Blog tour: The Little Christmas Kitchen

 

Today I'm hosting a guest post from the very lovely Jenny Oliver who is stopping by as part of her blog tour for her new book, The Little Christmas Kitchen.

 

The Night Before Christmas - Jenny Oliver

Since the year my entire family went out on Christmas Eve, each off to their respective parties, leaving fifteen year old me alone with a stack of presents to wrap and a ruined dream of a cosy family evening together, I have always made sure I have something to do on Christmas Eve!

No longer at dreadful teenage parties (nothing worse than waking up on Christmas Day with a Smirnoff Ice hangover) I usually spend Christmas Eve at one of our local hostelries. All my friends who live locally come as well as my sister, her flatmate, my parents, my husband’s parents and anyone else who happens to be in or near the vicinity.

We used to go to this little oldie world pub with a landlord who looked like Father Christmas. He’d serve crisps in a wicker basket with every drink we ordered and at ten o’clock he’d bring round platters of dubious looking canapés that no one ever ate more than one of. But the food aside, it was a cute little local pub where we’d bump into old school friends, their parents, our old newsagent who hadn’t seen us since we were nine or ten and on occasion one of the stars of Rainbow!

But then someone suggested somewhere different and texts and emails changed the venue. The in-laws weren’t happy - they liked the other place. My parents didn’t mind - they’d heard good things about the new place. Friends with a new baby were ok with it, as long as there was somewhere quiet to park the sleeping sprog. But it was only when we got there that we realised there’d be no dodgy canapés or crisps in a basket at the new pub. Instead there were loads of teenagers propping up the bar, really loud and downing shots. The tables were tiny to encourage everyone to stand - this was no cosy Christmas Eve drink. So crammed in our little corner, someone suggested Midnight Mass instead.

I like nothing more than a church at Christmas. And so, the ones of us who fancied a bit carol singing, left the pub and crossed the road to the church. Inside it was dark and cool. Fairy lights were strung between the arches and candles flickered in sconces. Children sat by the box of toys and babbled away, while we wedged ourselves into the back pew with the ancient song sheet, late like naughty school kids.

I’m sure that some regular parishioners frown upon a once yearly church visit but for those of us who only ever pop in, it’s lovely to know that you can. To feel a Christmas togetherness and hear your slightly tipsy dad belting out carols! Next to us were two women weeping, obviously remembering something or someone special, and the bittersweetness of their silent tears alongside the carols, the candles and the battered nativity was heartbreakingly lovely.

Perhaps the beauty of Christmas Eve is that ability to be together - with friends and family, strangers and neighbours - whether in the pub with the baskets of crisps or the church with the faded song sheet.  

How do you spend your Christmas Eve? Tweet me, I’d love to know @JenOliverBooks

 

Jenny’s latest novel THE LITTLE CHRISTMAS KITCHEN is out now.

Hungry for more? Try THE VINTAGE SUMMER WEDDING and THE PARISIAN CHRISTMAS BAKE-OFF, which also available in paperback.

Blog Tour: Mistletoe Mansion

I'm very pleased to host a guest post from one of my favourite authors, Samantha Tonge. The blurb for her latest book Mistletoe Mansion is at the bottom of this post.

                                        Many Parts Make up a Whole

 Before becoming a novelist, I used to sell short stories to women’s magazines and whilst writing a book is quite different, it still incorporates a number of smaller tales. Take Mistletoe Mansion, for example, which is about Kimmy, a wannabe celebrity, who lands a housesitting job at a supposedly haunted house, whilst trying to launch her own cupcake business… There is more to the whole novel than this basic plot. We follow her relationship with conservative boyfriend Adam, her new friendship with golfing Wag, Melissa, and her confrontations with arrogant handyman Luke. Then there’s the unfurling of the strange happenings at Mistletoe Mansion, plus the intrigue of what the sociable husband of loyal Melissa is up to behind her back… And, of course, there is cake, cake and more cake – all with a Christmas theme, of course!

In fact, I think a novel is a bit like the appearance of a Christmas tree, which strikes you with one whole image, yet is made up off all the individual decorations, the closer you look. Our family tree might look a little bit messy – it’s not colour co-ordinated with matching tinsel. But I like it as each decoration has its own history – like the bauble bought for our daughter, when she was born. There are glittery paper decorations made by the kids whilst at nursery, and Disney baubles they loved to hang up each year. Some decorations are wooden, or glass, one lights up, a few have faded, but each one holds a place in our hearts. Each year we chuckle at the crowning glory, a plush Rudolph the Reindeer, who sits at the very top, his red nose lit up by a fairy light. And, of course the chocolates are very important, as are the multi-coloured garlands of tinsel – some threadbare, some new.

As I gaze at our tree, during December evenings, each part of it sparks a different memory and brings a smile. It’s not immaculate in condition but – like family life – shows it’s been through a bit of rough and tumble!

So if you read my feel-good Christmas novel, Mistletoe Mansion, I hope you enjoy all the subplots and smaller stories, so that the overall picture is enjoyable and fun!

 

Bio

Samantha Tonge lives in Cheshire with her lovely family, and two cats who think they are dogs. When not writing, she spends her days cycling and willing cakes to rise. She has sold over 80 short stories to women’s magazines. Her bestselling debut novel, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award in 2014. Its fun standalone sequel is From Paris with Love. Mistletoe Mansion stars a new set of characters and is for fans of cupcakes and Christmas!

Kimmy Jones has three loves: cupcakes, gossip magazines and dreaming of getting fit just by owning celeb workouts.

When Kimmy’s Sensible Boyfriend told her he didn’t approve of her longing for the high life or her dream of starting a cupcake company Kimmy thought she could compromise – after all, she did return those five-inch Paris Hilton heels! But asking her to trade in cake-making for a job sorting potatoes is a step too far.

So, newly single - and newly homeless – Kimmy needs a dusting of Christmas luck. And, masquerading as a professional house sitter, her new temporary home is the stunning Mistletoe Mansion. Soon she’s best buds with glamorous next door golf WAG Melissa, and orders are pouring in for her fabulous Merry Berry cupcakes! The only thorn in her side is handsome handyman Luke, a distraction she definitely doesn’t need. And talking of distractions, something very odd is going on at night…

Kimmy is finally living the life she’s always wanted. But will her glimpse into the glittering lifestyle of the rich and famous be as glamorous as she’s always imagined…?

Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor

Website: http://samanthatonge.co.uk/

Doubting abbey Blog: http://doubtingabbey.blogspot.co.uk/

AmazonUK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mistletoe-Mansion-Samantha-Tonge-ebook/dp/B00O56X3HM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412419104&sr=1-1&keywords=Mistletoe+mansion

AmazonUS: http://www.amazon.com/Mistletoe-Mansion-Samantha-Tonge-ebook/dp/B00O56X3HM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412419236&sr=8-1&keywords=mistletoe+mansion

 

 

 

Guest post: Annie Lyons - The Lost Art of Letter Writing

Today I'm very lucky to be hosting a guest post from the very lovely Annie Lyons as part of her blog tour to celebrate her bestselling novel Not Quite Perfect being released in paperback.

I’m starting a Revolution

 

When was the last time you wrote a letter? I would like to say that I just have but I’m not sure if the hastily scribbled note enclosed alongside a claim for osteopath treatment actually counts.

I’m talking about the kind of letter your parents or grandparents would have written long before the digital age engulfed us; words carefully constructed on sheets of Basildon Bond neatly held over a lined ‘underpage’ enabling you to write in a straight line.

