Tag: romance Page 25 of 45

The Story So Far: Maggie Cammiss

On June 1, 2017

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction, Jenny Kane, Romance

I’m delighted to welcome fellow author, Maggie Cammiss to my site today! Why not grab a glass of something and a slab of cake, and settle down for a read.

Over to you Maggie…

Hi Jenny,

Thank you for having me on your blog again – the first time was just after my debut novel was published in 2014. A lot has happened since then, but my writing story began a long time ago.

It sounds like a cliché these days, but the old advice to write about what you know certainly worked for me. I was lucky in my working life; first in public libraries, which I absolutely loved, then into film archives. I spent seventeen years with Sky News, managing a team responsible for accumulating, cataloguing and maintaining a news footage archive. I’m not a journalist, and my background in libraries and archives presented an unconventional route into television.

It was a great job, really interesting. Working in rolling news was like being in a revolving door – there was always something going on, day and night – and it provided me with all the inspiration I needed for my first two novels, No News is Good News and Breaking News. There’s a romance at the heart of both novels, with the overheated environment of a television newsroom providing the setting. These novels aren’t specifically autobiographical but they probably reflect aspects of my younger self. The characters and storylines are entirely fictitious but that doesn’t stop old colleagues asking if they feature in them – I tell them I’ve changed the names to protect the guilty!

No News is Good News was released in 2014 but the publisher had closed its list by the time Breaking News was ready. I tried assisted publishing, but this was a very disheartening experience, so eventually I decided to go it alone. I recently relaunched both titles independently, with brand new covers, and they are available on Amazon. I think they look fabulous and I’m very proud of my efforts.

After writing two novels set in a working environment and featuring younger women, I needed a change of scenery and I also wanted to write about the experiences of women my own age. The current novel, working title, Serendipity, explores the relationships between four women, the secrets they keep from each other and the consequences of their silence. My new characters are older and hopefully wiser, and have their individual ways of dealing with some universal problems. There’s conflict and drama, a hint of romance and some wry comedy in the mix.

I write a lot of short stories, too, mostly as homework for my writing group, and I’m often asked where I get my ideas from. I have to admit to being an inveterate people-watcher and eavesdropper – I suspect many writers are. I tell everyone who comes to my house to be careful what they say – it might end up in a novel. Snippets of conversation I’ve accidently overheard are like gold dust. One of my best ones was in a shop. Two people came round the shelves towards me, one of them saying to the other, ‘Oh no, it’s not for me, it’s for the private detective.’ I couldn’t wait to get out of the shop and write it down.

As far as the writing itself goes, I’m more of a planner than a pantser – I like to know where I’m going. But when I have the basic outline I give my characters their head and follow where they lead. I’ve written myself into plenty of dead ends! The characters always know their own minds and often create problems I haven’t envisaged, but I’ve learned to wait; the solution will reveal itself in its own time – usually in the dead of night. Which is why I keep a notebook by the bed: to jot down those elusive thoughts that would otherwise vanish with the dawn. It helps me believe that I’m in control.

I love making stuff up – constructing scenarios, fitting imaginary characters into them and engineering all their relationships. It’s like playing God. I don’t always like the isolation, or the detrimental effect that writing has on my bottom, but overall, it’s my dream job.

***

Here’s the blurb for BREAKING NEWS:

Television producer Sara Cassidy has her life all mapped out. She loves her job making weekly feature programmes for TV news channel UK24, and is looking forward to furthering her ambitions in the media. She is devastated when her fiancé makes a shattering confession but she hardly has time to come to terms with the betrayal when her closest friend is involved in a freak accident and Sara’s world is turned upside down once again.

As Sara struggles to maintain a professional perspective she finds solace in a new interest and a blossoming romance. But she has to be careful who she trusts in the cut-throat world of television news. Just as she is finding her feet again the career that means so much reveals its murkier side.

When she suddenly finds herself at the other end of the camera lens, Sara discovers that in the struggle for ratings, loyalty is in short supply.

Blog: https://maggiecammiss.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/maggiecammiss

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breaking-News-Maggie-Cammiss-ebook/dp/B071KY3BXG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493908719&sr=8-1&keywords=news+maggie+cammiss

***

Thanks Maggie!

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny xx

Meet Jack: Another Cup of Coffee

By Jenny Kane

On May 29, 2017

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to spend some time with the ‘real’ people who form the backdrop to the characters in Another Cup of Coffee – one of them in particular is very special to the real me- just as he is important to Amy in my novel… I thought it would be nice to go back to the beginning, and share a little extract from the very first book in the Another Cup of…series, Another Cup of Coffee. In particular, a little about Jack…

First of all however, here’s the blurb for you-

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…

***

Let me introduce you to Jack. It has to be said, that Jack does not start off as the nicest man in the world- a real bad boy. And yet- perhaps for that very reason- he has become the most popular character in the series. This extract comes from very early on, and we find him in the shower, very much wishing he hadn’t sent an old fashioned mix tape to his ex-girlfriend, Amy…

****

The power shower thundered, sending a searing-hot cascade of water down onto Jack’s head. Squeezing far too much shampoo into his hands, he began to viciously scrub his short hair. What the hell had he been thinking? Well, actually, he hadn’t been thinking, had he? He never looked beyond himself. The moment. The day. He was so stupid. So angry with himself.

Why had he posted that tape? And more immediately, where was he? And how soon was he going to able to get away from whoever it was he’d spent the night with? Jack could feel the familiar sensation of suffocation closing in on him as he abandoned his hair and began to furiously soap his torso.

He was a shit.

But then you have to be good at something.

And now Amy was coming here. It hadn’t crossed his mind that she’d even visit, let alone move her entire life back south. And not just south, but bloody London. Being back in touch, and hopefully forgiven, was one thing when she was safely tucked away in Scotland. But here. Face to face. Jack hadn’t banked on that at all.

He really didn’t want to see Rob today. It was his fault this had happened. Rob had come into work one day, back in the summer, going on about how worried he and Paul were for Amy. How she seemed to have placed herself completely off the emotional scale. The combination of bright sunshine, happy reminiscences, and the weight of a conversation he and Amy had never had, had brought his buried guilt racing to the surface.

Then, a few days later, Paul had visited Jack and Rob’s bookshop, passing through on one of his rare visits between his archaeological digs. He’d been sorting out some of his university mementos, and had come across a load of photographs.

They were all there, at university, more years ago than was acceptable if Jack was still going to pass himself off as thirty at the clubs he frequented. Amy, Rob and Paul huddled together in a muddy ditch, laughing. Rob, Paul and him, pints of Tiger lager in hand, outside their favourite pub. Paul, Amy and him, all cuddled together on Rob’s battered and suspiciously stained brown sofa. Amy and him. Amy and him together. Smiling. Together.

That had been the killer. That was the photo that had made him think. Her eyes had shone at the camera. If Jack was honest, so had his. So, in a state of happy but unrealistic nostalgia, he’d gone home, dragged a box of assorted junk out from under his bed, and pulled out the tape.

He had weighed the clear plastic box in his hand. It was time to explain. If Amy was half the girl he used to know then she’d forgive him. And suddenly, from nowhere, Jack had found that he really, really needed to be forgiven.

That was why he’d put Unfinished Sympathy on Amy’s tape. He wanted her to understand that he knew he’d hurt her. That he, himself, had been hurt by having to leave her. But for reasons he hadn’t totally understood at the time, he’d felt he had no choice. A fact which had led him to the record the unbearably twee, but wholly accurate, I Will Always Love You. It seemed to say how sorry he was. It said everything he’d wanted to say then, but couldn’t. He was sorry, really he was. But for Amy to turn up here! Bloody hell.

Stepping out of the shower, Jack began to dry himself with a suitably punishing rough brown towel. Now he was going to have to tell Rob he’d returned the tape, and have another go at talking to Kit.

