Rounding off my Christmas Countdown, I am delighted to welcome author Sharon Ibbotson, as she chats about her latest novel, Hanukkah at the Great Greenwich Ice Creamery!
I’ve already read and enjoyed your book, Sharon, but for those who haven’t, how will your characters be spending the festive season?
Well, given that my hero Cohen is Jewish, and my book called ‘Hanukkah at the Great Greenwich Ice Creamery’ the answer is that they won’t be celebrating Christmas! Cohen mentions in the book that they tend to order Chinese food on Christmas day (something I’ve done myself in the past) and watch a Christmas movie (something I always do!) but that otherwise the day passes without any noteworthy celebration. This year Christmas day coincides with the fourth night of Hanukkah however, so I can imagine my characters gathering around the hanukiah and saying the first and second blessings before lighting the Hannukah candles. They might then sing some traditional songs or eat some latkes (a sort of fried potato cake, very delicious!) or, given Cohen’s embittered demeanour (before he meets my heroine, I mean) he might just drink and wish the holidays away…
And to entice readers further, here’s the blurb:
Hanukkah days, Christmas nights and strawberry ice cream …
Cohen Ford is a man who could do with a little bit of sweetening up. It’s no surprise that when he walks into The Great Greenwich Ice Creamery on a typically gloomy London day before Christmas, he insists on a black coffee rather than his childhood favourite – strawberry ice cream.
But then he meets River de Luca, the woman behind the flavours. After their first encounter, Cohen begins visiting the ice creamery every Tuesday, gradually learning more about the intriguing River. Could her influence encourage cynical Cohen to become the man who embraces Christmas, Hanukkah and even strawberry ice cream?
Genre: Romance
Published by: Choc Lit
And my review:
A lovely, heart-warming original story. I liked the characters of Cohen and River (great names too) and enjoyed watching their relationship develop as they learned to communicate and face the challenges that came their way. I have never read a Hanukkah romance before and greatly enjoyed this one. It was a refreshing story – in more ways than one, as there was plenty of delicious sounding ice-cream mentioned too.
Click to buy the book: Choc Lit | Amazon | Audio
Now, I am intrigued to know how you will be spending this festive season; does the Ibbotson household embrace Christmas, Hanukkah or even strawberry ice-cream? (Do you see what I did there?)
Well, there will be about twenty of us together on the day, all squeezed into my Mum’s house in Newcastle. My husband’s family are Christian, so he’ll take his Dad to church, but we’re not Christian on my side and so don’t celebrate the religious aspect of Christmas. For my sisters and I, the holiday is more an excuse to spend time together. We’re a family of people who appreciate food and drink, so we tend to start with coffee before hitting the prosecco hard and not looking back. The kids will play and we’ll talk and spend time cooking, and we might all watch a film together. My sister has a dog (I’m not allowed one at home yet sadly as my husband has cats) so I’m hoping I’ll get to take her out for a walk on Christmas Day (hint, hint Jules!)
Oh, I do love a family get together, and I hope you get to go for your dog walk. Before you go, I wonder if you would answer five questions from my festive selection?
Naughty or nice? I’m always nice, lol. But I can be occasionally naughty if the situation calls for it!
Mince pie or Christmas pudding? I love a mince pie! They give them out at my local coffee shop so I eat far too many of them too.
Favourite Christmas film? Home Alone. My son is nearly eight and loves it, and I could listen to him laugh all day long.
Black forest hot chocolate or gingerbread latte? Gingerbread latte. But it would have to be decaff, soy, and sugar free, so I don’t tend to indulge these days disappointingly.
First Roses flavour to disappear from your tub? I miss the coffee flavour desperately. That was always the one that went first for me.
Thank you so much for joining my Christmas Countdown, and I wish you and your family a fabulous festive season. xx
About the author:
Sharon Ibbotson is Australian but has lived in the UK for nearly twenty years. She started writing romance when she ran out of Sweet Valley High movies to read. She lives in London with her husband and two kids. Her professional background is in marketing and she has a degree in anthropology and gender studies from the University of Edinburgh. She loves reading and writing regency romance novels, especially those with a more gothic and darker tone.
Discover more about Sharon and her work, here: website | Twitter | Facebook
Thank you so very much to all of the wonderful authors who have taken part in my Christmas Countdown, it has been a lot of fun to get to know you all a little more. And I would like to take this opportunity, once more, to wish you all a very happy Christmas. xx
