Category: Guest Post

A Wedding on the Riviera – Evonne Wareham

A return to the Riviera on the trail of a runaway groom …

Evonne Wareham is an established member of my local writing group, and I am honoured she wanted to visit my blog to celebrate her latest release, A Wedding on the Riviera.  As the idyllic cover suggests, the novel has its share of love and romance but beware that Evonne has quite a reputation for killing off her characters too. Besides celebrating her new release, Evonne agreed to offer some writing tips.

Thank you to Jessie for inviting me here to talk about some of the nuts and bolts of writing and celebrate the publication of my fifth book, A Wedding on the Riviera. It’s a romantic suspense set, as you might have guessed, on the French Riviera.

Evonne is an award winning Welsh author of romantic suspense – more crime and dead bodies than your average romance.

I was a long while learning my craft before I made it to publication, and I heard a lot of advice along the way. Writers are often told that a book should have a theme, and it is also well known that there are certain plot ideas, or tropes, that are especially popular with readers. In a crime novel about a detective investigating drug smuggling the theme might be developed with a sub plot of a family member battling addiction. The reader then sees both sides of the story. Tropes are particularly popular in romance writing, and there are quite a lot of them – the marriage of convenience, the secret baby, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, a fake relationship, trapped together somewhere inaccessible, wounded hero/nurse. I’m sure you can think of others. And then there are the fairy tales – Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast are the most popular. As I write romantic suspense, I’ve often wondered what I could do with Little Red Riding Hood.

Actually, I always claim that I don’t do themes or tropes. I usually start out that way, but they creep up on me anyway.  Never Coming Home, my first book, somehow came to be about lost children – those that are missing, but also the dysfunctional backgrounds of my hero and heroine. What Happens at Christmas had the classic festive trope of hero and heroine trapped together by a snowstorm. I arranged a freak weather event in the Brecon Beacons for that.

This is the kind of viewed that inspired Evonne to write about the Riviera.

Wedding on the Riviera is in essence a friends to lovers book – Ryan is a professional escort and Nadine his best client. Getting past the barrier of Ryan’s professionalism is only the first hurdle I erected for them.  When they get involved with a group of friends in a plan to catch a con man, things take a darker turn, but also provide the opportunity to get closer. And thinking about it, there is also a fake relationship buried in there somewhere, but I mustn’t give any more away.

Themes and tropes are an excellent way for a writer to consciously add structure to a book, but you might find they are there, even if you didn’t plan it that way.

Evonne is an award winning Welsh author of romantic suspense – more crime and dead bodies than your average romance. She likes to set her book in her native Wales, or for a touch of glamorous escapism, in favourite holiday destinations in Europe. She is a Doctor of Philosophy and an historian, and a member of both the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Crime Writers’ Association.

Media
Twitter  https://twitter.com/evonnewareham
Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/evonnewarehamauthor/
Website  www.evonnewareham.com
Blog  www.evonneonwednesday.blogspot.com

Book Description

A return to the Riviera on the trail of a runaway groom …
When out-of-work actor Ryan Calder attends a wedding as the plus-one of successful businesswoman, Nadine Wells, he doesn’t expect to get in a scuffle with the groom.

But Ryan has a good reason. He recognises the groom from another wedding where the same man made a quick getaway, taking the wedding money and leaving a heartbroken bride in his wake. It seems he’s struck again, and Nadine’s poor friend is the target.

Ryan and Nadine decide they can’t let it happen to another woman, so with a group of friends they hatch a plan that will take them to the French Riviera, hot on the heels of the crooked groom. But could their scheme to bring him to justice also succeed in bringing them closer together?

 

Please see all my guests’ posts at Mail from the Creative Community and also my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com

A copy of my novel is available here.

Inside the Handbags of The Foyles Bookshop Girls

Elaine Roberts posting me a letter

As the Great War takes hold is there room for what lies ahead in The Foyles Bookshop Girls’ handbags? The Foyles Bookshop Girls is a story about love and friendships, which are tested as war grips the country. The girls, in age order, are Alice, Victoria and Molly and have been friends for most of their lives. When they invited me to peek inside each of their bags I was surprised at what I discovered.

Alice doesn’t overfill her bag, leaving a space in the corner for hope; hope that the men she loves will return safe and sound from the Great War.

Alice’s hand bag, a colourful tapestry, contained a comb, Kirby hairgrips, a small black purse, keys, a sewing kit, a lace trimmed handkerchief, a small black velvet box containing pearl earrings, nail scissors, a gold pen, the latest book she was reading and receipts for books that she’s purchased. Alice doesn’t overfill her bag, leaving a space in the corner for hope; hope that the men she loves will return safe and sound from the Great War.

Victoria’s bag is bursting at the seams with the responsibility of holding everything inside.

Victoria’s handbag is plain black and used to belong to her mother. The contents of her bag were a comb, keys, sewing kit, a plaster, a worn white cotton handkerchief with her initials embroidered in the corner, a well-thumbed second hand paperback book, some yellowed tickets, a dried flower pressed between two pieces of off white paper in an envelope with a photograph of a young man, a small torch, a shopping list with money off coupons, old receipts and a photograph of her parents. Victoria’s bag is bursting at the seams with the responsibility of holding everything inside. It has been crammed with everyday items and treasured belongings leaving no room for hope, faith or love.

Molly’s handbag contains things to make her feel better, to improve her, to try to rid her of the guilt that is hidden amongst the finery it holds.

Molly’s handbag is peacock blue with glass beads hanging down from it. Her bag contains silver bangles, a compact, a small pot of rouge, a white cotton handkerchief, a small glass bottle filled with perfume, loose hairclips and bands, a black coin purse, which has her notes screwed up and forced inside. A half eaten chocolate bar, a nail file, comb and a pad and pen. Molly’s handbag contains things to make her feel better, to improve her, to try to rid her of the guilt that is hidden amongst the finery it holds.

Elaine Roberts had a dream to write for a living.

Elaine’s guest post demonstrates she knows her characters inside out.  The characters’ handbags reveal so much about these characters and make me want to delve into their worlds. I can’t resist walking into a bookshop.  The Foyles Bookshop Girls is ‘a delightful story of friendship, love and hope during the dark days of WW1. Elaine Roberts is a bright new star in the world of sagas’
About Elaine

Elaine Roberts had a dream to write for a living. She completed her first novel in her twenties and received her first very nice rejection. Life then got in the way until circumstances made her re-evaluate her life, and she picked up her dream again in 2010. She joined a creative writing class, The Write Place, in 2012 and shortly afterwards had her first short story published. She was thrilled when many more followed and started to believe in herself.

As a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, progressing to full membership from the New Writers Scheme, and The Society of Women Writers & Journalists, Elaine attends many conferences, workshops, seminars and wonderful parties. Meeting other writers gives her encouragement, finding most face similar problems.

Elaine and her patient husband, Dave, have five children who have flown the nest. Home is in Dartford, Kent and is always busy with their children, grandchildren, grand dogs and cats visiting. Without her wonderful family and supportive friends, she knows the dream would never have been realised.

Blurb

London, 1914: one ordinary day, three girls arrive for work at London’s renowned Foyles bookshop. But when war with Germany is declared their lives will never be the same again…

Alice has always been the ‘sensible’ one in her family – especially in comparison with her suffrage-supporting sister! But decidedly against her father’s wishes, she accepts a job at Foyles Bookshop; and for bookworm Alice it’s a dream come true.

But with the country at war, Alice’s happy world is shattered in an instant. Determined to do what she can, Alice works in the bookshop by day, and risks her own life driving an ambulance around bomb-ravaged London by night. But however busy she keeps herself, she can’t help but think of the constant danger those she loves are facing on the frontline…

Alice, Victoria and Molly couldn’t be more different and yet they share a friendship that stems back to their childhood – a friendship that provides everyday solace from the tribulations and heartbreak of war.

 

Please see all my guests’ posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

 

A Christmas gift from a bright young star

Today, I am handing over this blog to talented, nine-year-old author, Ella Lopez.

Ella has co-written a book with her mother, Jennifer. C. Lopez, about their experience of home-schooling.  Entitled: ‘Thanks, But I’ll Teach My Own Kid’, the book explores fearless thinking and learning without borders. Their book has been honoured by their local library association, and featured in publications across the USA. Ella has also written her debut novel: ‘Legend of Beams’.

I challenged Ella to take me, and my handbag, on a Christmas adventure.  The young, innovative adventurer imagined a placed for the three of us to meet. Ella created a multicultural, celebratory setting and she is delighted to share it with you.

 

Ella’s Christmas Gift of Creativity

Jennifer, Ella and Jessie were having a good ole chat online about our writings, great books we’ve read and even cultural travels, when suddenly the internet line began to crackle. Their laptop screens went dark, but they could still hear each other faintly…they also heard some sort of bells ringing subtly from inside the screen and a jolly deep laughter- on both ends of the line. Jennifer, stared at the screen in disbelief as a faint image of Jessie grew larger out of the blackness. Suddenly, Jessie popped right out of the computer- and joined us. They were all together now, staring at each other in disbelief. Completely befuddled, they looked around. They heard bells and the sound of jolly laughter. They had all been transported through cyberspace when Ella pressed ‘escape’ on the laptop.

Thistle bushes, vibrant green shamrock plants and Noche Buenas of red adorned the landscape. The land appeared to be the most complex and unique combination of two distinct cultures: Mexico and Wales. It was an exuberant pallet of color, music and culture they witnessed unfold in front of us and beyond. Silvery snowflakes fell continuously, leaving a glistening canopy over the entire landscape.

They heard a faint voice echo beyond the grand red and green plants.

Voice of Christmas: Welcome, Bienvenidos, Croeso! You three have arrived in the land of Nadolexmas. This is the land of celebration where we merge experiences and cultures- a blending so unique and filled with pure beauty. You were transported here because the three of you have an immense appreciation of culture that encourages others to feel it too.  We want you to spread good cheer, and Nadolexmas beautifully blends both your loved cultures :Wales and Mexico. Please, sit down for your first meal.

The voice continued…as if closer now- but still there was no one visible within their sight.

A table and three chairs magically emerged on the landscape. Lights enveloped enormous trees that now surrounded our beautiful table. The table was adorned with a ‘Tapete’, hand woven in every color imaginable. Jennifer and Ella recognized it as from their favorite region of Mexico: Oaxaca. The table was set with gold placemats.  Each place setting had a Christmas cracker and some chocolate dragons dressed in festive costumes.  Tangerines and chocolate coins were also spread generously on the table and many plates of scrumptious plates began to appear.  Feeling grateful for this feast before us, Jessie reached for the plate of laverbread with cockles and bacon. She must have been thinking of  a Welsh breakfast.

Ella and Jennifer looked a little dubious at the green laverbread, but always willing to try new things- they placed some on their plates.  Jessie tried to think of something served by her Spanish sister-in-law then presented some additional prawns, with the shells on, cooked in garlic and chorizo. She was thrilled with the scrumptious holiday dishes she’d dreamt into reality, but was still looking for the turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce.