My mother still has a letter drawer in a dresser in the dining room. It contains old letters, writing paper, envelopes, a fat green address book with gold gilt writing nestled in its original cardboard box and a letter opener. My father uses the letter opener every day. It’s shaped like a dagger and my six-year-old son is fascinated by it. When he opens the drawer to retrieve it, there’s a smell of sweet wood mingled with the scent of treasured old letters; words of love, care and sadness from the past. It’s heady.

This isn’t to say that I dislike other forms of communication. E-mails are fantastic but wildly overused. Social media is amazing but it has its time and place. Texting is brilliantly convenient but it’s not exactly the place for Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18. I’m not averse to a smiley face or a Megalol and I don’t think every communication should be a work of poetry either. The digital age has a lot to offer but my goodness it’s an exhausting place. I can’t help feeling that we need to take a break from the chit-chat world we live in and allow our brains to rest and settle a little.

Typing at a computer or jabbing at your phone is a fundamentally different exercise to sitting at beautiful huge walnut writing desk overlooking a delightfully blooming garden as you lay down your worldly thoughts for another person. What? I dream for a living, okay? Kitchen tables are also fine.

I think it’s partly the physical act of letter-writing that makes it so special. Consider for a moment; here I sit, typing my ideas for you to read and every word is delivered by me effectively stabbing at the keyboard, punching out my thoughts. This works beautifully when you need to get your words down quickly. Plus I can delete, re-jig and re-form with ease, which is a blessing. You wouldn’t want to read my first drafts. Not even I want to read my first drafts. Writing on the computer is contained and focussed; it’s efficient, enabling me to box my ideas and assemble them into some sort of order.

Putting pen to paper is entirely different. As a writer, there are times when I need to let my brain spill over like an over-risen soufflé. I want to set it free from contained thought and explore its deepest recesses. That’s when I retrieve my latest notebook and my favourite pen. I often go and sit in a coffee shop to remind myself what real people look like. I watch and listen and sometimes write nothing at all. But often I will find myself noticing a couple of people and I will try to invent a story about them. And when I put pen to paper, the sheer act of writing on a page allows my brain to open up in a way that my keyboard often does not.

It’s the same process with letter-writing. The conscious act of opening a pad of note-paper, writing the date and address, and beginning, ‘Dear,’ is very intimate. It takes care and attention because you are writing to one person. Every word counts. You need to linger as you write. There is little room for deleting or editing. You are holding a one-way conversation with the recipient but because it is one-way, you will can share your innermost thoughts without fear of contradiction or interruption.

In turn, to receive a hand-written letter is uniquely special. These days, the letters I receive are usually from older friends or relatives and the letter is often a card but still, the physical act of opening and reading a note from someone who has taken the time to write to you is a treasured moment. Sometimes, the letters will make you laugh, other times they will make you cry but they will always make you stop for a moment longer than usual and think about the writer and what they mean to you.

When I was a student, I lived in Munich for a year. For the first few months I was desperately homesick, living in another family’s house, trying to come to terms with the language and culture. One of my university friends used to write to me. She would recount tales of the house she was now sharing with fellow-students; of their various exploits and catastrophes. These were delivered with such humour that if I received one in the morning, I would save it for the evening when I could lie on my bed propped up by the flattest pillow known to man and laugh until the tears rolled down my cheeks and my stomach ached. For me they were a godsend and even twenty years on, I can remember the comfort I felt at the sight of her hand-writing. Someone was thinking about me and cared enough to let me know.

This is an inferior example when you compare it to the impact letters have had during wars over the centuries. The letters sent between soldiers at the front and people back home during the two World Wars were quite literally matters of life and death. When you read the well-documented array of letters between sweethearts, from mothers to sons, from fathers to their children, you understand what it is to be human. The mundane details of people’s lives are there offering a distraction to the sheer awfulness of the situation, but most of the letters begin and end with love. They are declarations of the heart, pure and true because when you are facing the very real possibility of death, what else remains but love?

Letter-writing has always been inextricably linked to love. True, there are such things as poison-pen letters but these days the internet seems to be the place where people choose to spew their hate-filled bile. Maybe this means that the hand-written letter can be reserved for love and care. I hope so.

When my father in law died, his wife received over a hundred letters and cards; handwritten notes filled with kindness and love. Not e-mails or texts but words on a page doing their best to convey sympathy and offer comfort. She reads them from time to time even now because they remind her of the person she loves and misses still.

When I was a child, my mother encouraged me to write thank you letters after every birthday and Christmas. I didn’t need much encouragement. I loved using my Paddington Bear stationery set (who wouldn’t?) and I followed her guidance carefully. Address on the right, date on the left. Dear whoever, thank you very much for the (detail gift here). Now write a sentence about why you like the gift and tell the recipient about what you did to celebrate. Finally, thank them again and wish them well. I still write letters of thanks and encourage my children to do the same. It feels like an important ritual; part of my family heritage and something that is worth preserving.

 

Writers love letters almost as much as they love books. They are laced with possibility. They can hide secrets or reveal truths, they can upset, thrill and gladden. They are a window to the soul.

Letters were uppermost in my mind when I came up with the idea for Dear Lizzie. I wanted to write about two very different but completely devoted sisters. Bea Harris is the strong one, the one who always knows what to do. Her sister, Lizzie is the polar opposite, estranged from her family, lonely and alone. Bea has been her only support through life and when she dies, Lizzie wonders how she will cope. Her sister leaves her a package of letters containing her final wishes; wishes that she hopes will help Lizzie find happiness but wishes that will also reveal some difficult truths.

When Lizzie reads Bea’s letters month by month, she discovers comfort in her sister’s written words. The sight of her handwriting and the fact that she is holding a letter that her sister once held makes her feel as if Bea is still with her in a way, guiding and counselling her through life. They take her on a journey which changes her life forever.

Of course, you don’t have to be life-changing when you write a letter. It can just remind people that you love them or are thinking about them. In the ubiquitous world of e-mail, it is special and rare; a treasure to be preserved.

I hope we can hold on to the art of letter writing. In this busy, immediate world they offer respite. They enable us to pause, reflect and record important things that need to be said; thoughts and fears and hopes. They offer comfort and love and show us the essence of the person who wrote them.

So I am proposing a mini-revolution right now. Why don’t you dig out that old note-pad or treat yourself to a new one and put pen to paper? Let’s all write a letter to someone we love. Let’s take a moment to reflect about them and what they mean to us and let’s tell them. Let’s take a break from the chaos and feed the soul. Who knows where that revolution might take us?

Annie Lyons is the best-selling author of Not Quite Perfect (now available in paperback) and Not Quite Perfect Christmas (A Short Story). Her new novel Dear Lizzie is published by Carina and is available as an eBook. 

 

http://www.carinauk.com/annie-lyons

http://www.facebook.com/annielyonswriter

Twitter @1AnnieLyons

https://www.goodreads.com/annie_lyonswrites



 

Guest post: Mark Robertson

 

I'd like to welcome Mark Robertson, author of Off Key, to Sheli Reads today with his guest post about his experiences of the world of book blogging. Make sure that you scroll right to the end of the post for an exercpt of Off Key.

First impressions count?

I’m going to come clean on here and say that I didn’t know anything about the Book Blogosphere until I was looking at ways to promote my own novel. It’s a little bit like finding a cottage hospital at the bottom of your garden when you need a medical. You had no idea about their presence and yet all along they’ve been busy getting on with providing a very necessary service to people like me. I am old enough to know that first impressions can be misleading and that the attractive boy/girl you bump into in the supermarket ,on closer inspection turns out to have blood on their Barbour jacket and a copy of “The Hunting Times” in their trolley*. But I’m hoping in this instance that my first impressions are correct, because right now the book blogosphere looks like the sanest and least cynical place on the planet.

