cornwall. My father was born and bred in Penzance, and so I grew to know the area well. With so many beautiful places to chose from , it was really difficult to decide which part of Cornwall to set my novel in! I hope, when the time comes, you agree with my choice!!

Penzance

Penzance

Right then! I’d better go and get back to my writing!

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

 

 

 

 

Guest Interview- Meet Rachel Brimble

I’m delighted to welcome Rachel Brimble back to my site today- let’s get chatting!

1)  Tell us a little about yourself.

I live in a small market town just thirty minutes from the thriving Georgian city of Bath in one direction and the beautiful Cotswolds countryside in the other. My husband and I will soon celebrate 22 years together and we have two teenager daughters. My mum says her payback time will soon be upon me… 😉

2)  How do you organise your life between writing and being a mum and wife?

With difficulty and ignorance of the housework, LOL! I am lucky enough to stay at home so I have a strict schedule during the week when I write from 8.30-3.30pm Monday to Friday regardless of the temptation to do anything else.

Once the kids are home, I spent the rest of the time doing household chores, shopping, running them to and from after-school clubs, friends etc. In between, I catch as much time as possible on the laptop, but always finish by 7pm. Then it’s family time—which more often than not involves the TV.

Weekends are for family too—but if they’re doing their own thing…you know where to find me!

 RBCover

3)  Your heroine in What Belongs To Her is Sasha Todd – a manager of the town’s funfair. How did you research Sasha’s role?

I think with romance it’s the emotional and romantic arc that readers enjoy the most so I tend to focus on what’s happening internally with the characters rather than their jobs. However, with Sasha, I relied a lot of my memories of a fair that used to come to our hometown every Easter and the people who used to run it. As the fair was there for three weeks we often used to get chatting to the people running the rides and their kids. I was fascinated with their life and jobs and hope I’ve managed to transpose their passion onto the page.

4)  What are you currently working on?

I’m due to polish my fifth Superromance next week after it has ‘rested’ for the last fortnight. That book will then go to my agent for a read through before it wings its way to my editor.

In the meantime, I have been plotting my fourth Victorian romance for eKensington. This will be the fourth book in a linked series, although all the books can be read as stand-alone stories. At the moment, this book will be set in Bath against the issue of Foundling Hospitals in the late 19th century. I am loving the research far too much and yet to put my fingers to the keyboard…

5)  What are your favourite three reads of all time (to date), and why?

Oooh, tough question! Okay, let me think…

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – This book is amazing. Such a story! I won’t give too much away but cannot recommend this book highly enough. Laughter, tears, a moving dilemma and a subtle yet perfect romance thread. Just brilliant…

Body Double by Tess Gerritsen – I adore Tess Gerritsen, especially her Rizzoli & Isles series but Body Double stands out as one of my favourites. For me, this is crime writing at its best––I didn’t stop turning the pages and thought about the book the entire time I wasn’t reading.

The Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts – I’m cheating here because this is a set of four books (Vision in White, Bed of Roses, Savor the Moment & Happy Ever After), set against a wedding planning business ran by four childhood friends. Nora Roberts is the undisputed queen of American romance and these books kept me riveted from start to finish.

Me & Nora 3

Rachel with Nora Roberts

Blurb- What Belongs To Her

She’s ready to take back what’s hers

Since the moment a local crime boss claimed ownership of her family’s fairground, Sasha Todd has dreamed of righting the wrong. Now it’s time to act, and backing down from the man’s estranged son is definitely not an option. After all, giving up her legacy to hot-blooded John Jordon means losing the chance to finally heal the wounds in her past.

Stopping John in his tracks—and resisting the sizzle between them—is Sasha’s best defence. But there’s more to him than she thought, which changes everything. With what matters most at stake, she’ll have to risk a brand-new future with John, or walk away from the man whose heart belongs to her.

Buy Links:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble

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Bio

Rachel lives with her husband and two young daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in 2011. In 2012, she sold two books to Harlequin Superromance and a further three in 2013. She also writes Victorian romance for Kensington–her debut was released in April 2013 and she has since signed for three more.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family and beloved black Lab, Max. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.

She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her readers and fellow romance writers. Rachel would love to hear from you!

Links:

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

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Many thanks for dropping by today Rachel!

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny

Lots of Coffee and a Book Launch

The official book launch, and signing session for my best seller Another Cup of Coffee, in my local branch of Costa began with a huge smile spreading across my face, when I saw the plaque that had been fixed to the wall next the table where I sit and write everyday!!

corner

What a wonderful to start to an amazing day! A start that was improved even further when the local business Lilliepop’s Lane presented me with this gorgeous wooden cup!!

Jades cup

From 10.30 I had the pleasure of talking to, selling to, and signing books for, a wonderfully friendly group of people, who came along to buy, not just Another Cup of Coffee, but my latest novel, Romancing Robin Hood as well. The lovely Mike from the Tiverton Gazette came by, as did our lovely mayor, Sue Grigson.

I had so much fun!!!

