Normally I just give a brief introduction to a blog post but please bear with me if this one is slightly longer than usual.

Firstly, I would like to thank Joe Thomas at Harper Collins for sending me two copies of Miss Marley, the first having gone astray without my knowledge until lovely Rebecca Mascull contacted me to see if I had received it. If I say that I feel touched and privileged to have the opportunity to read and review the wonderful Vanessa Lafaye’s last writing, those of you who knew her will understand completely.

On the couple of occasions I met Vanessa I found her to be one of the most warm and genuine people I have ever encountered. I was delighted to read and review her novel At First Light here and it was one of my books of the year in 2017. Even better, I was thrilled to host an interview between Vanessa and her fellow Prime Writer, Jason Hewitt on At First Light publication day in a post you can read here.

To receive a book begun by Vanessa and completed by Rebecca Mascull feels very special indeed. Rebecca Mascull holds a very important place in my blogging heart too as her Song of the Sea Maid was one of the first books I reviewed here on the blog and was a book of the year in 2015 (so too was Jason Hewitt’s Devastation Road and you can see my review of that book here). The image of me that I use for my blog was taken at Rebecca’s Song of the Sea Maid launch party (you can read more about that here) and I was lucky enough to interview Rebecca about her book here.

All these elements combined, aside from the fact my sister-in-law is currently undergoing treatment for the cancer that robbed us of Vanessa, mean that Miss Marley is a special and emotional read for me.

Published by Harper Collins’ HQ imprint on 1st November 2018, Miss Marley is available for purchase through these links.

Miss Marley

Before A Christmas Carol there was…Miss Marley

A seasonal tale of kindness and goodwill

Orphans Clara and Jacob Marley live by their wits, scavenging for scraps in the poorest alleyways of London, in the shadow of the workhouse. Every night, Jake promises his little sister ‘tomorrow will be better’ and when the chance to escape poverty comes their way, he seizes it despite the terrible price.

And so Jacob Marley is set on a path that leads to his infamous partnership with Ebenezer Scrooge. As Jacob builds a fortress of wealth to keep the world out, only Clara can warn him of the hideous fate that awaits him if he refuses to let love and kindness into his heart…

In Miss Marley, Vanessa Lafaye weaves a spellbinding Dickensian tale of ghosts, goodwill and hope – a perfect prequel to A Christmas Carol.

My Review of Miss Marley

What did happen prior to Dickens’ A Christmas Carol?

I have to admit that I was concerned I may not be able to dissociate my emotions from my reading with Miss Marley, but if I’m honest, I soon forgot the circumstances that have led to this book appearing and was so wrapped up in the storytelling I forgot who had actually written it.

Miss Marley is a glorious story. It’s modern and accessible whist at the same time feeling traditional and creating a Dickensian atmosphere that is completely authentic. The use of the senses and the cinematic scene painting transport the reader to the era so that it is as if you’re watching the action rather than reading about it. I loved the creation of setting. I had no idea which of the two authors had written which parts and it was not until I read the Afterward by Rebecca Mascull that I knew, because the writing is seamless, eloquent and flowing.

What both Vanessa Lafaye and Rebecca Mascull do so well is uncover the emotional and psychological reasons behind Jacob Marley becoming the man he is so that Miss Marley actually enhances Dickens’ A Christmas Carol because the reader has a greater understanding of why he visits Scrooge. However, it is Clara who is the star. There’s a perfect balance of the reality of a woman’s historical place in the world alongside a warm, vivid and feisty individual who becomes very real to the reader. I was with Clara in every one of her thoughts and actions. Her compassion, her love and her stoicism make her a character I won’t forget in a hurry.

The plot of Miss Marley is inspired. I loved the way the story is divided into what are almost three classical acts. Whilst there are elements that link with, and draw on, A Christmas Carol, the reader needs no knowledge of that book in order to enjoy Miss Marley. This is a Christmas story that will become part of the festive reading lexicon in its own right. It has everything a reader needs with twists and turns, triumph and disaster and love and passion – in both positive and negative forms – so that it captivates the reader and enthralls them. There are elements of social history, romance, the supernatural and psychology that give Miss Marley something for every reader.

I think Miss Marley is the perfect book for a cold winter’s afternoon. It is perfect for those who love or who are yet to discover Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. I also think it is the perfect reminder of the talent and human warmth we have lost in Vanessa Lafaye. I loved it.

About Vanessa Lafaye

Vanessa Lafaye was born in Florida and studied in North Carolina. She moved to the UK in 1999 (having been deported once). She is the author of two previous novels, her first book Summertime, was chosen for Richard and Judy in 2015 and was shortlisted for the Historical Writers Award.

Vanessa passed away in February 2018.

You can still visit Vanessa’s wonderful website.

About Rebecca Mascull

Rebecca Mascull is the author of three historical novels and also writes saga fiction under the pen-name Mollie Walton.

She is currently hard at work on her next trilogy of historical fiction, with the first novel coming in spring 2019 to be published by Bonnier Zaffre as The Ironbridge Saga. These will be published under the name of Mollie Walton and the first book in the series is set in the dangerous world of the iron industry: The Daughters Of Ironbridge.

Rebecca’s novels The Visitors (2014), Song of the Sea Maid (2015) The Wild Air (2017) are all published by Hodder and Stoughton.

You can follow Rebecca on Twitter @rebeccamascull and find her on Facebook. Visit her Rebecca Mascull website here and her Mollie Walton website here.

