Blogging inhabits a strange universe. I ‘met’ my staying in guest Sandra Harris at an online event and we communicated after the evening. As a result I’m delighted to welcome Sandra to the blog for her tour with Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources and to help start it off. Today Sandra is staying in with me so let’s find out what she has to say!

Staying in with Sandra Harris

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

Hi, Linda!

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

This evening I’ve brought along the first two books in the Thirteen Stops trilogy: Thirteen Stops (published in June 2020) and Thirteen Stops Later (published in April 2021). Thirteen Stops Earlier will hopefully be released sometime in early 2022.

Why have you brought Thirteen Stops and Thirteen Stops Later?

Can I tell the readers how the trilogy actually came about?

You can!

I’ve brought along some Luas (tram) tickets as well, now some of my most important possessions, because they are directly related to the story.

My son Reuben (six feet tall now and built like the proverbial brick privy, lol) went to school for the first time ever in 2018, at the ripe old age of thirteen. By this time, he had seven years of home-schooling by me under his belt and a recent enough diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and he was more than ready for the change. And the challenge!

I bet!

One of the biggest adjustments I personally had to make that autumn was in regard to transport. Living in the city centre as we do, and therefore having everything we need within walking distance most of the time, I was, and still am, a carless person. Not a careless person, mind you, but a carless one. Well, if you can walk to the chipper and to the Spar for a newspaper and a carton of milk, what do you need a car for?

Well quite!

Exactly! Gimme a break.

So why the tickets?

While we waited for a school bus place to become available for my son, it fell to myself and Reuben’s big sister Lisa to ferry him back and forth to school every day for the month of September on the Luas, which is like a train but kind of smoother. Here in Dublin, we might also call it a tram.

I was a bit iffy about travelling on this tram, as I always do poorly on public transport. It just makes me nervous, plus I get terrible motion sickness, but the Luas was grand and smooth, and a million times less bumpy than the bus. I wasn’t sick once…!

That’s a relief!

Once we were comfortably seated on the choo-choo, oh joy unconfined! Putting a nosy person like myself in a tram with dozens of unsuspecting commuters is a bit like slipping a barracuda into a bathful of goldfish. How I watched them, fascinated, and they never even knew I was doing it.

For, to my utter astonishment –– you must remember that I was new to this travelling lark –– scarcely a one of ’em looked up from their phones or gadgets for the entire journey. My kids caught me staring and hissed: “Mind your own business, Mum! Everyone’s busy doing their own thing!”

Of course, my kids are mortified beyond belief if I so much as utter ‘good morning’ to another living soul, and I kind of see their point. Everything a parent does is embarrassing to a child, and rightly so. But they couldn’t stop me looking, right?

From what I know of you Sandra, I very much doubt it…

And what I saw was gobsmacking. What was happening here, I wondered? Are we now afraid to the point of being terrified of making contact with our fellow human beings, or is it just that the world of interesting stuff to look at and listen to online is too damned tantalising to resist?

I didn’t figure out any answers to this question during my lazy hazy sunlit Luas days. What did occur to me, however, was the following: What if some of these strap-hanging gadget-fiddlers, every one of them a digital island unto themselves, were to look up occasionally from their iPads and take notice of the people around them? A germ of an idea for a story was starting to take shape in my brain. I’d make these lads and lasses mix and mingle if it was the last thing I did, even if I had to damn well write a book to do it, lol.

Aha – I an see where this is headed Sandra.

What a September we had! Places with magical names like Windy Arbour, Cowper, Beechwood and Balally (they’re all in the books!) whizzed by us daily as we lounged like royalty in our iron chariot, while, on an exposed stretch of road between the Luas station and the school, an Indian summer sun burned a layer of skin off our pale inner city faces.

We even picked blackberries on this road, something I hadn’t done since I was a kid. Blackberries, can you imagine? My son, being autistic and fussy, was naturally suspicious of something that grew on a bush by the side of the road and didn’t come in a flat box with a picture of a smiling pizza-making man on the front, but my daughter and I gobbled them down with child-like enthusiasm. City folks don’t see too many blackberries growing au naturel…!

I might be with your son on that one – too many car pollutants. I grow my blackberries in my allotment.

We may never recapture the magic and beauty of that sun-dappled September, when the road ahead literally shimmered for us with newness and anticipation, but it doesn’t matter. We lived it, and it’s in our heads, there to play on the flickering screen of our memories whenever we press ‘rewind.’ Happy days. Oooh-er, I’m sniffling a bit here. Help yourself to some complementary blackberries while I compose myself.

I’ll pass on the blackberries but you help yourself to a tissue…

The pictured Luas tickets are the actual ones we used that September to ride the rails. I’ll never part with them because of what they represent, but I might sell ‘em if I ever get famous and someone offers me a million dollars for them…!

I can quite understand that Sandra. Fingers crossed for that million dollars (and a cut for me).

So, what else have you brought and why have you brought it?

 

You said I could bring guests, Linda, so here they are. Their names are Victoria, Honey Joy, Millicent, Princess Katerina, Claudia, Catherine, Patricia Constance, Rose, Kate and Scarlett Cassandra… and they’re all dolls…!

Oh. Why dolls?

Why am I bringing dolls to join us on our night in? Well, while I was writing my trilogy of chick-lit books, I felt extremely girlie, somehow. I’m not one for spending all day shopping for clothes- in fact, I loathe shopping of nearly any description, except book-shopping- but I was aware that there was something I’d been missing in my life since my childhood… dolls!

Somehow, I felt that being a chick-lit author entitled me to reclaim my long-disregarded inner girlieness and finally make it up to myself for the loss of my childhood dolls; Baby Noelle (I can still smell that Christmas morning new doll smell!), my rag doll Susie, my favourite doll Linda and my cute little girl doll Goldie.

I’m so glad to hear the name of your favourite doll Sandra!

I decided I was going to buy some dolls for myself, and that’s exactly what I did. They all came from charity shops or vintage second-hand shops in Dublin city centre and didn’t cost very much, and within a ridiculously short space of time, I had acquired the above-named ladies.

They’re mostly for show and not to play with as such, but I do enjoy picking them up and fiddling with their hair, because they all have such fabulous hair! Most of them are wearing old-fashioned dresses, which I love, and some of them came from the oddest little junk shops, the kind piled from floor to ceiling with old books and vinyl records and moth-eaten vintage clothes, and there’s usually a tray or two of old coins or army medals sitting near the till, you know the kind of place!

I do indeed.