He hadn’t deliberately failed to tell Kit about Amy. Specific conversations about individual exes had never come up. Jack was pretty sure that Rob hadn’t mentioned Amy to Kit either. Amy had been part of their old life, and Kit was part of their current one. Simple.

Jack knew he had to see Kit soon, before someone else filled her in. He wasn’t sure why he’d walked out on her now he came to think about it. At least she’d understand. Kit always understood. After all, they’d remained friends. Great friends. They had moved on smoothly.

‘Talk about my past catching me up,’ he muttered to his sleep-deprived reflection as he dragged a borrowed razor over his chin. ‘It’s pretty much tripped me up, into a pile of shit, and it’s entirely my fault. Bloody sentimental tape!’

Approaching his bookshop, Jack peered up at the sign which swung, pub-like, from its low eaves, and silently thanked his grandfather for the money he’d left him.

Even though he’d attained a first degree in Ecology, Jack had never had any intention of taking up a career in that arena. The idea of running a bookshop had started as a faint possibility; an option amongst many. It had developed into a dream, and then, when he’d accidentally come across the empty premises in Kew, it had blossomed into an exciting and challenging project.

Now Reading Nature was a source of real pride, and despite his self-inflicted gloom, Jack got a kick of achievement from seeing its single bay-windowed frontage ahead of him. Through the glass Jack could see Rob’s cropped ginger-haired head bent over the counter. He was busy sorting the mornings post into to do, to send out, bills to pay, and junk to recycle, piles.

‘Morning,’ Rob smiled up at his friend as he came in, but adjusted his expression as he saw the cloud hanging across Jack’s face. ‘What’s up? Club no good last night?’

‘It was fine, busy, you know.’

‘Not really, mate, but then I’m a boring old married fart.’

Jack attempt at a smile failed, ‘I’ve done something stupid. I think.’

Rob pulled a face that clearly said, “No change there then,” but simply said, ‘Go on.’

‘I’ve got in touch with Amy…’

****

If you’d like to read the first novel in the series, it is available as an eBook, and as a paperback from all good online stores and bookshops, including…

Amazon UK- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-Cup-Of-Coffee-ebook/dp/B00EVYZC7M/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377952210&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=another+cup+of+coffee+jenny+kane

Amazon US- http://www.amazon.com/Another-Cup-Of-Coffee-ebook/dp/B00EVYZC7M/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377952266&sr=1-1&keywords=another+cup+of+coffee+jenny+kane

Happy Reading,

Jenny xx

Ready, steady, write….

By Jenny Kane

On May 19, 2017

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction, Jenny Kane, Romance

With Abi’s Neighbour now out in the world, and my next Jennifer Ash medieval mystery, The Winter Outlaw, awaiting the careful eye of my editor, it is time to crack on with a brand new novel.

Before you ask- no, I’m not going to tell you what it will be called – and no, I’m not going to tell you what it’s going to be about.

I can tell you that it will be a novel – it will be contemporary with a romantic thread running through it – and it’s set in the beautiful City of Bath. In and around the Roman Baths in fact.

Starting a new book is always rather daunting. Novels are so- well- long! Getting together a 2000 word synopsis or story plan can be hard enough. Turning that synopsis into a 90,000 word novel is another matter all together. A feat which always makes me think of think of climbing a mountain. By about halfway I definitely feel the need for a hard hat, crampons- and very definitely Kendell’s Mint Cake!

Talking of cake- the novel is going to be rather heavy on the cake…lemon cake to be specific.

Right…I’d better go and get on with it…

Happy reading,

Jenny x

Blog Tour Round Up: Abi’s Neighbour

By Jenny Kane

On May 14, 2017

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction, Interview, Jenny Kane, News, Romance

This past week I’ve been on tour with my brand new Cornish romance- Abi’s Neighbour.

I’ve been honoured to have been invited to some amazing blog sites to talk about my work, my life, and the inspiration behind the second Abi Carter adventure.

If you missed any of the stops on my tour, now is your chance to catch up on them all!

