Tag Archives: Ruby Fiction

Feel Good Friday with Helen Bridgett.

Guest Post, Writing & Reading, , , , , , , , ,

 

It’s Feel Good Friday on my blog, and I am welcoming Helen Bridgett as she shares a wellbeing top tip and an extract from her new novel, Summer at Serenity Bay.

Welcome to my blog, Helen, please share your top tip to promote wellbeing:

Many of us spend a lot of time in front of computers and writing all day can cause so much back and shoulder ache. My top-tip is very simple – just get out and walk. Go for a walk in the fresh air every day for at least half an hour. As well as being good for the body, it will clear your mind. I often find that any niggles I’m having with my writing sort themselves out while I’m strolling along.

And apart from walking – laugh a lot! Find a TV show, read a romcom, go out with friends – anything that makes you smile. Who doesn’t feel better after a really good giggle?

I’m all for promoting a good giggle, especially inspired with by a romcom. With that in mind, tell us a little about your latest novel:

It’s the story of two friends who work together to create a rather unconventional Wellness Retreat in a village on the Northumberland coast. In order to promote the retreat the friends get involved in a reality show and as a result, a group of celebrities descend on the village bringing with them some fun and some scandal.

It sounds great, please share a ‘feel good’ extract:

They sat down on the sand looking out at the sea, saying nothing but listening to the hypnotic sound of the rolling waves over the sand. Chloe lay back and closed her eyes letting her entire being just drift, shortly afterwards she felt Roisin lying down beside her.

‘What are you thinking about now?’ asked Roisin.

Chloe considered the question but she hadn’t been thinking at all, she’d relaxed completely but an emotion had taken hold of her and was nudging the edges of her mouth upwards into a big smile. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and looked across at her friend,

‘I’ve got this feeling that anything could happen here, you’re going to make it Roisin.’

‘I feel that too,’ smiled her friend, ‘it’s a magical place.’

I love that extract and you inspired me to go in search of your blurb to find out more:

What happens when you send a group of celebrities to a tiny seaside village?

Advertising executive Chloe Walsh thought she was visiting her friend Roisin to get away from it all, but little does she know her kooky friend has a master plan to breathe some life into her sleepy seaside village through a new wellness retreat – and she needs Chloe’s skills.

So starts a community effort to put the retreat, Serenity Bay, on the map. Everyone from Andy at the Surf Shack to Tony at the chocolate shop is involved – even Roisin’s Gran has a few ideas!

But Chloe strikes gold almost too soon, attracting the attention of a major production company. Now a colourful group of celebrities are preparing to descend on Serenity Bay to film a reality TV show. Is the village ready for the fun and scandal that are bound to follow?

It sounds a great read, while I was on Amazon I preordered it! If others are tempted to do the same you can preorder Summer at Serenity Bay here: Amazon | Ruby Fiction And you won’t have long to wait as it’s due out on July 14th.

I know writers are always thinking about their next project, so what can we expect from you next?

In January Ruby Fiction will be publishing my second book which will be rather different. It’s a crime novel featuring an amateur sleuth – I’ll say no more for now!

Oh, goodness, very different. Best of luck with both novels.

Finally, before you go, please answer five quick fire questions for fun: 

Mountains or beach?  Ooh – hard one. I really do love both. A beach in front of mountains?

Sun or snow? Snow – especially when it’s freshly fallen.

Paperback, ebook or audio? I’m really getting into audio books at the moment.

Sweet or savoury? Savoury – crisps over sweets every time!

Dog or cat? Dog – I have a chocolate Labrador called Angus who ensures that I get out for that walk every day.

 Oh I have a big soft spot for chocolate Labradors!

Thank you for stopping by my blog and I look forward to reading Summer at Serenity Bay. xx

About the author:

Helen Bridgett lives in the North East of England. Outside of writing feel good fiction, Helen loves the great outdoors and having a good laugh with friends over a glass of wine. Helen lives with her husband and their chocolate Labrador, Angus; all three can often be found walking the Northumberland coastline that inspired Serenity Bay.

You can find out more about Helen and her work here: Twitter | Facebook

Don’t miss Vicki Beeby stopping by next week to chat about her latest novel, and another on my tbr list, The Ops Room Girls.

Claire Sheldon chats about her debut, Perfect Lie.

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

 

Welcome to my blog, Claire. Huge congratulations on your contract with Ruby Fiction, and on the release of your debut novel, Perfect Lie (coming June 16th).

I love hearing about writer’s journeys. What has led you to this moment and how did it feel to get that call?

 A lot of hard work and tears, having already suffered a false start, I’ve been very cautious every step of the way but I think once I’ve got this over the line it’ll be amazing! Though I can already feel the excitement mounting.