My enormous gratitude to the folk at Bookends for sending me a copy of When All Is Said by Anne Griffin in return for an honest review.

Published by Hodder imprint Sceptre on 24th January 2019, When All Is Said is available for pre-order through the links here.

When All Is Said

‘I’m here to remember – all that I have been and all that I will never be again.’

At the bar of a grand hotel in a small Irish town sits 84-year-old Maurice Hannigan. He’s alone, as usual – though tonight is anything but. Pull up a stool and charge your glass, because Maurice is finally ready to tell his story.

Over the course of this evening, he will raise five toasts to the five people who have meant the most to him. Through these stories – of unspoken joy and regret, a secret tragedy kept hidden, a fierce love that never found its voice – the life of one man will be powerfully and poignantly laid bare.

Heart-breaking and heart-warming all at once, the voice of Maurice Hannigan will stay with you long after all is said.

My Review of When All Is Said

Maurice Hannigan is about to share a few toasts to absent family as he sits in the bar.

Yes, well. I saw the publicity for When All Is Said and thought it might be my kind of read. I hadn’t expected quite such an emotional punch so early. I certainly didn’t expect to be in tears by page 9. What a book! It’s going to be tricky to review without recourse to overused superlatives, but When All Is Said deserves them all.

Anne Griffin has such an immaculate turn of phrase that her writing is just gorgeous. The balance of her sentences, the convincing direct speech and the apposite use of a single word in contrast to other, more lengthy, prose is perfect. I felt her style was as rich as the Midleton Whiskey Maurice drinks. There’s an almost Shakespearean light relief through Svetlana and some of the direct speech that balances beautifully the intensity of the rest of the text.

In a sense, there is very little plot as Maurice talks in his head to his son whilst sitting in a bar over the course of an evening, but this simply doesn’t convey what fabulous plotting and storytelling is here. I lost sight of the author completely as I was so convinced by Maurice’s voice. He broke my heart and then shattered the pieces further because the raw honesty of his narrative was almost too much to bear. His memories are vivid and devastating, covering grief, love, regret, pride and anger. His searing loneliness leaps from the page with an impact on the reader that is actually physical.

I loved everything about When All Is Said. I loved the poetic quality of the writing. I loved the iterative appearance of the gold coin. I loved the raw emotion that resonates behind every perfectly selected word. But most of all I adored the portrayal of Maurice. I didn’t so much read a book in When All Is Said as find myself seated with a much loved friend, Maurice, and listening, mesmerised, to his life story.

When All Is Said is a poignant, emotional and utterly brilliant tour de force and I can’t recommend it highly enough. I simply feel I haven’t done it justice in my review, but all I can say is it really is utterly magnificent.

About Anne Griffin

Anne Griffin is an Irish novelist living in Ireland. Anne was awarded the John McGahern Award for Literature, recognising previous and current works. Amongst others, she has been shortlisted for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award and the Sunday Business Post Short Story Award.

Anne’s debut novel When All Is Said will be published by Sceptre in the UK and Ireland in January, 2019 and by Thomas Dunne Books in the US and Canada in March, 2019. It will also be published by Rowohlt Verlag in Germany, Delcourt in France, by Harper Collins Holland in the Netherlands, by Wydawnictwo Czarna in Poland, and by Tyto Alba in Lithuania.

You can find Anne on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @AnneGriffin_ and visit her website for more detail.

It gives me great pleasure to feature Claire Cock-Starkey again on Linda’s Book Bag, this time with an extract from The Real McCoy. I have previously reviewed Claire’s The Book Lover’s Miscellany here and A Library Miscellany here.

Published by the Bodleian Library on 12th October 2018, The Real McCoy is available for purchase here.

The Real McCoy

The English language is rich with eponyms – words that are named after an individual – some better known than others. This book features 150 of the most interesting and enlightening specimens, delving into the origins of the words and describing the fascinating people after whom they were named.

Eponyms are derived from numerous sources. Some are named in honour of a style icon, inventor or explorer, such as pompadour, Kalashnikov and Cadillac. Others have their roots in Greek or Roman mythology, such as panic and tantalise. A number of eponyms, however, are far from celebratory and were created to indicate a rather less positive association – into this category can be filed boycott, Molotov cocktail and sadist.

Encompassing eponyms from medicine, botany, invention, science, fashion, food and literature, this book uncovers the intriguing tales of discovery, mythology, innovation and infamy behind the eponyms we use every day.

The perfect addition to any wordsmith’s bookshelf.

An Extract from The Real McCoy

My review of The Real McCoy

A wonderful selection of word and phrase origins.

As with all Claire Cock-Starkey’s books, The Real McCoy is perfect for readers and writers alike as it delves into the origins of some of our best known sayings. I think it should come with a bit of a warning though. I fear it may set off an obsession in wanting to know more of this kind of information!

Brilliantly researched and organised alphabetically, The Real McCoy can be read in order, but I really enjoyed dipping in at random to see what came up. I love the fact that there is everything from Earl Grey Tea to Masochism between the pages of this volume – there really is something for everyone.

Whilst I knew some of the phrase origins, much of the information provided by Claire Cock-Starkey was at least enlightening and at times quite shocking. What I found out about Asperger made my blood run cold.

Once again Claire Cock-Starkey has produced a treasure trove of erudite, accessible, entertaining and interesting material. The Real McCoy is a gem of a book.

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.