I love them all, but especially Victoria, because she was the first and has magnificent curls. Scarlett Cassandra was so named because her dark green velvet dress reminds me of the gown Scarlett O’Hara makes from her mother’s curtains in Gone With The Wind. She wants a new outfit so she can look her best when she’s visiting Rhett Butler in jail, to ask him to lend her the dough to pay the taxes on Tara. But to pull down and desecrate Miz Ellen’s portieres… As Mammy might say, t’aint fitting…

Princess Katerina is extremely tall, at about three feet. I found her leaning against the back wall of a dusty old vintage shop, waiting to be seen. My daughter and I had just finished watching our North and South box-set, starring the delicious Patrick Swayze as Orry Main, and we both agreed that her outfit and gorgeous hat resembled something that Lesley Anne Down might have worn as the stunningly beautiful and fetchingly garbed Madalyn La Motte.

Honey Joy and Millicent I adore because they look like exactly the kind of doll a little Victorian girl might have played with back in the day. The Victorians really knew how to craft a beautiful doll.

Claudia, my one Barbie, is ultra-glamorous. I imagine her as a mysterious Eastern European princess of a small, little-known principality, and she goes to parties peopled with James Bond-type spies and beautiful but deadly female assassins, parties where the hero is, of course, smitten by her beauty. Will she submit to a woo-ing, or does she have she an ulterior motive our hero has yet to find out about…? That’s the fiction writer in me, lol. I’m never off the clock…!

Crikey. That’s some collection. Dare I tell you I never liked dolls as a child? I was given twin boy dolls at Christmas one year and bit off their noses. I also cut all the hair of my sister’s doll Blondie who had to be renamed Baldie.

I’ve also brought along some of my fancy notebooks, because, during the writing of the trilogy, dolls weren’t the only thing I indulged my passion for. I adore fancy notebooks, and all my writing scribbles and book notes go into the various nice notebooks I find in stationery shops. I know other writers use spreadsheets, yellow post-it notes, wall charts, etc,. but I’m a notebook fiend and I probably have dozens of gorgeous ones knocking around the place by now.

I think we ALL love notebooks Sandra.

I also took up journaling during the writing of the three books, largely because I really wanted to write words in a notebook with a pen again, after years of typing my work on my laptop. I actually had a real yearning for using a pen and paper once more.

So, I found an unused notebook in a local second-hand bookshop that I liked the look of, and bought it for this exact purpose. I didn’t realise at first that the journal was part of a famous series by a lady called Keri Smith, entitled Wreck this Journal.

The idea is that you find inner freedom and creativity by following the journal’s prompts to do mad things to it, like rolling it down a hill, bringing it into the shower with you, poking holes in it with a pencil and even punching the pages, after first dipping your fist in something. Sweet Jesus.

Is there a society for the protection of notebook abuse?

I knew I’d do none of these wacky, sadistic things to the poor, poor journal. I’d write things in it and carry it around with me and record my thoughts, dreams, hopes and fears in it like you’re supposed to in a journal, although any journal writer will tell you that you can write absolutely anything you want to in a journal. Your journal, your rules. Have it YOUR way, as they used to say at Burger King. Some people even draw or doodle in theirs, if it feels right, but I’m strictly a wordsmith.

I’ve been a fervent diary-keeper for the last sixteen years, since my youngest child was born and suddenly I needed to keep track of things like vaccinations, doctor-and-hospital visits and a load of different baby milestones once more.

But a diary differs from a journal in that it’s a record of events that have happened to you. A journal can be a record of how you feel about these events and what they mean to you. A journal can be a tool, just one of the many tools we can use in search of a meaningful life. (Note to self: Wine and cake are not real tools…!)

Oh I rather think they count too!

I googled what kind of things you can write in a journal. You can keep a gratitude journal, writing down every day what things you’re grateful for. This practice can definitely promote well-being and feelings of happiness, optimism and positivity. Whether it’s a delicious dinner or finding a fiver in an old coat pocket (preferably your own coat, but whatever!), we’ll all have at least one thing to be grateful about every day.

Hang on a minute Sandra. I’m just off to rifle through my coat pockets…

You can journal to find solutions to problems, or just to rant a bit if you have no other outlet. You can use your journal for self-growth and knowledge about self by writing about your talents and skills, your strengths and weaknesses, areas in which you’re doing really well or areas in which you could use a little improvement and, let’s face it, nobody’s perfect, lol.

Except perhaps Bryan Ferry…

Like Richard Branson, you can use a journal to write down lists or your career goals. I started using mine to write down my writing goals for the near future. Even if I don’t stick to the plan, writing down my goals helps to crystallise them for me in my mind and assists me in remembering them.

You can also look up journal prompts on the Internet. I’ve done this a couple of times and ended up answering questions like, what is enough for you, and if you had a magic wand, what changes would you make in your life? Prompts are an endless source of things to write about, and I discovered that you can even buy books of prompts too if you prefer that to googling.

Now I could use that magic wand…

Here’s some stuff I’ve written about in my own journal since November, and some questions I’ve tried to answer there: my dreams (the dreams I have while I’m sleeping, not my goals); my writing resolutions for the year ahead (I’ve broken ’em all already!); thirty things that make me happy (that was a good one!); what does a Wednesday mean to me?

That’s a conversation we’ll have another time I think!

If the world ended at midnight tonight, how would I spend the rest of the day; some movie/writing quotes I like and identify with; how am I currently self-sabotaging my goals (sneaky but very clever!); and finally, I wrote a detailed account of my second child’s birth from sixteen years ago because I realised that, although the story had passed into oral legend in the family, there was no written account of it anywhere. So now it’s in my journal! (My daughter, my oldest child, is adamant that she in particular will never read this account but hey, my job was just to document the birth, not find readers for it…!)

I enjoyed filling some of the journal pages with photos of my kids and hamsters, and my daughter, who adores stationery, bought me some stickers of random girlie things like shoes and handbags to jazzy up the book, so my journals ought to be worthy of display in a museum or art gallery by the time I’m finished with them all…!

I’m sure they will be!

One last thought on journaling, Linda. Did my practice of journaling distract me from my Work In Progress and my actual novel writing?

I was going to ask you that.

Oh, absolutely! One hundred million percent yes. I hardly wrote so much as a chapter while I was journaling, so I had to address that situation and regulate things again, ahem. I really enjoyed being up to my ears in glitter, coloured marker pens and glue-on sparkles, though, and I had a ball wholeheartedly embracing my inner child-artist.

I think that sounds wonderful.