This is possibly because it comes from a pure place . . . a love of books. Money doesn’t change hands; nobody gets whisked away for a fortnight in Mustique to lie on a yacht. A diamond, if provided at all, will be in the form of a can of extra strong, dry white cider. To be honest most emerging writers would be pushed to stump up the money to give you a weekend in Bognor. So your blogger is someone who has genuine devotion to their subject. I understand this implicitly. My friends, if they value their time, know to start running for the hills if they see me brandishing a CD while proclaiming “YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS . . . NO NOW! . . . IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE . . . I ALREADY LOCKED THAT DOOR . . . WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO GET AWAY? Perhaps it’s a just good old fashioned altruism.

“This made me happy . . . it might make you happy too.”

Like any large group there will be factions and arguments and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But in looking at these blogs I‘ve discovered many sites where people of different ages, sexes, creed and colours work together promoting things they believe in. I have seen the posts warning about theft of original material but, so far, that has been the only negative thing I have seen. I have to admit that unattributed misappropriation of others work is pretty low. What goes through the heads of people as they steal someone else’s work? It was pretty shoddy behaviour when it was done to avoid your double English Lit homework . . . but in adult life? But, so far, this is the only downside I can see.

So, in conclusion, congratulations, Book Blogosphere, you can be proud of your body of work and the readers who support you.

“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,”**

 

Mark Robertson

OFF-KEY- THE GREATEST STORY RVER TOLD ABOUT LOVE and jazz . . .in Sunderland.

offkeythenovel.com

https://twitter.com/bookmarkalex

https://www.facebook.com/offkeythenovel

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Off-Key-Mark-Robertson-ebook/dp/B00KTP2ER8/ref=la_B00KTRD0VA_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403690442&sr=1-1

 

*Forgive me blood “sport” enthusiasts, but if you get your jollies killing animals then you’re not for me.

** Humphrey Bogart “Casablanca” (1942)

EXCERPT FROM OFF-KEY

“I just want to say, I’m going to do it. I said I would, so, if that’s what it takes, I’ll flip burgers or get a factory job or something, if that’s what you want me to do with my life.”

So that was going to be his tack was it? Her heart sank. For once in his life why couldn’t he stand foursquare behind her? She’d been carrying him on her back for more than three years and she was sick of it. Just for once, couldn’t he step up to the plate and be the man. “I might not be at it for long; it’s a rather competitive profession. The exams are pretty tough and the higher up you go the more serious the competition gets. There can be as many as a hundred candidates for one post as a barrister.”

“Oh! You’ll get through it alright. Your sort always does.”

Your sort!!! She knew she was being baited now but she wasn’t going to bite. She’d rehearsed this in her head too much to blow it now in a fit of anger. Calm, calm, calm.

“The past few months haven’t been great for either of us and I know I can get a bit snappy at times,” She said it as placatingly as she could.

“File under ‘Understatement!”

Charlotte let this go. If she lost her temper she knew it would just end up another shouting match and nothing would get resolved.

“It doesn’t have to be like this. Really, with the minimum of fuss we could both get what we want. And don’t get your hopes up but, I might have a solution. And for once in your life just hear me out first. Jacqui Drinkwater, the singer, she must pay good money, regular gigs, that place was chock-a-block.”

“Go on.”

“She needs a sax player… you heard.”

“Probably got someone already lined up. Anyway, I wouldn’t suit her.”

“Shouldn’t you let her be the judge of that?”

“She’s never heard of me.”

“There was a moment in time when no one had heard of Miles Davis.”

“He was a trumpet player.”

“Yes I know. That’s not the point. I could get her number. What have you got to lose by calling her?”

“My dignity.”

“Your dignity? Kyle on Thursday you played a gig for three people, you made £2.50 less your drinks and a share of the petrol.”

“So I’m not good enough?”

“Of course you’re good enough but you have to get out there and prove it. She’s not very likely to come knocking on doors down our street just on the off chance. The difference between you and me is that I’m getting off my backside to try and make a go of my life.”

“So am I. Playing gigs to three people at a time isn’t the picnic you think it is.”

“And coming home to a kitchen’s that looks like a bomb site and finding I can’t have a cup of tea because you’ve used up all the bloody milk isn’t my… ”

She hesitated, trying to avoid saying “cup of tea”, not only because it was nonsense but also because she knew that if Kyle laughed at that point then she really would swing for him.

“So that’s what this has all been about… a pint of bloody milk. I was going to sort it out later.”

“Of course it’s not about the milk. I’m trying to sort out our lives. Do you really want to be living like this in ten years’ time?”

“Yes. What’s wrong with how we live? Is it not up to your standards, your Ladyship?”

“It makes me feel like I’m your mother.”

“Oh! Just fuck off!”

“Don’t swear. I’ve told you not to swear at me. You want the truth? You’re so scared of failing you’re not even going to try. You’re a coward. Stand up and be a man, for God’s sake.”

“Typical bloody woman! You pick up a copy of “Hello” or whatever and all of a sudden you’re dissatisfied with your “lifestyle.”

Kyle drew a set of quotation marks around “lifestyle” which only stoked her fury. But he wasn’t finished. “You can always try your family for a few bob, it’s not like they’re short.”

“Do you know how many times I’ve seen my family since I moved in with you, Kyle? Twice! Twice, that’s right… one wedding, one funeral.”

“And tell me, in all honesty, could you tell the two apart?”

“I gave up my family for you and you can’t give up an hour to audition for a band.”

“I’ve had enough of this. Your family will take you back as long as you hook up with some rich, chinless, inbred.”

“That’s right walk away” She was shouting now, despite herself.

“… and it’s all very well you playing a cross between Mother

Theresa and Bob Geldoff but you’re not paying for Craig’s saxophone lessons, I am.”

“I’m leaving. Unlike you, I don’t believe everybody in the World has a price on their head.”

“If you walk away from me now Kyle, don’t bother to come back.”

A weight the size of a bowling ball hit Kyle in the stomach. He wanted to return, wanted to tell Charlotte how much he loved her, wanted to be the man, wanted to do his bit, but she was right, he was terrified. If he had a proper job he couldn’t practice, if he couldn’t practice he’d get left behind and if he got left behind any chance that he could play his way into a successful music career would be lost. The one person he had desired in his whole life and he was letting her go. Without knowing where he was going or what he was going to do, he slammed the door as he exited the pub.

The man at the bar, to his credit, pretended not to notice.

 

Guest Post: Is it time to leave the day job?

 

Today's guest post is from Amita Murray, author of Confessions of a Reluctant Embalmer

Is it Time to Leave the Day Job?

This is an excellent question, and one that most writers and artists who love doing what they do will ask at some point. I asked myself this question repeatedly (some might say, obsessively) for over a year before I left my full-time job about three years ago, went part-time/freelance, and decided to spend more time and energy writing fiction. By this time, I’d written (not published, just written) about three-and-a-half novels, and a handful of short stories.

In the last three years, I’ve told myself there were many reasons for this move, but when it comes down to it there was just one. Writing novels felt natural to me – having a full-time job that I wasn’t happy in felt depressing. It was like not only my mind but my body was reacting against the situation I was in, like I was physically fighting a war – a war between doing what I craved and staying in a job that just wasn’t working for me.

About a year ago, a top London agent took on my novel The Pre-Raphaelite Seamstress. At that time, leaving a full-time job felt like the best decision I’d ever made. It was complete vindication. But then publishers turned it down, saying they loved it, it was compelling and beautifully written, but it didn’t fit a clear market. At that time, leaving a full-time job seemed like a very, very bad decision.

