‘I absolutely adored this book. It gave me all the feels! A charming read full of warmth and heart.’ ***** Kim the Bookworm
Bea Winters is in desperate need of a fresh start. Being bullied at work is not her idea of fun and she longs to follow her dream of becoming a published author. When an advert appears in her local paper to work in a publishing house in the sleepy village of Bloomsdale, it sounds too good to be true.
She strikes up an instant friendship with gorgeous aspiring author, Eddie Richards and her dashing millionaire boss Scott Summers
But all isn’t as it seems in the sleepy village of Bloomsdale.
How does the local clairvoyant know her name? Who does the little black dog that keeps appearing belong to and why does she keep bumping into the mysterious Charlie?
As she starts to unravel the truth, it seems that everyone in Bea’s life is keeping secrets. An uplifting romantic comedy that will warm your heart.
I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.
My Thoughts…
Winters’ Gift offers its readers something different. Bea is a likeable protagonist flawed but easy to empathise. Her life’s not easy, especially at work. With a little supernatural nudge, she embraces an opportunity for a new life and job.
Bea’s adventures in Bloomsdale are numerous, some funny some sad as she learns the secrets of her past and a real-life family drama unfolds at the publishing house.
Vibrant characters and a lovely balance of humorous and poignant moments make this an engaging story, especially with its supernatural twist.
Florence Keeling adopted for her pen-name her Great Grandmother’s name, chosen because of the shared birthday of April Fool’s Day. She is married with two teenage chidren. Born and raised in Coventry, England she now lives just outside in Nuneaton. Reflected Destinies is her first novel.
Florence Keeling also writes for children under the name of Lily Mae Walters.
I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.
My Thoughts…
Written by a successful writer, ‘Motivation Matters’, is an inspirational motivation workbook, full of exercises that you can incorporate into your everyday life, to make it a little different, and stimulate your intrinsic motivation for writing. You have to want to write, it has to make you feel good, and this book gives you the tools to reawaken your inner motivation towards your writing.
Personally, I am drawn to this book because I struggle with my inner motivation to write novels. I write every day for my blog and read avidly, always prioritising this in my life. Despite having written three published books, I struggle to find regular time to complete the two stories, I have unfinished. So, starting this book I’m looking for techniques that will give me the motivation to write my books every day like I write my blogs.
The book is interactive and user-friendly, after a brief introductory chapter, it jumps into the exercises. The second chapter asks what motivates us? It demonstrates how, through change, and looking at everyday things differently, we can stimulate the motivation process within us.
The author provides you with an exercise a day, and one extra. I read this through like a book, absorbing some of the ideas, and trying some of them. Ideally, it should be used as a workbook, something to dip into regularly to top up your creativity. You may have favourite exercises here, but mix them up try something new. The ethos behind this process is that change stimulates creativity.
The exercises stimulate your creative brain, so once completed you should want to write, don’t put it off, or the exercise’s motivational properties are wasted. This is the hardest thing for me. I realise I already do a good proportion of the things mentioned here, but I don’t immediately write following them, I must.
The exercises are individual but grouped into chapters to allow you to work on particular areas, for example releasing your inner creativity, observing your world and different worlds. The key is honing your observational skills and changing your environment to give your creativity more scope.Downtime is important, but you need you to use what you learn in your writing.
This book isn’t something you read once and reap the benefits, it is designed to change you. So you need to regularly reinforce the messages it relays if they are beneficial for you. I like it, and I am going to see what it does for me, and my fictional writing.
The key messages I take away from my initial reading are, use what you observe, to make your writing realistic and relevant, change something every day to stimulate your creativity, set yourself goals, something to work towards, and find your balance of active and cerebral to make your writing part of your life, something you want to do.
I will follow up this review, to share how I get on.
Award-Winning Author Wendy H. Jones lives in Scotland, and her police procedural series featuring Detective Inspector Shona McKenzie is set in the beautiful city of Dundee, Scotland. Wendy has led a varied and adventurous life. Her love for adventure led to her joining the Royal Navy to undertake nurse training. After six years in the Navy, she joined the Army where she served as an Officer for a further 17 years. This took her all over the world including Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. Much of her spare time is now spent travelling around the UK and lands much further afield. As well as nursing Wendy also worked for many years in Academia. This led to publication in academic textbooks and journals. Killer’s Countdown is her first novel and the first book in the Shona McKenzie Mystery series. Killer’s Crew won the Books Go Social Book of the Year 2107. There are now six books in this series with Killer’s Crypt being released in August 2017. The Dagger’s Curse is the first book in The Fergus and Flora Mysteries for Young Adults. This book is currently shortlisted for the Woman Alive Magazine Readers Choice Award Book of the Year. She is also a highly successful marketer and she shares her methods in the book, Power Packed Book Marketing.
Amy, the manager of The Little Book Café, is a hopeless romantic who had her heart broken, but quietly refuses to give up on love.