Finally, I’ve also brought some Kate Bush albums to put on in the background as we chat, as Thirteen Stops was written during the autumn of 2018 with Kate Bush on in the background the whole time. I wrote the sequel, Thirteen Stops Later, in the winter/spring of 2019, with Kate’s album 50 Words for Snow pretty much on repeat every single day I was writing.

The sheer beauty of songs like MISTY (sex with a snowman, anyone?), SNOWED IN AT WHEELER STREET, in which she duets with Elton John, and the titular 50 WORDS FOR SNOW literally helped me to fly through the writing. This was the easiest book in the trilogy to write, and at least some of the credit must go to the gorgeous and sensual Ms. Bush.

THIRTEEN STOPS EARLIER is a prequel to the events that take place in the first book. I mixed and matched all my Kate albums whilst penning it. I especially loved listening to THE DREAMING, with songs on it like the magnificent NIGHT OF THE SWALLOW, PULLING OUT THE PIN and GET OUT OF MY HOUSE.

This last song was especially apt during the Great Coronavirus Lockdown of 2020, which was when I wrote the third book. Kate’s inspirational music was especially needed and welcome during this time, as all my usual sources of inspiration, such as going for long walks in the fresh air and visiting the library, museums or galleries, were temporarily closed off to me during this time, what with the whole ‘STAY HOME, STAY SAFE AND PROTECT EACH OTHER’ thing.

I love Kate Bush, so I’m really happy you’ve brought her music too tonight. 

Anyway, Linda, I’ve gone on a fair bit by now, so best wishes and thank you for having me and all that jazz!

I must say, Sandra, you’ve been one of the most talkative guests who’s stayed in with me but also the one of the most entertaining. Thanks so much for being here to chat with me about Thirteen Stops and Thirteen Stops Later. 

Thirteen Stops

There are thirteen Luas stops between Sandyford and St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin, each significant in the lives of the people who step on and off the tram every day.

The passengers all hunker down, folded tightly into themselves, eyes fixed on their phones, interminably scrolling, terrified of connecting with each other. Except . . .

Except, who’s that good-looking guy in the long dark coat who’s eyeing up Selfie Queen Laura? Could he end up as one of her terrible choices? Hang on, isn’t he the same guy who was ogling glamorous working-mum-with-a-secret Maroon before? And why is Jamie over there telling his life story to a complete stranger? What’s Fauve hiding in her handbag? It must be the Crown Jewels at the very least, the way she’s clutching it so tightly to herself. And why does Becks from two seats down look out the window so anxiously? Is she worried that Barry could be straying?

Alight here for the inside track . . .

Thirteen Stops is available for purchase on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Thirteen Stops Later

The same thirteen Luas stops.

The same twelve unforgettable characters.

A dozen dazzling new twists of fate.

Here we are again, and poor Selfie Queen Laura’s love life has dived head-first from the frying pan into the Towering Inferno. Will she be able to cope? Just about, until she sees who’s coming out of the Disney Store on Grafton Street one Saturday afternoon!

Someone who shouldn’t has a beady eye on Fauve’s bouncing bundle of baby joy, and a face from the past returns to upturn Maroon-Vicky’s applecart of Happy Ever After with the dishy Graeme. The frazzled Carl is up to his tonsils in Tara’s Endless Legs and Things, and something very sinister is going on at Becks’ house . . . will her mother’s old summerhouse finally give up its grisly secret?

All this and much, much more in Thirteen Stops Later. . .

Thirteen Stops Later is available for purchase on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

About Sandra Harris

Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, poet, short story writer and film and book blogger. She has studied Creative Writing and Vampirology. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, women’s fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra’s books by following this link straight to her Amazon Author Page.

For further information, follow Sandra on Twitter @SandraAuthor, find her on Facebook or visit her blog.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

Val Penny is one of the authors most supportive of bloggers and it gives me enormous pleasure to welcome her back to Linda’s Book Bag to celebrate the audio version of her thriller Hunter’s Chase today. My thanks to Lynsey at Reading Between the Lines PR for inviting me to participate in this blog tour. It’s a real honour to help start if off.

It’s far too long since Val last appeared on the blog when I reviewed her super book Let’s Get Published here.

The audio book of Hunter’s Chase is available for purchase here.

Hunter’s Chase

Hunter by name – Hunter by nature: DI Hunter Wilson will not rest until Edinburgh is safe.

Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson knows there is a new supply of cocaine flooding his city, and he needs to find the source, but his attention is transferred to murder when a corpse is discovered in the grounds of a golf course.

Shortly after the post-mortem, Hunter witnesses a second murder, but that is not the end of the slaughter. With a young woman’s life also hanging in the balance, the last thing Hunter needs is a new man on his team: Detective Constable Tim Myerscough, the son of his nemesis, the former Chief Constable Sir Peter Myerscough.

Hunter’s perseverance and patience are put to the test time after time in this first novel in The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries series.

The Audio Version of Hunter’s Chase

an Edinburgh Thriller

A Gust Post by Val Penny

Writing Hunter’s Chase was an exciting challenge, and now it is available on audiobook too. I have wanted to produce an audio book for a long time because one of my friends lost his sight during a military conflict and I wanted to be able to share my books with him. Other friends told me how much they enjoyed listening to books as they walked during lock-down and yet more just prefer to have a story read to them than to sit down with a book, so I was thrilled to arrange for Edinburgh man, Sean Pia to narrate the book for me. He even went to Leith Academy as DI Hunter Wilson did!

But let me start at the beginning, because before I could even create the story, first I had to choose a setting for my novel.

I toyed with the idea of creating an imaginary town for DI Hunter Wilson to inhabit, as Peter Robinson has done with DCI Alan Banks and the town of Eastdale in Yorkshire. However, after much consideration, I decided there was no more beautiful setting than Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland in which to set Hunter’s Chase.

The story is set in late 2012, shortly before the Police Forces in Scotland were united into one national force. Hunter and his team are based in the Headquarters of the Lothian and Borders Police Force at Fettes, in the north-west of Edinburgh.

Much of the action in the story, Hunter’s Chase, takes part in and around the south-west of the city. DC Tim Myerscough lives there with his girlfriend, Lady Sophie Dalmore, in a first-floor flat at the edge of Tollcross and Bruntsfield, while his father Sir Peter Myerscough has a house at East Steils on the outskirts of Morningside.

The young lovers, Annie and Frankie do not live together. Annie lives at home with her family in Steele’s Place near the Morningside Clock. Her father, Joe, frequents a local pub, Bennett’s Bar. Annie and Frankie often walk through the beautiful area of parkland known as the Hermitage of Braid to meet each other, as Frankie lives with his parents in Liberton.

