There will be a full cover reveal for The Joyce Girl by Annabel Abbs on Thursday 17th March 2016. The Joyce Girl is to be published by Impress Books in June. However, to whet your appetite for this historical novel and to support #YoungMindsMatter mental health I am bringing you this teaser post today. I hope you’ll return to find out more about The Joyce Girl later too.

1928

Lucia, the talented and ambitious daughter of James Joyce, is making her name as a dancer, training with the most gifted performers in glittering, avant-garde Paris. When a young Samuel Beckett comes to work for her father, she’s captivated by his quiet intensity and falls passionately in love. Persuaded she has clairvoyant powers, Lucia believes her destiny is to marry Beckett. But when her beloved brother is enticed away, the hidden threads of the Joyce’s lives begin to unravel, threatening Lucia’s determination to become a professional dancer, destroying her dream of marriage – and foiling her attempts to escape the shadow of her genius father.

 1935

Her life in tatters, Lucia is sent by her father to pioneering psychoanalyst, Doctor Jung. For years she has kept quiet. But now, she decides to speak.

Inspired by a true story, The Joyce Girl is a compelling and moving account of thwarted ambition and the destructive love of a father.

You can follow Impress Books on Twitter as well as @The_JoyceGirl using #JoyceGirl for more information as it’s released.

 

 

I was very fortunate to meet lovely Daniel Pembrey at an event organised by The Book Club (#TBConFB) on Facebook but with an enormous pile of books awaiting review it’s taken me several months to get round to reading my signed copy of The Candidate. The Candidate is available in ebook, audio and paperback on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

I have also read another of Daniel’s short stories, The Lion Hunter, and you can read that review here.

The Candidate

When Nick Thorneycroft wakes to find a long blonde hair on his pillow and some female underwear on his bedroom floor but he can’t remember a thing about the night before, little does he anticipate the chain of events about to unfold. This is more than just a good night out!

I’m not sure quite how he does it, but in only 126 pages Daniel Pembrey manages to encompass a world of international and corporate espionage, intrigue, sexuality and violence in a novella worthy of the best crime writers. I think the fact that this is a novella gives a sharpness to the writing so that each word has to earn its keep. However, that’s not to say that there isn’t sufficient description to add colour too. There’s a real sense of place so that Luxembourg, rather than any other European city, has to be the setting for The Candidate with views over the skyline, bridges and side streets all adding to the atmosphere and advancing the plot.  I’d even go so far as to say that Luxembourg is a character in its own right.

There’s very much a feel of James Bond about the plot, although Nick is a far more prosaic character than 007 and all the more appealing for it. Given the political and corporate world he inhabits, Nick could be described as either totally naive or completely astute when he doesn’t go to the police following some startling events, and that is what makes this such a compelling story. The reader accepts Nick’s decisions and wants to know the truth as much as he does.

There are twists and turns aplenty in The Candidate and Daniel Pembrey deceived me on a number of occasions making for a highly satisfying read. The title has a range of interpretations – who is the candidate for leaving their underwear on Nick’s floor? Who is the candidate being headhunted by Nick’s firm? Why does the firm need such a candidate in the first place? Who are the candidates pursuing Nick? Whilst these questions are resolved, there’s also a kind of cliff hanger with scope for further development of Nick in another story which I’d certainly like to read.

If you want an exciting, quick and intriguing read, I can’t recommend The Candidate highly enough.

You can find all Daniel’s fiction here and you can visit his web site where if you sign up to his newsletter you’ll find out how you can meet Daniel too! You’ll also find Daniel on Twitter.

I was delighted to be offered the chance by Ruby Mitchell at Hodder to read The Mirror World of Melody Black by Gavin Extence in return for an honest review. The Mirror World of Melody Black was published on 10th March 2016 and is available in paperback, hardback and e-book from Amazon UK, Amazon US, Hodder, Waterstones and all good bookshops.

I was fortunate to be involved in the launch celebrations for The Mirror World of Melody Black and you can read my interview with Gavin here.

My Review of The Mirror World of Melody Black 

When freelance journalist Abby finds the dead body of neighbour Simon, little does she realise how her life will freefall in the coming months.

The Mirror World of Melody Black is an intriguing and intelligent read. Gavin Extence’s first hand experiences underpin his writing with an authority and depth that make it hard not to be affected by the writing.

I found Abby a very difficult character to like. She’s brittle, manic and selfish in many ways. However, despite the fact I wouldn’t want her in my life, Gavin Extence made me empathise with her almost against my will. I didn’t like her but I wanted to know what happened to her. It worried me that those around her didn’t know quite how to respond to her, and her relationships with Beck and her family particularly left me feeling sad.

The themes explored in The Mirror World of Melody Black are highly relevant to today’s society as Abby struggles to manage good mental health. Reading this made me question my own responses and attitudes and the answers did not always make for a comfortable feeling. It’s testament to the quality of the writing that Gavin Extence illustrates so well just how easily a person can go from being slightly unhappy to suicidal or happy to completely manic. The vibrancy and extremes of experiences as Abby attunes to colour and sound are elements of mental health I hadn’t really considered before. I found my own senses appreciating Abby’s fully.

Other than a couple of startling episodes, the plot is relatively simple and straightforward and I suspect that is a deliberate effect to mirror the way lives of those with a bipolar disorder often live. This simplicity serves to exemplify how ‘ordinary’ life is a struggle for those with mental health issues. The book also questions quite where we draw the line between sanity and insanity and it made me wonder who we are to judge. I’m sure we all could inhabit the mirror world suggested by Jocelyn.

It sounds, from what I’ve said, as if The Mirror World of Melody Black is pessimistic and bleak but not a bit of it. It is thought provoking and disturbing in many respects but there is love and humour too. There’s great wit, particularly in the conversations Abby has. Whilst I didn’t laugh out loud I found myself smiling frequently as I read. Gavin Extence uses pithy one line sentences that manage to convey a whole world of information and understanding to the reader.

I’m not sure if I enjoyed reading The Mirror World of Melody Black. I thought it was interesting and compelling. I found it unsentimental and intelligent. I found it both uncomfortable and moving. More to the point, I had to carry on reading – almost against my will.

The Mirror World of Melody Black is a novel that will make readers think, and that is no bad thing.

You can find out more about Gavin on his web site and follow him on Twitter.

I’m thrilled to be part of the launch celebrations for The Mirror World of Melody Black by Gavin Extence and published by Hodder in paperback on 10th March 2016. I’ll be posting my review tomorrow, 12th March, but in the mean time I’m excited that Gavin agreed to answer three eclectic questions I had. You can read the answers below.

The Mirror World of Melody Black is available in paperback, hardback and e-book from Amazon UK, Amazon US, Hodder, Waterstones and all good bookshops.

The Mirror World of Melody Black

Life has its ups and downs.

‘You’re going to find some of my actions frustrating. I’m hard to live with, maddening, uneven – I get that. But I can’t stand around listing my faults or we’ll be here for ever. All I ask right now is that you indulge me. For as long as it lasts, this is going to be one hell of a ride.’

Abby is an aspiring journalist, an indifferent daughter, a cohabiting girlfriend; a ‘normal’ woman in her mid-twenties. But something sets her apart from everyone else. It allows her to achieve complete truth and clarity. Something that no one else could ever understand. But the very thing that sets Abby apart could destroy her.

And then she meets Melody Black.

In The Mirror World of Melody Black, Gavin draws upon his own experiences to depict an unsettling, at times hilarious, but most of all truthful account of what it’s like to live with bipolar disorder. He brings to the fore questions like where is the line between sanity and insanity? At what point has someone gone off the rails? And what is the difference between passion and mania?