Costa book signing

 

I even had a little  ‘Over 18’s’ corner tucked away for Kay!

Cosat signing, Kay's corner

I would like to extend a HUGE thank you to the people of Tiverton for their support today, and to the wonderful staff of Costa Tiverton, who have been so welcoming, and have helped make the event a great success!!

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny xx

The Story Behind Another Cup of Coffee

With all the excitement of my first romance novel, Another Cup of Coffee, hitting the mainstream book shelves, I’ve been thinking back to how that particular novel first saw the light of day. It was certainly a long time in the making!

RRH paperback

 Blurb

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 was 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 bucket-sized cup of coffee, as she goes forth to lay the ghost of first love to rest…

***

As the blurb says, it took Amy thirteen years to come to her senses and sort her life out – it took me thirteen years to write how she did just that! Not that I’ve been sat puzzling at the pages everyday in all that time- far from it.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin the story of my story…

The idea for Another Cup of Coffee came to me all that time ago, but was originally only intended to be a short story for a competition. I had never written a story before beyond the requirements of school homework, although I had written poetry, some of which I’d been lucky enough to have published. The story, Getting It Back, was all about a quiet girl, who’s cut herself off from her old life after her heart had been broken, and told of how, out of the blue, a package had arrived through the post that made her look at her life afresh. That package was an old fashioned cassette tape, which had a variety of different songs recorded onto it- as was the craze in the 1980’s and early 90’s.

That short story was not well written, and quite rightly got nowhere at all. I gave up writing after that. I’d only entered the competition so that I had a project to do that would occupy my mind and keep me awake. I had a one year old at the time- and she never slept and was a pain to feed- totally the opposite of now bless her!!

So the story was shelved, and I didn’t go back to it for two years went, you guessed it- I had another child- and I remembered the story I’d written. Being the type of person who never throws anything away, I dug it back out, and in fits and bursts I turned it into a novel based on my experiences as a student, my time as an archaeologist, and a friends music obsession.

I’ll be honest- it was not a good read. So again, I shelved it.

Then, a few years later my children went to school- and as is fairly well documented, I had an idea for a very different type of story- an erotic story which I simply had to write down. The result was a persona I called Kay Jaybee.

Such was the unexpected success of Kay Jaybee, that I had no time to look at my first early attempt at a novel for years. I also had no confidence in it at all. I had become Kay, and Kay was good at stories that oozed kink- I wasn’t sure I could do a story that kept the pages turning without it.

I love writing as Kay- she has had one hell of a ride over the last ten years, and has a fair handful of novels, novellas and short stories under her belt- but last year I decided that the time had come to prove to myself that I could do more- and so I rewrote Another Cup of Coffee– and to my surprise it was snapped up…

So- if you fancy delving into the story of Amy, her ex boyfriend Jack, and his best friend, erotica writer and Mum, Kit (sound familiar at all????), then why not give Another Cup of Coffee a sip

You can buy Another Cup of Coffee as either a paperback or an eBook from Amazon and all good online and high street book stores

Amazon UK- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-Cup-Coffee-Jenny-Kane/dp/1783751126/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377605533&sr=8-1&keywords=another+cup+of+coffee

Amazon US – http://www.amazon.com/Another-Cup-Coffee-Jenny-Kane/dp/1783751126/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377605667&sr=8-1&keywords=another+cup+of+coffee+jenny+kane

And if you happen to be in the Devon area of the UK, you can come along to my Book Launch on 29th September and by a signed copy! Click here for details.

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Happy reading,

Jenny

Romancing Robin Hood- OUT NOW in Paperback!

Following hot on the heels of its eBook release, I’m proud to be able to announce that my new novel, Romancing Robin Hood is now available in paperback on Amazon, and all good online paperback retailer!!

RRH paperback

Romancing Robin Hood – Blurb

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…

Buy Links

Amazon UK  Paperback

Amazon UK Ebook

Amazon.com Paperback

Amazon.com Ebook

 

Happy reading,

Jenny xxx

 

 

Being Brave, Drinking Coffee, and Coming Out- Writer Style!

It’s taken ten years for me to summon up the courage to agree to be interviewed locally about my work- not just my Jenny Kane romance side, but my Kay Jaybee erotica side as well.

It isn’t that I’m ashamed of what I do- far from it- but with the majority of my writing over the past decade being of an extremely kinky nature and, whether we like it or not, there will always be those people who will judge the erotica writer harshly for what they do. There are those who, without even reading the words, will label erotica as ‘dirty’ or ‘bad’, or ‘filth’ (which is a word I hate, and hurts me every time I hear it). Consequently, I’ve always held back from shouting about it on the home front.

At the end of this month however, I’m launching my Jenny Kane novel, Another Cup of Coffee in my local Costa, and so obviously my ‘Jenny’ side has to become known- and then I got to thinking, why not my ‘Kay’ side as well. Why not, after 10 years of being out there internationally, being open about my writing closer to home?