 Your blurb sounds intriguing:

What is ‘perfect’ trying to hide?

Jen Garner tries her best to be ‘wife and mother of the year’. She helps organise school plays and accompanies her husband to company dinners, all with a big smile on her face.

But Jen has started to receive strange gifts in the post … first flowers, then a sympathy card.

It could just be a joke; that’s what she tells herself. But then the final ‘gift’ arrives, and Jen has to question why somebody is so intent on shattering her life into pieces …

What inspired the idea behind the story?

 A mixture of the television I used to watch growing up such as The Bill and later on Spooks and one to many daydreams when I should be doing other things. When I first started writing Perfect Lie I was going to write along the lines of Spooks but after further advice and my future plans for the series I decided to write about local policing and where better to set it but where I live. I can see the Nottingham police station from the kitchen at work, so no doubt all the time standing looking out of the window has helped.

I’ve seen reviews that mention twists and turns, and say it is a real page-turner. What top tips have you got for keeping the reader guessing but still holding them in the grips of your story?

 Foreshadowing which is basically teasing readers about plot turns that will occur later on in the novel and lead them down dead ends when they think they have figured it out.

When I started writing Perfect Lie I didn’t plot which I think helped as I didn’t know who the bad guy was or why.

I also had help from others who had read my work and offered some great advice, which I followed and put to good use.

What level of thriller would you describe your novel as … Is it a white knuckle ride, a grab a cushion to hide behind, a jump when the telephone rings, or suspect everybody around you, type of a read?

 Suspect everyone around you, who is sending these things to Jen and why? On the outside to everyone looking in Jen is the perfect mother and wife. What could she have done to set this chain of events off?

Can you tell us a little about your main character/s, and who inspired them?

Jen has spent the past ten years building up a perfect life for herself, the perfect husband that she had fallen head over heels for when she first met him and two adorable kids.

Jen’s husband, James, has had his whole life mapped out in front of him; he is a manager and is living the corporate lifestyle. James, to me, is the extreme other end of some of the blokes I have worked with over the years.

My DI Chris is kind of me, he was brought up on all the crime drama’s I was and as soon as he was old enough he joined the police force and has pretty much worked his way up the ranks.

As your readers close the final page of your story, what feeling do you hope they will have?

I want them to feel satisfied with the ending each character has. I would love for them to feel so connected to them that they shed a tear, but then again that is probably because I am always crying at the end of novels.

What can we expect from you next?

Book two is currently with my publisher, Jen and Chris and some of the other characters will still be there. Book two is about a little boy who turns up in Nottingham asking for Lisa Carter who everyone assumes is his mum.

 Finally here’s five quick fire questions for fun:

  • Tea or coffee? Tea
  • Notebook and pen or laptop? Notebook and Pen in my bag and I sit and do my writing on my desktop computer.
  • Dog or cat? I used to be a cat person, where as my husband isn’t until one day a cat walked into our house and we ended up adopting her. Then a couple of years later my kids end up with a puppy for Christmas and Podrick walked into our lives.
  • Sweet or savoury? Sweet
  • Late night or early morning? Late nights, but that’s because I love my sleep too much!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, and I wish you every success with Perfect Lie and hope you celebrate publication day in style!

Links to purchase: Kindle | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Barnes and Noble

About the author:

Claire lives in Nottingham with her family, a cat called Whiskers and a dog called Podrick.
She suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and as a result of the disease had to reduce her hours working in insurance for an Insolvency Insurer. This spare time enabled her to study a creative writing course which inspired her to write her debut, Perfect Lie.

When Claire isn’t working she enjoys reading crime novels and listening to music – the band Jimmy Eat World is her biggest muse! Claire is also an avid reader and book blogger. The inspiration for her novels comes from the hours spent watching The Bill with her grandparents and auntie; then later, Spooks and other detective programmes like Morse, A Touch of Frost and Midsummer Murders.

 Discover more about Claire Sheldon here: Twitter | Facebook

Stories that will make you smile: Jan Brigden

Author Interview, Guest Post, Writing & Reading, , , , , , , , , , , ,

A very warm welcome to Jan Brigden as she celebrates the release of her novel, If I Ever Doubt You.

Hello Jan, how are you keeping in this strange new world? Do you have a top tip to promote wellbeing?

Well I’m a bit of an introvert so have found the peace and solitude quite comforting. I’m used to my own company as most writers are. My husband Dave can’t work at the moment so the two of us have been on some soul-soothing and very scenic walks. We live in a town but it’s amazing how many green and fairly secluded walks there are on our doorstep. I miss all my family and friends.  Mum and Dad are safely cocooned at home for their own protection. When I feel a dip in my mood, I console myself with knowing that when we’re liberated from this crazy, unnerving experience, we’ll all have the biggest hugs ever.