However, the principal character, DI Hunter Wilson, following his divorce has moved to a second floor flat on the east side of the city, at Easter Road. He enjoys the company of the regulars he knows in his local pub, the Persevere Bar.

I hope those of you who are familiar with Edinburgh will enjoy listening to Sean Pia telling the story of the mystery led by Hunter Wilson and his team in Hunter’s Chase. Those of you who have not yet visited this historic and beautiful city will be persuaded to do so after listening to the new audio version of the book, read by Sean Pia.

****

I’m sure we will Val. I can’t wait to visit the Edinburgh of your series of books.

About Val Penny

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland with her husband and their cat.

Val Penny’s other crime novels, Hunter’s Chase Hunter’s Revenge, Hunter’s Force, Hunter’s Blood and Hunter’s Secret form the bestselling series The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries. They are set in Edinburgh, Scotland, and published by Darkstroke.

Her first non-fiction book Let’s Get Published is also available now and she has most recently contributed her short story, Cats and Dogs to a charity anthology, Dark Scotland.

For more information about Val, visit her website or blog.  You’ll find Val on Goodreads, Twitter @valeriepenny, and Facebook.

One of the aspects I enjoy most about blogging is being part of the start of a book’s journey into the world, so it gives me enormous pleasure to help reveal the cover for Jess Kitching’s forthcoming crime thriller The Girl She Was Before.

Let’s find out all we need to know:

The Girl She Was Before

A crime thriller with a brilliant twist you won’t see coming!! Powerful, packed full of gruelling details that will linger with you long after the book has finished.

Nat lives a picture-perfect life, but it wasn’t always this way. A victim of horrific bullying when she was a teenager, Nat will do anything to keep distance between the girl she was before and the woman she is now.

But when her best friend is murdered and people begin to point their finger at her, Nat’s new life quickly begins to unravel.

To Nat, it’s no surprise that the crime happened at the same time as the return of her biggest tormentor, Chrissy Summers. A woman with a violent streak who destroyed lives when she was younger and isn’t afraid to do it again.

Face to face with the past she so firmly keeps behind her, Nat’s sanity wavers as her determination to reveal Chrissy as the monster she knows her as rises to dangerous heights.

The question is, can Nat prove Chrissy is a killer, or will Chrissy get to Nat and her family before she has the chance?

You can’t outrun the past…

****

Now doesn’t that sound brilliant?

The Girl She was Before will be published by Kingsley on 31st October 2021 and is available for pre-order here.

About Jess Kitching

Jess Kitching is an avid reader, writer and binge-watcher. Originally from Bradford, England, she currently lives in Sydney with her fiancé Jack. Her two goals in life were to move to Australia and have a book published. To be able to say she has done both is something she still can’t wrap her head around.

You can find Jess on Instagram and visit her website for further information.

It gives me enormous pleasure to welcome Kate Abley to Linda’s Book Bag today to stay in with me and tell me about her latest book.

Staying in with Kate Abley

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Kate and thank you for staying in with me.

It’s lovely to be here Linda, thank you for inviting me.

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

I have brought along my second novel, Hausa Blue.

I love that cover Kate. What genre is is?

I’m not entirely sure what genre it is, but I do know it’s an adventure and very different from my last book, Changing the Subject.

Why the difference? 

I suppose I wanted to play a little with the historical novel genre. The central character, Dipa, is a young and beautiful dressmaker’s daughter who reveals how she was caught up in a rags to riches life and ended up in the Tower of London.

I am a Londoner, born and bred, and given the capital’s rich and colourful history I set the book there, just down the road from where I actually live in East London.

London has also had ties with the rest of the world for centuries, some good and some bad, so I also set part of the book in the Bengal Region of India and Bangladesh.

I love novels where we can have an insight into different cultures Kate.

I love historical novels but I also wanted to write something that reflects the cultural makeup of the UK now. To do that I had to invent a slightly different history, where one of the King George’s (not the mad one) married an African princess in the 18^th century. This means that the royal family, as well as most upper-class families are multi-racial.

Well, THAT’S a topical theme at the moment! 

Their cultural identity doesn’t have much bearing on the way the characters behave. As Dipa confesses/boasts of the extravagance and decadence of the Aristoi class she was so willing to join, we learn about the Lady Aditi Egremont-Cooch-Bahar, rich, beautiful and from one of the most influential families in the Empire who is undisputed queen of the Yangans, the ‘it-girls’ of this world.

Aditi is clever too, but has played one too many japes and escaped with the rightful heir and the person who holds the fate of the future in her head. She is on the other side of the world in the land of some of her forefathers. She has a sort of plan to turn the tide of the revolution back in her favour, all she needs is the right equipment.

I know it sounds a bit strange, with quite a few twists and turns, but the structure means that the reader should be carried along with the story of the characters.

I think it Hausa Blue sounds exactly my kind of read Kate.

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

I hope you don’t mind, but I have brought another book.

Absolutely not! Of course I don’t mind. The more books the better I say. Which one did you bring?

This one is non-fiction. It is called, The Art of Benin by Nigel Barley and is published by The British Museum.

You might recognise the cover image because it is the same as the image on the cover of Hausa Blue. I am fascinated with the woman who this 17^th pectoral mask represents.

The beauty and craftsmanship are gorgeous but I think knowing a little about who she was adds to its wonder. She is thought to be Queen Idia of the kingdom of Benin, in what is now Nigeria. She was a great warrior who is said to have led many battles against the enemies her son the Ibo, or king.

The mask forms part of the collection known as the Benin Bronzes, which were looted in 1896 and many of which now reside in the British Museum.

Next time you’re in London, you might enjoy a trip to see the exquisite metal, wood and ivory work, which dates from the 1600s. I go there quite often, to look at the beautiful Queen Idia, as well as many other favourites. So you never know, we may bump into each other. The British museum serves very good cake.

Did you say cake? And books? It’s a date! Thank you so much for staying in with me to chat about Hausa Blue Kate. I think it sounds utterly fascinating. Let me give blog readers a few more details:

Hausa Blue

Person’s unknown bring our world a message in an adventure about identity, change and frocks. Lots of them.

From the contaminated Capitol to moth-eaten Bengal, a multi-racial British Empire is getting round to revolution. Will the Queen’s imposter be released from the Tower of London? Who is she now? Her lawyer clings to Justice but might lose her grip; How many of those bloody beautiful idiot women are there?

