Tag Archives: Maybe Baby

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