My top tip to promote wellbeing would be to not let those pesky negative or worrying thoughts spiral. Don’t dwell on the what ifs, let them pass and focus on the now/reality.

That sounds like a good idea to me!

I loved As Weekends Go, and so was super excited to hear you were releasing a sequel, tell us a little about your latest novel:

If I Ever Doubt You is the sequel to As Weekends Go but can be read as a standalone novel. It follows the ongoing relationship between small town divorcee Rebecca Dunning and big league professional footballer Alex Heath. How will Rebecca cope with the reality of living a life so different from her own; the pre-judgement, the jealousy, the doubts and fears? Alex may be unstereotypical given the reputation of some of his fellow footballers, but can their love survive the emotional turbulence of outside influences?

OO it sounds great, could you share an uplifting extract?

They resurfaced an hour later with Alex declaring that he was taking Rebecca for a late lunch at Hawksley Manor – a statement that set her off jumping around the bedroom partly with joy, her staple reaction to any potential revisit, especially alone with Alex – and partly to freshen up, dress and get out of the apartment in half an hour so they stood some chance of arriving there before lunchtime service ceased in the main restaurant. York’s outer ring road traffic could be monstrous.

The staff at Hawksley Manor would no doubt accommodate them even if they rocked up late, as had previously happened at a different establishment, much to Alex’s embarrassment; another thing Rebecca loved about him – his refusal to exploit taking advantage. She knew he was neither naïve nor hypocritical enough to think his name, position and profession couldn’t open doors and opportunities or that he hadn’t, on occasion, utilised and enjoyed those very privileges, but the less gushing and fawning he could maintain in his day-to-day life, the better.

Rebecca loved Hawksley Manor’s long, tree-lined drive, the sight of the fountain sparkling up ahead, the sound of it tinkling as they drove around it and into the car park, the majesty of the manor itself never failing to lift the hairs on her arms.

Our special place.

How often during the darkest moments of her divorce, the endless tears and doubts and fears, the brave faces, the ache in her belly for Alex whenever they’d parted, never really knowing for sure if the two of them could sustain their unity, had she taken comfort in the memories of that magical weekend they’d first set eyes upon each other, images of them together, every look, every conversation between them, the chemistry, how her mind, heart, and gut had screamed its significance. It made her shudder with horror to think that if she’d never accepted Abi’s original invitation to spend the weekend there, she and Alex would never have met.

‘Penny for your thoughts?’ Alex said to her now, cutting the engine and laying his hand over hers in the lap of her coral tie-dye sundress.

She smiled across at him from the passenger seat. ‘What do you think?’

He nodded, glanced ahead through the tinted windscreen at the manor, and squeezed her hand. ‘Great minds think alike.’

To buy: Amazon | Kobo | iBooks

If I Ever Doubt You is my current read, what can we expect from you next?

I am currently working on a Christmas novella which I hope to have submitted in time for this year’s festivities, fingers crossed. If not, next year’s. I’m also outlining a third contemporary novel.

That sounds great, best of luck with it, and every success with If I Ever Doubt You. Thank you for stopping by. xx

About the author:

Jan Brigden lives in South East London with her husband and motley crew of cuddly toys. Jan’s written for pleasure from a young age; short stories for classmates, odes for workmates, fun quizzes for family and friends, progressing to the contemporary uplifting dramas she writes today.

The idea for her debut novel, As Weekends Go, sprang from a script she composed as part of a creative writing course assignment via The Writers Bureau. The novel went on to be published by award winning UK independent publishers Choc-lit after winning their Search for a Star competition.

Jan’s latest novel, If I Ever Doubt You, also published by Choc Lit, is the sequel to her debut.

An avid reader, reviewer and all round book devotee, Jan is also one eighth of online writing group The Romaniacs who successfully self-published an anthology of short stories and flash fiction entitled ‘Romaniac Shorts: Fashionably Brief’.

Discover more about Jan Brigden and her work here: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Don’t miss Morton S Gray, when she stops by to share an uplifting extract on May 29th. xxx

Stories that will make you smile: Lucy Keeling

Author Interview, Guest Post, Writing & Reading, , , , , , , , , , ,

Today, I am welcoming, Choc Lit author, Lucy Keeling, as she shares an uplifting extract from her novel, Just Friends.

Hello Lucy, how are you keeping in this strange new world? Do you have a top tip to promote wellbeing?

Thank you for inviting me onto your blog Carol.