So, is it the right thing to do? Here are some of the things you need to think about.

What is your financial situation?

When I left my job, there were a few things working in my favour. I’d anticipated this move, so I had some savings (not loads, just some.) I had some part-time and freelance work on offer.

So, here are some questions you should ask yourself:

• Do you have any savings?


• Do you have any part-time/freelance opportunities?


• Might you need a mortgage in the next few years? (Sad though it is, it is harder to get a mortgage if you are freelance than if you are on a salary, even a part-time salary.)


• Are you likely to need maternity-leave in the next few years? (Remember, no salary, no maternity leave. Only a maternity allowance, which you will have to do a fair bit of paperwork to get.)


• Do you have a partner with a more stable job than yours? (Not crucial, but it can help.)


• Are you likely to need further training in doing the thing you love?

While you’re asking yourself these questions, think about this. Why do you want to leave your job? Is it to get more time to focus on the thing you want to do? To have more energy? Because it’s more satisfying doing what you love? Or just because you don’t like the job you’re in? None of these are bad reasons. But it takes a while to make it as an artist in any discipline. If you can find the time and energy to do what you love, while working part-time, then that’s a pretty good middle ground.

One more question – are you actually good at the thing you love doing? Are you getting really good feedback from people who know what they’re talking about? Or is it only your mum that reads your work? If so, then you may need more training. For which, you may need more money! And, therefore, some sort of salary.

Is your creative side going nudge-nudge and is it starting to hurt?

Okay, so, leaving a full-time job is not so great for your finances. But what about your creative side? I have to say that even though I’ve been a little sad (read, in a death-wish inducing panic) about my finances at various times since leaving full-time employment, I’ve worked on some fantastic freelance projects. These have had variety, really cool people to work with, had me thinking on my feet, and made me resourceful. Meaning, even the work I have taken up that was not related to writing novels was fulfilling and meaningful.

So, in terms of your creative side, leaving a job that is not working for you will definitely free up energy and time, give you more time with family and friends, and make you resourceful. But it can be very tough on your finances, and that can unhinge you, given enough time spent on decisions about whether or not to buy eight-pound pantyhose.

Remember one more thing. Leaving your full-time job may not be a permanent decision. You can rethink it as you go. In some cases, especially depending on what you’re doing part-time, you may have the option to easily go back to full-time work. In other cases, it may be harder.

Check out my romantic-comedy Confessions of a Reluctant Embalmer – think Six Feet Under, but more slapstick, with a dash of The Royal Tenenbaums – on Amazon. Publishers Weekly says the book is randy, fascinating, and very funny. And get in touch! I’d love to hear from you. Get this book for 99p on a Kindle Countdown deal on Amazon, from June 16-22, 2014.

Get in touch @AmitaMurray and amitamurray.com. I’d love to hear from you.

 

 

Guest post: Janey Fraser - Honeymoon Horrors

Today on Sheli Reads I am very pleased to welcome the lovely Janey Fraser, author of After the Honeymoon, with her guest post about honeymoon horrors! After the Honeymoon will be published on 22nd May 2014 by Arrow Books.

It was a night to remember for newly-weds Karen and Dave*. But for all the wrong reasons! Karen’s mum and dad had given them two nights at a swanky London hotel as a honeymoon. It had everything. An ensuite bathroom that was as big as their flat. An enormous bed which could have taken an entire family. And marble floors……Which proved to be their undoing.

When Karen and Dave got out of their wedding finery to celebrate their first night as a married couple, they found that confetti had got stuck in their clothes. Laughingly, they brushed them off but some of the petals were damp from champagne and sweat. (Great mixture, don’t you think?) To Karen and Dave’s horror, the petals fell on the floor and immediately left pink and blue stains.

“Quick,” said Karen. “We need to wipe them off or else we could be landed with a bill for damages.”

Grabbing the white hotel towels – they couldn’t find anything else – the pair rubbed away at the stains only to find it made the floor worse. It also stained the towels too!

So Dave dashed out to buy some cleaning materials: not an easy task since it was 2 in the morning and there weren’t any handy corner shops in this expensive part of London. Eventually, he returned and the couple spent all night rubbing away at the stains until they finally came off.

In the morning, they both looked exhausted. “Everyone thought we’d been up all night , doing what newly-weds are meant to do,” laughed Karen. “But in fact, we’d both got housemaid’s knee from kneeling on the cold floor.”

This was one of many honeymoon stories which I came across when researching my new novel AFTER THE HONEYMOON. The story itself is fiction: two very different couples from the same small English town go to a small Greek island for their honeymoon. But the woman who runs the hotel, just happens to have known one of the grooms in the past…..

As I was writing my novel, I kept thinking about my own honeymoons. I first got married when I was 22 and my mother had given us a night in a modest bed and breakfast near our home in Harrow. In the morning, we couldn’t get out of our room – the lock had stuck! So we had to put our heads out of the window and yell for help. If I tell you that we were the butt of several jokes at breakfast, you get the picture!

In fact, my second husband and I didn’t have a second honeymoon when I got married again, some years later. I didn’t want to leave my then-14 year old son and he refused to come with us , even though we offered. That made me think. How would a stepfather without children manage if his step-kids turned up on honeymoon? I don’t want to give my plot away but trust me, it causes mayhem…..

When I told friends that my next novel was about a honeymoon, they kept telling me about their own honeymoon ups and downs. So I decided to include some real stories in between chapters. There was the bride whose American parents came with them (luckily the son in law got on with them). Then there was the friend whose new husband loved camping (the tent blew away just as they were reaching the pinnacle of passion). And then there was the couple who split up six months after the honeymoon because the bride realised she loved someone else.

In fact, the honeymoon is only the first part of my novel. The second tells us what happened to those two couples (and the taverna owner) after the honeymoon.

I hope you enjoy it. Meanwhile, please email me by May 30 with your honeymoon story. The top three will each receive a copy of one of my novels. janeyfraser@gmail.com

AFTER THE HONEYMOON BY JANEY FRASER. TO BE PUBLISHED BY ARROW (Random House) on May 22

http://www.amazon.co.uk/After-Honeymoon-Janey-Fraser/dp/0099580845/

www.janeyfraser.com

Guest post: Why I Love Romance by Julie Shackman

Alpha males who are completely uninhibityed and seething with emotion and passion.

Think Rhett Butler, Heathcliff and Mr Darcy.

Heroines who know what they want from life and are not frightened to show how they feel.

Ever since I was about 13, I have been fascinated with the romance genre. I would stare in awe at the glossy covered novels of Judith Krantz and devour every word.

I would hold these often gold embossed novels in my hands and wonder what it would be like to write romantic tales and have readers savouring every word. To have people, comma, cry and lose themselves (hopefully!) in your stories.

The varied characters, settings and intricacies of my favourite genre never ceases to amaze me.

When I started pulling ideas together for "Rock My World", my debut contemporary romance novel, I hoped to create the magic of the romance novels I read.

Stevie Vee, my ghostly 80s rock singer, whose spirit can't rest - but why?

Matt Jardine, the sexy, arrogant journalist. Is there more to him than just his newspaper empire family name?

And reporter Ruby Cameron, my protagonist. Feisty, always championing the underdog and often inadvertently putting her foot well and truly in it!

From gorgeous locations to time travel and moral dilemmas, romance novels boast some of the most imaginative, funny and creative authors around.

In a world where news can often be depressing, it is heart-warming to know there are novels out there which can reach out to the reader and truly deliver the "feel-good factor".