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I’m enormously grateful to Emilie Chambeyron at Harper Collins for sending me a copy of Roar by Cecelia Ahern in return for an honest review and for inviting me to be part of Roar‘s launch celebrations.

Published yesterday, 1st November 2018, by Harper Collins Roar is available for purchase through these links.

Roar

I am woman. Hear me roar.

Have you ever imagined a different life?
Have you ever stood at a crossroads, undecided?
Have you ever had a moment when you wanted to roar?

The women in these startlingly original stories are all of us: the women who befriend us, the women who encourage us, the women who make us brave. From The Woman Who Slowly Disappeared to The Woman Who Was Kept on the Shelf and The Woman Who Returned and Exchanged her Husband, discover thirty touching, often hilarious, stories and meet thirty very different women. Each discovers her strength; each realizes she holds the power to make a change.

Witty, tender, surprising, these keenly observed tales speak to us all, and capture the moment when we all want to roar.

My Review of Roar

Roar is an eclectic mix of thirty short stories about women.

What an intelligent, sensitive and thought provoking collection Cecelia Ahern has produced in Roar. Each of these thirty stories is a little triumph that is so satisfying to read. I did wonder if being an ‘older’ reader made me appreciate them more than I might have done had I been thirty years younger and with fewer similar experiences to the women in Roar, but for me there was much to relate to and identify with making me feel a real kinship with the women presented. Not every story will resonate with every reader (I actually liked the final title story the least!) and I think this is what is so important about a volume like Roar. Cecelia Ahern has provided thirty very individual stories that will be read differently depending on the experiences and emotions of the reader. I have a feeling that next time I pick up this collection I may very well find something different to identify with.

Although each story is unique, with many varied genres from romance to fantasy, they all have many elements in common. Most strikingly is the fact that none of the women is named so that they could be any one of us, creating an affinity that is very powerful indeed. I most identified with The Woman Who Thought Her Mirror Was Broken, but I found them all uplifting and positive, even to the extent of restoring my faith in some elements of my life. I found every story had a distinct identity and a deep feeling of the author caring not only about her characters, but her readers too.

Quite feminist in flavour, once or twice I wondered whether the stories were edging towards misandry, but then realised that what Cecelia Ahern is doing, is not vilifying men (such as some of those who may mock a waitress with a lisp perhaps), but is providing powerful, salient lessons so that women can see that they have control over their lives and do not need others to define them or create their happiness and well-being for them. This is very powerful indeed.

Incredibly well crafted, the stories in Roar have humour and pathos, sadness and joy so that there is an emotion to suit any mood. I found this collection an enormously entertaining celebration of women. It made me think and it actually empowered me in many ways. Roar is a collection to be roared about!

About Cecelia Ahern

(Image courtesy of Matthew Thompson)

Cecelia Ahern is one of the biggest selling authors to emerge in the past fifteen years. Her novels have been translated into thirty languages and have sold more than twenty-five million copies in over forty countries. Two of her books have been adapted as major films and she has created several TV series in the US and Germany.  She and her books have won numerous awards, including the Irish Book Award for Popular Fiction for The Year I Met You in 2014. PS I Love You was awarded two Platinum Awards at the 2018 Specsavers Bestsellers Awards, for UK and Ireland.

Cecelia lives in Dublin with her family.

You can find out more by following Cecelia on Twitter @Cecelia_Ahern, visiting her website and finding her on Facebook.

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One of the frustrations I occasionally have as a reader is that books often don’t feature women over 40 as their protagonists. With that in mind, I am delighted to welcome Bonnie McCune to Linda’s Book Bag to tell me about one of her books.

Staying in with Bonnie McCune

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Bonnie. 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? 

I’ve brought my latest, Never Retreat. Like all my books, it features a real woman (not a teenager or an empty-headed flirt), and is set in my home state of Colorado. Her life’s complicated by challenges—money problems, a teenaged son, tension at work. The hero, too, has his share of trials—a pressing need for funds, a job transfer at the telecommunications firm where both he and the heroine work.

(I’m always eager to read about more mature women Bonnie. Sounds good!)

Still the book’s breaking some new territory for me. The story is more substantive than earlier novels. Raye and Des face more difficulties than usual. In addition to the push-pull of the possible relationship, the two and their co-workers are trapped by a massive summer storm and flash flood in the mountains.

What can we expect from an evening in with Never Retreat?

A healthy dose of believable characters who learn from their challenges and struggles, just as we all do. Like my characters, I believe in equal opportunities at home as well as work, in relationships as well as employment.

(Now, that’s a philosophy I strongly agree with!)

The story follows Raye and Des as they discover to overcome assumptions about each other and value the viewpoint, the history, and the strengths of their opposite. No losers in this struggle. Still, some troubles are too huge to solve easily or alone. A mere life-threatening deluge can be over in a matter of hours, but tangles between personalities last far longer. I think readers will enjoy how the two may tussle and argue but eventually find they’re much better with one another than apart.

(That sounds like real life to me.)

One reviewer said about Never Retreat: “More than a love story, Bonnie McCune has created a tale of partnership and equality, sure to remind us of both contemporary gender struggles and hope for the future of men and women as a united, beneficial partnership. . .an intelligent love story.”

Another said, “Clashing characters early on turns into a nice dose of chemistry between the pair. Strong well-written characters with a fleshed- out background for each of them makes this an enjoyable read. An imaginative storyline that hasn’t been overdone.

(Those are wonderful responses. It sounds as if you’ve achieved perfectly what you set out to do in Never Retreat.)