E-book Cover

E-book Cover

Obviously I asked my family first- my children in particular. They- as ever- were incredibly supportive, and with cries of ‘Go for it Mum’ ringing in my ears, I finally agreed to allow some cross genre PR to be published on my doorstep.

If you’d like to read the article in question, ‘Bondage to baristas with a few cups of black coffee’- then here it is…

http://www.middevongazette.co.uk/Bondage-baristas-cups-black-coffee/story-22896988-detail/story.html#ixzz3CzymPdtj

This newspaper article came out this week, and what an odd but lovely week it has been! Sat in my usual spot in Costa, where I write all day, I’ve felt a little like I’ve been a goldfish in a bowl- but in a nice way.  I was beginning to think perhaps people weren’t covertly looking at me after all- maybe I was being paranoid and imagining the whole thing- until the staff told me that, no I wasn’t being paranoid, people really were staring at me! I can’t help laughing- it’s all so British- no one says anything, everyone just as a good ole look! Until yesterday that is- when three total strangers asked for my autograph and a lovely elderly couple came up to me to say how lovely my photo in the paper was- I’m still blushing!

tiv gaz 3

On the other hand, no pitchforks or flaming torches have appeared to chase me down the street, no one has said anything horrid, or been unkind in any way- for which I am incredibly grateful.

I love my writing so much- I love that I sit in my little café spot everyday, sometimes writing romances, sometimes erotica, sometimes children’s stories. I’m so lucky to be able to do such a job all day!

So if you’d like to come along to my local Costa, pick up a signed copy of Another Cup of Coffee, then I’d love to see you on the 29th Sept! All details here.

I’d like to thank everyone at Costa for allowing me to take over one of their coffee shops so often, and to Tina at the Mid Devon Gazette for being so much fun!!

See you soon,

Jenny xx

 

 

From the Bedroom to the Stable…Guest Post from Zara Stoneley

Today I’m delighted to welcome fellow erotica and romance writer Zara Stoneley, to talk about her latest work- a real bonkbuster of a novel! Over to you Zara…

From the bedroom to the stable…

Stable Mates by Zara Stoneley

After two years of writing erotic romance I noticed a trend – my stories were heading from the bedroom to the stable! Okay, a lot of the naughtiness in my books hasn’t taken place exclusively in the bedroom, but I did find the story lines were inevitably drawing me away from the erotic and into the Cheshire countryside.

Why? Well the UK countryside is my home, but it’s more than that. I have spent years surrounded by dogs and horses, by wonderful riders and country characters (not to mention hot farriers). And from being a teenager I’ve always loved reading ‘bonkbusters’. It started with Jilly Cooper many years ago, and now I still love her books and other similar ones by authors such as Fiona Walker.

I’d toyed with the idea of writing a ‘bonkbuster’ myself, but then when my editor at HarperCollins actually asked if I’d consider writing one it sealed the deal.

Stable Mates has been inspired by the fabulous people and places I’ve known for a long time, and by the contrasts you can find in Cheshire. What happens when the traditions of an idyllic country village are threatened by the very different values of its upmarket neighbours? Will the welly brigade let the WAG’s invade – or can they carry on living in harmony?

Zara Stoneley Stable mates cover

Stable Mates

Blurb –

Secrets and scandals, love and lust – when the ‘Cheshire Set’ are up against the ‘Footballer’s Wives’ the only common ground is carnal… Flirting and fun seem the perfect antidote for Lottie’s battered heart, and where better to find them than back in tranquil Tippermere, home of sexy eventer Rory Steel, the smiling Irish eyes of hunky farrier Mick O’Neal, and mysterious newcomer, model Tom Strachan? But when landowner Marcus James drops dead unexpectedly, and the threat of his waggish wife Amanda selling the heart of the village out from under them looms large, things look like they’re about to heat up in and out of the saddle. With tensions running high, and the champagne flowing as freely as the adrenalin, is it any wonder that love catches more than one of them unawares?

Buy links –

Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Kobo   Foyles  Waterstones

Sainsbury’s      Google Play        iTunes    Blackwells

Early reviews – ‘a delightful romp peppered with humour, sadness, scandal and steamy sex.’ ‘Loved it, so funny.’

Thanks so much for having me here today, Jenny!

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Zara Stoneley author photo

Short Bio

Bestselling author Zara Stoneley lives in deepest Cheshire surrounded by horses, dogs, cats and amazing countryside. When she’s not visiting wine bars, artisan markets or admiring the scenery in her sexy high heels or green wellies, she can be found in flip flops on the beach in Barcelona, or more likely sampling the tapas!

Zara writes hot romance and bonkbusters. Her latest novel, ‘Stable Mates’, is a fun romp through the Cheshire countryside and combines some of her greatest loves – horses, dogs, hot men and strong women (and not forgetting champagne and fast cars)!

She writes for Harper Collins and Accent Press.

Find out more about Zara:

Website      Twitter        Facebook        Google+

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Thanks ever so much Zara,

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny xx

 

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