How could anyone not fall in love with reading romance?

Julie is the author of romance novel Rock My World - available to buy now!



Ruby Cameron is an ambitious reporter for a local paper where she is fed scraps of news, and lives with a man whose “idea of living dangerously is to leave the heating on when we pop out to the shops”. But after catching her squeaky clean boyfriend in flagrante delicto she ups sticks and moves into her own small home, only to discover the ghostly presence of a cheeky rock star who becomes her confidant as the dynamics of her small town, and her feelings about her dashing new boss, begin to throw up more questions than she can answer. Will Ruby discover who she really is, and perhaps more importantly, who she wants to be?



About Julie

I trained as a journalist but writing romance has always been a dream of mine. When I’ve not got my head in a book or drafting one, I write verses and captions for greetings card companies. Writing at home seems to be incredibly difficult for me – I usually require coffee, music and noise. “Rock My World” is my first contemporary romance novel . I have just finished writing my second novel and am polishing that at the moment whilst beginning to do some research for my third. These are also contemporary romances with a good dose of humour (hopefully!). I’m married, have two sons and live in Scotland.
ttp://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ICRU3J6/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ICRU3J6/

https://twitter.com/G13Julie

https://www.facebook.com/julie.shackman

http://julieshackman.wordpress.com/

Publisher - Not So Noble Books http://www.radicaleyes.it/notsonoblebooks/

 

Guest post: Lily’s Daughter by Diana Raymond

Do you remember being seventeen?

Were you one of those seventeen-year-olds who felt as if everyone knew more about life than you did? That’s certainly the case for Jessica Mayne in Lily’s Daughter. And as this is the 1930s, Jessica is probably more naive than most young women of a similar age today.

As we grow up, we meet certain people who have an important impact on us. They might teach us a major lesson about life, or even help us to get to know ourselves better. For Jessica, there are a number of people ‒ men and women, young and old ‒ who will teach her valuable life lessons.

But perhaps the person who has the biggest effect on Jessica is someone she will never meet. Her father died before she was born, killed in the fighting of World War I. Lily, Jessica’s mother, never talks about him, so he remains a mystery to her. It’s this sense of loss, as well as loneliness, that causes Jessica to look for love and acceptance in the wrong place.

To make matters worse, Lily has a mental illness, and is committed to a hospital, so the young and inexperienced Jessica is left all alone. She can’t even afford to pay the rent on their rooms in London. But then, a chance discovery leads Jessica to encounter long-lost family members. When Jessica goes to Huntersmeade, the family’s home in Kent, she meets a varied group of characters, and her life will never be the same again.

Aunt Imogen knows the answers to the many questions Jessica has about her parents. She also guards some surprising family secrets. Imogen’s son, Guy, plays an even bigger role in Jessica’s life. With no experience of men, she can’t see what a mistake it is to fall madly in love with him. We readers ‒ older and wiser ‒ can only shake our heads and cry out at Jessica to see him for what he really is! Self-centred, immature, untrustworthy...

Jessica is also introduced to two women who seem much more sophisticated than she is. Deirdre is a young socialite who has her own heart set on Guy. Meanwhile, Veronica, Guy’s boss, is a chic woman of the world. Jessica is involved in dramatic turns of events with both women.

Luckily, Jessica also gets to know some people who have a positive influence on her life. At typing school she meets Brenda, who is much more worldly-wise; she takes Jessica under her wing and teaches her the facts of life. Meanwhile, Aaron, a Polish young man who is a regular house-guest at Huntersmeade, sees something in Jessica that perhaps she can’t see in herself.

As we witness Jessica grow from a girl into a woman, it’s clear that being Lily's Daughter can be pretty complicated at times. Maybe it’s because we were once seventeen too, that we want to warn Jessica about the wrong decisions she makes. But, sometimes it’s from our mistakes that we learn the most. Will that be the case for Jessica? All is revealed as we follow her coming of age in Lily's Daughter.

 

Ian Skillicorn



 

Lily’s Daughter by Diana Raymond is published by Corazon Books

www.amazon.co.uk/Lilys-Daughter-Diana-Raymond-ebook/dp/B00HZS2OV8

Jessica arrives at Huntersmeade and meets Imogen for the first time. It will be a life-changing moment for Jessica...

 

From the garden I could see the house. It was not beautiful ‒ large, red-brick, Victorian, with a turret on which the ivy grew. Behind the trees I could see French windows open to the afternoon.

I don’t know how long I stood there. Just for a while, very strongly, I had the sense of treading familiar ground: all at once the place was full of echoes. I stood very still, as if they imposed silence. That old childhood memory which had impressed on me the sensation of anger returned, and I thought, Why, this was the place! Names were on the air, and I could almost grasp them. Almost, not quite; they slid from me like the dissolving of an elusive dream. Only one came clear, as if someone had spoken it: Imogen.

That was a name full of force and power. I walked up the garden towards the house.

As I came close to it, for the first time I saw movement. I saw the figure of a woman in a blue summer dress just stepping into the garden from the French windows. Her figure was slim, she might have been any age between thirty and fifty, but drawing closer I saw a streak of white in her dark hair.

She didn’t see me at first, merely looking out towards the river; but then I took another step forward and she stood suddenly still. ‘Who are you?’

‘Jessica,’ I said. ‘Jessica Mayne. I was told to come.’

She stood looking at me with an expression I couldn’t read at all. It was a handsome face with large grey eyes, just missing beauty, the cheeks perhaps cut too sharply below the high cheek bones.

‘Jessica. Yes, of course. I didn’t expect you to come from the garden.’ She still stood there, looking at me. She stood in shadow but I thought I saw, surprisingly, the glint of tears in her eyes. But her voice was firm when she said, ‘I wonder what I should say to you? Welcome to Huntersmeade, perhaps.’ She said this as if there were something both sad and absurd in the idea.

I said, ‘I don’t think I know who you are.’ But the echoes were still sounding.

She gave a wry smile and a shrug. ‘That seemed to me the best way to do it. For you to come with no previous ideas. For the explanations ‒ all the explanations ‒ to come from me. Was that unfair to you? I hope not.’

She took my case from me and led me into the house, her movements quick and decisive. Already, though she had spoken kindly to me, I was a little afraid of her.

Once in the room with the garden beyond she waved me to a chair, then lit a cigarette. Through the smoke she said, ‘I think this is more difficult than I expected.’

‘It’s difficult for me too.’

I had not meant to discomfort her, but she braced herself as if the words had found a bruise. ‘I’ll tell you all I can. My name is Imogen Chase. Does that mean anything to you?’

I felt the small kick of memory, of recognition. My skin tingled. ‘As I came up the garden,’ I said, ‘I remembered the name Imogen.’

She looked at me differently then. ‘I suppose you might have done. But I thought if you were told just a little of the truth, you might decide not to come. Do you understand that?’

‘Not quite.’

‘But you remember something?’

Puzzled, I looked about me. ‘Yes … I don’t quite know why or how, but yes, it’s not a strange place. And you ‒’

‘Well?’

Still puzzled, I stared at her. ‘I don’t know. I think I’ve seen you before.’

Guest Post: Carol Cassada

When most people think of romance novels, they tend to think of a book with a lot of sex scenes. While most romance novels do consist of those types of scenes, many choose not to include them or have it happen behind closed doors. I’ve read and written books with these different types of scenes, and I when someone asks me which I prefer I say it depends on the type of story.