Ella BEAMED with joy and closed her eyes then, thinking of her favorite dishes during Navidad (Christmas) in Mexico. A simple few of her favorites came dancing through the air to the tune of ‘Feliz Navidad’. First was Ponche, filled with bubbly sweet fruits. Then, came Chiles Rellenos filled with rice, meat and cilantro. As the dishes gently settled themselves onto the table, Ella reached immediately across the table for a chocolate dragon.

Ella: Mama look! It’s Beams! It is the dragon in my story.

Jennifer: Ella it sure does look like Beams, but you are forgetting your table manners and also- you know we save the dessert for after the main dishes.

Ella: But Mama, it’s the holiday and a special time with Jess. I’m only going to eat just this one now- in honor of Beams. And I’d like to try some Welsh cakes.

Mama: Well, since there definitely doesn’t appear to be a land where rules apply… I suppose just the one Beams Chocolate can’t hurt.

Ella: Jessie, I think the prawns are my favorite. I didn’t know the Welsh loved Chorizo too. We have that in common! Please…you need to try Los Tamales de maíz, fresa y canela now (corn tamales with strawberries and cinnamon).

Jessie: You bet, Ella! I can’t wait. I love how they’ve been prepared inside of the corn husks and wrapped as if they are a gift. Just beautiful.

Jennifer and Ella: ¡Feliz Navidad Jessie!

Jennifer and Jessie raised their glasses to toast this most magical celebration with Sparkling Pear Juice. Jessie smiled.

Jessie: Nadolig Llawin. Now, we have all wished each other a Merry Christmas.

Ella: We have some gifts to share Jessie and it seems there is no better time than now in this special place. It just feels so Christmas-like here.

Jessie: I agree sweet Ella. Might I ask you to open mine to you- first? You know the gifts we share are never material in nature, and I’m awfully excited to see what you think of yours.

Ella: That is really sweet of you to want me to open mine first Jess. I’m just as excited as you are, to find out what is inside!

Jessie: Great, let me grab it out of my Handbag sweetie. I can’t believe my HANDBAG somehow traveled here with us through Cyberspace- but who am I to question the beauty of this mysterious experience!

Ella examined her gift from Jess. Inside was a red velvet bag. She opened it up and bright light immediately illumined the space around Ella and spreads across her face as she smiled. They were the most vibrant sparkles in all shapes and colors.  Ella stared, speechless.

Jessie: I give you the gift of imagination, sweet Ella.

Ella hugged Jessie tightly.

Ella: ¡Gracias! Actually, I’d like to say, Diolch (thank you in Welsh)! I know this gift will help me tremendously.

Jennifer and Ella: We have something here for you now, Jess.

Jennifer and Ella handed Jess a bag of multi-hued golden silk. She looked at us smiling and then down at the bag in her hands.

Jessie: Oh, my goodness- this will go beautifully with my holiday handbag. It almost looks like pieces of iridescent Abalone! How in the world did you make these Ella and Jen?

Ella: Well, Jessie it’s the gift of continued growth in creativity. I think we had similar thoughts on sharing something with each other that we’d always be able to keep with us. You probably won’t be able to guess what these are- that give you the continued growth in your amazing creativity so let me tell you. . .

They are the scales from a most magical dragon. There’s only one of her kind and they can only be found in the Realm of Castelina, where this growing dragon, Beams lives. As she grows, so does her magic and her iridescent wings shed scales during the growth spurts. They will give you much happiness and encourage your creative side to continue to fly. Here, you can read my new novel: ‘Legend of Beams’.

As Ella spoke, the beautiful shiny scales started to rise up out of Jessie’s handbag.

 

Please see my blog at jessiecahalin.com.

 

A Wing and a Prayer : M. W. Arnold

For King and Country

M. W. Arnold is celebrating the release of his saga novel – A Wing and a Prayer. When I discovered the novel is about women pilots, I had to find out more. I invited Mick Arnold to tell me why he decided to write A Wing and a Prayer.

‘How many people do you know who say, often as a throwaway, I could write a book! Then go on to say, if only I had the time.

‘A Wing and a Prayer’ isn’t one of those books. However, it also wasn’t planned. A couple of years ago, I wrote and had my first book published, ‘The Season for Love’, a contemporary Women’s Fiction story. I followed this up with a bout of ill health which lasted the best part of two years. Good author friends suggested it would help to write something new, instead of taking up an unfinished project. The theory was, by going for a new, unrelated project, I could take myself somewhere I hadn’t been before. It worked.

‘Strong female characters and the true British stiff upper lip to keep calm and carry on in order to find out what happened! This book was more than a wonderful story, it was also a history lesson and I just loved it!’ Amazon Reviewer

Write what you know; is also said. I love history and the same day this was suggested to me, I caught a program on television about the women (men did the same job) pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary who ferried aircraft to the operational squadrons. Now, that sounds interesting, I thought. So, I spent the whole of the rest of the day scrolling through the internet for anything along the same lines.

I’m usually a pantser but on this occasion, I found myself planning out a saga novel. I’d only ever read a couple but with help and suggestions, again from the same friends, I knew what it needed to read like. Quicker than I’ve ever done, this novel came together and the The Air Transport Auxiliary Mystery Club was born! I didn’t set out to write a mystery into the story of how four girls from different parts of the world find a way of living and working together, yet the first scene in the story sets the scene with one of the girls sisters being found dead in the cockpit of a Tiger Moth biplane!

I served for over sixteen years in the Royal Air Force, travelling all over the world and, of course, the United Kingdom. Some of the bases I served on were once visited by these brave people I’ve written about and I feel honoured to play a small part in keeping their story alive and in, perhaps, bringing it to a new audience. Their bravery needs to be heard about and with this story, the first in the ‘Broken Wings’ series, I hope to be able to perform this task I’ve set myself.’

M W Arnold lives near Northampton, UK and is known to his family and friends as, Mick.

M W Arnold lives near Northampton, UK and is known to his family and friends as, Mick. He was in the Royal Air Force for 16 years, visiting many different countries and very much enjoying himself. If he ever meets the Queen, he will have to thank her. He began writing as these characters needed their own voices. For a few years now, he’s been a member of the Romantic Novelists Association, a wonderful group of writers who’ve welcomed this bloke into their fold with open arms. 

 

Please see all my Guests’ Posts and also my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel is available here.

Jill Barry’s Writing Adventure

She is a talented, multi-genre author who has helped many aspiring writers to realise their dreams.

Recently, I listened to Jill Barry, a local Welsh author, chat with Roy Noble on BBC Radio Wales. Captivated by Jill’s life story, I could not resist inviting this bestselling author to my blog for a chat.    She is a talented, multi-genre author who has helped many aspiring writers to realise their dreams.  As a former Butlin’s Red Coat, hotel receptionist and air hostess, Jill has collected characters and stories. She writes pocket novels for D C Thomson so you have probably seen her name on the newsstands. The House Sitter, published by Headline Accent, is Jill’s first novel in a different genre.

Jessie:  Jill, you have topped many kindle charts with your romance and historical romance novels, but The House Sitter is very different.  Is there any romance in your latest novel?

Jill:  The House Sitter is a psychological suspense but does have a frisson of romance.  I had lots of fun plotting the twists and turns.  The central character is quite nasty, and she surprised and intrigued me.

The House Sitter is a psychological suspense but does have a frisson of romance.

Jessie: Tell me why I should keep your novel in my handbag.

Jill: I am not sure you will be able to keep The House Sitter in your handbag for very long, Jessie.  You will be keen to reach the end.

Jessie:  Choosing novels is one of the greatest pleasures in life.  I always feel as if I am waiting to drop myself into another world. I admit I do feel a little scared of The House Sitter as the title is so evocative. Read the blurb of The House Sitter and give me a glimpse of the novel.

Jill: The year is turning, and in The Sugar House, deep in rural mid-Wales, change is also afoot. When retired couple, Eddie and Suzanne Deacon plan a return to England, they’ve either forgotten an important promise made to a longstanding friend or had no intention of keeping it.

This photograph was taken in the remote mid-Wales village where Jill used to live. The building in the background is the old church and in my mind forms part of the view from the house where Eddie and Suzanne Deacon live and which they have put on the market.

Jessie:  Wow!  The House Sitter is steeped in mystery.  You have me hooked.  Can I trouble you for an extract, please?

Jill: Of course, Jessie.  I am always delighted to introduce my books to new readers with large handbags.

“Do you mean now?” Ruth eyed the slice of mountain range visible through her window, its distant peaks veiled in misty cobwebs.

“The sooner the better, to be honest. We have some important news, though I’m afraid it’ll come as a shock.”

Jessie:  Oh, my goodness, I am on the edge of my seat now.  What have your readers said about The House Sitter?

Jill:  My pleasure!  I have been very pleased with the reviews.

‘Spine-chilling with an undercurrent of mystery and deceit.’

‘An impeccably plotted tense tale, The House Sitter explores what lengths people go to in desperation. Deceitful and dark, it’s a great novel to curl up with on these toe-nipping winter evenings. Just be sure to lock your door…’

‘What Barry does best is to allow the reader to laugh at the ridiculous in her characters as well as to make them care, even perhaps slightly for the unbalanced Ruth, who appears lonely and vulnerable beneath her confident façade.’

Dylan the black cat belongs to Ruth Morgan, the house sitter.

Jessie: How did you feel when you had finished writing your book, and did you miss any of the characters?  

Jill: I was sorry to leave Ray and Bethan’s story unfinished as I found their unspoken attraction for one another intriguing. My book group read the novel and all wanted to learn the result of that pent-up longing! So, a sequel could be on the cards…

Jessie: Did any of your characters misbehave when you were writing the book?

Jill: The plot revolves around house-sitter Ruth’s horrendous behaviour and sometimes I felt surprised when up popped another malicious prank.

Jessie: Who would you like to read your book and why?                                                                   Jill: I’m a great admirer of author Harriet Meg Evans and have been in touch with her via social media. Harriet very kindly asked when my novel was due out and it would be amazing if she decided to read The House Sitter.

Of course, I do expect to tempt my usual readers with something a little different.  I am going to be bold and say most readers love to indulge in mystery and suspense.

Jessie:  You have every right to be bold, and you have certainly tempted me to purchase a copy of this book.  I am so impressed with the way you have explored a new genre.

Jill:  It is wonderful of you to say so, Jessie. Maybe The House Sitter could inspire authors who long to write outside their usual genre into challenging themselves by writing something different.

Jessie: Writing stories seems to be in your heart and soul.  I imagine your notebook is a trusty companion.  Please, do tell me the last sentence in your notebook.

Jill: Tabitha disguises herself as a boy, deeming it safer than remaining in female guise.

Jessie: You certainly have an eye for a great story.  Once again, I am hooked.  I don’t know where you get all your ideas from.  You must be constantly writing.  What is the greatest challenge for you as an author?

Jill: For me, it’s concentration. Yes, even though I enjoy writing! There are so many distractions and social media, whilst valuable, is a hard taskmaster. I know many other authors feel the same.

Jessie: What is the best advice that you have received as a writer? 

Jill: The best advice I’ve ever received as a writer came from my former tutor, Menna Elfyn. Her wise words were: ‘No piece of writing is ever wasted’.

Jessie:  This really helps me as a fledgling author. I will save those deleted scenes use for a rainy writing day.  Perfect!   Before you go please tell us one secret about yourself that may surprise us.                                                       

Jill: Long before I thought of writing outside the romance genre, I volunteered as a role player for trainee police officers. So, I’ve experienced being handcuffed, have been locked in a cell, also sampled a cup of police canteen tea!

