Tag: Sue Moorcroft

The trouble with my handbag adventures

Connecting with the virtual world of WordPress, Twitter and Facebook has encouraged me to find a message in the ordinary world around us.  I am always looking for photograph opportunities to support a tweet, Facebook post or blog. My mind is constantly buzzing with ideas and it’s great. These adventures can result in some fulfilling interactions in the real world, but my photographing adventures can also get me in into trouble.

On the whole people are very accommodating and let me take photographs of their shops, museums, pubs, gardens, houses etc.  For instance, the porters on The Grand Hotel, in Brighton, were happy to let me capture the glamorous setting with my camera. I needed the photographs for Ally Bunbury’s book review and interview.  The helpful porters even cleared some luggage to enhance the shot.  Later that day, a kind gentleman pointed out various signs for me to capture in his grocer’s shop, but I did get a little suspicious when one of the signs read: ‘New husband for sale’.

During my adventures, I have learned to smile at the museum curators and carry on.  Unfortunately, I was chastised for photographing Churchill’s writing desk. Though, I was delighted to be informed that Churchills would ‘fight me on the beaches’ if I dared to take photos.  Another curator pretended not to see me taking a view of the garden from the window.  One antique shop owner looked at me suspiciously when I declared, ‘I need pictures of old spades etc to display as murder weapons.’  I intended to use these in a murder story lark developed, on Facebook, with Angela Petch and Patricia Stoner.  On this occasion, I didn’t use the photos but they will be useful at some stage.

Walking through the Beacons, I decided to write a blog about the inspiring environment.  I spied an opportunity to throw a stone in the water to represent a big splash.  The splash would represent a thought or an idea.  Unfortunately, I was chased away from the lake by the people who were fishing for trout.   I did ask if they would like me to ‘sling my hook’ but they weren’t amused.

Sue Moorcroft’s ‘Just for the Holidays’ got me into the most trouble.  I required some images of holiday items as mine weren’t glamorous enough for a friend of Leah.  While shopping in a supermarket, I saw lots of holiday goodies. Bingo! I set to work removing the various items, placing them in better light and clicking my camera phone.  The Canadian security guard was not impressed with me and said, ‘Ma’am, would you please follow me?’  I followed him.  Disappointingly, I was led to his security post and not his horse.  He was very polite and soon accepted my explanation.

The most frightening experience occurred when I was taking a photo of a street sign for Muddles Green.  That day, I was in a muddle with editing so the sign was perfect.  I stood in the middle of the quiet country lane to snap the image.  A motorbike almost ploughed into me as it raced around the corner. It was worth it when lots of authors connected with the message.

Not everyone can connect with my adventures.  I asked shop owner if I could place Jan Ellis’s The Bookshop Detective’ in his window display and then take a photograph.  Sadly, he wouldn’t allow it as he was concerned that there would be breakages.  How did he know that I am clumsy?  Maybe, he thought that I was the detective and wanted to get inside of the window display.

It is great fun to think about representing my adventures through social media. It is a bonus that my everyday experiences and thoughts mean something to like-minded people out there in the world.  My handbag adventures have enabled me to connect with a wealth of creative people who challenge and inspire me.  These connections wouldn’t have happened without social media, and now I am exploring how I can further develop some creative collaborations.  I am looking forward to working with Jenni Lopez from @TheJennieration.  

 

More of my adventures can be found at Handbag Adventures 

#1 author Sue Moorcroft doesn’t have time for airs and graces

Sue Moorcroft 

 

 

Sue Moorcroft is an author who has worked hard for success. Her last novel, The Christmas Promise, rose to #1 in the Amazon Kindle chart and her latest, Just for the Holidays, has just been released. She likes reading, Formula 1, dancing and sunshine.

It was an honour to welcome Sue Moorcroft.  She came to visit on a Sunday afternoon when the sun was indeed shining, as it does in her latest novel. She’d dressed for the weather in cut-offs and a T-shirt and was carting along her usual over-sized bag that she calls ‘half handbag and half briefcase’. As well as her personal stuff it accommodates her iPad and/or Kindle, bookmarks, cards and a battery and leads in case any of her devices need charging. I opened the French doors and we sat on sun loungers that I had placed under my vine terrace.

