Having recently returned from a trip to Africa, discovered half my emails have vanished and I’m in the middle of playing catch up trying to work out what needs blogging when, it seems fitting to welcome an author whose book was inspired by a similar event. Today Val Portelli, otherwise known as Voinks, stays in with me to discuss what happened to her.

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

Staying in with Val Portelli

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

Which of your books have you brought along to share with me and why have you chosen it?

I was dithering whether to bring my first published book Changes. Although it will always have a special place in my heart, it seemed more appropriate to bring my latest novel Spirit of Technology.  This book came about when my first publisher told me something her secretary had sent me ‘must have got lost in the ether.’ The thought stuck in my mind, I made it into a short story, and eventually extended and self-published it.

(I love hearing how narratives come about.)

What can we expect from an evening in with Spirit of Technology?

Something old, something new, (no, it’s not predominately a romance), a bit of humour, and a suggestion of what could happen when modern social media meets the equivalent of Beau Brummel. Has that piqued your interest?

(It certainly has Val!)

What else have you brought along and why?

Strong, aromatic coffee, without which most authors couldn’t function, but we might need it once we’ve finished off these two bottles of ‘bolly’. Purely for lubrication once we start chatting, of course.  If we get hungry there are some savoury nibbles and dips, and some Belgian liqueur chocolates just because. If we’re staying in, we might as well be decadent.

I’ve brought along some CDs for background music while we chat. There’s a range of styles as I wasn’t sure of your tastes, and finally, some flowers as a thank you for inviting me over.  

Oh! You’re the perfect guest. Flowers and chocolates mean you’re welcome any time – though I don’t drink coffee so if you could bring tea next time that’s be great! I have eclectic musical tastes as long as Bryan Ferry features somewhere there!

Thanks so much for staying in with me Val and telling me about Spirit of Technology. 

Spirit of Technology

A message from a stranger.

A modern day woman responds to an e-mail from an unknown contact. Against her better judgement she continues the correspondence with a man who tells her he was born in the 19th century.

Despite feeling an initial attraction, her concerns grow when he reveals secret details of her personal life.

Undecided whether it’s a friend winding her up, and worried it could be a stalker, the truth is the last thing she expects.

Spirit of Technology is available for purchase here.

About Val Portelli (Voinks)

Val Portelli’s pen name Voinks began many years ago. It started as a joke when a friend bought a holiday home abroad, then gradually spread through the family, so it was an obvious choice when her first book was published.

Despite receiving her first rejection letter aged nine from some lovely people at a well-known Women’s magazine, she continued writing intermittently until a freak accident left her housebound and going stir crazy.

To save her sanity she completed and had published her first full length novel. This was followed by a second traditionally published book before deciding self-publishing was the way to go. In between writing her longest novel to date at over 100,000 words, she publishes weekly stories for her Facebook author page and website.

She writes in various genres, although her short stories normally include her trademark twist of ‘Quirky.’ From having too many hours in the day, she is now actively seeking out a planet with forty-eight-hour days, to have time to fit in all the stories waiting to be told.

She is always delighted to receive reviews, as they help pay for food for the Unicorns she breeds in her spare time.

You can find Val on Facebook and visit her blog.

When Jenny Platt asked if I’d like to be part of the blog tour for The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond I didn’t know quite what I was letting myself in for. This is a tour with a difference as you’ll see below!

Sunday Times best selling The Marriage Pact is published by Penguin and is available for purchase through the links here.

The Marriage Pact

First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes your first big mistake.

How far are you willing to go for the perfect relationship?

Newlyweds Jake and Alice are offered a mysterious wedding gift – membership of a club which promises its couples will never divorce.

Signing The Pact seems the start to a perfect marriage.

Until one of them breaks the rules.

The marriage of their dreams is about to become their worst nightmare.

Because The Pact is for life.

And its members will do anything to make sure no one leaves . . .

10 Rules for a Perfect Relationship

When I agreed to participate in this challenge I thought it would be a doddle as I love my husband completely as we approach our 35th wedding anniversary this year. Hmm. It wasn’t quite as easy as I thought, but I do have some brilliant excuses!

1. Always answer when your partner calls.

Now here’s the thing. When I read this question I thought it meant literally, not on a phone! It just goes to show how old we are and how long we’ve been together. We don’t really need to phone one another and I do answer him literally – when I hear him! But I suffer from tinnitus and am slightly deaf so I don’t always hear (that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it). Steve, my  husband, however, is one of those people who rarely has his phone on. I tried to ring him recently when he was food shopping to ask him to bring something I’d forgotten to put on the list and he didn’t answer. When I asked him about it he said ‘Oh. I thought I heard some ambient music!’ His phone is so ancient that it doesn’t even have a ring choice – just some daft chimes.

2. Exchange at least two thoughtful gifts every month.

Er, yes, well… He tends to bring me thoughtful gifts at least twice a month such as flowers or fudge or chocolate and I give him a large smile in return – that counts right?

