The tempting front cover of A Gift for Maisie Bloom
Maisie Bloom is a newly qualified teacher who lives in the Yorkshire Dales. She is kind, fun and full of hope, and she is one of the reasons I have been absent from my blog.
A Gift for Maisie Bloom has been my great writing escape and is my debut romance novel. The story follows a newly qualified teacher who becomes an accidental sleuth and falls in love. I adore romances and indulge in those delicious cosy mysteries on television, so I have combined these genres.
An escape to the Yorkshire Dales
Conversations with my niece Maria inspired the relationship between Maisie and her Aunt Ada. I love my niece’s perspective on life, but it always amuses me that she forgets I was her age once upon a time. It was a joy to send Maisie on her adventures and hide tiny jewels of observations that may one day connect with Maria. And I must confess I also listened carefully to all other nieces and nephews, so I’ll leave them to dig for a few treasures.
A Gift for Maisie Bloom has a special place in my heart. What a thrill to create my own idyllic village in the Yorkshire Dales, then send Maise to Paris. Of course, I also insisted on lots of sunshine, good times and laughter.
A research trip to Yorkshire
I can’t wait for readers to meet Maisie and her nosy neighbours.
More about A Gift for Maisie Bloom:
You’re not supposed to fall in love when investigating your aunt’s disappearance.
When Maisie Bloom inherits her aunt’s cottage in Yorkshire, life is perfect, including her two love interests. But when mysterious mail and blog posts arrive, she discovers Aunt Ada was investigating the disappearance of a prolific author in Paris. Was it murder? Soon Maisie is hot on the trail.
But can you sleuth in Paris without falling in love?
Early reviews of A Gift for Maisie Bloom:
‘Readers are going to fall in love with Maisie.’
‘This wonderful mystery is a gift for readers who enjoy cozy crime, intrigue and romance.’
‘Refreshingly different! Laugh-out-loud humour laced with whimsy, eccentric characters and delightful glimpses of the Yorkshire countryside and romantic Paris.’
‘I defy you not to laugh out loud at the antics of the nosy neighbours.’
‘A curl up on the settee and read the winter blues away novel.’
It’s a gorgeous cosy mystery mashed up with romance and is all about books, love and family, starting in a Yorkshire village and then whisking you off to Paris.’
Fran Clark writes as Rosa Temple, and she spends her days creating characters and story lines while drinking herbal tea and eating chocolate biscuits. Fran is an indie author and an author with HQ Digital. When Fran told me one of my favourite programmes ‘Escape to the Country’ inspired her latest novels, Dear … Anybody. I had to find out more.
I was born and brought up in London. Like many Londoners, I took for granted that I lived in one of the most visited and popular cities in the world. London, to me, was always ever just Home. To be honest I never took advantage of all the city had to offer, but in time I got tired of living there. Though I lived in a swanky complex of flats by the River Thames, it was still a complex of flats. I couldn’t handle living in such close proximity to my neighbours – lovely though some of them were.
I never ventured out much unless I had to. I hardly saw friends and family. Everyone was just so busy and it seemed that no one had time for anything apart from buying the latest consumer luxury and binge watching Netflix.
For about 10 years I’d been addicted to the television programme, ‘Escape To The Country’ and my passion for open spaces and tranquillity just grew and grew. My London friends and family thought I’d get bored if I left London, they thought I was crazy and were certainly going to miss me. And I’d miss them, but there was something missing in my life. Let’s face it, a quiet cottage in the country would be ideal for a writer!
Sydney, the heroine of the novel, uncovers hidden truths, secret loves and the possibility of romance lies in wait behind the counter of her favourite coffee shop.
I found the perfect cottage in the Herefordshire countryside, my youngest set off for uni and my husband I left London.
Sitting at my writer’s desk, I dreamed up the idea for Dear…Anybody? the story of London girl, Sydney, who moved to the countryside from London, but for her it was out of necessity. Sydney adapting to country life, discovering a strong sense of community and enjoying a healthier lifestyle with fresh air and a slower pace of life all came from my experience of life in the country. I watch Netflix an awful lot less now and I always take a morning walk along the country lanes. Not forgetting the trips to the farmer’s market.
My original ideas for Dear…Anybody? intertwined a love story with weird and sinister goings on in the fictitious village of Bridley. The published version does include one or two mysteries to solve, but eventually became a novel about love, friendships and finding your true home. I hope you enjoy reading it!