What else have you brought along and why? 

I thought I’d tell you a little more about the impetus for my writing.

(Please do. I love hearing why and how authors gain their inspiration.)

I’ve found I often use major catastrophes in writing.  My work is replete with floods, fires, blizzards, and disasters. One reason I use them is because everyday life can sound boring, and people often read fiction to escape. Because my work avoids rich or famous characters to favor everyday people, I find calamities can show there’s no such thing as a “normal” human. Everyone’s different, everyone has strengths, weaknesses, loves, interests. A crisis simply brings these to the fore and allows me to parade the character in all her wonderful strengths. So Never Retreat incorporates one of the flash floods notorious in this state and asks, “What if?”, the basis of all creative thought.

The second reason, I admit, is I’m a coward. I’m afraid of nearly everything, whether it’s getting fired (one of Raye’s fears), facing a flood, having a child in a car accident, or being broke (another of Raye’s fears). Writing novels allows me to consider these and come to grips with them, which defuses the fear.

(I’d never really thought of the author’s personal responses to the ‘What if?’ scenarios they create. How interesting Bonnie.)

Bits and pieces of my life seem to show up in my writing. The episode in which Raye reveals her skill at roping was based on my awe when my older sister, then age ten, taught herself to lasso. The lodge is similar to one I stayed in for a work conference and impressed me with its opulence. The teen’s confidence mimics that of my grandson’s. As a writer friend of mine said, “Everything’s material for writing.”

(Now THAT I am familiar with. Authors are real magpies when it comes to finding material to write about.) 

Thank you so much for staying in with me to tell us all about Never Retreat, Bonnie. I think it sounds a brilliant story. 

Never Retreat

A feisty single mom clashes with an ex-military, sexist, corporate star at a business retreat in the Colorado mountains…

Years ago, Ramona (“Raye”) Soto faced harsh reality when a roving conman knocked her up. Now, at thirty-something, she’s concentrating on her career with a major telecommunications firm and funding college for her teenaged son. Enter Desmond Emmett—a fast talker and smooth operator. New to the office, the ex-serviceman possesses every negative quality in a guy Raye should avoid.

Thrown together at a corporate retreat in the wilderness, the reluctant duo struggles to complete management’s extreme mental and physical tests for a huge reward. But only one can win the prize, and Des needs the money to underwrite medical treatments for his adored younger sister.

See-sawing between attraction and antagonism, the mismatched couple faces their biggest challenge: learning the meaning of true partnership. When a massive flash flood sweeps down the rocky canyon and threatens their love and survival, they must put aside their differences to rescue their colleagues—and their future as a couple.

Never Retreat is available for purchase here.

About Bonnie McClune

Bonnie McCune has been writing since age ten, when she submitted a poem about rain rushing down the gutter to the Saturday Evening Post (it was rejected). Her interest in the written word facilitated her career in nonprofits where she concentrated on public and community relations and marketing. She’s worked for libraries, directed a small arts organization, and managed Denver’s beautification program. Simultaneously, she’s been a free lance writer with articles in local, regional, and specialty publications.  Now her true passion is fiction, and her stories have won several awards. Never Retreat is her third novel and her fifth book of fiction.

To find out more visit Bonnie at www.BonnieMcCune.com, where you also can read her blog “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives.” You can also follow Bonnie on Twitter @bonniemccune and find her on Facebook.

I adore Tracy Rees’s writing as you’ll see in my reviews of her previous books. Amy Snow was one of the first books I ever reviewed on Linda’s Book Bag here. I reviewed Florence Grace here and had a wonderful guest post from Tracy about the appeal of the C19th that you can read here. Florence Grace was one of my Books of the Year and you’ll see it featured here. I also reviewed Tracy’s The Hourglass here.

Having met Tracy on a few occasions I have found her to be as wonderful as her writing so I’m thrilled to welcome her back to the blog today to celebrate her latest book Darling Blue. Tracy has written a smashing post all about Richmond. If you’re unfamiliar with Tracy’s writing, this post will give you a perfect flavour of how good it is.

Darling Blue is published today by Quercus and is available for purchase through the links here.

Darling Blue

Blue lives a charmed life. From her family’s townhouse in Richmond, she lives a life of luxury and couldn’t want for anything – well, on the surface at least.

Then on the night of her twenty-first birthday her father makes a startling toast: he will give his daughter’s hand to whichever man can capture her heart best in the form of a love letter. But Blue has other ideas and, unwilling to play at her father’s bewildering games, she sets out on her own path to find her own destiny…

My Memories of Richmond

A Guest Post by Tracy Rees

I’ll always remember the day I fell in love with Richmond. I was a publishing junior, out for a day work-shadowing a sales rep. While we talked to the manager of Waterstone’s (still there on the corner of Red Lion Street, still one of my favourite bookshops) Jerry Hall came in, looking ethereal in lavender, looking for Tennessee Williams (or his plays at any rate). I thought that was just perfect.

Later, heading home, we drove up Richmond Hill and my companion pointed out various celebrity homes among the beautiful townhouses on the left. But what drew my gaze and captured my heart was the view to the right, out over Petersham meadows. It’s the view that Blue and Barnaby enjoy together in Darling Blue when they have a drink in the Roebuck. To quote from my own book… “The view certainly was spectacular: an expanse of meadows far below; the bow and bend of the silver river, thick at the edges with willow and oak.” I saw it and I knew I had to live there. In fact, with my slightly prescient tendencies, I knew I would live there. (I was living in Croydon at the time – enough said.)

