#RomancingSeptember Day 19 Cupid’s Way by @joannegphillips #books

Welcome to Day 19 of #RomancingSeptember

Our guest today is Joanne Phillips with her book Cupid’s Way.

Where is your home town?

Whitchurch, Shropshire

How long have you been writing romance?

For about six years formally, although I’ve always dabbled.

What is your favourite sub-genre of romance?

I love loads of sub-genres of romance, but particularly enjoy books where a romance is blossoming within some other kind of struggle – this is a popular theme in much current women’s fiction.

Where is your book set?

In Bristol, in the fictional setting of Cupid’s Way.

Who or what is Cupid’s Way?

It’s a cute Victorian terrace street that is under threat from developers.

Introduce us to Evie

Evie is single and searching for adventure – although she doesn’t necessarily know that it’s an adventure she’s after right away. She is passionate about architecture and ecology, and cannot believe that her grandparents’ beloved home is about to be demolished.

What help do her Grandparents need?

They think that because Evie is an architect, she can help them fight the planners – but they are in for a big surprise …

How does this affect her relationship with her new friend Michael?

Michael and Evie are made for each other – in another life! In this life they occupy positions firmly on either side of a very high fence, and neither can easily see the other person’s point of view.

Tell us what you are working on at the moment.

Right now I’m in the final stages of editing a new contemporary romance called Keeping Sam, which is about a single mother, Kate, who is fighting to get her son back after a vicious attack that kept her in a coma for months. Only problem is, the person looking after Sam is totally unwilling to give him back. And this person is Kate’s own mother.

Where can readers find out more about you?

Joanne Philips

My website can be found at http://www.joannephillips.co.uk and I’m also on Twitter (@joannegphillips) and on Facebook. I love hearing from readers, and I have a regular newsletter they can sign up for to get news of new books and competitions directly to their inbox.

Buying links:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L8WS9K2/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L8WS9K2/

Social media contacts:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joannephillipsauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/joannegphillips

Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Joanne-Phillips/e/B0083UEG86/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2862086.Joanne_Phillips

Find out more about Joanne and all our authors from Stephanie. Catch up with Joanne’s second post in just a few hours at http://stephanie-hurt.com/

 

Book reviews in magazines I write for in August #bookreviews

The following books made it to Fleet Life magazine this month.

For the online edition go to http://www.fleetlife.org.uk load the online directory and turn to page 28.

The Family Trap by Joanne Phillips

Rise Of The Enemy by Rob Sinclair

Old Town Nights by Linda Lee Williams

Swamp Ghosts by Marcia Meara

Country Affairs by Zara Stonely

The next set of books made it into the August edition of The Elvetham Heath Directory,

The online edition can be found at http://www.ehd.org.uk load the online directory and turn to page 22

Big Men’s Boots by Emily Barraso

The Cunning Woman’s Cup by Sue Hewitt

Will O’ The Wisp by C. S Boyack

Dream On by Terry Tyler

From Lime Street To Yirgacheffe by Robert Leigh

June #BookReviews for local Magazines @FleetLife @EHDirectory

Here are the books which are featured in the June issues of Fleet Life and EHDirectory.

Fleet Life online version can be found here. http://www.fleetlife.org.uk, click on the online directory, and find my reviews on page 45.

James Bone and The Italian Job by Frank Bell

Someone Else’s Conflict by Alison Layland

Imminent Danger: And How To Fly Straight Into It by Michelle Proulx

Before The Morning by Zee Monodee

Pattern of Shadows by Judith Barrow

EHDirectory can be found here http://www.ehd.org.uk, click on the online directory and then find my reviews on page 20

Reality Is In A dream by Lauren Mayhew

The War Before Mine by Caroline Ross

Fallen On Good Times by Rewan Tremethick

Cupid’s Way by Joanne Phillips

Catching Cassidy by Melissa Foster 

The Family Trap by Joanne Phillips @joannegphillips #Family #Drama

The Family Trap by Joanne Phillips

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Family Trap is a contemporary read about family relationships. It opens with 16 year old Lipsy giving birth to a baby. Stella her 38 year old Mum has been holding her hand and is now exhausted. Baby Phoenix arrives safely and now it’s time for Stella to think about her own future.