It’s very strange times, and I hope that you and yours and everyone reading is keeping as safe and as well as possible. I don’t know about you but I’m so thankful that we have books, now more than ever, to provide us with a little bit of escapism.

I’m still working, writing and trying to homeschool, and honestly finding the whole experience quite overwhelming at times. But I very quickly learnt that I needed to take the pressure off all of us as a family. Our priority is getting through the day as best we can. If that means I have an early night with a book and bar of chocolate then that’s fine. If it means that the children have a film on in the afternoon (like right now whilst I type this) then so be it. There’s no textbook for this, there’s no guidance on how we best mentally survive a pandemic, so really I just get through the day, anything else is icing on the cake.

That sounds like good advice to me!

Lucy was runner up in Choc Lit’s search for a star competition with her wonderful romantic comedy, Make It Up To You.

This was a book I greatly enjoyed, and as I haven’t shared it on my blog before, here’s my review:

This was a thoroughly modern rom-com with likeable characters. I especially liked the rather gorgeous, male lead, Marcus. I enjoyed spending time with the group of friends and finding out a little more about each of them (though not all is given away, as it is to come in future books). The central love story is sweet, believable and left me with a big smile.

Overall, it is a funny, warm and cosy read with tea and biscuits thrown in, what’s not to like?

As you can imagine from my review, when I heard I was going to get to revisit the characters from Make It Up To You in your new novel, Just Friends, I got more than a little excited about reading it. Can you tell us a little about the story?

Just Friends follows on from Make It Up To You, but believe me it can be read on its own. Just Friends has some of my favourite romantic tropes. There’s a fake relationship, a best friends sister thing, and not to mention a moment where there’s only one bed. Yikes. It follows a group of friends who are fiercely loyal to each other, and it’s how they navigate through their lives together.

Make It Up To You focussed on the relationship development of Sophie and Marcus. Just Friends focuses on Marcus’s sister Polly, and his best mate Bailey. Sophie and Marcus agree that Polly and Bailey should be their best man, and maid of honour, in the hope that it might bring them closer together. But of course it’s never that straight forward. So fans of the first one can enjoy seeing a little bit more of Sophie and Marcus, and fans of banter, cheekiness and endless flirting can enjoy Just Friends too.

That sounds great, I’d love it if you could share a sneak peek, with an uplifting extract?

Sophie and Marcus are moving in together and the friends are all ‘helping’ move their stuff into their new home.

‘You know what we should do?’ Bailey said, deliberately making his voice suggestive.

‘What?’ asked Polly cautiously.

‘We should get into the bed before it’s trashed and take a selfie to send to them later.’

‘Oh my God, that’s genius.’ With that agreement, Bailey quickly took off his shoes and gently got into the bed and watched as Polly did the same on the other side.

‘Oh man, this is one awesome bed.’ Polly stretched out at the same time she pulled the duvet up to her chin. Bailey grinned at her. He knew he shouldn’t but he couldn’t help but think of them in their own place, in their own bed. His heart warmed at the thought. Until Polly started wriggling around.

‘What’s the matter with you?’ Bailey asked.

Polly sighed. ‘I’m on the wrong side and I don’t like it. Hang on.’ Without warning, Bailey was suddenly transported into a place where his fantasies were quickly coming true. Polly had her hands on his shoulders and was swinging her leg over until she was on top of him. He had a moment of feeling her body heat on his chest before she swung the other leg back over.

‘Sorry about that. There we go, that’s better.’

Bailey blinked several times until he could gather the use of his body to move over to the side Polly had vacated. She was right this was better, but now he thought of a hundred ways it could be better still.

‘OK, it’s selfie time.’ Polly stretched her arm up but couldn’t quite get high enough to get the picture right.

‘Hang on, I’ll take it with mine.’ Bailey used his longer arms to try and aim the camera at them but as luck would have it they were too far apart, and before he could suggest it, she moved closer, the next thing he knew she had curled up next to him and moved his arm until it was behind her around her back, her head resting on his shoulder. Taking the picture a few times with them sticking their tongues out, laughing and pulling faces, he reluctantly pulled his arm down, but not before Polly twisted slightly, her body still leaning into his, close enough that he could smell the shampoo that she used, feel the heat of her against his side, feel her hair as it tickled his arm.

She grabbed his phone and looked at the picture. ‘Perfect.’ Polly grinned mischief making her shine. Turning round to look at him, their bodies warm under the duvet and surrounded by each other, Bailey was not able to move. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t, he didn’t want to ruin this tiny fragment in time that he doubted he would ever forget. Studying her eyes he was desperate for some kind of sign that she was interested, something that would tell him it wasn’t one-sided. But, more importantly, he was looking for a sign that he was worthy. Her brown eyes looked nearer gold, and Polly wasn’t looking away either. In fact, she was moving nearer, their faces getting closer, her breath on his cheek.

