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Author Hannah Pearl is #SharingTheLove

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As February is the month of love, I have a host of wonderful romance authors stopping by my blog to share flirty extracts from their novels! Well you know, any excuse 😉 

Today, I am excited to welcome Hannah Pearl, who is #SharingTheLove with an extract from her novel Evie’s Little Black Book … over to you Hannah!

Evie’s Little Black Book

“‘You’re beautiful.’

I laughed and pretended that my heart wasn’t beating at a million miles an hour. He leant forward and kissed me, gently and sweetly, on the lips. ‘There. Now you can go home knowing that you’ve remembered how attractive you are,’ he said.

‘I didn’t make the first move. Last time I had the confidence to kiss him. It’s been a while since I felt able to do that without worrying that I was misreading the signs.’

‘Then kiss me first,’ Jake suggested. ‘I don’t mind, if it’ll help you with your mission I mean.’

He smiled, and for a moment I forgot how many people were crowded around us. I forgot all the men I’d met before and, most importantly, I forgot all those who came
after. Leaning forward, I kissed Jake, just for the briefest of moments, and it felt perfect.”

Thank you for sharing your lovely extract Hannah, Evie’s Little Black Book is on my to be read list!

Discover more about Evie’s Little Black Book:

Is hunting down every man you’ve kissed the answer to finding Mr Right?

When Evie is invited to the wedding of the guy she’d fancied throughout her teens, it’s the final straw. What’s wrong with her and why can’t she keep a man?

In between consoling herself with ice cream and chocolate, and sobbing her heart out to her cousin Chamaine, Evie has a brainwave – and it all centres around her ‘little black book’ (well, more floral patterned notebook really) – which contains the details of every man she’s ever kissed or dated. Perhaps the cure for her disastrous love life has been nestled within its pages all along …

Does Evie’s little black book really hold the answers, or will she learn that exes are exes for a reason?

Publisher: Ruby Fiction
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Buy the book Amazon UK | Amazon.com

About the author:

Hannah Pearl was born in East London. She is married with two children and now lives in Cambridge.

She has previously worked as a Criminology researcher, as a Development Worker with various charities and even pulled a few pints in her time.

In 2015 she was struck down by Labrynthitis, which left her feeling dizzy and virtually housebound. She has since been diagnosed with ME. Reading has allowed Hannah to escape from the reality of feeling ill. She read upwards of three hundred books during the first year of her illness. When her burgeoning eReader addiction grew to be too expensive, she decided to have a go at writing. In 2017 she won Simon and Schuster’s Books and the City #heatseeker short story competition, in partnership with Heat magazine, for her short story The Last Good Day.

Hannah is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association.

Discover more about Hannah Pearl here: Twitter |  Blog | Ruby Fiction

Don’t miss me (Carol Thomas) #SharingTheLove with an extract from The Purrfect Pet Sitter, on my blog tomorrow. xx

Carol Thomas writes contemporary romance novels, with relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads. Discover more here.

Author Angela Petch is #SharingTheLove

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As February is the month of love, I have a host of wonderful authors stopping by my blog to #ShareTheLove as they discuss their novels, and share a few cheeky extracts! 

Today, I am pleased to welcome Chindi Authors’ Author of the Week, Angela Petch, who has recently released Mavis and Dot – a book of humorous tales about two eccentric ladies who form an unlikely friendship. To #ShareTheLove Angela talks about love for the older generation and the special bond between best friends. Over to you, Angela.

Mavis and Dot

The two main characters in my new book are baby boomers, ladies “of a certain age”. But that doesn’t mean love is a thing of the past for Mavis and Dot.

Mavis is prone to infatuations with Italian men. At the beginning of the novella, we learn about her Italian lover,  who is married to another woman. He owns a string of famous restaurants and when Mavis and Alessandro occasionally meet in the flat that he bought for her in Worthington-on-Sea, they make love and afterwards enjoy “morsels that Alessandro brought from his restaurant kitchen. The twinkling lights along the promenade provided a festive backdrop to their feast. As usual, Mavis had eaten with gusto, feeding her lover with garlic mushrooms and slivers of sweet red oily capsicum from her own fork.”

