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

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Guest Post from Sophie Croft: Indigo’s Dragon

I’m pleased to welcome another first time blogger to my site today! The wonderful Sophie Croft is here to tell us about her debut novel, Indigo’s Dragon.

Over to you Sophie…

Indigo Dragon

Thank you, Jenny, for hosting my first ever blog. I am delighted to be here, talking about my debut novel Indigo’s Dragon.

I thought I would start by answering the five questions I have most frequently been asked since the publication of Indigo’s Dragon.

What age range is the book for?

I don’t like this question! When asked it, I generally do one of two things:

  1. Plunge into a ramble about the evils of the age banding of books (I just did, and had to delete it before it filled the whole of my first blog with that one topic).
  2. Say ‘around 9-14’, and then suggest the book might be enjoyed by both younger and older readers too. After all, I think people of all ages can appreciate the delights of getting lost in a fantasy adventure with a few dragons and monsters …

What’s the book about?

Monsters, dragons … a boy called Indigo who goes on a journey and discovers some truths about his family that change him forever.

What inspired you to write it?

Lots of different things. In particular …

  • Fairy tales. Especially Polish ones, and especially the Dragon of Krakow.
  • Walking with my children in the beautiful valley in the Lake District where we live; telling stories along the way, finding evidence of monsters, and dragon lairs.
  • My son’s love of even the most deadly creatures. For example, on reading about the cockatrice and its death darting gaze, he said it was ‘cute’ and that he would like one as a pet.

How do you find the time to write?

It is difficult. I have two young children who I home educate, and I also work from home as a tutor. Basically, I write whenever I can! I take ten minutes here … an hour there. Some of the early drafts of Indigo were written in pencil, in a notebook, by the side of the river while my children splashed in the water. I write when the children are playing contentedly, when they are watching a movie, or sleeping. Some days I get nothing done, other days I do. But I keep trying, because I love to write.

A Lake District dragon, hiding in one of my favourite writing spots.

(I must credit www.seenicksphotography.co.uk for this beautiful photograph)

How did you get published?

I sent Indigo’s Dragon to three carefully selected agents listed in the Writers and Artists Yearbook. Although one of them had some very positive feedback, they all eventually said something along the lines of ‘after careful consideration we are not able to offer you representation’. By the time the third rejection arrived I was already deeply involved in writing another book, and I shelved Indigo and almost forgot about it.

Then I heard Accent Press were starting a brand new YA imprint (YA Café) so I sent Indigo off, and a few days later I received a wonderful e-mail which began ‘Hi Sophie, I’ve read Indigo’s Dragon and I really enjoyed it!’

***

Having answered the questions I am most frequently asked, I would like to finish off by answering five questions I would much rather be asked:

Do you believe in dragons and monsters?

Yes, absolutely. Don’t you? Scientists estimate that over 80% of species are still undiscovered, and that is just on this planet …

Have you ever seen a dragon or a monster?

I saw them more often when I was younger, and my children see them more than me.

Are there many dragons in the Lake District?

Yes, several, although there are more in the Polish mountains.

Doesn’t the world have enough stories about dragons?

No. There can never be enough stories about dragons.

What are you writing now?

The third Indigo book. I finished writing the sequel, Indigo’s Demons, just before Christmas (hopefully it will also be published soon!) and have just started a third book, which might be called Indigo’s Ocean or Indigo’s Depths and will contain a sea monster or two. Writing it is proving to be a great way to relive some of the scuba dives I did in my youth. And on that note, I shall get back to work …

Indigo’s Dragon Synopsis:

Fans of How to Train your Dragon, Harry Potter, and Percy Jackson will love the debut novel Indigo’s Dragon, a tale of adventure, mystery, and a legendary trip where he encounters a monster or two …  Indigo lives in the Lake District, and spends his time exploring the mountains he loves. An unexpected parcel arrives containing a first aid kit inside his grandfather’s satchel. Indigo’s curiosity is raised as he looks through his grandfather’s notebook to discover drawings of mythical creatures.  Strange things begin to happen and Indigo finds himself treating an injured magpie-cat, curing a cockatrice of its death-darting gaze, and defending a dragon. Indigo realises he must uncover the secrets his family have kept hidden, and travels alone to the Polish mountains to search for his grandfather and the truth.  Danger looms as events spiral out of control, and Indigo needs to make choices that change him, his world, and his future forever…

 Sophie Croft

Sophie Croft’s Biography:

  1. Croft was born in Swansea, and spent much of her youth exploring the beaches on the Gower peninsula, looking for evidence of sea monsters.  At Liverpool University she studied prehistoric monsters, amongst other things, and learned to Scuba Dive (so she could continue searching for sea monsters under the waves).  She worked as a Geologist (investigating underground monsters), before becoming a Science Teacher (to seek out and educate young monsters).  She now lives in the Lake District with her family, where she walks the fells and canoes the lakes, searching for monsters and other wildlife.