With her friends Tash and Emma, not to mention their shared love of books and delicious cake from the café next door, Amy might just find the courage to fall for a real-life romance this time…
Amy’s Story is the final instalment of The Little Book Cafe series.
Amy’s story is the perfect way to end this romantic series. which spotlights some hard-hitting issues among the books, cakes and romance.
Amy has featured in the first two books in the series, but she deserves her own happy ending and Patrick, the Irish charmer may just be the man to give it to her. Amy has more emotional baggage than most. She has her reasons for being shy of relationships. Her lack of self-esteem is compounded by her overcritical mother, who has her own regrets, which she takes out on Amy. Patrick is her friend, always there to help and doesn’t judge, she’s in love but he seems content to remain just friends.
Amid, the book clubs, parties and solving the local crime wave, love finds a way and this story ends on an undeniably hopeful note. The only drawback, this is the last one. Hopefully, there may be a few more tales to be told in Berecombe yet?
I received a copy of this book from Harper Impulse via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
When 29-year-old Taunton-based Erin Goodleigh learns that an old boyfriend is a successful writer in London, she is astonished. Back in sixth-form, when they co-wrote the school play, she practically carried the lazy worm. So how did he do it and – more importantly – is it too late for her to fulfil her side of the vow they made to become successful writers?
Follow Erin’s adventures in London – with old university friend Trish, two-faced ex-boyfriend Ian and motorcycle messenger-writer Paul – as she pursues her dream armed only with hope, determination and a second-hand Amstrad computer.
Amazon UK
Amazon
‘London Calling’ manages to be both amusing and insightful with enough nineties nostalgia to make it interesting. Erin is a writer but she works as a ‘junior executive’ in her parents’ packaging company in the south west of England. She grew up in Hammersmith in the seventies and wants to become writer for BBC radio, moving back to London is the only way.
The weekly timetable for non commissioned writers serves to emphasise how difficult it is to follow your dream in the creative world. Money is tight and disappointment plentiful but sticking at it, is the only way to realise your chance of becoming a commissioned writer.
Those who are not discouraged with their numerous failures form a club of sorts and the team spirit is an important theme of this story.
The authenticity of the plot makes it a little repetitive at times but Erin is a strong, likeable character and you follow her rejections and small wins avidly. There is an interesting romantic dynamic between Erin and fellow non commissioned writer Paul, which adds to her roller-coaster life.
The historic influences are strong and make you realise how much has changed in the last twenty years. Does anybody remember the ‘Amstrad’ computer?
‘London Calling’ is a light hearted tale of ambition and stamina with lots of humour and a lovely thread of romance.
I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve written extensively for TV and radio in the UK and I’m currently developing a TV sitcom (optioned by NBC-Universal).
I love reading heart-warming, humorous novels about life’s little ups and downs, so it’s hardly a shock that I’ve started writing them myself. In my stories, I look to bring the feel-good factor (laughter and, perhaps, a few tears) to romance and relationships, changing careers, moving home, family upheaval, growing up, and a whole host of other bumps in the road.
So a typical day in my life starts early… I’m usually awake about 5 am, earlier at the moment because it’s so light. I love Springtime and Summer and I don’t want to miss a minute of it.
5 am
Read emails on phone, let the dogs out, make a coffee or a smoothie but to be honest it’s usually coffee with cream of course. The plan then is to write; book reviews, blogs or my latest work in progress. For my regular blog followers you will know that I’m a sporadic writer, when it comes to my books but once I’m hooked, writing is all I want to do.
8 am
Vince and I usually take Jazz and Oby out for a walk on the trail or in Pleasley country Park. If possible, I like to go earlier than this because its at its best when there is no one else there.
9 am
Breakfast with my daughter and grandson, definitely one of my favourite parts of the day. Though the clearing up is taking longer now he can have his own piece of toast.
10 am
Then its work time, this is usually writing of some description. I don’t normally stop for lunch, so I work through until 5 pm when its time to feed the dogs, prepare the dinner and catch up on domestic chores. Some days, I do house work or cooking during my work time, especially if I’ve managed to write earlier in the day. The best thing about working from home as a writer is the flexibility.
7pm
Another walk for the dogs and then I eat, watch TV, usually soaps, house programmes or US drama.
As many of you know my third book is released next week. The Dangerous Gift is a romantic suspense, a new genre for me but one I enjoy reading, so I thought I would write one and see what happened. It is also with a new publisher – Limitless Publishing so these are exciting times.
Since the release of the second book in ‘The Dragon Legacy series’ in December 2014 I have concentrated on promoting other authors, through spotlight posts, book reviews and social media posts. I love doing this. So I should be well placed to promoting my own book.
In many ways I am. I have a good social media following but getting the balance right is difficult. It’s easy to recommend the work of others, not so much your own. Writers are by nature I think self-critical and introverted so ‘blowing your own trumpet’ is well out of their comfort zone.