‘Helloooo. Bailey? Polly?’ Mya must have said something quietly to Paige as the pair of them burst out laughing. Polly jumped up fast enough to injure herself. So fast that he could almost believe the last few minutes had been another one of his intense dreams. He got out of bed and put his shoes back on.

‘We’re up here. We’ve nearly finished the bed. We’ll be down in a minute.’

Bailey watched stunned as Polly flawlessly carried on as if everything was normal, that she hadn’t been leaning forward to kiss him. Bailey shook his head, trying to re-group.

‘Here get going.’ Pulling the duvet completely off they covered the bed sheet with glitter and streamers and confetti and everything, the pair of them laughing quietly the worse they made it.

‘Right. That’s probably enough.’

Polly snorted. ‘It was enough three bags of confetti ago.’

Aww, that was fab! (I’ll confess that Lucy sent me two extracts of the novel to chose from and I loved them both.)

**Just Friends is available to preorder, here, and is released on May 26th.**

What can we expect from you next?

Well, I am now trying to write book three in this series. If you’ve read the first one then you will know that Mya’s occupation is a mystery, maybe by the end of Just Friends you will have an idea, but book three will be all about Mya and I can’t wait to get that written, and hopefully share it with you all in 2021.

Thank you so much for inviting me on your blog, Carol x

That all sounds very exciting, best of luck with it. Thank you so much, Lucy, for stopping by and I can’t wait to read Just Friends. xx

About the author:

Lucy Keeling writes fun, sexy, stories with all of the happily ever afters. When she’s not typing at the kitchen table, she’s arranging and then re-arranging to see her friends for the occasional spot of day drinking. Lucy is currently writing the third book in a Contemporary Romance series, the first of which was Runner-Up in ChocLit’s ‘Search for a Star’ competition. This story has become her romantic comedy debut ‘Make It Up To You’. The second book in the series ‘Just Friends’ is available to pre-order now.

Discover more about Lucy and her work, here: Facebook | Twitter | website

Don’t miss author Jan Brigden, sharing an extract from her novel, If I Ever Doubt You, on Friday 22nd May! xx

Best Friends – even the furry kind!

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

Today, I am joining the #ChocLitFestival with a focus on ‘Best Friends – even the furry kind!’ and I have news of TWO competitions.

If you’ve read any of my books, you’ll know that friendship plays an important role in my stories, both of the two and four-legged kind.

Like many people at the moment, I am missing catching up in person with friends. Aren’t we lucky to be able to text and video chat! But catching up virtually is not the same as a good old gossip and catch up over a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

Here’s a picture of me with two of my very besties, taken nine years ago. Having all met while working at the same school, twenty-years ago (yikes, that sounds a long time ago), we have gone through a lot together, including relationship ups and downs and bringing up seven children between us.

Like all good friends, we don’t have to speak or see each other all the time to know we are there for each other. My book, Maybe Baby, due out in paperback on August 4th, and now available for preorder, is dedicated to these lovely ladies.

In the Lisa Blake series, best friends Lisa and Felicity have lost touch. They have a lot of catching up to do. As they renegotiate their friendship, it becomes apparent they share a history, a close bond and a sense of humour. I love the fact that readers have enjoyed the friendship element of the story as much as the romance:

  • Beauty Addict: “A truly heart-warming story of love, romance and most importantly, friendship. An absolute must-read.” 
  • 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: “An enjoyable, happy-ending story of friendship and love.”

COMPETITION TIME:

In honour of the #CHOCLITFESTIVAL and the theme of friendship, over on my Facebook page, I am offering you the chance to nominate a friend to win a paperback copy of The Purrfect Pet Sitter. Enter here.

Due to the current situation, the book will be sent directly from Amazon.

But we all know that friends come in all shapes and sizes, some are even furry!


My life has been made so much richer for having my three adorable Labradors in it. Dogs always play an important part in my books (they’ve had stories dedicated to them too), and my current work in progress is no exception.

COMPETITION TIME!

Head over to my Facebook page to enter to win the opportunity to name a springador puppy in my next novel. The puppy is a girl and was the smallest in her litter. Find the post, and leave your name suggestion here.

Good luck everyone, and enjoy the rest of the #ChocLitFestival with different authors participating every day for the next two weeks, there’s bound to be more competitions, giveaways and fun to be had!

Follow the festival on Twitter and Facebook, using the hashtag #ChocLitFfestival.