For instance in my book Going Home Again, there’s no love scenes, the only romantic gestures are kissing and hugging. The reason I chose not to use sex scenes is because I thought it would take away from the story. The plot revolves around photographer Rachel Mitchell, who returns home following the death of her mother to comfort her family. While on her trip she reconnects with her ex-boyfriend Cole Ashton. As the two spend more time together, their feelings for each other grow and Rachel begins thinking about her life and if she made the right choices.

When I started writing Going Home Again, I wanted it to be a sweet, love story about two high-school flames reuniting. If I had included a sex scene, then I don’t think the story would have been as good.

There are times when I think its fine to use sex scenes, but there are other times when I don’t think it’s necessary. I know those scenes get readers excited, but I also think its fun to tease readers and let their imaginations go wild with what happens next.



Book Blurb:

Fashion photographer Rachel Mitchell was living the good life in New York; she had everything she ever wanted. However, the death of her mother sends Rachel home to Virginia to be with her family. Upset she seeks comfort from her ex-boyfriend Cole Ashton and they start to reconnect. Their reunion makes Rachel question her life and she’s left with a difficult decision, either stay in New York or start a new life with Cole in Virginia. Which will she choose?

Bio:

Carol Cassada is a writer from the small town of Ringgold, VA. From a very young age Carol developed a love of reading and by the time she reached high school she decided on a career as a writer. After graduating from Old Dominion University in 2008, she began her writing career. Throughout the years she's released 5 books, including the romance/soap opera series Westmore. When she’s not busy writing, Carol loves to spend her time playing with her three dogs and two cats.

Blog: http://www.carolcassada.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dramacjc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Carol-Cassada/233360543344573

Purchase links:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/374705

http://www.amazon.com/Going-Home-Again-Carol-Cassada-ebook/dp/B00GCQC5L8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1389570921&sr=1-1&keywords=carol+cassada

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/going-home-again-carol-cassada/1022904303?ean=2940045416030

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/going-home-again-5

Guest Post - Emma L Adams: My Writing Journey

I started writing books at the age of 5. I didn’t even know I wanted to be a writer at the time – I doubt many five-year-olds know what they want to do with their lives! But I was a very creative child, and I loved stories. I was always lost in a book, always inventing characters and worlds. I was ten when my teacher told me I could be a writer – and it was like it had been right in front of me all along. I knew – I knew this was what I had to do with my life.

It wasn’t until I was 14 that I started writing a novel. I’d invented a set of characters who starred in various short stories, but I knew they were destined to be part of a novel. No –a series. That was when I started chasing the dream of publication. So I wrote the book. The first draft was a meandering mess that took a year and a half. The problem was, I knew it wasn’t yet ready to be published – but I didn’t quite know how. So I bought writing craft books and read articles online and worked on improving my craft. I decided the best thing to do was to study creative writing at university. When I was 17, I started re-planning that first novel, from scratch, as part of a six-book series. But exams and university applications kept interrupting, and I set my heart on a certain course which I wanted more than anything. And they turned me down. As there were only a handful of places, it was probably inevitable! In the end, I got a place on a different course, and this turned out to be the best choice I’d ever made.

It was summer 2010. I had three whole months before I started my university course. So I wrote the first draft by hand, in little more than a month (this was after over 1 ½ years of planning – I didn’t do things by halves!) Then I printed and edited it. I did at least five complete edits before I showed my family and friends – a major step! The one mistake I made was not getting peer feedback from fellow writers. I did research the submissions process extensively to avoid making newbie mistakes, honed my synopsis and query, and just before I turned 19, I sent it out. I started university. I met fellow writers, and for the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged.

The first rejection was encouraging, but after that, I received a slew of form rejection slips. I began to feel discouraged, once the initial buzz of university had worn off. The course wasn’t really aimed at novelists looking to make a career of writing. I’d finished drafting the second book by the end of my first year, and I decided that I wanted feedback on the first one from someone in the industry. After researching all the options I finally decided to send my work to a well-reputed literary consultancy. And I was told the book was unpublishable. The idea wasn’t original enough.

That stung, but I knew I could write – I just hadn’t found the right story yet. Although I was devastated at the time, it was breaking away from that first novel that gave me the courage to write something new – and that third novel was The Puppet Spell. It was originally my writing portfolio project for my second year creative writing module, and I’d found the kernel of an idea in an old notebook from when I was 15. I had a lot of fun with it despite writing under pressure, and the close scrutiny of my seminar group. This time, I had critique groups and beta readers look at the story before I decided it was ready to face the world. And then something unexpected happened: I was recommended to a publisher by a fellow student at Lancaster –and they genuinely expressed an interest in publishing my book. And I signed with Rowanvale for a small print deal.

Meanwhile, I’d been working on another series. That year was a crash-course in social media, marketing and promotion – exhausting but exciting! I finally saw my book in print, met many wonderful writers online – and discovered a niche my new book series could fit into: New Adult. I’d been fretting about where the Darkworld series, which is an upper-YA urban fantasy/paranormal series set at a university, would fit. YA books with protagonists aged 18+ were difficult to sell. But now publishers were actively looking these books!

Darkworld was my dream project. I’d planned it to have five books, based on the original plots for the later books in my first ever series (but massively altered and updated for an upper-YA audience). I knew this was something I couldn’t rest until I had it written down. It excited me more than anything I’d written before. I got to dig deeper into ideas I’d wanted to put in books for years, as well as drawing on the strange and wonderful world of student life I’d been experiencing for the past two years. The words came out of nowhere, as did the characters – as if they’d been waiting there all along. And the demons scared me half to death!

I finished the draft in September 2012 and started querying after more rounds of extensive edits and feedback from my seminar group. And in February 2013, I got an offer from Curiosity Quills Press! Darkness Watching came out on the 10th October 2013, and now I’m editing Book 2. I won’t lie: it hasn’t always been easy. My writing journey is on-going, and although it’s sometimes frustrating, I wouldn’t miss this for the world!



Emma spent her childhood creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality, so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing fantasy and paranormal for young adults. She was born in Birmingham, UK, which she fled at the first opportunity to study English Literature at Lancaster University. In her three years at Lancaster, she hiked up mountains, skydived in Australia, and endured a traumatic episode involving a swarm of bees in the Costa Rican jungle. She also wrote various novels and short stories. These included her first publication, a rather bleak dystopian piece, and a disturbing story about a homicidal duck (which she hopes will never see the light of day).

Now a reluctant graduate, she can usually be found in front of her writing desk, creating weird and wonderful alternative worlds. Her debut novel The Puppet Spell, published in January 2013 by Rowanvale Books, is a fantasy tale for young adults and the young at heart, inspired by her lifelong love of the fantastical, mythology, and video games. Emma also writes supernatural fantasy novels for older teens and adults. Her next book, Darkness Watching, is the first in the upper-YA/New Adult Darkworld series, and was published in October 2013 by Curiosity Quills Press.

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Darkness Watching



Author: Emma L Adams

Publisher: Curiosity Quills

Release Date: 10^th October 2013

ISBN-13: 9781620073629

Genre: Urban fantasy/paranormal
Target Audience: Upper YA/New Adult
Distributor: Ingram

 

 

 

DARKNESS WATCHING Summary:

 

Eighteen-year-old Ashlyn is one interview away from her future when she first sees the demons. She thinks she's losing her mind, but the truth is far more frightening: she can see into the Darkworld, the home of spirits– and the darkness is staring back.
Desperate to escape the demons, Ash accepts a place at a university in the small town of Blackstone, in the middle of nowhere - little knowing that it isn't coincidence that led her there but the pull of the Venantium, the sorcerers who maintain the barrier keeping demons from crossing from the Darkworld into our own world.
All-night parties, new friendships and a life without rules or limits are all part of the package of student life - but demons never give up, and their focus on Ash has attracted the attention of every sorcerer in the area. Ash is soon caught between her new life and a group of other students with a connection to the Darkworld, who could offer the answers she's looking for. The demons want something from her, and someone is determined to kill her before she can find out what it is.
In a world where darkness lurks beneath the surface, not everyone is what they appear to be...