My first stop was with Linda Hill at Linda’s Book Bag – https://lindasbookbag.com/2017/05/08/a-split-personality-in-cornwall-a-guest-post-by-jenny-kane-author-of-abis-neighbour/

My second stop was with Pam O’Shea at Vintage Treasures – https://pamlecky.com/2017/05/09/jenny-kane-blog-tour/

My third stop was with Lynne Shelby – https://www.lynneshelby.com/single-post/2017/05/10/Abis-Neighbour-Blog-Tour-With-Love-to-my-Grandparents—Jenny-Kane

My fourth stop was with Marie Lavel – http://marielaval.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/abis-neighbour-by-jenny-kane.html?spref=fb

My fifth stop was with Rachel’s Random Reads – http://rachelsrandomreads.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/guest-post-postcard-to-penwith-by-jenny.html

My sixth stop was with Kerry Parsons at Chat About Books – https://chataboutbooks.wordpress.com/2017/05/13/abis-neighbour-blogtour-jennykaneauthor-accentpress-authorinterview/

Huge thanks to all of my lovely hosts, and to you my lovely readers. Without readers theyd be no writers.

I’d also like to give an extra big thank you to the lovely Rachel at Rachel’s Random Reads who has just given the first book in the Abi Carter series – Abi’s House – a fantastic review – you can catch all of it here- https://rachelsrandomreads.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/book-review-abis-house-by-jenny-kane.html

Here’s a little snippet-

“…This is the first book I have read by Jenny Kane, and I found myself really enjoying her writing style, which is easy to follow, and the story flowed really well. I loved her characters, and even the Cornish burr for Stan I could really hear in my head. In fact Stan was one of my favourite characters, although in theory he could be seen as a naive old man, he really is a gentleman, and he adds a lot of local colour to the story…”

***

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

Abi’s Neighbour Blog Tour: 8th-13th May 2017

By Jenny Kane

On May 7, 2017

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction, Jenny Kane, Romance

My new novel is on tour!!

I’m delighted to be able to announce that from the 8th-13th May I will be at the following blog sites with a different blog about Abi’s Neighbour. I’ll be talking about my inspiration, the characters, and Cornwall. I’ll also be letting you in on a few snippets from my own ‘real’ life.

I’d be delighted if you could join me on me as I pop from blog to blog!

Jenny xx

OUT NOW! Abi’s Neighbour

By Jenny Kane

On May 4, 2017

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction, Jenny Kane, Romance

My second Cornish novel of friendship, romance, fun, and cream teas, is OUT TODAY!

Abi’s Neighbour– the follow up to Abi’s House, continues the story of Abi Carter, and her new friends Max, Beth, Jacob, Stan and Sadie the Golden Retriever.

Set in the Penwith area of Cornwall, the sun is shining and the fish and chips have been ordered, ready for Abi’s next big adventure.

BLURB

Abi Carter has finally found happiness. Living in her perfect tin miner’s cottage, she has good friends and a gorgeous boyfriend, Max. Life is good. But all that’s about to change when a new neighbour moves in next door.

Cassandra Henley-Pinkerton represents everything Abi thought she’d escaped when she left London. Obnoxious and stuck-up, Cassandra hates living in Cornwall. Worst of all, it looks like she has her sights set on Max.

But Cassandra has problems of her own. Not only is her wealthy married lawyer putting off joining her in their Cornish love nest, but now someone seems intent on sabotaging her business.

Will Cassandra mellow enough to turn to Abi for help – or are they destined never to get along?

***

So how am I celebrating today?

Well, obviously I’m starting with a generously sized cup of black coffee…and I was thinking that later I might treat myself to a cream tea. As I’m in Devon however, I’ll have to be a good girl and have it the local way and not the Cornish way – I don’t want to be thrown out of the café after all!

My real celebration will happen tomorrow, when I meet up with my lovely friends from University for a reunion. These are the very special people who influenced (and all appear in) my Another Cup of… series. I can’t think of better folk to help me raise a glass of bubbly to my latest novel.