About Jill Barry:

Jobs like hotel receptionist and cabin crew provide magic moments and help inspire my writing. Since settling back in Wales, I’ve joined writers’ groups, gained my MA degree, also tutored and mentored. I hope to continue entertaining my readers and to walk, read and bake, plus keep up with my wonderful friends.

Contact Details

Facebook:       https://www.facebook.com/JillBarryBooks/
Twitter:        @barry_jill
Website:        www.jillbarry.com
Link to            The House Sitter

 

Please all my guests’ posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel is available here.

Travelling back to my childhood with word magician, Patricia Furstenberg

Patricia Furstenberg is a bestselling children’s author and her work is an absolute joy.  My interactions with her over the last couple of months have been an inspiration.  I was honoured when she asked if I would reveal the covers of her new trio of books.   As an avid reader, I believe that the children’s authors are word magicians and dream weavers.  Once upon a time, children’s stories commenced my lifelong reading journey thus they have a special place in my heart.  Children’s writers inspire the future readers and writers.

I know that Patricia will inspire children aged three to seven years with her trio of stories: ‘The Lion and the Dog’, ‘The Elephant and the Sheep’, ‘The Cheetah and the Dog’.  These stories are simple tales of friendship inspired by true stories from the animal kingdom. Without minding their differences diverse animals become friends, helping and supporting each other. They share food and shelter, they give each other moral support and, of course, they have lots of fun together! It is my pleasure to reveal the covers of these stories here today.  Instantly, the covers present you the promise of a magical world of animals.  Patricia’s stories are popular because they entertain and educate: they can be used as a starting point for discussion with children.  I am sure that adults will enjoy the stories as much as the children.

One is never too old to read a children’s story! I had great fun reading ‘Joyful Trouble’, and realized the depth of what Patricia achieved with her books. I am astounded at how much Patricia writes and wondered what motivates her.  Having interviewed and interacted with this prolific writer of children’s fiction, I invited Patricia to tell me more about her writing.  I wanted to know how she works her magic to get children reading and how she educates through her stories.

Patricia Furstenberg on the magic of animals in children’s stories #Guestpost

Children’s love of stories comes from an innate desire to discover the truth, supported by their confidence that they will succeed in this endeavour because they feel protected in the safety of their lives. I like to think of children’s books as a magic trick. You have the instant surprise and joy, yet in the long run, besides the lingering amazement and awe, there are countless benefits. Reading improves a child’s vocabulary, thus his self-esteem. Reading is linked to EQ (Emotional Intelligence); a high EQ can positively assist a child in a bullying situation. Reading improves child-parent bonding as well as a scholar’s concentration and his academic excellence.

Writing for children is an attractive challenge which I enjoy tremendously. Take a real life situation, add lots of imagination, dress it with metaphors, throw in at least one animal character and sprinkle with humour. Let it rise. Bake it with love and serve it with bright illustrations. It will keep kids entertained for years. And ideas for new kids’ stories are everywhere; tucked away in my memories, like Puppy, my latest book release, or hidden gems in the nature surrounding us like my first book, Happy Friends. The more I write, the more ideas I discover.

Animals are very important in children’s lives. From an emotional level, as they teach youngsters empathy and responsibility, to a more cognitive one. So many life lessons can be taught if we sugar-coat them in a puppy or bunny shape. The same goes for Young Adult books. Think of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, a sheer lesson about the will to live and how our perception of reality changes when beasts are involved, whether they are imaginary or not. Animals always do unexpected and extraordinary things in order to survive and often they become a symbol of our most profound fears and battles; yet animals never judge. My second book, Joyful Trouble, tells the story of a Great Dane enlisted in the Royal Navy during WWII. This dog wins the hearts of all soldiers and residents of Simon’s Town, South Africa, through his sheer loyalty and love. I like to think that Joyful Trouble reached Bestseller status on Amazon UK and US in its category through his likeable personality and uplifting presence.

Sometimes beasts have their own path to follow, as well as dance with Belle. Other times animals succeed in bringing humanity into a story where people act mercilessly. Dumb Witness, Agatha Christie’s thriller, presents a most softened Hercule Poirot solely through his interactions with Bob, the fox terrier that holds the definitive clue. Perhaps reading this crime novel by Dame Christie was one of the turning points in my life. But it wasn’t until much later that I decided to put pen on paper and write children’s books focused on animals. Animals make for such versatile characters. George Orwell’s Animal Farm, where “some animals are more equal than others,” although it is a satire on the Soviet Union under the Communist Party rule is still relevant to the present political scene of many countries around the world.

At times, an animal pops up in a story because of cultural perceptions, such as in Jerome K Jerome’s witty Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog). Other times the animal itself brings the fiction to life, if you think of Dion Leonard’s wonderful Finding Gobi or of my next trio of children’s stories The Lion and the Dog, The Elephant and the Sheep, The Cheetah and the Dog. Some stories ask to be written, others just wait to be discovered, you must just pay attention. And where there is an animal with a history to tell, there are usually more waiting in line. For most beasts live in packs, helping each other. A little bit like the Twitter community J where we follow and support one another, taking strength from numbers.

 

Take a look at one of Patricia’s articles about encouraging boys to read.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/patricia-furstenberg/how-to-get-boys-to-read-in-5-easy-steps_a_22491122/

http://Author.to/PatFurstenberg

Author Website: http://alluringcreations.co.za/wp/

Huffington Post SA http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/author/patricia-furstenberg/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatFurstenberg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatriciaFurstenbergAuthor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciafurstenberg

 

 

Please see my review of Joyful Trouble, the interview with Patricia Furstenberg and my blog at jessiecahalin.com.

 

Jo Lambert on Creating a Sense of Place

Inspiration for Lyndbrook Hall

I love to celebrate authors who have connected with me over the years. Jo Lambert lives east of Bath, and she has written an impressive seven books. Books are a destination for readers, and Jo creates a powerful sense of place in her romantic suspense novels.  I invited Jo to tell me about the inspiration for the sense of place in her writing.

A SENSE OF PLACE – Pure imagination, reality or a little of both – what’s best for you?

Inspiration for the Black Bull

As an author it’s not only about developing the plot and creating the characters, it’s also getting the setting right.  Whether you are writing a psychological thriller or contemporary romance set in the city or the suburbs – or maybe like me, using a rural/small town community – creating the perfect backdrop can occasionally throw up some problems. That is why personally I’ve always found it easier to base my fictional locations on actual places.

My first novel When Tomorrow Comes was set in rural West Somerset.  For this I used my own experiences of village life.  Of course it’s not just using familiar places, it can also include buildings such as houses, pubs and hotels. They can all be used to help the writing process.   In Summer Moved On and Watercolours in the Rain, set in South Devon village of Lynbrook, The Bull Inn is actually based on a local village pub I still visit.  Similarly Lynbrook Hall is a real place about five miles away from the pub. It was for sale while I was writing and the on line estate agent’s photographs were a bonus in helping create my fictitious manor house.

Set in Cornwall Shadows on the Water is a story of family ties, lost love and tangled loyalties

My current novels are set in Cornwall. For A Cornish Affair, I used a hotel I’d seen while staying in Richmond. It was totally right for the one central to the book which sat on a cliff overlooking a small coastal fishing village.  And for my latest novel, Shadows on the Water, I’ve taken parts of Fowey and Dartmouth and blended them into the estuary town of Kingswater.

Inspiration for Tarwin House Hotel

Another useful aid is Google Map. In one of my novels my character was in Verona, a place I had visited several years before.  During her stay she had gone on walkabout in the city. Apart from The Arena and Juliet’s Balcony I had a very hazy memory of our day trip there.  Luckily Google Map came to the rescue.   It enabled me to ‘walk’ in her footsteps and describe the things she was seeing, giving the whole scene a far more authentic feel.

In the end, of course, it depends very much on individual preference. Some writers are happy to use their imagination while others set their stories in real places.  And then there are those like me who ‘borrow’, taking reality and remoulding it to suit the story they are writing.  It’s all about what works best for you really.

I also enjoy the freedom to create a new village based on places I have encountered in my travels. The place wraps itself around my characters and listens to their hopes, dreams and sadness. Jo Lambert has recently released Shadows on the Water. Set in Cornwall Shadows on the Water is a story of family ties, lost love and tangled loyalties. I look forward to visiting Jo’s destination.

Jo Lambert is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors. She has been writing since 2008

More about Shadows on the Water

After the tragic death of her fiancé, Ava Warren is slowly rebuilding her life.  She has a supportive family, great friends and a job she loves, managing holiday letting company Estuary Escapes in her home town of Kingswater. Another relationship is the last thing she wants or needs. Until one evening she meets Alex Penhaligon.

Alex’s father Sam owns Heron’s Gate Vineyard and Alex has recently returned from California, where he has been working for the past five years.  A case of mistaken identity gets them off to a bad start. But discovering his error, Alex is anxious to make amends and soon persuades Ava that he’s not quite as arrogant as she thinks he is. As their friendship begins to turn into something much deeper, Ava wonders whether she can at last put the past behind her and make a new future with Alex.

But someone is watching.  A man who not only thinks Ava should be his but also holds a long term grudge against Alex.  And he’s determined to get his own way irrespective of the lengths he has to go to or who gets hurt in the process.

Social Media Links –
Website: http://jolambertbooks.com
Blog: http://jolambertwriter.blog
Twitter: @jolambertwriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jolambert185
Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jo-lambert-6 4644530
Instagram: jolambertwriter185

 

Please see all my guests’ posts at Mail from the Creative Community and also my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel is available here.

Judith Barrow’s Memories

‘The Memory is a poignant tale of love and hate in which you will feel every emotion experienced by Irene.’– Terry Tyler

Wonderful author of the Bestselling Haworth family saga, Judith Barrow, is launching her latest novel.  The Memory explores a ‘Mother and daughter tied together by shame and secrecy, love and hate.’ I can’t resist books with secrets and know Judith is an expert at weaving these into her narratives.  I invited Judith to tell me more about the background to The Memory because I know it is close to her heart and experience.

Much of the background of The Memory is taken from my own memories of when I was carer at different times in my life. With the support of my husband I’ve looked after two aunts. One who lived with us for thirty years before dementia took hold of her – and then, at the same time, her aunt, who came to us when the disease first made its presence known and she had no one else. The idea was that we found a care home for her in Pembrokeshire where we live, but she cried when we left her there. So we brought her home. Physically robust, she lived with us for twelve years. We were four generations under one roof and, looking back I don’t think it did our children any harm. Indeed I think it taught them empathy. And finding the humour in the chaos of living with someone with dementia far outweighed the sadness.

A portrait of Judith’s Auntie Olive who lived with Judith’s family for over thirty years.

I truly believe that the role of carer for a loved and respected relative with dementia is something that takes over both lives with unseen stealth. The disease steals away the person who affected until they gradually disappear. The carer increasingly and sometimes automatically takes on the role until their whole life revolves around the caring. And, mostly, it’s a mantle that’s taken on willingly.

But it’s hard.

During the years I was a carer I met others whose lives, despite help from any professional bodies, had become a constant round of tiredness and stress. And it was only when the trust was built up between us that the word ‘resentment’ would sometimes be voiced. But spoken of with shame, as though it was a reaction that had no place. After all, most of them were caring for a person who had been a constant presence in their lives as a cherished parent, relative, companion, partner. It was the carer’s time to give back the love – wasn’t it? They had no right to sometimes feel resentful. Or so they believed. I remember the relief to be able to admit it, to relax, to know I wasn’t alone. And to share stories of the ridiculous and bizarre situations we found ourselves in.

I’ve tried to show those two contrasting emotions in The Memory; love and yet resentment. But with Irene Hargreaves, the protagonist, hatred often rears its ugly head. All because on one dreadful memory.

Pots and Pans is the memorial where the Remembrance Services are held. It’s a memorial where memories are kept and/ or shared to the wind.

As a child, I escaped to a place known as Pots and Pans in Saddleworth.  Pots and Pans, quite high, windy and isolated, is the memorial where the Remembrance Services are held.  I used to climb with my first dog when I was eleven to get away from home. It’s where I used to chunter on about the unfairness of anything that was happening.  It’s a memorial where memories are kept and/ or shared to the wind. Well, that’s what I always thought. The dog was also a great listener!  This is the place where the bones of my books were constructed.

The Memory is a stand alone book about a woman, Irene Hargreaves, who is the career for her mother. One a dark evening in 2001 Irene stands by the side of her mother’s bed and knows it is time. For more than fifty years she has carried a secret around with her; a haunting memory she hasn’t even confided to her husband, Sam, a man she has loved and trusted all her life. But now she must act before he arrives home…

About Judith:

Wonderful author of The Memory and the bestselling Howarth family saga.

Judith Barrow,originally from Saddleworth, a group of villages on the edge of the Pennines,has lived in Pembrokeshire, Wales, for forty years.

She has an MA in Creative Writing with the University of Wales Trinity St David’s College, Carmarthen. BA (Hons) in Literature with the Open University, a Diploma in Drama from Swansea University and She has had short stories, plays, reviews and articles, published throughout the British Isles and has won several poetry competitions..

She is a Creative Writing tutor for Pembrokeshire County Council and holds private one to one workshops on all genres.

https://www.judithbarrow-author.co.uk/
https://judithbarrow.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/judithbarrow77
https://www.facebook.com/judith.barrow.3
https://www.honno.co.uk/authors/b/judith-barrow/

Please see all my guests’ posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel is available here.

Gift of Happy Endings

What happens if nine northern authors collaborate on an anthology?

What happens if nine northern authors collaborate on an anthology? You will find one shop, Miss Moonshine and a gift of happy endings.  Miss Moonshine’s Emporium of Happy Endings is an anthology of heartwarming romantic stories from the Authors on the Edge: Mary Jayne Baker, Sophie Claire, Jacqui Cooper, Helena Fairfax, Kate Field, Melinda Hammond, Marie Laval, Helen Pollard and Angela Wren. Listen in as the authors chat about the inspiration behind the anthology.

Kate: The character of Miss Moonshine was the starting point for the stories. I loved reading how we all described her, such as Jacqui’s introduction to her:

‘A tiny woman in a flowing, sleeveless lace gown was dusting the displays with what looked like an ostrich feather. A glittering black hairband scraped her silvery hair back off her face. Her eyebrows were arched and high.’

Meet the Authors on the Edge: Mary Jayne Baker, Sophie Claire, Jacqui Cooper, Helena Fairfax, Kate Field, Melinda Hammond, Marie Laval, Helen Pollard and Angela Wren.

Jacqui: We needed to make sure all our descriptions of Miss Moonshine’s character matched. Marie had the brilliant idea of basing Miss Moonshine’s appearance on Vivienne Westwood. Vivienne Westwood is over 70 now but still as sparky as ever, she wears beautiful, quirky clothes, she’s not afraid to be different – and she has just the right northern accent!

Sophie: We also agreed she would be an ethereal character, said to be from the Pendle area (with all its associations with witches and magic), who has owned the shop since the 1700s, when Melinda’s story opens, to the present day. We later added Napoleon the dog, who was the ingenious idea of Marie, and the perfect companion for her.

Kate: Napoleon certainly shows off his personality in some of the stories! Miss Moonshine’s shop ties the stories together too, and Helen captures the place perfectly.

‘The handsome stone building had been here since 1777, according to the date above the door.

‘The handsome stone building had been here since 1777, according to the date above the door. Set back from the road, with roses dotted between the stone slabs in front and growing up an arch over the doorway, it looked more like a fine old house than a place of business.’

Jacqui: The shop is based on a real place. When we all gather in Hebden Bridge, we meet very near the Heart Gallery. It’s in a beautiful old building that used to be a chapel, with an arch of roses at the entrance. If you look carefully at our book cover, you’ll see the year 1777 over the door.

Kate: It was fascinating to see how we all filled the shop with unusual items. You summed it up brilliantly, Mary Jayne:

‘Tat and treasure, mingling like a mismatched couple’s wedding list. The only thing they had in common was that each item there was chosen. Everything on sale had been personally selected by Miss Moonshine.’

Kate: How did you choose which object would feature in your story?

Mary Jayne: My object is a pulp fiction novel of the 1960s called “Budgerigars Don’t Talk”. My heroine Callie, somewhat unwillingly, accepts this as a gift from Miss Moonshine, only to find herself falling for the anonymous doodler who’s annotated the book as she reads it.This was inspired by a very real book called “Crows Can’t Count” that I picked up in a second-hand bookshop in Southport over Christmas, for the sole reason that the title made me smile. I was tickled by the idea of parodying the detective fiction genre, and it was great fun to create the story within my story. So my quirky item from a dusty second-hand shop was inspired by a real-life quirky item from a dusty second-hand shop – I think Miss Moonshine would approve!

Angela: My central character, Maddie, is in a difficult place emotionally.  She has an immediate need – to win the rally that she is engaged in for the duration of the story – and an inner, more long-term worry about her dad’s business. Miss Moonshine gave her some rose quartz, which brings inner calm and is good for the heart.  It seemed to me that it was just what Maddie needed… and not only for herself.

What happens if nine northern authors collaborate on an anthology?

Marie: I love music boxes. When on holiday in France a few years ago I bought one that played the French song La Javanaise. It is a very beautiful, very melancholic song by Serge Gainsbourg that always makes me cry, but I do hope that my story won’t make the reader cry!

Kate: Your hero wasn’t impressed by Miss Moonshine’s shop when he first visited, Marie. That scene made me laugh:

‘He stepped forward, but the lighting was so dim he bumped into a display table, causing the odd assortment of tins, cups and saucers, and dainty porcelain figures to clatter. What a strange collection. Were these ancient medical implements? And what about that fossilised crocodile skull, complete with teeth?

He shook his head in dismay. How could anyone want to purchase any of this junk? The name of the shop was misleading. Perhaps Miss Moonshine’s Wonderful Emporium should be called Miss Moonshine’s Weird Emporium.’

Kate: If your main character was writing a review of Miss Moonshine’s Wonderful Emporium, what do you think he or she say?

Helena: She would say Miss Moonshine’s Emporium is far more than just a shop, and that Miss Moonshine had given her the strength to embrace her future – as well as introduced her to the man she loves.

Melinda: Diana, my main character might say this (translating it from her Regency speech to modern day, of course!)

“I would give Miss Moonshine’s Emporium 4 stars. It has such a welcoming atmosphere and I felt completely at home as soon as I walked in. I have never seen a shop like it, so many strange and wonderful objects, some of which are completely foreign to me. I would have given it 5 stars, only during my time there I think I only once saw a customer!”

Mary Jayne: My heroine Callie has business dealings with Miss Moonshine – she sells her craft pieces for her stock – so it would be in her interests to give the emporium five stars! Nevertheless, she is a little wary of Miss Moonshine, having heard some of the whispers surrounding the objects on sale. I think she might feel obliged to include a warning in her review – she knows that lives change irrevocably when people shop at Miss Moonshine’s.

Kate: That’s a good point, Mary Jayne. Would you dare visit Miss Moonshine’s shop?

Mary Jayne: I’m not sure I would! But if I did, I think she’d sell me something to improve my confidence. Perhaps a beautiful vintage fountain pen that would help me write the perfect book…

Marie: I agree, I need self-confidence too, like many of the heroines in the anthology.  Miss Moonshine certainly helps several of them find a new, exciting life filled with love and happiness. As for which object would help me develop self-belief and confidence, I’m not sure…perhaps a music box with a happy, magical tune.

Sophie: I would love to visit Miss Moonshine’s shop – if only to find out what she would sell me. What is missing from my life? – I’m not sure, but what I’d wish for would be a box of inspiration to fuel a lifetime of story-writing. If anyone could conjure up something as magical and exciting as that, Miss Moonshine could!

A copy of Miss Moonshine’s Emporium of Happy Endings in my handbag.

I wonder what Miss Moonshine would sell me? Would it be a vintage handbag?  I wouldn’t want anything elaborate, just something to make me smile. I think I could settle for a copy of Miss Moonshine’s Emporium of Happy Endings in my handbag.  I love the way the concept behind this book makes think about happy endings, and I can’t wait to read it.  I will also visit Heart Gallery, in Hebden Bridge, when I visit Yorkshire.

All photos copyright Authors on the Edge.

 

Please see all my author interviews at My Guests, guest posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

 

Gail Aldwin’s Debut Novel: The String Games

I was honoured when Gail Aldwin sent me a postcard about ‘The String Games’.

Presenting an author’s debut novel is one of the great privileges of blogging, and I was honoured when Gail Aldwin sent me a postcard about The String Games. This debut novel is to be published later this month by Victorina Press. Gail’s poetic style of writing is charged with emotion and appeals to me.  I look forward to reading her debut novel to discover how she has painted the complex emotions involved in the challenging narrative.

Without further ado, I will hand over to my lovely guest, Dr Gail Aldwin.

I have long been a fan of Jessie’s writing (You Can’t Go It Alone is a super novel with memorable characters) and Jessie’s blog (always love being introduced to new writers) so I am delighted to be offered a post to celebrate the launch of my debut novel The String Games which will be published by Victorina Press later in May 2019.

About The String Games

The String Games is Gail Aldwin’s debut novel

When four-year-old Josh is abducted and murdered during a family holiday in France, Nim, aged ten, becomes an only child. To cope with the tragedy, Nim reinvents herself but continues to carry a burden of unresolved grief. As an adult she returns to France determined to find out more about the circumstances of Josh’s death. How will she deal with this new information and what are the implications for her future?

I love the variety of posts on Jessie’s blog and thought I’d take the opportunity to share an extract from the novel that brings food and unforeseen consequences together. Nim narrates the story of the holiday she shares with her brother and her mother, Jenny. Joining them at the caravan is Jenny’s lover Dee and her six-year-old daughter, Ella. In charge of the little kids, Nim takes them to the campsite shop to buy ice-creams:

When it was their turn to be served, Josh bashed his finger at the glass cabinet, pointing to the vanilla. It might be easy to read words in French but it wasn’t so easy to talk. Nim nodded at the lady and stuck three fingers in the air. It was easiest to order the same flavour but that didn’t stop Ella from moaning. She was lucky to have an ice cream at all, seeing as Dad’s money was meant for Nim and Josh. When the first cone was topped with a white wig, Nim passed it to Josh and the next went to Ella. When the last one arrived, Nim gave the lady the money.