I was about 23 when I moved to Richmond but I’ll always think of it as the place I grew up. While I was there, my then-partner and I broke up. The ordered life I’d known fell away and I started creating my life, rather than simply ticking along. I conquered my fear of spiders. I went to work in a cocktail bar and earned the right to hum The Human League whenever I want. I learned for the first time that work didn’t have to be sitting in an office wearing a suit but could be sociable and fun (“Flirting for a living” my boss called it! I was ok with that.) I remember polishing the beer taps on quiet days and gazing out at the willow trees dreaming over the tranquil green water. I would dream and feel tranquil too. I remember hosing down the heavy rubber bar mats in the cellar in the small hours, feeling oddly content. I remember countless nights out dancing, volunteering in a soup kitchen, learning to cook Thai food. I started travelling, studying psychology and making so many friends.

I used to love walking along the river, in all seasons (that’s why Darling Blue is structured in five parts – seasons – summer through to the following summer). I used to heron-spot religiously. I’d see them fishing or flying or standing on one leg thinking deep thoughts. One day a heron lifted into the air from the path right in front of me; I saw those huge wings spreading at close quarters, looked right into its eye, felt the brush of air and the power of its flight. I couldn’t have been more awed if I’d seen an angel.

Another bird memory: seeing a swan walking into a pub! Yes, really. The men who were leaving just then stood aside to let it pass. They were actually trying not to get pecked but it looked for all the world as though they were saying, “after you Sir”.

I remember arriving back at the tube station after a night out in London and stumbling into a midnight fashion shoot in the middle of the street. The topless male model was spotlit, the photographer was shooting and the makeup girls were poised with brushes… that’s not something you see every day.

I have about a billion memories of Richmond. Some are hilarious, some profound and some are just beautiful snapshots in my mind. They’re all precious, and I hope that the great love I feel for that place has spilled onto the pages of Darling Blue.

(Wonderful memories Tracy. I’m looking forward to seeing how they weave into Darling Blue.)

About Tracy Rees

Born in Wales, Tracy Rees has been called “the most outstanding new voice in historical fiction” by Lucinda Riley and her books are paperback and kindle bestsellers. She was the winner of the Richard and Judy ‘Search for a Bestseller’ Competition. A Cambridge graduate, she had a successful eight-year career in nonfiction publishing and a second career practising and teaching humanistic counselling before becoming a writer.

You can follow Tracy on Twitter @AuthorTracyRees.

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One of the aspects I enjoy most about blogging is meeting authors in real life and Eva Jordan is one of the loveliest ones I have come across. Eva doesn’t live a million miles away from me and I count her as a friend. I’m really looking forward to her being part of the Deepings Literary Festival in May next year. Consequently, I’m absolutely honoured to have been asked to reveal Eva’s new book Time Will Tell for the very first time.

Eva has appeared on Linda’s Book Bag in the past with a wonderful guest post about female friendships to celebrate her novel 183 Times a Year that you can read here and another, that was part of the launch celebrations for All The Colours In Between, about the need for older protagonists here.

Today I’m absolutely thrilled to be helping to launch the next of Eva’s novels, Time Will Tell, with a cover reveal and details about the book.

Time Will Tell will be published by Urbane Publications on 14th February 2019 and is available for pre-order here.

So, without further ado – here is all you need to know about Time Will Tell:

Time Will Tell

Writer, Lizzie Lemalf, and her loving but somewhat dysfunctional family are still grieving over the loss of a much-loved family member. Lizzie is doing her best to keep her family together but why does the recent death of a well-known celebrity have them all in a spin?

The police suspect foul play; Lizzie and other family members suspect one another.

Lizzie begins searching for answers only to find herself being dragged back to the past, to 1960’s London to be exact, and to the former life of her father, that up until now she has never been privy to.

Every family has its secrets but how can the past hold the key to a present day celebrity death? They say the past comes back to haunt you. Surely the truth will out?

Maybe, but only time will tell…

Now doesn’t that sound absolutely wonderful? I love the way the colours of Eva’s books are harmoniously picked up in each cover design.

Make sure you pre-order Time Will Tell here.

About Eva Jordan

Eva Jordan, born in Kent but living most of her life in a small Cambridgeshire town, describes herself as a lover of words, books, travel and chocolate.

Eva is a published writer of several short stories and debut novel 183 Times A Year. Eva has always had a love of books and reading and really got the writing bug when she received a first for her dissertation, which looked at The People’s War during World War II, whilst studying for a degree in English and History.

Eva’s career has been varied, including working in a Women’s Refuge and more recently at the city library. However, storytelling through the art of writing is her true passion. Eva enjoys stories that force the reader to observe the daily interactions of people with one another set against the social complexities of everyday life, be that through crime, love or comedy.

Time Will Tell is Eva’s third novel.

You can find Eva on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @EvaJordanWriter and visit her website.

I don’t know about you, but as soon as the clocks go back in the UK I start to feel slightly depressed. I hate the winter and much prefer the summer. With that in mind I’m delighted to welcome Robertson Tait to stay in with me to tell me about one of his books as I think it could be just the pick-me-up we all need!

Staying in with Robertson Tait

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

Thank you, Linda, and I appreciate the opportunity to ‘Stay In’ with you and discuss my books.

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

I’ve brought along Kyle Harrison Movie Star – the first in my series Kyle In Hollywood which I suppose one could call a romantic comedy in the Richard Curtis vein of Notting Hill and Four Weddings. In fact I think one reviewer actually called my book a mix of Bridget Jones and Notting Hill, but then he rethought that and decided it was just ‘Kyle’.

(Whatever the comparison, Robertson, I like the sound of the Kyle series!)

The reason I’ve chosen it is I think right now we’re all suffering through some fairly stressful times, politically, and some darker than that globally, so my series may, for those who would find it so, be a bit of an escape from those concerns.

(I couldn’t agree more!)

I am a great fan of Wodehouse, and probably my favourite playwright would be Oscar Wilde. I think the movie version of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest‘ with Colin Firth and Rupert Everett is just terrific.

Now, I’m not equating myself with either of these illustrious iconic authors, but I do try for some humour, and I hope my stories might give a smile, and these days those seem harder to come by.

(I certainly think I’ll have to give Kyle a go as I’m all for a bit of humour and smiling!)

What can we expect from an evening in with Kyle Harrison Movie Star?

Well, Kyle is a young Scot sitting brooding about life at an outdoor cafe in Rome, Italy, when a Hollywood director notices him and thinks he’s found his next star. From that point on, we follow Kyle as he finds his feet and learns to hold his own against the soulless Hollywood machinery. Through his unexpected ascendancy and his innate good nature, Kyle tries to help all around him, although he’s no saint. But, if you have a moment, let me offer a passage here that might better give a flavour of Kyle’s world. Ronnie Bruce, the director, has charged his assistant Loretta with getting Kyle a tux for a premiere, and she has gone over to her sister Sally’s formal rental store. Sally thinks little of her sister’s position with the director’s production company, and Kyle notices the disdain in her manner towards Loretta:

Excerpt from the “Measuring Up” chapter

(Kyle Harrison Movie Star)

“So a tux, and we’ll need the shirt to go with it. You know the stuff, Sally, the full première bit.”

“Yes, yes, I get you,” Sally was thinking out loud, “I’d say a slim forty should do the trick. Let me see.” She walked just behind a decorative ornamental screen and pressed a button to rotate her hanging wardrobe. The device whirred smoothly, and she located the unit she was searching for.

She unhooked the ensemble and held it out towards Kyle with a triumphant assuredness.

“Don’t think so.” Kyle had sensed the subtle tension in the air between the sisters, and he was turning terse.

Sally shot Loretta an enquiring look as she asked, “What do you mean by don’t think so?”

“Not my size.” Kyle was slouching into a large, plush velvet Louis XIV chair, looking about him with barely concealed boredom.

“Yes, it is.” Sally was holding her business guard up to stop her annoyance showing as she expanded, “I’ve been measuring clients for over twenty years. If I say you’re a slim forty … you’re a slim forty!” Her eyes were charged with indignation, and she knew it might show, but she was trying very hard to temper her anger with professional poise.

“You’re sure?” Kyle caught her eye with his determined gaze. Sally could feel the challenge.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Her mind was set, and she was starting to feel offended.

Loretta felt the chill of daggers in the proceedings and tried to mediate. “Why don’t you give it a try, Kyle? Easiest way to find out is to try it on.” She was thinking maybe this had not been the best idea, to come to her sister’s place. They always had this underlying rivalry, and Sally was always just that bit superior and supercilious.

“Okay … up to you, but I’m not a forty, slim or otherwise.” Kyle took the hanger and headed for the changing room while he heard Sally squeezing out her frustration with a suppressed murmur, “Yes, you are,” as she looked down at her counter and needlessly shuffled some papers.

In the changing room Kyle squeezed into the shirt and suit and found it quite amusing to see himself in the mirror for the first time in a black-tie get-up. It wasn’t bad, and he turned around, immodestly appreciating that, if he didn’t know who he was, he could pass for a movie star on the red carpet.

It was a fun thought, but the jacket was not fun and, if he needed to move, he could tell something would have to give, and he knew that realistically what was going to give was the stitching.

He stepped back into the main display area to meet the critical assessment of Loretta and Sally.

“So what do you think, Kyle? Does it fit?” Loretta knew Ronnie didn’t want any mistakes.

“Not really.” Kyle turned to show the area of his discontent. “It’s too tight on the chest and across the back and the sleeves, too. I’m squeezed in like a sausage.”

Sally was not going to back down. She’d made her claim, and she was damned if she’d concede.

“You’re just not used to formal wear. I think it’s fine and, just like I said, a perfect forty … here, try the tie.” She proffered the black silk bow tie towards him and, as he extended an arm to reach for it, they all heard the softly destructive sound of the seam splitting up the back of the jacket. It was a painfully submissive sound that Sally felt was punishing her into accepting that Kyle was, after all, NOT a size forty.

“Okay, what is your damn size then?” Regrettably, Sally’s annoyance had robbed her voice of its usual polished professionalism. “What is your chest measurement … just give it to me in inches, okay?”

“I’m a forty-three-inch chest.” Kyle was employing his most soothing calm and cool voice which he knew, in the circumstances, was all the more annoying.

Loretta and Kyle eventually departed with a ‘made-up’ suit set: the trousers from a forty long and the jacket from a slim-fitting forty-four. As they opened the glass door to step back out onto the pavement, Loretta could hear Sally inside muttering to herself a begrudging reasoning of her miscalculation, “Deceptive … very deceptive.”

(I loved that! Made me want to find out more!)

Sorry if that was a bit too long.

(Not at all – it gave us a real flavour of your writing.)

The story is episodic in nature, so it’s hard to isolate a representative passage that’s not too long. Throughout the books, Kyle has many adventures with a large cast of supporting characters, but perhaps one of the strongest of those is Randy Riley, an aging veteran of cowboy/western movies whom Kyle befriends and, in so doing, he changes Randy’s direction away from the rabble-rousing heavy drinker whose career is almost over into a reborn star with a whole new lease on life and career.

(It really does sound a lot of fun.)

What else have you brought along and why?

Ah yes, speaking of Randy, the other thing I’ve brought along is a song Randy composes for a movie he’s in with Kyle. He writes the song at a low point in his life as his contract is coming to an end and he’s being let go. However, that is before the Kyle effect kicks in and his career reblooms big-time. You can listen to it here.

(What a smashing song. I love the way Randy sings about doing his best but not always succeeding!)

And I suppose as my only real comment on my writing process, I’m going to have to confess that I don’t set up, or map out, or story-board anything. I just watch the movie in my head and write down the lines as I hear them. Quite often my characters surprise me!

(Ha! Many authors tell me their characters don’t always do what is expected Robertson!)

Thanks so much for staying in with me. I’ve really enjoyed our evening.

Kyle Harrison Movie Star

Dry humour and a good dose of romance. He’s tall, he’s handsome and he doesn’t fit any mould. Kyle Harrison is a young Scottish actor blundering his way to the top of the Hollywood tree. Discovered on the Via Veneto in Rome, Kyle takes Hollywood by storm with his irreverent charisma. With his trademark slouch and deadly mixture of boyish charm and athletic good looks, Kyle is beguiling to the ladies but frequently misunderstood.

Kyle’s photo is all over the tabloids, the day after he lands in Hollywood. He’s a movie star who hasn’t done a single screen test yet. A top director is sure he’s discovered his next action hero, but Kyle is clueless about the business, although he certainly looks the part.

Can he handle instant fame and stand up to Hollywood’s ruthless star-making machinery?

Kyle Harrison Movie Star is available for purchase here.

About Robertson Tait

Born in the Scottish Highlands, Robertson Tait writes romantic comedy and optimistic contemporary stories featuring imperfect but sensitive heroes and gorgeous, confident heroines, lovingly described locations, and some dry Scottish humour.

The Kyle in Hollywood series draws upon his experiences as a British Actors’ Equity member, his extensive travels, and twenty years of competitive horse riding.
Also a singer songwriter, Robertson lives in the country with his wife and two demanding cats.

To find out more, visit Robertson’s website where you can subscribe to his newsletter and find information on new releases and free content, short stories and some of his own songs that are often worked into the narrative.

It seems a while ago now when I was privileged to meet Anstey Harris, author of  The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton, at a wonderful evening hosted by Books and the City @TeamBATC for Simon and Schuster. I wrote about that evening in a post you can read here.

Today I’m thrilled to share my review of this lovely book.

The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton will be published by Simon and Schuster on 10th January 2018 and is available for pre-order through the links here.

The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton

Between the simple melody of running her violin shop and the full-blown orchestra of her romantic interludes in Paris with David, her devoted partner of eight years, Grace Atherton has always set her life to music.

Her world revolves entirely around David, for Grace’s own secrets have kept everyone else at bay. Until, suddenly and shockingly, one act tips Grace’s life upside down, and the music seems to stop.

It takes a vivacious old man and a straight-talking teenager to kickstart a new chapter for Grace. In the process, she learns that she is not as alone in the world as she had once thought, that no mistake is insurmountable, and that the quiet moments in life can be something to shout about …

My review of The Truth and Triumphs of Grace Atherton

Madly in love with David, Grace hasn’t played her ‘cello in public for years.

The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton is a beautiful, beautiful book.

I am a complete ignoramus about classical music and have no idea how reading about someone playing a ‘cello can reduce me to tears, but the quality of Anstey Harris’s writing is so magical in The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton that I found myself transported by her words. Reading this book opened up a whole world of music and instrument making I had never before appreciated. The writing is so convincing I had to go online and find out more about some of the aspects, but I won’t reveal which in case I spoil any part of the story for other readers.

The characters are wonderful. With most of the action revolving around Grace, David, Mr Williams and Nadia there is an intensity that touches the very soul of the reader. I felt I knew Grace intimately – much better than she knows herself and at one point, mid way into the story I felt as broken by what was happening as is Grace because she was so real to me. I was genuinely terrified by what I thought might happen to these people and found myself shouting ‘Oh no!’ and cheering as I read so that my husband thought I had gone completely insane. It felt to me as if this wasn’t just Grace’s story, but that she was a universal figure whom we all can relate to.

Nadia is the perfect foil to Grace. Her expletives and dynamism give a perfect counterpoint to Grace’s constrained life. I so loved Mr Williams too because his wisdom is pure and unselfish, contrasting brilliantly with the emotional David.

But it is not just the characters who are so well written. Anstey Harris captures Paris so evocatively that I was there walking the streets with Grace. Reading The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton made me want to return to Paris as soon as I can.

Although I have alluded a little bit to the plot and I can’t say too much as I really don’t want to spoil the read for others, let me just say it is absolutely right for the cast of characters. The themes of identity, failure, how the past shapes us in our present, relationships, music, and being true to ourselves are so magically oven together that this was not just a cracking read of a book, but a timeless message for the reader too.