Praise for The Mirror World of Melody Black

‘[Extence] captures how the illness feels from the inside with sensitivity and sparkling humour. In Abby he has created a warm, funny and relatable heroine’ Daily Express

‘Extence really brings Abby to life in this honest, unequivocal narrative…There is something curiously cathartic about this book, as well as having the bravery, touching honesty and memorable protagonist that Extence is making his trademark’ Heat

‘Insightful and sensitive, Extence describes with the lightest of touches what it’s like to live with bipolar’ Sunday Express

‘[Abby’s] at the heart of Gavin Extence’s sensitive, witty second novel. The immediacy of his writing draws you into Abby’s world, and cleverly shows how fine the line is that separates what we call ‘normal’ from not’ Psychologies.

An Interview with Gavin Extence

What were the challenges of writing from a female perspective?

I’d be the first to admit that I’m not the most manly of men, and to be honest, I never found the idea of writing as a woman particularly daunting. I always felt confident that I could write a female narrator and make her voice feel authentic. But there were still lots of creative challenges that I hadn’t really anticipated. Women’s clothing was the big one. Abby, the narrator has a lot of hang-ups about how she looks – her weight, her height, the size of her breasts. She spends a lot of time thinking about how she looks, and how she appears to other people, so I had to spend a lot of time thinking about these things too. I had to do a lot of research. I learnt about necklines and hemlines and colour coordination. I watched vlogs about matching makeup with hair and skin tone. There were instances when I spent literally hours deciding what Abby was going to wear. My wife tells me that I became noticeably better at dressing our daughter during this period!

How does society view ‘normality’ and why did you want to explore this in your novel?

For me, normality and abnormality are really interesting and difficult concepts, and they’re always tied to the wider context of society. Human beings are social animals; we’ve evolved to live together and cooperate, and so there are big psychological pressures that make most of us want to conform – and that perhaps make us suspicious of anything different or abnormal. But normality isn’t always a good thing, just as abnormality isn’t always bad. Abraham Lincoln’s views on slavery were abnormal for the times he was living in. Albert Einstein’s mind wasn’t normal. I read somewhere that Beethoven’s personal hygiene was abnormally bad (even by nineteenth century standards). He frequently forgot to wash because he was too busy composing. But I think most of us would be willing to forgive this in Beethoven’s case.  If the price of the Moonlight Sonata was Beethoven not washing his hair, then that’s fine by me.  Abnormality can in many instances be a problem, and it can be difficult to live with, but it also enriches our culture to remarkable degree, and that’s worth celebrating.

What was it like to be featured on the Simon Mayo book club?

My debut also featured on the Simon Mayo book club, so I didn’t think they’d even consider Melody Black. I assumed it would be ruled out by default. So it came as a very pleasant surprise. It’s a nervy experience having a new book out, and it was a big confidence boost to have that kind of endorsement. It’s also great to get that first feedback from the listeners who have read the book. That’s a bit scary too because you get to hear what people thought of your novel live on air. But when the feedback’s good, there aren’t many better feelings. The feedback I got on Simon Mayo was very good, and hugely encouraging.

(And well deserved I think!)

Photo courtesy of Alix Extence

Gavin Extence lives in Sheffield with his wife, children and cat. He has written two novels, The Universe Versus Alex Woods and The Mirror World of Melody Black.

Both have featured on BBC Radio 2’s Book Club with Simon Mayo. The Universe Versus Alex Woods, which tackled the big issue of assisted dying with humour and a lightness of touch, won the Writer’s Guide Best Book 2013, was shortlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize, selected as a Richard and Judy Summer Book Club Read, and was a Top Ten Amazon Best Book of 2013.

Look out for Gavin’s new novel, The Empathy Problem, coming in August 2016.

You can follow Gavin on Twitter or find out more about Gavin on his web site, and with these other bloggers:

 

When I first got involved in blogging and social media, Joanna Lambert was one of the first people I came across, so it gives me enormous pleasure to be supporting her romance The Other Side of The Morning published by ThornBerry Publishing on 8th March 2014.

You can buy The Other Side of the Morning on Amazon UK and Amazon US and there is the opportunity, open internationally to enter to win one of two paperback or two e-book copies of The Other Side of the Morning at the bottom of this blog post.

The Other Side of the Morning

Fashion designer Thérèse D’Alesandro has recently moved into Higher Padbury Manor with daughter Felica and stepson Marco. Joining forces with Ella Benedict’s exclusive functions venue Lawns at Little Court, she is about to open a bridal boutique.