That said overcoming your barriers to self-promotion is essential if your book is to get noticed. The biggest hurdle for authors is to get your book seen, by the people who would love to buy and read it. So with this in mind I have been promoting The Dangerous Gift across all my social media platforms and I have been touched by the support from my social media and blog followers. Thank you.
Designed by TOJ PUBLISHING SERVICESwww.tojpublishing.com
I have supported a number of ‘Thunderclap’ campaigns in the last couple of weeks and thought I would give it a go for The Dangerous Gift. It’s a chance to reach new supporters and readers but only if you get the required number of sign ups.
The minimum is 100 people and since The Dangerous Gift campaign went live yesterday evening I have 9. 🙂 So there is some way to go, before I reach my target. If 100 supporters sign up; one Tweet, Facebook Post and Tumblr post will made on 9 Feb 12.00 pm to support The Dangerous Gift
After a tragic plane crash kills Jennie Taylor’s guardians, she returns to her childhood home—and her first love, Jared Stewart.
At just eighteen years old, Jennie had left the Unicorn Ranch in Texas to seek a life in the outside world. But she wasn’t just running toward independence. Heartbroken and confused, Jennie fled her home after Jared harshly rejected her on the eve of her birthday.
Now she must choose between making a new life on the ranch she has grown to love, or returning to her simple but empty life in England. The choice seems obvious at first, but nothing in life is simple…
Jared is forced to share control of his beloved ranch with the woman he wants but can’t have.
When Jennie receives an anonymous note, she goes to Jared for support. But what she finds is more than she was prepared for, driving the two further apart than ever. When an old friend is murdered and suspicious accidents escalate, endangering Jennie’s safety, Jared becomes her reluctant protector.
Jennie knows Jared is hiding something, but does he really want her gone from the ranch? And if so, could he be the one behind the ominous threats?
Determined to prove Jared isn’t involved, Jennie turns detective. Can she succeed in her courageous but reckless investigation…or is the truth a dangerous gift she won’t survive?
‘Writing has touched my life in every decade. At fifty, I took a risk and made writing my career, fulfilling a lifetime ambition.’
I enjoy writing blogs, book reviews and especially stories. Vivid imagery, atmospheric settings, strong females and sensual males are essential for my stories. Everyday life and ordinary people inspire me. How would someone react, if faced with something extraordinary? A thread of romance runs through my all my books, whether they be suspense, fantasy or historical.
I want to let my readers escape their lives for a while, experience new places, new people and most importantly, new emotional lows and highs My favorite parts of the writing process are; finding a person, event or place that makes me want to write a story about it and the writing itself; when your fingers cannot type fast enough, to transcribe your thoughts.
Family is very important to me. My two children are my greatest achievement to date.
I am an animal welfare supporter and regularly use social media to promote animal welfare issues.
So we all know writers are often solitary creatures who spend long periods of time with their laptops typing furiously, if their muse is with them, or looking into space, if it isn’t. I’d hoped to do lots of writing this week but after spending the entire day, Sunday and mine started at 5 am, on my edits for The Revenge Masquerade , I seem to have burnt myself out which makes my NaNo task an uphill battle. So I thought I would share what I have been doing this week in the hope my writer friends will empathise and tell me next week will be better. 🙂
So when I’m not writing, I drink coffee out of pretty mugs and pretend I’m getting in the mood for writing my historical novel.
One of my favourite ways to relax and think is walking my dogs, especially on a crisp autumn morning.
Then Jazz and Oby chill.
And I bake…Red Velvet and Lemon Meringue cup cakes.
Or if I really feel like a challenge… I decide to unpack my new fridge-freezer, which stands over 6ft and is 7 inches taller than me. Thankfully I lived to bore you with tell the tale but it was a near thing. 🙂 Worth it though it’s so pretty.
It’s definitely safer if I write and that’s what I’ll be doing tomorrow. 🙂
P.S – 7th November
I received my second round of edits at 5.03am, and I am happy to write that I have just returned them completed, 14 hours later, yay! #amwriting #amediting. 🙂
So we all know writers are often solitary creatures who spend long periods of time with their laptops typing furiously, if their muse is with them, or looking into space, if it isn’t. I’d hoped to do lots of writing this week but after spending the entire day, Sunday and mine started at 5 am, on my edits for The Revenge Masquerade , I seem to have burnt myself out which makes my NaNo task an uphill battle. So I thought I would share what I have been doing this week in the hope my writer friends will empathise and tell me next week will be better. 🙂
So when I’m not writing, I drink coffee out of pretty mugs and pretend I’m getting in the mood for writing my historical novel.
One of my favourite ways to relax and think is walking my dogs, especially on a crisp autumn morning.
Then Jazz and Oby chill.
And I bake…Red Velvet and Lemon Meringue cup cakes.
Or if I really feel like a challenge… I decide to unpack my new fridge-freezer, which stands over 6ft and is 7 inches taller than me. Thankfully I lived to bore you with tell the tale but it was a near thing. 🙂 Worth it though it’s so pretty.
It’s definitely safer if I write and that’s what I’ll be doing tomorrow. 🙂