28 Friday Feb 2020
Posted in Reviews
Is there such a thing as a cozy romantic thriller?
Daft question.
Because Weave of Love and Cloth of Grace, books three and four in Rachel Bonner’s Choices and Consequences series, definitely fall into that category.
And, though the coziness might not be to everyone’s taste, others will certainly enjoy a smooth-as-chocolate read.
Both are set in a post-apocalyptic world and Continue reading
25 Tuesday Feb 2020
Posted in Reviews
Oh dear! When I realised Polly, twenty-something heroine of Zoe May’s rom-com When Polly Met Olly, was falling for forty-plus Olly, I just wanted to scream: ‘Run, Polly. Run.’
Because, sorry, and I know love has no age limits, AND, there are lots of very happy real-life cross generational relationships, AND, yes, I’m being ageist, but, for me, there’s something slightly ‘off’ about dating someone old enough to be your father.
Or young enough to be your child. Continue reading
13 Thursday Feb 2020
Posted in Meet the author
You’ll never find award-winning romance writer Elly Redding, author of In the Deep, treading water in the deep end of the swimming pool.
Or, after she almost drowned recently, in the shallow end either.
‘I’ve never mastered swimming,’ she admits.
Elly, whose first novel, True Colours, won the Festival of Romance’s New Talent Award, and third prize in the Independent Author Book Award Words for the Wounded, has also received a Chill with a Book Readers’ Book of the Month Award and a B.R.A.G. Medallion. Continue reading
10 Monday Feb 2020
Posted in Reviews
Authors Sue Featherstone and Susan Pape are hoping for multiple dates with new readers when they take part in a Read Dating event at The Old Town Hall in Bourne on February 15th.
Based on the popular speed dating format, the session features a get-together of around ten authors. Readers will spend ten minutes with each writer, finding out about their books, their writing and their inspirations.
The event, which is organised by the team behind Deepings Literary Festival, takes place between 4pm and 5.30pm.
Other authors who’ll be attending include: Graeme Cumming, Ross Greenwood, Lizzie Lamb and Tracey Scott-Townsend.
If you happen to be in the area, please come and say hello. Tickets are only £2.50 and include a cup of tea or coffee.
Click here for tickets.
27 Monday Jan 2020
Posted in Meet the author
Fish, Falmouth and BBC radio series, The Archers – the world’s longest running soap opera – are just some of the favourite things of Nicola K Smith, author of Cornish-set novel, A Degree of Uncertainty.
Find out why she also likes Daphne Du Maurier, Watership Down and Donna Tartt.
And why she’d like to share a night on the sofa with Bruce Springsteen.
Just don’t ask what’s in her handbag…
Meet the author: Continue reading
26 Sunday Jan 2020
Posted in Meet the author
Author Patricia Bowen, who’s just published her first novel The Cure, can finally see the wood for the trees.
After 25 years living in the woods – her Twitter handle is @WoodsgalWrites – she’s now moved into a cosy townhouse with lots of time and space to write.
Just don’t ask her to share her guilty secret… Continue reading
21 Tuesday Jan 2020
Posted in Read an extract
Here’s what the blurb says about Rocks and Flowers in a Box, book two in Cynthia Hilston’s Lorna and Tristan series:
The wedding bells for Lorna and Tristan Blake toll doom right as the honeymoon begins with an unexpected turn in Tristan’s health.
While World War II winds down, Lorna receives a letter from the War Department informing her that the brother she thought killed in action is still alive.
She’s overjoyed, but his return will dredge up a devastating secret about their parents’ tragic death – a secret that could destroy her new marriage and threaten her husband’s physical and mental well-being. Continue reading
19 Sunday Jan 2020
Posted in Reviews
Surprise is the word that best sums up my reaction to Criminal Actions, fifth book in the DI Hero Nelson crime series by NY Times and USA Today best-selling author MA Comley.
It was altogether darker and more twisted and nastier than expected.
Does that matter?
That’s a toughie.
A crime novel is, by definition, about horrible things happening to people. And I’ve read lots of other thrillers where the body count and the violence ratio has been much higher.
Somehow, though, based on reviews I’ve read elsewhere about other books by Comley, I’d expected something a little more cozy – not a description that, in any shape or form, could be applied to Criminal Actions, which explores some very dark themes. Continue reading
01 Wednesday Jan 2020
Posted in Viewpoint
First, a confession: this list is a steal – an idea borrowed from my friends John Jackson and Paul Smith, who recently posted similar records of achievement on Facebook.
It seemed such a lovely thing to do – so here, in no particular order, are my top ten moments from 2010-2020:
Meeting my granddaughter Iris for the first time
Sorry, I lied: this is definitely number one on my list.
Iris has enriched my life in ways I could never imagine, and it’s been an unexpected delight to watch my eldest daughter, Megan, blossom as a mum.
Travelling Down Under to visit my youngest daughter, Annie, during her gap year-and-a-half in Australia
Next time, I’ll fly business class and stay for longer than four weeks, but in all other respects, it was a wonderful holiday – although saying goodbye to Annie at the end of the trip was heart-breaking. Continue reading
08 Sunday Dec 2019
Posted in Reviews
It’s the time of year when even the most uncommitted Earth-Mother type begins to feel a bit stressed about making sure everything is nice for Christmas.
But few of us would go to the lengths of Eve Crowther, title character of Julie Butterfield’s seasonal romantic comedy Eve’s Christmas, who’s decided she needs to inject a little sparkle into the family’s usual laid back and slightly shabby holiday.
Of course, it’s no coincidence Eve’s change of heart coincides with a visit from husband Richard’s oldest friend, Abby, who, newly single, has decided to spend ALL twelve days of Christmas with the Crowthers. Continue reading
