Did I Meet You In 2016? A Year in Review #NewYearsEve #WeekendBlogShare

Hello Lovely Readers – Did we meet in 2016?

On this New Year’s Eve: My 2016 year in review

I think many folks will be looking back at 2016 and wondering what it all meant to them. I’ve handpicked some of the highlights for me.

In April I had a planned meet up in Glasgow with Barb Taub, Cathy Ryan and Alison Williams. These lovely ladies are all part of my review team. Barb is an author and her blog posts are just the best to entertain you. Cathy is a book reviewer and her book reviews are extremely popular, check out her blog here. Alison is an author and editor, check out her rates and recommendations from satisfied customers.

In June I went to the Bloggers Bash in London and met lots of faces from social media. Sacha Black, Ali Isaac, Hugh Roberts and Geoff Le Pard are the bash organisers. It was the second year of this event and if you can get to London easily and want to meet a variety of bloggers and network, this annual event is a great opportunity. Next year’s date is June 10th, more details here. I chatted with Shelley Wilson, Christina Philippou, Mary Smith, Lucy Mitchell (Blondewritemore), Sarah Hardy and Suzi from Suzi Speaks, the founder of #SundayBlogShare.

Shelley is a very inspirational blogger and author, splitting her work between fantasy and non-fiction self help. I’m thrilled that she will be running a four week guest series on ways to motivate yourself here on the blog every Wednesday this January.

In August had I an enforced two weeks off as I was required to do jury service, not something I wanted to attend, but you can’t wriggle out of it very easily these days. However is was interesting to see how the system works, how strict it all felt and how sad that the case I had, ever came to court. On a positive note, whilst in Guildford I made a renewed contact with Christina Philippou and this lead to me attending her book launch in September.

At Christina’s book launch for her debut novel (Lost In Static), I met Neats from the Haphazardous Hippo ( lilac Hippo) a book blogger who lives near by and we met Chris’ publisher Matthew from Urbane Publications. This is small up and coming publisher check it out here.

My links with Chris and Neats took me to a Blogger/author meet up in London. Event organisers; Kim Nash @kimthebookworm and Holly Martin @hollymartin00  run these events alternating between London and Birmingham. This was a fun afternoon with a mix of authors and book bloggers all chatting in a relaxed atmosphere. I particularly enjoyed chatting to; Author Jessica Norrie, Book bloggers Susan Hampson, Anne Williams and  Jo Robertson, authors Barbara Copperthwait,  Jan Brigden and Steven Hayward

Another day I met book reviewer Liz Lloyd for an Autumn walk around a local village.

Late November Neats invited me to a book launch. We spent a Saturday afternoon in Farnham meeting author Kristen Bailey as she launched book #2 of her contemporary women’s fiction  “Second Helpings”. We also networked and by chance met another Urban Publication’s author Shirley Golden.

December saw me heading to Leicester to meet Lizzie Lamb, June Kearns, Adrienne Vaughan, Margaret Cullingford and several other members at their monthly RNA meeting. Lizzie, June, Adrienne and Margaret are also know an the New Romantics Four. With me came author, reviewer and Twitter Queen Terry Tyler, Cathy Ryan, Shelley Wilson, and Proofreader Julia Gibbs. It was great to meet Terry’s sister Julia, who was recently on the TV quiz show Pointless. If you need recommended help with copy editing or proofreading do check out her site here.  In the evening we met with authors Mark Barry and Georgia Rose. Mark runs workshops in schools encouraging reluctant readers to pick up books and Georgia has been a guest speaker for Mark, she also runs her own self publishing workshops.

The 2016 Goodreads Reading Challenge tells me I’ve read 175 books this year, however I’ve also beta read 4 books and have read others which aren’t yet on Goodreads, this bumps the number up a little.

What am I going to do next year? Perhaps I’ll meet you. I plan to go out and meet lots more authors and bloggers, nothing beats a face to face meeting.

I’d like to wish all my readers and reviewers a very Happy New Year.

Here are useful Twitter handles of people I’ve met this year.

@barbtaub

@CathyRy

@AlisonW_Editor

@sacha_black

@aliisaac_

@HughRoberts05

@geofflepard

@ShelleyWilson72

@CPhilippou123

@urbanepub

@marysmithwriter

@Blondewritemore

@sarahhardy681

@suzie81blog

@lilac_hippo

@KimTheBookworm

@hollymartin00

@jessica_Norrie

@susanhampsom57

@Williams13Anne

@jocatrobinson

@BCopperthwait

@JanBrigden

@stevieboyh

@LizanneLloyd

@baileyforce6

@shirl1001

@lizzie_lamb

@june_kearns

@adrienneauthor

@CullingfordMags

@newromantics4

@TerryTyler4

@ProofreadJulia

@GreenWizard62

@GeorgiaRoseBook

@rosieamber1

Stepping Out From Behind the blogging computer #wwwblogs

Stepping out from behind the blogging computer

Our group

What does it take to dig a book blogger out from behind their computer? About as much effort as it does to dig out an author!

In a bid to step out of my book reviewing bubble, I’ve been pushing myself to go out and meet new bloggers and authors, and I’ve been inviting along several others, too.

Our latest road trip was to Leicester to meet with the ladies from the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA). Joining them at their monthly meeting in the Belmont Hotel, we were made to feel very welcome by Lizzie Lamb and our hosts. From my book review team came: Terry Tyler, Cathy Ryan and Shelley Wilson, and Terry’s sister Julia (Proofreader Julia) asked if she could come too. We also managed to get Georgia Rose and Mark Barry to meet us in the afternoon.

Speaking to people face to face that you’ve only met virtually is wonderful, and being able to talk about all things bookish is even greater; it gives a depth to your friendship. Yes, it’s networking, but it doesn’t feel like work when you’re having fun.

There were five of us who stayed the night, but even twenty four hours wasn’t long enough to talk about all the books in the world, so we’ll be planning another trip soon. I have ambitions for 2017, perhaps, to head to Wales and the North East, plus have a meet up closer to home in the South or London.

Big thanks to Terry for the photos, you can read her own post about our trip here do click through it is a brilliant post.

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#FridayReads – If you like #Romance then you might like these…..#AmReading

If you like reading #Romance then I can recommend these books

Bella Abbascia has returned to Seaside Cottages in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, as she does every summer. Only this year, Bella has more on her mind than sunbathing and skinny-dipping with her girlfriends. She’s quit her job, put her house on the market, and sworn off relationships while she builds a new life in her favorite place on earth. That is, until good-time Bella’s prank takes a bad turn and a sinfully sexy police officer appears on the scene.

Single father and police officer Caden Grant left Boston with his fourteen-year-old son, Evan, after his partner was killed in the line of duty. He hopes to find a safer life in the small resort town of Wellfleet, and when he meets Bella during a night patrol shift, he realizes he’s found the one thing he’d never allowed himself to hope for—or even realized he was missing.

After fourteen years of focusing solely on his son, Caden cannot resist the intense attraction he feels toward beautiful Bella, and Bella’s powerless to fight the heat of their budding romance. But starting over proves more difficult than either of them imagined, and when Evan gets mixed up with the wrong kids, Caden’s loyalty is put to the test. Will he give up everything to protect his son—even Bella? Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Twenty-one-year-old Lizzie Adler had everything a young woman could want: she was beautiful, bright, and had both a faithful best friend and a handsome boyfriend with whom she was deeply in love. In one fell swoop, calamity strikes, stripping Lizzie of all that she holds dear. While driving with her best friend, Nan, en route to a party, Lizzie collides with another car.

The results are devastating: Nan doesn’t survive the accident, while Lizzie is forever crippled and disfigured. Lizzie undergoes scores of surgeries and endures ample physical therapy, which ultimately leave her with a face and body she can no longer recognize.

Meanwhile, Daniel has just recently left Lizzie to stay with his ailing grandparents in England. He intended to return to her arms after just one summer. Little did he know that, after months of silence from his beloved, he would receive a cold, curt break-up letter, devoid of explanation.

Unable to bear the pain brought on by memories of who she used to be, Lizzie casts her former identity aside forever and decides to go by the name of Beth.

Fast forward twelve years, and Beth is now an almost-happily-married stay-at-home mom with a five-year-old daughter, Stacy. Boredom and pressure from her husband, Alan prompt Beth to join Stacy’s school’s PTA. There, she meets Noreen: the first woman she is able to connect with since Nan’s death so many years ago. Beth is delighted to have finally found someone with whom to face the travails of womanhood.

Unfortunately, friendship with Noreen comes at an unexpected – and painfully high – price.   Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Erik “Fish” Fiskare loves the theatre, but he’s more intrigued by the wizardry behind the red curtain than the spectacle center stage. That is, until Daisy Bianco steps into the spotlight. The moment Erik lays eyes on this ballerina, his atoms rearrange and the young stagehand will never be the same.

For two years, the romance thrives within a tight-knit circle of artists and friends. Then, a newcomer arrives—James, a brilliant but erratic dancer with a misguided infatuation and a burning desire to belong. Rejection sets James on a course for destruction and when the smoke clears, Erik’s world is torn apart. He soon discovers that in the face of heartache, grief and betrayal, love is not always enough to make you stay. And sometimes, it’s the only thing that can bring you back.

Spanning fifteen years and following a man’s thrilling emotional journey back to the truth of himself, this award-winning novel has gripped readers and placed Laqueur as one of the most exciting debut authors of 2015. The Man I Love is an epic tale of love and forgiveness that will linger long after the last page is turned. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Discover beautiful South Africa in this sweet, heart-warming Cinderella story about a blogger, a billionaire, and one chance meeting.

When it comes to men, if physiotherapist Caitlin Sutherland didn’t have bad luck, she would have no luck at all. To help cope, Caitlin starts blogging in her spare time, about the types of men she meets and the bad dates she goes on.

While on duty during the annual Wines to Whales bicycle race, a gorgeous, sweaty cyclist walks in and sets her hormones dancing. But he is Don Cavallo; one of the four Cavallo brothers — hotel tycoons, famous as much for their business skills as for the number of beauties regularly seen on their arms.

Don Cavallo has his own issues with the other sex. He has yet to find one who is interested in him and not in his money or hotels. But when this sexy physio puts her hands on his back she not only touches his body, but also his heart.

They’ve both been burned before, but neither of them can stop themselves from playing with fire. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

SCOTCH ON THE ROCKS
Where men are men and women are glad of it!

ISHABEL STUART is at the crossroads of her life.
Her wealthy industrialist father has died unexpectedly, leaving her a half-share in a ruined whisky distillery and the task of scattering his ashes on a Munro. After discovering her fiancé playing away from home, she cancels their lavish Christmas wedding at St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh and heads for the only place she feels safe – Eilean na Sgairbh, a windswept island on Scotland’s west coast – where the cormorants outnumber the inhabitants, ten to one.
When she arrives at her family home – now a bed and breakfast managed by her left-wing, firebrand Aunt Esme, she finds a guest in situ – BRODIE. Issy longs for peace and the chance to lick her wounds, but gorgeous, sexy American, Brodie, turns her world upside down.
In spite of her vow to steer clear of men, she grows to rely on Brodie. However, she suspects him of having an ulterior motive for staying at her aunt’s Bed and Breakfast on remote Cormorant Island. Having been let down by the men in her life, will it be third time lucky for Issy? Is she wise to trust a man she knows nothing about – a man who presents her with more questions than answers?
As for Aunt Esme, she has secrets of her own . . . Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rose O’Carroll has been single for most of her 40 years. In her search for love she packs up her life in Melbourne and moves to London. Guided by her special friends – her angels, she soon lands a great job, makes great friends and begins her spiritual journey.

It doesn’t take long for Joe DeMarco, the handsome American, to turn Rose’s world upside down and change it forever. Rose intuitively knows she has met her twin soulmate. But how does she cope when he tells her “it’s just the wrong time.”

Everything happens for a reason and soon Rose discovers why she had to meet Joe DeMarco when the timing was wrong. She had someone else to meet first… and it wasn’t only the dishy Dr St. Claire!   Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Marianne Coltrane is a feisty, award-winning journalist who is far from lucky in love. Taking herself off to the wilds of the west of Ireland to recuperate, she literally runs into Ryan O’Gorman, the most conceited, infuriating man in the world.
He’s an actor who’s just landed the biggest role in movie history and he loathes journalists. One thing they do have in common is they both think their chance of true love has passed them by…but fate has other ideas!
Sexy, moving and funny, this heart-warming duo and cast of colourful characters will stay with you, long after the last page leaves you smiling. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Marcus has sworn to avenge his wife’s death—even if it takes an eternity to hunt down the vampire who murdered her. Once a Roman Centurion, Marcus is now immortal and, for the past two thousand years, impervious to human emotions. Until the night he rescues Diana…
Diana knew nothing of the paranormal world until her transformation into a vampling, a newborn vampire entirely reliant for survival upon the distant and seemingly emotionless Centurion, who found her in the throes of changing. Her protector turned her without her consent, but at his untimely death, she becomes the distant and cold immortal’s responsibility.
The entire vampire community is determined to kill Marcus as he protects one of their own. While Marcus and Diana travel the Italian countryside, being chased by their enemies, Marcus must choose between avenging his dead wife or saving Diana from the same vampire who ruined his life. Will the power of love win over his desire for revenge? Bewitched by the Amalfi moon, he soon discovers life might still surprise him. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

1924. The English Shires, after the Great War.
When her jazzing flapper of an aunt dies, Gerardina Mary Chiledexter inherits some silver-topped scent bottles, a wardrobe of love-affair clothes, and astonishingly, a half-share in a million-acre ranch in south-west Texas.
Haunted by a psychic cat and the ghost voice of that aunt Leonie, Gerry feels driven to travel thousands of miles to see the ranch for herself.
Against a background of big sky, cattle barons and oil wells, she is soon engaged in a game of power, pride and ultimately, love, with the Texan who owns the other half.   Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Beach Reads Blog Tour 2015 Day 11 #BeachBooks @june_kearns

It’s Day 11 of our wonderful book tour holiday, pull up a deck chair and feel the sand between your toes.

Today my guest is June Kearns.

 

Beach Reads Blog Tour

My ideal holiday spot for relaxing and reading? Cromarty. (From the shipping forecast? Forties, Cromarty, Forth, Tyne and Dogger.) The tiny historic town at the tip of the Black Isle, way up in the north of Scotland has warm seas (Gulf Stream), seals, kites and bottlenose dolphins. The rest of the family can swim, sail, fish, play golf, tennis and everything else that they like to do, while I sit in the sun with a book. Bliss!

 

A book I’ve been meaning to read for ages: Love & The Goddess by Mary Elizabeth Coen

I’d already spotted this and admired the cover, but it was the feature on A Woman’s Wisdom Blog that made me fly to the buy button on Kindle. Described as one of those Wonderful Feel Good Books, perfect for a lazy weekend or holiday read, and likened to Sex and the City meets Eat, Pray, Love (I loved both), made it irresistible.