‘Non, non, non!’ The assistant shook her head and wagged a finger.

Nim stood there. The little children licked their cones while ice cream ran onto Nim’s hand. What was the matter?

‘Zis English.’ The assistant spat the words.

‘Yes.’

‘Non, non, non!’

‘Is something wrong?’ It was a relief to hear an English voice. The man had a tanned forehead and lines showed on his cheeks when he smiled.

‘I don’t know,’ said Nim. ‘My dad gave me the money as a going away present.’

‘He should’ve given you francs. Never mind. Let me get these.’ He passed the assistant a brown note and returned the five pounds to Nim. ‘Save that for a treat when your holiday’s over – you can spend it back in the UK.’

‘I’m not sure.’

‘It’s not a problem. Let me do you a favour. Your dad would do the same in this situation, I’m sure.’

‘Hmm.’ Nim didn’t know what to say. She’d been told not to talk to strangers, but it was too late. Josh crunched the last of his cone.

‘What’s your name?’ asked Josh.

‘Shush,’ said Nim. Josh had been warned as well, but the man didn’t look like a stranger. He wore a shiny top, and Nim hoped Josh wasn’t going to say anything about football shirts.

‘I’m Geoff,’ he said.

‘What’s your job?’ said Josh. ‘And where did you get that shirt?’

‘Too many questions,’ said Nim.

‘Don’t worry. I know what boys are like. I’ve got nephews. They’re toddlers at the moment but I bet they’ll be the same as Josh one day.’

‘When I was little, I wanted to be a tractor,’ said Josh. ‘But now I want to be a policeman.’

‘Interesting career choice,’ said Geoff.

‘We live at Sank-on-Seas,’ said Josh.

‘Sank-on-Seas?’ Geoff repeated.

‘He means fifty-six in English,’ Nim corrected, but realising she’d probably said too much, she elbowed Josh. ‘We need to go.’

‘Goodbye.’ Josh scampered to the steps, where he turned.

‘You can come to my place any time you want ice cream. My freezer is full of it,’ said Geoff. ‘Just look for the caravan with the yellow door along the road from here.’

‘Okay.’ Josh skipped down the steps.

This is the postcard Gail sent me from Dorset. I’ll certainly take care if I ever need to walk on the bridge.

When Josh goes missing later in the novel, suspicions about Geoff are raised and Nim shoulders feelings of responsibility for bringing the two of them together.

Praise for The String Games

The String Games takes hold of the reader and the juncture of the head and the heart and simply does not let go. With courage and tenderness, and an unblinking eye, Gail Aldwin explores the ways in which the loss of a child explodes a family. Treat yourself and read this one.

JACQUELYN MITCHARD, bestselling author of THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN

About Gail Aldwin

Gail co-writes short plays and comedy sketches that have been staged in Bridport, Brighton and Salisbury. She also performs her work at fringe festivals in the South-West.

Gail Aldwin’s published work includes Adversaries/Comrades, a poetry pamphlet (Wordsmith_HQ, 2019) and a collection of short fiction Paisley Shirt (Chapeltown Books, 2018) which was longlisted in the Saboteur Awards 2018. Gail co-writes short plays and comedy sketches that have been staged in Bridport, Brighton and Salisbury. She also performs her work at fringe festivals in the South-West. The String Games is her debut novel.

Twitter:              @gailaldwin
Facebook:          https://www.facebook.com/gailaldwinwriter/
Blog:                  The Writer is a Lonely Hunter

Gail’s anthology of flash fiction entitled Paisley Shirt captivated and moved me.  In the future, I will blog the flash fiction Gail’s work anthology inspired me to write.  I am excited to discover how Gail will stretch my imagination with The String Games.

 

Please see all my guests’ posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel can be found here.

Mysterious Parcel from Jan Ellis

I received a mysterious parcel from Jan Ellis

On Saturday, I received a mysterious parcel.  It contained: cough sweets, keys, some out of date Boots vouchers and a copy of An Unexpected Affair.  My husband looked at me quizzically, until he read Jan Ellis’s guest post. You are invited to solve the mystery.  Read on, if you would also like to receive a parcel.

 

 

 

Inside Jan’s Handbag

‘…the usual flotsam and jetsam that managed to accumulate in her handbag…’

When Jessie asked me to write about the contents of my handbag, I thought, What a great idea. Which one shall I choose? The smart, black bag that makes me feel like a grown-up or the less smart into which I can comfortably cram a Jack Russell? Then I looked inside a couple of the bags that lurk by the front door and decided that it wasn’t such a great idea after all. Who wants to read about my dusty cough sweets and out-of-date Boots vouchers? Years ago, I had a friend who found a manuscript and a pork chop in hers. Now, that’s impressive and clearly worth sharing with the world.

Step inside of Eleanor’s bookshop for a mystery

Then I remembered that one of handbags had made a guest appearance in An Unexpected Affair, a novella featuring Eleanor Mace and her Devon bookshop. As this was the first fiction I’d written since the tender age of seven, I thought I’d better stick to what I knew best. Hence the contents of Eleanor’s bag:

 

Extract

‘…she stomped up the road to the campervan, ruffling her hair…’

Stepping onto the sunny street the wind whipped across her face as she stomped up the road to the campervan, ruffling her hair. By the time she had been to the bank and the post office, and walked the short distance to the vehicle, she was completely dishevelled. She peered at her reflection in the wing mirror, unsuccessfully trying to dislodge strands of hair from her sunglasses as she dug in her bag for the keys.

“Damn and blast it,” she said to no one in particular. It was, she decided, one of the perils of approaching middle age that you spent a great deal of time talking to yourself.

She was crouched on the pavement, unpacking the usual flotsam and jetsam that managed to accumulate in her handbag when she saw a pair of slightly scruffy deck shoes appear at her side. Above them two tanned knees descended from a pair of khaki shorts.

“Are these what you’re looking for?” Daniel Pearce stood there with the keys to her van in one hand and an old-fashioned string bag in the other. “You must have dropped them as you left the shop.”

“Gosh, yes, thanks,” said Eleanor, hastily stuffing the used tissues, old lipsticks, broken biros and dog chews back into the dark recesses of her bag where they belonged and rising to her feet. Daniel was standing between her and the sun, causing her to squint, despite the glasses.

“I’ve come down to get some fish for my father,” he explained, waving the shopping bag in the air. “It’s Friday. Fish day,” he added with a frown.

Coming from London, Eleanor had initially found it odd that you could only buy certain products on certain days. Sure, the supermarkets stocked the usual range of pre-packaged goods, but if you wanted the best local produce, you went to the weekly market behind the library.

“Mackerel,” he added.

“How lovely.”

[ends]

You are, I’m sure, agog to find out whether Eleanor and Daniel end up sharing a fish supper after this unpromising encounter or whether their relationship turns out to be as messy as those cough sweets. Fortunately, one lucky reader is going to find out!

Would you like to receive a parcel from Jan Ellis?

Win a free copy of A Summer of Surprises and an Unexpected Affair

It is my pleasure to present you with an opportunity to win a free copy of A Summer of Surprises and an Unexpected Affair.

Either express your interest using the comment function via this blog post, or look out for the tweet @BooksInHandbag.

See my reviews of A Summer of Surprises and an Unexpected Affair and The Bookshop Detective.

About Jan

Jan Ellis began writing fiction by accident in 2013. Until then, she had led a blameless life as a publisher, editor and historian of early modern Spain. She fell into fiction when a digital publisher approached her to write a history book, then made the mistake of mentioning romcom, which sounded much more fun. Jan’s stories have small-town settings with realistic characters who range in age from young teens to eighty-somethings.

About the books:

A Summer of Surprises and an Unexpected Affair and French Kisses and A London Affair are published in two paperback volumes by Waverley Books. The ebooks (Endeavour Media) are available on Amazon. The Bookshop Detective is a paperback original.

Contact Jan Ellis at:

Follow Jan on Facebook and Twitter @JanEllis_writer
www.janelliswriter.com

 

Please see all my Guests’ Posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

 

Discover the Dark Ages with John Broughton

John Broughton posting me a letter

John Broughton spends a great deal of his time stuck in the Dark Ages. As a historian, John is happy to become immersed in the gruesome eighth century.  He is not afraid to walk beside kings, noblemen and monks who inhabit a world where it is ‘kill or be killed’.  John’s novels are praised for the historical accuracy and take you into the heart of the bloody battles. Though a little afraid, I asked John to explain what inspired him to write his third novel Saints and Sinners. John sent me a letter via a gallant messenger.

John Broughton Saints and Sinners

My third published novel, Saints and Sinners, was inspired by a love of my county, Lincolnshire, and of the Anglo-Saxon period in general. Putting the two together leads one to the Kingdom of Lindsey, the least-known of the Dark-Age kingdoms. Starting from the apparently simple desire to write a novel about this kingdom, I soon realised that our knowledge of Lindsey is very limited, being almost exclusively dependent on archaeological revelations.

The names we have for Lindsey are from a debatable list of kings, who were anyway, sub-kings to the powerful neighbouring Kings of Northumberland or Mercia. One name, however, kept recurring in my research – that of Guthlac: the hermit saint who founded the monastery of Crowland. His life was recorded in a hagiographic work by a monk, Felix, crucially within a generation of his living.

Saint Guthlac takes a boat in the Fens to Crowland

What a character was Guthlac! Setting aside the monastic praise, isn’t it interesting how a red-blooded Saxon nobleman left a life of military adventuring, ale-guzzling and wenching to become an ascetic in the wilderness of the Fens? This apart, his best friend was a certain Aethelbald, another Mercian noble, devoted to the former lifestyle of Guthlac. This sinful nobleman was considered a dangerous pretender to the throne of Mercia: so much so that he was exiled and fled into the Fens where his old friend sheltered him for a while.

A fragment of a cross shaft from Repton includes on one face a carved image of a mounted man which, it has been suggested, may be a memorial to Aethelbald.

What makes Aethelbald even more intriguing is that from being a hunted exile he became one of the greatest of Mercian kings. My idea of a novel about Lindsey transformed into one about Mercia too. By the way, Aethelbald was condemned in a letter from Boniface for seducing nuns. The novel is truly about saints and sinners!

Guthlac’s life is still commemorated. Apart from the ruins of the Crowland monastery – still with the tallest bell tower in the land – his name lingers on in the Saint Guthlac School in Crowland, and even in street names in places as far away as Hereford. Of course, we must not forget St Guthlac’s Church in Market Deeping and another in the fenlands at Fishtoft is dedicated to him.

St Guthlac, tormented by demons, is handed a scourge by St Bartholomew, Guthlac Roll, 1210, British Library

As for Aethelbald, well, he’s remembered in the sequel to Saints and Sinners, entitled Mixed Blessings, scheduled for publication on January 25 2019, dealing wholly with the vicissitudes of his long and successful reign. A fragment of a cross shaft from Repton includes on one face a carved image of a mounted man which may be a memorial to Æthelbald. The figure is of a man wearing mail armour and brandishing a sword and shield, with a diadem bound around his head. If this is Æthelbald, it’s the earliest large-scale pictorial representation of an English monarch.

John posted his letter in Italy, but I received the letter via a messenger on horseback.  The messenger arrived on Offa’s Dyke at Tintern. He told me he was from a dark and treacherous land and couldn’t be sure who had followed him.  He was required on the battlefield, so I bid him farewell, and watched as he rode his horse through the landscape. We will have to read John Broughton’s books to solve the mystery of where the messenger returned to.

John Broughton Mixed Blessings

You can read Saint and Sinners and the sequel Mixed Blessings.  You are warned ‘Saxon times are not called the Dark Ages for nothing. It is a violent, unrecognisable world of kill or be killed …’

In all of John Broughton’s stories you will find:

‘All the classic elements of an adventure story, danger, heroism, cunning and treachery. The author knows his period well but wears his history lightly’ – Rosemary Noble 

John Broughton was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, and studied Medieval and Modern History at the University of Nottingham. He also studied Archaeology, distinguishing himself with a Roman find on a dig at Ancaster. He taught History and English for a decade, becoming Head of Department of History in a Manchester grammar school. A restless period saw him experiment with writing children’s stories while working in a variety of jobs before moving in Italy to teach EFL at a southern university. Teaching and work as a translator of books kept him busy until he retired in January 2014. Since then he has taken up fiction writing once more – returning to his great love, the Anglo-Saxon period. His debut historical novel was The Purple Thread followed by Wyrd of the Wolf.

You can also meet John at:

https://jessiecahalin.com/history-tour-chat-anglo-saxonist/

 

Please see all my guest’s posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

My novel can be found here.

Slipping back to 499 AD with Julia Ibbotson

Julia posting her guest post to Books in Handbag Blog

Julia Ibbotson contacted me and offered me the opportunity to slip into 499AD and meet the characters of her latest novel. Lady Vivianne is from 499AD and Dr Viv DuLac living in the present day. In A Shape on the Air, the worlds of these two women collide to create a fascinating narrative.  Fascinated by the concept, I asked Julia to explain more about her novel.

Dear Jessie,

My latest novel, A Shape on the Air, is about two women, divided by centuries, united by a quest for truth. Dr Viv DuLac, a medievalist, is devastated when her partner Pete walks out (and with her best friend too) and it seems that she is about to lose everything. Drunk and desperate, her world quite literally turns upside down when she finds herself in the body of the fifth century Lady Vivianne. Lady V has her own traumas; she is struggling with the shifting values of the Dark Ages and her forced betrothal to the brutish Sir Pelleas, who is implicated in the death of her parents.  Little does Viv realise that both their lives across the centuries will become so completely intertwined. Haunted by both Lady Vivianne in 499 AD and by Viv’s own parents’ death and legacy, can Viv unlock the mystery that surrounds and connects their two lives, 1500 years apart, and bring peace to them both?

Meet Lady Vivianne

As with all authors, my characters’ voices ring around my head as I write. So I’ll imagine the women speaking for themselves and this is how they might have introduced themselves to you …

Meet Lady Vivianne …

It is the year of Our Lord 499, I am fifteen and I have a problem.  I am betrothed, against my will, to the odious Sir Pelleas, yet I am not unaware of the glances of my childhood friend, Sir Roland. It was my late father, kind as he was, who took in the tattered cast-out Saxon child Pelleas, thinking him to be a potential successor as chieftain of our settlement in the midlands of England.  Back then, it was not so usual for a woman to succeed to the chieftaincy, and anyway I was not expected, my dear mother being cursed to be childless. But she had used her pagan rituals to try to conceive, and I was the result. They named me Lady Vivianne.

I will never forget the day that my parents died, burned in the fire that destroyed our sacred hall. Sir Pelleas said that it was the tallows on the altar. But yet I knew that was not so.  And as I grew towards my sixteenth year and Pelleas had already persuaded the council in the mead hall with his military prowess to confirm him as chieftain, he was appointed my ‘protector’ and my suitor.

I hate him. I hate his brutish ways and his raucous drunken friends as they feast and carouse and stink in my father’s hall that used to display rich tapestries and religious icons, a backdrop to the travelling scōps with their beautiful poetry.

I will do anything, anything at all that is in my power, to rid myself of Pelleas and this terrible betrothal. And I have powers, like my mother, Lady Nymue, the lady of the lake, believe me …

The inspiration for Dr Viv

Meet medievalist Dr Viv DuLac …

… I get home to my apartment a couple of nights ago, totally unaware of what that night would bring. I’d had a hard day at the university where I teach medieval studies. Maybe it’s tiredness but I think I hear my dead mother’s voice in my pounding head and the name ‘Lady Vivianne’.  But my mind is full of my partner Pete’s treachery. I still cannot believe that he would stoop so low. Going off with one of my best friends and then having the gall to try to sell the apartment from under me. I’d like to hate him, but it’s not so easy to dismiss those years, is it? Are there no decent men left? I’d do anything, anything at all, to keep my beloved home and to be safe. But instead I drink far too much red wine and make for the lake where something is drawing me …

A Shape on the Air

As their lives become intertwined, the quest for truth intensifies. How is Lady Vivianne connected to Dr Viv’s parents’ death and the centuries-old mystery they tried to uncover?  By the way, Jessie, my WIP (The Dragon Tree) is the sequel to A Shape on the Air, and will be published later in 2020.

With love,

Julia

Website/blog   https://www.juliaibbotsonauthor.com
Facebook          https://www.facebook.com/JuliaIbbotsonauthor
Twitter              @JuliaIbbotson
Pinterest           http://www.pinterest.co.uk/juliai1

About Dr Julia Ibbotson

Acclaimed, award-winning author Julia Ibbotson is fascinated by the medieval world and concepts of time travel. She read English at Keele University, England (after a turbulent but exciting gap year in Ghana, West Africa) specialising in medieval language, literature and history, and has a PhD in socio-linguistics. She wrote her first novel at 10 years of age, but became a school teacher, then an academic as a senior university lecturer and researcher. As well as medieval time-slip, she has published a number of books, including memoir/history of food (The Old Rectory), children’s medieval fantasy (S.C.A.R.S), a trilogy opening in 1960s Ghana (Drumbeats), and many academic works. Apart from insatiable reading, she loves travelling the world, singing in choirs, swimming, yoga and walking in the countryside in England and Madeira where she and her husband divide their time.

 

Please see all my guest’s posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel is available here.

Woolf Scholar’s Novel Choice

Maggie Humm

‘Without a doubt, Lullaby will be one of the most unsettling, absorbing, un-put-downable novels of 2018,’ according to Professor Maggie Humm.  Intrigued, I invited the internationally acclaimed Woolf scholar to tell me more about Lullaby by Leila Slimani.

It was a delight to receive mail from Maggie Humm, as all her academic books were once crammed into my student rucksack. I am honoured to step aside so that Maggie Humm can challenge us with her review of a novel from a newly-refreshed sub-genre of literary fiction.

Leila Slimani Lullaby

Lullaby Leila Slimani

As Match of the Day might say ‘leave the room if you don’t want to know the result.  Lullaby recounts an apparently simple scenario. Louise, a nanny of indeterminate age, is hired by Paul and Myriam, a successful middle-class Parisian couple, to care for their two children, baby Adam and Mila.  Louise is tiny, with immaculate finger-nails, constantly wearing the Peter Pan collared blouse of the novel’s cover. Soon she transforms her employers’ lives for the better: the children adore her, she unobtrusively cooks, cleans and anticipates all their desires and needs. The kind of woman you’d never spot in a crowd.

In flashback, and through multiple characters’ interactions with Louise, we come to understand and empathise with her past: a loveless childhood, poverty, and domestic and sexual violence. Unusually, and intriguingly, these features are not presented as completely explanatory reasons for her final violent act – the murder of the two children. Myriam and Paul are occasionally caring and thoughtful employers whose actions to some extent compensate for Louise’s past traumas. And their kindness becomes the problem. Louise is desperate to live full-time with Paul and Myriam, to have them ‘adopt’ her. Until she kills.

‘…isolation from other nannies in the park’

Although none of the stories are told in first person we inhabit the minds of differing characters almost in real-time at key turning points: the nanny’s sensual exploration of the apartment where she will kill; her physical disgust with men during sex; her isolation from other nannies in the park; the warmth and beauty of a Greek island holiday with her employers and children. This ‘sticky mess’, as Heiser says, takes over our emotions and our  bodies. We can feel Louise on our skin, even taste what she eats.

Lullaby joins a newly-refreshed sub-genre of literary fiction recreating real-life crime, exemplified by another best-selling French novel Emmanuel Carrère’s The Adversary; combined with a women’s fiction genre of apparently affectless short sentences as in Elizabeth Strout’s My Name is Lucy Barton

‘It could be any Western urban capitalist city.’

These novels focus on the gap between what we think we know and what we experience in the diurnal life of the novel – a technique often characterised as metamodernist. That is, novels which deal with structures of feeling after postmodernism. Lullaby appears intensely intimate – narrating the lives of each person in the lead up to murder. But, as a metamodernist novel it also portrays (very subtly) ways of feeling and thinking about contemporary issues: immigration, poverty, homelessness or the threat of homelessness, women’s bodies and misogyny played out in the physical geography of Paris. It could be any Western urban capitalist city.

Lullaby is also a woman’s novel (although not without interest to male readers hopefully). Clothes, jewellery, cooking and meals, women’s physical differences from men, are all as significant as actions, and trigger and shape actions in many cases. For example, Louise takes the children out to dinner one evening hoping that her employers will be able to have sex undisturbed, and produce the new baby that Louise needs to retain her place. The children are disconcerted by being dragged around strange streets to eat and when they return Louise discovers that the wife went early to bed alone. Louise’s ensuing anger (hidden from Myriam and Paul) contributes to the build-up to murder. The significance of meals and fashions were themes of the great modernist writer Virginia Woolf, but what makes Lullaby essentially metamodernist is the way in which Lullaby displaces and undercuts notions of the feeling subject by the continual unknowingness of motive and desire. Rather than arriving at a resounding ending – a Joycean ‘yes she said, yes she said, Yes; or Woolf’s Lily Briscoe’s ‘I have had my vision’ (note the present perfect containment),  Lullaby ends with the reader alongside the female detective, re-enacting the murder. In The Adversary the narrator leaves behind the protagonists, drives back to Paris, deciding ‘that writing this story could only be either a crime or a prayer.’ Lullaby forces the reader to become Louise ‘who takes a knife from the cupboard,’ and to recreate the murder ourselves in our minds.

Without a doubt, Lullaby will be one of the most unsettling, absorbing, un-put-downable novels of 2018.

Manuscript of Talland House is waiting for a front cover

Maggie Humm is an Emeritus Professor, University of East London. An internationally-acclaimed Woolf scholar, the author of 14 books both for an academic and general readership, the last 3 focused on Woolf and the arts, the topic of Talland House – her debut novel. Talland House was shortlisted for the Impress and Fresher Fiction prizes 2017 (as Who Killed Mrs. Ramsay?). A short story ‘Cult Love’ was ‘highly commended’ by the National Association of Writers’ Groups (2018).

Maggie Humm’s debut novel Talland House was shortlisted for the Impress and Fresher fiction prizes 2017 (as Who Killed Mrs. Ramsay?).

Talland House will be released soon.  Maggie’s manuscript is waiting for a front cover but even the manuscript looks tempting.  Maggie will send a photo of her book in a handbag when it is available.

In the meantime, here is an overview of the novel:

Talland House   

The Royal Academy, London 1919. Lily Briscoe has a painting displayed. She’s put her student life in picturesque St. Ives behind her: her friend and substitute mother Mrs. Ramsay disliked Lily’s portrait of her it seemed; Louis Grier, her tutor, didn’t seduce her as she’d hoped. Ten years on she’s been a suffragette, a nurse in WWI, and now a successful artist. But then Louis appears at the exhibition. He tells Lily that Mrs. Ramsay died suddenly and Lily has to investigate. And she realizes that she still loves Louis.

 

Please see all my guests’ posts at My Guests and my blog and website at jessiecahalin.com.

 

Inspiration for a Tuscan Girl

I am honoured that Angela wrote a letter to explain the inspiration behind Tuscan Girl. Sit back and enjoy a writer’s tour of Italy.

Bestselling author, Angela Petch, released ‘Tuscan Girl’ last week.  I started to read the novel on a stormy Saturday night and awoke at dawn to finish the book.  Lost stories of war, hidden treasure and buried memories gripped me. As a writer, I wanted to learn how this talented author manages to weave such captivating stories. I am honoured Angela wrote a letter to explain the inspiration behind Tuscan Girl.  Sit back and enjoy a writer’s tour of Italy.

In the Tuscan Apennines, where I spend six months of every year, I can step out of our front door straight into wild countryside. Our area is less populated after post war exodus, when people left for work abroad and in big cities and so I come across many ruined houses along the mule tracks that crisscross our hills and valleys.

Each abandoned dwelling holds a potential story and my imagination goes into overdrive, trying to guess what might have gone on within these walls, now strangled with weeds.

Many of the old houses are being eaten up by old man’s beard

When I was seven years old, my father accepted a job in Rome as deputy head of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. They were formative years and I picked up Italian like a little sponge. I’ve wheedled out stories behind these houses by chatting to elderly friends and through my research. We are lucky to have the national archive of diaries in nearby Pieve Santo Stefano and I’ve spent hours poring over handwritten resources.

Bruno sitting outside the house owned by his son, who had just returned from collecting wild mushrooms.

One of my friends is Bruno Vergni, one hundred years old last January 13th. I met him seven years ago on one of my hikes. I stopped to chat as he pruned an apple tree and, to my huge surprise, he responded in English. He explained that he had been a POW in Nottingham, having been captured in Libya early in the war.

I researched more about Bruno’s war and he is now one of the main characters in “The Tuscan Girl” (albeit tweaked with my own ideas). He now lives with his son, but in my story I have placed him in one of the semi-deserted hamlets called Tramarecchia.

Pieve Santo Stefano holds Italy’s collection of diaries – a wonderful resource

A favourite walk is up to the beautiful Alp of the Moon, (1,400 metres). We stopped to picnic by a pile of stones and read a sign posted by the local partisan association.  Up here, in the summer of 1944, a group of young men planned their resistance missions. After researching and meeting a local historian, Alvaro Tacchini, more ideas for my book were gleaned.

An abandoned chapel, two houses on the outskirts of the village, empty because of a brothers’ squabble, the outline of a Medici fortress… all ruins waiting to be written about in future books.

Angela’s explanation connected me to Alba who treks around the remote Tuscan villages and rebuilds the ruins in her paintings.  She discovers ‘The paths…like arteries leading to the heart of new stories.’  I enjoyed treading these paths with Alba and look forward to more stories.

 

Please see all my guests’ posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel is available here.

Eat, Read and Be Merry in Romania with Patricia Furstenberg

Patricia posting As Good As Gold

Let’s eat read and be merry with Patricia Furstenberg as she presents ‘As Good As Gold’: an exciting book of poetry celebrating the simple things from a dog’s perspective. Patricia is a prolific writer of children’s fiction, and I wanted to find out more about the author. I have invited Patricia to talk about her culture and heritage through food. 

Whenever I write a children’s book, part of me travels back in time to my native Romania and the magic of childhood. For the lucky ones, childhood means endless joy and discoveries, unconditional love and food – food indulgences, *ahem*

Bucharest, the capital city, was nicknamed The Little Paris at the beginning of the 20th century

Romania is a magic land with rich traditions, its culture and history influenced by the significant nations surrounding it. Throughout the centuries Romania had to deal with the Turks, the Prussians, the Russian, while gladly accepting the French culture (Bucharest, the capital city, as nicknamed The Little Paris at the beginning of the 20th century). All this happened while still retaining a strong hold onto our Latin roots. Because the Romanian language is deeply rooted in Latin, therefore is very close to Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and French.

Here’s a look at my favourite childhood dishes.

Chicken Schnitzel with mashed potatoes – a proof of our Prussian influence.

Chicken Schnitzel with mashed potatoes – a proof of our Prussian influence. You have to visit places such as the medieval town of Sighisoara to understand what this dish is and where it comes from.

Pancakes, prepared in Romania like the French crêpes, are best enjoyed in one of the many coffee shops adorning Bucharest’s quaint streets of Lipscani area. Once you are full you have to pop in the amazing bookshop of Carturesti.

Plum dumplings (Gombots), a Hungarian influence from Arad and Sibiu

Plum dumplings (Gombots), a Hungarian influence from Arad and Sibiu, the towns of my countless childhood holidays.

I simply have to mention the Turkish coffee, the type of coffee I grew up with. It was a rite of passage being allowed to watch the coffee pot simmering on the stove. Drink this while chatting with a friend on the smooth, sandy beaches of the Black Sea.

I simply have to mention the Turkish coffee, the type of coffee I grew up with.

Sometimes, when you want to return to a place dear to your heart and travelling is not an option, choose a culinary tradition, indulge your taste buds and revitalise those neural synapses formed long ago.

 

 

 

As Good As Gold – A dog’s life in poems

As Good As Gold

As engaging as a tail wag
Celebrating the simple things in life as seen through the eyes of our old time favourite furry friends, “As Good as Gold” is a volume of poetry revealing the talent and humour we always knew our dogs possessed.

Dogs are full of questions, yet they are famed sellers of innocence especially when it comes to explaining their mishaps and often foolish effervescence through ponderings such as “Why IS a Cat Not Like a Dog”, “As Brown as Chocolate”, “Silver Stars and Puppy Tail” or, best yet, “Dog or Book?”

A book with an enormous heart for readers of all ages, it includes 35 poems and haiku accompanied by expressive portraits of our canine friends.

About Patricia Furstenberg

Patricia Furstenberg came to writing through reading. She always carries a notebook and a pen, although at times she jots down her ideas on the back of till slips or types them on her phone.

The medieval town of Sighisoara

Patricia enjoys writing for children because she can take abstract, grown-up concepts and package them in humorous, child-friendly ideas while adding sensitivity and lots of love. What fuels her is an exhilarating need to write and… coffee: “How many cups have had this morning?” “None.” “Plus?” “Five cups.”

Between her books you can find the beloved Joyful Trouble, The Cheetah and the Dog, Puppy, 12 Months of Rhymes and Smiles.

Hungarian influence from Arad and Sibiu, the towns of my countless childhood holidays

She is a Huffington Post contributor and pens the Sunday Column for MyPuppyclub.net as well as dabbing in freelancing. After completing her Medical Degree in Romania she moved to South Africa where she now lives with her husband, children and their dogs.

Contact Patricia at:
http://Author.to/PatFurstenberg
Author Website: http://alluringcreations.co.za/wp/
Huffington Post SA http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/author/patricia-furstenberg/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatFurstenberg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatriciaFurstenbergAuthor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciafurstenberg

Book available at:
Amazon UK OR https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BZ5WTLK
Amazon US OR https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BZ5WTLK
Amazon Canada OR https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07BZ5WTLK
Goodreads OR https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39783075-as-good-as-gold

 

Please see all my extracts and excerpts at Book Extracts and my blog at JessieCahalin.com.

 

A Writer’s Jukebox in my Handbag with Jo Lambert

Which songs did Jo enter into her writer’s jukebox to evoke the emotions and inspire the tension in A Cornish Affair, her debut novel with Ruby Fiction?

Author, Jo Lambert, celebrates music in her regular blog feature Life Playlists.  Music is an inspiration for Jo, and during the writing process music helps Jo to tease out the emotions in her romance novels.  I imagine a vintage jukebox playing in the corner of her writing room.  Which songs did Jo enter into her writer’s jukebox to evoke the emotions and inspire the tension in A Cornish Affair, her debut novel with Ruby Fiction?

At its heart A Cornish Affair is romantic fiction but it’s also wrapped around a modern day saga.  Alongside the ‘will they-won’t they’ going on between Cat and Luke there’s a host of other things – murder and a cantankerous great aunt to mention just two.  But this book could never have been written without the music.  Like Jessie music has always been a huge part of my life and it’s played an important role in all my writing. With two exceptions, all my books have had their titles taken from songs.  And to help the writing process, I create a playlist of tracks; a musical backdrop to writing different scenes.

But Carrenporth is about to experience far bigger scandals than the return of Luke Carrack – and the secrets unearthed in the process will shake the sleepy seaside town to its core …

So this is in Jessie’s words a ‘Books in my Handbag Jukebox’ post.   A taster of the music I used for this particular novel.

TITLE TRACK

The Boys of Summer – Don Henley.   As this was the working title of the book, the song was a ‘must have’

ROMANTIC TRACKS

Emotional – Whitney Houston

Stay with Me Till Dawn – Judy Tzuke

CAT AND LUKE’S  BREAK UP

 Johnny Hates Jazz – Shattered Dreams

Hall and Oates – She’s Gone    

Jo’s playlist offers a clear insight into the narrative and the emotion. I wanted to discover more about this author.

 

In June 2018 Jo signed to Choc Lit. Her debut A Cornish Affair, set on the North Cornish coast, was published in June under their Ruby imprint.

Jo Lambert lives on the eastern edge of the city of Bath. In 2008 she published her first novel When Tomorrow Comes. This was the first of five books which became known as the Little Court series, following the lives and loves of four girls growing up in the 1960/70s in the West Country. In 2015 she published Summer Moved On, a contemporary romance set in South Devon. A sequel, Watercolours in the Rain followed in 2017.

In June 2018 Jo signed to Choc Lit.  Her debut A Cornish Affair, set on the North Cornish coast, was published in June under their Ruby imprint. She is currently working on her next coastal romance.
When Jo isn’t writing she reads and reviews. She also has an active blog – A Writer’s Journey.  She loves travel, red wine and rock music and takes the odd photograph or two. Jo is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors

More about A Cornish Affair.

In the close-knit community of Carrenporth in Cornwall everyone knows everyone else’s business. Luke Carrack is only too aware of this. He’s been away for two years but nothing has changed – from the town gossips who can’t see past the scandal of his childhood, to the cold way he is treated by some of his so-called family.
The only person who seems to understand is local hotelier’s daughter Cat Trevelyan, although even Luke’s new friendship with her could set tongues wagging.
But Carrenporth is about to experience far bigger scandals than the return of Luke Carrack – and the secrets unearthed in the process will shake the sleepy seaside town to its core …

Social Media Links –
Website: http://jolambertbooks.com
Blog: http://jolambertwriter.blog
Twitter: @jolambertwriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jolambert185
Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jo-lambert-6 4644530
Instagram: jolambertwriter185

 

Please see all my guests’ posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel is available here.

People Watching with Joanne Nicholson

Joanne posting the mail

Turning my back on the white Welsh hills, I shovelled snow from my never ending drive.  Longing to escape the cold, I dreamed of a tropical destination. Once inside, drinking my tea, I would plan a holiday.  The postman parked his van across the drive and handed me some mail.  My eyes focused on a postcard from the South Pacific. It was as if someone was reminding me to book that holiday.  Author, Joanne Nicholson had sent me a postcard from her cruise.  Later that week, Joanne emailed her reflections on the cruise.

Dear Jessie,

I dreamed of a tropical destination

I’ve just arrived back from a cruise of the South Pacific, where I lazed around as we floated above a crystal clear azure sea. My favourite pastime was people watching, and whilst sneakily gazing at the crowds I made these key observations:

  1. People love books. There was barely a sun lounge that wasn’t taken by someone engrossed in a book. It’s so great to see fellow bibliophiles.

    People want to love and be loved
  2. People want to love and be loved. There were lots of events for singles to mingle aboard the ship. They were all looking for the person that would rock their world, with whom they could sail off into the sunset.
  3. People love kids. There were over 1,000 kids on board and they had relatives swooning all over them. They looked so cute posing for a photo with Shrek, spontaneously dancing in the corridors or wearing their ice cream all down the front of their shirts.
Joanne Nicholson Positive

These reflections reminded me of my latest novel ‘Positive’ where Ruth is single and desperate to settle down and have a child. When she launches herself into online dating without success she decides it’s time to take matters into her hands and try to have a child on her own. She has the support of great friends that help her cope with her rollercoaster ride of emotions.

As an Australian author of contemporary women’s fiction, my novels are a light easy read (perfect for your handbag). They all focus around the dynamics of relationships, not necessarily with partners but with other important people in their lives.

In my novel ‘In Another Life’, Lily does a past life regression to see if she is connected with her late mother only to find she was male and her Dad was her brother. She then researches her regression and finds that her little sister from a previous life is now an old lady. She can’t help but meet her to see if they share a connection across lives.

Joanne Nicholson Intuition

In ‘Intuition’, Chloe learns she has the skill to read minds. What starts out as a lark, where she no longer has to take people on face value, turns her life upside down when she discovers her husband fantasizes about other women and her best friend has a crush on her husband.

Cheers from down under,

Joanne

About the Author

Warm, sunny greetings from Joanne

Joanne Nicholson is an Australian author who juggles parenting four kids with trying to exercise, socialise, manage sporting teams, complete mundane chores and write. She loves boating, reading, pilates, listening and playing music, playing basketball and spending quality time with family and friends. She has published two women’s fiction novels, ‘Intuition’ and ‘In Another Life’; a YA novel ‘Music Score’ and short stories, ‘Horrorscopes’ and ‘Spirits’.

Joanne’s novels deal with dynamics of relationships, but reviewers say the novels are lighthearted.  The novels look thought-provoking and tempting.  I have no idea how this author manages to write and juggle her life – she must be very dedicated to her writing. 

Contacts:

Social media: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/joanne.nicholson.372
Twitter @jolnicholson
Instagram joannenicholsonauthor
Website joannenicholsonauthor.com

 

Please see all my guests’ posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

 

Imogen Matthew’s Talking Book

Bestselling book

Owing to the rise in popularity of audio books, talking books are now featuring in the Handbag Gallery.  Improved digital technology has made the audio book more accessible to readers.   I invited bestselling author, Imogen Matthews, to explain how she transformed her words into a talking book with the help of a BAFTA nominated actor.  Imogen has charted her book’s journey into the audio world.

 

At the beginning of this year, I decided to turn my novel, The Hidden Village, into an audiobook, but had no idea where to start. The audiobook market, I’m told, is booming, especially among young people who like to listen to books on their commute, in the gym, when out cycling and running or at home preparing a meal.

Amazon’s ACX (http://www.acx.com/) can take you through the process step-by-step and made it sound fairly straightforward. They would help with everything, from finding a narrator to providing guidance on how to produce my audiobook and getting it distributed onto Amazon and other distribution channels. So far so good. ACX has a big database of narrators all waiting to audition for your book and all you have to do is decide the type of voice, tone and accent you want for your book. I listened to a few narrators and although there was nothing wrong with any of them, I didn’t feel the right connection I so wanted for my book.

In the meantime, some other options arose, which sounded a great deal more exciting.  Early on, I had the chance to work with a well known British stage and TV actor and was blown away by his audition…but work got in the way and he simply couldn’t commit as he was on tour in a musical until June.  Maybe he’ll be free for my next book?

Liam Gerrard narrated the audio version of The Hidden Village

My disappointment was short-lived after I was introduced to Liam, a BAFTA nominated actor, who has narrated dozens of books. Together with his audiobook producer, the delightful Catherine, an Englishwoman based in the US, they have created and produced my audiobook, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Working with Liam was a dream. We had several phone conversations in which he asked me searching questions about the narrative, characters and foreign words. He took the job seriously and must have read my book multiple times to get under the skin of each of the characters (of which there are many!). I trusted him to go away and narrate the whole story, which I then listened to, all 9 hours and 37 minutes, over the course of a weekend in April.

It was a very strange and wonderful feeling hearing the words I’d written being brought to life by an actor. Liam added layers of meaning and tension to the story I honestly hadn’t realised were there. It made me realise that my role, as an author, is merely to tell the story – and from then on in, the reader/narrator takes over.

The Hidden Village is available on Amazon (on audible) and iTunes

I did think of asking Imogen to present the audio version of her article.  What do you think of audio books?

Introducing Imogen

About Imogen:

Imogen Matthews lives in Oxford, England and is the author of two romantic fiction e-novels. The Hidden Village is her first historical fiction novel. Born in Rijswijk, Holland, to a Dutch mother and English father, the family moved to England when Imogen was very young. She has always enjoyed holidays in Holland and since 1990, has gone regularly with her husband and two children to Nunspeet on the edge of the Veluwe woods. It was here that she discovered the story of the hidden village, and together with her mother’s vivid stories of life in WW2 Holland, she was inspired to write her next novel.

The Hidden Village: Deep in the Veluwe woods lies Berkenhout, a purpose-built village of huts sheltering dozens of persecuted people.

The Hidden Village

Wartime Holland. Whom can you trust?

Deep in the Veluwe woods lies Berkenhout, a purpose-built village of huts sheltering dozens of persecuted people. But the Germans can find no proof of its existence. The whole community pulls together to help the Berkenhout inhabitants adjust to a difficult new life and, above all, stay safe.

Sofie, a Jewish Dutch girl, struggles to adapt to living in Berkenhout, away from her family and friends. As weeks turn to months, she’s worried they’ll abandon her altogether. Young tearaway Jan likes to help, but he also enjoys roaming the woods looking for adventure and fallen pilots. His dream comes true, until he is found out. Henk is in charge of building the underground huts and organizing provisions to Berkenhout, but his contact with the Germans arouses suspicions.

Whom can you trust? All it takes is one small fatal slip to change the course of all their lives forever.

 

Please see all my guest’s posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com. 

Smugglers, Secrets and Suspense with Rosie Travers

The ‘gold’ postbox is in the village of Hamble in Hampshire, very close to where Rosie currently lives. It was painted gold after the 2012 Olympics for the cyclist Dani King who grew up in the village.

Author of Theatre of Dreams, Rosie Travers, knocked at the Handbag Gallery door with news of a new novel.  The local landscape of Hampshire inspired Rosie Travers to write Your Secret’s Safe With Me.  During walks along the riverside, her imagination became caught up in possible stories and intrigue.  It is always a pleasure when a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association contacts me to help celebrate a new release, so I invited Rosie to tell me more. She posted a wonderful letter from her golden postbox.

My new novel Your Secret’s Safe With Me explores the intricacies of family relationships and the consequences of keeping secrets.  Pearl and Becca are a mother and daughter who have a successful professional working partnership. The family dynamic changes when romantic novelist Pearl announces her surprise engagement to Jack, a man she has only just met, and uproots Becca and her brother Freddy from their busy lives in London to her new fiancé’s home on the south coast.

It makes perfect sense to set my stories in familiar locations. I currently live in Hampshire, close to the River Hamble, a renowned sailing centre. The River Hamble is a busy, bustling place, but a little further along the coast at Beaulieu in the New Forest is another river, quieter and more isolated. Both rivers have historic boat-building pasts but are now bordered by luxury homes and frequented by leisure seekers, on and off the water, with picturesque riverside walks.

River Hamble inspired Rosie’s second novel: Your Secret’s Safe With Me.

My fictional village of Kerridge encompasses a tight-knit rural riverside community, a little light nautical industry – fiancé Jack’s family-owned marina business, and a salt-marshy wilderness and nature reserve. It is an amalgamation of these two locations together with others nearby, and although the story centres on the changing relationship between mother and daughter, I obviously needed sub-plots and additional situations to test my characters’ resolve. This is where the natural habitat came into play.

Smuggling isn’t confined to Poldark country, and sadly modern day smugglers trade in far more dangerous goods than illicit contraband and kegs of rum.  As I observed sleek shiny white motor cruisers and yachts gliding upstream on my regular riverside walks, my writer’s enquiring mind kicked in. I began to speculate who or what might be onboard and wondered how easy it would be, with a few more isolated creeks and remote hiding places, for some unscrupulous ‘sailors’ to conduct some illegal activities. My over-fertile imagination quickly envisaged a situation where unsuspecting newcomers to the local community could unwittingly become caught up in some treacherous intrigue.  Throw in a former lover and past heartache for Becca, a wedding and a baby, and the story started telling itself.

The overriding tone of the novel is light-hearted, but the river winding through Pearl and Becca’s new surroundings became symbolic of their evolving relationship. Everything seems calm at first, but as the river reveals its hidden dangers, family secrets submerged for many years threaten to bubble to the surface.

Presenting Rosie’s latest novel in the Handbag Gallery

As a writer, I am always interested in how authors seek inspiration.  I like the sound of this novel and the hidden secrets.  I wonder if all will end well.  More about Rosie Travers:

Rosie grew up on the south coast of England and after initially training as a secretary she juggled a career in local government with raising her family.  She moved to Southern California with her husband in 2009 and began a blog about life as an ex-pat wife which re-kindled a teenage desire to become a writer. On her return to the UK she took a part-time course in creative writing and following some success in short story competitions she joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme. Her debut novel, The Theatre of Dreams, was accepted for publication by Crooked Cat Books and officially launched on in August 2018. Her second book, Your Secret’s Safe With Me, is published on 18 February 2019.

Contact details:
Website: https://www.rosietravers.com
Twitter @RosieTravers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosietraversauthor
Instagram: rosietraversauthor
RNA Profile:  https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/rna_author/rosie-travers/

 

Please see all my guest’s posts at Mail from the Creative Community and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.