Anyone who regularly visits Linda’s Book Bag will know how much I love to travel. One of the places I have hardly been to yet is America (unless you count a cruise out of Miami and working in New York – which I don’t!). Consequently, it’s lovely to find authors who can transport me to America through their books and I have a feeling Milana Marsenich is about to do just that as we stay in together.

Staying in with Milana Marsenich

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Milana and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Hi Linda, thank you so much for inviting me to Staying In With…you and your readers!

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

I have brought my second novel, The Swan Keeper. The Swan Keeper is an historical, coming of age novel set in Northwest Montana’s Mission Valley, with a little crime and mysticism thrown in. Lillian Connelly loves trumpeter swans. Dean Drake is killing them and leaving their carcasses for the wolves and coyotes to ravage. On her eleventh birthday, a family outing to the marsh to see the swans turns tragic when Lilly sees Dean Drake hide in the trees and kill, not only swans, but also her father. She tells the town sheriff, Charlie West, that she saw Drake kill her father. Charlie doesn’t believe her, thinks that she is mixing up facts, and is just trying to make sense of a senseless tragedy. With tremendous courage Lilly sets out alone to bring Dean Drake to justice.

(Ooo. Sounds really good!)

What can we expect from an evening in with The Swan Keeper?

This book was based on my volunteer work with the Montana Waterfowl Foundation, where I met my first trumpeter swan. The trumpeters are stunningly beautiful birds. They can weigh as much as thirty pounds and have a wing span of 7 feet. In The Swan Keeper you’ll meet several trumpeter swans, take a trip through Montana’s Mission Mountains, and cheer for a young, brave, heroine.

(I love hearing where authors get their inspiration Milana – even if it does reinforce the fact I have no imagination myself!)

I’d like to share a review with your readers Linda if I may:

Author Milana Marsenich has penned a dramatic page turner brimming with authentic detail. She knows this Montana countryside inside and out, her vivid descriptions capturing the spirit of the craggy Mission Mountains.

Maggie Plummer, author of Spirited Away – A Novel of the Stolen Irish and Daring Passage: Book Two of the Spirited Away Saga.

(It sounds to me like reading The Swan Keeper is going to take me on my travels both into the past and geographically Milana.)

What else have you brought along and why?

I’ve brought along, what else, a picture of a trumpeter swan, and her cygnets, taken by John Jarvis at the Montana Waterfowl Foundation.

(What a smashing image.)

And of course, some povetica, the sweet bread you’ll find in my first novel, Copper Sky, and good coffee.

(Ooh! I’ve never had povetica before. That looks scrummy.)

Food, drink, mountains, and a large beautiful bird make for a wonderful evening of Staying In!

They certainly do. Thanks so much for staying in with me and making such an interesting evening Milana. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Swan Keeper

On her eleventh birthday, Lilly’s family visits the Cattail Marsh to see the newly hatched cygnets. The family outing turns tragic when Dean Drake shows up with his shotgun. Lilly sees him kill her father, injure her mother, and slaughter the bevy of trumpeter swans.

The sheriff, her mother, sister, and best friend all think Lilly is trying to make sense of a senseless accident by blaming Drake. But Lilly knows the truth. Left alone she must bring him to justice.

Published by Open Books, The Swan Keeper is available for purchase here.

About Milana Marsenich

Milana Marsenich lives in Northwest Montana near Flathead Lake at the base of the beautiful Mission Mountains. She enjoys quick access to the mountains and has spent many hours hiking the wilderness trails with friends and dogs.

For the past 20 years she has worked as a mental health therapist in a variety of settings. As a natural listener and a therapist, she has witnessed amazing generosity and courage in others. She first witnessed this in her hometown of Butte, Montana, a mining town with a rich history and the setting for Copper Sky, her first novel.

She has an M.Ed. in Mental Health Counseling from Montana State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana.

She has previously published in Montana Quarterly, Big Sky Journal, The Polishing Stone, The Moronic Ox, BookGlow, and Feminist Studies. She has a short story included in The Montana Quarterly book: Montana, Warts and All. She has two published novels, Copper Sky and The Swan Keeper, both by Open Books.

You can follow Milana on Twitter @milanamarsenich and visit her website for more information. You’ll also find her on Facebook.