Working in London where he manages his father’s European restaurant chain, Marco has both the looks and charm to guarantee him any woman; any woman, that is, except the one he wants: Ella’s niece Charlotte. Marco knows he should walk away as she’s already involved with rock star Christian Rosetti and is the most rude and argumentative female he has ever encountered, but Charlotte has sparked strong feelings within him; feelings which despite her attitude, he senses she is also experiencing.

Recently returned from abroad and now working for her father’s record company, Lucy Benedict has discovered Christian’s guilty secrets – ones he has been keeping safely hidden from her cousin Charlotte. Determined to cause mischief and at the same time settle her own score with the arrogant star, she sets in motion a chain of events which sees Charlotte eventually beginning a relationship with Marco.

Rossana Caravello, the D’Alesandros’s newly-arrived house guest, is due to inherit the one of Italy’s premier vineyards on her eighteenth birthday. Aware they would make an excellent addition to her husband Gianlucca’s international business portfolio and eager to bring them into his possession, Thérèse sets about engineering a match between Rossana and Marco, determined nothing will stand in her way… including Charlotte.

From rural West Somerset to the glorious rolling landscape of Tuscany and the Italian Lakes The Other Side of The Morning  is a story of love, betrayal, deception and ultimate sacrifice.

Watch the video trailer for this lovely romance here.

 About Joanna Lambert 

Born and raised in rural Wiltshire, Jo grew up with a love of books and a vivid imagination. As a child she enjoyed creating her own stories and reading them to her friends. College, work and eventually marriage meant writing was kept very much as a hobby. Her career as a board level PA eventually moved into management and it wasn’t until 2009 that she finally realised her long term goal of publishing her first novel – When Tomorrow Comes.

Juggling work and writing, three other connected books – Love Lies and Promises, The Ghost of You and Me and Between Today and Yesterday – followed. They became collectively known as the Little Court Series.

In 2013 she decided to give up full time work to concentrate on her writing. Two books have been written since – The Other Side of Morning, which finally wrapped up the Little Court Series and Summer Moved On, book one of a two-part love story set in South Devon. Although you can find her characters in glamorous locations like Italy, Grand Cayman, Bali and Australia, the core of her writing remains with village life, an environment she knows and loves. When she isn’t writing, she reviews for Hodder and Stoughton, Brook Cottage Books and NetGalley. Jo lives in a village on the eastern edge of Bath with her husband, one small grey feline called Mollie and a green MGB GT.  She loves travel, red wine and rock music.

 

You can find Joanna on Facebook, Google+ and her web site. You can also follow her on Twitter and read her blog.

Twitter: Twitter: @jolambertwriter

Click here for the opportunity, open internationally to enter to win one of two paperback or two e-book copies of The Other Side of the Morning.

 

 

I’m thrilled to be starting the launch celebrations of Katerina Diamond’s debut novel The Teacher which is published by Avon, an imprint of Harper Collins, today 10th March 2016. The Teacher is available to buy on Amazon UK, Waterstones, Amazon US, WH Smith and from all good bookshops.

Even more exciting is that these celebrations are different from usual, as Katerina Diamond has written an exclusive story featuring Adrian and Imogen from The Teacher in episodes revealed over the next several days and I am delighted to be sharing the first one below.

The Teacher

You think you know who to trust?
You think you know the difference between good and evil?

You’re wrong …

This is The Teacher: a debut crime novel from Katerina Diamond. It will upturn everything you thought you knew. And you absolutely will not forget it.

A LESSON YOU WILL NEVER FORGET

The body of the head teacher of an exclusive Devon school is found hanging from the rafters in the assembly hall.

Hours earlier he’d received a package, and only he could understand the silent message it conveyed. It meant the end.

As Exeter suffers a rising count of gruesome deaths, troubled DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles must solve the case and make their city safe again.

But as they’re drawn into a network of corruption, lies and exploitation, every step brings them closer to grim secrets hidden at the heart of their community.