Links:

Indigo’s Dragon on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Indigos-Dragon-S-Croft-ebook/dp/B00PG0JZWI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415789684&sr=8-1&keywords=indigos+dragon

Sophie Croft on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Author.S.Croft

Sophie Croft on Pinterest:

http://www.pinterest.com/0ecqplpit8red42/

//www.pinterest.com/0ecqplpit8red42/

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Many thanks Sophie- what a fantastic blog! I firmly believe in dragons!

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

New Novel- Stage 2: Chapter 1-5 and Cover Reveal

Even though I’ve only just started writing the fourth part of the Another Cup of…series, I’m pleased to be able to share the cover of Another Glass of Champagne with you already!!!

Another Glass of Champagne_edited-1

One of the biggest challenges I face when starting a new novel, is actually finding the time to settle down and write those vital first few chapters.

It isn’t that I ever put off writing, or that I am prevaricating. It’s that, like many writers, I’m not working on only one project at a time. I always have a couple of books, all at various stages, on the go- if I didn’t, there would only be one or two new stories a year.

So while I have been cracking on at full throttle with the introduction chapters of Another Glass of Champagne, I’ve also been editing my latest Kay Jaybee book, The New Room, and setting up some marketing promotions for the novel I wrote before Christmas- Abi’s House. You may think this is a hardly unorganised situation, but believe me, it’s totally normal!!

Over the last fortnight, my mornings have been spent drafting out chapters for AGOChampagne, and my afternoons editing New Room- as well as going to work of course.

The introductory chapters of a novel, especially of a sequel, are the ones I find the most difficult to write. It is tricky to get the balance right when you are reintroducing previously established characters for those readers who have read the earlier books in the series, while getting lots of information across about the characters to new readers- without boring the former! (I’m not sure that made sense- but you know what I mean!!). At the same time, it is also vital to move the story along. These factors make writing the first 5 chapters a touch challenge- once they are done however, life is so much less stressful!

Today I hit that wonderful 5 chapters into the novel draft mark (and I finished editing The New Room!)

Tomorrow I can’t wait to crack on with the Chapter 6!!

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

 

 

An Interview with Caroline Dunford- The Euphemia Martins series

I’m welcoming the brilliant Caroline Dunford, author of Euphemia Martins Series, to my site today. Why not grab yourself a cuppa, and sit down for five minutes, and check out this great interview!

 
What inspired you to write your book?

The Euphemia Martins series is one of those ideas that arrived all in a rush but still continues to unfold. The stories are set in a time that I love but with which I also have a very personal connection.

The heart of my novels is inspired by a family legend. My great-grandmother came from a very wealthy background but, after a falling out with her father, was forced to make her own way in the world. Euphemia is forced by the death of her father, and her mother’s estrangement from her own father, an Earl, to also go into service.

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My great-grandmother had the choice of becoming a ‘fallen woman’ or going into service so she chose to enter service as a maid. However, a life of luxury had not prepared her mentally or physically for any kind of work. Her story led to her meeting a handsome tobacconist and a marriage that saw her eventually escape from service and go on to have thirteen children, all of whom survived to adulthood. She never reconciled with her family and stayed poor all her life, but I like to think she was happy. I also think she was an enormously brave woman, and while Euphemia has not (yet) escaped service by marriage, her central characteristics are her bravery, her wits, her innate sense of justice and, of course, the most potent weapon of any virtuous young woman, her scream.

The Euphemia Martins Mysteries are set between 1910 and 1918. It is a time I have long been fascinated by. So much happened and so much changed. Not least the breakdown of the class system and the rise of the Suffragettes. In the decade before WWI the majority of the British population had no idea what was about to happen but, behind the scenes, all the pieces were being lined up for war. During the war itself people at all levels were challenged in terrible ways and certainly the beginning of the end for most of the Great Houses of Britain.

Do you model any of your characters after people you know? If so, do these people see themselves in your characters?

No. My life, and the people I meet, inspire me, but generally the people I know are far too complex and far too odd for any reader to ever believe in them! Euphemia is the only person who has a figure of real world inspiration although, of course, I never met her.