A pregnancy test affirms Stella’s beliefs that her new grandchild will soon have a playmate who is also his Aunt or uncle. But first she must break the news to Paul. They are about to be married and move away to Derbyshire. Stella’s fears and worries about the future cause her to fumble telling Paul about the baby.

Lipsy finds motherhood hard and relies more and more on Stella, to the point where she can’t see moving to Derbyshire is a good idea. A rift occurs between Stella and Paul over the issue of children and it all comes to a head on their wedding day.

Stella has a job at a care-home, it gives her valuable support, the residents help her through the difficult months. Her family all try to help Stella too, they want what’s best for Stella, but the journey is a bump ride.

A good easy read.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads

Cupid’s Way by Joanne Phillips @joannegphillips #Romance

Cupid’s Way by Joanne Phillips

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cupid’s Way is a cosy romance set in Bristol, UK. Evie Stone is due a couple of weeks holiday where she’ll help her Grandparents attend a meeting about the future of their house. But first she must give a talk at a Go Green Conference for her boss in Cardiff. She’s late because she fell asleep on the train and she arrives flustered.

A lovely man called Michael finds her in reception and helps her arrive in time to present her lecture on “Cladding For The Cost Conscious”. With a storm blowing in, trains are shut down and Evie spends the night in the hotel bar with Michael. There’s a spark between them which is still there at breakfast next morning, until Michael abruptly leaves.

Later Evie attends a planning meeting with Frank and Mavis and the other residents of Cupid’s way. Their homes are under threat from a developer. The council want to build a much needed medical centre and the residents are being offered a financial reward to move home.

Evie is shocked and angry when she finds that Michael is the CEO of Dynamite Construction, the developer working to take away her Grandparent’s home. Feeling let down by Michael, Evie put aside her personal feelings for him and promises to help in any way she can to stop the plans to demolish Cupid’s Way.

An easy read with a gentle romance.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads

Good Deeds Challenge Year 2, Week 52

This will be my last Good Deeds post, I’ve completed a 2 year challenge, enough to make Good Deeds a regular part of my day for the rest of my life.

Welcome to my second Year of Good Deeds, a challenge I set myself during April 2013. I decided to do at least one Good Deed a day for a whole year, now I almost finished my second year.

This week I’ve been doing the following;

April 12th – Had a big afternoon setting my Mum up with spreadsheets and a Facebook account. Am reading Fallen On Good Times by Rewan Tremethick.

April 13th – It’s still the school holidays so no volunteering at school this morning, had a lunchtime walk and picked up litter instead. Washed loads of crockery and chinaware ready to take to the charity shop.

April 14th – We are into the third week of the A to Z Challenge, made a big effort to visit lots of bloggers today and give my support.

April 15th – Delivered 3 boxes of items to the charity shop. Read Going Through The Change by Samantha Bryant

April 16th – Picked up loads of litter on a morning walk. Today I’m reading Cupids’ Way by Joanne Phillips.

April 17th – We have friends coming over this afternoon, so I’ve baked a cake and nagged the kids to help with housework. In fact while I nipped into town and pocked up litter on the way home, they’d cleaned and tidied the lounge. Am reading Catching Cassidy by Melissa Foster, book one in a new NA series.

April 18th – My friend asked me to help out with a book review and I read James Bone and the Italian Job by Frank Bell a children’s book about secret agent animals. Began reading The Family Trap by Joanne Phillips last evening.

This is it, my final post to end my challenge, which began two years ago as a two week test to see it I could take up the challenge, then it moved to a year and then two years. It’s been an amazing experience and opened my eyes to wonderful everyday opportunities to make my world a better place to live in and to send out ripples into the lives of others who touch mine with friendship or as strangers.

Mystery Book Tour Day 1 #MysteryNovember Murder at the Maples by Joanne Phillips

Welcome to #MysteryNovember, 30 authors bringing you books from across the mystery genre to tantalise your reading taste buds.

We start our Mystery Book Tour month with Joanne Phillips and her book Murder at the Maples.

1)      Where is your home town?

I live in Whixall, a rural village in North Shropshire, but I’m originally from just up the road in Chester.

2)      How long have you been writing?

Forever! Like most writers, I’ve always made up stories, created narratives, but I’ve been writing novels for publication since 2012. I’m close to completing a Masters degree in creative writing, which has been a fantastic experience. I hope to teach creative writing in the future, as well as write.

3)      What is your favourite sub-genre of mystery?

My favourite sub-genre is definitely the cozy mystery. I love mysteries, but I can’t cope with upsetting themes or gore! Cozies are the perfect answer, and there are many favourites on my bookshelf, including Edie Clare’s Never … series, which was the series that set me on the way to writing my very first cozy.

4)      Where is Murder at the Maples set?

It’s set in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, close to where I live. But loosely – I don’t like to get too bogged down making a setting exactly right down to the last detail. I once had a reader get in touch (about another book, not this one) to point out that such and such a road isn’t exactly the way I described it, that I should have mentioned this landmark or other, but I disagree. It’s fiction, after all. I create my own worlds, based on a setting. So Flora Lively’s Shrewsbury is a special place, and it comes alive for her.

5)      Introduce us to Flora Lively.

Flora is a reluctant sleuth at first. Her adopted parents recently died, leaving Flora in charge of the family business – Shakers Removals – a business she never really wanted to get into. Flora forms a friendship with an old lady at the Maples Retirement Village, and through her is drawn into the mystery …

6)      Tell us about her friend Joy.

Joy is one of my favourite characters of all time! I love writing about the older generation – I love giving them the qualities I hope I have when I’m old. Joy is nearly eighty, mischievous and sparky, loyal and passionate, but also haunted by a mistake she made in her teens. It’s this guilt that is at the heart of the novel – Flora imagines Joy to be seeing everything through the lens of her guilt, but Flora is actually struggling with her own guilt about her mother, which skews her view of everything. (It sounds heavy, but this is in fact a fun read!)

7)      What event causes Flora to become a reluctant sleuth?

An old man, the Captain, falls to his death at the Maples. Flora isn’t convinced by the warden’s description of how the accident occurred, and Joy has been pressuring her to look into some odd goings-on for weeks. When Flora discovers a connection between a strange ‘man in black’ and some oddities in the Captain’s will, the race is on to solve the mystery.

8)      What is it that Joy fears will happen to others at the retirement home?

Joy is terrified of being moved up to ‘the third floor’ – she says that everyone who goes up to Special Care dies within three months. Because of this, she keeps her asthma and chronic eczema secret from the Maples’ doctors, with potentially devastating consequences.

9)      You’re just about to launch the next Flora Lively mystery, can you give us a hint to the storyline?

I can! This time, Flora finds herself right in the thick of the action, solving a murder while holed up with the suspects in an English country house. When best friend Celeste returns from her travels with a Spanish film crew in tow, Flora is delighted to have the chance to hang out on the set. But when Alberto, the director, is stabbed, Flora finds the direction of the official investigation a little too close to home …

10)   Where can readers find out more about you?

My main point of contact for readers is my website: http://www.joannephillips.co.uk Readers can sign up to my newsletter, email me, or contact me via the website.

I also have a lively blog about writing and publishing at http://www.writersjourney.co.uk, and I can be found on Facebook and Twitter, natch.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joannephillipsauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/joannegphillips

Buying links:

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Maples-Flora-Lively-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GVQ/

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Maples-Flora-Lively-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00F2I2GVQ/

I reviewed this book here on the blog , here is a link to the review http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-4lV

September Edition of Fleet Life and Elvetham Heath Directory

Here are the books that I have had featured in this month’s Fleet Life magazine. For the online version go to http://www.fleetlife.org.uk, click on the online directory and once it is loaded find my page of book reviews on page 6.