I poured us both a glass of Crémant d’Alsace and we made a toast to Leah and Ronan from Just for the Holidays.  Inspired by Leah, I prepared a simple, refreshing salad.  Sue had brought some strawberries as she had promised to make some of her strawberries and cream mug cakes. It was like a scene from Just for the Holidays as the ‘shimmering heat of the garden’ welcomed us. I had planted the pots with ‘white petunias and red geraniums’ to set the scene and we chatted about the novel.

Jessie: I know what happens in the novel and thoroughly enjoyed the exciting sequence of events and the sparkling humour.  Can you capture the narrative in fifty words?

Sue: Just for the Holidays is about Leah, who doesn’t want a husband or children, ending up looking after her sister’s husband and children in France, where she doesn’t speak the language. Luckily, there’s a helicopter pilot next door who does – until he receives an unexpected guest of the embarrassing kind.

When asked to read a tempting extract from the novel, Sue opened her book and instantly found the perfect introduction to Ronan.

‘You’re not French!’ Leah exclaimed.

‘No, indeed.’ If anything, she could detect a touch of Irish in his voice.

‘But you spoke to me in French!’

He grinned disarmingly. ‘I’m a big fat show off.’

J: You have had many, many sparkling reviews.  Can you provide a snapshot of some of the reviews?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0008175551/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0008175551&linkCode=as2&tag=jesscaha-21&linkId=586e2f05c8043ef2278ece2b51174256

 

J: It is evident that you care about your characters – it was difficult for me to say leave Leah behind. How did you feel when you had finished writing your book, and did you miss any of the characters?

S: Whenever I finish a book I always feel a heady mixture of triumph and relief. Yes, I do sometimes miss characters and I particularly missed Leah and Ronan from Just for the Holidays … but I know I’ll meet them again during the various edits. By then I’ll be keen to be with them again and will greet them like old friends.

J: Who would you like to read your book and why?  This could be another author, someone famous, a friend or a member of your family.  

S: I suppose ‘As many people as possible’ is the answer! There are few things that please me as much as people liking my books, so the more people who read them, the more likely that is.

J: Why should I keep your book in my handbag? 

Sue Moorcroft

S: Entertainment and food for thought. My books usually have issues bubbling under the surface and in the case of JFTH they are: the changing shape of families, women being voluntarily child free, independence, bankruptcy and homelessness, and the problems of taking a relationship to an intimate level with teenagers around to thwart you.

J: What is the last sentence written in your writer’s notebook?

When she realises Levi has been her guardian angel, initially she’s furious. But the homeless guy tells her not to knock it. This relates to the book I’m currently writing for publication in Summer 2018.

J: What is the biggest challenge for an author?

S: For me, doing my accounts. Being an author is like any other business and I don’t enjoy the paperwork.

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

S: Don’t make enemies. This was from Margaret James, who was then the New Writers’ Scheme Organiser of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

J: How does a best-selling author manage to stay so down to earth?

S: I work hard. I don’t have the time for airs and graces and my family and friends would probably point them out if I did.

Sue made the strawberries and cream mug cakes and they were deliciously gooey.  Her recipe is on her Facebook page and she agreed to share the link to my Timeline.  Although she’s cut right back on teaching in order to accommodate her publishing schedule of two books a year, Sue was incredibly generous with her time and passed on to me a few nuggets of practical advice about the world of publishing. She feels lucky to be writing full time and able to live her dream and it was a privilege to listen to her wisdom about the professional world of writing.

Before Sue could drive off, she had to remind herself of how to start the shiny new car. In common with Leah, Sue loves cars with a bit of power.

Sue’s links:

Website: www.suemoorcroft.com.

Blog: https://suemoorcroft.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sue.moorcroft.3

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/SueMoorcroftAuthor

Twitter @suemoorcroft

Google+: google.com/+Suemoorcroftauthor

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

Instagram: suemoorcroftauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/862993.Sue_Moorcroft

Take Five Authors: https://takefiveauthors.wordpress.com

 

Please see all my interviews at My Guests and my blog at jessiecahalin.com

Summer on a Sunny Island with Sue Moorcroft

Ideas come from all over. I began my new book, Summer on a Sunny Island, after visiting Malta with my brothers and sister-in-law for a service kids’ reunion.