I won’t tell you how their relationship ends, but a few months later, she falls for an Italian café owner who teaches the tango in his spare time. Mavis comes to an undignified end when she tries his dance class and rapidly falls out of love with Mario.

A couple of days later, Dot consoles her friend, as they share tea and friendship in the Marks and Spencer cafeteria.

“He was really nasty to me, Dot… I was a little off-balance, that’s all. I’ve never done the tango before – what did he expect? He left me lying in a heap on the floor.”

Her friend tries to sympathise. “Falling in love is like catching mumps. It’s tricky,” said Dot, stirring her lapsang.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s fine catching mumps when you’re young but it’s tricky when you’re older. It hits you harder.”

My mother-in-law picked up a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey in the supermarket and asked me if it was a manual about hair dye. I’m afraid I sniggered but her comment also made me think. Love and romance is not restricted to the young. We all need love… and friends. Mavis and Dot are very different from each other and form an unlikely friendship. Newly retired to the Sussex seaside, they are both lonely. As they begin to learn more about each other, they provide mutual help and support.

I wrote Mavis and Dot in memory of my best friend who died thirteen years ago from ovarian cancer. Yes, it has taken me all those years to develop the original short story I wrote for her when she was gravely ill! We enjoyed hunting around charity shops on our days out and we used to nickname ourselves Mavis and Dot. I miss her.

My friend drew this sketch for me when she was very ill. The illustrations in Mavis and Dot, created by Gill Kaye, Editor of Sussex Magazine, Ingénu/e, are inspired by it.

All profits from sales of Mavis and Dot are going to Cancer Research and I hope to raise as much as possible! You can find out more, and buy the book here.

Thank you for sharing the humour, love and warmth of Mavis and Dot with us Angela, and for all you are doing to raise money for Cancer Research in memory of your dear friend.

Angela is delighted to have received love and encouragement from the reviews so far on Goodreads and Amazon, and has had many requests for a sequel:

 “This book was a total joy from beginning to end…a perfect reminder of the power of friendship.” (Welsh Annie – Top 500 Reviewer)

“Mavis and Dot is a warm-hearted exploration of life and friendship that I found beguiling and engaging. It’s a super read. (Linda’s Book Bag)

“Absolutely perfect for an afternoon’s reading, just before your belly dancing class, fish and chips supper or the nude modelling! Completely uplifting…” (Stardust Book Reviews)

“What a cast! I loved Mavis, I want to be her when I grow up…” (The Midnight Review)

“One of my top three reads of 2018” (Book addiction UK – Wrong side of forty)

“10 * It’s not often I go above a 5* ranking but Mavis and Dotabsolutely stole my heart…utterly charming.” (Dash Fan Book Reviews)

About the author

Angela Petch lives in the Tuscan Apennines in summer and Sussex in winter.

Her love affair with Italy was born at the age of seven when she moved with her family to Rome. Her father worked for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and he made sure his children learned Italian and soaked up the culture. She studied Italian at the University of Kent at Canterbury and afterwards worked in Sicily where she met her husband. His Italian mother and British father met in Urbino in 1944 and married after a wartime romance.

Her first book, “Tuscan Roots” was written in 2012, for her Italian mother-in-law, Giuseppina, and also to make readers aware of the courage shown by families of her Italian neighbours during WW2. Signed by Bookouture in 2018, this book will be republished in June 2019. Another Tuscan novel has been commissioned for 2020.

“Now and Then in Tuscany”, a sequel, was published in April 2017 and features the same family. The background is the transhumance, a practice that started in Etruscan times and continued until the 1950s. Her research for her Tuscan novels is greatly helped by her knowledge of Italian and conversations with locals.