Next week there will be a blog tour- I will post details in a few days time.

There will be some book events soon as well. I’ll be selling copies of Abi’s Neighbour in Tiverton, Devon on 23rd June as part of the literary festival (time to be confirmed), and I’ll be in Chippenham, Wiltshire, at the library on June 30th. I’ll shout out about both these events very soon!

In the meantime- thank you all for your support! If you lovely folk didn’t buy my books, then I wouldn’t be asked to write any more!

If you’d like to buy Abi’s Neighbour (which can be read as a standalone novel, or after reading Abi’s House), then it is available from all good book shops and online retailers.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Abis-Neighbour-Jenny-Kane/dp/178615028X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487006698&sr=1-1&keywords=abi%27s+neighbour

https://www.amazon.com/Abis-Neighbour-Jenny-Kane/dp/178615028X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487006868&sr=1-1&keywords=Abi%27s+Neighbour+by+Jenny+Kane

***

Happy reading everyone,

Jenny xx

OUT TOMORROW: Abi’s Neighbour

By Jenny Kane

On May 3, 2017

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction, Jenny Kane, Romance

It’s always exciting when a new book comes out. All that work; all the hours spent writing, editing, planning, worrying, and perfecting your story, can finally be seen to have come together in one gorgeous finished product.

This is one of the reasons it is so exciting for an author to have a paperback publication. It’s great to have a new Kindle book out- but you do miss out to an extent when you can’t actually weigh the finished object in your hands. I’m pleased to report that Abi’s Neighbour not only looks great, but it feels good and has that wonderful ‘new book’ aroma.

Just look at these beauties – I’m over the moon. I also am very aware of how lucky I am to have them!

Not only will Abi’s Neighbour be going into book shops as well as being available online, but I’m privileged to have an endorsement by the brilliant romance writer, Katie Fforde, on the front cover. It’s like all my Christmas’s have come at once!

Blurb

Cassandra Henley-Pinkerton represents everything Abi thought she’d escaped when she left London. Obnoxious and stuck-up, Cassandra hates living in Cornwall. Worst of all, it looks like she has her sights set on Max.

But Cassandra has problems of her own. Not only is her wealthy married lawyer putting off joining her in their Cornish love nest, but now someone seems intent on sabotaging her business.

Will Cassandra mellow enough to turn to Abi for help – or are they destined never to get along?

***

Buy links can be found here

I’ll pop off now to try and calm down – or by launch day tomorrow I’ll be too over-excited to celebrate!!

Happy reading,

Jenny xx

Interviewing Abi Carter: ABI’S HOUSE IS ONLY 99P/99C

By Jenny Kane

On April 27, 2017

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction, Jenny Kane

I am delighted to announce that for the next 5 days you can buy Abi’s House on Kindle for

ONLY 99p/99c!

This special Amazon/Accent deal is to celebrate the forthcoming release of Abi’s Neighbour, the sequel to Abi’s House, on 4^th May. (Both books can be read as standalone stories)

Kindle – for ONLY 99p/99c until 1st MAY!!!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abis-House-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B00UVPPWO8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1426711175&sr=1-1&keywords=Abi%27s+House+Jenny+Kane

http://www.amazon.com/Abis-House-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B00UVPPWO8/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426711253&sr=1-2&keywords=Abi%27s+House+Jenny+Kane

I thought it might be a good idea, for those of you who haven’t come across Abi Carter before, for me to ask her a few questions…

Why did you want to move to Sennen Cove in Cornwall?

I fell in love with Cornwall on childhood holidays with my parents and my brother, Ollie. When I was eight we went to Sennen and Sennen Cove. There was a small stone end terrace there that was called Abbey’s House. Because my name is Abi, my parents used to joke that it should be my house. It was that which made me want to move to that area – and maybe see the house again.

What do you do for a living?

I’m a children’s picture book illustrator for a publisher called Genie.

How old are you- if you don’t mind me asking?