Having adored Keith Stuart’s debut novel A Boy Made of Blocks which I reviewed here and which made it onto my list of favourite books of 2017 here, I was thrilled to be invited by Clara Diaz to help celebrate the launch of Keith’s second book, Days of Wonder.

Days of Wonder will be published by Sphere, part of the Little Brown publishing group, on 7th June 2018 and is available for purchase through the links here.

Days of Wonder

Magical, heartbreaking, beautiful – Days of Wonder reminds us that stories have the power to save lives.

Tom, single father to Hannah, is the manager of a tiny local theatre. On the same day each year, he and its colourful cast of part-time actors have staged a fantastical production just for his little girl, a moment of magic to make her childhood unforgettable.

But there is another reason behind these annual shows: the very first production followed Hannah’s diagnosis with a heart condition that both of them know will end her life early. And now, with Hannah a funny, tough girl of fifteen on the brink of adulthood, that time is coming.

With the theatre under threat of closure, Hannah and Tom have more than one fight on their hands to stop the stories ending. But maybe, just maybe, one final day of magic might just save them both.

A tale about growing up, the beauty of a special bond between father and daughter, and finding magic in everyday life, Days of Wonder is the most moving novel you’ll read all year.

My Review of Days of Wonder

Hannah has a heart condition and she and Dad Tom need to come to terms with life as it is.

Now, I’m going to be completely honest. I don’t think Days of Wonder will be everyone’s cup of tea and I think some readers will find it slightly too sentimental – a bit like an old black and white movie. For me, however, it was a complete and utter joy to read. It touched me heart and soul and I loved it. And, after all, fairy tales play a vital role in this story so no wonder I thought it was a magical read.

Days of Wonder is such a cleverly structured book. As well as being a straightforward narrative about a girl, Hannah, and her father, Tom, it is a multi-layered allegorical tale in which the theatrical metaphor is beautifully handled and consistent throughout. It’s not just that the plot revolves around Hannah’s illness and her and her father’s link to Willow Tree Theatre, but that Keith Stuart illustrates perfectly how, just like actors, we have different roles and personas that we present to the world and how we can sometimes delude and convince ourselves far better than we can those witnessing our performance. He writes with such insight and compassion that I had to put my life on hold until I had read every word.

I love Keith Stuart’s style. His dialogue is natural and the way in which the Hannah and Tom’s narrative voices speak directly to the reader had me hooked from the first word to the last. I thought the title, Days of Wonder, was a superlative choice. We all need our ‘days of wonder’ and Keith Stuart illustrates this will incredible skill, so that I can honestly say reading Days of Wonder has actually changed me as an individual and I am approaching life differently as a result of reading this magical book.

I loved every character, especially Margaret and even those like Phil, because they felt so vivid and real. Whilst Hannah is the joint protagonist, it was Tom who appealed to me most. He’s hapless, flawed and so convincing as a father, struggling to do his best and not always being successful. I thought the balance of power in his relationship with daughter Hannah was perfectly poised so that I felt more like a fly on the wall in their home than a reader reading a book.

Enormous credit must also be given to Keith Stuart for the way he has tackled the emotive subject of heart conditions and their treatment with such skill, knowledge and humanity. The reader has no idea how much of a happy ending there might be for Hannah and this is what makes Days of Wonder all the more fabulous. Despite the fact that Hannah could face death at any moment, there’s such humour in the book too. I laughed, but certainly I cried quite a bit more. Reading Days of Wonder gave a kind of poignant ache in my heart and I found it a wonderful read.

I don’t feel I’ve done justice to Days of Wonder. I want to be eloquent in saying how wonderful a read it is but I’m finding it hard to convey what a glorious, uplifting and delightful book this is. Days of Wonder will bring you joy and break your heart. It certainly did for me.

About Keith Stuart

In 2012 one of Keith Stuart’s two sons was diagnosed on the autism spectrum. The ramifications felt huge. But then Keith and both boys started playing videogames together – especially Minecraft. Keith had always played games and, since 1995, has been writing about them, first for specialist magazines like Edge and PC Gamer then, for the last ten years, as games editor for the Guardian. The powerful creative sharing as a family and the blossoming of communication that followed informed his debut novel, A Boy Made of Blocks.

You can follow Keith onTwitter @keefstuart.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

I’m at it again today on Linda’s Book Bag. I have promised myself I won’t take on any more books for review until I’ve reduced my TBR and along comes a new to me author, Elizabeth Crocket, with a new book and my bookish magpie mind is desperate to read it! At least Elizabeth has agreed to stay in with me today and chat about her latest publication.