Although Italy is a passion, her stories are not always set in this country. “Mavis and Dot”, published at the end of 2018 and sold in aid of Cancer Research, tells the story of two fun-loving ladies who retire to the Sussex seaside. They forge an unlikely friendship and fall into a variety of adventures. Ingenu/e Magazine describes it as: “Absolutely Fabulous meets Last of the Summer Wine… a gently hilarious feel-good book that will enchant and delight…”.

A prize-winning author, member of CHINDI independent authors and RNA, she also loves to travel and recently returned to Tanzania, where she lived at the start of her marriage. A keen tennis player and walker, she also enjoys spending time with her five grandchildren and inventing stories for their entertainment.

Angela’s short stories are published by PRIMA and the People’s Friend.  Her historical novels Tuscan Roots (available for a limited time only) and Now and Then in Tuscany are available as ebooks and in paperback.

Discover more about Angela Petch and her writing here: Facebook | Twitter | website | Amazon

Don’t miss author Hannah Pearl #SharingTheLove with an extract from Evie’s Little Black Book, on my blog tomorrow. xx


Carol Thomas writes contemporary romance novels, with relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads. Discover more here.

Author Kathryn Freeman is #SharingTheLove

Book Review, Guest Post, , , , , , , , ,
As February is the month of love, I have a host of wonderful romance authors stopping by my blog to share flirty extracts from their novels! Well you know, any excuse 😉 

Today, I am delighted to welcome Kathryn Freeman who is #SharingTheLove with an extract from her novel, Oh Crumbs … over to you Kathryn!

Oh Crumbs

“As silence descended, Abby stared at the flourishing tulips in her beloved pots, for once at a loss how to put into words the emotion churning inside her.

‘You were incredible,’ she told Doug finally. ‘Thank you.’

He shrugged and she thought he was going to say nothing, but then he gave her a small, slightly bemused smile. ‘First time I’ve been called incredible.’

A hot blush stung her cheeks, the heat spreading rapidly through her body as his eyes flickered down to her lips before coming back up to hold hers. He’s going to kiss me. Her heart hammered wildly and she prayed she wouldn’t say anything stupid to muck up this moment. ‘I’m glad I was the first to tell you. Are you some sort of ninja?’

He let out a soft laugh. ‘I’m a brown belt in BJJ. Brazilian jiu-jitsu,’ he added at her puzzled look.

‘I’ve heard of a Brazilian, but I’m pretty sure the one I’m thinking of wouldn’t take out two men.’ Bugger, bugger, talk about a mood crusher … then again, maybe she was okay because a full-blown smile slid across his face, bathing her in its warmth.

‘You’d be surprised how easily us men can be floored.’ All the smoothness had vanished from his voice; it sounded hoarser, deeper.

Her heart accelerated into overdrive, thumping so hard she felt her chest vibrate. Was he talking generally, or was this about him? Being floored by her?

He took the one step he needed to be right beside her and suddenly she could no longer think. As his head dipped the air left her lungs and when she inhaled again there was only him. Filling her senses, making her body tingle, drugging her mind with his strong, quiet presence.

The touch of his lips against hers was tentative, as if asking a question, seeking permission. She answered fully, parting her mouth and leaning in so it wasn’t just their lips touching but their bodies, too. Instantly his hands flew to cradle her face and the kiss grew hungrier. He nibbled at her lips, driving her crazy before sweeping his tongue into her mouth. She was lost.”

Thank you for sharing your wonderful extract Kathryn, I’ve had the pleasure of reading Oh Crumbs and I am happy to share my review:

This was the second book by Kathryn Freeman I have read, and it didn’t disappoint. The characters were likeable, and I enjoyed the warmth and chaos of the Spencer household. I liked the development of the relationship between the two lead characters particularly as they faced the issues brought about by being together. Oh Crumbs was an enjoyable read, and with a title like that, what better excuse to snuggle up for a few hours reading with a hot drink and a biscuit or six!