The New Management is making the Empire change and it in turn is changing them, the counter-revolutionary’s knees hurt and Joshi hasn’t got a suit that fits.

Welcome to an alternative past, present and future.

Hausa Blue is available for purchase here.

About Kate Abley

Kate Abley was accidentally born, and now intentionally lives, in London, England, where, amongst other things she has been an awful front woman in a psychobilly band, good dish-washer, bad shop assistant, officially outstanding Early Years teacher, nice charitable fund-giver and failed political activist. Last century, she wrote the non-fiction book, Swings and Roundabouts: The Dangers of Outdoor Play Safety (1999). Nowadays, she is a respectable and happily married woman with two children who have grown-up pretty well and she has turned her hand to killing plants and writing stories. She published her first novel, Changing the Subject, in 2019. Her latest book is Hausa Blue.

For further information, visit Kate’s website, follow her on Twitter @AbleyKate and find her on Instagram, Facebook and Goodreads.

Regular readers of Linda’s Book Bag will know that alongside books and reading, one of my hobbies is gardening. As well as a tiny garden, I have an allotment and am the group leader for a U3A gardening group. Consequently, when Lillian Brummet got in touch about her latest book written with her husband Dave – From One Small Garden – I knew I had to feature it here. I’m delighted to share more information and a recipe from the book with you today.

Published on 18th January 2021, From One Small Garden is available for purchase from your local Amazon site.

From One Small Garden

This collection of recipes is the ultimate guide to utilizing fresh fruits and vegetables from backyard gardens to farmer’s markets – the freshest, purest source of food we can draw from. Loaded with lots of interesting tid-bits of historical and nutritional information, this book is more than just a recipe book – it is a way of treating yourself to the healthy, delicious rewards of one small garden.

Eating healthy is not always the easiest with the temptation of fast, easy food all around us. Sourcing your food from either your own backyard garden or a farmer’s market is the best, freshest way to ensure your food is full of nutrients and flavour. The next step of turning it into something inviting and appetizing is offered on every page of “From One Small Garden” – a collection of over 300 recipes developed over a span of 30 years of research and development. This book brings it all to the table in a pleasantly delicious way.

Award-winning authors Dave and Lillian Brummet began experimenting with recipes and compiling them into this book in the early ’90’s while living in the Okanagan valley in British Columbia, Canada. Over the next 3 decades the manuscript traveled with them to the Boundary region where they resided for 12 years, and then on to their permanent home in Creston. All through these travels, the Brummets re-tested the recipes, perfecting them for this collection.

The couple experimented with a vegetarian diet for a few years, went vegan for a short time, and finally settled down to a more balanced diet that included some animal protein with a huge array of fruits, grains, vegetables, wholesome breads and healthy desserts.

It also has some natural concoctions for your pets, home and garden made from common ingredients in a well-stocked kitchen. You’ll find ways to save water, tips for reducing energy costs, and frugal ways to extend your budget by reducing food waste. Learn how to make your own chicken coating, or taco seasoning, air fresheners and cleaning supplies – without the use of harsh chemicals. Reduce your exposure to carcinogenic chemicals and fragrances, save a bunch of money, and cut down on packaging and plastic bottles.

A Recipe from From One Small Garden

STRAWBERRY WHEAT GERM MUFFINS

Perfect timing for this recipe with strawberries in peak season between June – July, however frozen strawberries can also be used… just chop, thaw and drain before using. This will yield between 18-22 muffins depending on how large your muffin tins are. I prefer to use muffin cup liners that are compostable, which will help reduce the amount of waste heading to the landfill. Feel free to experiment, I have used reconstituted powder milk, rice milk and almond milk for this recipe with great results. White chocolate chips work well with this combination, however I personally prefer dark, flavonoid-rich chocolate.

3 eggs

1 c. brown sugar

2 c. milk

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1/2 c. oil

1 tsp. pure vanilla

1 c. bran

1 c. wheat germ

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 c. white flour

1  1/2 c. chopped strawberries

1 c. chocolate chips (optional)

Beat eggs briefly then add sugar and beat for 3 minutes. Add remaining liquid ingredients and then use a wooden spoon to stir in the germ and bran. Allow to rest for 10 minutes while you tidy the kitchen and prep the next step. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients together, and when the timer goes off – combine all the ingredients together, including the strawberries and chips.

Preheat oven to 400˚. Place 22 paper liners in 2 muffin tins and spoon out the batter evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean, and the top has a light golden colour. Cool completely before serving.

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Doesn’t that sound easy to do and don’t those muffins look tasty?

About Lillian and Dave Brummet

Lillian and her husband Dave are the team behind Brummet Media Group, high-fiving cheerfully as they pass each other on the way from checking off one item or other from their long to-do list. After moving to their dream location (in the Kootenay Region of BC, Canada), they have been methodically converting the abused lot over to the little park it has become – and in doing so have gained certification with bee, pollinator and wildlife organizations. Their home, too, has become energy efficient via the many upgrades they have done. Their business includes Dave’s music studio and percussion accessory products and graphic design work as well as numerous award-winning non-fiction books and popular blogs.

For more information about Lillian and Dave, follow them on Twitter @Brummet, visit their Amazon author page or website and find Lillian on Facebook.

I read The Cornish Coast Murder a while ago for the U3A book group to which I belong, but it’s only now I’ve found time to fit in a review on Linda’s Book Bag. Had it not been for the group I’d never have picked up this book, but I’m delighted to share a review today.

The Cornish Coast Murder is part of the British Library Crime Classics collection and is available for purchase here.

The Cornish Coast Murder

The Reverend Dodd, vicar of the quiet Cornish village of Boscawen, spends his evenings reading detective stories by the fireside – but heaven forbid that the shadow of any real crime should ever fall across his seaside parish. But the vicar’s peace is shattered one stormy night when Julius Tregarthan, a secretive and ill-tempered magistrate, is found at his house in Boscawen with a bullet through his head. The local police inspector is baffled by the complete absence of clues. Suspicion seems to fall on Tregarthan’s niece, Ruth – but surely that young woman lacks the motive to shoot her uncle dead in cold blood? Luckily for Inspector Bigswell, the Reverend Dodd is on hand, and ready to put his keen understanding of the criminal mind to the test.

This classic mystery novel of the golden age of British crime fiction is set against the vividly described backdrop of a fishing village on Cornwall’s Atlantic coast. It is now republished for the first time since the 1930s, with a new introduction by Martin Edwards.

My Review of The Cornish Coast Murder

Magistrate Julius Tregarthan has been murdered.

What a treat of a read! Originally published in 1935, The Cornish Coast Murder is a typical example of Golden Age crime writing in the style of Dorothy L Sayers or Agatha Christie and I really enjoyed it.

The pace is fast and filled with twists and turns as Inspector Bigswell finds red herrings, dead ends and half-truths at the heart of his investigation. Alongside him Reverend Dodd plays a significant part in solving the mystery with all the aplomb of Poirot or Miss Marple so that I found the scenes including him to be very entertaining.

And it’s a relatively gentle mystery with the murder very briefly described. Those used to the intense, visceral and explicit mutilations of some modern crime thrillers might find it tame but I preferred the unravelling of the plot rather than stomach churning descriptions. I found I wasn’t distracted by shocking detail, but was entertained by trying to navigate the story. I did guess the murderer early on, but I had no idea as to their true motive.

The characters here are quite two dimensional but nonetheless interesting, and concepts like shell-shock, romance and manipulation give them edge and attraction. One of the aspects of The Cornish Coast Murder that I so enjoyed was comparing how character was developed in the 1930’s to how it is constructed now. Indeed, reading this book made me wonder whether some readers would think it should be banned in the current socio-political climate as frequently there are prejudiced class comments and even the worthy Inspector Bigswell articulates some unpalatable opinions about women, believing the murderer to be female because they appeared to have been a poor shot. Add in the Reverend Dodd commenting that ‘Women are often unreasonable… Illogical too.’ and I fear many might feel uncomfortable. I didn’t. The book is of its time and I found the attitudes and approaches entertaining and often hilarious; sometimes because of John Bude’s deliberate writing and sometimes with almost 90 years of distance between initial publication and now.

The Cornish Coast Murder is well written, entertaining and a thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery. It is also a vivid insight into the social, political and gender hierarchy of the era that I found fascinating. It won’t suit all modern readers but I found it super escapism.

About John Bude

John Bude was a pseudonym used by Ernest Carpenter Elmore who was a British born writer.

After becoming a full-time writer, he wrote some 30 crime fiction novels, many featuring his two main series characters Superintendent Meredith and Inspector Sherwood. He began with The Cornish Coast Murder in 1935 and his final two crime novels, A Twist of the Rope and The Night the Fog Came Down were published posthumously in 1958.

He was a founder member of the Norfolk-based Crime Writers Association (CWA) in 1953 and was a co-organiser of the Crime Book Exhibition that was one of the CWA’s early publicity initiatives.

My enormous thanks to Roderick O’Grady for sending me a copy of his middle grade children’s book Bigfoot Mountain in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

Published by Firefly on 29th April 2021, Bigfoot Mountain is available for purchase in all the usual places including here.

Bigfoot Mountain

The book explores family, friendship, dealing with loss and the importance of protecting the environment. This will sweep you away to the mountains for a wild adventure.’ The Week Junior Book of the Week

Minnie and her stepfather, Dan, are stuck in their small cabin at the foot of the mountain struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother – and each other. But when Minnie and her friend Billy discover four giant footprints on a mountain trail, everything changes.

Kaayii and his clan have to move across the mountain to escape huge forest fires, but find their ancient paths blocked by new holiday cabins… As Minnie and Kaayii’s paths unexpectedly entwine, can they help each other, and heal their families?

My Review of Bigfoot Mountain

Minnie’s about to have an adventure.

Bigfoot Mountain is a charming children’s story with added depths that would make it perfect for home or classroom reading. Firstly, it’s an exciting story with adventure, peril and responsibility woven into the story as Minnie encounters the Bigfoot tribe. The two strands of the narrative from Minnie and then Kaayii’s perspectives come together in a very satisfying manner making Bigfoot Mountain an enormously pleasing read.

However, aside from a narrative that engages and captivates because it is action packed and entertaining, there’s so much more to Bigfoot Mountain. The themes are perfect for middle grade children because Roderick O’Grady introduces conflict, family, friendship and the environment in a way that educates at the same time. There are wonderful descriptions of the natural world and illustrations at the end of the book that help bring those descriptions to life. They would make an excellent catalyst for further research and study too, as would the Bigfoot story with children perhaps finding out about local myths and legends close to their own homes.

Further still, is the wonderful exploration of grief. Minnie’s mother’s death impacts the story so that children can explore their own grief and come too understand how their feelings are natural and acceptable. This theme also illustrates for young readers that adults have similar feelings and find them just as difficult to manage. I found myself wiping away a tear on a couple of occasions.

Minnie and Dan are not a conventional nuclear family, as Dan is Minnie’s step father, so that children in modern family units can identify with them and feel their own families are normal whatever their components. I really appreciated the way in which Minnie is the major character, giving status to children in an adult world and to females in general. The friendship she has with the younger Billy also exemplifies how we can make friends across a range of age groups, but perhaps the most important aspect here is her awareness of Kaayii. Here Roderick O’Grady makes clear, without preaching, that it is possible to embrace difference, to live harmoniously and to be kind to one another. I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of Bigfoot Mountain.

But Bigfoot Mountain isn’t just for children. Roderick O’Grady’s narrative also reminds adults to consider their impact on the environment, to reignite their childlike awareness of nature and joy in life, and to be open to new possibilities and truths. As someone half a century older than the target audience I found the writing moving, educational and important. I think Bigfoot Mountain has resonance and relevance for readers of all ages; for now, and in the future. I loved it.

About Roderick O’Grady

After embarking on an acting career in London, Roderick O’Grady moved to New York in the nineties. After some success off Broadway and in the US soap ‘As the World Turns’ he returned home with a wife and two children. His stage play, ‘A Foolish Fancy, How Not to get Ahead in the Theatre’ was a Time Out Critics Choice on the London Fringe. Bigfoot Mountain is his first novel.

You can follow Rod on Twitter @RoderickOGrady1. You’ll also find him on Instagram.

I’ve heard such a lot about M.J. Arlidge’s writing that, although I’m trying not to take on blog tours, I simply couldn’t resist taking part in this one for Truth or Dare! My thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me to participate and to the publishers for sending me a copy of Truth or Dare in return for an honest review which I’m delighted to share today.

Published by Orion on 24th June, Truth or Dare is available for purchase through the links here.

Truth or Dare

DO YOU WANT TO PLAY THE GAME?

THE BRAND NEW THRILLER FROM THE MIND OF MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER M. J. ARLIDGE

A crimewave sweeps through the city and no-one is safe. An arson at the docks. A carjacking gone wrong. A murder in a country park. What connects all these crimes without causes, which leave no clues?

Detective Inspector Helen Grace faces the rising tide of cases which threatens to drown the city. But each crime is just a piece of a puzzle which is falling into place.

And when it becomes clear just how twisted and ingenious this web of crime is, D.I. Grace will realise that it may be impossible to stop it . . .

THE BEST BOOK YET FROM THE MASTER OF THE KILLER THRILLER.

My Review of Truth or Dare

The city is in a crime freefall.

My goodness. I confess for much of the first half of Truth or Dare I didn’t have a clue what was going on or how the narrative would be resolved. This is not a criticism, but is testament to the skill of M.J. Arlidge in manipulating his reader and placing them in a similar position to Helen Grace as she struggles to solve the increasing cases of murder and crime in Southampton. I thought this technique was absolutely brilliant. Every time I thought I’d cracked the cases and had found the links between the different crimes something would cause me to readjust and place me back at square one – just like Helen. Obvious connections become severed and reconnected, prime suspects vacillate throughout, and the machinations of those who should know better mean that Truth or Dare is a completely addictive and compelling read. In fact, reading Truth or Dare felt akin to looking at an Escher painting where you think you know what’s going on but it isn’t quite the truth.

Part of this effect is achieved through the use of pronouns he and she at the start of chapters so that the reader isn’t immediately sure which character they have in front of them. Add in short, fast paced chapters with a daily plot structure and Truth or Dare is a thrilling story. It comes as no surprise to me to discover that M.J. Arlidge has worked in television as the episodic nature of Truth or Dare would transfer brilliantly to the small screen. There’s just enough descriptive prose to create a vivid image without slowing the pace too, so that I found it a perfectly balanced story. In the second half of the book I had to stop reading occasionally to allow my pulse time to slow. There’s such an adrenalin rush in following Helen through her investigations and the ending of Truth or Dare has made me desperate for the next book in the series.

Although Truth or Dare is part of a series, it works perfectly as a stand alone book. I haven’t read the previous books and didn’t find myself at a disadvantage at all. Helen’s persona and relationships are brilliantly woven into this story giving me all I needed to know to understand her without compromising the speed and excitement of this tale. Truth or Dare has, however, made me want to go back and discover all M.J. Arlidge’s previous writing because I enjoyed this narrative so much.

The character who had the most impact on me, however, was Joseph Hudson. I loathe unfairness and corruption and his actions throughout Truth or Dare absolutely enraged me. M.J Arlidge is such a skilled writer that he invoked a visceral response in me as a reader. I’d have happily climbed into the pages of the novel and caused Joseph Hudson physical harm. He wasn’t simply a character in a book, but so very real, contemptible and controlling that he made my blood boil.

It’s difficult to say too much about themes in Truth or Dare without spoiling the story but there are so many layers that include various forms of control, guilt, obsession, relationships and so on that make it astute, addictive and action packed.

I thought Truth or Dare was excellent. It’s compelling, exciting and terrifying. I loved it!

About M.J. Arlidge

M. J. Arlidge is the international bestselling author of the Detective Helen Grace Thrillers, including Hide and Seek, Little Boy Blue, Liar Liar, The Doll’s House, Pop Goes the Weasel, and his debut, Eeny Meeny, which has been sold in twenty-nine countries. He has worked in television for many years.

For further information, find M.J. Arlidge on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @mjarlidge.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

When I saw there was a blog tour happening for Louise Beech’s new book, This Is How We Are Human I was devastated not to be able to commit to participating. Life was, as ever, complicated at the time and I didn’t want to let anyone down by not fulfilling my commitment so I didn’t sign up. However, with Louise’s I Am Dust still calling to me from my TBR I was determined to read This Is How We Are Human as soon as I could. I’m delighted that I can share my review today.

Published by Orenda on 10th June 2021, This Is How We Are Human is available for purchase here.

It’s far too long since I read one of Louise’s books. Then it was one of my 2019 books of the year, Call Me Star Girl, with my review here. You’ll also find my review of How To Be Brave here and of Maria in the Moon here.

This Is How We Are Human

Sebastian James Murphy is twenty years, six months and two days old. He loves swimming, fried eggs and Billy Ocean. Sebastian is autistic. And lonely.

Veronica wants her son Sebastian to be happy … she wants the world to accept him for who he is. She is also thinking about paying a professional to give him what he desperately wants.

Violetta is a high-class escort, who steps out into the night thinking only of money. Of her nursing degree. Paying for her dad’s care. Getting through the dark.

When these three lives collide – intertwine in unexpected ways – everything changes. For everyone.

A topical and moving drama about a mother’s love for her son, about getting it wrong when we think we know what’s best, about the lengths we go to care for family … to survive … This Is How We Are Human is a searching, rich and thought-provoking novel with an emotional core that will warm and break your heart.

My Review of This Is How We Are Human

Twenty year old Sebastian wants to experience sex.

I’m not entirely sure how Louise Beech performs her writing miracles, but whatever genre she chooses, whatever narrative she writes, her books are totally mesmerising. This Is How We Are Human is another absolute triumph. I could describe the wonderfully natural dialogue, the rounded and believable characters, the brilliant variety of sentence structure and the way the end of each chapter compels the reader to continue but none of that would encapsulate the fabulous quality of This Is How We Are Human or do it justice in a review.

I think it’s the compassionate presentation of humanity that makes This Is How We Are Human so special. Louise Beech understands completely, and conveys with starling and affecting accuracy, the ease with which life can turn from triumph to disaster. Violetta/Isabelle’s new role in life is only a quirk of fate away for any of us so that This Is How We Are Human touches the reader with terrifying clarity. I’m sure violation and Violetta are deliberately close in sound to help the reader appreciate the precariousness of life all the more. All the characters are so gripping to read about. In Veronica is the epitome of love, hope and despair leaving me feeling increasing compassion for her with every sentence I read about her. However, it is Sebastian who is the absolute star of This Is How We Are Human. He is so real, so witty, so simultaneously mature and childlike, so human, frustrating and charming that I totally lost sight of the fact he’s a character in a book. It’s absolutely fitting that Sebastian’s sections are written in the first person, giving him status and a voice, but also giving status and a voice to other people with his level of autism too, making This Is How We Are Human a very special book.