Staying in with Elizabeth Crocket

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

I am so honoured to be here!

It’s a pleasure to host you. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought along my women’s fiction, A Path to the Lake, released on April 29.

(I love the publication party display you’ve got there Elizabeth.)

What can we expect from an evening in with A Path to the Lake?

We can expect to be moved emotionally. Kate, my main character, has had such a tough time and needs to take care of herself.

(Aha! My kind of read. I love books with emotion.)

What else have your brought along and why did you bring it?

I brought coffee or tea for everyone from Cuppa Coffee, a funky little coffee shop, where there are quotes and poetry written on the blackboards in bright colours of chalk, with local art hanging on the walls. And art supplies to have fun with, as a couple of the characters are artists.

(Hang on a minute then whilst I get some plastic. This is a new carpet in here and I need to cover it up!)

Oh, and two men, Frank and Tom, as I need some help choosing between them. Most importantly, a bottle or two of Pinot, for those who like to imbibe!

(Well, whilst you’re deciding between Frank and Tom and drinking your wine, I’ll get my husband to put the kettle on for a cup of tea for me!)

Thanks so much for staying in with me Elizabeth. I think A Path to the Lake sounds very intriguing. 

A Path to the Lake

Kate Browning, longs to experience a life of her own again after caring for her parents the past two years. However, her sister Heather’s escalating depression threatens to thrust Kate into the role of family caregiver once again.

Hungry for companionship, Kate begins a relationship with Frank Fetiscina, who was there when she and Heather needed him.

A part-time writer, she is offered an opportunity writing an inspiration column for the local paper by the editor, Tom Smythe. Kate is instantly attracted to him, and they begin a flirtatious and sexual relationship with no ties between them.

While Kate is on a date at the bistro with Frank one evening, Tom walks in unexpectedly. Tired of the expectations Frank places on her and the lack of commitment from Tom, Kate tells them she is done and storms out, realizing it’s time to take charge of her own life again.

A Path to the Lake is available on Amazon in print and e-book, and the Crimson Cloak Publishing website.

About Elizabeth Crocket

Elizabeth’s women’s fiction, A Path to the Lake, is the first of three women’s fiction to be published by Crimson Cloak Publishing. She also writes Japanese short form poetry, and has had two chapbooks published by Red Moon Press. Her collection of haibun poetry, Not Like Fred and Ginger, was shortlisted for the prestigious American Haiku Foundation Touchstone Distinguished Book Award.

Elizabeth lives with her husband in Ontario, Canada, has grown children and six grandchildren she loves to the moon and back.

To learn more about Elizabeth you can find her on Facebook and to see samples of her work, you can visit her website.

One of the delights of being a book blogger is that I get access to so many wonderful books. Today, thanks to the lovely folk at Legend Press I’m able to share the book love as part of the paperback launch celebrations for The Visitors by Catherine Burns by offering UK readers a chance to win a paperback copy of the book.

The Visitors is published by Legend Press and is available for purchase here.

The Visitors

Marion Zetland lives with her domineering older brother John in a crumbling mansion on the edge of a northern seaside resort. A timid spinster in her fifties who still sleeps with teddy bears, Marion does her best to live by John’s rules, even if it means turning a blind eye to the noises she hears coming from behind the cellar door…and turning a blind eye to the women’s laundry in the hamper that isn’t hers.

For years, she’s buried the signs of John’s devastating secret into the deep recesses of her mind–until the day John is crippled by a heart attack, and Marion becomes the only one whose shoulders are fit to bear his secret. Forced to go down to the cellar and face what her brother has kept hidden, Marion discovers more about herself than she ever thought possible.

As the truth is slowly unraveled, we finally begin to understand: maybe John isn’t the only one with a dark side…

The Visitors Giveaway

Now I don’t know about you, but reading that blurb above makes me desperate to read Catherine Burns’ The Visitors! If you live in the UK and would like to enter to be in with a chance to win your own copy of the book, click here.

UK ONLY I’m afraid. Giveaway closes at UK midnight on Friday 8th June 2018.

About Catherine Burns

Born in Manchester, Catherine Burns is a graduate of Trinity College Cambridge. She worked as a bond trader in London before studying at the Moscow Institute of Film, and teaching film theory at Salford University. The Visitors is her debut novel.