Discover more about Oh Crumbs:

Sometimes life just takes the biscuit …
Abby Spencer knows she can come across as an airhead – she talks too much and is a bit of a klutz – but there’s more to her than that. Though she sacrificed her career to help raise her sisters, a job interview at biscuit company Crumbs could finally be her chance to shine. That’s until she hurries in late wearing a shirt covered in rusk crumbs, courtesy of her baby nephew, and trips over her handbag.

Managing director Douglas Faulkner isn’t sure what to make of Abby Spencer with her Bambi eyes, tousled hair and ability to say more in the half-hour interview than he manages in a day. All he knows is she’s a breath of fresh air and could bring a new lease of life to the stale corporate world of Crumbs. To his life too, if he’d let her.

But Doug’s harbouring a secret. He’s not the man she thinks he is.

Published by: Choc Lit
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Buy the book Amazon UK | Amazon.com

About the author:

Kathryn started her working life as a retail pharmacist but soon realised trying to decipher doctors’ handwriting wasn’t for her. Next she joined the pharmaceutical industry where she spent twenty happy years working in medical communications, doing a lot of writing – about medicines. What she really wanted to write about though, was romance.

In 2011, backed by her family, she left the world of pharmaceutical science to begin life as a self employed writer, juggling the two disciplines of medical writing and romance. Some days a racing heart is a medical condition, others it’s the reaction to a hunky hero…

She lives with two teenage boys and a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to bother buying a card again this year (yes, he does) so the romance in her life is all in her head. Then again, her husband’s unstinting support of her career change goes to prove that love isn’t always about hearts and flowers – and heroes can come in many disguises.

You can follow Kathryn, and find out more about her work here: Facebook | Twitter | website |

Don’t miss author Angela Petch #SharingTheLove between good friends Mavis and Dot, on my blog tomorrow. xx


Carol Thomas writes contemporary romance novels, with relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads. Discover more here.

Author Angela Barton is #SharingTheLove

Book Review, Guest Post, , , , , , , ,
As February is the month of love, I have a host of wonderful romance authors stopping by my blog to share flirty extracts from their novels! Well you know, any excuse 😉 

Today, I am excited to welcome fellow Apricot Plots author Angela Barton back to my blog #SharingTheLove with an extract from her new novel, Magnolia House … over to you Angela!

Magnolia House

“Before she had chance to start working, Rowan heard someone knocking on her apartment door. Ace would be at work at this time so she wondered if Nora needed something. Jet barked and scampered from the bottom of her bed and out of the bedroom. Subconsciously smoothing her hair with her hands, she pushed the chair away from the workbench with the back of her knees and went to answer the door.

She felt the heat rise on her cheeks when she pulled the front door open and saw James standing there. He wore loose jeans, an oatmeal T-shirt and a sheepish smile. He pushed his hair out of his eyes.

‘Morning,’ he said, bending to stroke Jet.

‘Is everything okay?’

‘Fine, thanks. I’m just after the newspaper that Ace left outside your door this morning. It had a jobs page in it and I’ve been threatened with eviction if I don’t find work.’

‘Come in and I’ll see what I’ve done with it.’

James stepped inside the lounge. ‘How’s your new workbench?’

Rowan smiled. ‘The bench is wonderful but it doesn’t help if the creativity isn’t kicking in.’ She crouched to look on the shelf under the coffee table. ‘Here it is.’ She pulled out the newspaper, dropping it before handing it to James. Why was she so flustered?

‘I know the feeling. Just because I have a circular saw at my disposal, doesn’t mean a table will make itself.’

Rowan stood in front of him, arms folded through shyness. It unnerved her to have such an sexily dishevelled man who she didn’t know very well, standing so close.

‘I was wondering if having the workbench in front of the window was such a good idea,’ she said, making small talk to break the silence. ‘I seem to be doing more daydreaming and curtain twitching than anything else at the bench.’