This month you’ll see;

Gypsy by Cynthia Harrison

Archer of the Lake by Kelly R Michaels

The Silence of Juliet Mann by Joanne Phillips

Ignoring Gravity by Sandra Danby

and The Last Observer by Dr Gary Vasey.

For the Elvetham Heath Directory, find a copy of the online version at http://www.ehd.org.uk. Click on the online directory and once it’s loaded turn to page 6

This month you’ll find;

Kings and Queens by Terry Tyler

Business As Usual by E.L. Lindley

Some People Prefer Hotels by Nigel Hicks

The Birr Elixir by Jo Sparkes

A Woman’s Choice by Annie Thomas

 

Good Deeds Challenge Year 2, Week 12

Welcome to my second Year of Good Deeds, a challenge I set myself during April 2013. I decided to do at least one Good Deed a day for a whole year.

During my week I’ll also being updating you on My Kindness Challenge which I’m also doing. I read about a new challenge to make the world a better place to live in. “Speak Kind Words, Receive Kind Echoes” see the inspiration on  The Kindness blog . During my learning process I’m donating money to charity for my slip-ups to make me work harder to achieve results. I earn no money from any of my book reviews, so having little to spare should focus my mind.

This week I’ve been doing the following;

July 6th – Busy drafting up book review posts as they come in from the recent Book Review Challenge and my Book Review Team. Added another book to the Book Review Team booklist. Don’t forget anyone can request to join up at any-time. There are no minimum  or maximum rules as to the number of books you read. All we ask is that you read a book within a month of receiving it and you write a review which you will post on at least 2 sites. These can include your blog, Goodreads, Amazon etc. Plus you send me a copy of the review and I’ll post it here on the blog with full recognition going to the reviewer. I have a badge you can use on your posts too.

July 7th – My morning volunteering at the local school. Then more work on book review drafts. Having serious talks with Stephanie Hurt about this years Romancing September Tour. We will soon be announcing the details, the format will be the same as last year, 2 posts per day either side of the Atlantic, double posts, double exposure. Writers of romance should really put their work forward for this.

July 8th – Ran out of time at work today, but had plenty more work to complete, so brought the work home and finished it later. This will help keep us on top of things, well maybe! Drafted up my review of Manic Mondays by Michaela Weaver ready to post on the blog later in the month.

July 9th – Picked up litter, provided the cricket teas for this evenings game and picked up lots more litter at the cricket ground.

July 10th – Dug out the electric sander for my brother-in-law who needed to borrow the item for the house he is building. Sorted out books for the book review team. I’m reading “How to Promote and Market your book” by Madi Preda it is full of really useful tips, ideas, templates and case studies. Plus it gets you to think about promoting yourself, not just your book and looking at the whole process as running a small business.

July 11th – Today’s book post was for a book called “The Silence of Juliet Mann” by Joanne Phillips, all profits for the book are going to the British Stammering Association, please do check it out http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5h3

Caught up quickly with a good friend providing a well earned cuppa, raced off for more cricket and picked up more litter on the village green. Liaising with all the authors and book reviewers is pretty hectic, still I’m enjoying it all I’m just not getting much of my own reading done.

July 12th – Sent an author some advice about pitching her book to reviewers as it needed some work. Wrote a newsletter for the book review team to let them still feel loved. Am reading The Shell by Tony Riches a book about a kidnapping in Kenya.

 

The Silence of Juliet Mann by Joanne Phillips

The Silence of Juliet Mann by Joanne Phillips

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Juliet’s wedding day turns into a disaster when she cannot say her name. She has trouble speaking in public. She remembers painful school days when the English teacher would ask her to read out loud. Her family have swept the issue under the carpet and Juliet has found ways to cope but they don’t deal with the problem.

Juliet has a speech impediment and she gets to a point in her life when she must face it full on. The doctor sent her to a speech therapist but she must first deal with her own shame.

A fundraiser at the museum where she works gives Juliet one last chance to change her life. The author says this book is about facing your fears and can be applied to any problem which stops a person from achieving their dreams.

All profits from sales of this book go to the British Stammering Association, so please do consider buying this lovely short story.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads