Tag Archives: Chindi Authors

Happy publication day, Jane Cable!

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Today I am wishing my dear writing friend, Jane Cable, a very happy publication day for her haunting love story, Another You!

I read an earlier version of Jane’s book and so, not only am I super excited for her, I am also delighted to share my review.

The blurb:

Sometimes the hardest person to save is yourself… 

Marie Johnson fell in love with The Smugglers pub when she first moved to Dorset with her husband, Stephen. But when Stephen’s wandering eye caused the breakdown of their marriage, and the costs of running the pub started to mount, Marie felt her dreams crashing down around her.

With local celebrations planned for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, Marie is hopeful things will turn around. But she could never have predicted the ways her life will soon be changed forever.

A charming American soldier walks into Marie’s life, but it becomes clear nothing is really as it seems…

Why is Marie suddenly plagued by headaches? Is her American soldier everything he seems to be? Or could the D-Day re-enactments be stirring up something from the past…?

Genre: Romance | Paranormal romance
Published by: Sapere Books

My review:

As I have come to expect from Jane Cable, Another You is a story that makes you think, that makes you question your understanding of what you have read and inspires you to want to read on.

I was fascinated, not just because of the well crafted and intriguing characters but also because of the historical references and the representation of the impact of war. It is well researched, with interesting historical detail throughout.

The characters, like the landscape in which they live, are brought to life well. While there is the question of who the heroine will end up with, I felt the book explored a variety of different relationships between the characters with equal importance.

For me, the central theme was the discovery of self, as the heroine, Marie, as well as others in the story embark on attempting to understand their identity beyond the expectations and issues that have impacted upon their lives.

An enjoyable, interesting read, that turns into a speedy page turner towards the end.

Buy the book here.

About the author:

Jane Cable says, “Perhaps writing is in my blood. My father, Mercer Simpson, was a poet; my 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 there in the family tree.

“No wonder that I have always scribbled. But it took me until I was in my forties to complete a full length manuscript. And then another, and another… Writing stories became a compulsive hobby. I could lose myself in my characters, almost live their lives, and I started to long for readers other than my mother and a few close friends to be able to do the same.

“It was reaching the final of The Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition in 2011 which made me take my writing seriously. I went to a self publishing conference organised by the Writers & Artists Yearbook and was inspired by the speakers to publish independently.

“My first novel, The Cheesemaker’s House, was published by Matador in September 2013 and tells the story of Alice, who moves to Yorkshire following the breakdown of her marriage and meets her new neighbours from the present and the past. It was a finalist in the Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition and won Words for the Wounded’s independent book of the year award in 2015.

“My second book, The Faerie Tree, is a second chance novel also published by Matador. This time the mystery revolves around a couple who meet twenty years after a brief affair only to discover that their memories of it are completely different.

“My latest book, Another You, is OUT TODAY with Sapere Books. Marie Johnson feels her dreams have been shattered, but commemorations surrounding the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day become the catalyst for change she never could have imagined.”

Discover more about books by Jane Cable here: Facebook | Twitter | website | Chindi Authors | Apricot Plots | Sister Scribes .

Enjoy your special day Jane, I can already see Another You flying up the rankings! xx

 

Blog tours galore and rave reviews!

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I have had the most amazing and busy time since the publication of Maybe Baby, which I am delighted to say has already gained a #1 Best Seller Badge from Amazon:

(If you haven’t grabbed your copy yet, do it now, while it is still only 99p!)