I’m in my twenties- rather later twenties than I’d like!

High heels or trainers?

Trainers! Or boots. Flat shoes anyway. I’m hopeless at balancing on heels!

Favourite season?

Oh that’s tricky now I’m in Cornwall. When I was stuck in snobs-ville in Surrey, I used to look forward to winter so that I had an excuse for hibernating in my house and not coming out. In Cornwall however, every season has its attractions. Perhaps early autumn would have my vote though. That moment when things are quieter as most tourist have gone, and the sun is still hanging around enough t have long cliff walks and the occasional paddle in the sea.

Last of all – most important – Coffee or tea?

Tea- sorry, I know you’d rather I liked coffee!

I’ll forgive you, Abi- but only because you have been such a great character to write about!

***

Blurb- Abi’s House

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?

***

Here’s a reminder of those bargain BUY LINKS

Kindle – for ONLY 99p/99c until 1at MAY!!!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abis-House-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B00UVPPWO8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1426711175&sr=1-1&keywords=Abi%27s+House+Jenny+Kane

http://www.amazon.com/Abis-House-Jenny-Kane-ebook/dp/B00UVPPWO8/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426711253&sr=1-2&keywords=Abi%27s+House+Jenny+Kane

If you prefer a paperback, you can buy them (at the usual RRP) from-
http://www.amazon.com/Abis-House-Jenny-Kane/dp/1783753285/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426711253&sr=1-1&keywords=Abi%27s+House+Jenny+Kane

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abis-House-Jenny-Kane/dp/1783753285/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426711343&sr=1-1&keywords=Abi%27s+House+Jenny+Kane

And don’t forget, you can also pre-order Abi’s Neighbour now!

Pre-order buy links-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Abis-Neighbour-Jenny-Kane/dp/178615028X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487006698&sr=1-1&keywords=abi%27s+neighbour

https://www.amazon.com/Abis-Neighbour-Jenny-Kane/dp/178615028X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487006868&sr=1-1&keywords=Abi%27s+Neighbour+by+Jenny+Kane

Happy reading everyone!

Jenny xx

Writing with a coffee cup to hand

By Jenny Kane

On April 22, 2017

In Audio, Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction

I’ve been blogging a lot about my forthcoming novel, Abi’s Neighbour lately. This weekend however, I’m turning my thoughts away from my Abi Carter collection, to my coffee drinker obsessed – the Another Cup of…series.

And that got me thinking about my coffee shop habit.

Okay- I admit it, I am addicted- not just to the caffeine- but also to the coffee and teashops where I can drink it.

I just love cafes- all of them! I love to watch the people around me, to smile at strangers to see how they respond, to wrap my hands around a coffee mug and inhale the aroma of the drink within. For me, there is something very soothing about these places. Whether they are jammed packed and noisy, or as quiet as the proverbial grave, with myself as the only coffee swiller in residence, I simply feel at home in cafes.

It won’t surprise you to learn then, that every novel I have ever written has taken shape in various coffee shops up and down the UK. I can’t write at home, with the distractions of ironing and dusting, so I pen all my words at cafe tables. There is even a plaque on the wall of my cafe, denoting where I write! It seemed totally natural to me therefore, that when it came to creating my first non-erotic stories, that I wrote the coffee shop based, Another Cup of… series, which begins with Another Cup of Coffee– goes seasonal with Another Cup of Christmas, Christmas in the Cotswolds, and Christmas at the Castle, before heading back to Richmond in London for Another Glass of Champagne.

Another Cup of Coffee Blurb-

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…

The coffee shop that features most within Another Cup of Coffee is called Pickwicks, a café tucked away in a corner of Richmond, run by the ever bubbly Peggy, and her husband Scott. It is there that, newly arrived in London from Scotland, Amy Crane finds a refuge from her troubles, a temporary job, a possible future, and a potential friend in Kit.

Based on the best bits of all my favourite cafes, Pickwicks is a place I really wish existed outside of the realms of my imagination!! I’d love to have a cuppa there.

