Day 2 of our beach reads holiday, everyone should have unpacked and had time to check out their surroundings and found a great place to settle down for a read.
Today my guest is Adrienne Vaughan.
Rosie Amber’s Beach Reads – June 2015
Hi Rosie,
Thanks so much for inviting me along …it’s been great fun and a real treat to indulge my favourite pastime, as in common with most authors, I’m always a reader first!
Because I work full time running a boutique PR company I use my holidays to write. So I write everywhere! I write at the airport – love it if we’re delayed – on the plane – the longer the flight the better – by the pool, at the beach, in a restaurant, on a yacht – you name it, I’ll be there scribbling away. I write my novels longhand and then do my first edit when I type up my notes. I’m an early bird, so by late morning I am usually ready to go off with everyone else and have fun – works for me!
A Fact Book/Guide Book – about the place I am taking my holiday in.
Paris in Love by Eloisa James is my book of choice, and that fabulous city my destination. I was interviewing Eloisa – New York Times bestselling author of Regency Romance – for Romance Matters, the Romantic Novelists’ Association magazine, and decided to read some of her books. I loved Potent Pleasures – which was her debut novel, and then fell head over heels for her delicious memoir of a year spent in Paris. The book is quirky, poetic, poignant and funny – with notes on fashion, shopping and food, in-filled with many lovely family snippets, including how Eloisa’s son and daughter are fitting in with the locals, with varying degrees of success.
I had my own love affair with Paris some time ago, this gorgeous read reignited my passion, beautifully.
Paris in Love by Eloisa James http://amzn.to/1ABno75 or from Amazon.com
A book from my favourite genre …
This would be my novel Secrets of the Heart, the final book in the Heartfelt Trilogy which set me on the road to finally realising my dream of becoming a published novelist. The genre is romantic suspense, which I love. I know the story, of course, but I still become gripped reading scenes from books I’ve already read, and I adore it when I notice something new, and believe me, that happens with your own books too.
While writing, I was so worried about one set of characters, I clean forgot to work out how my main hero and heroine were going to get together. But the mind is a weird and wonderful thing, I woke up one morning desperate to finish the book that week and the last chapter more or less wrote itself, I just had to do a bit of infill tying up some lose ends in between. It was as if my heroine was saying, at last, come on, get on with it and if you’ve met her, you’ll know precisely what I mean.
Secrets of the Heart by Adrienne Vaughan http://bit.ly/SecretsAV
Find all of Adrienne’s series here with Universal links
A book I could truly escape with …
This would have to be Poldark by Winston Graham. I remember not watching the original TV series, because our television aerial wasn’t good enough to receive a decent picture. I was brought up in Dublin and in the early days we needed staggeringly tall aerials to pick up the signal coming across from Wales and of course, there were a few mountains in the way too! My folks had to save up for our aerial and when it came it was a sixteen footer, easily the biggest in the area. It arrived just in time to fall in love with Marc Bolan on Top of the Pops, phew!
Aidan Turner, the actor currently playing Poldark is from Clondakin in Dublin, literally up the road from my folks. I love the fact the role will put this very talented, ‘neighbour’s child’ on the road to global fame and feel justice has been served! I wonder if his folks’ aerial wasn’t tall enough to see the first series either?
Poldark by Winston Graham http://amzn.to/1KIMCq6 or Amazon.com
A book I would only read on holiday in a sun, sea and sand location.
Dracula by Bram Stoker. I could only bear it somewhere where I could imagine a vampire would not appear, but I would love to read to it. A timeless gothic classic that has fascinated writers, film makers and artists since it was first published in 1897, the original story must be enthralling.
Bram was a Dubliner and a friend of Oscar Wilde’s and although he spent ten years in the civil service, he began an unpaid secondary career with the (Dublin) Evening Mail writing theatrical reviews. I was thrilled to discover this, as I wrote unpaid reviews for the Irish Times as a young trainee journalist in Dublin too – I also have a secret pash for Wilde, his picture hangs in our downstairs loo.
Although well received, Dracula was not an immediate hit – take heart fellow authors – and Bram published 19 novels before the end of his life. He also successfully managed to Lyceum Theatre in London for nearly 30 years – what a super chap!
Dracula by Bram Stoker http://amzn.to/1PkroQ5 or Amazon.com
And last but not least from me, something in my favourite genre, something to truly escape with and something to read anywhere, anytime, applies to all three of these super novels by my colleagues at New Romantics Press, all of which are available on Kindle and in paperback.
Boot Camp Bride by Lizzie Lamb http://bit.ly/BCBLLamb or Amazon.com
An Englishwoman’s Guide to the Cowboy by June Kearns http://bit.ly/EGCJKearns or Amazon.com
Twins of a Gazelle by Mags Cullingford http://bit.ly/TofGMagsC or Amazon.com
A bar, a bench or a beach ….better with a book, that’s what I say!
Some great choices – thanks Adrienne. And thanks Rosie – the weather here is dreadful (I’ve got the heating on in June!) so it’s just the day to think about a lovely holiday 🙂
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I know Alison, cold here too! My copies of Poldark and Dracula have arrived …so I will be nestling down with them, lovely!