And the excitement doesn’t end there … straight after publication, Maybe Baby went off on a blog tour courtesy of Rachel’s Random Resources and received these wonderful reviews:

  • Being Anne: “It certainly left me with a big smile on my face and a warm glow inside. Very much enjoyed this one!”
  • B for Book Review: “If you are looking for a lovely heartwarming funny story and you don’t mind shedding a little tear here and there, you just have to read this one.”
  • Love the Smell of a Book: “A superb light hearted read that I loved from the first few pages, I fell in love with Lisa’s four legged friends and the escaping kittens.”
  • Books and Bindings: “I snickered and smirked my way through this cleverly crafted, delightfully amusing, and wittily written tale.”
  • One More Word: “It was well written, fun and left me smiling at the very happy ending.”
  • Dash Fan Book Reviews: “Maybe Baby is a cosy romance, with plenty of witty humour, it’s a quick uplifting read that is perfect if your looking to escape for a few hours.”
  • Beauty Addict: “Maybe Baby really is a truly heart-warming story of love, romance and most importantly friendship. An absolute must-read.” 
  • Novel Kicks: “This novel was like a big hug. If you’re a fan of Sophie Kinsella, you’ll love this novel and even if you’re not, I still recommend this novel.”
  • Bookworms Corner Blog Spot: “The writing is funny, sweet and the pleasing flow of the story made this a smooth and enjoyable read.”
  • Sibzzreads: “A lovely, charming book, full of humour and romance. Excellent, relatable characters and a nicely flowing plot make this such an enjoyable read.”
  • It’s all about the Books: “Filled with many fantastic characters, human and of the fur variety, Maybe Baby was a fantastic story.”
  • Books Life and Everything: “This is a lovely, entertaining read with genuinely likeable characters and a relatable plot.”
  • Splashes Into Books: “This is a lovely contemporary story with great characters, an intriguing plot with plenty of drama and romance for several different couples.” 
  • Babydolls and Razorblades: “A wonderful, happy story that did make me shed a tear or two.”
  • Donnas Book Blog: “It is five stars from me, a thoroughly enjoyable story, fantastic characters, both furry and human – I loved it – very highly recommended!”
  • Chapter and Cake: “This is such a lovely, easy-read novel. I am more than happy to recommend it.” 
  • BR Maycock’s book blog: “Very enjoyable and the author is most definitely bookmarked as one I will follow in the future. Beyond recommended!”
  • Bookish Jottings: “A delightful read I absolutely adored.”
  • Herding Cats: “This is a heartwarming and cosy romance novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
  • Mai’s Musings: “Not many books make me laugh out loud, but this had me properly chuckling in places, and at one point even made me spit my coffee.”
  • Books and Me: “A gratifying and cheerful read.” 
  • Me and My Books: “This is a book that has the perfect amount of humour, a good story line and is a great way to escape for a few hours.” 
  • Stardust Book Reviews: “This was a delightful story of love and friendships that left me with a lovely warm feeling and a smile on my face!”
  • Against the Flow Press: “I found this to be an enjoyable, happy-ending story of friendship and love.”
  • Coffee and Kindle Book Reviews: “This book is such a treat and one I devoured in one sitting.” 
  • The Writing Garnet: “A joyful, lighthearted and uber touching read – even my cheeks hurt from smiling so much!”

Rachel’s Random Reads: “Incredibly entertaining, this book has everything, animals, humour, romance, an old flame and a pregnancy test!” 

I am hugely grateful to Rachel Gilbey for her brilliant organisation and to everyone who took part – taking the time to read and review my book.

And still the fun continued … my review tour was then followed by a blog tour, courtesy of the super supportive Chindi Authors who invited me to be their Author of the Week, sharing these guest posts across their blogs:

Huge thanks to all who have contributed to what has been a wonderful whirlwind of activity!

Thank you also to all who have purchased Maybe Baby either in ebook or audio formats. I have received some great comments from readers via Twitter and Facebook.

If you’ve read and enjoyed Maybe Baby, please do leave a review. Reviews really are hugely appreciated and help authors and their work get noticed.

Finally I am pleased to say my work in progress is taking shape. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook to find out more, and no doubt help me with my research, as I pose some of my ponderings. xx

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.

Review of Rosemary Noble’s Sadie’s War

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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

Reflections on 2018

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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