All posts by carol

Celebrating the publication of Magnolia House with Angela Barton!

Author Interview, Book Review, , , , , , , , ,

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to fellow Choc Lit  author, and Apricot Plots buddy, Angela Barton on the publication of her latest novel, Magnolia House.

What a gorgeous cover!

To celebrate the release of Angela’s new book, we had a virtual catch up and a chat about all things Magnolia House …

1) What can readers expect from Magnolia House?

I’ve been told by people who have read Magnolia House that they’ve laughed and cried over the story. It’s about ordinary people, their flaws, their hang-ups and their innermost private thoughts. Sometimes life’s good; time spent with family and friends, long walks with your dog, excitement of a new friendship or relationship. Sometimes however, nothing seems to go right and we need to search for what, or who, is stopping us from moving on.

2) What was the inspiration behind the story?

It was simply spotting a house on the way from my hotel to The London Book Fair. It was a tall terraced Edwardian townhouse in Hammersmith with a small neat garden at the front. But what drew me to it was a large magnolia tree bursting with fat pink blossoms by the front door. It was about five years ago and I took a photograph of it, but I’ve searched and can’t find it anywhere. I just began wondering who lived there, what they did for a living and who they loved … and a story emerged. I chose to set Magnolia House in Clapham because I was born there.

3) Magnolia House remains a heartwarming, entertaining read, despite the fact Rowan, your main character, faces some tough situations, how did you get that balance?

Thank you. I’m thrilled you found it heart warming and entertaining, Carol. I think a fictional character’s personality is very important to a storyline. They need to be emotionally strong enough to cope with the situations an author will put them through; or if not initially strong enough, they need to be able to grow throughout the book. Rowan is tougher than she believes, but it’s her friends that gently awaken her to that fact. The other characters in a book should be diverse in order to keep the storyline interesting – and a sense of humour really helps. A one-dimensional set of friends wouldn’t be an entertaining read. A love interest always helps too!

4) I loved Rowan’s dog, Jet, and the comfort he provides her, did you base him on one of your own four legged friends?

Yes. I have two spaniels and they are a great source of happiness and comfort to me. They love unconditionally and even when we’re grieving or stressed, we walk, feed and love our pets so they give us purpose to keep putting one foot in front of the other during hard times. I based Klara in Arlette’s Story on Harlyn, my Brittany spaniel. I based Jet in Magnolia House, on Brook, my Springer spaniel.

Angela’s adorable dogs, Brook and Harlyn.

5) If your male lead, James, was on a dating website, what would he list as his main attributes?

Oooh, what a great question! Bit of a cliché, but he’s tall, dark and very handsome. He’s caring and sensitive and has a strong sense of moral integrity. He’s kind, dependable and very importantly, he has a sense of humour. Did I mention his toned obliques?

6) I have also read and enjoyed your historical fiction novel, Arlette’s Story, what can we expect from you next?

I’m writing book four, which is another historical story, but my third book that will be published later this year, is another contemporary women’s fiction novel. I’m intrigued by obsessive compulsions so my hero is struggling with one, brought on by trauma from his past. I also tackle breast cancer, betrayal and infidelity. I certainly don’t give my protagonists an easy ride!

Five for fun:

1) Red or white wine? Sorry, neither. I never developed a taste for alcohol!
2) Mountains or beach? Beach
3) Full English or continental breakfast? Full English with scrambled eggs.
4) Laptop or notebook? Laptop.
5) Walking boots or sandals? Sandals

Because I have already been lucky enough to read Magnolia House, here’s my review:

Magnolia House is a heartwarming and entertaining read that doesn’t shy away from exploring the highs and lows faced by the main character, Rowan. Throughout the story, there are dark and light moments that the author has balanced well. While it incorporates loss, grief and deception, it is undoubtedly also a story of carrying on, and of finding the positives when all around you seems to be falling apart.

Rowan is a strong, likeable character, who doesn’t sit back and let her problems define her. She takes steps toward building a new life drawing the reader into her world, as they gain an understanding of her hopes and fears for the future.

I loved the supporting cast of characters, especially Mason, who brings energy and enthusiasm to all he does, and Jet – Rowan’s adorable dog. James is a likeable male lead, whose role is at first subtle but develops well as the story progresses.

As you’d expect from Angela Barton, the text is descriptive, making it picturesque in its depiction as images are brought to life from the page.

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

Thank you for the catch up and great read, Angela. I hope you are celebrating your latest release in style!

My reviews are added to Amazon UK and Goodreads. x

Review of Rosemary Noble’s Sadie’s War

Book Review, , , , , , , , ,

The blurb:

Sadie’s Wars: An Australian Saga (Currency Girls Book 3)

An astonishing tale, spanning continents, where truth is stranger than fiction. This historical saga of an extraordinary Australian pioneer family continues into a new generation.

Sadie is brought up amongst the vineyards of the Yarra Valley whilst her work-obsessed father reaps riches from the boom years before the Great War.
With post-war depression looming, Sadie’s only option is to flee from her disastrous marriage, seeking refuge in Cleethorpes, a small seaside town in northern England.
Years later, when her sons are in RAF Bomber Command, she receives a letter from her long-lost brother which forces her to confront the past and her part in her family’s downfall.