What type of research did you have to do for your book?

I spend a lot of time visiting the Great Houses of Britain (sadly, as a visitor buying a ticket at the door rather than as a guest). I also investigate the major historical incidents and societal shifts that took place during Euphemia’s life. I want to keep my heroine rooted in events of the time. She is not always at the heart of things, but when major incidents, like the sinking of the Titanic, take place it has an effect on her. And then, of course, there is that sneaky spy Fitzroy who has made his way more and more into the novels and led to me investigating the many elements espionage of the time.

Which Point of View do you prefer to write in and why?

I write entirely from Euphemia’s point of view. She is caught between the worlds of upstairs and downstairs and so has a very unique perspective. While she is intelligent, Euphemia is also very naïve and this may mean the reader sees more in her narrative than she herself understands. This is hopefully intriguing, but also often comical. Euphemia is also uniquely placed to comment on what she sees, especially as her deceased father has gifted her with an innate and unshiftable sense of justice in world where the rich can overrule the legal system and the servants (and the poor in general) do not expect to receive justice. Euphemia is an outsider, an unusually modern voice for her time and someone who regularly challenges the rules, not to mention the people around her. However, just because she challenges, it does not always mean she is necessarily successful in her desire to bring justice.

Do you prefer to plot your story or just go with the flow?

I always know the murder mystery at the heart of the novel. I often make reference to historical events, which I have to plan how to weave into the novel. However, as the series develops the characters are taking on much more of a life of their own, and side plots (romance, conflicts, passions etc.) often develop as I am writing the stories. I have to keep the mystery on track, but at the same time allow for the organic development of my somewhat headstrong characters. Bertram, Euphemia, Rory and the slippery Fitzroy are all rather persistent and stubborn characters that push for more and more time in the limelight!

What is your writing regime?

When I am writing a book (which is most of the time) I aim for at least 2,500 words a day. I like to write earlier on in the day, so I know my main work for the day is accomplished. As well as writing I spend a fair amount of time on publicity and social media, as well as research. Writing is often the fun and easy part of my day.

Euphemia Martins Books available

Currently there are six Euphemia books available. In chronological order these are

A Death in the Family

A Death in the Highlands

A Death in the Asylum

A Death in the Wedding Party

A Death in the Pavilion

A Death in the Loch

(A Death for King and Country is will be published very shortly.)

All books are available in both ebook and print form.

Thank you Jenny, for the great interview. I love being able to reach out to my readers.

Links

http://www.accentpress.co.uk/Contributor/10221/Caroline-Dunford.html

https://www.facebook.com/CarolineDunford

Find me on twitter as @verdandiweaves

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Bio

After time spent as a journalist and a psychotherapist I became a full-time author and playwright in 2002. I write murder mysteries, contemporary Scottish romance and YA. My plays cover a variety of subjects from the life of Burke and Hare to what can happen to you if you are an over dedicated Elvis fan!

How we interact as human beings has been a life-long fascination for me, and even led me to do a second degree is psychology. I believe that stories are at the heart of the human condition. We need to tell them to help understand the world and others around us.

I live in a cottage by the sea with my partner, my two young sons and an awful lot of on-going building repairs. I love reading, cooking, chatting with friends and learning.

***

Many thanks for such fantastic interview answers Caroline.

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny xx

 

COVER & BLURB REVEAL- Abi’s House

It’s not long now until my next novel, Abi’s House, will be ready to hit the shelves!

Here is the first glimpse of the cover and blurb!!

Abi's House_edited-1

Blurb

Newly widowed at barely thirty, Abi Carter is desperate to escape the Stepford Wives-style life that Luke, her late husband, had been so keen for her to live.

Abi decides to fulfil a lifelong dream. As a child on holiday in a Cornwall as a child she fell in love with a cottage – the prophetically named Abbey’s House. Now she is going to see if she can find the place again, relive the happy memories … maybe even buy a place of her own nearby?

On impulse Abi sets off to Cornwall, where a chance meeting in a village pub brings new friends Beth and Max into her life. Beth, like Abi, has a life-changing decision to make. Max, Beth’s best mate, is new to the village. He soon helps Abi track down the house of her dreams … but things aren’t quite that simple. There’s the complicated life Abi left behind, including her late husband’s brother, Simon – a man with more than friendship on his mind … Will Abi’s house remain a dream, or will the bricks and mortar become a reality?

