Tag Archives: Carol Thomas Author Blog

Feel Good Friday with Eva Glyn.

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Today, fellow Apricot Plotter and long time author friend Eva Glyn joins me to celebrate the release of the paperback version of her novel, The Missing Pieces of Us.

 

Tell us about the feel-good moments in The Missing Pieces of Us:

In many ways, it is the ultimate feel-good book because it shows that whatever the depths of grief, loss and mental illness human beings have to suffer, there can be a rewarding and fulfilling life at the end of the tunnel. Robin has his breakdown at a relatively young age when the mother whose carer he is dies and he doesn’t cope at all, but by the time Izzie meets him again twenty years later, although he’s going through another blip, he is a far stronger man with a huge capacity for happiness, laughter and love.

There are plenty of small feel-good moments as the book moves along; memories of munching Jaffa Cakes after spending hours in the sea, fish and chip suppers at the kitchen table, and of course, the wonderful tree in the woods where the children write to the fairies and they actually reply.

Share a review that has made you smile:

I’ve been so lucky and had some wonderful reviews of the book and many of them made me smile, but none more so than this one from book blogger Being Anne:

The story is quite beautifully written and perfectly paced. This is a book that you feel and experience rather than read – the whole emotional content is quite perfectly handled, and there were times when I physically ached for the two central characters. The author really takes the reader under their skin – you might not understand what happened any more than they do, but you feel their hurt and loss with the same intensity.

The characters are wonderfully handled, but so is the setting. A faerie tree is the perfect central focus to the story – much of the key action in the story takes place around it, near it or focused on it. It’s vividly described – with its decoration and trinkets left by people hoping for a little magic – and I love the box where children leave personal messages for the faeries. There are pagan themes, but nothing that would put anyone off for an instant – none of us can be averse to a little magic at times, and the story itself is very much of the modern world.

This is essentially a story about two people – two people that you grow to deeply care about – and how they deal and cope with trauma and loss, its impact on memory, and the possibility of second chances when hope seems to be gone.

The Missing Pieces of Us, the blurb:

When Robin and Izzie meet again twenty years after their brief affair they realise their memories of it completely different. But who is right? And how can they build a future without knowing what happened in the past? Links to purchase can be found here.

That is a wonderful review. Do you have much time to read, if so, where is your favourite place to enjoy a good book?

I find it hard to read when I am writing a new book because my characters tend to inhabit my mind, but I have spotted a natural down time when they seem to go to get their lunch, so if they do I creep away with a cup of tea and put my feet up on my bed with my Kindle for half an hour.

Fabulous, finally here are five quick-fire questions for fun:

Favourite biscuit?
Not easy as I’m gluten intolerant, but M&S’s GF millionaire shortbread is pretty special.

Swimming pool or sea?
Sea, every time, now I live in Cornwall. I just haven’t been in often enough this summer but the beaches have been so crowded.

Laptop or notepad?
I write using software so it’s my laptop every time. I use notebooks for collecting my thoughts, jotting down ideas, and exploring characters off the page.

Early morning or late at night?
Early morning. I start writing before six most days so I’m good for nothing by about four o’clock.

Trainers or heels?
Trainers. I’ve never been able to wear heels – I just can’t balance on them.

About the author:

Eva Glyn writes emotional women’s fiction inspired by beautiful places and the secrets they hide. She loves to travel, but finds inspiration can strike just as well at home as abroad. Her books are published by One More Chapter, an imprint of Harper Collins.

Although she considers herself Welsh, Eva lives in Cornwall with her husband of twenty-six years. She also writes romance with a twist of mystery as Jane Cable.

Discover more about Eva Glyn: Facbook | Instagram | Twitter | Newsletter sign up 

 

Escape to Normandy with Jan Baynham.

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This week, I am delighted to escape to Normandy, with my guest Jan Baynham, as she talks about her novel, Her Nanny’s Secret.

Thank you for having me on your blog, Carol. As with all my novels, Her Nanny’s Secret is set in both beautiful rural mid-Wales where I grew up and in a foreign location. In this case, the contrasting setting is Normandy in Northern France. When writing the parts set in France, I was able to escape to a country I love and reminisce about the numerous visits we’ve made there on family holidays.

Although the town of Ville de Roi and the surrounding villages of Collinac and Sainte Marie-Hélène are fictional, I’ve based them on the area around southern Normandy. The Norman town of Avranches is steeped in history and there is plenty to see and do there. One of my favourite places is the peaceful botanic garden, Jardin des Plantes, with its view of a famous landmark in the distance out in the bay. In the novel, we accompany my main character, Annie, on a visit to Mont St Michel as she enjoyed walking through the narrow streets and winding her way up to the Gothic abbey perched on top.

The view from the very top was spectacular and worth the effort. They wandered around the arched cloisters that edged formal gardens.

In summer months, wherever you look in the area there’s an abundance of flowers in towns and villages as they compete in an annual contest started in 1959 after the devastation caused by the war. It was felt that the planting of flowers helped renew and repair communities.

A yellow road sign with three flower symbols proudly welcomed the visitor to a Village Fleuri… Everywhere they looked were tubs of flowers in vibrant colours, edging the cobbled pavements, in front of each shop window…

What’s great about visiting France is being able to sit at the numerous pavement cafés and sample French foods and drinks. This was new for Annie and when she visited La Belle Époque, she was overwhelmed by the wide choice on the menu.

Annie couldn’t decide from the images between a savoury galette filled with ham and cheese, topped with a fried egg, or, to satisfy her sweet tooth, a crêpe, oozing with cooked local apples and whipped cream. Pancakes were only ever eaten on Shrove Tuesday at home and then always with sugar and lemon juice.

The area is full of pretty villages all with their own mairies and central squares. At one, Annie is fascinated by a group of elderly men playing a game she hadn’t seen before.

‘Pétanque,’ said Clara. ‘It’s very popular in this part of France.’

… In turn, each player threw a larger silver-coloured ball, a boule, as close to the jack as they could. The men became more animated as the game went on, especially when someone’s boule knocked another’s further away from the jack.

Annie would never forget her first escape to Normandy, the landscape she travelled through, the pretty villages, the language she heard spoken and the warmth of the people she met.

Buying Links for Her Nanny’s Secret, OUT NOW:

Amazon | Kobo | Barnes and Noble

About the author:

After retiring from a career in teaching and advisory education, Jan Baynham joined a small writing group in a local library where she wrote her first piece of fiction.  From then on, she was hooked! She soon went on to take a writing class at the local university and began to submit short stories for publication to a wider audience. Her stories and flash fiction pieces have been longlisted and shortlisted in competitions and several appear in anthologies both online and in print. In October 2019, her first collection of stories was published. Her stories started getting longer and longer so that, following a novel writing course, she began to write her first full-length novel. She loves being able to explore her characters in further depth and delve into their stories.

Originally from mid-Wales, Jan lives in Cardiff with her husband. Having joined the Romantic Novelists Association in 2016, she values the friendship and support from other members and regularly attends conferences, workshops, talks and get togethers. She is co-organiser of her local RNA Chapter and a member of the Society of Authors.

Find out more about Jan Baynham and her novels here: Website/Blog | Twitter | Facebook |

Thank you for the great post, Jan, and for stopping by my blog. xx

 

Escape to Cumbria with Caroline James.

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This week, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Caroline James as she talks about Cumbria, the inspiration behind the setting of her novels.

I write about Cumbria after falling in love with the county many years ago. Also known as the Lake District, it is a creative’s dream and has inspired writers for centuries. My novels have sometimes featured a fictional hotel named Boomerville, popular with guests over the age of fifty. I once owned a hotel in the northern part of the county and knew that one day, it would be an excellent source for stories when I eventually glued my rear to a chair and began to write.

My fictional guests, often older protagonists, like the real guests who came to my hotel, flock to the area to experience the beauty and splendour of the landscape. In The Best Boomerville Hotel, I want the guests to have fun. They enjoy courses such as pottery or art and participate in whacky events where they may get stoned in a tepee with the resident shaman or hold a séance with Queenie, the clairvoyant. As I get older, I embrace my age and want my readers to enjoy the character’s journey as they find themselves experiencing new things too.

For several years I ran a pub, then a hotel in the Eden Valley and was captivated by the warmth of the locals who were so supportive to a newcomer. The hotel had been the principal house in the village and, with an impressive Georgian frontage, was set in three acres of lovely walled gardens with a large Victorian conservatory. Walking along the shadowy ridges of the fells in my spare time restored my spirits after a hard day at work and spurred my creative juices, for even then, I knew that I wanted to write stories based in this special place.

My first novel, Coffee Tea the Gypsy & Me, was set in a fictional village, but the market town of Appleby was the location behind the story. Appleby holds an annual gypsy horse fair, often hated by the locals but loved by the thousands of visitors who flock to the town. The fair was an ideal setting for a story. I live in Lancashire now but often travel into Cumbria for an afternoon or evening walk, and being beside the water of the lakes is something I treasure. My favourite lake is Ullswater, and my much-loved time of year is autumn when the leaves, crisp underfoot, turn to scarlet and gold, and there is a delicious chill in the air.

My latest publication, Hattie Goes to Hollywood, is set in a fictional village close to a lake. Ullswater was the inspiration for the novel. The main character, Hattie, a new resident in Hollywood, turns into a Cumbrian Miss Marple when she discovers three suicides in the village.

I write feel-good novels and hope that they uplift the reader. Cumbria has long been my muse, and I owe a great deal to this extraordinary place.

Carol, thank you so much for hosting me on your wonderful blog.

 Happy reading everyone xx

Thank you so much for stopping by and for sharing your lovely blog and photographs. Autumn is my favourite time of the year, too. xx

About Caroline James:

Author of women’s fiction, Caroline James has owned and run businesses encompassing all aspects of the hospitality industry, a subject that often features in her novels. She is based in the UK but has a great fondness for travel and escapes whenever the pandemic allows. A public speaker, which has included talks and lectures on cruise ships world-wide, Caroline is also a consultant and food writer. In her spare time, Caroline can be found walking up a mountain with Fred, her Westie, or sipping raspberry gin and relaxing with her head in a book and hand in a box of chocolates.

Books by Caroline James: Hattie Goes to Hollywood | Boomerville at Ballymegille | The Best Boomerville Hotel | Coffee Tea the Gypsy & Me | Coffee Tea the Chef & Me | Coffee Tea the Caribbean & Me | Jungle Rock

Discover more about her novels or contact Caroline here: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Blog | Amazon

Escape to Korcula with Eva Glyn.

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This week, I am delighted to welcome Eva Glyn to tell us about the setting of her novel, The Olive Grove … an island full of secrets, a summer to discover them all. Over to you, Eva …

Ah, Korcula, Korcula. A gem of an island on the Dalmatian coast, almost close enough to reach out and touch the mainland, and yet with a wild beauty all of its own. Crystal seas, white pebble beaches, holm oaks and stone pines clinging to rocky outcrops… and vineyards… and olive groves. Of course, olive groves.

When I decided to set a book in Croatia I didn’t at first link it with olives, even though it is now published as The Olive Grove. What I wanted to write was a story that brought home the utter awfulness of a child living through a war; what it meant and how it felt. And how they looked back on it afterwards. It would be based on a story I heard from our tour director, Darko Barisic, just days after our visit to Korcula. He had lived through the Bosnian war in Mostar and was able to tell us about the good times and the bad.

And, of course, in any novel there must be dark and light. In fact Korcula was originally named by the Greeks as Korkyra Melaina, a reference to the black trees that covered it almost to the water’s edge. The centre of the island is still thickly forested in places, but around its coastline it sparkles and dazzles like nowhere else I know.

My character Antonia escapes from a toxic relationship to the island to work in Damir’s boutique hotel, Vila Maslina. And maslina is Croatian for olive, so this is where the connection began. And this is the house:

At first glance there was nothing special about Vila Maslina. In fact, it was quite an ordinary-looking farmhouse: two storeys in some places, three in others, with an irregular red tiled roof. But there was something a little different about it, and after a few moments she realised it was because the outside was painted not in the usual white, but with something akin to a paler version of Farrow & Ball’s Green Ground. It softened it somehow, blending it with the olive trees surrounding it. There was no other property in sight, but enlarging the picture on her screen Antonia could see a patchwork of vineyards behind it, rising to meet dark wooded hills…

…A heavy pine door in need of some TLC swung open and Antonia found herself in an elegant living room. The centrepiece was a massive fireplace with a mantelshelf carved from brilliant white stone; above it was an abstract painting in swirls of blue, instantly evoking the sea. The walls were the colour of the palest possible sky and swags of white muslin framed the windows. Bleached pine floors; low, squashy sofas; mismatched antique occasional tables – Antonia could almost smell the beeswax – this room was perfection.

Vila Maslina has been Damir’s home since he was a small boy, where he came to live with his aunt to escape his wartime past. But now that past is finding him again and it seems there is nowhere he can run to.

I hope The Olive Grove whisks readers away to beautiful Korcula, to live in Antonia and Damir’s world as they try to help each other to heal, and early reviews have made me hopeful that is the case:

“An extraordinary read. I really did feel as though I was part of the story myself.” Rubie

“A beautifully written book that made me want to visit Korcula.” Jill

“An excellent job of contrasting the idyllic setting with the horrors that took place decades earlier.” Claire

The Olive Grove was published by One More Chapter as an ebook on 3rdSeptember with paperback and audiobook to follow in November. For stockist information visit here.

Thank you so much for the wonderful post, Eva. The Olive Grove has landed on my kindle and I am looking forward to reading it. xx

About the Author:

Eva Glyn writes emotional women’s fiction inspired by beautiful places and the stories they hide. She loves to travel, but finds inspiration can strike just as well at home or abroad.

She cut her teeth on just about every kind of writing (radio journalism, advertising copy, PR, and even freelance cricket reporting) before finally completing a full length novel in her forties. Four lengthy and completely unpublishable tomes later she found herself sitting on an enormous polystyrene book under the TV lights of the Alan Titchmarsh Show as a finalist in the People’s Novelist competition sponsored by Harper Collins. Although losing out to a far better writer, the positive feedback from the judges gave her the confidence to pursue her dreams.

Eva lives in Cornwall, although she considers herself Welsh, and has been lucky enough to have been married to the love of her life for twenty-five years. She also writes as Jane Cable.

Discover more about Eva Glyn: Facbook | Instagram | Twitter | Newsletter sign up 

Escape to Greece with Ian Wilfred.

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This week, I am delighted to be taken on a sun kissed escape to Greece with author, Ian Wilfred. Over to you, Ian…

Thank you for inviting me on to your blog, Carol. I do love a sunny escape, and so I thought I would tell you about one of the great loves of my life (apart from my husband and dog, of course), the Greek town of Parga.

Parga is on the mainland of Greece, but you do feel you are on an island as it is not that well known. Located opposite Corfu, to reach it, you fly into Preveza. From there, it’s an hour’s journey around the coast to Parga. When we first visited, over twenty years ago, we had to get on a ferry for part of the journey; now, there is a tunnel that goes under the water. It saves a lot of time, but I do miss that little ferry trip.

Parga is a town of two halves divided by a steep (and I do mean steep) hill that leads to a castle affording fantastic views of the surrounding area. On one side of the hill, the harbour has its beautiful restaurants and fabulous little shops that look out to the sea. On the other side is the main beach of Valtos. It is simply stunning! Nestled behind the beach are olive groves with a scattering of holiday accommodation. Taking a sea taxi between the beach and the harbour takes less than ten minutes – and avoids the climb up the hill. Arriving by sea taxi into the harbour, lit up at night, is magical. It is a scene that appears in all three of my Greek books.

Parga first appeared in one of my books, SECRETS WE LEFT IN GREECE, in 2018. I changed Parga to Holkamos and decided it had to be an island; Valtos became Volmos, the castle and the sea taxi with the harbour all stayed the same.

(Always ready to seize an opportunity to escape into a beautiful setting, I found this video of Parga and can clearly see why you felt inspired by the town and surrounding area, Ian.)

The following year because I enjoyed writing it so much and readers seemed to love the island I had created, I revisited Holkamos with MY PERFECT SUMMER IN GREECE. This is one of my favourite books; I loved writing Cheryl’s story.

Last year I gave the Greek islands a miss. Instead, coming closer to home, I wrote a novel set in my fictional quayside town of Saltmarsh in Norfolk and also one set in Spain based on the lovely holiday resort of Mojacar (changing the name to Graingcia).

This year I’ve headed back to Holkamos with NEW BEGINNINGS IN GREECE and Graingcia with FINDING HAPPINESS IN SPAIN. These are my two summer reads. I’m always being asked what my books are about, and I keep coming back to the same sentence: they have quite a few secrets, a little bit of laughter, of course, romance, but above all, my books are about friendships and new beginnings not forgetting lots of gorgeous sunshine and fabulous food.

Ian’s books are available in ebook and paperback editions. Why not pick one up and head off to Greece, Spain or Norfolk. Purchase here: UK | US | Spain | Australia

Thank you for the great post, Ian. I love the sound and look of Parga and really enjoyed this hint at the wonderful settings within your books. I am also in awe of your prolific writing, so many wonderful novels, I can’t wait to dive in. xx

About the author:

Ian Wilfred lives on the Norfolk coast with his husband and west highland terrier. He is wonderfully supportive of fellow authors and is a member of the Romantic Novelist Association. His debut novel ‘Putting Right The Past’ is set on the island of Tenerife and was published in 2013. Since then he has gone on to publish other books set in his beloved Norfolk, the Greek islands, Spain and Martha’s Vineyard.

Discover more about Ian Wilfred and his novels here: Amazon | Facebook | Twitter