Can old wounds be healed?
Will she find new love?
Will this second war destroy everyone she saved?

Genre: Historical Fiction / Saga

My review:

I read Sadie’s War as a stand-alone novel and had no problem following the story or discovering who the characters were. Spanning decades and continents, I found it a fascinating insight into the lives of those who were dramatically affected by the first and second world wars. The author has clearly done her research and the fact the characters are based on real people from her family made it all the more vivid in its depiction. I sometimes despaired for Sadie, willed her to be strong and urged her to accept the moments of happiness allowed to her. It was a fascinating read, that started at a steady pace but soon drew me – I cared for Sadie and the plight of her family as the story of their lives unfolded.

Buy Sadie’s War.

Other books in the Currency Girl Series:

Search for the Light: An Australian Saga (Currency Girls Book 1)

A moment’s foolish mistake costs sixteen-year old Nora her freedom and her family. Sentenced to transportation she has to grow up fast to survive prison, the long journey and then life as an assigned servant in Van Diemen’s Land of the 1820s. She is sustained by real friendships with other prisoners, Sarah and Helen. Can anyone of them overcome the pitfalls of convict life to become pioneering settlers of modern day Tasmania? This is a story of love and friendship amidst the trials of 19th century Australian colonial life.

Buy Search for the Light.

The Digger’s Daughter: An Australian Saga (Currency Girls Book 2)

Jane is a tough, pioneering woman, who’s lived a long life. She remembers Melbourne from the 1830s and lived throughout the gold-rush era and into the twentieth century. She has a story to tell, but is determined to keep her background secret from her family. Her nurse, Mary, has a secret from the Great War. Will they help each other come to terms with what they have each hidden in the past? Based on a true story, this novel is a broad sweep over the early years in Victoria, Australia.

Buy The Digger’s Daughter.

About Rosemary Noble:

Rosemary Noble lives in West Sussex and worked as an education librarian. Books have been her life, ever since she walked into a library at five-years-old and found a treasure trove. Her other love is social history. She got hooked on family history before retirement and discovered so many stories that deserved to be told.

Her first book, Search for the Light, tells the story of three young girls transported to Australia in 1824. Friendship sustains them through the horrors of the journey and their enforced service in Tasmania. The Digger’s Daughter tells of the next generation of gold-diggers and a pioneering woman who lives almost through the first hundred years in Victoria. The third in the trilogy, Sadie’s Wars takes the reader to the fourth generation and into the twentieth century. The trilogy is based on the author’s family. It tells of secrecy and lies, of determination and grit and how all can be done or undone by luck.

Rosemary is a member of CHINDI independent authors and is involved in literary events in and around Chichester. She also loves to travel, especially to Australia and Europe and not least, she loves spending time with her grandchildren, one of whom is a budding author herself.

You can discover more about Rosemary here: Facebook | Twitter | blog

Thank you for the fascinating read, Rosemary, my reviews are added to Amazon UK and Goodreads. x

Review of Mhairi McFarlane’s Don’t You Forget About Me

Book Review, , , , , , , , , , ,

The blurb:

It began with four words: ‘I love your laugh. x’

But that was twelve years ago. It really began the day Georgina was fired from The Worst Restaurant in Sheffield (© Tripadvisor) and found The Worst Boyfriend in the World (© Georgina’s best friends) in bed with someone else.

So when her new boss, Lucas McCarthy, turns out to be the boy who wrote those words to her all that time ago, it feels like the start of something.

The only problem? He doesn’t seem to remember Georgina – at all…

Genre: Literary humour
Published by: HarperCollins

My review:

I have read and enjoyed all of Mhairi McFarlane’s books. I like her sense of humour and her ability, to sum up a situation in a single phrase. If you are a romantic comedy fan and you haven’t read her books you’re missing a treat.

Don’t You Forget About Me is a fabulous read. As you’d expect, if you’ve read Mhairi’s other books, there was a degree of humour, but more than that this book drew me in (literally I stayed up until 2am to finish it), it explored different relationships at different levels; it made me laugh, but it also made me cry. The ending was gorgeous and delivered all and more than I had hoped for. The main characters were brilliant. Georgina was wonderfully portrayed, and I loved Lucas, his dog and his brother, actually I could go on – they are a fabulous bunch of characters whose world you’re happy to inhabit for the duration of the book. I was excited when I saw this book was coming out and it didn’t disappoint. It was another wonderful Mhairi McFarlane read.

Buy the book.

About Mhairi McFarlane:

Mhairi McFarlane was born in Scotland in 1976 and got the fringe hairstyle locked down early so she could concentrate on wider issues affecting society, like why Cadbury’s don’t make plain chocolate buttons. Surely the demand is there. She writtes rom-com books and is trying to write another and not be distracted by Netflix or Twitter, with varying success.

You can discover more about Mhairi McFarlane via her website | Facebook | Twitter

Thank you for the great read, and for lovely Lucas, Mhairi, my reviews are added to Amazon Uk and Goodreads. xx

Review of Tracy Bloom’s Dinner Party

Book Review, , , , , , , , , ,

The blurb:

Never has an unexpected guest caused such chaos!

Three couples take it in turns to host a monthly dinner party.

Beth, Sarah and Marie have been friends forever. Now they are grown up, with busy lives, busy husbands, busy kids… but they still find time to meet up over dinner once a month. A cosy, comfortable gathering of happy couples – or so they thought.

Until one night, someone brings along a last-minute guest whose wife has just left him. 

Simon is standing on the doorstep in floods of tears. While the women do their best to console him, their husbands feel the need to mark their territory.

And as Simon becomes more involved with the group, his presence changes everything these three couples thought they knew about each other, leading to a final dinner party that no-one will ever forget.

Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Literary Humour

My review:

I always enjoy Tracy Bloom’s books. This one follows a different format to Tracy’s other books and is less of a laugh out loud read, but I found myself hooked and enjoyed discovering more about each of the characters. The storyline was interesting. Each of the characters and their individual relationships had something to add the story and I really enjoyed the developments throwing somebody new into the mix produced. Towards the end, the pace quickens as the intrigue and action increase. Overall this was another great Tracy Bloom read, I’d definitely recommend.

Click here to buy the book:

About the author:

Tracy Bloom started writing when her cruel, heartless husband ripped her away from her dream job shopping for rollercoasters for the UK’s leading theme parks, to live in America with a brand new baby and no mates. In a cunning plan to avoid domestic duties and people who didn’t understand her Derbyshire accent, she wrote her romantic comedy, No-One Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday. This debut novel went on to be successfully published internationally and became a #1 Best Seller.

You can find Tracy via her website | Facebook | Twitter

Thank you for the great read Tracy, my reviews are added to Amazon Uk and Goodreads. xx

Reflections on 2018

Writing & Reading, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As 2018 draws to a close I’d like to say thank you so much to all of those who have made my year by buying, borrowing, reading and reviewing my books. Your kindness and support are hugely appreciated!

Thank you also to all those who take the time to read my blog. It has been a year since I started it and what a great year it has been.

As well as having my first book published with Ruby fiction, and gaining my first Amazon Best Seller badge,  I have met new people, travelled and tried new things.

A big thank you to the Choc Lit and Ruby Fiction team for making this  dream come true!

In June I had the privilege of going to the Arte Umbria writing retreat with Sue Moorcroft. It turned out I was the only other writer booked, and so I had Sue all to myself for a week. It was a lot of fun, with a great many words written. Sue and I shared chats on the terrace (as well as the odd glass of wine and slice of cake!). I learnt a lot, but I think one of the most valuable lessons was how much you can achieve by putting your bottom in a seat, focusing and cracking on with your work in progress. Without that trip, my new book wouldn’t have been finished by the end of the year.

Umbria with Sue Moorcroft

In July I went to the Romantic Novelist’s Association Conference in Leeds. Despite knowing a few people who were also going, I was very nervous. When I arrived, I had missed the start of my first seminar due to traffic and so decided to get a cup of tea, and gather my bearings.

As I stood making my tea Katie Fforde, Jill Mansell and Milly Johnson walked in! They set about making their drinks, while I felt awestruck and more out of my depth than when I arrived late. But I didn’t need to worry. They took time to say hello and Katie Fforde came and chatted to me as she made her tea, about – well, to be honest, I can’t remember what because I was busy thinking – “Oh my goodness, I am talking to Katie Fforde!” What a fantastic start to a wonderful weekend. The conference was informative. The main highlight, for me, was the opportunity to speak to so many writers and to spend time with fellow Choc Lit and Ruby Fiction authors.

Meeting the lovely Katie Fforde, Milly Johnson and Jill Mansell at the RNA conference.

From the conference came the spark of an idea and later in the year eight of us joined forces to create Apricot Plots, a group in which we work together to promote our writing and the romance genre. It is a lot of fun having fellow romance authors to work and promote with, and we have already formed some lovely friendships within the group. We’ve also been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received so far.

With fellow Apricot Plotters Angela Barton, Caroline James, Morton S Gray and Jane Cable. (Looking forward to meeting Tora Williams and Mariam Kobras in the future.)

Towards the end of the year, I stepped down as a director of the Chindi Authors, to make way for new authors and ideas. I am still an active member of the group and am ever grateful to my Chindi friends for their wonderful support, whether it be with fundraising or fathoming Amazon, they are always there.

Chindi Authors raising money for Cancer Research UK

Finally, on the cusp of December, I sent the sequel to The Purrfect Pet Sitter off to my publisher. It is currently with their reading panel, and so I am awaiting their response. Eeeek! I’ll let you know how that goes. All being well it means I’ll have a new book out in the first half of 2019. What a way to start the year.

I won’t be going to Umbria this year as my cheeky nephew has booked his wedding for the same time, but I will be off to the RNA conference again. Exciting times ahead and a new book promised to my publisher for July. Wish me luck. xx