The plot is brilliant. Often dealing with the prosaic, increasingly dramatic as the story progresses and with a pinch of the supernatural, This Is How We Are Human ensnares the reader. I was so invested in the lives of Sebastian, Veronica and Isabelle that I could not tear myself away. Some of the themes and incidents are not easy to contemplate, but Louise Beech never sensationalises. Instead she shows her readers the truth of life, of those living on the fringes of society or of those seemingly living perfect public lives, in ways that feel so authentic and insightful that they are almost physical to encounter, making This Is How We Are Human completely arresting. The author shines a light onto the very fabric of society, our prejudices and assumptions until we do truly comprehend what it is to be human.  I laughed aloud at some of the things Sebastian said, felt the utter devastation of Veronica’s reality and wept uncontrollably at Isabelle’s story. This Is How We Are Human entertained me but more than that it left me moved, affected and changed by reading it.

Not only does Louise Beech write with exquisite skill, she also imbues her words with humanity and a depth of emotion that is astounding. If you’ve never read one of her books I genuinely feel sorry for you because it’s a real privilege to do so. Do not miss This Is How We Are Human. It is unquestionably one of my books of the year. I thought it was outstanding.

About Louise Beech

Louise Beech is an exceptional literary talent, whose debut novel How To Be Brave was a Guardian Reader’s Choice in 2015. The sequel, The Mountain in My Shoe, was shortlisted for the Not the Booker Prize. Both of her previous books Maria in the Moon and The Lion Tamer Who Lost were widely reviewed, critically acclaimed and number-one bestsellers on Kindle. The Lion Tamer Who Lost was shortlisted for the RNA Most Popular Romantic Novel Award in 2019. Her 2019 novel Call Me Star Girl won Best Magazine’s Book of the Year, and was followed by a ghost-story cum psychological thriller set in a theatre, I Am Dust. 

Louise  lives with her husband on the outskirts of Hull – the UK’s 2017 City of Culture – and loves her job as Front of House Usher at Hull Truck Theatre, where her first play was performed in 2012.

Follow Louise on Twitter @LouiseWriter, find her on Facebook and Instagram and visit her website for further information.

I’ve long been a fan of Rosanna Ley’s writing so it gives me enormous pleasure to participate in this blog blitz for her latest book, The Orange Grove. My enormous thanks to Team Bookends for initially sending me a copy in return for an honest review and to Milly Reid for offering me a copy for today’s post.

It’s a year tomorrow since I reviewed Rosanna’s From Venice With Love here on Linda’s Book Bag.

I wrote about having afternoon tea with Rosanna Ley at the Covent Garden Hotel  when Her Mother’s Secret was released in this blog post.

My review of Her Mother’s Secret is here.

I wrote about a fabulous Quercus fiction event here when I came away with an early copy of Rosanna’s The Lemon Tree Hotel. My review of The Lemon Tree Hotel is here.

Rosanna Ley’s Last Dance in Havana was one of my books of the year in 2016 and you can find out all about that here and read my review here.

It was also my huge pleasure to host Rosanna on Linda’s Book Bag when The Little Theatre By The Sea was released and she wrote a glorious guest piece about her travel and research in this post.

The Orange Grove is released in paperback today, 24th June 2021 by Quercus and is available for purchase through these links.

The Orange Grove

An unforgettable story of past love and family secrets, set in sunny Seville

Holly loves making marmalade. Now she has a chance to leave her stressful city job and pursue her dream – of returning to the Dorset landscape of her childhood to open Bitter Orange, a shop celebrating the fruit that first inspired her.

Holly’s mother Ella has always loved Seville. So why is she reluctant to go back there with Holly to source products for the shop? What is she frightened of – and does it have anything to do with the old Spanish recipe for Seville orange and almond cake that Ella keeps hidden from her family?

In Seville, where she was once forced to make the hardest decision of her life, Ella must finally face up to the past, while Holly meets someone who poses a threat to all her plans. Seville is a city full of sunshine and oranges. But it can also be bittersweet. Will love survive the secrets of the orange grove?

My Review of The Orange Grove

Holly has a new plan.

The Orange Grove is the most perfect summer book. Rosanna Ley has woven a mesmerising tale of romance, history and travel that affords the reader the chance to escape into the passionate world of flamenco, Seville, food and love. I adored it as it is exactly the tonic we need in our lives right now. I didn’t just want to read about Holly and Ella’s activities, I wanted to BE Holly and Ella, so persuasive is Rosanna Ley’s writing.

The dual time lines of Holly and Ella’s experiences in Seville are perfectly balanced in The Orange Grove so that I was equally interested in, and captivated by, both aspects. I loved the way the two women’s stories were brought together as the narrative progressed with echoes of the past very firmly in the present. This was such skilful plotting.

What I found fascinating about the characters, was that Ella is actually quite flawed but I still cared about her just as much as I did Holly. However, it was the more secondary Felix who surprised me. Compared with the passionate Spanish men Felix is hardly present for much of the story, could, at times, be deemed to be weak and almost contemptible and is often frustrating, but he drives much of the action and I was absolutely invested in his part on The Orange Grove too. I wanted positive outcomes for him but you’ll need to read the book to see if I got them!

I think what I enjoy so much about Rosanna Ley’s writing is that she presents the reader with warm, vivid characters that she places in setting that are brilliantly described with full use of all the senses so that the reader is utterly transported. I was most definitely in Seville with Holly and Ella, smelling the orange blossom, hearing the flamenco beats and music, tasting tapas, seeing the vivid orange of the fruit and almost feeling the romantic kisses and caresses so that I experienced a full sensory delight in The Orange Grove. Much is often said about transporting writing, but The Orange Grove is just perfect in putting the reader at the heart of the story.

Aside from the wonderful characters, the evocative setting and the smooth and captivating writing style with naturalistic dialogue and carefully crafted sentence, The Orange Grove offers so much more than a romantic, escapist read. There are undercurrents of organised crime, a murkier world than tourists might believe in this vibrant Spanish city and an exploration of love, need, commitment, control and loyalty that give fabulous depth to the story too.

The Orange Grove is a magnificent story. It is Rosanna Ley writing at her most skilled and therefore becomes a simply outstanding narrative that made me smile, made me shed a tear or two and brought me complete summer joy. I loved it unreservedly.

About Rosanna Ley

Rosanna Ley works as a creative tutor and has written many articles and stories for national magazines. Her writing holidays and retreats take place in stunning locations in Spain and Italy. When she is not travelling, Rosanna lives in West Dorset by the sea.

You’ll find out more about Rosanna Ley on Facebook or Instagram and you can follow her on Twitter @rosannaley. You can also visit her website.