***

If you’d like to read Another Cup of Coffee, you can buy it from all good bookshops, as well as from…

http://www.amazon.com/Another-Cup-Of-Coffee-contemporary-ebook/dp/B00EVYZC7M/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=15EFJ85882KQYAJ71KED

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-Cup-Of-Coffee-contemporary-ebook/dp/B00EVYZC7M/ref=pd_sim_kinc_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=12DHKX85NFP0DNJJCKDS

Happy reading,

Jenny x

Exclusive extract: Abi’s Neighbour

By Jenny Kane

On April 16, 2017

In Blog, Contemporary fiction, Contemporary Romantic Fiction, Fiction, Jenny Kane, Romance

I have a treat for you today. Something to read whilst you are tucking into those Easter Eggs!

The first extract to be released from my brand new novel- Abi’s Neighbour!!

Here’s the blurb to help you picture the scene…

But Cassandra has problems of her own. Not only is her wealthy married lawyer putting off joining her in their Cornish love nest, but now someone seems intent on sabotaging her business.

Will Cassandra mellow enough to turn to Abi for help – or are they destined never to get along?

Complete with sun, sea and a gorgeous Cornwall setting, Abi’s Neighbour is the PERFECT summer escape

***

Now all you need to imagine is a business suited woman standing outside this house…and she’s not happy…

Extract

The untidy, clipboard-wielding woman started talking as soon as she climbed out of her Mini. ‘Hello, my name’s Maggie, and I’m from –’

Cassandra cut impatiently across the formalities. ‘Sennen Agents, obviously. It’s written across your car.’

‘Oh, yes. So it is.’ Maggie paused, ‘Anyway, I’m sorry I’m late, I got stuck behind a tractor down the lane.’ She jingled a key ring in front of her. ‘I have your keys, Miss Pinkerton.’

‘No, you don’t.’ ‘I don’t?’ The estate agent frowned, looking away from the woman that stood before her in expensive couture with crossed arms and a far from happy expression. Flicking through the papers on her clipboard, Maggie said, ‘I was instructed by a Mr Justin Smythe that you would be accepting the keys on his behalf?’

‘I meant, no, my name is not Miss Pinkerton. It is Ms Henley-Pinkerton.’

‘Oh. I see.’ Maggie refrained from further comment as she clutched the keys a little tighter.

Determined to make sure the situation was clearly understood, Cassandra pulled her jacket on, turning herself back into the sharp-suited businesswoman she was. ‘In addition to your error regarding my name, there appears to have been a further mistake.’

‘There has?’

‘Mr Smythe has not purchased this property. He has merely rented it, with an additional agreement to sublet it as a holiday home. I am here for two months to make the place suitable.’ Cassandra ran a disdainful eye over the beautiful exterior stonework. ‘It would seem that my work is going to be well and truly cut out.’

‘This is a much sought-after street, Ms HenleyPinkerton. And this particular property is in excellent period condition.’ Feeling defensive on behalf of the old miner’s cottage, Maggie bit her tongue and flicked through her paperwork faster. Extracting a copy of the bill of sale, she passed it to the slim, angular blonde. ‘I think the misunderstanding must be yours. Mr Smythe has purchased number two Miners Row outright. It was a cash sale.’

Snatching the papers from Maggie’s fingers, Cassandra’s shoulders tensed into painful knots. Why hadn’t Justin told her he’d done this? She was convinced she was right. And anyway, he’d never deliberately make her appear foolish in front of a country bumpkin estate agent… Yet as Cassandra scanned the document before her, she could see there’d been no mistake. Closing her eyes, she counted to ten, before opening them again to regard the badly dressed woman before her, who was once again holding out the offending set of keys. Failing to take them, Cassandra gestured towards the little house.

‘Perhaps you would show me around, after I’ve made a call to Mr Smythe?’ Maggie, already feeling sorry for this unpleasant woman’s future neighbours, took unprofessional pleasure in saying, ‘Good luck with that call. The phone signal here is unpredictable to say the least.’

It had taken a ten-minute walk towards Sennen village to get a decent reception on her mobile phone, and then, when she’d been able to connect the call, Justin’s line was engaged. When she’d finally got through, she was more than ready to explode. ‘Justin! How could you have done this to me without a word? You’ve made me look a total idiot.’

Clearly thrilled that he’d managed to buy the terrace for a knock-down price – which, he’d claimed, was a far more economic use of their funds, an investment that would make them a fortune to enjoy in their retirement – he’d sounded so excited about what it meant for their future together that Cassandra had found it hard to remain cross. Assuring her that the situation remained the same, and that she was still only expected to stay in Cornwall while he secured his new position and got the wheels of the divorce in motion, Justin told Cassandra he loved her and would be with her very soon.

Returning to the terrace reassured, if lacking some of her earlier dignity, Cassandra swallowed back all the words she’d have liked to say as she opened the door and the gloom of the dark and narrow hallway enveloped her. She was sure that awful Maggie woman had been laughing at her. The agent had taken clear pleasure in telling her that if she hadn’t stormed off so quickly she’d have found out that the phone reception was excellent if you sat on the bench in the back garden.

Vowing to never drink champagne in any form ever again, as it clearly caused her to agree to things far too readily, Cassandra saw the next two months stretching out before her like a lifetime. Letting out some of the tension which had been simmering inside her since she’d first seen the for sale sign, she picked up a stone and threw it at the back fence, hard. Maggie had gone, leaving her reluctant client sitting on an old weathered bench in the narrow rectangular plot at the back of the house.

Playing her phone through her fingers, Cassandra saw that there was enough reception to make calls if she sat in this spot – but only in this spot. One step in either direction killed the signal dead, which was probably why the previous owners had placed a bench here. And probably why they left this Godforsaken place! The Internet simply didn’t exist here. When she’d swallowed her pride and asked Maggie about the strength of the local broadband coverage, the agent had actually had the audacity to laugh, before informing Cassandra with obvious satisfaction that people came to Sennen for their holidays to leave the world of emails and work behind them.

Breathing slowly, she pulled her shoulders back, pushed her long, perfectly straight blonde hair behind her ears, and took a pen and paper out of her bag. It looked as if she was going to have to tackle this, old school.

First she would make a list of what she considered necessary to make the house habitable for holidaymakers, then she would locate the nearest library or internet café so she could source decorators and builders to get the work underway. The sooner she got everything done, and herself back to hustle and bustle of London, the better.

Deciding there was no way she could sleep in this house, which Maggie had proudly described as ‘comfortable’, ‘sought-after’, and ‘ready to be made absolutely perfect’, Cassandra hooked her handbag onto her shoulder and headed back into the whitewashed stone house. Shivering in the chill of the hallway, despite the heat of the June day, she jumped in the silence when the doorbell rang just as she bent to pick up her overnight bag. For a second she froze. It had been years since she’d heard a doorbell ring. In her block of flats back home she buzzed people in via an intercom, and anyway, people never just dropped by. She hoped it wasn’t that dreadful Maggie back with some other piece of unwanted advice.

It wasn’t Maggie. It was a petite woman in paint spattered clothes, with a large shaggy dog at her side. Cassandra’s unwanted visitor wore a wide smile and held a bunch of flowers in one hand and some bedding in the other. ‘Hello. My name’s Abi, I live next door. Welcome to Miners Row. I hope you’ll be very happy here.’

***

I hope you enjoyed that!!

Abi’s Neighbour comes out on 4th May- but you can pre-order it NOW!!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Abis-Neighbour-Jenny-Kane/dp/178615028X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487006698&sr=1-1&keywords=abi%27s+neighbour

https://www.amazon.com/Abis-Neighbour-Jenny-Kane/dp/178615028X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487006868&sr=1-1&keywords=Abi%27s+Neighbour+by+Jenny+Kane

***

Happy Easter reading!!

Jenny xx