Book Chat with Linda Corbett

This week I’m delighted to welcome author Linda Corbett onto my blog. Linda has chosen the historic West Horsley Place in Surrey as the venue for our book chat, which some readers might recognise as Button House from the TV series Ghosts. Situated half way between Guildford and Leatherhead, West Horsley was owned by the Duchess of Roxburghe for many years. On her death in 2014, she left it to her great-nephew, TV presenter Bamber Gascoigne. It was hearing about this inheritance that gave Linda the inspiration for her latest novel.

Hi Linda, and welcome to my blog.

Thank you for the invitation, it’s lovely to be here!

What’s your latest book called and what is it about?

My latest book, What Would Jane Austen Do? will be published on 16th June. The story begins on the day journalist and Jane Austen fan, Maddy Shaw, loses her job as the love and relationship expert for UpClose magazine, and then discovers she’s inherited an idyllic country house from a long-lost relation. But all is not quite as straightforward as she first thought…

Where do you do your writing?

I’d like to say I have a writing desk in front of a window overlooking some fabulously scenic view, as that sounds far more interesting. The truth is I write everything on my laptop from the comfort of my sofa. Probably better though, as there are fewer distractions!

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block, and if you do, what’s your cure?

There was a period during the drafting stage where I did get a bit stuck, and started to doubt what I was writing. There is lots of advice online about the importance of keeping a regular writing routine, not letting yourself getting distracted (impossible when you have guinea pigs!) or giving yourself time off to do other things. What works best for me is chatting with my writing buddies who understand both the thrill and the difficulties of writing a book, and I always come away feeling inspired.

What inspired you to first put pen to paper, or fingers to the keyboard, and start writing novels?

Many years ago I wrote a piece for a disability magazine about the humorous aspects of life with a complex disability. It was only intended to be a one-off, but they asked me to write something else, and that turned into a regular column. When the magazine folded ten years later, I felt inspired to try writing a novel. Eight years, five attempted novels and 221 rejections later, I achieved that dream with Love You From A-Z.

How do you come up with names for your characters?

I love picking names! I have a notebook where I jot down writing ideas, and I have created a section for interesting names. I add to it when I come across a great name, whether that’s from programme credits off the telly or just something I’ve read in a magazine. I have learned to include an additional step though; in my previous book, Love You From A-Z, my heroine was originally called Jenna Oakley. One day I randomly googled it and found someone by that name who’d recently pleaded guilty to first degree murder. My heroine swiftly became Jenna Oakhurst, and I now google all my character names, just to be on the safe side.

Hollywood comes calling and you’re offered big bucks for film rights to one of your books, but you have absolutely NO SAY in how it’s adapted. Do you sign on the dotted line?

Where’s the pen?! I’ve learnt throughout the publishing process that you have to be flexible and open to change, especially during the development edit stage. Titles can alter, characters and whole chapters can get culled, so I’d be prepared for Hollywood wanting to make their own changes. I can’t deny that the money would come in handy too – Foxy the guinea pig has run up a few vet bills recently!

In a dystopian future you’re only allowed to keep one book from all the books on the shelves in your house. Which one would you choose?

I’d need something calm and comforting to look at, so I’d choose my copy of A Guinea Pig Pride & Prejudice. Whilst not attaining the literary standards of Ms Austen’s original version, it has the advantage of some exceptionally cute pictures.

Nutmeg, one of Linda’s gorgeous guinea pigs with his copy of Pride and Prejudice!
Linda with Foxy, another of her guinea pigs!

About Linda Corbett

Linda Corbett lives in Surrey with her husband and three permanently hungry guinea pigs. She is proud to be a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and was the recipient of the Katie Fforde Bursary in 2020. Linda is a member and former Treasurer of Shine Surrey – a volunteer-led charity that supports individuals and families living with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus. For many years she also wrote a regular column for Link, a disability magazine, illustrating the humorous aspects of life with a complex disability, and she is a passionate advocate of disability representation in fiction. When not writing, Linda can be found papercrafting, gardening, or cuddling guinea pigs. What Would Jane Austen Do? is her second published novel.

Social Media Links

https://www.facebook.com/lindacorbettauthor

https://www.twitter.com/lcorbettauthor

https://www.instagram.com/lindacorbettauthor

Book Blurb

It’s a truth often acknowledged that when a journalist and Jane Austen fan girl ends up living near cynical but handsome crime writer, romantic sparks will fly!

When Maddy Shaw is told her Dear Jane column has been cancelled, she has no choice but to look outside of London’s rental market. That is until she’s left an idyllic country home by the black sheep of the family, long-not-so-lost Cousin Nigel. But… she has also inherited the position of chair of the committee for the annual village literary festival, and she has to put up with bestselling crime author – and romance sceptic – Cameron Massey as her new neighbour. When Maddy challenges Cameron to write romantic fiction, which he claims is so easy to do, sparks fly both on and off the page…

mybook.to/WhatWouldJaneAustenDo

Many thanks to Linda for taking part, and if you’re fond of guinea pigs check out her debut novel Love You from A-Z (it features a piggy rescue centre!)

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Here Comes Trouble…

It’s news you’ve all been waiting for – Trouble on the Tide is now available to pre-order on Amazon Kindle. Official launch date is 27 June.

The third instalment in my Eliza Kane series features several new characters, including Eliza’s dad Ian who makes a surprising return to the Isle of Wight after a thirty-year absence.

Trouble on the Tide was an absolute blast to write – and that’s the joy of self-publishing. I can keep my books exactly as I want them. I’ve promoted this series as a “cosy mystery” because the market demands books fit into neat little pigeon holes, but as anyone who has read the first two books will know, there is so much more going on in Eliza Kane’s life than simply solving mysteries.

I’ve just finished reading Nevil Shute’s Requiem for a Wren as part of my research for my new writing project. First published in 1955 Nevil Shute’s style is probably considered old-fashioned in today’s commercially driven market, but the bottom line is he’s a born story-teller – anyone who can keep me engrossed in a novel about ammunition supplies to machine gun boats has to have something special. Reading this book reinforced why it’s so important for me to write an engaging and original story.

In Trouble on the Tide, I’m hoping I can capture readers’ imaginations with a mystery involving a forged piece of artwork and a body in a boat. Add into the mix a dubious celebrity antiques expert, the return of an errant father and of course, Eliza’s love-life and I’ve hopefully created another entertaining slice of Isle of Wight life.

I’ve woven topical threads into the story. The dead body belongs to a chef. I think we’ve all become more foodie and gastronomically aware in recent years and my chef is a prominent figure in Isle of Wight society, famous for championing local produce. Likewise those daytime TV experts are never off our on our screens, but are these experts as knowledgeable as they first seem? What really goes on when the cameras stops rolling (I’ll admit I’ve used my very vivid imagination here!) Women’s sports are also finally receiving far more media coverage and Eliza is determined to promote her new golfing for girls initiative. She also faces dilemmas in her relationship with single-parent Charlie Harper.  She has some big decisions to make.

Family is a major theme running through this novel, especially the father-daughter relationship. Mr T has been a brilliant dad to our two daughters. They are both well-established in their careers, have their own homes and steady partners, but he still gets phone calls about flashing lights on car dashboards and household appliances that don’t work, despite the fact both our girls live 200 miles away.   

Eliza hasn’t had a Mr T in her life, and I felt she deserved the chance to have one, or at least the chance to get to know her father better.  However, I must stress Mr T is nothing like Ian Kane and the two men have absolutely nothing in common – apart from the fact that 1981 was a special year for them both.  Why’s that? I hear you ask. Well, 1981 was the year Mr T first met me, but if you want to find out why 1981 was so significant for Ian Kane, you’ll have to buy the book!

Trouble on the Tide Blurb

When Isle of Wight restaurant owner Stewie Beech is found dead in a dinghy abandoned in picturesque Newtown Creek, the police conclude he died of a heart attack. But just days before his death Stewie discovered he’d been the victim of a serious case of art fraud, and his grieving widow Pilar is convinced the two events are related.

Forty years ago Stewie Beech and Eliza Kane’s dad Ian were best friends. When Ian returns to the Island after a thirty-year absence to attend Stewie’s funeral, he promises Pilar he will seek out the swindlers who conned her husband and bring them to justice.

A freak accident lands Ian on Eliza’s doorstep and she is roped in to help out. Eliza isn’t used to having family around and father and daughter soon clash, and not just with their conflicting theories about the mysterious circumstances leading up to Stewie’s death. Eliza is committed to promoting her new golfing for girls initiative, and has a love-life to sort out. She wants to solve the case and send her dad swiftly back to his native Yorkshire. But with few clues to go, Ian Kane is in no rush to go home, and it soon becomes clear he harbours secrets of his own…

The Kindle version of Trouble on the Tide launches on 27 June. You can pre-order your copy here. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C6B33VXT/ A paperback version will be available later in the summer.

Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures of the area around Newtown Creek where much of the book is set – these were taken on our hike around the Isle of Wight in 2021 when I first discovered this rather remote corner of the island, and the idea for this novel was born!

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Book Chat with Carol Thomas

Today I’m in the historic market town of Arundel in West Sussex, having a chat with author Carol Thomas. Arundel provided the inspiration for Carol’s novel, A Summer of Second Chances, and I can see why she was inspired to write with this view from her office! Not only can you glimpse the town’s medieval castle across the rooftops, but it also looks like someone has kidnapped my cat Ed….

Hello Rosie, 

Thank you for having me on your blog.

You’re very welcome Carol. Tell me about your latest WIP.

My current WIP is far from finished but has the working title New Beginnings (or Christmas) at The Mistletoe Tearoom. It is about a single mother of two who starts over and finds love at Christmas after an unexpected encounter.

What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most?

I enjoy it when the ideas and words flow. It is the best feeling when your fingers can’t type quickly enough to get your ideas down. I enjoy it when I know where my story is going, and I am excitedly writing towards a certain point.

How many unfinished novels have you got on your laptop/in your notebooks?

A quick count suggests nine. It is a bit of an estimate as some merge into others as I take threads and weave them into new stories as my ideas develop.

That’s exactly what I do too! How do you come up with names for your characters? 

First, I look at pictures of people, celebrities typically, who fit the description of my character. Then, I try names out to see if they suit them. Once I have a name, I do a few checks to ensure it is appropriate: was it around in the year of the character’s birth? Do people with the same name have similar attributes to my character? And, are there any famous or infamous people with the same name?

If you could pick one character from your books to meet in real life, who would it be and why?

I would love to meet Flo, a secondary character in my novel A Summer of Second Chances, who volunteers in the charity shop at the heart of the story. She is a lot of fun and a little bit mischievous. I’d enjoy spending time with her. Having worked in a charity shop myself, I know we would have a good chat about some of the more obscure donations received – such as those Flo accidentally displays that she shouldn’t.

Charity shops are Aladdin Caves – I can see that working in one could provide no end of inspiration!

Now, just imagine Hollywood comes calling, and you’re offered big bucks for film rights to one of your books, but you have absolutely NO SAY in how it’s adapted. Would you sign on the dotted line?

Oh, that’s a good question. I think I probably would for two reasons:

Practically, the money would be fabulous. My second eldest daughter is off to university soon, and I have two younger children yet to follow. Also, my husband talks about the cost-of-living crisis daily; it would be wonderful not to hear that for a bit.

I love to watch films at the cinema, and I think I’d like to trust the process and see how that goes. Being published, I know how hard it can be to accept titles, covers and edits that aren’t what you originally had in mind, but I have also seen that they can improve and add to the story. Trusting someone with the right cinematic vision may be beneficial.

In a dystopian future, you’re only allowed to keep one book from all the books on the shelves in your house. Which one would you choose?

I wish I had a book called How to Survive in a Dystopian Future, but I don’t. So, I’d choose my Ladybird Book of Five Little Kittens because my mum, who sadly passed away in 2021, read it to me as a child. I wasn’t a big book lover when I was young – so different to how I am now – but I remember the enjoyment of my mum reading it to me and my love of that story.

That’s a lovely memory to share. Thank you Carol.

Here’s a little more about A Summer of Second Chances

A heart-warming romance full of love, friendship and four legged friends!

Does first love deserve a second chance?

Ava Flynn sometimes feels like the clothes donated to her charity shop have seen more life than her, but ‘maximum dedication for a minimal wage’ is what it takes to keep her mother’s beloved wildlife charity, All Critters Great and Small, running especially in the village of Dapplebury, where business is certainly not booming.

But when Ava’s first love, Henry Bramlington, returns to the village, suddenly life becomes a little too eventful. Henry escaped Dapplebury many years before, but now he has the power to make or break the village he left behind All Critters Great and Small included. Can Ava trust the boy who ran away to give both her and her charity a second chance?

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Published by: Choc Lit

Buying Link:

Amazon: http://getbook.at/SOSCAmazon

Other books by Carol Thomas

Maybe Baby: http://getbook.at/MBAmazon

The Purrfect Pet Sitter: http://getbook.at/TPPSAmazon

Crazy Over You: http://getbook.at/COYAmazon

Author Bio:

Carol Thomas lives on the south coast of England with her husband and four children. She has been a primary school teacher for over twenty years and has a passion for reading, writing and people watching. Whenever the opportunity arises, Carol can be found loitering in local cafes drinking too much tea and working on her next book.

Carol writes contemporary romance novels, with relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads.

Website and Social Media Links:

http://carol-thomas.co.uk

http://carol-thomas.co.uk/blog

http://facebook.com/carolthomasauthor

http://twitter.com/carol_thomas2

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/carol_thomas2/

https://www.instagram.com/carol_thomas2/

For anyone who is worried about Ed, I’m happy to report that he’s safely home in the garden!

Coming out of hibernation…

It has been a very long winter but I’ve finally re-emerged!

It is four months since my last blog post. Back in November I was about to set off on holiday and all was well in the world…That holiday is not one I’m ever going to forget, and for all the wrong reasons. One broken arm later and we were back home within four days. Any hope of bouncing back to start editing Trouble On The Tide flew out of the window. On top of the broken arm I’ve also had the cold from hell to contend with since January.  It’s as if three years of being virus-free caught up with me. Even worse every cold/flu remedy in my medicine cabinet was out of date and the supermarket shelves were empty. Clearly everyone else in the same boat. 

Did I feel sorry for myself? Yes!

But now with spring around the corner, the snivels and coughs are finally coming to an end. I’ve managed to finish my self-edits and Trouble on the Tide is out of the door and on its way to professional editor Anna in the Isle of Wight for her strict appraisal.

As I said in November, this book has been a joy to write, and all the early readers who’ve had a preview have sent back positive feedback. One comment about a confusion over characters was quickly rectified when I realised one character had actually changed name half-way through the manuscript. A minor issue. That’s why editing is so important!

I originally thought I would continue writing my Isle of Wight mysteries for ever more. I could see endless possibilities for Eliza to investigate, but sometimes you watch a long running TV show and you think if only they’d stopped this after the third series…

I’ve spent the last three years immersing myself in Eliza and her family, and lovely people though they are, I feel it’s time to move on.  The plan is to launch Trouble on the Tide this summer and then take a break.

I do have another idea brewing but it’s a total change of direction and involves RESEARCH. It’s a story I’ve been thinking about for some time, but a casual “yes of course you can turn my family history into a novel if you want to” isn’t permission to proceed. Before I even begin to put pen to paper, I’ll need to consult and gather facts, and as someone who usually googles as they go along, this is a bit of an alien concept.  And if I do go ahead, I want to do this amazing story justice (think epic wartime romance/espionage/tragedy). In addition, although I’ve said I’d never go back to seeking a traditional publisher, if I could pull this story off it deserves a wider audience.

Being in hibernation over the last four months has reiterated the downsides of self-publishing. To be a successful indie author you have to be relentless in your marketing. If you’re not visual and vocal on social media, books don’t sell. The publishing world is tough, every celebrity and their mother currently has a book on the market.  In addition the cosy mystery is becoming overdone.  Eliza Kane was always so much more than just a simple cosy – there is the family drama, the romance, the dual timelines. I know comparativitis is a horrible condition that should be ignored, but when I see multiple versions of Mrs Busybody strangled by floral bunting at the church fete riding high in the Amazon charts I do start to feel I should have listened to all that advice and just written something that fitted into the commercial cosy pigeon hole. (I’ve just realised Flora Bunting is the perfect name for a killer…hurriedly picks up pen…)

On the upside, I did do a lovely talk at Lee Hub community library last weekend – the Lee Tower in Lee-on-the-Solent was the inspiration behind Hookes Bay pavilion in The Theatre of Dreams so it was an appropriate place to give a talk. The Lee hub library is also housed in a beautiful 1920s building now taken over by the community, which is the whole premise of my debut novel. Life really does imitate art. The audience seemed to appreciate the efforts I’d made with my Powerpoint presentation, they asked lots of questions about all four of my books and nobody fell asleep – always a good sign!

Me and my Powerpoint!

Now that I’ve finally stuck my head back over the parapet, I will keep you updated on the cover reveal and launch date for Trouble on the Tide. I’ll also keep you posted on whether that next project goes ahead or not. If it does you’ll find me in the library with my head in a reference book…

Behind The Scenes with Ruby Basu

As the summer draws to a close, we’re paying our last visit behind the scenes. I hope readers have enjoyed these insights into how a writer’s mind works. For the season finale, I’m delighted to welcome Ruby Basu with the backstory to her latest novel, The Love Arrangement.

Thank you for having me on your blog and giving me the opportunity to tell you about the inspiration for my latest book, The Love Arrangement.

Like many authors, I can get ideas for books from anywhere. Something I’ve read, something I’ve heard or just an image that pops into my head – all sparking a ‘what if’ question which then leads to characters, plots and settings. But the process for The Love Arrangement was completely different. This story began with a trope.

I love reading or watching stories where the couple pretends to be in a relationship. The fake dating trope is often coupled with either friends-to-lovers or enemies-to-lovers and it can bring in so many other tropes like the forced proximity or only one bed. There’s so much to love about it. I really wanted to write a book based on a fake relationship.

But of course, it’s not enough to have the trope. You need the plot, the conflicts and the character growth as well.

All my books feature at least one British Indian protagonist, so my mind immediately went to Indian weddings. As someone who had four wedding receptions (one in England and three in India), I wanted to reflect the vibrant, colourful, multi-day events in my book. That inevitably turned my thoughts to settings because if you’re going to feature a wedding why not have a destination wedding?

As I thought about what other events my fake couple could attend as part of their arrangement, I wanted to include some British activities and what is more quintessentially British than a garden party?

Once I had these events ready, Annika and Rav’s backstory, conflicts and character arcs flowed organically and the story came alive.

I’m not sure I would deliberately work from a trope to create a book again, but the development of The Love Arrangement proves that stories really can come from anywhere.

Blurb

Independent and free-spirted Annika has no plans to settle down anytime soon… if only her parents felt the same way. But when her father unexpectedly falls ill, she’ll do anything to make things better. Even if it means suddenly blurting out she has a boyfriend.

The only issue is, he doesn’t exist.

Then, by chance, she bumps into handsome entrepreneur Rav, and she can’t believe her luck. He’s single, sworn off relationships and looking for a date to attend work events with. He’s the perfect solution to her troubles. Or is he?

Because there’s just one slight catch – he also happens to be her childhood nemesis.

It was only ever supposed to be a simple, temporary arrangement. Nothing more. Certainly love was never part of the terms and conditions. But Annika’s about to discover that some deals are made to be broken…

Buying Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ebook/dp/B0B3STGBKK/

Author Bio

Ruby lives in the beautiful Chilterns with her husband, two children, and the cutest dog in the world. She worked for many years as a lawyer and policy lead in the Civil Service.

As the second of four children, Ruby connected strongly with Little Women’s Jo March and was scribbling down stories from a young age. A huge fan of romantic movies, Star Wars, and Marvel, she loves creating new characters and worlds while waiting for her superpowers to develop.

She is the author of The Twelve Wishes of Christmas and Baby Surprise for the Millionaire. Her latest book, The Love Arrangement, was published in eBook on 17 August and will be out in paperback and audiobook on 13 October.

Website https://www.rubybasu.com

Twitter – @writerrb01 or @RubyBasu_Author (promo account)

Ruby Basu | Facebook

Instagram – AuthorRubyBasu

TikTok – AuthorRubyBasu

Many thanks to Ruby for taking part. A case of four weddings and a book! There must be a film adaptation in there somewhere….

Thanks to all the authors who have taken part over the summer. I’ll be going quiet on the blogging front over the winter as I need to get some serious writing done!

Behind the Scenes with Alexandra Wholey

Can you remember what you got up to in lockdown? For some people, such as this week’s guest, Alexandra Wholey, those weeks at home provided the opportunity to explore their creativity. I’m delighted to welcome Alexandra to share the backstory to her debut novel, A Year at Honeybee Cottage.

A Year at Honeybee Cottage is my lockdown novel, written in the throes of all the chaos in the world. At the time I began watching the latest series of This Farming Life, and Channel 5’s All Creatures Great and Small, and a seed of an idea was born. I wanted to write a heart-warming, gentle romance which focused on life in a tight knit community, dealing with family and friendship through the good times and the not, and A Year of Honeybee Cottage developed from there. The village of Mossbrae is based on Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, and is one of my favourite places for its breathtaking views and scenery. 

Blurb

Love Can Blossom when you least expect it…
Jilted on her wedding day, a surprise inheritance of Honeybee Cottage, her late grandmother Marianne’s home in the Inner Hebrides, gives Eilidh the chance of a fresh start she so badly needs. Welcomed back with open arms into the tight knit community of Mossbrae, Eilidh reconnects with old friends, adjusts to village life again, and slowly learns to come to terms with her heartbreak through her reignited passion for her job as a beekeeper, all the while vowing that is is done with love. That is, until her meddling matchmaking friends and the rest of the village get involved…with hilariously romantic consequences! Will Eilidh get the happily ever after she deserves or will she receive a sting in the tale?

 Buying Link: A Year at Honeybee Cottage

Author Bio

Hi, I’m Alexandra, a Yorkshire-born lass, former library assistant turned romance writer, who now lives in the Midlands with my husband and two kids.  An avid animal lover who loved reading and writing from toddlerhood, whose present of choice was either a notebook and pen, or a book, and who grew up in the countryside reared on a diet of James Herriot and Catherine Cookson, becoming an author seemed a fated career choice. When I’m not writing and spending time with my family out at National Trust places on a weekend, I love binge watching TV box sets. Current favourites are Outlander, Peaky Blinders, and Bridgerton.

Many thanks to Alexandra for taking part. That lovely cover oozes calm and well-being. I wish Alexandra every success in her new career as a novelist.

 

Behind The Scenes with Victoria Springfield

This week we’re taking a trip to Italy with my guest Victoria Springfield to learn about the family connection, real life and fictional, which provided the backstory to her latest novel, The Italian Fiancé.

The idea for The Italian Fiancé developed from one of the three interlocking love stories in my debut novel, The Italian Holiday.  When elderly widow Miriam falls for restaurant owner Tommaso on a trip to the Amalfi coast readers are hoping for a Happy Ever After but it dawned on me that in real life Miriam’s family might not be so keen on her late-life romance.  I contemplated a follow-on novel with two of Miriam’s shocked relatives turning up on the island of Ischia (where Tommaso plans to retire) and becoming embroiled in their own romantic entanglements.  But I couldn’t imagine kindly Tommaso hiding any secrets from the past and the pandemic ruled out a return trip to Ischia which I felt was necessary to do justice to the story. 

I wondered if I could use the same idea with different characters in a different setting.  My parents’ old holiday diaries had helped me create the fictional village in A Farmhouse in Tuscany and amongst their pages were reminders of our many visits to the vibrant Tuscan city of Lucca, birthplace of Puccini.  Flicking though my old maps and guidebooks I was confident I could bring Lucca to life despite the travel restrictions.  Almost immediately, Aunt Jane and her flamboyant fiancé, artist Luciano materialised.  He ‘was different from any man – any person – she had ever met.  And she was different too…she wouldn’t – couldn’t – go back to being the person she had been before she and Luciano met.’  

A photo of my brother riding a tandem around the old walls sparked the idea for sensible niece Cassie’s jaunt with handsome jeweller, Alonzo.  The Puccini connection inspired the character of violinist, Matteo who captures her sister Lisa’s heart.  Lisa falls in love with Lucca as well and I hope my readers will too. 

Blurb

When sisters Cassie and Lisa receive a wedding invitation, the last person they expect to be getting married is Jane, their seventy-year-old aunt! Convinced that she’s making a big mistake, the two put their differences aside to travel to the vibrant Tuscan city of Lucca. But there’s something magical about Italy… and this trip may just change their relationship – and their lives – forever. 

Jane knows it’s not just a holiday fling. After her husband of four decades passed away, she never thought she’d find love again. But Luciano, with his big heart and artistic flamboyance, fills her life with colour. Can she show her nieces it’s never too late for a second chance? 

  Author Bio

Victoria Springfield writes contemporary feel-good women’s fiction immersed in the sights, sounds and flavours of Italy. Her feel-good stories follow unforgettable characters of all ages as they find adventure, friendship, and romance – with a few twists and turns along the way.  

Victoria inherited a love of Italy from her father. After many years in London, she now lives in Kent with her husband in a house by the river. She likes to write in the garden with a neighbour’s cat by her feet or whilst drinking cappuccino in her favourite café. Then she types up her scribblings in silence whilst her mind drifts away to Italy. 

Victoria’s books: The Italian Holiday, A Farmhouse in Tuscany and The Italian Fiancé are all published by Orion Dash. 

Info:  

The Italian Fiancé will be published 8th September 2022 in eBook and paperback and on 23rd November 2022 as an audio book. 

Buying link https://www.tinyurl.com/theitalianfebook

Social Media Links 

Twitter: @VictoriaSWrites 

Instagram: VictoriaSWrites 

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

Many thanks to Victoria for taking part. The joy of being a writer is watching our characters evolve and create their own stories.

Behind the Scenes with Fiona Woodifield

This week I’m delighted to welcome Fiona Woodifield to my blog. Fiona’s latest novel is the second in a series set around a dating agency inspired by a famous author. Intrigued? Read on…

I have always been a compulsive writer, ever since as a child I realised that someone had to write all those glorious books I loved escaping into. On holidays, I would write in notebooks and diaries, my first story aged ten was very short, written in a Beatrix Potter notebook of course and was entitled Cormorant Island. After this I spent too many years writing essays and studying to write for pleasure. But once again in my twenties, I was back to penning children’s stories in a notebook. When I had my own children I started coming up with more ideas for books, some for adult stories and I wrote it all down in different random notebooks and left them round the house.

The inspiration for The Jane Austen Dating Agency series came to me quite suddenly one Sunday morning when I was resting in bed as you do, and I suddenly thought I wonder what would happen if Jane Austen characters from different novels were able to meet each other. It was a small leap from this initial pondering, to the idea that they could potentially date; just imagine Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Pride and Prejudice dating Sir Walter Elliot from Persuasion! This comic match made me chuckle and I suddenly had an idea for a Jane Austen themed dating agency.

This story was the one I simply had to write. I jumped out of bed at stupid o’clock, much to my husband’s consternation and started jotting down my ideas. So my debut novel was born.

A Wedding at the Jane Austen Dating Agency is the sequel to my debut novel, The Jane Austen Dating Agency, but can easily be read as a stand alone. The sequel charts Sophie’s continued adventures with The Jane Austen Dating Agency and her mishaps whilst trying to follow her romantic dreams and find herself a real Regency hero.

Blurb

Sophie Johnson appears to be living her best life. She has landed her dream job as Managing Director of The Jane Austen Dating Agency and is dating the world’s most desirable man, Darcy Drummond.

But all is not as it seems. The relationship with Darcy is failing to live up to expectations and his awful mother is determined to cause trouble. To add to Sophie’s problems, the agency is struggling to attract enough eligible men, she has a Regency wedding to plan and then there’s the amusing and disturbingly cute Henry Baxter who is making it hard for her to concentrate.

The problem is Sophie wants it all, but in trying to manage everything, she’s in danger of losing what matters most.

Can she keep the dating agency afloat and find her own happy ever after? Or is business and romance an impossible combination?

Author Amazon Page https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fiona-Woodifield/e/B084HHPB95/

Author Bio

Fiona has always been a compulsive writer, scribbling things down in brightly decorated notebooks and on random bits of paper, which she likes to leave all around the house. More years ago than she cares to remember, she gained a BA in Combined Arts at Durham University, then took an MA in English at the University of Oxford Brookes. Since then she has worked in various roles, including a stint at Vogue as well as bringing up her challenging, but lovely daughters. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing as though no one’s watching (especially zumba), walking her dogs/writing companions and visiting stately homes, pretending she lives there of course.

Fiona has written for various magazines. Her first novel, The Jane Austen Dating Agency was published in February 2020. The Jane Austen Dating Agency was shortlisted for The Joan Hessayon Award by the Romantic Novelists Association. Fiona’s Lockdown love story, Love in Lockdown was published by Avon later that year. Her latest novel, A Wedding at the Jane Austen Dating Agency was released last August.

Author Website www.fionawoodifield.co.uk

Many thanks to Fiona for sharing her story. I think Jane Austen would highly approve of a dating agency in her name!

Behind the Scenes with Lynne Shelby

Today, I’m delighted to welcome Lynne Shelby back to my blog to talk about the spark of inspiration which ignited her latest novel, Rome For the Summer.

Sometimes the idea for a book can come to you when you least expect it. 

The first faint spark of an idea for the story that was to become my new novel, Rome For The Summer, came to me when me and my husband were heading back to our hotel in Rome after a day’s sight-seeing. As we walked past the Spanish Steps, I overheard a conversation between two girls – one American, one Italian – the American telling the Italian girl that the ‘the job will only be for six months.’ I still have the notes I wrote that day as soon as we reached our hotel: ‘American in Rome. Why? Tourist? What is the job? Is she working in Rome for six months? Or going back to the States to work for six months? Does she have an Italian boyfriend who she’s leaving? Or is there an American boyfriend pining for her return?’  

I didn’t come up with the answers to those questions immediately – and in any case, I was writing another novel at the time – but some months later, back in England, I happened to fall into conversation with a woman sitting at the next table in a restaurant who turned out to be a professor of literature from an American university with an extremely interesting reason for visiting Europe. This gave me the answers to what the American girl could be doing in Rome, and sparked off my ideas for both the plot of Rome For The Summer, which is set in 2016, and the sub-plot, which is set two hundred years earlier. The American girl became my English heroine, Kate, and the Italian girl became her English colleague, but the inspiration for the book was a conversation heard quite by chance several years earlier.  

Blurb

Kate Harper has always loved the painting that has hung in her parents dining room for years, never suspecting that it is worth a fortune. When her art dealer boyfriend cheats her family out of the proceeds of the painting’s sale, she is left devastated and alone. 

Kate discovers that two hundred years ago, the girl in the painting, Charlotte Browne, ran off to Rome with the artist who painted her portrait, but her eventual fate is unknown. 

Hoping to uncover the mystery of what happened to Charlotte, Kate seizes the chance of a summer job in Rome, where she strikes up a friendship with Jamie Taylor, an English artist. As they explore the city and start to piece together the surprising secrets of Charlotte’s life, Kate finds herself wondering if a summer in Rome can mend a broken heart…   

Rome For The Summer Buy Link: https://smarturl.it/RFTSLS 

Author Bio

Lynne Shelby writes contemporary women’s fiction/romance. Her debut novel, French Kissing, now re-published in e-book as Meet Me In Paris, won the Accent Press and Woman magazine Writing Competition. Her fifth novel, Love On Location, was shortlisted for a Romantic Novelists Association Award. She has done a variety of jobs from stable girl to child actor’s chaperone to legal administrator, but now writes full time. When not writing or reading, Lynne can usually be found at the theatre or exploring a foreign city, writer’s notebook, camera and sketchbook in hand. She lives in London with her husband, and has three adult children who live nearby. 

Website: www.lynneshelby.com 

Twitter: @LynneShelby5 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LynneShelbyWriter 

Instagram: lynneshelbywriter 

Many thanks to Lynne for taking part. I often think writers’ minds are like sponges, subconsciously soaking up and storing information, only for it to resurface in the pages of a book!

Behind The Scenes with Rebecca Paulinyi

This week I’m delighted to welcome Rebecca Paulinyi, who shares the very personal and unique backstory to her latest novel, At The Stroke of Thirty.

‘At the Stroke of Thirty’ is a very personal book for me. At the age of 29 (although not on the eve of my 30th birthday, like the main character in the book!) I had a stroke, which was entirely out of the blue. Writing this book was rather cathartic for me, as I included many of my own experiences – as well as giving Macy Maxwell a love story as she recovers from her stroke.

Macy’s feelings are very much based on my own experiences, and how I have recovered from this trauma – but it is still very much a work of fiction, exploring themes of family, friendship, life goals and where you really call home. I also brought my time living in the beautiful Northumberland into this novel, with the beautiful backdrop of places such as Bamburgh Castle weaved into the story.

While I struggled with my stroke during the Covid pandemic, but with family and friends around me at home to support me, Macy realises she has no support system when this catastrophe strikes – and so turns to those she knows she can rely on.

As hard as this book was to write, I think it is probably the one I am proudest of – and it has been great to hear other stroke survivors saying how much they could relate with what I was writing, even though each person’s experience with stroke can be so very different.

In spite of the difficult subject matter, I made sure to fill this story with hope and love and laughter, and the circle of friends Macy meets have inspired a continuation of the series, following the same theme of a life-changing event happening around the big three-oh birthday, and how it can change everything.

Blurb:

Just about to turn thirty, Macy Maxwell is loving her life. A busy social life, interesting work and a decent salary, she thinks she’s got it all figured out. And so what if she thought she’d be married with kids by the time she turned thirty? Life is easy and fun.

And then, the night before her thirtieth birthday, everything changes. A near-fatal stroke leaves Macy re-evaluating everything in her life, as she tries to heal and get back the woman she was before.

Will moving back to rural Northumberland, a stroke support group and a handsome shoulder to cry on help her to find the Macy she was – or help her become the Macy she wants to be?

Buying link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/At-Stroke-Thirty-uplifting-romantic-ebook/dp/B09Q2N5N67/

Author Bio:

Rebecca Paulinyi was born in the South West of England in February 1992. She has been writing since she was a child, starting with short stories and poems that rarely got finished. Her weekly school assignment of writing a diary about the weekend provided a perfect platform to be inventive, with Rebecca’s stories revolving around the aliens living on Planet Odd.

Writing has been her passion for years, and the unfinished stories became full length novels as she became a teenager. At eighteen she left home to go to York University, studying English Language and Linguistics, and following her graduation qualified as a teacher.

Rebecca now writes full time at her home in Bristol, where she lives with her husband, daughter and dog. As well as writing women’s romantic fiction, she also writes historical romances under the pen name ‘Daphne Quinn’.

Website: https://becky-author.onrender.com/

Many thanks to Rebecca for sharing her amazing story.