3. Cook your partner dinner twice a week.

Now, I’m not sure if I can claim this or not. You see I did ALL the cooking for the first 20 years of our marriage apart from a Friday night when Steve heated up fresh pasta, pasta sauce and garlic bread from Tescos! However, when I went off to work all over the country, and especially when I was doing 6 week stints in New York, he had to learn to cook or starve, discovered the delights of cooking and has become a really skilled chef with a passion for cooking. Consequently he does almost all the cooking. But – and here’s my get out clause – I do the 5:2 diet and on the 2 days I assemble the salad we have for dinner twice a week so although I’m not actually cooking, I am getting his meal!

4. Unfollow your ex on social media.

I’ve never followed my exes on social media. I’ve been married so long we only had slates and social media didn’t exist!

5. Never spend more than 2 nights apart.

That’s easy. Now I no longer work we seldom spend more than two hours apart – unless I’m going to a bookish event.

6. Tell your partner all your passwords.

Easy one – we have them written down as we’ve got to the age when we can’t remember them all!

7. Only wear clothes your partner deems appropriate or attractive.

Not on your nelly! I wear what I like! (Though he’s great at clothes shopping and will scour stores to find items he thinks I might like whilst I’m trying things on! Poor chap was waiting for me outside some changing rooms once, standing stock still and another bloke shoved his hand up my husband’s top. He thought Steve was a manikin and liked the look of the top and was feeling the material. I’m not sure who was the most surprised, but I could hear the kerfuffle and laughing from inside the changing rooms.)

8. Enable the ‘find my phone’ feature so your partner always knows where you are.

I think I have, but I don’t quite understand how my phone works. Doesn’t make much difference really as I’m usually about three feet away from my husband!

9. Have no secrets from each other.

This rather depends on the circumstance. We obviously keep surprises as secrets (and he’d better have a few at the minute as it’s not that long until my birthday) but given that we are practically welded at the hip 24 hours a day, seven days a week, there’s not much we don’t know about one another. He does do secrets rather wll though. The first year we were married we agreed we were so poor we wouldn’t ‘do’ Valentine’s day. I didn’t. He bought a card, flowers, chocolates and champagne and is still living off that story nearly 35 years later!

10. Don’t even think about trying to escape.

Ah! Well, you see we BOTH think about trying to escape ALL the time. Just not from each other, but with each other. This year we’ve already escaped to Uganda and we’re off to India soon and Indonesia later.

So, how would you get on with The Marriage Pact?

About Michelle Richmond

Michelle Richmond is the bestselling author of The Year of Fog, No One You Know, Hum: Stories, Golden Stage, Dream of the Blue Room, and the award-winning The Girl in the Fall- Away Dress. She lives with her husband and son in San Francisco.

You can follow Michelle on Twitter @michellerichmon and visit her website. You’ll find Michelle on Facebook too.

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I recently met Clare Swatman and having so loved her previous book Before You Go, my review of which you can read here, I was thrilled to be asked to be part of the launch celebrations for Clare’s latest book The Mother’s Secret. I’m delighted to be sharing my review of The Mother’s Secret as well as staying in with Clare today.

The Mother’s Secret will be published by Pan Macmillan on 22 February 2018 and is available for preorder through the links here.

The Mother’s Secret

The Mother’s Secret is a powerful story about family, secrets and devastating lies

Love keeps us together

Sisters Kate and Georgie have always shared a close bond. While Kate enjoyed the freedoms of youth, Georgie remained at home. But now Georgie is grown up, it’s time she started exploring.

Love can tear us apart

Their mother Jan loves her daughters with all her heart. So what if she kept them out of sight when they were young? She just cared for them so much. She wanted to protect them.

What if your life was based on a lie?

Maybe there was another reason for Jan’s protective behaviour? If they ventured too far afield, it might destroy the facade of their childhood. This family’s about to discover that while lies can cause pain, the truth could destroy them all.

Staying in With Clare Swatman

Hello Clare. It was lovely to be out at a bookish party with you recently and I’m delighted to be staying in with you today. Which of your books have you brought along to share and why?

Hello, lovely to be here! After much deliberation I decided to bring along The Mother’s Secret – because that’s the one that’s out on 22 February and that I’m really excited about!

(I imagine you are!)

It’s quite a different kind of story from my first book, Before You Go. This time, there’s no element of magical realism to carry the story along; instead, it’s all about a family, and how discovering long-buried secrets can tear a family apart.

I loved writing this book, especially the middle section, which is set in the 1970s. I loved immersing myself in the time and the place – it’s set in Cromer, Norfolk – and to research it I visited the town and spent some time in the library looking at photos of the area at the time. I also had a great first-hand source of information in my mum. She grew up in Suffolk in the 1960s and 70s, and was about the same age as Jan. So she was able to provide me with lots of details about where they’d go for nights out, what music people listened to, what they drank, what they wore. It was fun – and chatting to her about it was a bit of an eye-opener too!

(I thought the era was really evocatively presented. Maybe your Mum should write a book too!)

What can we expect from an evening in with The Mother’s Secret?

It’s a difficult story to define as it’s a bit of a cross between a romance and a thriller – at least that’s what I’ve been told! – in that it has a love story, of course, but it also has a big hidden secret that has terrible consequences for the people involved.

Georgie and Kate are sisters and have been brought up by the their mother Jan. They never knew their father, who died before Georgie was born. All their lives they’ve been very protected, but as they got older Kate went out into the world and went travelling and got married, while Georgie stayed at home and helped her mother out. She thought about doing the same things as Kate, but never got round to it, in part thanks to her mother discouraging her. Then one day she makes a discovery that shatters her world – and make her question everything she’s ever known, including her love for and bond with her mother and sister. The trouble is, her mother is suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s so she can’t ask her any of the questions she wants to ask – and so she has to find out the answers by herself.

That’s the present-day story. In the past, we find out exactly what happened to Jan to make her so protective and secretive. And it’s not an easy read, in the end, so make sure you have a packet of tissues handy. Although I would add, it’s not a complete sob-fest and you hopefully won’t close the last page feeling too sad!

(I think you’ve summed up The Mother’s Secret perfectly as readers can see in my review below.)

What else have you brought along and why?

Well, I thought I’d keep the evening in the theme of the 1970s, so I’ve brought along a bottle of Babycham and a mix tape of songs mentioned in the book which include gems like So Tired of Being Alone by Al Green, Save Your Kisses for Me by Brotherhood of Man, Killing Me Softly by Roberta Flack and Love is Like a Butterfly by Dolly Parton.

I hope you enjoy it – cheers!

I did indeed Clare. Thanks so much for staying in with me and telling me more about The Mother’s Secret.

My Review of The Mother’s Secret

Georgie and Kate are worried about their mother, but little do they know quite what is in her past.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Mother’s Secret because I found so many layers to beguile and entertain me. Alongside the mysterious element of the plot and the love story presented between Jan and Ray, Clare Swatman also explores the nature of relationships in families, mental illness and the devastating effects of grief with a deftness of touch. This makes it sound as if The Mother’s Secret is very dark and depressing, but not a bit of it. Certainly there is deep emotion, particularly in one section, but there is also elevating liveliness through the music, clothing and social picture of the 1960s and 1970s, alongside some humour which all serve to engage the reader in a lovely story.

I really appreciated the way in which The Mother’s Secret is structured. The four sections that gradually uncover the truth of the past feel very satisfying and I thought the variety of sentence structure gave impetus and depth. It might sound odd to say I loved the white spaces in a review of what is written, but Clare Swatman uses them as a kind of entr’acte that gives time for reflection and helps the reader absorb the nuances of the narrative.

The way Jan’s section set in the past is in the first person when now she is suffering from dementia was cleverly done, showing who she once was and reminding us as readers that we never know quite what fate has in store for us. There’s even a direct address to the reader at times so that I felt I could understand her perfectly. I think, however, that it was Ray who actually appealed to me most. He forms a backdrop to much of the action so that I felt sorry for him despite his flaws.

The Mother’s Secret wasn’t quite what I was expecting, as I thought it would be more of a psychologial thriller, but it left me feeling I had encountered real people with tragic lives whom I loved getting to know. It had a little bit of everything to appeal on so many levels, from recent social history to romance and a mystery so that reading The Mother’s Secret has something for everyone.

About Clare Swatman

Clare Swatman is a journalist for a number of weekly women’s magazines. Clare was Features Editor for Bella and has written for Best, Woman’s Ownand Real People. She writes for her local magazine as well as the travel pages for Take a Break. Clare lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and two boys.

Before You Go was her first novel.

You can follow Clare on Twitter and visit her website. Clare also has an author Facebook page here.

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In the week of Valentine’s Day, what better titled a book to feature on Linda’s Book Bag than Accidentally in Love by Anna Premoli? I’m delighted to be part of the launch celebrations with an extract for you today.

Accidentally in Love is published by Aria and is available for purchase on Amazon, Kobo, Google Play and iBooks.

Accidentally in Love

A funny romantic comedy about how opposites definitely do attract…

Sara Di Giovanni is a successful lawyer in New York City: she is the star of her profession, an excellent role model to her very vivacious little sister, but has so far been unlucky in love…

Ethan Phelps is the rich playboy trouble-maker whose only talent in life is spending money and dating women… That is until Ethan’s father dies with no will to his name, leaving his two sons the legal heirs to his billion-dollar company.

Sara is forced to become the court-appointed guardian to handle Ethan’s share of the fortune, as his family do not trust him to manage it himself. Sara thinks it should be easy, but it’s not so simple when Ethan is determined to get rid of her by whatever means necessary…

What ensues is a dramatic and hilarious power-play between Sara and Ethan… but what will happen when feelings start to get in the way?