And once they learn what’s motivating this killer, will they truly want to stop him?

SMART. GRIPPING. GRUESOME.

This is a psychological crime thriller in a class of its own.

Warning: Most definitely *not* for the faint-hearted!

STALKERS – Part 1

An exclusive short story from Katerina Diamond

Adrian searched through the kitchen cupboards for some aspirin; paracetamol; anything that would take the dull ache behind his eyeballs away. For once it was not alcohol induced, although it was equally as self-inflicted as he spent the weekend with his eyes transfixed on the giant TV in the lounge. Time with his son Tom was scarce enough and so, when he wanted to hang out, Adrian couldn’t say no. He knew he was a sucker; Tom had him wrapped around his finger. There was a gentle knock on the door, it was unlikely to be his partner, Grey, as she usually shouted something vaguely emasculating through the letterbox. He grabbed his shirt off the back of the sofa and put it on before answering the door.

“Hello. Sorry to bother you.” A young, redheaded woman was standing there in nurse scrubs. He remembered he had seen her before, but not where from.

“Have we met?” He asked tentatively, not entirely sure he wanted to know the answer. She could be anything from someone he had previously arrested to a one-night stand, he wouldn’t remember either way.

“Not really, I live in the flats opposite. We’ve passed each other a couple of times.”

“Oh right, is there a problem?”

“Well I heard you were in the police and I came to ask you a favour?”

“I’m a detective, yes. What kind of favour?”

Adrian looked at the clock, it was around forty-five minutes until Grey would be here to pick him up. They took turns driving in.

“Can you come and check if my lock has been tampered with? …it’s just, I’m sure someone’s been in my house.”

“If you’ve been burgled it’s best to call it in. What’s been taken?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why do you think the lock’s been tampered with?”

The young woman pulled her phone out of her pocket and started looking through the photos until she found the one she was looking for. She showed him a picture of her bedroom, it was spotless and coordinated, very organised, pretty much the exact opposite of Adrian’s.

“I took this picture yesterday before I went to work.” She scrolled through several pictures to a picture of the same room again.

“What am I looking at?”

“When I left for work my dressing gown was on top of the wash basket. When I got home it was hanging on the hook.”

He took her phone and scrolled through the photos himself, the date and time matched her story. He handed back the phone. There had been a spate of break-ins around the St Thomas area of the city recently.

“Ok, I’ll come with you now.” Adrian grabbed his coat and keys, double checking the door was locked before he walked to her flat.

To be continued…

You can follow Katerina Diamond on Twitter

I know you’ll want to read on, so follow the rest of the episodes with these other bloggers:

It gives me great pleasure to be part of the launch celebrations of Beyond the Surf by H W Neild, published on 11th March by HNL. Beyond the Surf is available to purchase in e-book and paperback from online retailers including Amazon UK and Amazon US and to order from all good bookstores.

Beyond the Surf

A young woman’s dream.
A mercenary tycoon seizing the opportunity.
Islands ripe with potential.
…. All in the throes of coming of age through political unrest …….

Kayte King lives to kitesurf. Financially broke in her windless hometown, Kayte’s spirits sink to all new levels. When an all-expenses paid invite to The Martinez Islands presents itself, to promote tourism with the potential to break her current world record — a once in lifetime opportunity — Kayte grabs it.

Accompanied by her boyfriend, Steve, she travels to the islands with high hopes and expectations. They link up with their American counterparts and form the kitesurfing group that will attract tourism the islands desperately need.

Mercenary leader, Roger MacGill, brought in to eliminate anarchy, is tasked with the formation and training of a local police force. Stability temporarily subdued, MacGill has capitalised on the island’s beauty and invests in its modernisation. But, MacGill is now dangerously low on funds and desperate to see returns on his investment.

The kitesurfing contingency’s arrival rocks local interest. Fascinated by the kites, yet wary of foreigners, their apprehension bubbles to the surface. Storm clouds gather. The political unrest that follows, threatens to shatter all their dreams.

An extract from Beyond the Surf

The letter, typed on official-headed paper, read:

Dear Ms King, 12th February 2003

On behalf of our esteemed and honoured Life President, Prince Jaffa, I am writing to you, as the current female kite surfing speed record holder, to invite you to improve your record on The Martinez Islands, our nation State on 14th March 2003.

We are delighted that Mr Chuck Schneider, the men’s record holder from America, will also be attending.

As soon as you accept Prince Jaffa’s invitation in writing, I will send you two airline tickets and a cheque for $5,000.00 to attend. If you break your record whilst here on The Martinez Islands the Prince will be delighted to present you with another cheque for $15,000.00.

This will be an all expenses paid one week trip. The Prince will pay for all yours and a kite caddy’s travel costs, including taxis to the airport, excess baggage and all accommodation and expenses for both of you during your stay.

I very much look forward to hearing from you, at your earliest convenience, to confirm your attendance. My office will be in touch immediately afterwards regarding all the travel arrangements.

If there is anything else you would like to know please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Signed Jon Mabenge Director of Tourism.

And here she was, exactly three weeks after receiving the letter, coming into land on The Martinez Islands, two tiny full stops and a comma in the middle of nowhere – five hundred miles off the east coast of Africa. She hadn’t really believed the invitation was 100% genuine until the moment she’d seen the islands clearly come to focus.

About H W Neild

Henry Neild divides his time living  in a small village outside Winchester and a coastal retreat in southern France. Leaving school age 16 Henry worked in the film industry as a freelance location manager and later turned his hand to music videos for bands including; Oasis, Moby and Pulp. Returning to college he studied Agricultural Business and Finance which took him to work in Africa. He went on to become a rural property developer and wine exporter before setting up web-based conduit for commercial property owners and filmmakers in the UK. He has previously written scripts for Sky Travel and Fierce Vision as well as articles for magazines including; Hampshire Life, Flybe and Society. Henry’s interests include walking with his Patterdale terrier, Mister Bonaparte, gardening, cooking and horse racing, he is also a keen tennis player and ocean swimmer.

For more information please visit Henry Neild’s web site or follow him on Twitter.

Since joining several online groups for authors and bloggers I have been fortunate to meet some lovely people and author Caroline James is one of them. Her new book Coffee, Tea, the Caribbean and Me was released last month and I’m delighted Caroline has agreed to tell me more about her writing.

Coffee, Tea, the Caribbean and Me

‘The time to be happy is now…’

Jo remembers her late husband’s words but is struggling to face the lonely future that lies ahead. A heartbroken widow, the love of her life, husband Romany John, has died suddenly and Jo finds herself alone with ghostly memories at Kirkton House – a Cumbrian Manor that until recently, she ran as a thriving hotel. Her two sons have moved away; Jimmy to run a bar in Barbados and Zach, to London to pursue a career as a celebrity chef. Middle-age and widowhood loom frighteningly and Jo determines to sell up and start again, despite protestations from colourful friend, Hattie and erstwhile admirer Pete Parks. Hattie convinces Jo to postpone any life-changing decisions by enjoying a Caribbean holiday in Barbados and their holiday sets off a course of events that brings mayhem and madness to Jo and her family.

Confused and anxious for her future, can life really begin again for Jo? Is there hope in middle years and can romance happen?

An Interview with Caroline James

Hi Caroline. Thank you so much for agreeing to answer some questions on my blog about your writing and your latest book  ‘Coffee, Tea, the Caribbean and Me’.

Hi Linda – thanks so much for hosting me on your lovely blog.

Firstly, please could you imagine we are on a one minute speed date and tell me a little about yourself?

OK, ‘speed date’ head on, here goes…

I hated school and left home at 15 and headed to Cornwall where, in-between beach days and surfing, I worked in a hotel.  Three years later I got a grip, shed the cheesecloth dress, hippy cowbell and Jesus sandals and went to college and my career in hospitality began. From pot washing to waiting table, working for a large hotel group and ultimately owning a pub then gorgeous country house hotel in Cumbria, after which, I ran a business representing celebrity chefs for many years which was great fun despite the crazy and sometimes bizarre situations I often found myself in.

(I was a pot washer too so maybe there’s hope for me yet as a writer!)

When did you first realise you were going to be a writer?

Four years ago. It was a do or die moment, as in glue your bum to a chair, stop talking about it and get writing.

(That might be one of the ways I’m going wrong. Note to self – glue bum to chair…)

If you hadn’t become an author, would you have become a chef as I notice you have lots of food related elements in your writing and on your website, or is there another creative outlet you’d prefer?

I’d like to have been a criminal lawyer but having buggered (can I say that?) school up that was out of the question, although I went on to get an education in my own time. I have been a chef and, having worked with some of the best when I represented them,  know how hard they work to get to the top. It isn’t all about glamour in front of the camera; it takes blood, sweat, tears and courage to rise above the rest.

How do you go about researching detail and ensuring your books are realistic?

I write what I know and flavour it with a subtle camouflage of made-up characters. Research is made easier by the internet but I like to emerge myself physically in the places I write about.

Which aspects of your writing do you find easiest and most difficult?

Food trips across the page with as much pleasure as I have when I’m eating it. Death makes me dig deep and having experienced tragedy in my life, it is painful to write.

How different or similar do you find writing short stories or articles for magazines in comparison with novels?

Just as hard. Every short story or article is a pocket version of a novel, it has to have a beginning, middle and rounded ending but you have less time to tell the story.

What are your writing routines and where do you do most of your writing?

My best time is very early morning, as in 5 am. The world is sleeping and calm and the only sound is the ticking of a clock. I can meet up with my characters again and in the peace of an undisturbed day I can find out where they are going next. I write at an old oak desk in the corner of a room with doors firmly closed.

When you’re not writing, what do you like to read?

I love crime and lots of complicated tales from the darker side. I’ll have a go at most genres but if it doesn’t grip in the first few pages I don’t often hang in there.

If you could chose to be a character from ‘Coffee, Tea, the Caribbean and Me’, who would you be and why?

I’d like to be Hattie because she rides through life with an open mind and willingness to try anything once. Age is just a number to Hattie and she’s a larger than life colourful character who has a heart of gold. To be like this would be a joy, not worrying about the extra pounds, the commitment to day-to-day nonsense or what people think – imagine the freedom!

If  ‘Coffee, Tea, the Caribbean and Me”  became a film, who would you like to play Jo and Hattie?  

If we’re talking block-buster I’d have Meryl Streep as Jo and Melissa McCarthy as Hattie.

If you had 15 words to persuade a reader that ‘Coffee, Tea, the Caribbean and Me’ should be their next read, what would you say?

It’s never too late in life and there is always hope no matter what…

You supported Movember with the publication ‘Let’s Hear it for the Boys’. What made you choose to do that?

It’s a great cause and Movember is an excellent charity that is committed to changing men’s health and someone close to me was suffering with prostate cancer, which bought it home. We must look after our men – they often forget to look after themselves.

What was it like writing in collaboration with two other writers, Sheryl Browne and Emma Calin?

Fabulous – lovely ladies and great writers, as are all the contributers in the book, Let’s Hear It For The Boys.

What’s next for Caroline James as a writer?

I’m on the final furlong with the next book, Coffee Tea The Boomers & Me and loving it. There is a really nasty evil character in there called, Andy Mack, and I am enjoying the ride with him (they say write what you know!”). This is due for publication Autumn this year.

(Now I’m intrigued about Andy…)

Thank you so much, Caroline, for your time in answering my questions.

Thanks for asking such great questions Linda, it’s been my pleasure to chat with you here.

You can find all of Caroline’s books on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Find out more about Caroline on her website and follow her on Twitter.

I’m delighted to be part of the launch celebrations for Catherine Miller’s debut novel Waiting for You published by Carina UK on 10th March 2016. Waiting for You is available in e-book from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

It seems impossible to believe that Catherine is mum to young twins and battles various illnesses as well as being an author so I asked her how she managed to achieve what she has. You can read her reply below in an inspiring guest post.

