Category Archives: Guest Post

Welcoming Isabella Muir on writing cosy mysteries.

Guest Post, Writing & Reading, , , , , , , , , , ,

Writer of cosy mysteries, Isabella Muir, is the Chindi Authors’ Author of the Week! To celebrate this, and the lead up to Agatha Christie’s birthday, she is taking part in a series of blog posts about her own Sussex Crime series. 

Welcome to my blog, Isabella, it is great to have you, and I am looking forward to finding out more about you and your work, as you explain what makes a cosy mystery.

Over to Isabella …

In this lead up to the birthday of that great Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, I have been exploring what makes for a cosy mystery. It seems that the term ‘cosy’ was first coined in the late 20th century when various writers produced work in an attempt to re-create the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

When I investigate Wikipedia I discover that my Sussex Crime series fits perfectly into the genre, even though when I wrote the first in the series, The Tapestry Bag, I hadn’t ever considered the genre and knew little about it. I hadn’t planned to write a cosy mystery, but it seems that my young amateur sleuth, Janie Juke, fits the bill just perfectly. Let’s take a look at some of the suggested criteria and see why…

The detectives in such stories are nearly always amateurs, and are frequently women. These characters are typically well educated, intuitive, and hold jobs that bring them into constant contact with other residents of their community and the surrounding region (eg, caterer, innkeeper, librarian, teacher, dog trainer, shop owner, reporter).

We first meet amateur sleuth, Janie Juke, when she has taken on the job of a librarian responsible for a mobile library van. The Sussex Crime series is set in the late 1960s in Sussex, when mobile libraries were a popular feature in most towns. As Janie travels around the seaside resort of Tamarisk Bay she is at the very heart of the community and is happy to lend an ear to anyone who wants to chat!

Like other amateur detectives, they typically have a contact on the police force who can give them access to important information about the case at hand, but the contact is typically a spouse, lover, friend, or family member rather than a former colleague. Dismissed by the authorities in general as nosy busybodies, particularly if they are middle-aged or elderly women, the detectives in cosy mysteries are thus left free to eavesdrop, gather clues, and use their native intelligence and intuitive “feel” for the social dynamics of the community to solve the crime.

Janie’s father, Philip, spent a brief time as a detective before he had an accident, which has left him blind.  Father and daughter have a very close relationship, which means that Philip acts as a perfect sounding board as Janie tries to gather clues and solve the crime. In the first book of the series, The Tapestry Bag, Janie uses her intuition and is really feeling her way.  She successfully solves the crime and as a result is approached to take on a new case in the second book in the series, Lost Property, when someone is prepared to pay her.  Quite a development.

The murderers in cosies are typically neither psychopaths nor serial killers, and, once unmasked, are usually taken into custody without violence. They are generally members of the community where the murder occurs and able to hide in plain sight, and their motives—greed, jealousy, revenge—are often rooted in events years, or even generations, old. The murderers are typically rational and often highly articulate, enabling them to explain, or elaborate on, their motives after their unmasking.

There will be no  spoilers here (!) but suffice it to say that the criminal in each of the books in the Sussex Crime series manage to ‘hide in plain’ sight.  Just as the suggested explanation above, their motives are certainly ‘greed, jealousy, revenge’ and I think that when the reader listens to the criminals explaining their motives they will agree that they appear very rational – maybe too rational!

The cosy mystery usually takes place in a town, village, or other community small (or otherwise insular) enough to make it believable that all the principal characters know, and may well have long-standing social relationships with, each other. The amateur detective is usually a gregarious, well-liked individual who is able to get the community members to talk freely about each other.

Janie Juke was born and brought up in Tamarisk Bay, a sleepy seaside resort in Sussex.  Her father has always lived there too.  As a result, the Juke family know all the locals and Janie has the chance to enlist the help of friends and neighbours when it comes to solving the crimes. In the second book in the series, Lost Property, Janie teams up with friend and young journalist, Libby Frobisher, and between them they ferret out clues and manage to get people talking to and about each other, which eventually leads them to solving the mystery.

Cosy mystery series frequently have a prominent thematic element introduced by the detective’s job, pet or hobby.

What could be better as a hobby for a librarian than reading books!  But not just any books.  In The Tapestry Bag readers discover that Janie Juke has a hero and that hero is Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot! Extracts from The Mysterious Affair at Styles introduce each chapter and Janie frequently tries to approach the case with Poirot in mind.

In this extract from The Tapestry Bag Janie’s father, Philip, prompts his daughter to tap into all she has learned from her reading…

“‘Do you know what I think?’ he said. ‘Take it back to basics. Blank out anything you know about her and start again. Be thorough, make lists.’

‘Are you teasing me now?’ Dad and Greg were forever teasing me about my inability to follow a system. Like I say, I am the least likely person to be a librarian, or an amateur detective, come to that.

‘There’s something else you can do.’

I waited.

‘Make use of all those Agatha Christie novels you’ve read and re-read since you were a little‘un.’

‘What do you mean ‘make use’?’

‘Search for patterns, clues, that’s what Poirot does.’

‘Nice idea, but that’s fiction. This is real.’

‘It won’t hurt to try.’

Dad’s advice for me to start from scratch inspired me to get organised. His suggestion about Agatha’s Poirot made me smile, but when I thought about it a bit more I realised it might just help. A few weeks earlier I’d started re-reading The Mysterious Affair at Styles, so I decided to scour the book to see if I could glean any tips from the wonderful Poirot and his sidekick, Hastings.”

Isabella continues…

This blog post is one of a series, which leads up to Agatha Christie’s birthday and national #cozymysteryday on 15thSeptember. To find out more about the great Queen of Crime and help to celebrate Agatha Christie’s birthday, then look out for the other blog posts in the series: Agatha Christie and Isabella Muir | Agatha Christie – a child of her time | Agatha Christie and the sixties  |  The good, the bad and the ugly |  Investigating the past  |  Agatha Christie and Janie Juke

As a present to you, on Agatha’s behalf, I am pleased to announce that the first book in my Sussex Crime series – The Tapestry Bag– will be available on Kindle for just £0.99p for one week only – grab it while you can!

And there’s more! Receive the FREE Sussex Crime novella, Divided we Fall when you sign up to receive Isabella’s newsletter, with cozy mystery news and views, special offers and so much more. Just click here.xx

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog Isabella. I wish you every success with being Author of the Week, and hope you enjoy Agatha Christie’s birthday celebrations.

Isabella Muir is the author of the Sussex Crime Mysteryseries: BOOK 1: THE TAPESTRY BAG | BOOK 2: LOST PROPERTY | BOOK 3: THE INVISIBLE CASE | Her latest novel is:THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN

Discover more about Isabella and her work via: Twitter | Facebook | website | Goodreads

Publication day celebrations with Marie Laval!

Guest Post, One Day Blog Blitz, , , , , , ,

Today, I am excited to welcome Marie Laval on to my blog, as she celebrates the release of A Paris Fairy Tale.

Thank you so much, Carol, for welcoming me on your blog on the day my latest contemporary romance, A PARIS FAIRY TALE, is published by Choc Lit.

Here’s the blurb:

Is Paris the city of happily ever afters?
Workaholic art historian Aurora Black doesn’t have time for fairy tales or Prince Charmings, even in the most romantic city in the world. She has recently been hired by a Parisian auction house for a job that could make or break her career. Unfortunately, daredevil journalist Cédric Castel seems intent on disrupting Aurora’s routine.

As Aurora and Cédric embark on a journey across France, they get more than they bargained for as they find themselves battling rogue antiques dealers and personal demons, not to mention a growing attraction to each other.

But with the help of a fairy godmother or two, could they both find their happily ever afters?

And I am delighted to share an extract from the novel:

Aurora glanced up, and met the amber gaze of a tall, dark-haired man who stood in front of her, blocking her view of the rest of the room.

He had high, sharp cheekbones, his mouth was set in a cynical smile, but it was his eyes that held her attention. They were the most fascinating colour, warm brandy with flecks of green. Immediately, the names of pigments she would need to paint them flashed into her mind – Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber and Verona Gold Ochre, with a touch of Cobalt Green or Malachite.

‘Castel,’ Nenachko snarled.

The newcomer ignored him and looked at Aurora, holding her captive in his intense, mesmerising scrutiny. ‘I see Nenachko lost no time in securing your services, Mademoiselle Black. I guess he needs people like you to help him plunder the museums and art galleries of Europe.’

Aurora drew in a shocked breath and snapped out of her trance. Straightening her back to make her five foot two appear taller, she pushed her glasses up and gave him the frosty look that caused her colleagues to call her ‘Black Ice’ – those who liked her, that is.

‘It’s Doctor Black, actually,’ she corrected, ‘and I do not help anyone plunder museums, nor do I condone those who do it.’ Never mind the colour of his eyes. Who was this man and how did he dare question her integrity?

He arched his dark eyebrows as if he didn’t believe her and turned to Nenachko again. ‘I hope you’re enjoying the party. There must be plenty of rich people you can swindle here tonight.’

Nenachko’s face flushed harder. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Letting you know that I was back from my trip in the Mediterranean.’

The Russian’s blue eyes narrowed to slits. ‘Ah yes. I heard you were still on a crusade to rescue refugees. What a shame you didn’t drown… By the way, I didn’t see your name on the guest list.’

Castel shrugged. ‘That’s because it’s not.’

‘Then how did you get past security?’

‘I have my ways.’

It was like watching a verbal tennis match, Aurora thought as she glanced from one to the other. The Russian looked like a man it was dangerous to cross, but Castel, whoever he was, didn’t seem to care. Worse, he seemed to enjoy goading him into a dark rage.

A PARIS FAIRY TALE is released TODAY (July 23rd) and is available as an ebook and audiobook on Amazon and various other platforms.

Thank you so much for joining me on your special day, Marie, and for sharing this great extract!

About the author:

Originally from Lyon in France, Marie Laval now lives in Lancashire with her family. She works full-time as a modern languages teacher and in her spare time she loves writing romance and dreaming about romantic heroes.

She writes both historical and contemporary romance. Her historical romance The Lion’s Embrace won the Gold Medal at the Global Ebook Awards 2015 (category Historical Romance), and best-selling Little Pink Taxi was her debut romantic comedy novel with Choc Lit.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors. Her native France, as well as her passion for history and research, very much influences her writing, and all her novels have what she likes to call ‘a French twist’!

You can find out more about Marie here:  Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest  – where you’ll discover the many beautiful photos of Paris and illuminated manuscripts which inspired the writing of A Paris Fairy Tale.

Here’s wishing Marie every success with A Paris Fairy Tale! I am looking forward to reading it soon. xx

 

 

One Day Blog Blitz for Victoria Cooke’s It Started with a Note!

Guest Post, One Day Blog Blitz, , , , , , , ,

Today, I am excited to welcome Victoria Cooke to my blog, as part of her one day blog blitz, via Rachel’s Random Resources.

Victoria is celebrating the publication of her romantic comedy, It Started with a Note, and talking about her research and the inspiration behind the book. Over to you, Victoria …

Firstly, I’d like to say a huge thank you to you, for welcoming me onto your blog.

I’d never really thought about researching my family history. I knew a little bit about the two or three generations before me but that was about it. It wasn’t until we were approaching the centenary year of WWI that my mum told me her grandad was killed in The Battle of the Somme. I was on my second round of being eighteen at the time and was quite flabbergasted that I never knew this before, especially since there had been so much in the news about the battles 100 years earlier. It was my cousin who discovered that my great-grandfather was commemorated on The Thiepval Memorial to The Missing, in France and actually visited the memorial. This in turn, prompted me to plan a trip with my family. In 2017, we travelled to Arras (which features heavily in ‘It Started With A Note’ and is well worth a visit if you fancy touring the battlefields).

We visited many memorials, and what was staggering was the not just the number of names on a memorial or the headstones in the cemetery, but the number of memorials and cemeteries. It’s eye-opening and really puts into perspective how many young men were killed in the Great War. The Calais region of France is beautiful, but everywhere you look you’ll see the scars of war. The local people really do work hard to keep the memory of the soldiers alive and take great care of the memorials, cemeteries and museums and this was the same when we crossed the border into Belgium to visit Ypres and Passchendaele. Every town we visited had its own WWI story, many were destroyed then, and again in WWII which is truly unthinkable.

Being there was an incredibly moving experience and WWI was such an important part of our history that I knew I had to do something to mark the centenary in my own way. My genre is romantic comedy, and whilst it wasn’t immediately obvious how to weave factual WWI history into a rom-com, I gave it my best shot. The protagonist, Cath, embarks upon a similar journey to the one I took, but in her case, the trip is out of her comfort zone. Like her great-grandfather one hundred years before her, she isn’t used to travel and is embarking upon a journey of uncertainty (albeit a much safer one). The story is set in the present day and is a romantic comedy with historical reflection which I hope brings a unique flavour to the genre.

if you ever get the chance to go to Northern France to tour the museums and see the historical sights, I’d highly recommend it.

 Thanks for the great post. I have a passion for history and enjoy reading romantic comedies so you’ve got me hooked! (Heads off to download book.)

Discover more about It Started With A Note

One lost letter. A chance to change her life!

Superhero single mum Cath always puts other people first. But now that she’s seen her son safely off to university (phew!), life seems a little, well…empty.

So when Cath unexpectedly discovers some letters written by her great-grandfather during the First World War, she decides to take herself on an adventure to France to retrace his footsteps.

Cath expects to spend her holiday visiting famous battlefields and testing out her French phrase book. What she doesn’t anticipate is that her tour guide, the handsome Olivier, will be quite so charming! Soon Cath isn’t simply unearthing the stories of the past – she’s writing a brand new one of her own, which might end up taking her in a very unexpected direction…

Genre: Romantic Comedy
Published by: HQ Digital
Buy the book: Amazon UK | Amazon.com | Kobo

About the author

Victoria Cooke grew up in the city of Manchester before crossing the Pennines in pursuit of her career in education. She now lives in Huddersfield with her husband and two young daughters and when she’s not at home writing by the fire with a cup of coffee in her hand, she loves working out in the gym and travelling. Victoria was first published at the tender age of eight by her classroom teacher who saw potential in a six-page story about an invisible man. Since then she’s always had a passion for reading and writing, undertaking several writers’ courses before completing her first romantic comedy novel, ‘The Secret to Falling in Love,’ in 2016.

Cooke’s third novel, Who Needs Men Anyway? became a digital bestseller in 2018.

Find out more about Victoria Cooke and her work via: Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram |

 Giveaway to Win a Signed copy of It Started With A Note (UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

ENTER HERE

A big thank you, to Rachel Gilbey whose super power is efficiency in the art of organising fabulous book promo, and to Victoria Cooke for the great post. x


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 Jane Cable is #SharingTheLove

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As February is the month of love, I have had a host of wonderful romance authors stopping by to share flirty extracts from their novels! 

Today, I am pleased to welcome Jane Cable to my blog, who is #SharingTheLove with an extract from her novel, The Cheesemaker’s House … over to you Jane!

The Cheesemaker’s House

“When newly divorced Alice moves to Yorkshire, she meets her neighbours from the present and the past…

My mental image of a Yorkshire builder was a rotund man in a cloth cap who would exhibit a great deal of sucking of teeth when confronted with my barn. I certainly didn’t expect Richard Wainwright to be tall, dark and handsome with a couple of days of designer stubble and a gold hoop in his left ear. But then I didn’t expect a naked swimmer to be reading the lesson in church either. It’s clear I’m going to have to abandon my southern prejudices sooner rather than later if I’m going to fit in here. But I still can’t help feeling we should all be running around downing mugs of tea you can stand a spoon up in, not drinking skinny lattes.

In this aspect of his behaviour Richard doesn’t disappoint. I am already making the second pot when he reappears from his prodding and poking in the barn, drapes his long body against my kitchen doorframe and says “I can do it, but it’s going to cost you.”

“I expect it to cost me,” I grin at him. “It’s a wreck I want to turn into a luxury holiday pad – I know that won’t come cheap.”

He wanders into the kitchen and sits down at the table. “I’ll need to do a proper quote, but I reckon in the region of twenty grand. It’s a lot of money – take you a while to get it back.”

“I’ll get it back when I sell though.”

“Oh, so that’s your game is it; buy – do up – sell – quick buck.” He looks disapproving.

“No. It’s not my game. It’s my insurance policy in case I don’t like it here.”

He stretches back in his chair and picks up his tea. “So why did you come? I’m curious.”

“Well, you mustn’t tell anybody, but I’m on the run from an international drug smuggling cartel and I thought they’d never find me in Great Fencote.”

“Hmm… I wouldn’t be so sure. You don’t know what evil walks the streets of Northallerton. Only last week someone was prosecuted for putting the wrong sort of yogurt pot in their recycling bin – it was all over the papers.” We both burst out laughing.

“Seriously, love,” he carries on, “if you don’t want to say then that’s your business. No-one around here’s going to mind.”

“I was just trying to make it sound more exciting than it is. My husband ran off with his secretary, that’s all.”

“It happens. My wife left me for a pen pusher at the council. Said she’d had enough of muddy boots all through the house. Each to their own, I suppose.” He shrugs.

“The funny thing is,” I continue hesitantly, “that when it happens to you, you feel like it’s never happened to anyone else. When someone else says it, you realise just how common it is.”

“Human nature, love. We’re not cut out to be monogamous. We get bored and we move on, that’s all there is to it. Still, if you get lonely and fancy a shag…”

“Let’s see what sort of builder you are first,” I snap. Maybe a little too tartly, so I put on a smiley face and continue “I want to know if the muddy boots are worth it.”

Richard roars with laughter.

Thank you for sharing your extract Jane, The Cheesemaker’s House is on my to be read list! And as my mother-in-law is a BIG fan I am happy to have gained daughter-in-law points just by knowing you 🙂 

Discover more about The Cheesemaker’s House:

When Alice Hart’s husband runs off with his secretary, she runs off with his dog to lick her wounds in a North Yorkshire village. Battling with loneliness but trying to make the best of her new start, she soon meets her neighbours, including the drop-dead gorgeous builder Richard Wainwright and the kindly yet reticent café owner, Owen Maltby.

As Alice employs Richard to start renovating the barn next to her house, all is not what it seems. Why does she start seeing Owen when he clearly isn’t there? Where – or when – does the strange crying come from? And if Owen is the village charmer, what exactly does that mean?

“I desperately want to find out about Owen; a fascinating character… the gift here is to make you want to read on.” 
Jeffrey Archer

Publisher: Matador
Genre: Romantic Suspense 
Buy the book Amazon UK | Amazon.com

About the author:

Jane Cable has writing in her blood. Her father, Mercer Simpson, was a poet; her cousin, Roger Hubank, a novelist; Roger’s uncle, John Hampson was also a novelist and fringe member of the Bloomsbury Group. And it’s even rumoured that John Keats is somewhere back in her family tree.

She has always scribbled. But it took until she was in her forties to complete a full length manuscript. And then another, and another… Writing stories became a compulsive hobby. She could lose herself in her characters, and longed for readers other than her mother and close friends to be able to do the same.

It was reaching the final of The Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition, with The Cheesemaker’s House, in 2011 which made her take her writing seriously. The novel went on to win Words for the Wounded’s independent book of the year award in 2015.

Jane’s second book, The Faerie Tree, also published by Matador, is a second chance novel revolving around a couple who meet twenty years after a brief affair only to discover that their memories of it are completely different.

Jane is over the moon to have recently signed a contract with Sapere Books for two novels to be published in 2019. The first will be a re-issue of her novel Another You, which disappeared when Endeavour Press went into liquidation. The second is a new romance slipping back to World War Two,  set in the Lincolnshire heartland of Bomber Command.

Discover more about Jane Cable here: Twitter |  Facebook | website

I am hugely grateful to all of the wonderful romance authors who have stopped by my blog #SharingTheLove.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the extracts as much as I have and that in amongst them you’ve been able to discover some new romance reads. 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 Carol Thomas is #SharingTheLove

Guest Post, Writing & Reading, , , , , , , , ,
As February is the month of love, I have had a host of wonderful romance authors stopping by my blog to share flirty extracts from their novels and today it is my turn! 

The Purrfect Pet Sitter

“Nathan turned off the lamp, to improve the view out into the darkness, and joined Lisa by the window. Her body responded to his, her nerves enlivening. She could smell his aftershave – tones of amber and sandalwood – mixed with the scent of the bonfire and evening air that hung upon them both. She felt him trace a line down her side with the lightest touch, sending shivers down her spine. She didn’t move; she didn’t attempt to stop him.

His hands moved to her sides, only the cotton of her T-shirt separating their skin, and his arms, more muscular than Ben’s, slipped round her. She could see their reflections in the window looking back at her, with the two of them framed in a perfect moment – an image of what might have been. She looked beyond to the fireworks as she felt Nathan shift position. His right thigh rested against hers as he mirrored her stance.

Lisa attempted to maintain steady breathing while they watched the last of the fireworks burst into the sky – their sound made more dramatic by the ricochet from the glass. Heat spread through her body, while her mind whirred with anticipation.”

I hope you enjoyed this flirty extract. It is one of my favourites from The Purrfect Pet Sitter. Having recently finished Maybe Baby, the sequel due out on April 2nd, my mind is still a little too preoccupied with the lovely Nathan Baker. 

Discover more about The Purrfect Pet Sitter:

Introducing Lisa Blake, the purrfect pet sitter!

When Lisa Blake’s life in London falls apart, she returns to her hometown rebranding herself as ‘the purrfect pet sitter’ – which may or may not be false advertising as she has a rather unfortunate habit of (temporarily) losing dogs!

But being back where she grew up, Lisa can’t escape her past. There’s her estranged best friend Flick who she bumps into in an embarrassing encounter in a local supermarket. And her first love, Nathan Baker, who, considering their history, is sure to be even more surprised by her drunken Facebook friend request than Lisa is.

As she becomes involved in the lives of her old friends Lisa must confront the hurt she has caused, discover the truth about her mysterious leather-clad admirer, and learn how to move forward when the things she wants most are affected by the decisions of her past.

Publisher: Ruby Fiction
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Buy the book here.

Exciting news! If you like the sound of spending a little quality time with Nathan Baker, don’t miss Maybe Baby, the sequel to The Purrfect Pet Sitter, now available for pre-order!

#Book 2 in the Lisa Blake series coming April 2nd!

About the me (Carol Thomas):

In the summer of 2017, I was delighted to gain a publishing contract with Ruby Fiction, a new imprint of the award-winning publishers Choc Lit, for my latest novel The Purrfect Pet Sitter.

I live on the south coast of England with my husband, four children and lively Labrador. I have been a playgroup supervisor and taught in primary schools for over fifteen years, before dedicating more of my time to writing. I am a regular volunteer at my local Cancer Research UK shop and have a passion for reading, writing and people watching. I can often be found loitering in local cafes working on my next book, when I should be in my office.

Discover more about me and my books here: Twitter | Ruby Fiction | Facebook

Thank you so much to all of the wonderful authors who have taken part #SharingTheLove so far. It has been so much fun to read all of your extracts. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone and don’t miss, an extract from Jane Cable’s The Cheesemaker’s House 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.