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

A book from my favourite genre: The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

Fabulously funny, sad, sensitive – this book is all of those things. Was it the first Anne Tyler that I read, the one that hooked me in? I just love it, and have several paperback copies in case one is loaned or lost. A storyline about a man whose life goes into a tailspin after his son dies and his marriage breaks up doesn’t sound much fun, but the appearance of frizzy-haired dog-trainer Muriel from the Meow-Bow dog clinic, turns everything around. Gorgeous.

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

A book I could truly escape with: The Republic of Love by Carol Shields

This is a book that I really did escape with on my first ever camping trip with family to the south of France. That first night, I lay on my little cot with flies circling overhead and thought: ‘Help! This is just like Tenko! ’ (TV series about a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.) It’s such a wonderful read – a love-story, yes, but so fresh and sparkling and surprising. Love it. (I have 3 paperback copies of this one, too!)

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

A book that interests me from a genre I’ve never read: Two Rivers by Zoe Saadia

Although I have actually read quite a lot of historical fiction, Zoe Saadia’s books sound completely different to anything else. Instinct tells me to start at the beginning of the series and I’ve read some wonderful reviews of this particular book, (‘cracking good story,’ ‘writing flows beautifully’). I read a lot of Native American history when researching my first book and just wish I’d had access to Zoe Saadia’s series at that time, with all the information and history packaged in a really entertaining read. (On my Kindle)

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

One of my own books?

Well if like me, you’re a sucker for romance, threaded with history and humour – The 20’s Girl might appeal.

Even before the remake of Gatsby and advent of Downton, there was just something in the air about the 1920s – the music, style and fashion. The story was also inspired by a 1920s newspaper headline: ‘A million women too many! 1920 husband hunt!’ – about that generation of surplus women in England after the First World War, who were left with little hope of love or marriage. They were given advice: ‘If you’re hoping for a husband – be warned. Nice young men have no time for jazzing flappers.’

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

And if you’re still looking for some really great holiday reads, let me add the three latest books from my friends and allies in the New Romantics Press, all of which are on Kindle and in paperback.

Scotch on the Rocks by Lizzie Lamb, Secrets of the Heart, Adrienne Vaughan and Twins of a Gazelle, Mags Cullingford.

Happy Reading!

 

 

 

Beach Reads Blog Tour 2015 Day 2 #BeachBooks @adrienneauthor

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

myBook.to/AVHollow

myBook.to/AVChange

myBook.to/AVSecrets

 

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!

 

Letter A The April A to Z blogging Challenge #AtoZChallenge

Welcome to the first day of this year’s April A-Z blogging challenge.

I’m blogging my way through characters from books I’ve read, then I have some audience participation going on.

 Letter A is for Anne Haddon the heroine of June Kearn’s book An Englishwoman’s Guide To The Cowboy.

It’s 1867 and 9 people are squashed inside a stagecoach as it beats it’s way across the hot dust of Texas. Inside are English trio Annie Haddon, her cousin Charlotte and Aunt Bea. In true British aristocracy style the ladies are broiling in their layers of clothing, gloves and hats, but it is against strict etiquette to be seen in anything less.

The white man is sweeping across the states of America, bringing it’s railway and forcing the native Indians out. Tensions are high and stages coaches easy targets. When the stagecoach crashes in a typical hold up, Annie if left for dead. That is until Colt McCall rescues her.

With an Irish father and a Sioux mother, Colt has had a tough life. He learned to fight hard to get where he is today, he respects the Comanche Indians and hates the way that money and greed of the white man is killing off a way of life. Yet he’s not safe from either side, he’s a wanted man by the army, and he hasn’t much time for a prim and proper English lady.

In the time it takes to get Annie back reunited with her relations at Fort Mackenzie, she learns to like much of the wildness. Stupid and feisty, causing endless trouble for McCall, she’ll stick up for what she thinks is right, making mistakes but earning respect along the way.

I really enjoyed this book, a fan of the old cowboy movies, this book took me back to the old stories about the wild west, with an old fashioned romance. I felt I was watching a movie again and half expected Calamity Jane to walk on set at any time.