Waiting for You

Waiting for You is an emotional and gripping debut novel you won’t be able to put down…

You’d never guess that Fliss Chapron doesn’t have it all

All Fliss wants is to see two blue lines telling her she is pregnant with her much longed for second baby. But as the negative tests stack up, dreams of completing her perfect family feel more hopeless every day.

After years of disappointment, Fliss’s husband Ben is spending more time at the office than in their marital bed, and Fliss finds herself wondering who could be responsible for their inability to conceive another child. Yet, where do you lay the blame when it comes to having a child – and can anyone really be at fault…

As Ben becomes increasingly distant, Fliss begins to question whether her desire for a baby is just a sticking plaster to save her marriage. Because in the end, how well can you ever know another person…even the man you’re married to?

Nothing Is Easy. Everything Is Possible.

A Guest Post by Catherine Miller

That’s been my mantra for life.

It was my mantra for the years I worked to be a physiotherapist.

It was my mantra in the years of attempting to become a writer after ill health meant I needed to change career.

It was definitely my mantra after giving birth to beautiful twin girls and at that point, only having written the first chapter of Waiting for You.

In Waiting for You, Fliss is desperate for a second baby. To her it’s important for her daughter to have a sibling and for the family to feel complete, but she’s quick to realise her marriage isn’t as happy as it once was. They have a dual living arrangement with her husband up in London during the week and with them in their Kent cottage at the weekends. The decision to have another child is put on hold while she tries to fix their marriage, but it doesn’t stop her from taking up an opportunity that might help that dream in the long run.

My mantra for life applies to Fliss. The path to what she is hoping to achieve hasn’t been easy, but she’s not willing to give up on the chance of a happy family, in whatever form that might take.

But why does anyone need a mantra?

Personally, I’ve always needed it because I’m dyslexic. When I was born my heart stopped three times during my breech delivery and as a result I had brain damage associated dyslexia. It’s led to a lifetime of people underestimating me. Of teachers saying things that are the opposite of encouragement. A lifetime of realising so what if it’s not easy? It doesn’t mean I won’t do it in the end.

I’m pretty sure my mantra can apply to all of us. Whatever it is we want to achieve in life, it’s possible if we’re determined enough. Ignore the doubters, the only person who should set the limits is you.

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That’s a pretty important mantra to have Catherine. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

You can find out more about Catherine and Waiting For You with these other bloggers:

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You can also find out more about Catherine Miller on Facebook , via her web site and by following her on Twitter

This lovely romantic comedy, Natalie’s Getting Married, by Rosa Temple is published on 14th March 2016 and I’m delighted to be sharing the cover with you through Brook Cottage Books. Natalie’s Getting Married is available on AMAZON US and AMAZON UK.

Career minded, Natalie Spencer, had never been in love. She could never understand what all the fuss was about. But when she met Jackson Humphries during Fresher’s Week at University, that all changed.

Utterly infatuated, Natalie quickly discovers the meaning of love and, before she knows it, she’s heading up the aisle – for the first time, that is.

This is a tale about four wedding dresses, a runaway groom and a girl who got so carried away, she couldn’t see true love staring her right in the face.

However, if you can’t wait to read Natalie’s Getting Married you can enter to win an e-copy by clicking here.

About Rosa Temple

Rosa Temple began writing chick lit and romance novellas out of a love for the old films she watched as a young girl. As a ghost writer, she gained experienced writing romantic novellas both sweet and on the slightly more steamy side. A passion to write self penned novellas in this genre, as opposed to being a ghost writer, gave rise to the completion of Sleeping With Your Best Friend and the soon to be published novel, Natalie’s Getting Married.

Rosa Temple is a Londoner and is married with two sons. She is a reluctant keep fit fanatic and doer of housework and insists that writing keeps her away from such strenuous tasks. Drinking herbal tea and munching biscuits helps her create characters and story lines.

To find out more about Rosa and to catch up on all her musings please join her here on Rosa Temple Writes…

You can find Rosa on Facebook, Goodreads, and Google+. You can also follow Rosa on Twitter.