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Ooh, interesting selection – great mix of genres, Adrienne.
Love the stories about your connections with each of them, too.
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I discovered so much June, I had no idea about Bram Stoker beyond he was Irish, sounds fascinating!
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Great choices Adrienne and I loved your stories, Paris is my very favourite city so that read looks wonderful. I remember being drawn to the beautiful cover of your book a while back so coming from the same genre shall go and check these out 🙂 And Poldark…Aiden, a local boy, you lucky, lucky girl to have him amongst your neighbours 😉
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Thanks Georgia, I laughed and cried reading Eloisa James’ book, fresh and delightful. Thanks for compliment regarding my series, I looked at 624 pictures of girls in red dresses to find the original cover, I needed a beach, a beautiful dress, and some ‘weather’ – a real labour of love!
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Paris is a delightful choice, I approve! I saw the first ep of Poldark this time round and really liked it – and yes, I remember the last one! When all people were not so good looking!! I never thought of reading the books, but I do adore that part of the world.
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Ha, ha that made me howl Terry, but you are right, I wonder have we changed or just our expectations? I recall in an interview Aidan commented that the original actor playing Poldark said he was glad he didn’t have to go to the gym!
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Thanks Adrienne and Rosie. I’d love to take the summer off and spend with this pile of books. ❤
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Thanks Tess, not sure I could read Dracula though!
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If I had nothing else to do and had finished all the other books, I’d give it a stab. 🙂
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Scare-die cat, Rosie, though I’d have to leave the light on, Tess! Did anyone see Frank Langella’s Dracula back in the day! Sexiest Drac I ever saw. 🙂
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Loved the story about the aerials, that must have been very frustrating. I missed the first series of Poldark too. I wouldn’t mind Aidan Turner as a neighbour! Have you seen him in the film ‘Hattie’ ? Worth a look if you can’t wait until the next series.
Not sure I want to ever read Dracula, but I have read all Adrienne’s and all the other books by The New Romantics Press and loved them all. Terrific all year reads!
Thanks for another great blog post Rosie and Adrienne 🙂
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Glad you enjoyed it Sarah.
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Yes Sarah, I saw him in ‘Hattie’ – super performance and in ‘Being Human’, where I must admit I was smitten – used to be chuffed if channel-hopping I came upon an episode, I think he was a vampire in that, so links nicely with Dracula. Thanks for kind words, you and people like Rosie are a great support to we novice novelists! X
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I’ve read Boot Camp Bride by Lizzie Lamb. To anyone who hasn’t read it yet, I agree with Adrienne it would make a great beach read! 🙂 I would have never thought about Dracula, but it makes sense to read it when you’re in a place that is sunny and warm and comforting.
@dino0726 from
FictionZeal – Impartial, Straighforward Fiction Book Reviews
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Thanks for stopping by Dino, totally agree with you. Also, I often think on holiday is the perfect time to read something out of your comfort zone, because you are (hopefully) relaxing, it should give your brain space to appreciate something different. Well, that’s my theory.
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Trust you to like Dracula, Adrienne. I’m dead common, I read the book but couldn’t stop picturing Christopher Lee. I’m putting the Eloisa James in my TBR pile. Thanks for giving Boot Camp Bride a mention.
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Not Frank Langella??? Seriously would have gone over to the dark side for him back in the day, my trademark hero-style, you know, floppy black hair, smouldering eyes, er, drinks blood. 🙂 Welcome, love your books!
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Reblogged this on New Romantics Press.
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Thanks for the reblog, chum. x
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Great selection, Adrienne. Rosie, I meant reblog yesterday, I’ll start today.
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No problem, thanks for thinking about reblogging.
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Thanks Cathy, determined to read them all now Rosie has inspired me to dig deeper, excellent fun and I learned so much from my research.
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Reblogged this on .
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Adrienne, I love the dress on the front cover of your book. I could imagine wearing it on romantic wanderings along a sun-drenched beach…
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Wendy, showed the cover to a well known publishing professional who laughed and said, ‘that’s so you, so 80’s!’ I just flounced off in my new romantics frilly shirt, let me tell you!
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Some great choices, Adrienne and this blog tour is making me really want to go on holiday 😀
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Thanks E.L. me too, imagine having weeks and weeks to just read! Heaven.
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My first time abroad was Paris and I loved it so Eloisa James is a must read for me to remind me to go back soon.Thanks for telling us about it Ade. Then there’s Cornwall and Whitby and Ireland’s west coast . . . Your other choices sound pretty good too, but then I would say that wouldn’t I?
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Hey, you’ve great taste Mags and I know how you love the west of Ireland too. Guess we’re just romantics at heart …and why not?
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Hot choices, Adrienne – you’ll need a dip in the ocean to cool off, especially with Poldark!
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Noelleg, you can say that again! The hero in my latest is called Ross, thus named because it is set in Rosshaven Harbour, which is where his American parents were on honeymoon. You couldn’t make it up! Oh, I just did. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Barrow Blogs.
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Thanks for the reblog Judith, brilliant idea of Rosie’s to create this tour, it’s been a hoot and we’re only beginning.
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Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
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