An Extract from Accidentally in Love

“Let’s all try to calm down a moment,” Kirk suggested, realizing James was about to lose his head. “Turner is right, we can start the session. James, would you be so good as to read out the first point on the agenda?”

His nephew stood up with the tablet in his hand, but before he’d had the chance to say a word, the noise level at the back of the room went up a notch. The chattering got so loud that all present turned around to try and see what the problem was. Or rather, who the problem was.

Hundreds of eyes swivelled simultaneously to look at the man who had just entered the room, slamming the door rather inelegantly behind him. The soft lights of the room did nothing to soften the effect of Ethan Phelps’s dramatic entrance as he marched forward in the direction of his family, grabbing onto the backs of the chairs he encountered along the way for support. His blonde hair was, as always, long and untidy, and his eyes, which were naturally an extraordinary and very rare turquoise color, were bloodshot and puffy.

James turned white at the sight of his brother. Less because he was so obviously falling down drunk – that was nothing new, he practically always was – and more because he would never have imagined that the bloody fool, who usually wore black as if he were the reincarnation of Batman, would have shown up dressed as if he’d just been on holiday in Hawaii. He was wearing a pair of shorts decorated with a floral print so hideous it could have blinded all present and a shirt also decorated with flowers that, however, clashed terribly with the ones on his shorts. Not even the most flamboyant would have dared call it ‘matching’.

Not satisfied, James decided to lean forward to see the footwear his brother had decided to slip on for the occasion. Obviously, he was wearing a pair of flip flops, just as James would, at that point, have bet he would.

Ethan concluded his unsteady journey and stopped in the proximity of the table occupied by the major shareholders, continuing to sway from side to side before everyone’s eyes as though he had just disembarked from some oceangoing vessel and was still feeling the rolling of the deck.

“Aloha!” he exclaimed in a voice that managed to be both loud and pained, accompanying the greeting with the Shaka sign, stretching out his thumb and little finger and holding his hand over his head.

Some voices from the back of the room actually had the nerve to answer him, but James was not one of them. Having to worry about his brother over the years had made him lose his sense of humour completely. “For God’s sake…” he muttered in a low voice as he watched Ethan try to remain standing upright –– an operation that cost him plenty of effort, judging by the expression on his face.

Turner wasted no time. He stood up and stalked over like a predator, before giving him a loud smack on the back. The gesture almost made the younger Phelps brother fall to the floor. “You’re looking well, Ethan,” Turner told him, scrutinizing him as a hawk might its prey.

Ethan tried to focus on the man standing in front of him but clearly wasn’t able to identify him, so he gave him one of those empty smiles he had learned to do as a child. The amount of alcohol in his bloodstream actually seemed to be helping him cope with the situation.

“Did I miss something?” asked Ethan.

Kirk sighed before answering. “No, nothing at all. We were just about to begin.”

“Great! Then let’s get this party officially started!” yelled Ethan, raising his voice to make himself heard even at the back of the room. But the effort of shouting was too much, and he lost control of the nausea he’d been struggling to hold down since getting off his private plane an hour earlier. It suddenly surged up inside him, making his head spin faster and faster until all he could do was to give in to it.

He was sorry – of course he was –– but it was hardly the first time in his life that he’d given up. Ethan considered himself a realist and was well aware that his nature wasn’t that of a fighter. It wasn’t just some pathetic excuse, it was about accepting his natural proclivities.

And so it was that he vomited all over the man standing next to him and immediately afterwards slumped to the floor. Or, to be more precise, immediately afterwards collapsed on the floor. As a crowd of solicitous people formed around him, he was only grateful for not having identified the man he had covered with vomit.

In some cases, it is best to remain in ignorance.

About Anna Premoli

Anna Premoli is a bestselling author in Italy. She began writing to relieve stress while working as a financial consultant for a private bank. Her novel Love to Hate You won the Bancarella prize in 2013.

You can follow Anna on Twitter @annapremoli.

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I love the fact that this Staying in with… feature on Linda’s Book Bag is enabling me to ‘meet’ all kinds of authors and am delighted to welcome Lindy Keane Carter to the blog today to tell me about Annaliese From Off.

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 Lindy Keane Carter

Hi Lindy and welcome to Linda’s Book Bag.

Which of your books have you brought along to share with me and why have you chosen it?

Hi, Linda. Thank you for inviting me to share an evening with you. I’ve brought along Annaliese From Off because it is my first novel . . . and, frankly, my only novel, though I’ve just finished writing its sequel and a third novel is simmering in my brain. I’d like to explain that “from off” is a southern term that locals use when referring to a newcomer. It means “she’s not from here,” which pretty much sums up the root of all of Annaliese’s troubles.

(Aha! I had wondered about the ‘from off’ element. That explains a lot.)

What can we expect from an evening with Annaliese From Off?

You can expect a visit with Annaliese, a young wife and mother wrenched in 1900 from her comfortable life in Louisville, Kentucky and dropped in her husband’s north Georgia lumber camp. To make matters worse, her insufferable sister-in-law—suffragette, sexual pioneer, domestic skills disaster—has joined her there. You’ll learn a lot about the Cherokee Indians, the birth of forest conservation in the U.S., two women struggling to save their children from the wild and the wild from their husbands, sex, 1900’s birth control, and which kind of root to sprinkle over a man’s apple pie to keep him in the privvy all afternoon so you can slink off and do something without interference.

(This sounds really interesting, though don’t tell my husband I know about that root now!)

What else have you brought along and why?

I’ve brought Socks, my cat, who sits in my lap while I write because he’s my co-author. And if you’ll open that box I’ve laid at your feet, you’ll see I’ve also brought Annaliese’s yellow satin messaline dress with tulip-shaped skirt that flared at the hem, which she wore when hosting a dinner for her husband’s new friend, a very distracting local attorney. She’d want you to have it. In the sequel, she’s moved on to trousers mostly.

Well please thank Annaliese for the dress. I must say I envy you Socks. I used to have four cats at once – one, Dennis, a diabetic needing insulin injections twice a day – and I miss having a cat around the house.

Thanks so much for staying in with me Lindy. You’ve certainly piqued my interest in Annaliese From Off.

Annaliese From Off

The year is 1900 and young mother Annaliese Stregal is forced by her husband, John, to leave their comfortable life in Louisville, Kentucky to live in a lumber camp in the north Georgia mountains where he has launched a timber business with his brother.

Joining her there with even more outrage and dismay is the prickly sister-in-law she loathes, Lucenia, who is full of opinions about every women’s issue of the day – social justice for the oppressed, equal rights, birth control, the morality of female sexual pleasure – and possessing not one domestic skill.

To protect their children and battle the mountain enemies they have in common, the women strike a fragile truce, but a new national controversy is gaining steam: the annihilation of America’s forests, and this one Annaliese cannot ignore. The brothers pick up their pace in scraping their fortune off the pristine hillsides just as John begins to unravel, putting the families’ future in jeopardy.

Unlikely help comes from a pair of Cherokee Indian brothers, but it is Annaliese who must act decisively to save John from the grisly reckoning he foresaw all along and save the mountains from him.

Annaliese From Off is available for purchase here.

About Lindy Keane Carter

Lindy Keane Carter is a journalist whose work over the last 40 years has appeared in numerous national magazines, trade publications, and academic medical journals.  Her non-fiction articles as well as her fiction have won awards, including being selected in 2003 and in 2009 as a winner in the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Fiction Project contest. Earlier, she won second place in a fiction contest sponsored by the South Carolina Academy of Authors.  Lindy, the mother of two daughters and a son, is a medical science writer in South Carolina.

You can find Lindy on Facebook and visit her website for more information.

It’s a welcome return to Linda’s Book Bag from Claire Cock-Starkey in celebration of A Library Miscellany as I have previously reviewed Claire’s The Book Lover’s Miscellany here. I’m delighted to have The Patron Saint of Librarians as an extract for you from A Library Miscellany today.

A Library Miscellany was published by The Bodleian Library on 8th March 2018 and is available for purchase here.

A Library Miscellany

What can be found in the Vatican’s Secret Archive? How many books did Charles Darwin’s library aboard the Beagle hold? Which library is home to a colony of bats? Bursting with potted histories, quirky facts and enlightening lists, this book explores every aspect of the library, celebrating not only these remarkable institutions but also the individuals behind their awe-inspiring collections. From the ancient library at Alexandria to the Library of Congress in Washington DC, A Library Miscellany explores institutions both old and new, from the university library to that of the humble village. It opens the door to unusual collections such as herbaria, art libraries, magic libraries and even the library of smells, and charts the difficulties of cataloguing books deemed to be subversive, heretical, libellous or obscene. Packed with unusual facts and statistics, this is the perfect volume for library enthusiasts, bibliophiles and readers everywhere.

An extract from A Library Miscellany

My Review of A Library Miscellany

I’m tempted to refer readers to my review of The Book Lover’s Miscellany as A Library Miscellany is equally as good and very similar in style and presentation.

Once again, the materials presented have been meticulously researched and there is so much detail and information packed into this little book. it may be diminutive in size but it holds a wealth of information.

I was quite surprised by some of the lending statistics presented, and was particularly interested in the rules employed by some of our famous libraries. Whilst I understand the need to avoid chewing gum and bottles of ink in London’s British Library, I’m not sure umbrellas present too big a threat to books if they are in bags and dry! I do agree that banning ‘Engaging in sexual conduct or lewd behaviour‘ and ‘Having a knife, gun, or any other weapon‘ is a jolly good idea for New York Public Library!

What I think works so well for A Library Miscellany is the variety of entry. readers are treated to a range of facts and figures, they meet personalities and philanthropists behind libraries, they discover the history and terminology of libraries in a delightful book for all readers. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

About Claire Cock-Starkey

Claire Cock-Starkey started out in media, working at BBC Radio Four and Five Live before going on to work at LBC. Having had a family, Claire is now a writer and freelance copy editor always keen to work on new projects.

You can find out more by visiting Claire’s website and following her on Twitter @NonFictioness. You might also like to know that Claire will be speaking about both The Book Lover’s Miscellany and A Library Miscellany at Oxford Literary Festival on March 20th at 12PM. There are details here.

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I’ve spent many a wonderful evening out with Sara-Jade Virtue – or @BookMinxSJV – at Books and the City blogger events, so I’m thrilled she agreed to stay in with me today. In a change to the usual format of staying in with authors, S J is a sales director at Simon and Schuster and I thought it would be fun to put her on the spot.

If you’re an author or someone working in the publishing industry 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 Sara-Jade Virtue

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag SJ. Which book have you brought along to share with us and why?

When Linda kindly asked if I’d like to join in with her Staying In feature, my biggest anxiety was around which book, if I can only bring one book, would I bring….I mean come ON!  How on earth could I possibly pick just one book to share…when there are literally hundreds of books that are guaranteed to make a perfect night in.  Books for when you need a really good laugh, books for when you want to cry your eyes out.  Books guaranteed to shock, to astound, to make you feel all the feels…  never before has the phrase ‘so many books, so little time’ felt so appropriate.

And then I thought, OK Virtue, get a grip, let’s be clever here.  Like most book lovers, I have a Top 10 Laminated List.   A #desertislandreads of my all time favourite novels. VERY occasionally I review it, and a new book gets added and then I spend hours agonizing over which book will need to be culled off the list.  My latest list has been knocking around since October 2015 so is definitely due an update – and this feature was the kick up the backside I needed to do just that.

So, where to start?  Hollywood Husbands will ALWAYS be my all-time favourite novel by JC,  just thinking about Since I Don’t Have You has me in tears, The Reluctant Landlady still makes me laugh as much as it makes me cry, the complex layers of emotion within The Truth About Melody Browne still blows my mind, The Last Letter From Your Lover is still one of the most romantic novels I’ve ever read, there is NOTHING to not love about The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, and Twenties Girl and If You Could See Me Now are both ABSOLUTELY brilliant and deserve their place on ANY book lovers list.  So what now?  There is only one thing for it, to BEG Linda to let me bring 10 novels…

(Hmm. Seeing as it’s you and you’ve provided me with so many wonderful books to read over the three years I’ve been blogging I will allow 10 books just this once. I’m currently reading You, Me, Everything from one of your goody bags and I LOVE it!)

What can we expect from an evening in with your 10 book choices?

Each novel on my list offers something different.  A light smattering of sex, some scandal, multi layered relationships, love, deep happiness, deep unhappiness, lots of fun, loss, twists, turns and even a little magic – so you can expect buckets of laughter and tears with each of the novels on my list.

(And that’s the joy of reading S J. A book can provide every emotion going.)

What else have you brought along and why?

I know buns.  I know booze.  I know the fine art of cozy and snuggly.  So I’ve brought some iced fingers, perhaps a cupcake or 7, even a box of simple glazed Krispy Kremes.  I’ve also brought some gin, including some of my own #HouseOfVirtueGin infused with rosemary, pink peppercorns and coriander seeds.  I’ve brought a slanket or two and a candle or three.  Oh, and I’ve also got the hoots and the chuckles and a side order of lolz – if that’s what the joy people still call fun these days?

(I think we can! I wonder why it is that I wasn’t surprised you brought gin?)

Thanks so much for agreeing to stay in with me Sara-Jade and for sharing your 10 books with us all. Now – pass that gin bottle!

About Sara-Jade Virtue

Sara-Jade Virtue is Special Sales Director at publishers Simon and Schuster. She is also Brand Director for commercial fiction with Books and the City. Inordinately fond of gin, buns and her cat Pepper, S J works tirelessly with bloggers and authors to share book love wherever she can.

You can follow Sara-Jade on Twitter @BookMinxSJV  (and I really think you should). You can also find out more about Simon and Schuster’s books here and visit the Books and the City website here.

Usually when I stay in with an author I don’t know in advance which book they are bringing along. Today, however, I was expecting Carys Jones to bring Best Friends and am delighted (and slightly scared) to be part of the launch celebrations for this novel.

Published by Aria, Best Friends is available for purchase on Amazon, Kobo, Google Play and iBooks.

Best Friends

Four friends, a terrible secret, and one week to stay alive…

Grace doesn’t have a family. That was taken away one dreadful day when she was just six, and her twin brother Peter was killed. Instead she has her best friends and flatmates – Jasper, Franklin and Aaron – and nothing can tear them apart.

Living in London, and trying desperately to make a living, the four friends are rapidly running out of money and hope. So, when they find a discarded suitcase in a skip, they can’t believe their eyes when its contents seem to answer all their prayers.

But then there is a knock on their door, and a very disgruntled thug with revenge on his mind gives them one week to return his belongings, or they will pay with their lives. Soon the fractures in their friendships begin to show, and when one of them ends up fighting for his life, the stakes are raised even higher.

Will any of them get to the end of the week alive, or will the best of friends become the deadliest of enemies…

Staying in with Carys Jones

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

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

I’ve bought along my latest book, Best Friends.

What can we expect from an evening in with Best Friends?

A whole lot of fun and thrills! As the title suggests the friendship amongst the four main characters is at the heart of the story and I hope that as people read it the group endear themselves to them as much as they did to me when I was writing it. I ended up really envying their tight knit relationship in their little London flat!

(I’m not sure I’d like some of the outcomes of their relationships though!)

What else have you brought along and why?

I’ve bought along a pair of ballet shoes to represent Grace. A CD of classic Broadway hits as Franklin is an aspiring stage actor. Also an acoustic guitar which is Aaron’s preferred instrument and finally a Kindle because Jasper never leaves home without his.

Finally I’ve bought several cups of tea as the group in Best Friends are often turning on the kettle to help them during moments of strife!

(Oh! You can’t beat a good cup of tea!)

Thanks so much for staying in with me Carys. I’ve really enjoyed it.

Here’s to a great evening! Thanks so much for having me!

About Carys Jones

Carys Jones loves nothing more than to write and create stories which ignite the reader’s imagination. Based in Shropshire, England, Carys lives with her husband, two guinea pigs and her adored canine companion Rollo.

You can follow Carys on Twitter @CarysJAuthor, visit her website and find her on Facebook.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

Oo. We all love a bit of scandal and I’m delighted to be part of the launch celebrations for Scandal by Sasha Morgan and quite excited to see what she has to tell me as we stay in together today!

Published by Aria, Scandal is available for purchase on Amazon, Kobo, Google Play and iBooks.

Scandal

As the new custodian of the ancestral home, Treweham Hall, Tobias Cavendish-Blake soon discovers exactly what he’s inherited. Instant financial action is needed if the Hall is to survive the mounting debts it’s racking up. Adding insult to injury the family is forced to sell the Gate House on the estate to lottery winners Gary and Tracy Belcher – not the kind of neighbours Tobias was hoping for.

Megan Taylor inherits her grandmother’s country cottage in the village of Treweham and decides to make a fresh start there, taking a job at the local country pub.

When Megan meets Tobias, the attraction is clear, but she is determined to resist his charms, put off by his reputation and that of his best friends – the rakish Seamus Fox, son of a millionaire racehorse trainer and dastardly jockey Dylan Delany. But Tobias is a hard man to resist…

Scandal is the perfect rip-roaring, bonk-busting horsey escapist read.

Staying in with Sasha Morgan

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Sasha and 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?

Hello and thanks for the invite.  This evening I’ve brought along Scandal, as it’s soon to be published and I’m so excited!

(I bet you are! Congratulations.)

What can we expect from an evening in with Scandal?

As it’s been described as a ‘Rip roaring, bonk busting page turner,’ I think you can expect lots of fun, giggles and the odd gasp!

(Oo – looking forward to that!)

Researching for Scandal meant wandering round old, historic houses, sipping wine in quaint, country pubs and into the wonderful world of horse racing, loved every minute!

The plot does have a serious side however, where love letters from a World War II soldier are found.  I did pay homage to all those soldiers in the World Wars, who gave their lives for the good of others.  Reading their heartfelt messages of love on various websites epitomised the sacrifice each and every one made.

(I think that’s one of the delights of fiction Sasha. Authors can balance the entertaining with the serious to give readers a hugely satisfying read.)

What else have you brought along and why?

Well, a bottle of Champagne would seem appropriate, as the country set love nothing more than a glass of fizz!  Also, as a guest, I would love the actor Oliver Tobias to join us, as he is the guy I’ve based the main character, Lord Tobias Cavendish-Blake on (as he was in the seventies, remember Luke’s Kingdom?)  With his long, dark hair and piercing eyes, he’s the perfect hero.  If Scandal is ever made into an audio book, Oliver Tobias’ voice would be my ideal choice.

(Oh my goodness yes! I remember the Oliver Tobias of the seventies extremely well! I’m off for a cold shower.)

I’ve really enjoyed our chat and that champagne Sasha. Thanks for staying in with me to discuss Scandal.

About Sasha Morgan

Sasha lives in a rural, coastal village in Lancashire with her husband and Labrador dog. She has always written stories from a very young age and finds her fictional world so much more exciting than the real one.

You can find Sasha on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @SashaMorgan_ and visit her website.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

I’ve been meeting some interesting authors and their books as I stay in and chat, but I have a feeling Bruce McLaren, author of Turbulence is the most like Tigger of all I’ve chatted with so far! You can see why I think so below!

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 Bruce McLaren

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Bruce. 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?

Thank you for letting me in the door. Normally I don’t get that far. You see I have a reckless tendency to run as wild as Pan, which does not go down so well in the jaded and stifled world of today. That said, it should come as no surprise I have brought my book, Turbulence, itself a work of unrestrained abandon, both unpredictable and ungovernable, a tale without any rules or boundaries. I am very pleased with Turbulence, for I see a lot of my own characteristics present in the story.

(Sounds like an aptly named novel then!)

Turbulence is highly amusing, but also takes on philosophical tangents that less formidable writers would not dare to touch. In this regard the book says something of the author, for I too am wild and free. If this blog likes Turbulence then it may like me as well. If I may be so direct this is a very attractive blog and I am as shallow as a puddle of water when it comes to a good-looking blog. I want us to dine this evening on intellectual fare. I want you to drink the wine of the words that flow from these pages and reel in their wit and good humour. My desire is for Turbulence to leave you hungry for more.

(That sounds rather like an offer I can’t refuse!)

What can we expect from an evening in with Turbulence?

Turbulence is one of those books that floats across genres, so it doesn’t sit nice and snug in any category, much to the annoyance of the big publishers! If anything, the one thing you can expect is adventure. From start to finish the story follows the adventurous life of a young academic as he flies around the world, encountering women in different places and at different stages of life. Sometimes the interaction is carnal and driven by the primal urge. On other occasions conversation heads off into more intellectual directions, with dialogue-rich discussions about religion, philosophy, aging, love, sex, addiction, marriage, divorce and death. So, if you are to expect anything from an evening with Turbulence then you had best get dressed for we are going out. Your horse is saddled and ready. We will be galloping across some diverse terrain.

(Oo! Sounds intriguing. I think it’s interesting the big publishers like books to fit a genre and Turbulence certainly sounds as if it has a genre all of its own.)

What else have you brought along and why?

Well, I didn’t bring wine, because I don’t drink. I’m not a puritan or a prude. As I said at the beginning I am closer to Pan in nature. The truth is that, and anyone who has read this far can attest, I speak and write like a reeling drunkard. I am drunk with life as it is. So, it stands to reason that I have not brought food either, for what is a meal without wine? Food doesn’t interest me much these days. Music, however, is another story. Music, the highest of the arts. The music that attracts me the most is powerful and passionate music. It can be a classical genius like Beethoven, thrash-punk maniacs like Municipal Waste, or twisted gangsta-techno like Die Antwoord, I don’t mind if it is played with full power and passion! But wait, I see you are disappointed about the food and drink, yes? Never fear, I have brought some of my friends. Two of my favourite writers. Malcolm Lowry and William Faulkner, will get completely smashed and out of control. Fortunately, Albert Camus and Friedrich Nietzsche are here as well to provide a bit of balance…

I honestly think I’m going to have to have a lie down after an evening with you Bruce. My brain hurts – and I don’t drink wine either! The thought of Albert Camus brought me out in a cold sweat as his name took me back to the perils of French A’Level all those years ago… Thank you (I think!) for staying in with me – it’s been quite an experience!

Turbulence

Thoughts of women filled my head from dawn to dusk.
Oh, Eros! Let me swim in your wine-dark seas!

A promising young academic flies off on an adventure, in search of romance, passion and love. Women dominate his thoughts and he thirsts for the erotic spark. Sometimes his interactions live beyond his wildest dreams, while at other times his fantasies and desires collapse and crumble before his eyes. The sum of his experiences leads to an explosive finale that will shake you to the core, just like heavy turbulence.

Intelligent and humorous Turbulence is an adventure novel that dares to dive into the realms of erotica and inspirational romance. Through a series of encounters with women the unpredictable anti-hero develops insights into philosophy and religion, aging, love, sex and marriage. The hard lessons of life cause his views to constantly evolve in the face of depression, divorce, alcohol abuse, failure and tragedy.

There is only one constant, turbulence, which is capricious and unpredictable and can hit at any moment. If you like air travel, then you will love this erotically charged adventure, both supremely triumphant and heart-achingly tragic in one breath.

Turbulence is published by Amsterdam Publishers and is available for purchase here.

About Bruce McLaren

Bruce McLaren is an Australian from rural New South Wales, who left home and just kept on going. He has an academic background in the archaeology and ancient history of the Middle East and Central Asia, regions in which he has both travelled and worked extensively. Bruce received his doctorate in Middle Eastern Archaeology at the University of Sydney and published the first examination of the military architecture of Bronze Age Jordan in 2003. He has excavated at numerous sites across the Middle East, dating from the Neolithic to the Islamic Periods.

Since he was a boy Bruce McLaren always wanted to write. A keen observer of the wide world around him and the experiences to be had therein, he felt an insatiable urge to convey the passions he felt through writing. Turbulence represents his first foray into the mysterious and magical world of contemporary fiction. Compared to the strictures of writing a doctoral dissertation, writing contemporary fiction, unfettered and free to let the imagination run wild, has been a true joy to him.

You can follow Bruce on Twitter @brucebond007 and find him on Facebook.