“I enjoyed this book about secret love, uncovering hidden truths and turning around your life for the best. A light read that warms the heart to the end.” Isabell, Dreaming With Eyes Open Reviews
A mother of two, Fran is married to a musician and recently moved from London to Herefordshire. To date, Fran has penned and self published four publications as Rosa Temple; Sleeping With Your Best Friend, Natalie’s Getting Married, Single by Christmas and Sleeping With Your Best Friend.
HQ Digital (Harper Collins) has published three books in Fran’s pseudonym, Rosa Temple. The first was Playing by the Rules in February 2017 followed by Playing Her Cards Right on 28th August 2017 and Playing for Keeps on 12th February 2018.
Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire with her husband and two children.
Claire Huston has been a friend of Books in Handbag for many years. I have enjoyed following her blog Art and Soul because she presents some lovely, simple recipes and she is always so positive. I was delighted to learn she has written a romance and wanted to discover more. I invited Claire to talk about her novel.
Claire: My debut novel, Art and Soul, is a cheerful modern love story.
There’s no problem Becky Watson can’t fix. Except her own love life…
An expert in solving other people’s problems, single mum Becky is hired to help artist Charlie get out of his creative slump. But when she starts falling for her client, she’s forced to wonder: will she be able to fix her own love life?
To add some extra sweetness to the slow burn romance, the story features several delicious cakes. As part of my ongoing baking adventures, I set myself the challenge of making all the cakes which appear in the book. Here are a few of them…
Old school sponge cake with white icing and multi-coloured sprinkles
A classic and the favourite cake of Charlie, the hero of the story. A generous slice of this light, fluffy sponge brings back fond memories of his school days.
Favourite cake of Charlie, the hero of the story.
Chocolate fudge cake with chocolate buttercream
This is Becky’s favourite cake. She enjoys scoffing a restorative slice while having a good gossip with her best friend, Ronnie, who owns a cake shop.
This is Becky’s favourite cake.
Cappuccino cake with caramel buttercream
With life-fixer work being thin on the ground, Becky has been making ends meet by working behind the scenes at upmarket weddings to prevent problems and make sure the bride and groom’s big day goes off without a hitch. This deliciously sweet coffee confection is the cake chosen by one of the happy couples Becky is hired to help.
This deliciously sweet coffee confection is the cake chosen by one of the happy couples Becky is hired to help
Make these cakes!
If you fancy making any of these cakes, you can find all the recipes and over a hundred more on my website: www.clairehuston.co.uk
Introducing Claire Huston
Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire with her husband and two children. Art and Soul is her first novel. A keen amateur baker, she enjoys making cakes, biscuits and brownies almost as much as eating them. You can find recipes for all the cakes mentioned in Art and Soul at
Claire Huston has been a friend of Books in Handbag for many years. I have enjoyed following her blog Art and Soul because she presents some lovely, simple recipes and she is always so positive. I was delighted to learn she has written a romance and wanted to discover more. I invited Claire to talk about her novel.
Claire: My debut novel, Art and Soul, is a cheerful modern love story.
An expert in solving other people’s problems, single mum Becky is hired to help artist Charlie get out of his creative slump. But when she starts falling for her client, she’s forced to wonder: will she be able to fix her own love life?
To add some extra sweetness to the slow burn romance, the story features several delicious cakes. As part of my ongoing baking adventures, I set myself the challenge of making all the cakes which appear in the book. Here are a few of them…
Old school sponge cake with white icing and multi-coloured sprinkles
A classic and the favourite cake of Charlie, the hero of the story. A generous slice of this light, fluffy sponge brings back fond memories of his school days.
Chocolate fudge cake with chocolate buttercream
This is Becky’s favourite cake. She enjoys scoffing a restorative slice while having a good gossip with her best friend, Ronnie, who owns a cake shop.
Cappuccino cake with caramel buttercream
With life-fixer work being thin on the ground, Becky has been making ends meet by working behind the scenes at upmarket weddings to prevent problems and make sure the bride and groom’s big day goes off without a hitch. This deliciously sweet coffee confection is the cake chosen by one of the happy couples Becky is hired to help.
Make these cakes!
If you fancy making any of these cakes, you can find all the recipes and over a hundred more on my website: www.clairehuston.co.uk
Introducing Claire Huston
Claire Huston lives in Warwickshire with her husband and two children. Art and Soul is her first novel.
A keen amateur baker, she enjoys making cakes, biscuits and brownies almost as much as eating them. You can find recipes for all the cakes mentioned in Art and Soul at www.clairehuston.co.uk along with over 100 other recipes. This is also where she talks about and reviews books.
You can also follow Claire’s baking and writing endeavours on social media: linktr.ee/clairehuston_author
Get the book
And if you’d like a copy of Art and Soul, you can get one here. This is also where she talks about and reviews books.
You can also follow Claire’s baking and writing endeavours on social media: linktr.ee/clairehuston_author
Maybe Baby is ‘as frothy and delicious as a cappuccino’ Reviewer
It’s been a while since the last Golden Chapter feature, so we wanted something fun. Jena is presenting a delicious contemporary romance novel by Carol Thomas. This is a light-hearted holiday read. A reviewer deemed Maybe Baby to be ‘as frothy and delicious as a cappuccino’. Unable to resist a delicious read, Jena took a sip the first chapter.
Full of love, true friendship and humour.
What an adorable book cover for Maybe Baby. I like the cute and confident young woman posing in the pretty countryside. And, did you spot the cat?
The strapline for this book is: Full of love, true friendship and humour.
Well, let’s take a look at this second book in the Lisa Blake series. Here’s the start of the book blurb.
Best friends Lisa and Felicity think – maybe, just maybe – they finally have everything sorted out in their lives.
Lisa is in a happy relationship with her old flame, and busy mum Felicity has managed to reignite the passion with her husband, Pete, after a romantic getaway.
But when Lisa walks in on…?
And Felicity is left reeling…”
Now for my review. I cut off the blurb before it got to the “but when” part, as I only read the first chapter, and the “but when” begins a few chapters later. Let’s look at Chapter One.
Are you ready to run with Carol’s characters and see if anyone collides with love?
We meet Lisa and Felicity, out for an early morning run along the promenade. As many of us know, it’s one thing to get psyched and plan to exercise more, it’s another thing to do it on a chilly morning. But having a friend helps. Felicity has called this “getting fit over thirty” and Lisa is game, even though she ends up with a blister.
“It’s good isn’t?” encourages Felicity. “The state we’re in now, that’s not good, but the fact that we’re out of the house, taking on a challenge and trying something new.”
Lisa agrees, although she’d rather stop for a fry-up. As they head to their car after the run, Lisa lets it slip that she might be a teeny bit concerned about the new women who is renting the vacant flat in her boyfriend Nathan’s property..
And so, the “But when” begins…
Chapter One is only about nine pages on my iPad, but the author has given us a fun and meaningful entrée in to the story. I liked Lisa and Felicity right from the start. They are presented in the third-person. Although this is the second book in the series, the bits of backstory are easily woven in.
We are treated to plenty of “show”, and little “tell”. I was right there, panting and stumbling on the promenade with Lisa and Felicity as they ran. I also wanted the fry-up, even though Felicity wanted a healthier choice. And I began to get those butterflies in my stomach, too, when Lisa worried about the text from Nathan.
I especially liked the part where Lisa thought about why she had gone on the early morning run with Felicity. Lisa decided that she wanted to step up and be a good friend to Felicity once again.
What a pleasant start to a contemporary romance- two good friends, trying to be their best, and then comes the boyfriend news and as the first chapter concludes it seems we are getting to the “but when”…
What will it be I wondered- “but when Lisa finds Nathan with…?” Or “but when Lisa realizes that it’s going to be harder than she thought to help Felicity?…”
I’m ready to run with Lisa and Felicity and find out more. (and at some point, will there be a “maybe baby”?)
Readers, if you have read this book, please let us know what you thought or share your review in the comments section. If you haven’t read the book yet, let’s chat about the first chapter of Maybe Baby in the comments. Here’s what I’d like to start with.
Do you like Contemporary romances?
Do you like to read a book series?
What about the title? “Maybe Baby” -are we talking about a real baby?
Many thanks to author Carol Thomas for sending me the first chapter. And as always, applause and best wishes to Jessie Cahalin for featuring these Golden Chapter Reviews as part of her Handbag Gallery and for her continued support and friendship of book lovers!
Meet Carol Thomas. Her contemporary romance novels, have relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads.
Carol writes for both adults and children: Her contemporary romance novels, have relatable heroines whose stories are layered with emotion, sprinkled with laughter and topped with irresistible male leads; while her children’s books have irresistibly cute, generally furry characters young children can relate to.
Carol Thomas lives on the south coast of England with her husband, four children and lively young Labrador. She was a kindergarten supervisor and elementary school teacher for over fifteen years, prior to dedicating more of her time to writing. Carol is a regular volunteer at her local Cancer Research UK shop. She has a passion for reading, writing and people watching and can often be found loitering in local cafes working on her next book.
Take a break and read more about Jena’s reading recommendation
It is always a pleasure to present Jena’s fabulous Golden Chapters. When you are packing for your holiday, don’t forget to grab Maybe Baby and enjoy a fun read.