The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton is as warm and vibrating with life, love and emotion as a perfectly tuned ‘cello. It is a sparkling diamond of a book and I adored it.

About Anstey Harris

Anstey Harris is based by the seaside in south-east England where she lives with her violinmaker husband and two dogs. She teaches creative writing in the community, local schools, and as an associate lecturer for Christchurch University in Canterbury.

Anstey writes about the things that make people tick, the things that bind us and the things that can rip us apart. In 2015, she won the H G Wells Short Story Prize for her story, Ruby. In novels, Anstey tries to celebrate uplifting ideas and prove that life is good and that happiness is available to everyone once we work out where to look (usually inside ourselves). Her short stories tend not to end quite so well…

Things that interest Anstey include her children and granddaughter, green issues and conservation, adoption and adoption reunion (she is an adopted child, born in an unmarried mothers’ home in Liverpool in 1965), stepfamilies, dogs, and food. Always food. She would love to be on Masterchef but would never recover from the humiliation if she got sent home in the first round.

You can follow Anstey on Twitter @Anstey_Harris and visit her website.

It’s an absolute joy to be part of the launch celebrations for Heidi Swain’s Snowflakes and Cinnamon Swirls at the Winter Wonderland, as she’s one of the friendliest authors I’ve met. I haven’t caught up with Heidi in person since a lovely blogger evening that you can read about here, so I’m thrilled to welcome her back to the blog today.

Before you read Heidi’s super guest post today, you might like to see what happened when we ‘stayed in’ together to discuss Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square here, and to read my review of Heidi’s Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market here.

Snowflakes and Cinnamon Swirls at the Winter Wonderland will be published tomorrow, 1st November 2018 by Simon and Schuster and is available through these links.

Snowflakes and Cinnamon Swirls at the Winter Wonderland

After calling off her engagement, Hayley, the Wynthorpe Hall housekeeper, wants nothing more than to return to her no-strings fun-loving self, avoiding any chance of future heartbreak. Little does she know, Wynbridge’s latest arrival is about to throw her plan entirely off course . . .

Moving into Wynthorpe Hall to escape the town’s gossip, Hayley finds herself immersed in the eccentric Connelly family’s festive activities as they plan to host their first ever Winter Wonderland. But Hayley isn’t the only new resident at the hall. Gabe, a friend of the Connelly’s son Jamie, has also taken up residence, moving into Gatekeeper’s Cottage, and he quickly makes an impression on Wynbridge’s reformed good-girl…

What Christmas Means To Me…

A Guest Post by Heidi Swain

Merry Christmas Linda, and thank you so much for inviting me tell you all about what Christmas means to me on this leg of the Snowflakes and Cinnamon Swirls blog tour. I thought long and hard before writing this post and I have to admit I’m still a little concerned that I won’t be able to cover everything in just a few hundred words!

I know not everyone is a festive fan, but for me, Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year – cliché intended.

Christmas, in my head, begins long before I hang my much loved and somewhat worn around the edges Matthew Rice advent calendar up in the kitchen. I guess it’s around mid-October, as the leaves begin to turn and the morning air turns crisp, that my thoughts first flicker to all things festive. The shops of course will have already been stocked with confectionery and cards for weeks by then, but I will be avoiding the supermarket and the city for as long as I can. Not because I have an aversion to present buying (far from it), but rather that I want to soak up the atmosphere in a more measured way.

Planning eats, events, parties and reading Christmas books can all happen from early autumn but the big guns – carols, Slade, late night shopping and mince pies – are all jam packed rather than dragged out. When December the first dawns that’s when I’ll be batch baking, wrapping and tuning into Classic FM because in Heidi Swain world the perfect Christmas is all down to pacing. Start too early and by mid-November you can’t face another tin of Quality Street, leave it too late and you turn into a screaming banshee gripped by the tinsel- toting panic and buying all manner of tat.

I like to be fully locked and loaded by the twenty first as the winter Solstice is a big deal in our house. As the wheel of the year turns that’s when I’ll really start to wind down, feeling ever so slightly smug that I can just sit back and enjoy the frost enhanced ride. I can never understand how folk can get in such a muddle in the run up to Christmas. It’s been happening on the same day for quite a while now and year on year our lives are becoming busier so don’t pull down the blinkers of denial and kid yourself it isn’t coming. Rather, embrace the season, write those lists, put those orders in and be prepared.

(Photo courtesy of Fay Esme)

Christmas has always meant a lot to me and now, with a festive title hitting the shelves in the winter as well as the summer, it means even more. Popping out to the supermarkets on publication day for those much loved #shelfies with Elton blasting out in the background and the scent of cinnamon wafting down the aisles from the in-store bakery is the best present ever.

May I take this opportunity to send you all lots of love and wish you a very merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy the celebrations every bit as much as I do and that Christmas means as much to you as it does to me!

H x

Thanks so much Heidi. Have a wonderful publication day tomorrow and I look forward to reading Snowflakes and Cinnamon Swirls at the Winter Wonderland and catching up with you in person very soon! Merry Christmas!

About Heidi Swain

Heidi Swain is the Sunday Times bestselling author of five novels: The Cherry Tree Cafe, Summer at Skylark Farm, Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market, Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage and most recently, Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at the Christmas Fair. She lives in Norfolk with her husband and two teenage children.

You can follow Heidi on Twitter @Heidi_Swain and visit her blog or website. You’ll also find Heidi on Facebook and there’s more with these other bloggers: