Tag Archives: Choc Lit

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

 

 

Blog tours galore and rave reviews!

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

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

Happy Mother’s Day!

Writing & Reading, , , , , , , ,

As well as running a competition in which you can win a box of Lily O’Brien Chocolates, my fellow Apricot Plots authors have been celebrating the mums in their novels, in honour of Mother’s Day. 

And so, I am sharing an extract from The Purrfect Pet Sitter. Mum of four Felicity, knows how lucky she is. She loves her children to the moon and back, they have quirky personalities and wonderfully inquisitive minds — readily sharing their thoughts no matter who is around to hear them! However, being a busy mum means that Felicity sometimes craves the simple pleasures in life.

In this extract, Felicity is stealing a moment for a bath and planning some much needed quality time with her husband, Pete!

“Felicity ran a steaming, hot bath, adding plenty of her Tropical Transfusion Radox Smoothie to the flow under the running tap. The smell made her think of sun-kissed holidays. Not that she had actually been on any, but coconut, with its association with Malibu and suntan lotion, had a way of teasing her mind; she could almost feel warm sand between her toes! She longed to be one of those people for whom the sun meant luxurious holidays spent lazing by the sea, as opposed to putting out three loads of washing on a rotary line made wonky by the children swinging off it. She stripped bare and wondered about venturing onto the scales, but decided after leaning her big toe on the edge not to bother.

Scooping her hair into a messy bun Felicity stepped into the water, standing for a while until her legs grew used to the heat. As she lay down she slid into the bubbles, pushing them away from her neck and hair as she rested her head back against the edge of the bath. She didn’t often get time to indulge in a bath, but she was determined to have some time to herself this evening. She wanted to get ‘in the mood’ ready for Pete’s return.

Felicity knew she had been slipping into bed in her scruffy, old, comfy knickers and baggy T-shirts a little too often lately. Well not tonight!Tonight she was going to go for it. She had rummaged in her wardrobe and found something positively silky hiding in the back. She vaguely remembered buying it in the La Senza closing-down sale en route to Tesco Express one day, after it had called to her from the window. As she had rediscovered it in the back of her wardrobe she had touched the silk to her cheek. It felt cool, smooth and sexy. Perfect!

Jumping suddenly, Felicity realised she had succumbed to the hot-water-and-bubbles comfort blanket. Sitting up, wide eyed, she listened, unsure if one of the children had actually called her or if she had dreamt it. Her heart was racing, but, thankfully, all was silent. Splashing water onto her face she reminded herself she had to stay awake and she had to stay focused.She had a sex-kitten mission to fulfil. Grabbing what she thought was her sponge, but actually turned out to be a glittery, Disney-princess sponge that chafed from the sparkles, she washed herself over and stood up. Bugger!The heat from the water meant she looked like a rhubarb and custard, bright red where the water had touched and pasty white where it had not. She hoped the lines would disappear by the time Pete got back. It really wasn’t the look she was going for!”

Does her evening go to plan? You’ll have to read the book to find out, but the good news is the lovely people at Choc Lit and Ruby Fiction have lots of fabulous books, including The Purrfect Pet Sitter for 99p in a Mother’s Day Sale – woohoo that’s cheaper than a cup of tea! 

Click to download your copy here.

However you are spending Mother’s Day, I hope you have a lovely day! xx

And of course, I couldn’t do a post about Mother’s Day without mentioning my own lovely mum … 

Happy Mother’s Day, love you lots! xxx

 

 

*ONE WEEK TO GO* Maybe Baby, coming soon!

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

I am super excited to say there is just one week to go until the release of my latest romantic comedy novel, Maybe Baby, in audio and as an ebook!

For delivery on April 2nd preorder your copy here.

In case you’ve missed me shouting about it, here’s the blurb:

Just when you thought you had it all worked out …

Lisa Blake is back with her first love, she’s reunited with her best friend Felicity, and even her pet sitting skills are improving – everybody knows you can’t believe all you read in the local Gazette, don’t they?

Felicity is on the cusp of achieving her perfect wife-mum-life balance; Her husband, Pete, is being wonderfully attentive, and her four children are getting older and wiser (sometimes too much wiser) by the day.

But when Lisa walks in on a half-naked woman in her boyfriend’s flat and Felicity is left reeling from a shocking discovery, it seems life is nothing but full of surprises. Can love, laughter, and learning to compromise, help them achieve their dreams?

Genre: Romantic Comedy
Published by: Ruby Fiction

Maybe Baby is available in audio and as a paperback, buying links: Amazon | Kobo | Ruby Fiction 

Maybe Baby is the second book in the Lisa Blake series. While the story follows on from The Purrfect Pet Sitter (Lisa Blake book #1), it can also be read as a standalone novel.

Early reviews for Maybe Baby

As book bloggers begin to return their verdict from advance copies, I am delighted to say I am doing my happy dance. Here are just some of the lovely things that have been said on Goodreads:

“Heartwarming and uplifting … a delightful and fun story anyone can enjoy!”