‘Well, the time to worry will be when you start facial twitching,’ he said, tapping the folded newspaper against his cheek. ‘Can I give you a hand moving it somewhere else?’

‘Oh no, thank you. You’ve already been such a great help getting it upstairs. I think it’s me that’s the problem. I can’t seem to get motivated despite feeling lucky to have found someone who wants to buy my jewellery. It doesn’t help that the weather can’t make its mind up what it’s doing.’

Rowan cringed inwardly. Was she really standing here discussing the weather and her lack of motivation? She’d have him backing out of the doorway in desperation to escape from her and her maudlin conversation. ‘I’m sure I’ll feel a lot better when I’ve had some fresh air. I was just about to take Jet for a walk.’

‘Want some company?’

Rowan was taken aback. She’d been expecting him to use the dog walk as an excuse to leave. How could she say no without appearing rude and ungrateful?

‘Are you sure?’

‘Of course. Hasn’t Ace told you that I’m a gerbil whisperer? Dogs aren’t so different: four legs, whiskers and a cold nose. Besides, it’s called delaying tactics.’ He grinned, holding up the newspaper and shaking it. ‘Putting off the inevitable. I’ll just drop the paper downstairs and meet you at the front door.’

With that, he ran downstairs leaving Rowan to put Jet’s harness on. How had that happened?”

Thank you for sharing your wonderful extract Angela, I’ve had the pleasure of reading Magnolia House and fell in love with the warm characters and wonderfully detailed settings.

Find my review and a recent interview with Angela here.

Discover more about Magnolia House:

When you open up your home and your heart …

Rowan Forrester has it all – the happy marriage, the adorable dog, the good friends, the promising business and even the dream home after she and her husband Tom win a stunning but slightly dilapidated Georgian townhouse in London at auction.

But in the blink of an eye, Rowan’s picture-perfect life comes crashing down around her and she is faced with the prospect of having to start again.

To make ends meet she begins a search for housemates, and in doing so opens the door to new friends and new beginnings. But could she be opening the door to new heartbreak too?

Publisher: Choc Lit
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Links to buy the book Amazon UK | Amazon.Com | Kobo |

About the author:

Angela Barton was born in London and grew up in Nottingham. She is married with three grown up children. Passionate about writing both contemporary and historical fiction, Angela loves researching for her books and is an avid reader. Having signed publishing contracts for three of her completed novels with Ruby Fiction, Angela is excited to be working alongside such a friendly and supportive publishing team. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and Nottingham Writers’ Studio.

Having recently moved to France, Angela (alongside her husband, Paul) is now a lavender farmer, creating products from the oil that’s distilled. Angela says she’s looking forward to spending more time writing in the company of her two spaniels while sitting on her veranda overlooking the breath-taking countryside of Charente.

 

Discover more about Angela Barton here: Twitter | Facebook | Blog | Ruby Fiction | Angela is also a member of Apricot Plots.

Don’t miss author Kathryn Freeman #SharingTheLove with an extract from her romantic comedy novel, Oh Crumbs, on my blog tomorrow. xx


Carol Thomas writes contemporary romance novels, with relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads. Discover more here.

Author Morton S Gray is #SharingTheLove

Book Review, Guest Post, , , , , , , , ,
As February is the month of love, I have a host of wonderful romance authors stopping by my blog to share flirty extracts from their novels! Well you know, any excuse 😉 

Today, I am delighted to welcome fellow Apricot Plots author Morton S Gray, who is #SharingTheLove with an extract from her novel, The Girl on the Beach … over to you Morton!

The Girl on the Beach

“How did a situation between two people change so quickly? One minute she was standing next to Harry feeling rather disappointed that he preferred male company to female, the next they were slow dancing on the sand and her senses were on fire.

A glance at Tom confirmed he was far too busy talking to Louise to notice what his mother was doing. Mandy, however, was another matter. She’d seen what was going on and, after standing staring at the couple for a moment, she flounced off in the direction of the bar.

Harry’s breath was warm on her neck, his hands held her waist gently but firmly. It felt normal, natural and so lovely that her bare toes curled in bliss. She tightened her arms around his neck and he inched closer. Her legs brushed up against the warmth of his and now their bodies were resting against each other. They seemed to fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw. His hand moved to cup the back of her head, drawing her closer. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been handled so tenderly, had been so close to a man with her animal instincts kicking in.

Would he kiss her? Her lips burned in anticipation and her heart skipped a beat. How had this happened? There had been no words, simply a mutual closing of the gap between them and a united humming of a well-known song. Right now, she wanted the track to go on forever.

She fervently hoped Harry hadn’t danced with her just to quell Mandy’s inevitable rumour-mongering, but surely, the dance only replaced one rumour with another. She nuzzled her chin a little closer into the warmth of his shoulder. Did she imagine his sigh? The heat from his body was chasing away the slight chill that had enveloped her since the sun had gone down.

The only lights were from the disco equipment and the street lamps above the sea wall. The tide was edging in slowly. It would eventually bring a natural end to the party and right now that thought sparked panic as she didn’t want Harry to let go of her. She could hear the swish of the waves on the sand. This clinch had to stop sooner or later, but then what?

Stop it, Ellie. Enjoy the moment.”

Thank you for sharing your wonderful extract Morton, I’ve had the pleasure of reading The Girl on the Beach and fell a little in love with Harry Dixon myself. You can find my review here.

More about The Girl on the Beach:

Who is Harry Dixon?

When Ellie Golden meets Harry Dixon, she can’t help but feel she recognises him from somewhere. But when she finally realises who he is, she can’t believe it – because the man she met on the beach all those years before wasn’t called Harry Dixon. And, what’s more, that man is dead.

For a woman trying to outrun her troubled past and protect her son, Harry’s presence is deeply unsettling – and even more disconcerting than coming face to face with a dead man, is the fact that Harry seems to have no recollection of ever having met Ellie before. At least that’s what he says …

But perhaps Harry isn’t the person Ellie should be worried about. Because there’s a far more dangerous figure from the past lurking just outside of the new life she has built for herself, biding his time, just waiting to strike.

Published by: Choc Lit
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Buy the book Amazon UK | Amazon.com

About the author:

Morton lives with her husband, two sons and Lily, the tiny white dog, in Worcestershire, U.K. She has been reading and writing fiction for as long as she can remember, penning her first attempt at a novel aged fourteen. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Society of Authors.

Her debut novel The Girl on the Beach was published after she won Choc Lit Publishing Search for a Starcompetition. The story follows a woman with a troubled past as she tries to unravel the mystery surrounding her son’s headteacher, Harry Dixon. This book is available as a paperback and e-book.

Morton’s second book for Choc Lit The Truth Lies Buried is another romantic suspense novel, the book tells the story of Jenny Simpson and Carver Rodgers as they uncover secrets from their past. This book is available as an e-book and will be issued as a paperback in 2019.

Christmas at Borteen Bay is published on 13 November 2018 and is Morton’s first Christmas novella. It is set in her fictional seaside town of Borteen and follows the story of Pippa Freeman who runs the Rose Court Guesthouse with her mother and local policeman Ethan Gibson as they unravel a family secret as Christmas approaches.

Morton previously worked in the electricity industry in committee services, staff development and training. She has a Business Studies degree and is a fully qualified clinical hypnotherapist and Reiki Master. She also has diplomas in Tuina acupressure massage and energy field therapy. She enjoys crafts, history and loves tracing family trees. Having a hunger for learning new things is a bonus for the research behind her books.

You can catch up with Morton on her website, on Twitter, Facebook and on Instagram. Morton is also a member of Apricot Plots.

Don’t miss author Angela Barton #SharingTheLove with an extract from her new novel, Magnolia House, on my blog tomorrow. xx


Carol Thomas writes contemporary romance novels, with relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads. Discover more here.