You can follow Catherine on Twitter @C_Burnzi and there’s more with these other bloggers too:

My enormous thanks to Lucy Irvine at Ipso Books for a copy of Missing Pieces by Laura Pearson in return for an honest review.

Missing Pieces will be published by Ipso, now Agora Books, on 21st June 2018 and is available for purchase here.

Missing Pieces

What if the one thing that kept you together was breaking you apart?

All Linda wants to do is sleep. She won’t look at her husband. She can’t stand her daughter. And she doesn’t want to have this baby. Having this baby means moving on, and she just wants to go back to before. Before their family was torn apart, before the blame was placed.

Alienated by their own guilt and struggling to cope, the Sadler family unravels. They grow up, grow apart, never talking about their terrible secret.

That is until Linda’s daughter finds out she’s pregnant. Before she brings another Sadler into the world, Bea needs to know what happened twenty-five years ago. What did they keep from her? What happened that couldn’t be fixed?

A devastating mistake, a lifetime of consequences. How can you repair something broken if pieces are missing?

My Review of Missing Pieces

The Sadler family is in freefall after the death of Phoebe, with consequences that will last decades.

I’m seated here unable to write a review. I’m stunned after reading Missing Pieces by Laura Pearson. Stunned with grief at the events in this heart rending story. Stunned with astonishment at such a beautifully wrought work and stunned by my inadequacy at expressing what a powerful and utterly incredible experience it is to read Missing Pieces.

There’s a mystery and claustrophobia underpinning the narrative that the reader guesses at, making them almost complicit in the blame and guilt. The confined sense of rage, fear, obsession, love and devastation is enhanced by the narrow cast of characters so that I felt the level of crushing entrapment Linda experiences very vividly myself. The Sadler family is utterly extraordinary and simultaneously completely mundane, making the reader realise all too vividly that the Sadler lives, their relationships and their grief could happen to any one of us in the blink of an eye.

I loved the structure of the book, from the dated numbered days ‘after’ to the two distinct sections because they illustrated so clearly how the events reverberate through time. However, what impressed me most and gave me incredible joy, despite reading what is a devastating picture of grief, is the exquisite quality of the writing. Laura Pearson’s style is taut, intense, varied, smooth and natural. Not a word is wasted. She has the ability to look into the very souls of humanity in her characters and lay them bare for her readers to find themselves reflected. Hers is some of the most skilful writing I have read in a very long time.

I’m quite an emotional reader and felt an almost physical ache in my heart as I read. I fully expected I’d cry but I didn’t. Not because Missing Pieces isn’t emotional, but because I had the feeling that if I let myself give in to the emotions it was engendering in me, I might never recover.

If I’m honest, I feel somewhat overawed by Laura Pearson’s Missing Pieces. Its pure genius. It’s raw, vital and almost overwhelming. Outstanding.

About Laura Pearson

You can follow Laura on Twitter @LauraPAuthor and visit her website for more information. You can also find Laura on Facebook.

Staying in with Lana Grace Riva

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

Thank you for inviting me, it’s lovely to be here.

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

I’ve brought my only book Happier Thinking. It’s a collection of tips and methods for looking after your mental health.

(I think we could all do with some of that advice at times Lana.)

What can we expect from an evening in with Happier Thinking?

It’s a short non-fiction read offering some options to try for exercising your mind. I know the word exercise is not always overly appealing. However, mind exercises at least don’t involve the effort of changing clothes, paying for equipment, risk of inflicting pain on originally perfectly pain free muscles… etc.

(Good point – and we still need to look after our minds as much as our bodies.)

In the same way there are many options for choice of physical exercise, there are many options for looking after your mental health – meditation, mindfulness, seeing a therapist, or smaller simple little exercises that you don’t need much training to try out yourself. This book focuses on the latter and concentrates on a different tip/exercise in each chapter. Different things work for different people so it might be a little presumptuous of me to tell you that every single chapter will benefit you greatly… but hopefully some will resonate with you.

(I’ll look forward to trying out your suggestions Lana and finding some that work best for me.)

Mental health is thankfully receiving more focus currently and I have spent a long time working out how I can look after mine. The result of that time is this book. Initially because if I didn’t write it down I would forget it. But later because I wanted to share it in case, even if in a small way, it might help another person.

(What a wonderful premise for Happier Thinking.)

What else have you brought along and why?

I’ve brought some hot chocolate because well… it’s chocolate. And that always makes my thinking happier. Plus it’s in warm comforting drinkable form, giving the effect of having a nice cup of tea at the same time. My perfect accompaniment to reading. I hope it might be yours too. Otherwise, I will force myself to drink your cup as well as mine as it would not be good to be wasteful 😊

(No chance of that! I love hot chocolate. Maybe we should try out some of your suggestions from Happier Thinking as we relax and drink it?)

Thank you for staying in with me to chat about Happier Thinking. I really hope the book does well for you and helps your readers along the way.

Happier Thinking

Changing how you think is possible. I wasn’t always so sure that was true until I experienced it myself, but I know now we don’t have to just accept unhappiness. Not always anyway. This book is my collection of tips and suggestions that have helped me achieve happier thinking. It’s sort of a gym for my mind. I’d love to tell you it was easier than the real gym but well… it’s not really. It takes time, effort, and practice but it’s absolutely well worth the rewards.

Happier Thinking is available for purchase here.

About Lana Grace Riva

Lana Grace Riva has always loved reading but is new to writing. Her book Happier Thinking is based on her personal experience of investigating how the mind works and finding ways to maintain good mental health. She loves to learn about mindfulness, meditation, mind and body health, and is always on the lookout for ways to challenge how she lives to make improvements for both herself and others. She is currently based in the UK.

You can visit Lana’s website.

You know, it’s a real privilege to be able to close this very special Sunshine and Sweet Peas In Nightingale Square blog tour for lovely Heidi Swain. I’ve met Heidi several times in real life as well as virtually and she’s just wonderful.

It’s far too long since I read and reviewed Heidi’s Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market here, so I’m thrilled to be staying in with her today to chat all about Sunshine and Sweet Peas In Nightingale Square.

Published by Simon and Schuster on 31st May 2018, Sunshine and Sweet Peas In Nightingale Square is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

Sunshine and Sweet Peas In Nightingale Square

Kate is on the run from her almost-divorced husband who is determined to have her back, and she has found the perfect place to hide… a little cottage on Nightingale Square in Norwich, far away from her old life in London. But the residents of Nightingale Square don’t take no for an answer, and Kate soon finds herself pulled into a friendship with Lisa, her bossy but lovely new neighbour.

Within a matter of days Kate is landed with the job of campaigning the council to turn the green into a community garden, meanwhile all the residents of Nightingale Square are horrified to discover that the Victorian mansion house on the other side of the square has been bought by developers. But when all hope is lost, the arrival of a handsome stranger is sure to turn things around!

Staying in with Heidi Swain

Welcome back to Linda’s Book Bag, Heidi. It’s so lovely to see you again. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Thank you so much for inviting me and for hosting the final spot on what has been an amazing blog tour. It’s a pleasure to be here.

As if I didn’t know, tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I have brought my latest release, Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square, with me this evening. As we are now bowling headlong into summer and the holiday season it felt like the perfect choice!

(You’re absolutely right. It’s always holiday season in this house!)

What can we expect from an evening in with Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square?

As always, I’m aiming for a warm, fuzzy feeling! I want you to feel transported to the green oasis in the fine city of Norwich, become a part of the vibrant and friendly community and, if I’ve really hit the spot, I’m hoping I will have tempted you to fling open the doors and get out into your own patch to start sowing and growing.

(That’s easy Heidi – I love your writing, I have my garden and allotment and I even have some Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square plants emerging, even though I was a bit late sowing them as I was away.)

(Having interrupted you, Heidi, tell me a bit more.)

As well as finding love, two of the main themes within this book are the importance of friendship and the benefits of enjoying the great outdoors.

True friendship is a gift to be treasured and as the three friends, Kate, Lisa and Heather, prove, that doesn’t necessarily have to come from a relationship that was formed in childhood.

(Oh I agree. I have friends from all phases of my life.)

With regards to the joy of gardening, I’ve tried to show how life enhancing and beneficial those connections to nature can be, but in a subtle way.

Readers often get in touch to tell me they’ve taken up craft projects after reading The Cherry Tree Café or taken time to look at the countryside after a trip to Cuckoo Cottage so I’m hoping this latest book will get folk gardening! I’m looking forward to hearing from anyone who has taken up the green mantle as a result of visiting Nightingale Square.

(That’s such a good idea. I adore gardening and actually had my allotment as a birthday present from my husband a few years ago. There’s nothing better than growing your own!)

What else have you brought along and why?

Tonight, as we’ve reached the end of the tour, I thought we should have a celebration in true Nightingale Square style so I’m expecting quite a crowd to turn up, Linda.

(The more the merrier Heidi!)

I’m supplying the fizz, some tasty seasonal eats and of course armfuls of sweet peas to add their exquisite scent to the occasion. There are always so many people to thank when a book is published – bloggers, readers, my publishing team and agent, friends and long suffering family – that a party in the garden felt like the most wonderful way to do it!

That’s such a lovely way to celebrate Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square. Let’s throw open the conservatory doors and head out onto the patio and get the party started. Thanks so much for staying in with me tonight Heidi and all the very best with the book. I can’t wait to read Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square.

Thank you so much for inviting me along. Here’s to a truly memorable evening filled with friendship, fun and laughter!

Cheers!

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

I’m so pleased to be helping celebrate the paperback publication of Wilde Like Me by Louise Pentland. It looks such a gloriously entertaining read and I am thrilled to have a copy of Wilde Like Me on my TBR. Even better, I’m able to share the opening of the book with you today so you can see why I’m so excited to read this one!

Published by Zaffre, Wilde Like Me is available for purchase here.

Wilde Like Me

You’ll never forget the day you meet Robin Wilde!

Robin Wilde is an awesome single mum. She’s great at her job. Her best friend Lacey and bonkers Auntie Kath love her and little Lyla Blue to the moon and back. From the outside, everything looks just fine.

But behind the mask she carefully applies every day, things sometimes feel . . . grey. And lonely.

After 4 years (and 2 months and 24 days!) of single-mum-dom, it’s time for Robin Wilde to Change. Her. Life!

A little courage, creativity and help from the wonderful women around her go a long way. And Robin is about to embark on quite an adventure . . .

An Extract from Wilde Like Me

‘I resisted this for too long,’ I think as I step out of my black cab, bubbling with excitement. After a long call and an intense exchange of messages I’d finally agreed to meet him. He invited me to a rather exclusive bar at the top of the OXO Tower, one of London’s most iconic buildings on the River Thames with wrap-around views of the city from its terrace and, apparently, cocktails to die for. I was secretly pleased that the job I’d assisted Natalie, my boss, on today – make-up for a shoot in a trendy loft studio in Shoreditch – had finished early. With an entire afternoon to spare, I’d taken the time to pamper myself and really enjoy getting ready for this night.

Stepping onto the pavement and gliding down the pathway to the riverfront, I feel like a peacock parading its feathers. As I approach the red-brick old factory building, I catch my reflection in the gleaming windows. For the first time in a bloody long time, I feel beautiful. I’ve always thought that my 5′ 6″ frame, conker-brown hair and brown eyes were the dullest of all the potential ‘beauty stats’. They’re not exactly exotic or outstanding, are they? And they’re certainly not hailed as the epitome of perfection in the magazines, but today something feels special. My eyes seem softer and my hair bouncier, as I glimpse myself walking along with my head held high. I don’t think, ‘slummy mummy’ but, instead, ‘lovely woman, out on a special date’. Feeling this worthwhile makes me stand a little taller and, oh my God, am I sashaying my bum about?

Happily, my make-up looks sultry and glowing. I’ve gone all out on the contour and highlight, but managed to pull it back before I gave my face actual corners (I still don’t regret that luxury make-up binge last month), and I’m in love with my outfit. I’m wearing a knee-skimming black layered lace skirt that I picked up for pennies in a tuckedaway vintage shop. In between the light layers of lace and tulle are tiny stars embroidered with gold thread. You can barely see them until the street lights catch them, and then they look like the night sky swirling past. I’ve tucked a deep V wrap top into the satin waistband and paired it with black-patent heels passed down from my best friend’s sister, Piper, before she moved away. If I were deep-down ballsy enough to ask a stranger to take a full-length picture, I’d put it on Instagram with an #OOTD (Outfit Of The Day, for those not as obsessed with social media as I am) and pretend to be a blogger.

Taking a deep breath and reminding myself of everything I am, I pull open the grand glass door, walk confidently to the lift and push the ‘up’ button.

It’s going to be perfect.

 It’s going to be everything I want it to be.

(I don’t know about you, but I think that sounds like the start of a fabulous read. I can’t wait!)

About Louise Pentland

Louise Pentland is a lifestyle and beauty blogger, vlogger, author and fashion designer. Her two YouTube channels have a total of over 3.7 million subscribers and her debut book, Life with a Sprinkle of Glitter was a Sunday Times best seller. Wilde Like Me is her debut novel.

She is also a champion for Gender Equality and female empowerment and in 2016, she was named as a United Nations Change Ambassador for Gender Equality.

You can follow Louise on Twitter @LouisePentland and view her Sprinkle of Glitter YouTube channel here and her Sprinkle of Chatter channel here. You’ll find Louise on Facebook and there’s more with these other bloggers:

I know we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and I don’t usually like those which feature real people, but Shelter by Sarah Franklin just screams at me to read it. I’m delighted I have a copy waiting for me on my TBR and that I can share an extract from Shelter today as part of these paperback celebrations. My grateful thanks to Midas PR for inviting me to participate.

Published by Bonnier Zaffre, Shelter is available for purchase here.

Shelter

Early spring 1944.
In a clearing deep within an English forest two lost souls meet for the first time.

Connie Granger has escaped the devastation of her bombed out city home. She has found work in the Women’s Timber Corps, and for her, this remote community must now serve a secret purpose.

Seppe, an Italian prisoner of war, is haunted by his memories. But in the forest camp, he finds a strange kind of freedom.

Their meeting signals new beginnings. In each other they find the means to imagine their own lives anew, and to face that which each fears the most.

But outside their haven, the world is ravaged by war and old certainties are crumbling. Both Connie and Seppe must make a life-defining choice which threatens their fragile existence. How will they make sense of this new world, and find their place within it? What does it mean to be a woman, or a foreign man, in these days of darkness and new light?

A beautiful, gentle and deeply powerful novel about finding solace in the most troubled times, about love, about hope and about renewal after devastation. It asks us to consider what makes a family, what price a woman must pay to live as she chooses, and what we’d fight to the bitter end to protect.

An Extract from Shelter

Connie draped the frock against her overalls and dragged the rickety chair over to the window, craning to catch a glimpse of her reflection. Behind the panes, finger-like twigs tapped at her and she jumped. This place gave her the willies, always something creaking or scratching. Whoever thought the countryside was still and calm hadn’t spent any damn time in it.

She twisted on the chair to get a better look at the dress and nearly toppled over. Hmm. The dress was made for someone else and it showed. It was going to be a hell of a squeeze to get into it after the time on the farm.

She gritted her teeth, willed the stampeding thoughts away. The yellow dress would have to do – and perhaps the music would snap her out of these doldrums.
Connie dropped the dress onto the bed. In no time at all she’d be out there on the dance floor, whirling around, and for those few hours nothing else would matter. Not this war, not what the future held, none of it.

She lay back on the bed for a moment, the counterpane scratching her cheek, and screwed up her eyes. She’d loved the dances back home in Coventry, had lived for that tingly moment when the factory’s closing siren would rise in duet with the shrill clamour of the girls. They’d all dash to the lavs shrieking with the fun of it, the foremen yelling at them to pipe down a bit but them paying no real notice. They’d cluster round the sliver of mirror above the sink and chatter like magpies as they did themselves up, then head out into the city.

Invincible, that’s what they’d been. But then, before they’d even known what they had, it was shattered.

Connie shivered. ‘Right, let’s get this thing on.’

She discarded her overalls and squashed herself into the dress, its faded cotton soft against her skin after the lumberjill dungarees, a reminder of when life was all dances. She twirled and the full skirt span out around her like a chink of light escaping from a blackout. There was no full-length looking glass anywhere in the cottage, so Connie had to trust that she wasn’t flashing her scanties where the buttons that ran down the bodice gaped and strained. She’d get Hetty to check at the hostel, cover up any dodgy bits with a brooch. Wouldn’t be the first time they’d been on display, admittedly, but things were different now.

Jagged thoughts crawled along the edges of her mind. Connie took a deep breath to shoo them out. Better hang up those sopping wet socks in the window to try and dry them out before tomorrow’s shift. She just couldn’t be doing with drawing stocking seams on her legs tonight; she was licked. Anyway, it itched when she did that, and she’d forget the pencil was there and rub one leg against the other, like she always did. She tiptoed down the stairs, trying and failing to avoid the one that creaked. She jolted past it, the wood cold where the carpet had worn down, and paused at the bottom, one hand on the newel post.

She’d better go and say goodnight to Amos, or try at least – keep kidding herself that they actually spoke to each other rather than circling like Heinkels waiting for the signal to start the bombing. She pushed open the door into the little back room and the homesickness roared out at her so strongly that she stepped back again. The air in here was heavy, tangy; Connie could almost taste Hillview Road again in the stewed tea and ash from the grate.

(Gosh I love this. I’m off to rearrange my TBR so that Shelter is nearer the top!)

About Sarah Franklin

Sarah Franklin grew up in rural Gloucestershire and has lived in Austria, Germany, the USA and Ireland. She lectures in publishing at Oxford Brookes University and has written for the Guardian, Psychologies magazine, The Pool, the Sunday Express and the Seattle Times.

Sarah is the founder and host of Short Stories Aloud, and a judge for the Costa Short Story Award. Sarah lives in between London and Oxford with her family.

You can follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahEFranklin.

There’s more with these other bloggers too.

One of the genres I don’t feel I feature nearly enough on Linda’s Book Bag is poetry, so I am delighted to welcome poet Katie Lewington to stay in with me today as she will be able to help me redress the balance.

Staying in with Katie Lewington

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Katie. Thanks for staying in with me. Which of your books have you brought along to share with me and why have you chosen it?

I have brought with me my travel poetry chapbook Here comes the Sun. I have chosen it because I want to share some sunshine with you, and your followers. If you’re in the UK (like I am) we don’t get a lot of the sun and it can dampen the mood somewhat, which I think is reflected in the poems in my book.

(What a smashing concept. I love the sun, poetry and travel. I think I’m going to enjoy this evening, Katie!)

What can we expect from an evening in with Here comes the Sun?

Poetic insights, from the contemplative, to the less serious elements of summer, such as ice cream, and finding strands of grass in your bath. Here’s a poem from the book, which I wrote while in Brugge, and is the story of why I write.

I Capture an Image with my Pen

in Brugge

a group of three students

perform in

front of a parade of restaurants

and as it comes to

the music draws in

and the crowds

once swollen

disperse

as a hat is passed around for

loose Euros –

in way of payment

for the performance –

and this is why

i write poetry

to capture small  moments.

(I love that. The fragmentary nature of the lines really conveys the fleeting nature of the moment. You must be so proud of Here comes the Sun.)

What else have you brought along and why?

A portion of Here comes the Sun was written while I was in Portugal, and as Portugal is a wine country, I have brought along a bottle of Mateus. I would also like, before leaving you, to share some sentiments from Here comes the Sun:

Please  remember  the  sun  does  come  out. Sometimes  you  have to  search  for  it, but  it  is  there, and worth  looking  for.

That’s just lovely Katie. I think we all need to remember that at times. Thanks so much for staying in with me to tell me more about Here comes the Sun. You’ve really brightened my evening.

Here comes the Sun

Experience the thrill of summer, and travel with Katie Lewington through Europe, without needing to move from your seat.

It was a summer of reinvention and discovery: from leaving home, to travelling Europe. In 2016 football, politics, and airports dominated the life of Katie Lewington. Thankfully you won’t find any poems on Brexit in Katie Lewington’s poetry collection Here Comes the Sun. You will find one on the Euro’s, and the unexpected delights found in Airport baggage queues. Some of the poems in Here comes the Sun make good use of brevity, while others, such as Wi-Fi, are written in a prose style of writing. Here comes the Sun uses simple language in the poems that were written whilst travelling in the summer of ’16. The events in the poems mirror the places of their origins, such as in the Red Light District of Amsterdam, the market forecourt of Brugge, and the Brighton Pier.

Here comes the Sun is available for purchase here.

About Katie Lewington

Born with a pen in her hand, Katie Lewington has continued to write since the year dot, and develop her unique style of writing. She has self-published several chapbooks of poetry on her travels, experiences of love, and humorous food themed pieces too. She works on her blog The Poetry Hub reviewing books, sharing poetry, and interviewing writers.

You can follow Katie on Twitter @lewingtonkatie and Instagram. If you’d like to support Katie’s writing you can do so here.