“The pages just flew by … and I really enjoyed all the characters both human and furry!” 

“Cute story of friendships and new beginnings.”

“The story is zany, with a little screwball comedy, and a quirky cast of characters.”

“An enjoyable, happy-ending story of friendship and love.” 

Thank you to all who have taken the time to leave a review so far. For further reviews, don’t miss my blog tour, via Rachel’s Random Resources, from 3rd to 12th April! I am excited and nervous as it draws near, wish me luck.

Thank you so much to everyone who has preordered Maybe Baby, your support is hugely appreciated and with not long to go, I hope you enjoy it! xx

An Author Interview with Morton S Gray

Author Interview, , , , , , , , , ,

Today I am delighted to welcome Morton S Gray to my blog as she celebrates the paperback and audio publication of The Truth Lies Buried.

For those who haven’t read The Truth Lies Buried, what can readers expect from the story?

My tag line is “romance with a mystery to solve” and I guess that sums up The Truth Lies Buried. The book is about the developing relationship between Carver Rodgers and Jenny Simpson, who discover they were both involved in an unsolved mystery from the past. They begin to work together to try to uncover the truth and get closer to each other in the process. Of course, it isn’t all plain sailing for them as a couple, there are a few minefields along the way.

Your novels are set in the fictional seaside town of Borteen Bay. If you wrote me a postcard from Borteen how would you describe the setting?

Dear Carol (and readers),

I’m having a fantastic time in Borteen. I love walking along the promenade to Owl Corner Crafts and having a mooch inside at all the art, woodcarvings and cards. The beach is amazing, wide and sandy. I wish you were here too, we would spend hours exploring the alleyways off the high street with their galleries, gift and food shops. I am drinking coffee in each café in turn to decide which is my favourite and for the evenings there are several lively pubs and even a wine bar. It is a perfect holiday destination and I’ve met some really interesting local people.

Love Mx

As a romantic suspense novel, The Truth Lies Buried has a great hook early on and twists and turns along the way; what comes to you first and how much of the story do you have in mind before you write?

It might surprise you to know how little I have in my mind about a book before I begin to write. All I need is a spark of an idea, in the case of The Truth Lies Buried this was a postcard of a wooden castle amongst trees that became Carver Rodgers’ home, Tree Tops in the book. As I work in this exploratory way, the story unfolds slowly and is as much of a mystery to me as to my readers and that’s just how I like it. I love the feeling as I get to know my characters and the story takes shape – it’s like magic!

Carver Rodgers is a great male lead, if I was meeting him on a date how would I recognise him and where would he take me?

 He is tall, with slate grey eyes, long curly hair and an intriguing scar on one side of his face, which runs over his jawline and down his neck.

Carver would more than likely take you to the Old Ship Inn on the promenade, because he is familiar with the pub and knows that the food is good. He also knows that there will probably be live music later in the evening played by a band he has drummed with in the past. He might even ask you for a dance.

OO You he had me at slate grey eyes! 😉

The Truth Lies Buried is released in paperback and audio today, how will you be celebrating?

Hopefully, I will be meeting up with some writing friends for coffee and cake.

What can we expect from you next?

Mandy Vanes is a character who has appeared in all three of my novels to date. She is a fun character who runs Owl Corner Crafts at the end of the promenade near to the church. I have hinted several times that there is far more to her than meets the eye and I’m currently finishing writing her story, which I hope Choc Lit will want to publish.

Five for fun:

1) CD or record? CD
2) Sweet or savoury? Sweet – I’m a chocoholic.
3) Letter or email? These days email.
4) Early morning or late night? I am definitely at my best in the early morning.
5) Bubble bath or power shower? There is nothing better than a soak in a hot bubble bath ;-).

 Thank you for having me on your blog!

You’re most welcome, I really enjoyed The Truth Lies Buried and wish you every success with the audio and paperback versions. xx

About The Truth Lies Buried

The Truth Lies Buried is already published as an eBook, but is out in paperback and audiobook on 12 March 2019 – today, YIPPEE!

Two children in a police waiting room, two distressed mothers, a memory only half remembered …

When Jenny Simpson returns to the seaside town of Borteen, her childhood home, it’s for a less than happy reason. But it’s also a chance for her to start again.

A new job leads to her working for Carver Rodgers, a man who lives alone in a house that looks like it comes from the pages of a fairy tale – until you see the disaster zone inside …

As Jenny gets to know Carver she begins to unravel the sadness that has led to his chaotic existence. Gradually they realise they have something in common that is impossible to ignore – and it all links back to a meeting at a police station many years before.

Could the truth lie just beneath their feet?

Published by Choc Lit
Buy the book here.

You can read my reviews of Morton’s The Girl on the Beach and The Truth Lies Buried here.

About Morton S Gray

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for stopping by Morton, enjoy your special day and have a slice of cake for me. xx