 

Read Chapter One.

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Reviews of DARKNESS WATCHING:

 

"Emma is an amazing writer. She has become one of my favorites. I couldn’t put Darkness Watching down." - Diane at A Creative Mind

"Darkness Watching provides an original world that is fully complete and from a teens POV. It was dark and entertaining and sometimes teen books don’t go full out, this one did. The world building was truly strong in this novel." - Lexi at Book Bliss

"Like good books should, Darkness Watching left me pondering the story after I'd finished reading AND left me wanting more. Adams built a strong world for readers to be immersed. But the regular world retained full realism. Normal every day teen situations felt completely believable." - Erin at Erin Albert Books

"This was entertaining from the start...I didn’t want to put it down, and fans of urban fantasies I think will enjoy this. Darkness Watching was definitely worth the read." - Jenea at Books Live Forever


"Demons, Sorcerers, evil, and secrets. Could you ask for a better supernatural suspense set-up? I couldn't, and picking this book to read for Halloween was perfect. It's full of suspense, danger, evil and dark humor. The plot is original, and completely gripping. From the first page, this book had me hooked, almost too afraid to finish, but knowing I'd regret it if I didn't keep reading." - Rose at Desert Rose Reviews

"This is a wildly different story than any I have read about demons...I loved it!" - Kathy at Bookmarks, Spoilers, and Happily-Ever-Afters

"All in all this is a suspenseful first part to an intriguing new fantasy series. I look forward to the next book and finding out what happens next! Recommended to fans of NA & upper YA supernatural & fantasy novels" - Sharon Stevenson, supernatural author

Guest post: KK Hendin

Today I've got a guest post from the very lovely KK Hendin! Enjoy!


Why New Year’s Resolutions Are Not Always A Terrible Thing

God, I am the world’s biggest cliché sometimes.

Once upon a time, it was January first, and I decided that 2013 would be a good year to make a New Year’s Resolution. Mind you, I had never really made one before. But I guess I was feeling optimistic, because I made myself a lovely little list of resolutions for the year of 2013.

One of them was finish at least one manuscript, and self-publish, if that was what I felt was best for the book. There were other ridiculous resolutions on that list that never really happened, like figure out life. But much to my shock, I wrote the words The End many times this year- namely, with Heart Breaths.

I wrote Heart Breaths at a very weird kind of time in my life- I had just parted ways with my job, I had paused school, and ONCE AGAIN, I had no idea what I was doing with my life. (This last bit seems to be a bit of a reoccurrence, truth be told.) I had finished a book and a half, and there was a story tickling my brain.

And so since I suddenly had all this magical free time when I wasn’t looking for a job, I started to write. And I wrote. And wrote. And wrote. And wrote some more.

Writing is a very personal experience- even when you’re not writing an autobiography or something about yourself, pieces of you still end up in what you write. Writing fiction for me is a way to sort through my jumbled thoughts by having others go through similar situations as I have gone through, or I’m going through at the moment. Luckily, I can say that I haven’t gone through the same things that Maddie has gone through, or Gabe, but there are aspects about what they struggle with that were and continue to be intensely personal.

Letting people in, even after being hurt. Learning to trust people. Opening your heart, even with the possibility of getting hurt. Standing up for yourself. Learning to trust yourself.

They’re all things that so many people are struggling with- not just me, and not just Maddie and Gabe. Heart Breaths was a book that helped me explore what it meant to open your heart up after being hurt, and learning that you are so much stronger than you think. And that sometimes, you don’t have to try to do it all yourself- that there are people who love you that are more than willing to help you find your brave.

Heart Breaths is a story of friendship, love and redemption. And beaches J
I mean, just look. How could I not include this?




(picture via: http://www.obxlistings.com/wp-content/uploads//_slide_image/51-e5231325.jpg)

It may not be the typical New Adult release, but at the heart of it, it’s the same. About two people trying to figure out how to navigate the weird world of semi-adulthood, and maybe, if they’re lucky, try to navigate the world of love.
God, I’m such a sap ;)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
KK Hendin's real life ambition is to become a pink fluffy unicorn who dances with rainbows. But the schooling for that is all sorts of complicated, so until that gets sorted out, she'll just write. Preferably things with angst and love. And things that require chocolate.
She spends way too much time on Twitter, and rambles on occasion over atwww.kkhendinwrites.blogspot.com.

LINKS:
BLOG: http://www.kkhendinwrites.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kkhendin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/KK-Hendin/425268687590642?ref=hl
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7231267.K_K_Hendin

Guest post: Zoe @ The Book Lovers

I have a treat in store for you today! Zoe from The Book Lovers has kindly agreed to write a guest post talking about her blog, why she blogs, and her favourite genre, NA. I asked Zoe if she wanted to add any pictures, and for some reason she sent me this one....






Hi everyone *waves*

My names Zoe and my blog is The Books Lovers. I’ve had this blog for a year now and I have met some of the most amazing friends through our love of books. I started The Book Lovers due to the excessive amount of books I go through (it’s slowed down a lot since I’ve got a full time job now). I used to go through two or three a day, and after speaking to my friends about setting up a review blog and they told me to go for it. I was nervous but I already recommend books to my friends and lend my books out so I thought “why the hell not” and so The Book Lovers was born.

My blog mainly focuses on New Adult with a hint of Young Adult and Erotica. My friends always tease me about reading sex books but I shrug it off because I love the books I read and why should I feel weird about sex scenes? You will notice I go off on tangents, so sorry in advance.

I used to spend a fortune on books, and when I got a kindle for Christmas a few years back that is when I discovered a whole array of books; books that I hadn’t seen in the shops and bookstores and books that were so cheap that I could buy about 7 eBooks for the price of one. I had my kindle for about a year before I started up my blog and if I’m being honest, I had no idea about self-publishing and the whole book community. I just downloaded books that looked awesome. My first NA book was actually Beautiful Disaster – Jamie McGuire. I had seen it by chance on Amazon and once downloaded I read it straight away. I adored it.

So when I began my blog, I had no one to show me the ropes, I had to figure out everything alone. From knowing what books tours were, to wondering what on earth Arcs were and how to join in with everything I saw on my TL. I think that’s why I always go that extra mile to help new blogs out because I know how lost I was when I first started and I’d hate for anyone to feel that way when they first begin.

Over the course of the months, I had built up my blog, knew what I was doing and making friends and author friends along the way. I support new blogs, new authors and I love promoting their work and chatting with them. Self-pub authors really are the best. Of course all authors appreciate their readers and fans, but I think without us, self-pub authors wouldn’t get the light of day, and that is why I love them. They are so gracious that you want to read their book, that you leave a glowing review and that you just love their books. I have a great group of author friends and I’m so happy to actually call them friends. I am actually meeting up with a few (and my lovely book blog friends) in November for a book event and I cannot express my excitement. I’ve been chatting to them for moths and now it’s time to meet them!

Sheli asked me to write my top indie authors and dear god, there are just so many, but I’m going to narrow it down to the ones that have supported me and my blog and I have been with from the very start.

1)      Karli Perrin – Author of April Showers and April Fools (Out Dec 2013)

2)      Emma Hart – Author of The Memories series, Mauve Legacy series, The Game series

3)      Kerry Heavens – Author of Just Human and Still Human

4)      Rachel Brookes – Author of Just Breathe

5)      Laura Beege – Author of These Things About Us

6)      Terri Anne Browning – Author of The Rocker series

7)      Jade C Jamison – Author of so many bleeding books that I love hahha.

8)      L.M Augustine – Author of Click To Subscribe and Two Roads

 

Okay, so I couldn’t push it down, because I love all of these authors! I have been with most of them since the beginning and I couldn’t ask for better friends. Push aside the fact we talk a lot, I always keep my reviews honest as I would never give them 5 stars just for knowing them. I always give them what I think the book deserves.

But yes, these eight indie authors definably deserve a read. They write amazing books that will suck you right in until the very end where you’ll be like ‘where did the time go?’ You won’t want to put their books down at all.

I was umming and ahhing about adding more to the list, but the majority of the authors I love have been snatched up by publishing houses, which they definitely deserve so fingers crossed these beauties do soon!! (I know Emma has an agent which is amazing news!!)

The reason I love these authors is because they write something different. New Adult fiction tends to focus on issues such as leaving home, developing sexuality, and furthering their education and career choices and in every book you can definitely see some part of the character in yourself, whether it’s the fears, college life, leaving home, finding yourself, having sex – there is something you can relate to in an NA book and I think that’s why I read NA a lot. The one book character I relate to a lot of Camryn from The Edge Of Never – J.A Redmerski. The reason I relate to her is because she’s lost, and she just packs a bag one day, gets a bus ticket and doesn’t know what she’s going to do, she just wants to get away, make the pain go away. During the trip she meets Andrew and he shows her how to live, how to concur her sexuality and let go of her past and learn who she truly is.

And this is what I want to do. Just pack and leave, find myself and find where I belong. Maybe find love along the way too.

I sobbed so much during this book that when I saw my mother, she asked me who had made me cry. She laughed when I told her it was a book. But see, this is why I love the NA genre. You can really connect to the story, the characters, how they are feeling and how they deal with everything. It’s real. Not that other books aren’t, but NA is something I don’t think I could ever stop reading. (can you imagine when I’m forty and still reading about 20 years olds…) but there are so many great authors that you should all just go and read and then come back and let me know how much you love their books ;) big promise I know.

If I haven’t sold you on at least picking up one NA books then I haven’t done my ‘job.’ But I am hoping that if you do decide to take a chance on NA, please let me know what you are reading and if you enjoyed it. Come follow me @TheBook_Lovers and come chat books with me. I don’t bite….too much ;)

A big thank you to Zoe for this fantastic post!! I'm very tempted to try out an NA book now, I hope you are too!!

Guest post: Red and White

And now for something completely different! I'd like to welcome Karen D'Or to Sheli Reads for her guest post about the recent trend for Tudor fiction.

Red and White

In California’s wine country, the grape harvest starts well before fall — the fruit ripens fast during the sweltering midsummer days when our vineyards seem like magnets for the summer sun, trapping the heat between the hills and valleys that define our terroir. Those heat wave days can quickly turn into sudden thundershowers, threatening the crops with mildew and ruination.

It is turncoat weather. If grapes aren’t harvested in time a precious vintage may be lost.

As long summer days come to a close, and the erratic harvest weather sends me home earlier on Saturdays, I open a bottle of local Pinot Noir and settle in to watch BBC’s The White Queen, the poorly-reviewed ten episode production based on Philippa Gregory’s three books: The White Queen, The Red Queen and The Kingmaker's Daughter.

Each Saturday night I turn on satellite TV to watch the small screen rendition the War of the Roses (WOTR). It is an time that historian Allison Weir calls an “unfolding pageant of treason and conflict.” I’m vigilantly watching the show because this year, surprisingly, the fictional tales of the historic conflict between the (red) Lancastrians and the (white) Yorkist roses/houses are my favorite bedtime reading: escapist, romantic, devious, epic, and always volatile.

Sure, I’ve grabbed Ms. Gregory’s popular WOTR novels, but even before The White Queen TV show landed in the U.S, I’d found other fiction authors who have tackled the pivotal century with careful plot development, thoughtful character interpretations, and insights into the mercurial relationships within, and between, the two houses. Since Sheli Reads loves good historical fiction, I’m delighted the saucy Welsh blogger invited me to guest post this week so I can share my thoughts on a few key re-tellings of this era.

Tudor Rose: the Story of the Queen Who United a Kingdom and Birthed a Dynasty

Margaret Campbell Barnes wrote Tudor Rose: the Story of the Queen Who United a Kingdom and Birthed a Dynasty sixty years ago. Tudor Rose brightly weaves the history of Elizabeth of York, the White Queen’s eldest daughter, and the most recent common ancestor of all English monarchs. Elizabeth shines through as a naturally cheerful girl who develops into a wise and warm queen. The book moves quickly, is carefully researched, and is well worth reading. However, towards the end Barnes tosses in a few strange fictional twists that seem both implausible and rushed.

 



Rose of York Trilogy

Written more recently, and with a stronger Ricardian slant, is Sandra Worth's Rose of York trilogy, three books framed by the decades long love story of Richard III and Anne Neville. The author won several awards for the series including Francis Ford Coppola/Ray Bradbury/Moxie Films-sponsored 2003 New Century Writers Award. The trilogy kept my attention, and Worth writes with compassion and clarity. Although Worth’s presumption of a “love at first sight” tormented romance between Richard and Anne is rather charming, I don’t agree with the journal of the Richard III society’s reviewer that the trilogy is a “masterpiece.” Entertaining, yes, but the author may have gone a bit too far in de-vilifying Richard.

The War of the Roses

In spite of the entertainment value of the novels, for me the most compelling read is the 1995 non-fiction classic from Alison Weir. Weir is the highest-selling female historian in the United Kingdom. This is a long (496 pages) and riveting book. It is a great introduction to the WOTR era; for a historian Weir is imminently readable with a strong narrative compass. Because of her uncanny ability to make historical facts evocative and moving, Weir’s insight is often more worthwhile, and compelling, than some of the fictional accounts which often unfairly collapse years and decades into just a few words.

 



 

As the days grow shorter, I recommend that you grab some juicy WOTR reading. You might even consider breaking out of the historical novel groove to explore a renowned nonfiction guide to this unstable period by turning to Alison Weir’s War of the Roses nonfiction classic. Weir brilliantly tells the “astonishing and often grim story of power struggles that involved some of the most charismatic figures in English History.”

By all means, time travel back to the fifteenth century: get lost in and around vivid landscapes like Pembroke Castle in West Wales, or Ludlow Castle in Shropshire where Edward IV sent his son the Prince of Wales before…. well, if you don’t already know, you’ll find out!

And as you delve into these devious WOTR times, I suggest you cozy up with a glass of ruby-red wine, perhaps a 2008 Dry Creek Valley Meritage. If you aren’t yet loyal to the reds, and if your leanings are more toward a chilly, seductive, wheat-hued dry white, consider the award-winning 2010 Alexander Valley Vineyards Chardonnay.

Unlike in the volatile choices during the War of the Roses, there are no losers in this decision between Red and White.

 

Karen D’Or

28 September 2013

 

Background: 

Karen D’Or (B.A. in English Literature and M.A. in Business Administration) has a 30-year career writing for corporations and non-profits. Karen is a successful grant writer and researcher in Sonoma County, California, where her practice raises millions of dollars for local social service agencies. Her college boyfriend recalls her writing as “remarkably fresh, witty, sharp, expressive and clever.” Www.musingly.me is Karen’s first blog venture launched to fulfill those lofty expectations of three decades ago. Twitter @musinglyme