To celebrate three years of Books in my Handbag Blog, I invited a special guest to join me. Sue Moorcroft was the first guest on my blog three years ago and is renowned for her captivating escapist fiction. I asked her about her latest novel, Summer on a Sunny Island, and where she finds her stories and characters. Get the kettle on, join us for a chat and let’s indulge in a short break to Malta where sparks are flying.

Jessie: When did you get your big break in writing?

Sue: Securing my agent Juliet of Blake Friedmann. She sold two books to Avon, HarperCollins and they got the first, The Christmas Promise, to #1 on UK Kindle in December 2016.

Jessie: Did you dream of becoming an author when you were a child?

Sue: Yes. I was six or seven when I realised someone created what went between a book’s covers and decided I’d like that to be me.

Jessie: Have you ever been tempted to chat to readers if you see them buy your book in the supermarket? 

Sue: I was once in W H Smith in St Pancras Station, talking to a friend where A Christmas Gift stood on the shelf. A lady picked up a copy. I froze but my friend said, ‘Would you like to meet the author?’ We chatted and took photos and members of staff joined in and another guy came up and said he knew me from columns I wrote for Writers’ Forum. It was a lovely experience. Ideas come from all over. I began my new book, Summer on a Sunny Island, after visiting Malta with my brothers and sister-in-law for a service kids’ reunion.

Jessie: You have written an amazing number of novels.  Where do you get your ideas from?  Are you constantly searching for characters?

Sue: I made Rosa’s mum and Zach’s dad army kids who’d lived on the island. Another spark was a sweet anecdote I heard about a celeb cook, which made me make Rosa’s mum a food writer. Zach’s troubled past comes from my memory of a guy at school. Part of Rosa’s from something that happened when I worked in a bank. I’m lucky to have a plotty head that weaves together things I remember/hear about.

Jessie: How many times do you draft a book before you send it to your editor?  How many rewrites do you go through before the book is ready to release into the wild?

Sue: Two or three drafts before I send the book in. Then comes a structural edit (probably another two drafts), a line edit and a copy edit. Sometimes two of these edits are combined into one.

An uplifting, happy read that will raise your spirits and warm your heart!

Jessie: Your novels always have distinctive settings.  Did you visit Malta before you wrote the latest novel, Summer on a Sunny Island?

Sue: I was brought up there for several years and return whenever I can. Last year, with Summer on a Sunny Island in progress, I visited four times! I wrote about a quarter of the first draft there, which was an enriching process.

Jessie: What are the themes and contemporary issues in Summer on a Sunny Island?

Sue: Characters standing at a crossroads in their lives; online gambling; young people pulled into the wrong crowd; family dynamics; negative equity traps; responsibility.

Jessie: The opening lines of your novels always hook me.  Please share the opening lines of Summer on a Sunny Island.

‘Rosa twirled her wine glass, trying to choose her words over the chatter and clatter of Gino’s pavement café and the rumble of traffic along the seafront road. Here in the busy area of Sliema, old buildings outnumbered the new and the promenade was filled with people selling harbour cruises to tourists. Rosa preferred Ta’ Xbiex, where she was staying, about a mile along the coast, with its traditional stone villas. Sliema’s air was punctuated by the sound of car horns but in Ta’ Xbiex you could sometimes catch the mellow sound of church bells rising into the blue sky above the boats bobbing on the sparkling sea.’

Jessie: I am so grateful to you for writing such great escapes.  What do you read when you want to escape? 

Sue: I read in the area I write – authors such as Jules Wake/Julie Caplin, Kathryn Freeman, Rhoda Baxter, Christina Courtenay – and romantic suspense such as Toni Anderson, Suzanne Brockmann and Linda Howard. I also love books on Formula 1!

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times and international bestselling author and has reached the coveted #1 spot on Amazon Kindle.

Jessie: What message would you like to give to your dedicated group of readers?

Sue: THANK YOU. There are few things give me more pleasure than readers enjoying my books. And thank you, Jessie, for inviting me onto Books in my Handbag!

As an international bestselling author of escapist fiction, Sue Moorcroft is the perfect writer to visit my blog.  As I can’t travel, I fancy an escape to Malta because we need an ‘uplifting happy read’ at the moment.

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times and international bestselling author and has reached the coveted #1 spot on Amazon Kindle. She’s won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award and the Katie Fforde Bursary. Sue’s novels of love and life are currently released by publishing giant HarperCollins in the UK, US and Canada and by an array of publishers in other countries.

Her short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared around the world.

Born into an army family in Germany, Sue spent much of her childhood in Cyprus and Malta but settled in Northamptonshire at the age of ten. An avid reader, she also loves Formula 1, travel, time spent with friends, dance exercise and yoga.


Website [www.suemoorcroft.com]
Blog [http://suemoorcroft.wordpress.com]
Facebook profile [Sue.Moorcroft.3]
Facebook author page [https://www.facebook.com/SueMoorcroftAuthor
Twitter  [@suemoorcroft]
Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/suemoorcroftauthor/] @SueMoorcroftAuthor
LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/suemoorcroft]

Please see all my author interviews at My Guests and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel is available here.

Characters Trapped in the Mind of a Book Blogger

Please visit my website at jessiecahalin.com  

This week has been a busy adventure for @BooksInHandbag.

I have been communicating with fictional characters and trying to get into their world.  I feel as if have been residing in a corner of my mind that is neither reality nor fiction and it’s a great place.

Leah, from Just for the Holidays, has been sending me postcards about her dilemma out there in France, and other characters from the books that I am reviewing have asked for help.  Annoyingly, the author, Angela Petch is also travelling to Leah’s holiday destination and she has been trying to get into the heart of the gossip.  I am sure that Angela wants material for her next book.

I have been desperately trying to get out to France to support Leah, but it is proving to be quite a challenge.  Locating a ferry ticket has been an absolute nightmare, holiday shopping has been horrendous and I am petrified of driving in France.  As I write, I am planning how to get out there to Leah and find out what is happening.  It is difficult because I can sense that she doesn’t want me to go out there for some reason, but doesn’t want to offend. I need to see Leah face to face. It is a concern that Angela will hunt out any gossip and spill the beans in her next novel.  Despite my reservations about driving in France, I will just have to get on with it and race out there.

Must stop!!! Someone is knocking at the door and the next-door neighbour’s dogs are going mad.  Who is it?  I can see a camper van outside. I will be back soon…

It’s me…I am back again.

The characters from my debut novel You Can’t Go It Alone were knocking on my door. Sophie and Jack have arrived in a camper van and they have said that I can borrow it for the journey to France.  It is so typical of Sophie and Jack to think of others when they are going through so much.  However, I don’t know why they have changed the lovely tangerine orange colour to a yukky pale blue.  I might have to take them up on their offer, if I can find an available ferry crossing.

I hope that I get to France on time!

It’s frightening as the characters, from the books, are taking over and I am not sure what is reality and what is fiction: all I do is write, write, write the events of my day.  It’s great fun, and it’s amazing to connect with the creative minds of other authors.  I may never have to face reality again thanks to Twitter and the power of the imagination. The author Linn B Halton has just messaged me to say that there ought to be an ‘Authors Anonymous’ to assist with our addiction to writing.

Are the characters, in the books that I am reviewing, taking over my life?

Please visit my website jessiecahalin.com to find out more about these authors.

#PostcardsJFTH

 

A little ray of sunshine in my handbag

Check out my blog at jessiecahalin.com

The sun always shines when you read a Moorcroft book! 

The sun just gets hotter and hotter ‘until any air has been too soaked in sunshine for relief’, and you feel, like Elle, as if you need an exhilarating swim to chase away the blues.

This is a great book to read, at any time; whether you are on holiday or just want a chance to escape a challenging week.

Read more of this review in My Reading.

 

 

Check out my blog at jessiecahalin.com

When Sue Moorcroft Visited Switzerland

This Christmas, the villagers of Middledip are off on a very Swiss adventure…

Christmas is never far away when Sue Moorcroft releases her Christmas novel.  I am excited to tell you that Let it Snow is out on 26th September.  When Sue agreed to chat to me about her latest novel, it felt like an early Christmas gift.  I also wanted to know how Sue manages to capture the Christmas spirit each year and tell yet another magical story. 

Jessie:  Let it Snow is a great title.  Did you think of the title while listening to the Christmas song?

Sue: No, my editor and the sales team chose it! It’s working title had been ‘A Christmas Adventure’. There’s a singing group in the book and I made ‘Let it Snow’ their favourite song.

Jessie: How do you manage to create such vivid settings?  Did you visit Switzerland to capture the sense of place for  Let it Snow?

Sue: Yes! My friend and fellow author Rosemary J Kind lives between the UK and Switzerland and she said, ‘If you want to set a book there, you can come with me.’ I instantly asked my editor if she was happy with Switzerland as a setting and went back to Ros to say, ‘I want to set a book there!’ She drove us – and her Entlebucher Hound Wilma – through England and France to Switzerland. It was lovely! I’d never visited Switzerland and I was thrilled with it. The Swiss really know how to do Christmas and we went to processions, markets, brunches, choirs and all kinds of things. I try hard to include all the tiny details that capture a setting: the snow on chalets and Christmas lights on balconies.

Sue celebrating Christmas editions of her books. Mark West took this pic of Sue at Christmas in a pub with The Christmas Promise and its German edition.

Jessie: How do you plan the narrative for  Let it Snow and did any of your characters misbehave and change events?

Sue: I met a woman in a same-sex marriage and she had just had a baby. It raised all kinds of questions in my mind and I wanted to write a heroine who had two mums. When she discovers she’s not the result of an anonymous one-night stand as she’d always thought but that her mother had a relationship with a man especially to get pregnant, she experiences a compulsion to discover what she can of her bio-family. I’m afraid my brother Kevan was ill while I was planning the book and I gave his heart failure to Tubb from the Pub. This meant I had to find a relief manager for the pub, The Three Fishes. He is my hero, Isaac O’Brien. I think of him as a reluctant hero because he’s on his way to a new life when he gets sucked into Lily’s. His ex, Hayley, played a much bigger part in the story than I expected her to. Sometimes a character can be secondary but also pivotal.

Jessie: When do you write your Christmas stories?  Do you immerse yourself in Christmas, grab a notebook and begin planning next year’s story gift, or are you writing during the summer and transport yourself to the scene?

Sue: It takes a while to write a book so though I planned Let it Snow in Malta in the sunshine, I wrote the majority of the first draft through the winter. Then the editing came in lovely weather again. When I used to write short stories for magazines it was normal to write Christmas stories in June and summer stories in December so I’m used to it. I had the chance to return to Switzerland when I was almost at the end of the first draft and that would have been fantastic. Sadly, the dates clashed with a professional engagement so I had to give it a miss.

Jessie: Your romance novels have layers and always explore contemporary issues and the changing family unit.  In Let it Snow, it’s that Lily has two mothers, and this adds a poignant dimension to the narrative as she searches for her father.   How did you research this?

Sue: My other brother, Trevor, volunteered to take on some of my research when he retired and he’s brilliant at it. I was able to send him emails asking whether lesbian couples could have received artificial insemination in 1983 and he’d come back with a factual answer. (Lily’s sister Zinnia was conceived via artificial insemination.) For the emotional side I was able to read case studies on websites and talk to someone about twins they know who are searching out all their half-siblings and learn something of their journey. There seemed to me to be two distinct attitudes amongst the children of same-sex relationships, however they’re conceived, and so I gave Lily one attitude and Zinnia the other. I don’t want to give details because they’d also be spoilers.

The ‘singing Christmas tree’ in Zürich. It’s a pyramidical stage for a choir. This appears in the book, of course!

Jessie: I am in awe of how you manage to vary your characters and always make them so likeable.  What three tips do you have for developing characters?

Sue: Thank you! My big tip is to look at each major character through the eyes of several other characters. If we take Lily, for example, I looked not just at the facts of her life, interesting as they were, but what Zinnia thought of her, what Roma her birth mother thought of her and also, importantly, Patsie, her ‘other mother’. How was she regarded at work? What about her ex husband? In real life we behave differently with and are perceived differently by different people and I use this to build multi-faceted characters.

Jessie: The sparks always fly in the brilliant dialogue between your characters.  What advice do you have for writers who wish to make their dialogue realistic?  Can you give us a snapshot of some of the dialogue in your latest novel.

Sue: I think one develops a feel for dialogue. I listen to people speak, think about the syntax they use and try and make it appropriate for age, background and region. An 18-year-old girl and an 80-year-old woman could each say, ‘He’s wicked!’ and mean two entirely different things. Dialogue’s wonderful. It breathes life into characters, allows them to interact with each other and passes information to the reader. Here’s a few lines from  Let it Snow, Chapter 1:

‘We’re your family!’ Zinnia declared, shoving her fingers through her chestnut hair. ‘What you’re doing could hurt Patsie and Roma.’

Lily climbed on a stool and began to feed the string of lights through hooks above the bar. ‘They understand it’s my decision. You know this, Zin. Let’s not press “repeat” on the conversation.’

Zinnia bulldozed on. ‘Aren’t we enough for you? You and I grew up sharing a bedroom! We’re sisters—’

‘And you’re the loveliest sister in the world.’ Lily hoped popping in a positive note would distract Zinnia. She jumped down, scraped her stool towards the next few hooks, gave Zinnia a hug then clambered up again. ‘How about twisting that tinsel around the ivy swags along the mantelpiece?’

Jessie: Do you give your books as Christmas gifts to family and friends?

Sue: No. I give out most of my free copies when they arrive to various members of my family who would read them and to anyone who has played a major part in research. Apart from that, people have to buy them themselves, I’m afraid.

Jessie: What is your typical Christmas like and are there any special family traditions or recipes?

Sue: I like the run up to Christmas and all the festive meetings of the various writing organisations to which I belong or Christmas meals with friends, but when Christmas itself comes around I like a quiet time with family. Between Christmas and New Year either my household or my brother’s household hosts an extended family lunch and that’s anything but quiet.

Sue wraps up her Christmas stories beautifully and her novels are perfect Christmas gifts.  The Ebook is out on the 26th September.  The paperback and audio book will be available on 14th November.

More about Let it Snow

This Christmas, the villagers of Middledip are off on a very Swiss adventure…

Family means everything to Lily Cortez and her sister Zinnia, and growing up in their non-conventional family unit, they and their two mums couldn’t have been closer.

So it’s a bolt out of the blue when Lily finds her father wasn’t the anonymous one-night stand she’d always believed – and is in fact the result of her mum’s reckless affair with a married man.

Confused, but determined to discover her true roots, Lily sets out to find the family she’s never known; an adventure that takes her from the frosted, thatched cottages of Middledip to the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland, via a memorable romantic encounter along the way…

The Sunday Times bestseller returns with a gloriously cosy read, perfect for fans of Katie Fforde, Trisha Ashley and Carole Matthews.

Contact details
Website: www.suemoorcroft.com
Blog: https://suemoorcroft.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sue.moorcroft.3
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/SueMoorcroftAuthor
Twitter @suemoorcroft
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suemoorcroft
Instagram: suemoorcroftauthor

Christmas books:
The Christmas Promise
The Little Village Christmas
A Christmas Gift

 

Please see all my author interviews at My Guests and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel is available here.

Find a compartment labelled ‘do not disturb’ in my handbag

Just for the Holidays

Sue Moorcroft

A book about a midlife crisis and teenagers but the book had me at helicopter pilot! 

 

 

Click here to buy on Amazon

I have been waiting for weeks to meet Leah. As soon as the book arrived, I made myself some strong coffee and lost myself in France.

As I opened the book, I could feel the ‘sheen on my skin where the sunshine streamed in through the window’. But the book isn’t just about the shimmering heat, a fast heart beat and copious amounts of rosé pamplemousse.  It is a wonderfully witty book that isn’t ‘Just for the Holidays’ because the consequences of the holiday will last forever.  This novel examines the fragility of the ‘protective shell’ surrounding teenagers that can shatter without their parents.  In turn, Moorcroft also shows how adult are left vulnerable and exposed when relationships breakdown.  However, you will still laugh all the way through novel and forget that you need to go to sleep – hence strong coffee needed.  You will also crave some expensive chocolate.

Prior to reading this novel, I was unaware of the challenges facing Leah as I had focused on the trail of clues in the #PostcardsJFTH.  One must admire Leah as she ‘rolls up her sleeves’, supports everyone and hopes that the ‘frost’ will thaw between her sister and brother-in-law. Leah’s ‘heart twists’ for the teenagers but also flutters when she feels the heat from a certain man. It is moving that Leah has an incredible capacity to empathise, putting the needs of others first.  It is equally endearing that she removes the halo from time to time. Who wouldn’t want Leah, with her ‘sunny personality’ and compassion, as a sister?

The narrative is as fast paced as Leah’s Porsche, but one longs to find out if the romance will become a harmonious melody rather than a sporadic drum beat.  Besides the events rolling on, there is a tremendous lyrical quality to the dialogue that drives you through the events.  The humour sparkles throughout the interactions and difficult situations. I am in awe of the way in which Moorcroft combines humour with a more challenging and sensitive subject.   Characters are built with precision as each word is selected with tender loving care: Moorcroft cares about her characters thus ensuring that the reader will also suffer from a ‘sore heart’ at times.

Read it and you will understand why Leah needs to get a massive ‘Do not disturb’ sign on her door.

A whole constellation of stars to be awarded to Sue Moorcroft for this funny, poignant yet heart-breaking read!  Must go now and bake the quick pecan toffee pudding to console myself for having finished the book.

Please see my blog at jessiecahalin.com

Kindness of tweeters

Kindness of Tweeters

Twitter is such a polite form of communication that seems to promote that good old fashioned courtesy.  It is wonderful that good people can ‘like’ your comments and always thank you for a re-tweet; perfect strangers wish me ‘Happy Monday’, or tell me to have a good weekend.

Recently the lovely Diane Need wished me ’Happy Friday’ on Thursday and this prompted a string of humorous comments from others – all very courteous.  My phone beep, beeped for two days with various comments until it was indeed Friday and Diane’s birthday.  Here are some snatches of the conversation:

Sue Moorcroft‏ @SueMoorcroft

And the same to you! 🙂 (But isn’t it Thursday?)

 

Erin Green Author‏ @ErinGreenAuthor

If you want Friday… we will give you Friday – official

 

Diane Need Author‏ @dianeneed

Trust me, LOL. I think I’ll carry on with the Friday illusion! 🙂

 

Books in my Handbag‏ @BooksInHandbag

Always poised and ready for Friday with a cocktail in your hand – love the positivity! It made us all think of Friday!

 

John Jackson‏ @jjackson42

In the same vein, the sun is ALWAYS over the yardarm, SOMEWHERE!! Cheers!

 

Sue Johnson‏ @SueJohnson9

It’s your birthday – it can be whatever day you want it to be. x

 

Such interactions punctuate your day with positivity and make you laugh out loud in public places.  How, I wish that we could apply the same etiquette to everyday situations and people would walk past and share a positive greeting, rather than looking at their feet. Wouldn’t it be great if we could hand out cards with emojis on them, just to confirm our feelings?   They wouldn’t have to say anything just hold up a smiley face.  The only down side could be that one wouldn’t stop saying thank you.  In Twitterland, everyone keeps on acknowledging your comments and it is difficult to know when to stop: I haven’t yet learnt this etiquette as I like to have the last word.

I had a great dilemma when Angela Petch sent me a picture of an orchid from Italy and presented ‘an orchid in Tuscany for favourite Blogger.’  What could I do?  I couldn’t go on pressing the ‘like’ button forever and working my way through all of the emojis? I had to be courteous and creative so I sent her a picture of a cup with an appropriate message on it.  Does anyone know if that was sufficient or if I have missed something?

I adore the way in which Twitterland guides you down the path of courteousness, reinstates good old fashioned values and inspires creativity.  I want to share this love and hand out emojis as I walk the streets.  Of course, it would be even better if more strangers would just smile occasionally and pass the time of day – just as the lovely people do on Twitter.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone on Twitter for future re-tweets and any ‘likes’ that they want to share.  I like you all, with big hearts, and thank you!  I am happy, excited and winking simultaneously.

Please see my blog at jessiecahalin.com

New Writers and a Swimbling Christmas

Artwork by Sue McDonagh entitled Swimbling Christmas

In October, I volunteered to be a member of admin for the Romantic Novelists’ New Writers’ Facebook group. This is an informal online group where new writers chat, support each other or even confess their writer’s block or editing nightmare. Working with lovely Emma Wilson to maintain the group has been a rewarding experience as she is bubbling with enthusiasm. This week we had our online Christmas party and I invited Sue Moorcroft to read an extract from her latest Christmas novel – Under the Mistletoe. It was wonderful to interview Sue and get some writing tips, and she kindly donated a signed copy of Under the Mistletoe to the winner of our Christmas Competition. We used artwork from author and artist Sue McDonagh as the prompt for the writing competition. All of the short story entries were entertaining and beautifully written. Donna Gowland won the competition.

Interviewing the fabulous Sue Moorcroft at the NWS Christmas party.

It is my pleasure to publish Donna’s winning story on this blog.

 

Swimbling Christmas

Ronnie was the last to get into the water. The crisp curls of the waves bubbled and brushed her feet. From a distance, the blurred bodies excitedly bobbing up and down looked like baubles. She sighed, pulled at the breast padding in her swimming costume and edged tentatively towards the water.

‘Come on in, it’s invigorating.’

Val’s soothing voice cut through the December chill and Ronnie flung herself into the water. Her teeth chattered as she sprang up and down like a cold Jack-in-the-box.

She swam out towards their blurred shapes, their loud voices ringing out in an enthusiastic chorus. There was other music too: the winter birds enjoying the slow Christmas Day sunrise, carolling their own mirth. Ronnie’s heart beat with a warmth that soothed the scarred breast that lay atop it. She had never felt more alive, nor more grateful.

Under the sun’s golden spotlight, her skin twinkled as if she were made of stars. Nature was healing her unquiet mind, blocking out all her doubts and fears. Ronnie woke from her reverie. The water was silent and empty, the beach miles beyond her reach. She gulped in panic, taking in mouthfuls of seawater that stung her cheeks and eyes. Her heart pounded, her mind raced with panic. All she could do was swim to that golden rock that shimmered uncertainly to the left of her gaze, and hope that someone would rescue her.

Mercifully, the tide was on her side and it delivered her to the rock like a damp Christmas parcel. Ronnie wept with relief as she clung to its back, grateful for its curved stoicism.

It should have surprised her more when the gentle rock turned, swishing a tail loudly in the water, unfurling the full body of a merman. Ronnie gasped – first in disbelief and then at the tremendous, ethereal beauty that even her poor eyesight couldn’t mistake. Here was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen – Brad Pitt crossed with Fabio – with golden hair, a taut, sea toned body and a long, thin golden tail. If her heart beat loudly before, it roared across the water now.

He held her delicately, looking up at her with kind eyes crinkled with wisdom and sand. When he kissed her with softly abrasive lips, the kiss was firm and salty. The sea sang quietly beneath her, faint as the murmur of sea in a shell. When the kiss ended, his smile was Christmas tree radiant and Ronnie felt illuminated.

‘Merry Christmas,’ he whispered.

Ronnie closed her eyes again, waiting for the renewal of the kiss, but when she opened them again, she saw only the soggy faces of the swimblers, creased with concern.

‘We were about to call an ambulance.’ Val chided.

Ronnie sighed, wiggling her body into a star shape on the sand.

‘What time are we coming back next week?’ she giggled.

Sue Moorcroft sent a signed copy of Under the Mistletoe to the competition winner – Donna Gowland.

Jessie: Donna, congratulations on winning the competition. Tell us a little about yourself.

Donna: I’m teacher and writer from Merseyside with a lifelong love of happily ever afters. Attending the Love Writing RNA event at Manchester in 2020 introduced me to the fabulous work of the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme and I managed to grab a place on the 2021 scheme. I’m a keen writer of romance and poetry and seem to be ‘always the bridesmaid’ in competitions – gaining finalist places in the Love Writing Meet-Cute competition, the Seren Poetry Christmas poem competition and joint second place in the RNA conference’s Elizabeth Goudge competition this year. Earlier this summer, I joined forces with eleven other semi-finalists from the Michael Joseph Christmas romance competition to compile our first anthology More Than Mistletoe. 

I am sure you enjoyed reading Donna’s story. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a magical Christmas and a Happy New Year. I do hope Santa brings you some brilliant books this year. Did you know that in Iceland there is a tradition of giving books as gifts on Christmas Eve?

The Romantic Novelists’ New Writers’ Scheme is a brilliant scheme co-ordinated by Janet Gover. If you wish to find out more, visit the website at: https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/.

 

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

A copy of my novel is available here.