 

Pre order links coming soon!!

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

 

Guest Post from Marie Laval: A SPELL IN PROVENCE

I’m delighted to welcome fellow Accent Press author, Marie Laval, to my site today to share a little about the writing of her fantastic new novel.

Over to you Marie…

ASpellinProvence3

 

Hello Jenny and thank you very much for welcoming me on your blog today to talk about A SPELL IN PROVENCE, my contemporary romance suspense recently published by Áccent Press.

Every writer knows how important it is to give the protagonists the right name – it’s important for every single character in the story, but it is even more crucial for the hero and the heroine. When I started writing A SPELL IN PROVENCE, I knew straight away that I wanted my hero to be called Fabien – it was the name of a character in a French television series I adored, back in the eighties. I did however write the first draft of the novel with a heroin called Alex. I liked the name and felt it worked well … up to a point.

I put the book aside to complete another project, and when I returned to it a few months later, I became increasingly dissatisfied with my heroine. Something was missing, both in her personality and in her interaction with Fabien. I realised I needed to make a drastic change. I still wanted her to be determined, brave and resilient. She was after all starting a new life in an old farmhouse in Provence. She had to face a series of strange and dangerous incidents and investigate the ancient mysteries surrounding Bellefontaine. However I also saw her as a bit of a dreamer – as having a softer side. Alex wasn’t the right name any longer. It was too pragmatic, too direct for the woman I now wanted to write about.

One day a new name popped into my mind and I knew this was the one: Amy. It was perfect. Not only was it short and had a lovely sweet ring to it, but I could soften it even further as her relationship with Fabien Coste grew. He would call her ‘Aimée’, which is both a woman’s name and the French for ‘beloved’.

Changing my heroine’s name, and personality, meant an exhaustive rewrite, but at last I was happy!

****

Blurb

With few roots in England and having just lost her job, Amy Carter decides to give up on home and start a new life in France, spending her redundancy package turning an overgrown Provençal farmhouse, Bellefontaine, into a successful hotel. Though she has big plans for her new home, none of them involves falling in love – least of all with Fabien Coste, the handsome but arrogant owner of a nearby château.  As romance blossoms, eerie and strange happenings in Bellefontaine hint at a dark mystery of the Provençal countryside which dates back many centuries and holds an entanglement between the ladies of Bellefontaine and the ducs de Coste at its centre. As Amy works to unravel the mystery, she begins to wonder if it may not just be her heart at risk, but her life too.

Buy Links:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spell-Provence-Marie-Laval-ebook/dp/B00RVQO8RM/ref=sr_1_8?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1420651912&sr=1-8&keywords=accent+press

http://www.accentpress.co.uk/Book/13421/A-Spell-in-Provence.html

Snippet

He looked down. The light of the rising sun played on his face and made his green eyes seem deep and warm. Time slowed down. The noise from the crowd became muffled and distant, and all she could hear was the crystalline spring water trickling in the old fountain. The spring that ran through the forest between Manoir Coste and Bellefontaine and bound hearts and lives together, or so the spell said … Her heartbeat slowed, or maybe it stopped altogether. It was as if Fabien and she were alone. Desire, fear and another feeling she didn’t recognise overwhelmed her and made her dizzy.

MarieLaval (2)

Marie Laval Bio

Originally from Lyon in France, Marie studied History and Law at university there before moving to Lancashire in England where she worked in a variety of jobs, from PA in a busy university department to teacher of French in schools and colleges. Writing, however, was always her passion, and she spends what little free time she has dreaming and making up stories. Her historical romances ANGEL HEART and THE LION’S EMBRACE are published by MuseItUp Publishing. A SPELL IN PROVENCE is her first contemporary romance. It is published by Áccent Press.

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Great blog! Many thanks Marie.

You can find out more about Marie’s work on her blog- http://marielaval.blogspot.co.uk/

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny xx

 

Guest Post by Helena Fairfax: New Beginnings

I am delighted to introduce my very first guest blogger of 2015 today! Please welcome my fellow Accent author, the lovely Helena Fairfax.
Over to you Helena…

New beginnings

A new year is the time when most of us try to make some sort of improvement to our lives. The month of January takes its name from the Roman god Janus, who was the god of new beginnings and transitions. January is a time of year I usually love, as it means a feeling of being “cleansed” and ready to start life afresh with a clean slate.

For some people, though, the New Year can be a time of terrible sadness. If you’ve suffered a recent bereavement, it’s incredibly difficult to look forward with any sort of hope to the future; for the bereaved, the new year often means looking back to the past and the heartache of dwelling on times that are gone.

A Way from Heart to Heart-1

The heroine of my latest novel, A Way from Heart to Heart, suffers the agony of loss when the husband she is devoted to is killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. It’s the latest in a long line of losses for Kate Hemingway, and in an attempt to prevent further hurt, she’s developed a hard shell around herself.

At the start of my story, Kate has mentally removed herself from the world around her, and her son, George, and her best friend, Orla, are the only people she allows herself to be close to. Kate spends her free time helping disadvantaged teenage girls, one of whom is a refugee from Afghanistan. I took the theme of my story from an old Afghan proverb: ‘There is a way from heart to heart.’ My story is filled with differences in culture: between town and country, between East and West, between rich and poor. And yet despite all these differences, where basic emotions are concerned, the human heart is the same the world over, with the same capacity to for love, and the same ability to endure, despite all the odds.

At the core of my book is a romance, which is the story of Kate’s growing love for the hero, Paul Farrell. But A Way from Heart to Heart also deals with the love between best friends, between families, and with the intensity of teenage love. ‘There is a way from heart to heart’ is the positive, uplifting message I wanted to leave readers with at the end of my novel. I was delighted to read this five-star review on Amazon shortly after the book was released, which said, “Sad in places but lovely book.” I think that summed up what I was trying to achieve!

A Way from Heart to Heart was released by Accent Press on 18th November.

Here is the blurb:

After the death of her husband in Afghanistan, Kate Hemingway’s world collapses around her. Her free time is spent with a charity for teenage girls in London, helping them mend their broken lives – which is ironic, since her own life is fractured beyond repair.

Reserved, public school journalist Paul Farrell is everything Kate and her teenage charges aren’t. But when Paul agrees to help Kate with her charity on a trip to the Yorkshire moors, he makes a stunning revelation that changes everything, and leaves Kate torn.

Can she risk her son’s happiness as well as her own?

 ***

Amazon Buy Link: http://authl.it/B00PQRJ0WQ

Helena Fairfax photo

Social links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelenaFairfax

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelenaFairfax

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/helenafairfax/

Blog: www.helenafairfax.com

Bio:

Helena Fairfax writes engaging contemporary romances with sympathetic heroines and heroes she’s secretly in love with. Happy endings are her favourite, and when the ending of one of her novels won a reader competition for “The Most Romantic Love Scene Ever” it made her day. Helena was born in Uganda and came to England as a child. She’s grown used to the cold now, and these days she lives in an old Victorian mill town in Yorkshire. After many years working in factories and dark, satanic mills, Helena has turned to writing full-time. She walks the Yorkshire moors every day with her rescue dog, finding this romantic landscape the perfect place to dream up her heroes and her happy endings.

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Many thanks for dropping by today Helena.

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny xx

 

Interview with Maggie Cammiss

I have the lovely Maggie Cammiss with me today for a pre-Christmas cuppa.

Why not put your feet up for five minutes, and join me in finding out the background story to Maggie’s writing and her latest novel, No News is Good News?
maggies cover

What inspired you to write your book?

It’s a bit of a cliché these days, but the old advice to write about what you know certainly worked for me. Most of my working life has been spent in a TV news environment; I have enough material for several books and it would be a pity to waste it.

Do you model any of your characters after people you know? If so, do these people see themselves in your characters?

I’ve changed all the names to protect the guilty! Seriously, I try really hard not to characterize specific people, but inevitably, I think, aspects of personalities creep in. The trick is to disguise them by changing their age and/or sex so they don’t recognise themselves.

What type of research did you have to do for your book?

For No News is Good News, my working life was enough. For the next one, there are some psychological and social issues to research.

Which Point of View do you prefer to write in and why?

I write a lot of short stories in the first person, but 3rd person limited, where all the action is seen from the heroine’s point of view, seems to work best for my novels.

Do you prefer to plot your story or just go with the flow?

When I first started writing I didn’t believe people when they told me that my characters would have their own opinions about what was going to happen. They are my creations, I thought; they will do as I say! Wrong. So, I like to start with some idea of where I’m going, but inevitably the characters take over and I end up in some pretty interesting situations that I didn’t plan. And for that, I thank them.

What is your writing regime?

I don’t stick to a rigid timetable. I work for The History of Advertising Trust two days a week, where I am their Project Developer, and we also have my mum in law living in the annex. She suffers from Alzheimer’s, so interruptions are a part of daily life. I make an awful lot of notes in the dead of night – I’ve even got a pen with a light on the end.

What excites you the most about your book?

That it’s finished and published! I can’t tell you how satisfying that feels. And I think it’s a good read that hopefully lots of people will enjoy. Joining the online community has also been a huge revelation – there are so many genuinely supportive and encouraging people out there.

If you were stranded on a desert island with three other people, fictional or real, who would they be and why?

I’d love to spend time with Stephen King, an absolute master story-teller – hopefully some of his skill would rub off on me as I scribbled away. I’d also include Annie Lennox, to teach me how to sing and Rory McIlroy, who could help with my golf!

Anything else you’d like to share with us?

To anyone contemplating writing a novel and beset with doubts, I’d say – get on with it! Otherwise, how will you know?

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Bio

I am constantly inspired by the written word. Always an avid reader, the first years of my working life were spent in public libraries. Later, I moved into film archives, and in 1989 joined Sky News when the channel first launched. At the end of 2005, after over ten years as Head of the News Library, I left London with my partner to see what life outside the M25 had to offer. We settled in Norfolk, I joined a local writing group and started to write seriously.

I came away from the hectic environment of a 24-hour rolling news channel with a gift: masses of background material for a novel. Having almost completed No News is Good News, I succeeded in the NaNoWriMo challenge 2012 with the first 50,000 words of the second in the series. I also write short stories, some of which I read on local radio, and our writing group has just self-published an anthology of our work.

I work part time for the History of Advertising Trust, the archive to the UK advertising industry, where I write news items for our website and the Trust’s regular e-newsletter, occasional articles for the press, book reviews and promotions, and develop new revenue streams to help keep the charity afloat.

Nick and I are finally getting married next year, so there’s a wedding to arrange in 2015, as well as novel No2 to finish. Happy days!

If you’d like to find out more about Maggie and her writing you can find her via these links-

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

Blog:          http://maggiecammiss.com

Amazon:     http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=maggie+cammiss&rh=n%3A266239%2Ck%3Amaggie+cammiss

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Many thanks for stopping by today Maggie- and huge congratulations on your forthcoming wedding.

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

 

 

 

 

Guest Post from Celia J Anderson: Starting Again

I’m delighted to welcome Celia J Anderson back to my site today on Day 7 of her blog tour, celebrating her brand new novel, Little Boxes.

Over to you Celia…

Today’s theme is starting again. In Little Boxes, Molly is faced with the challenge of making a new life and getting to grips (in more ways than one) with a brand new man. Tom knows he’s the right one for Molly, but she finds it very hard to leave her past behind.

Little Boxes by Celia J Anderson - 200

Here’s the story of my own fresh start:

The man stood in the doorway of the restaurant. Breakfast time in San Francisco – crisp winter sunshine, trays of fresh fruit, snowy linen cloths and a woman by his side, for a change. He had left England under a thick blanket of snow, the February skies mournful and grey. Here, the cold was sparkling, clean and energising and the Golden Gate Bridge soared high over the sea. Following him to a table by the wide window overlooking the bay, the woman said ‘I’m sorry; I’m not very hungry, are you?’

He smiled, picking up one of the enormous menus. ‘No, but that’s not a problem – we’ll just order the smallest thing we can find. What about French toast and fruit; is that ok? Do you like French toast?’ Signalling to the waiter, he realised with a stab of alarm that he knew next to nothing about her.

‘I like everything! It’s just that I still get a weird lump in my throat sometimes when I try to eat, even after all these months. And this week, coming over here to a strange place, especially to go to Matt’s wedding – well, it’s hard, isn’t it?’

The man nodded. He’d never talked about his grief to anyone before, ‘Sometimes I just feel guilty for still being alive, to be able to eat great food and drink chilled wine and see the sunset, and go out walking.’

‘And go to new places, and meet people, and make new friends…’ she agreed. Her eyes were suddenly full of tears and the man blinked in sympathy. There was a silence, and he tentatively reached for her hand. ‘I know, it’s a bugger, isn’t it?’

The waiter brought their order and they laughed, breaking the tension. The plates were so loaded that the toast spilled over the edges, and the enormous slices of watermelon dwarfed the heaps of strawberries and kiwi. He looked at her and felt a sharp pang when he saw green eyes instead of blue. He didn’t know that she was seeing blue eyes when she had half expected green.

‘So much for a light breakfast,’ he said.

Later, as they wandered along the boardwalk, a street trader stopped them in their tracks, holding out a handful of black t-shirts hopefully. The man shook his head, ‘Sorry, we don’t need anything today.’

‘Hey, you got no choice, dude – you gotta pay the forfeit.’

‘Forfeit?’

‘That’s what I said, didn’t I? You’re out here, in the most beautiful bay in the world, on the most romantic day of the year, and you ain’t holdin’ the lady’s hand. That’ll be ten dollars, and the t-shirt’s free.’

The man and the woman exchanged sheepish glances, both blushing. ‘But…I don’t really know her,’ he stuttered.

‘Yeah, right – who you tryin’ to kid? Gimme the ten dollars, and you got a deal.’

Grinning, the man dug out a note from his wallet, and handed the t-shirt to the woman. ‘Happy Valentine’s Day,’ he said.

They were married in December, 2008. Neither of them ever wore the t-shirt.

tourbutton_littleboxes

Extract:

After the day of the capsized chair, Tom began to feel seriously disappointed if he didn’t bump into Molly at least once a week. Sometimes she waved, but usually she was too preoccupied with trying to hold on to Max.

Tom thought she was absolutely beautiful. He often wondered what sort of man would be lucky enough to live with his Lady in Red. Maybe she was married to someone who worked away, or had a job with unsociable hours? Or maybe she was on her own with the children, struggling to make ends meet? He speculated as he painted, watching for Molly out of the corner of his eye, ready to look busy whenever she appeared, but aware of her every move.

But then one day in June, just when Tom had decided that Molly must be a single parent waiting for a new partner to come along and sweep her off her feet, Tom spotted Theo, Hattie and Max walking along the promenade with a gangly, spiky-haired man. He was urging them forwards with quick movements of his hands, frowning at Theo who stuck her tongue out at him and hissed something under her breath. They all laughed at this, and Tom heard the man shout, ‘Theo – your mum’ll go mad when she hears what you just said.’

‘But you won’t tell, will you, Daddy?’ said the little boy, catching hold of the man’s hand and swinging it to get his attention.

‘No, don’t, Dad – she didn’t mean it. She’s in enough trouble already this week,’ Hattie chipped in.

‘Well, whose fault’s that? She should never have got that tattoo. You knew how your mum felt about it, didn’t you, Theo? After last time, I thought you’d have had more sense.’

‘It’s only a little dragonfly. She loves dragonflies. I didn’t think she’d mind.’

The man sniffed. ‘Come on, Mum’ll be waiting for us at the restaurant by now so we can eat together for once. She won’t like being kept hanging around, will she?’

Tom hadn’t painted that day, but had been sitting looking out over the sea thinking about the future. He turned his wheelchair and kept within earshot of the family, feeling uncomfortably like a stalker but following at a discreet distance until they came to a doorway under a striped awning.

Blurb:

Suddenly bereaved, Molly White realises that she has never really known her feisty husband Jake when random boxes begin to appear through the post, each one containing a tantalising clue to the secrets of Jake and Molly’s past. Someone who knows them both well, for reasons of their own, has planned a trail of discovery. The clues seem to be designed to change Molly’s life completely, leading her around Britain and then onwards to rural France and deepest Bavaria.

Meanwhile, waiting in the wings is Tom, a charismatic artist who runs a gallery in the same town. Strong, independent and wheelchair-bound from the age of fifteen, he leads a solitary life and has no idea how devastatingly attractive he is to women. When Tom meets curvy, beautiful and funny Molly, he knows that she is his dream woman, but she seems way out of his orbit until the boxes start to weave their spell and the two of them are thrown right out of their comfort zones.

Little Boxes is a story of love in a variety of guises – mother-love, unrequited passion, infatuation and the shadow-love held in memories that refuse to go away.

Buy links: http://celiajanderson.co.uk/books/little-boxes/

celiaanderson

Author Bio:

Celia J Anderson spends most of her spare time writing in as many different genres as possible, including children’s fiction. In her other life, she’s Assistant Headteacher at a small Catholic primary school in the Midlands and loves teaching literature (now comfortingly called English again but still the best subject in the world.)

She tried a variety of random jobs before discovering that the careers advisor at secondary school was right, including running crèches, childminding, teaching children to ride bikes (having omitted to mention she couldn’t do it herself) and a stint in mental health care. All these were ideal preparation for the classroom and provided huge amounts of copy for the books that were to come.

Celia enjoys cooking and eating in equal measures, and thinks life without wine would be a sad thing indeed. She is married, with two grown up daughters who have defected to the seaside. One day she plans to scoop up husband and cats and join them there.

Links:

http://celiajanderson.co.uk

http://theromaniacgroup.wordpress.com

https://www.facebook.com/CeliaJAndersonAuthor

http://www.twitter.com/CeliaAnderson1

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Many thanks for dropping by today Celia.

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny xx 

 

 

Guest Post with Tom Williams: Spying James Burke

I’m pleased to welcome Tom Williams back to my site today to talk about his brand new novel. This is the second historical adventure novel to feature the Eighteenth Century British spy, James Burke- Burke and the Bedouin.

Over to you Tom…

Over a century and a half before there was James Bond, there was James Burke. The British Secret Service has been around for a long time. Many people date the start of an organised intelligence service to the reign of the first Elizabeth, though spies and spying will have been around much longer than that. By the time of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain took spying very seriously. James Burke was a real person. He was an army officer, who had started his military career fighting for the French, which was perfectly acceptable before Britain and France were at war. Moving to the British Army in 1793, he spent most of his career from then on engaged in espionage. We know that he spied in Argentina, and his activities there are the basis of my first Burke book, Burke in the Land of Silver. The events there (where he seduces a princess, a queen, and the mistress of a Viceroy) are, amazingly enough, closely based on fact. For his second outing, though, I’ve allowed my imagination free range. In 1798, Napoleon invaded Egypt. The French love to write about their wartime exploits, so we have a lot of detail of the invasion by people who were there. This provides the factual background to a wholly invented tale with an evil villain, a damsel in distress, moonlight rides across the desert, and ambushes and dirty deeds. It’s a lot of fun and you will learn something about history as well – including the Battle of the Nile, one of the greatest British naval victories. It’s up there with Trafalgar really, though not a lot of people seem to know about it these days.

Blurb

1798. James Burke, British spy, is in Egypt. His task: to investigate the rumour that Napoleon is planning an invasion.  It turns out that the French are coming and Burke is too late to stop them. Undeterred, he works with the Bedouin to delay Napoleon’s soldiers while trying to get word to the British Navy so that they can destroy the French fleet. He’s got enough on his plate without protecting Bernadita, the Spanish slave he rescues from her cruel master – but Burke can’t leave a damsel in distress, even with hired killers on his trail …  Set against a meticulously researched background of the Napoleonic Wars, Burke’s adventures reach a dramatic climax at one of Britain’s greatest naval victories, the Battle of the Nile.

TW1

Currently available in Kindle at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Burke-Bedouin-Majestys-Confidential-Agent-ebook/dp/B00OIYY8U2 or (if you’re an American) http://www.amazon.com/Burke-Bedouin-Majestys-Confidential-Agent-ebook/dp/B00OIYY8U2. The paperback will be along soon.

Bio:

 Have you ever noticed how many authors are described as ‘reclusive’? I have a lot of sympathy for them. My feeling is that authors generally like to hide at home with their laptops or their quill pens and write stuff. If they enjoyed being in the public eye, they’d be stand-up comics or pop stars. Nowadays, though, writers are told that their audiences want to be able to relate to them as people. I’m not entirely sure about that. If you knew me, you might not want to relate to me at all. But here in hyperspace I apparently have to tell you that I’m young and good looking and live somewhere exciting with a beautiful partner, a son who is a brain surgeon and a daughter who is a swimwear model. Then you’ll buy my book.

Unfortunately, that’s not quite true. I’m older than you can possibly imagine. (Certainly older than I ever imagined until I suddenly woke up and realised that age had snuck up on me.) I live in Richmond, which is nice and on the outskirts of London which is a truly amazing city to live in. My wife is beautiful but, more importantly, she’s a lawyer, which is handy because a household with a writer in it always needs someone who can earn decent money. My son has left home and we never got round to the daughter.

I street skate and ski and can dance a mean Argentine tango. I’ve spent a lot of my life writing about very dull things for money (unless you’re in Customer Care, in which case ‘Dealing With Customer Complaints’ is really, really interesting). Now I’m writing for fun. If you all buy my books, I’ll be able to finish the next ones and I’ll never have to work for the insurance industry again and that will be a good thing, yes? So you’ll not only get to read a brilliant novel but your karmic balance will move rapidly into credit.

Can I go back to being reclusive now?

TW2

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Thanks Tom! You can go and hide again now!!

Happy reading,

Jenny x

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

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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

 

 

 

 

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