I’m absolutely delighted to be staying in with H.A. Leuschel as part of her blog blitz through Rachel’s Random Resources. Helene has previously featured on Linda’s Book Bag here when she wrote a stunning guest post for me called Mindreading Matters and I reviewed one of her stories from Manipulated Lives.

Not only am I staying in with Helene today, but there is a super giveaway (run independently of Linda’s Book Bag) that you’ll find at the bottom of this blog post too.

Staying in with H.A.Leushel

Welcome back to Linda’s Book Bag, Helene.

Hello Linda! Thank you very much for inviting me on your lovely blog today.

My pleasure! Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it? 

I’ve brought along my latest novella My Sweet Friend, a book that explores the difficult topic of pathological lying.

Experts say that determination and perseverance can make a person a master in any area. Willpower and grit to never let up on reaching a goal can mean for some that they are admitted to the Military Academy, others step onto the most coveted of Olympic podiums as a gold medallist, others still win elections to lead a country but … what if honing a skill leads to a much less honourable outcome? What if a person’s finest skills were to tell lies? Worse, what if that same person also lacked the conscience to feel remorse for deceiving others but believed her actions were justified? This is what My Sweet Friend is about.

(This sounds utterly fascinating, especially as I think I might have taught a couple of pathological liars in the past.)

What can we expect from an evening in with My Sweet Friend?  

I would hope that you experience the novella as a compelling read which would make you think as well. Feedback for My Sweet Friend has been wonderful so far. Readers have come back telling me that they read it in one sitting, have found it thought-provoking, a page-turner and some mentioned that it packed a punch for them.

(Knowing how good your writing is Helene I can quite believe it!)

What else have you brought along and why? 

I’ve brought along something pink because I think it’s such a ‘happy’ colour. Pink flowers for instance look vivid and fresh, yet also have a relaxing effect on my mind.

I’ve also decided to bring along some tea. I’m a big tea lover and won’t shy away from trying any new herbal concoction or fancy mix like Coconut and green tea or chilli with cocoa. My children often call me Ms Tea because they usually see me with a cup either warming my hands, propped next to the computer when I write or while I’m devouring my latest read or listening to their happy chatter.

I think today we should have a green matcha latte as it’s a cup of tea with a twist (I like to drink it with almond milk).

(Goodness me. I thought I knew everything there was to know about tea drinking but this is a new one on me. Looks ‘interesting’!)

In case the weather is too warm for tea though, I also brought a tub of ice-cream – can you guess the flavour?

(There’s a bit of a hint of mint there Helene but I can’t spot any chocolate chips!)

Thanks so much for staying in with me Helene, to introduce My Sweet Friend. I think it sounds a really interesting read and am looking forward to it reaching the top of my enormous TBR!

My Sweet Friend

A perfect friend … or a perfect impostor?

Alexa is an energetic and charismatic professional and the new member of a Parisian PR company where she quickly befriends her colleagues Rosie and Jack. She brings a much-needed breath of fresh air into the office and ambitiously throws herself into her new job and friendships.

But is Alexa all she claims to be?

As her life intertwines with Rosie and Jack’s, they must all decide what separates truth from fiction. Will the stories that unfold unite or divide them? Can first impressions ever be trusted?

In this original novella, H.A. Leuschel evokes the powerful hold of appearances and what a person is prepared to do to keep up the facade. If you like thought-provoking and compelling reads with intriguing characters, My Sweet Friend is for you.

My Sweet Friend is available for purchase through these links.

About H.A. Leuschel

Helene Andrea Leuschel grew up in Belgium where she gained a Licentiate in Journalism and Communication, which led to a career in radio and television in Brussels, London and Edinburgh.

She now lives with her husband and two children in Portugal and recently acquired a Master of Philosophy with the OU, deepening her passion for the study of the mind.

When she is not writing, Helene works as a freelance journalist and teaches Yoga.

You can find Helene on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @HALeuschel or visit her website.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

Giveaway

Win a signed copy of Manipulated Lives by H.A. Leuschel

(Open Internationally)

For your chance to win a signed copy of Manipulated Lives by H.A. Leuschel, click here*.

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then the organiser reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time they will delete the data.

Linda’s Book Bag is not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

I’ve been lucky enough to stay in with several Urbane Publications’ authors here on Linda’s Book Bag, and to meet many of them in person too so I’m delighted to welcome another of the Urbane family, David Barker, back to the blog today to tell me about one of his books. David previously provided a smashing guest post about the motivation for writing that you can read here.

If you’re an author who’d also like to stay in with me to tell me about one of your books, please click here for more details.

Staying in with David Barker

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, David. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me. Which of your books have you brought along this evening and why have you chosen it? 

I have chosen Rose Gold, book two in the Gaia trilogy. It’s just been released (Urbane Publications) and I’m excited to see what readers make of the follow-up to my debut novel.

(Oh – congratulations and happy book birthday!)

What can we expect from an evening in with Rose Gold?

The Gaia trilogy is set in the near future at a time when resource constraints have combined with terrorism and climate change to create a huge amount of geopolitical tension. The British secret service have established a new branch – Overseas Division – to monitor the water situation. Sim Atkins is one of the heroes from Blue Gold who is called up for another dangerous mission at the start of Rose Gold. A new base on the moon is a rare example of international cooperation but not everybody is keen to see it succeed. Sim quickly discovers that he has a very personal reason for helping to keep the moon base safe. Meanwhile back on Earth, an investigative journalist thinks that she has stumbled upon a major scoop about the company that owns the moon base. Can she uncover the truth before they can silence her?

Rose Gold can be read as a standalone novel, though readers of Blue Gold will have a deeper understanding of the world setting and some of the characters’ back stories. Readers can expect plenty of action and tension, but also a story about family and the lengths we will go to protect our loved ones. The Gaia trilogy will conclude with White Gold next year.

(This sounds such an exciting and innovative trilogy David. I know blog readers will love your books.)

What else have you brought along and why? 

I have brought a beautiful 3D printed scale replica of the moon, with all of the craters and mountains faithfully rendered. I hope the photo does justice to the model and its clever lighting. [For the cognoscenti out there, it’s set at the moon phase called Waning Gibbous in the photo.] I have always been fascinated with the moon. When I read about the imminent missions to land once again on the moon (China, India and Russia), and hopefully to start mining for resources there (e.g. moonexpress.com), I knew I had to set an adventure on a lunar colony. I still sometimes get up in the middle of the night to stare at the full moon on a clear night, and wonder what it would be like to stride across the surface. Maybe one day…

(I love to travel David but I think I’d be far too claustrophobic to go to the moon with present travel arrangements! I hope you make it one day though…)

Thanks so much for staying in with me and telling me all about Rose Gold, David. I’ve been really intrigued and look forward to reading the whole Gaia trilogy.

Rose Gold

Rose Gold is the thrilling sequel to the bestselling Blue Gold.

In the aftermath of a world war for water, geopolitical tensions remain high and terrorism is a daily fact of life in the 2030s. But a mining base on the moon offers a rare example of international co-operation and a possible solution to the world’s energy problems. Yet not everyone on Earth is keen for this endeavour to succeed…

Sim Atkins and his wife are desperate to start a family. But a shocking message from the moon base tells Sim that he is already a father and that his son’s life is in danger. The mining station is full of suspects and, worse, the woman who fathered his child. Can Sim rescue his son and save his marriage?

Gopal and Rabten – the Gurkha and monk who helped Sim on his last assignment – are on the trail of terrorists and a giant airship. What the agents discover in the cargo hold makes Sim’s mission even more vital. When they get trapped, Freda Brightwell – Sim’s old partner in Overseas Division – is called out of retirement for one more mission.

Once again, corporate greed threatens the lives of millions. Overseas Division s finest are back at the sharp end. And this time, the stakes are far more personal.

Published by Urbane Publications on 10th May 2018, Rose Gold is available for purchase here.

About David Barker

David was born in Cheshire but now lives in Berkshire. He is married to an author of children’s picture books, with a daughter who loves stories. His working life has been spent in the City, first for the Bank of England and now as Chief Economist for an international fund. So his job entails trying to predict the future all the time. David’s writing ambitions received a major boost after he attended the Faber Academy six-month course in 2014 and he still meets up with his inspirational fellow students. He loves reading, especially adventure stories, sci-fi and military history. Outside of family life, his other interests include tennis, golf and surfing.

You can follow David onTwitter @BlueGold201 and find out more about him on his website.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

My enormous thanks to lovely Philippa Ward at Titan for a copy of A Breath After Drowning by Alice Blanchard in return for an honest review.

Published by Titan on 10th April 2018, A Breath After Drowning is available for purchase through these links.

A Breath After Drowning

The stunning new psychological thriller from the award-winning author of Darkness Peering and The Breathtaker.

Child psychiatrist Kate Wolfe’s world comes crashing down when one of her young patients commits suicide, so when a troubled girl is left at the hospital ward, she doubts her ability to help.

But the girl knows things about Kate’s past, things she shouldn’t know, forcing Kate to face the murky evidence surrounding her own sister s murder sixteen years before.

A murder for which a man is about to be executed.

Unearthing secrets about her own family, and forced to face both her difficult relationship with her distant father and the possibility that her mother might also have met a violent end, the shocking final twist brings Kate face to face with her deepest fear.

My Review of A Breath After Drowning

Kate Wolfe’s life is about to be turned upside down when everything she thought she knew about her family’s past is brought into question.

Before I begin my review proper, I’m going to get one small grouch out of the way. As with many American based books, there are several references to particular brands in A Breath After Drowning which I find distracting and alien to my British reader taste. I never feel I really need to know whether a character is wearing a particular make of watch or suit. As a result, it took me a little while to attune to the style, but once I did I was totally ensnared.

A Breath After Drowning is a fast paced and exciting thriller with an excellent added and compelling psychiatric dimension that comes roaring through the professions and patients in the narrative. I was so impressed by the level of detail that helped the reader understand various viewpoints and rationales without detracting from the fast-moving action. There is no doubting the level of research that has gone in to making A Breath After Drowning believable and, sometimes, quite a gloriously uncomfortable read. Initially I wondered if the focus on the psychiatric aspect was too great, but as the novel progressed I could see exactly how and why the first half of the novel had the balance it did. This is such clever writing.

Also, in terms of psychiatry and psychology, I felt Alice Blanchard manipulated me just as well as any of the characters manipulate one another. I found I suspected just about everyone of just about everything during the course of my reading so that I was desperate to reach the conclusion to A Breath After Drowning and find out the truth. I wasn’t disappointed either!

In all honesty, A Breath After Drowning is a difficult book to review. I don’t want to say too much about the exciting plot for fear of spoiling the story for other readers and similarly, to reveal much about character could also lead to spoilers. I’ll just say that I found each of the characters very distinct and realistic personalities so that I had a clear knowledge of them. I found the balance of the sexes very interesting and thought the way in which Kate’s relationship with James adds some much needed light relief was very well handled.

The themes underpinning the action illustrate faultlessly how fragile we are; how we are all affected both by nature and nurture and how easy it is to slip from so-called ‘normal’ behaviours into spiralling mental illness. Themes of self-deception, obsession and grief give gravitas so that A Breath After Drowning is actually quite disturbing beyond being a very entertaining book.

I began A Breath After Drowning wondering if I was going to appreciate it as it didn’t seem to appeal to my reading taste and ended up thinking it was skilled, riveting and exciting. It’s a super read.

About Alice Blanchard

Alice Blanchard won the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction for her book of short stories, The Stuntman’s Daughter. Her first novel, Darkness Peering, was a New York Times’ Notable Book and a Barnes & Noble Best Mystery. Her thriller, The Breathtaker, was an official selection of the NBC Today Book Club. Alice has received a PEN Award, a New Letters Literary Award, and a Centrum Artists-in-Residence Fellowship. Her books have been published in 16 countries.

You can follow Alice on Twitter @AliceBooks333 and visit her website for more information.

It’s been such a pleasure not only meeting new authors through this Staying In With… feature on Linda’s Book Bag, but finding new publishers too. Today I’m featuring another of Open Books‘ writers, Diana Tarant Schmidt as she stays in to tell me about one of her books.

If you’re an author who’d also like to stay in with me to tell me about one of your books, please click here for more details.

Staying in with Diana Tarant Schmidt

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Diana. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it? 

Well, at this point I only have one novel to share, but am hoping to break from my cloud of fatigue soon and finish up the draft of my second. My first is called Remember For Me and it really is a part of my soul in so many ways.

I started writing it to reflect and process on the Alzheimer’s Disease with which my grandmother was battling. I decided to give that battle a purpose and create a reason why people have this disease, as well as cancer.

(What an inspiring reason for writing Diana. I’m sure your grandmother would be thrilled to know what you’ve done. I think your cover reflects perfectly that hazy memory Alzheimer’s can produce.)

Beyond that, I wanted to show my students and my two young children, that trying and failing at something was more important than anything…who knew I would actually publish this thing?

(I quite agree. Having a go is all we need to do – and who knows where it might lead?)

And now, I am propelled by each review or comment that proves to me that this little story I made up has brought comfort into the hearts of others.

What can we expect from an evening in with Remember For Me?

On that note, Remember For Me has been such a wild ride for me. I wouldn’t know where to begin. But, I adore seeing what it brings to other people, so I will share some of those responses:

“While my heart was breaking in one chapter, the next chapter filled me with faith and hope.”

“Remember For Me is so believable that it delivers a bit of peace, something I had no idea I was longing for.”

“Instead, it made me consider where my faith does fall, and after consideration… I decided it lay in humanity. The good, the bad and the ugly.”

(These are wonderful endorsements. They have made me really want to read Remember For Me too.)

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I brought with me a picture of my grandmother and grandfather (about whom the book centers). It’s funny how you look back and remember those who influence you most, as heroes. In this book, I was able to make those heroic memories a reality.

(That is such a stunning photograph. I can’t think of a better way of honouring your grandparents than by writing a book prompted by them.)

Thanks so much for staying in and telling me all about Remember For Me Diana. I wish you every success with it.

Remember For Me

Clara Eros thought her life was ending with Alzheimer’s. She was mistaken.

A war between good and evil has raged for as long as humanity has existed, and the balance of power between its forces has always remained equal. But that longstanding balance has begun to shift, and the survival of mankind may be at risk.

What is the source of this duality, and how do the proponents of light and darkness use humans to further their cause? When Clara Eros awakens with no memory, her questions are fundamental: who is she; and why is she here?

The answer she receives is predetermined and singular: she has been recruited to fight a battle against the reign of darkness. But is Clara just a pawn in a much larger game?

Once her transformation is complete, Clara finds herself, in body and mind, as a younger, stronger version of the person she can no longer remember, and now she must search for the common thread hidden within malevolence and turn the tide in a war where humanity is succumbing to chaos and brutality. Will she be strong enough to bring humanity back into the light?

Remember For Me is published by Open Books and is available for purchase here.

About Diana Tarant Schmidt

My enormous thanks to Emma Finnigan PR for a copy of The Homecoming by Rosie Howard in return for an honest review. I had intended to read The Homecoming some months ago but life’s events got in the way when my mother was ill and my reading time evaporated. It was certainly worth the wait.

The Homecoming is published by Allison and Busby and is available for purchase here.

The Homecoming

Maddy fled the idyllic market town of Havenbury Magna three years ago, the scene of a traumatic incident she revisits most clearly in her dreams. Even so, when she is called back to help at the Havenbury Arms when her godfather Patrick suffers a heart attack, she is unprepared for the welter of emotions her return provokes.

Psychologist and ex-army officer Ben is sure he can help Maddy to resolve her fears, until he finds himself falling for her, and struggling with a recently uncovered family secret of which Maddy is blissfully unaware.

Then Maddy’s mother, Helen, arrives and Patrick himself must confront a few uncomfortable truths about his history and the pub’s future.

My Review of The Homecoming

Patrick’s heart attack means Maddy has to return to Havenbury and to a trauma she’s desperately trying to forget.

I have an aversion to using genres to categorise books, but I can’t think of any other way to describe Rosie Howard’s The Homecoming than to say it is women’s fiction at its absolute finest. The Homecoming is such a satisfying read and I enjoyed every moment of the experience.

Firstly, The Homecoming is so well written and mature. Rosie Howard’s prose style is effortless to read – a bit like eating the finest dark chocolate. It does have the ubiquitous 30 somethings of its genre in Maddy, Flora and Ben but it also has more mature characters in Serena, Giles, Patrick and Helen so that it goes beyond the usual scenarios into a much more engaging and entertaining read which held my attention without fail from the first page to the last. I love the potential for future Havenbury stories as there is a cast of people I already care about waiting to be developed in new adventures. Even Pirate the parrot felt real and vivid.

The plot is so well structured. Rosie Howard provides a wonderfully warm and engaging main story which is brilliantly entertaining escapist reading with lovely romance and self-discovery at its heart, but so much more besides as she explores the concept of community, PTSD, issues of trust and how one small untruth can impact whole lives. I think any reader with similar elements in their own lives would derive huge comfort from this story. There are totally realistic and plausible twists and turns along the way so that the reader is completely entranced by, and immersed in, the narrative.

I loved the way in which relationships were presented. As in real life, people in The Homecoming do not always behave well or rationally and I found myself desperate for them all, except Kevin and possibly Simon, to have a happy ending. You’ll have to read the book yourself to find out whether that happens – and I really recommend that you do!

If The Homecoming is to be the first in a new Havenbury series then let me move in. I’m desperate to know more about the people and the place. I thought Rosie Howard had produced a pitch perfect story that left me feeling uplifted and beguiled and I can’t wait for the next installment. I loved it.

About Rosie Howard

I’m often flying off to new places but I don’t travel much by train (though I have been on the Bullet train in Japan) so it gives me enormous pleasure to welcome fellow traveller Mark Johnson to the blog today as he stays in to tell me about his book.

If you’re an author who’d also like to stay in with me to tell me about one of your books, please click here for more details.

Staying in with Mark Johnson

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Mark. 

Hi, first of all thanks for asking me. It’s lovely to be here with you.

Lovely to host you Mark. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it? 

I’ve brought my debut novel Changing Trains. Apart from being my first work, I brought it because I wanted to take you back to the 1980s, when Europe was still emerging as a Continental powerhouse.

We still had border controls, and every country had its own currency. But more importantly, it was that time just before our lives were all changed by the arrival of the internet, mobile phones and, ahem, social media.

(Absolutely. I was just finishing my degree, getting married and starting my career in education. The 1980s mean a lot to me and I think Changing Trains could be exactly my kind of read.)

What can we expect from an evening in with Changing Trains?

One reader referred to the story as ‘a gentle, coming-of-age travel adventure’, which I really liked. It tells the story of Sam, a London professional who, while boarding a Eurostar to France in the present day, has a chance encounter that compels him to remember another train journey he took as a young man, back in 1985, that changed his life and destiny.

(Sounds fascinating. Tell me a bit more.)

If you’ve read Call Me By Your Name, or seen the BAFTA and Oscar winning film of the same name, you may also like Changing Trains. Another reader said  they thought it had a similar feel and mood and could even be the story of what happened to that story’s main character next.

The story is about travelling, learning about new countries and also finding one’s place in the wider world. When Sam set off on his adventure at 19, he has no idea who he is or what he wants to do. There are also questions he must face about his own inner self. He’s uncertain of his sexuality – although he has a ‘kind of’ girlfriend – and taking himself off into the world and away from his small town origins helps him come to terms with this question.

(I adore travel and I really do think it broadens the mind and helps us understand our place in the world. I think Sam’s story sounds wonderful Mark.)

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it? 

Let’s start with the music, to get the mood going. I’ve brought an old mix tape with some Jimmy Somerville, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Culture Club. This is the kind of music Sam has on his Walkman as he wanders around on Europe’s trains with his Interrail pass.

(Oh yes indeedy – my kind of music. Though I’m sorry there’s no Roxy Music too. I’m rather fond of Bryan Ferry. You won’t mind if I have a bit of a dance will you?)

I also brought a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape white. It’s not very well known that there’s a white version, but it’s one of my favourites and perfect for kicking back with a good book. If you want to open it, I’ll carry on.

(You’re my kind of guest Mark. I’m very partial to champagne. I’ll just fetch the glasses…)

I also have some photos of my Interrail trip. Changing Trains isn’t an autobiography, but I did go Interrailing in 1985 and this was the inspiration for the book.

In one of the photos, you’ll see my Interrail pass, International Youth Hostel Guide and a city map of Venice. Of course, these days, you would probably have all these in digital form on your mobile phone, but there’s something about having the real things in your hands. And they never run out of power.

In another picture that’s me chilling out on Monte Carlo beach. I forgot I had this picture and only found it recently. I love it because it has a real sense of place thanks to the unique Monte Carlo Sporting Club in the background. I also thought it was so cool that they actually used natural materials for the parasols on this very posh beach. Very green and eco friendly. My character Sam visits this same beach in the book and has a rather risqué encounter there. That’s all I’m saying.

(Now that is intriguing! Great photo Mark – a real 80s feel to it.)

The last photo is my favourite. The old French SNCF trains look so nostalgic now and really like something from the golden age of rail travel, even though they were notoriously late and not always very reliable. I actually wrote much of the book while travelling back and forth between London and SW France on the Eurostar and TGV trains, which are far more comfortable and luxurious, but they don’t have the same character as the old trains.

I still travel on the Eurostar and TGV trains, so if you see me typing away or staring out the window (what I call research), do say hello.

(I will indeed – though with the French rail strikes at the moment it could take a while…)

Thanks so much for staying in with me Mark, to introduce Changing Trains. It sounds like a book that might just evoke many memories for me and Linda’s Book Bag readers. I’ve really enjoyed our time together.

Changing Trains

If you liked Call Me By Your Name, Changing Trains will transport you back to the same time period and one working class boy’s coming-of-age journey of discovery and sexual self awareness.

After a busy week in the newsroom, editor Sam is looking forward to relaxing on his regular Eurostar journey from London to his second home in the south west of France.

But a chance encounter at the busy station compels him back to a time in the 1980s, when he travelled parts of Europe by train alone and in search of adventure, self discovery and his place in the world.

A sun-kissed, coming-of-age story set in a time just before mobile devices, the internet and social media, Sam travels across Europe, with its varied currencies, border controls and strange cultures, keen to better understand his own nature and his relationship with others in a new emerging world.

Changing Trains is available for purchase here.

About Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is a Scottish born journalist, writer and broadcaster. For three years he wrote a weekly column for the Daily Telegraph on life as an expat commuter. He has also worked for award winning news organisations such as the BBC, Bloomberg TV and Dow Jones Newswires.

He’s spent most of his life working as a journalist in the City of London, covering the ups and downs of the global financial markets.

In the noughties, he spent three years living in Dubai and has extensively travelled the world for work and pleasure.

He now lives between London and New Aquitaine in France, traveling often by eurostar and TGV and longs for the day when he doesn’t have to ‘change trains’ to get to the south west.

You can find out more by visiting Mark’s blog, following him on Twitter @MJKennington or finding him on Facebook.

Oh my goodness am I a lucky blogger. Some little while ago I received an invitation from the lovely folk at Quercus to afternoon tea at The Covent Garden Hotel in London with wonderful author Rosanna Ley to celebrate the publication of  her latest novel Her Mother’s Secret. Now, having loved every word I’ve ever read from Rosanna Ley, I jumped at the chance.

Rosanna is no stranger to Linda’s Book Bag, having written a fabulous guest post on Travel and Research when The Little Theatre by the Sea was published. You can read that post here. I also reviewed Rosanna’s Last Dance in Havanna here and that book made it onto my favourite reads of the year here. So you can see why I was so excited.

And what a wonderful afternoon it was.

I tried very hard (and unsuccessfully) not to be too star struck meeting Rosanna and was thrilled to hear all about her next book (though I don’t know if I’m allowed to say too much about it yet, except to say Rosanna’s husband came up with the title!) and to talk with her about travel and her research as that’s another of my great loves alongside reading and books. It was smashing to have author and Heat Magazine‘s Book Review Editor, Isabelle Broom also there as I love Izzy’s writing too.

We were treated to a glass of bubbly and some delicious sandwiches, cakes and scones with our choice of tea so that I think I ate my own body weight in goodies. With the royal wedding coming up we opted for that version of afternoon tea to celebrate Rosanna’s Her Mother’s Secret.

(The waiter had to talk us through the food as there was so much to choose from!)

As well as two super authors in the star guest Rosanna Ley and writer Isabelle Broom, fellow bloggers Laura and Heidi were there along with press officer, lovely Olivia Mead from Quercus, and My Weekly‘s Commissioning Fiction Editor Karen Byrom.

We had a fabulous afternoon with wonderful bookish chat, much laughter and scrumptious food. Even better, I came away with a wonderful copy of Rosanna’s Her Mother’s Secret too. I’ll be reading that and blogging about it as soon as I can.

Her Mother’s Secret

For many years Colette has avoided returning to her homeland – the magical island of Belle-Île-en-Mer in Southern Brittany – afraid to confront the painful memories she left behind. She is living on the Cornish coast when she hears about her mother Thea’s failing health and realises that the time has come for her to go home. But can Colette ever forgive Thea for what she has done?

Despite Colette’s wariness, romantic Belle-Île still fascinates her. She takes on the running of her mother’s flower shop and makes friends with Élodie from the Old Lighthouse where Thea once worked as a nanny and with the enigmatic Étienne who shares Colette’s mixed feelings about the island. As Thea opens up to her for the first time, Colette finds herself softening and being drawn back into the landscape of her past. But can Belle-Île also be a part of her future?

The ghosts of that past still linger. What happened all those years ago and how did it cause the rift between mother and daughter?

It becomes clear that the beauty of Belle-Île hides a devastating family secret – one that Colette is determined to unravel at any cost.

Her Mother’s Secret is published by Quercus and is available for purchase here.

About Rosanna Ley

Rosanna Ley is the bestselling author of novels including Return to Mandalay and The Villa, which sold over 310,000 copies. In February 2015 Return to Mandalay was shortlisted for the RNA Award for the Epic Romantic Novel. She has written numerous articles and short stories for magazines, and her novels have been published in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Norway, Hungary, Portugal, Lithuania, Turkey and the Czech Republic. The Villa is also published by Quercus in the US.

Rosanna has also worked as a creative writing tutor for over 20 years. She has led courses for colleges and universities in England, and runs her own writing retreats in the UK and abroad in Italy and Spain. She has worked with community groups in therapeutic settings and completed an MA in Creative Writing for Personal Development in order to support this. She also runs a manuscript appraisal service to appraise and mentor the work of new writers.  She is married with children and lives in Dorset.

You’ll find Rosanna Ley on Facebook and can follow her on Twitter @rosannaley. You can also visit her website.

My grateful thanks to Jenny Platt at Penguin Random House for a copy of Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling by Emer Mclysaght and Sarah Breen in return for an honest review and for inviting me to be part of the launch celebrations.

Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling was published on 3rd May 2018 by Penguin and is available for purchase here.

Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling

Twenty-something Aisling – that’s pronounced Ashling – is the sensible sort.

She wears kitten heels for the sake of her arches.

And a great night out is knowing the immersion heater at home is securely switched off.

In other words, country girl Aisling likes to play it safe in the big city.

But that hasn’t helped get her man John to hurry up and pop the question.

Throwing caution to the wind an impatient Aisling tries to encourage him, only for her whole life to come crashing down.

Now no umbrella, electric blanket, nor sensibly sized heel can save her.

What’s a complete Aisling to do?

My review of Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling

With all her friends marrying off, Aisling is waiting for long term boyfriend John to propose too.

I have to be completely honest and say that for the first two chapters, although I was enjoying Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling, I didn’t love it. It felt a little bit too self consciously like modern Irish female fiction with colloquialisms and its occasional dialect so that initially I thought it was trying too hard. However, it wasn’t long before I was drawn into the rhythm of the writing, hearing Aisling’s voice as if she were actually one of my own friends and enjoying the humour, so that I found I actually couldn’t put it down and I WAS loving it. Very quickly the narrative style seemed to be natural and realistic, enabling me to picture setting and character perfectly and I found myself wanting to return to the book at every available opportunity. I am now desperate to know what happens next to Aisling and  hope there will be a follow up book.

I found Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling a smashing escapist read with a depth of emotion and variety of theme that genuinely surprised me. It’s not often a reader can say they have been reduced to tears over a wheel clamping episode in a book! I laughed aloud frequently too. I thought the plot was deftly handled so that there were true surprises along the way making for a thoroughly enjoyable story. To say too much would be to spoil the story for other readers, but at the heart of the writing are two major themes of relationships and identity that are both comprehensively and brilliantly handled.

The characters are varied and engaging. Of course Aisling takes centre stage and she is the prism through which we view everyone else, but her descriptions, her ability to digress and her honesty (and frequent confusion) make her a truly understandable and empathetic character. I found the manner in which the layers of character were uncovered in the others by Aisling’s observations was finely tuned and very effective.

Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling has something for every reader because although we may not all be a complete Aisling, I think we all have a little bit of Aisling in us. I thoroughly enjoyed Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling. I found it entertaining, engaging, funny and emotional. It left me feeling as if I had had a really lovely reading experience and I thoroughly recommend it.

About Emer Mclysaght and Sarah Breen

Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen conceived the character of Aisling in their sitting room in 2008, when they began to observe the many traits, characteristics and quirks of a very particular type of Irish girl; one they identified around them and one they identified with.

Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling was an instant sensation in their native Ireland and the Number One bestselling adult fiction title of 2017.

Emer McLysaght is the former editor of The Daily Edge and has worked extensively in journalism and radio.

Sarah Breen is a journalist whose work has appeared in Stellar, Image, U, the Irish Independent and The Gloss.

You can follow Emer on Twitter @EmerTheScreamer and Sarah @sarahjaybee.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

Since I began this Staying in with… feature on Linda’s Book Bag I have featured authors who are new to me, who are friends in real life, and who have made me laugh, cry and think. Today’s guest, José de la Torre, is one of those who is making me think!

If you’re an author who’d also like to stay in with me to tell me about one of your books, please click here for more details.

Staying in with José de la Torre

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, José,  Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

It’s an honor to be here with you, thank you for inviting me along.

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it? 

I’ve brought along my new book Spiritual Living for Busy People, because I honestly believe it may help people who may be searching.

There’s a growing trend in this country of people who consider themselves to be spiritual, but not necessarily religious.  I grew up in a very religious household, so I struggled for many years with my heart and mind at odds with each other, with my mind struggling with the faith I was raised in, while my heart sought a deeper spiritual connection with the Creator.  After twenty years of searching, I think I finally found answers that reconciled my heart with my mind.  Now I want to share those thoughts with others who may be struggling with the same thing.

(What an interesting premise for your writing. I think many, many people are indeed searching for their own version of spirituality José .)

What can we expect from an evening in with Spiritual Living for Busy People?

If you’ve been struggling with faith, or have been wanting to find more meaning in life or understand who we are and where we come from, then this book may help you find answers to all those questions.  Even if you are comfortable with your faith, you may find ideas in this book reaffirming or encouraging.

The basic conclusion I came to is that we’re all sparks off the Divine flame, so there’s nothing to do necessarily to be spiritual, because we are, at our core, spiritual beings.  Not only that, but we also have a mental body and an emotional body, that all combine and work together as a whole in our physical body.  Imagine that we create our own reality starting with a desire in our soul, then it becomes a thought, and that thought becomes energized through our emotions until it is acted on by our body.

(That’s quite profound. I’ll need to think hard about what you’re saying here.)

What else have you brought along and why? 

I brought a couple of pictures with me that I wanted to share with you.

When it comes down to it, all we have is each other.  Our lives are shaped and defined by our relationships with each other.  We get the most out of life when we love others freely, and in return, we receive love.

I was watching the sunset this evening and it was gorgeous!  It reminded me of the beauty of God’s creation.  It was as if though God had made a live painting with the sky as the canvas!  The first picture I’d like to share then, is that of a couple in love admiring a beautiful sunset.  It reminds me that it all comes down to loving each other, and it also reminds me to take the time to admire the beauty around us and to give thanks for what we have.

(You’re absolutely right that we need to be more aware of the simple pleasures in life and to be grateful for what we have – especially when we are so much better off than many others.)

When I was a young boy, we’d go camping in Boy Scouts almost every month.  One of my favorite parts of camping was lighting a camp fire at night, and then singing corny camp songs or telling outrageous ghost stories to try and scare each other.  Then when everything was over, I would just sit and stare at the flames. They can be quite mesmerizing!  Once in a while, there would be a popping sound, and an ember would go flying out.

To me, the fire is a good analogy for the Creator.  Creation is born out of a creative force that is fiery.  If God is the fire, then each of us is like a spark that pops out of the fire.  We are a tiny miniscule version of the Creator, and have part of the Creator within us.  Through that spark, we are connected directly to the Creator at all times as well, so there is never a time that we are separate from Creation or the Creator.  Even now, I enjoy watching sparks fly off from a campfire.  Even the tiniest spark has the potential of starting a brand new fire.

How interesting. Thanks so much for staying in with me and sharing your book, Spiritual Living for Busy People and your beliefs José. I’m sure you’ve given many of us food for thought.

Spiritual Living for Busy People

In today’s frantically busy world, how can we find the time to live spiritually? What does living spiritually mean, anyway? Why are we even here? What is the point of it all?

Spiritual Living for Busy People answers all of these questions, and many more.

When you read this accessible, thought-provoking book, you will:

• Learn what it means to live spiritually, and why taking small breaks for spiritual refreshment can offer great benefits.

• See how you can live spiritually, without a significant investment of your time.

• Discover your purpose in life, your reason for being here.

• Find out how you can MAP IT FIRST, DUDE to find the path to fulfillment.

• Claim your power to create the life you want.

• Consider how obtaining inner peace can contribute to world peace.

Be at peace!

Spiritual Living for Busy People is available for purchase here.

About José de la Torre

José de la Torre, who holds a degree in mathematics from Arizona State University, a Masters from the University of Texas at Austin and did a stint in the Peace Corps, was raised Catholic and spent 20 years searching for meaning. During that time he read hundreds of books on spirituality, philosophy and metaphysics. He wrote Spiritual Living for Busy People because he wanted other people to have an easier time in their own search for spirituality and meaning.

You can find out more on José’s website. You’ll also find him on Facebook.

It’s been my absolute privilege to feature C.L. Taylor on Linda’s Book Bag before when Cally wrote a super guest post about the things that terrified her as a child (here) when The Missing was being launched, when we bloggers revealed her novel The Escape (here) and more recently when I reviewed The Treatment in a post you can read here.

Today I am reviewing Cally’s latest book, The Fear, and would like to thank Sabah Khan at Avon Books for sending me a copy in return for an honest review. I was so sorry I couldn’t participate in the blog tour as I didn’t trust automatic scheduling whilst I was away on holiday, but am delighted to have been able to review anyway.

Published by Avon Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, The Fear is available for purchase through these links.

The Fear

Sometimes your first love won’t let you go…

When Lou Wandsworth ran away to France with her teacher Mike Hughes, she thought he was the love of her life. But Mike wasn’t what he seemed and he left her life in pieces.

Now 32, Lou discovers that he is involved with teenager Chloe Meadows. Determined to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself, she returns home to confront him for the damage he’s caused.

But Mike is a predator of the worst kind, and as Lou tries to bring him to justice, it’s clear that she could once again become his prey…

My review of The Fear

Boyfriend Ben’s attempt at a romantic surprise backfires dreadfully for Lou.

The Fear is a twisty, clever thriller that held me spellbound from start to finish. There are elements where the reader needs to suspend disbelief as characters don’t always behave rationally and there are a couple of inconsistencies with regard to phone signals for example, but these have no negative effect at all because the plot is so thrilling and engaging and C.L. Taylor writes so well and convincingly. On several occasions I had to put down The Fear as I was reading to give myself a break, often exclaiming ,’Ooo’ as I did so because it has such a claustrophobic and disturbing atmosphere.

At times I found the subject matter very uncomfortable to read, with a much older man exploiting teenage girls, especially in the italicised first person accounts of the past from Lou, but I think this is one of the many successes of the writing. C.L. Taylor makes the reader understand completely how the inappropriate relationships develop and how plausible such manipulative men like Mike can be. I loved the way she illustrated the impact of such behaviours on so many people and I found Wendy a particularly strong, obsessive individual who gained my empathy despite her own creepy behaviour.

I found myself completely invested in the characters, desperate to know what happened to them all and even having finished the book, I’m still thinking about Chloe and Lou especially, because they felt so real to me.

However, as well as being a highly entertaining story, The Fear has many layers of depth that really cause the reader to contemplate society and how we judge and are judged by others. The impact of social media, sexuality and the way in which teenage girls can be so affected by their sense of self-image, the attitudes of the press and the police all swirl beneath the surface of a cracking story so that there is enhanced intensity. Not every person who commits a crime is caught and punished and I think this is what makes C.L. Taylor such a good writer. She doesn’t always provide easy answers and solutions, so that her writing has a genuine supremacy. She makes her readers think whilst entertaining them brilliantly.

I thought The Fear was a corker of a read. It’s one of those books that worms its way under a reader’s skin and doesn’t let them forget it in a hurry. I really recommend it.

About C. L Taylor

C.L. Taylor studied for a degree in Psychology at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle then moved to London to work as a shipping co-ordinator for a medical publishing company. Made redundant after two years she re-trained and moved to Brighton where she worked as a graphic designer, web developer and instructional designer over the course of 13 years. She currently works 4 days a week as a Distance Learning Design and Development manager for a London university, looks after her toddler son 3 days a week and squeezes in writing her novels when she should be sleeping.

You can follow C.L. Taylor on Twitter and find out more about her on her web site. You’ll also find her on Facebook.