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

For my audience participation I’m focusing on Book Titles, using the picture below I want readers to come up with book titles using the letter A

A book title and cover picture can often make or break a book sale. Is a book cover eye-catching? Does the book title appeal to the reader?

Have fun creating book titles from my own pictures, you might even think about a genre they could fit.

Leave your answers in the comments below and I’ll be picking my favourites.

Each day I’ve chosen fellow challenge bloggers for you to visit.

http://www.fictionzeal.com/

https://alisonwilliamswriting.wordpress.com/

http://www.djsbookcorner.com/

https://metwriter.wordpress.com/

http://sylmion.blogspot.co.uk/

Throughout the challenge we encourage readers to leave comments on blogs, thank you.

Good Deeds Challenge Year 2, Week 21

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 an into my second 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.

September 7th – Today it has been the turn of Victoria Steele on the Romancing September tour and her book As My Heart Beats – Beckoning, here is a link to her post http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5E7

I’ve been in to work this morning to catch up on lots of paperwork and to leave the place tidy for my colleague.

September 8th – Cecily Gates promotes her book An Imaginary House by the Sea in todays Romancing September tour. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Fw

School is back and my Monday helping out at school starts again.

September 9th – It’s Debbie Peterson’s turn today with her book Spirit of the Knight. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Bq

Dropped of a birthday present to my God Daughter and picked up litter on the way home.

September 10th – June Kearns joins us on the Romancing September tour with her brilliant book The 20’s Girl, the ghost and All That Jazz. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5DA

I’m reading How I changed my Life by Shelley Wilson, this is my September treat read that I recently bought, I always like to give myself a treat after the summer holidays and the rush and stress of the return to school. Shelley tells us about Emotional Freedom tapping, a way to relieve stress particularly, here is a link to a website with a very useful video on tapping. http://eft.mercola.com/

Walked to town to do my shopping it was such a lovely day I detoured through three parks and picked up litter along the way.

September 11th – Today we have some poetry on the Romancing September tour, Pamela Beckford chats about her book Love – Lost and Found. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5xv

Took two big bags full of books to the charity shop and found that several local book shops are having a sale. Who can resist?

September 12th – Adrienne Vaughan talks about her book The Hollow heart in today’s Romancing September. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Aw

Went back to the book shops, books at 50p were calling to me, staggered out with another 14 books, had the sales assistant helping me out taking books to the till so that I could browse some more. The sale goes on for another 2 weeks, so I intend going back for more. Visited the local country market and bought chutney and a cake.

September 13th – It’s Della Connor’s day today as she tells us more about Spirit Warriors: The Concealing in Romancing September. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5xH

Had a walk out this evening and picked up more litter. Have invited author Shelley Wilson to write a series of posts for October about changing your life for the better.

 

Romancing September #RomancingSeptember – Day 10

Welcome to Day 10 of Romancing September Across The World Tour. Today our guest is June Kearns. Catch up with more from June in a few hours with the second part of our tour when Stephanie chats to her.

The 20’sGirl,The Ghost and All That Jazz – June Kearns

Where is your home town?

I grew up in Buckinghamshire, but now live in Leicester in the UK.

How long have you been writing romance? 

Since winning a national magazine competition in the 70s, for the first chapter of a romantic novel. My interest in reading it, started at 13 when I came across Jane Eyre, and realised that heroines didn’t have to be beautiful!

What is your favourite sub-genre of romance?

I haven’t got a special favourite. Sometimes, I’m attracted by a period or event, but it’s usually the characters, sparky dialogue and story-telling that hook me in.

When and where is your book set? 

The 20s Girl is set partly in the English Shires, and partly in south-west Texas.

What did Gerry’s aunt leave her? 

To her absolute astonishment, Gerry’s flapper of an aunt, Leonie, left her a half-share in a cattle ranch in south-west Texas.

How long would it take to get to Texas from England in the 1920s?

Hard to say, exactly – certainly weeks and weeks, depending on weather conditions and time of year. Gerry crossed from Liverpool to New York on a Cunarder, with the Atlantic in a very bad mood. Then, hundreds of miles with different railroad companies to get to south-west Texas.

Was Gerry welcomed with open arms to the ranch?

Not exactly! In the Texan’s own words: “The last thing on God’s earth that I need now, is some English lady bountiful, looking for excitement in her boring, small-town life, coming to meet the natives.”

Why was there a lack of eligible men in England in the 1920s?

It was a sad combination of the Great War, where a generation of young men was so cruelly wiped out, and the septic flu epidemic.

When I started writing, I read “Singled Out” by Virginia Nicholson about the sad plight of all those women in England at the time, with almost no hope of finding a husband.

Tell us what you are working on at the moment.

Book Three is set in 1960s London – a sort of hist/fic/romcom! – involving a girl struggling keep her crumbling family home together, while being pursued by a Canadian photographer looking for rolls of film taken by the girl’s mother, during D-Day landings.

Where can readers find out more about you?

 My website is: www.junekearns.com

The website I share with three other writers: www.newromantics4.com

Find a copy of The 20’s Girl, the Ghost and All That Jazz, here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Find out more about June from Stephanie Hurt’s blog and all our Romance writers http://stephanie-hurt.com/

 

Rosie’s Book Review Challenge – Manda reviewed The 20’s Girl, The Ghost and All That Jazz by June Kearns

Reviews from the book review challenge are still coming in and today we have a review from Manda.

She chose to read The 20’s Girl, The Ghost and All That Jazz by June Kearns.

The 20’sGirl,The Ghost and All That Jazz – June Kearns

Here is Manda’a review.

THE 20’S GIRL, THE GHOST AND ALL THAT JAZZ

By June Kearns

Review by Manda Ward

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this. June’s portrayal of a quintessential English girl in the 20s is spot on, and combined with Cooper’s more than laid-back attitude the book had me laughing out loud in certain places.

For me this book ticked all my boxes, a feisty heroine who isn’t afraid of being herself, a hero who is completely the opposite of the heroine that you just want them to get together. Add a few quirky characters to the mix and in my opinion, this is a fantastic read. I particularly enjoyed the banter between them and the thoughts running through her head.

Thoroughly enjoyable and a corker in my book. Definitely a keeper and one to go back to time and time again, especially when you need cheering up.

Find a copy of The 20’s Girl, the Ghost and All That Jazz, here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

 

Rosie’s Book review Challenge – Alison reviews The 20’s Girl, The Ghost and All That Jazz by June Kearns

Welcome to another review from Rosie’s Book Review Challenge. Today we hear from Alison, she blogs at http://alisonwilliamswriting.wordpress.com/

Alison chose The 20’s Girl, The Ghost and All That Jazz by June Kearns.

The 20’sGirl,The Ghost and All That Jazz – June Kearns

Here is Alison’s review.

The 20s Girl, the Ghost and All That Jazz – June Kearns

I loved this book! June Kearns has created a romantic page turner devoid of soppiness but full of heart, laughter and wonderful characters that draw you in to their well-drawn world.

Gerardina Chiledexter is struggling to fund the run-down bookshop that is all she has been left by her extravagant, glamorous aunt (except for a mountain of debts). Just when it seems she has nowhere left to turn, she receives a surprise inheritance – half a cattle ranch in Texas.

We are swept away with Gerry to the wildness and heat of Texas, where she is made less than welcome by co-owner Coop. Confused by her conflicting feelings towards him, Gerry makes some rash decisions that lead her further into debt and seem to pave the way to a life of lonely spinsterhood.

However, there are twists and turns and surprises galore, along with a helping hand from some friendly spirits hoping to guide Gerry towards a brighter future.

The author does a fantastic job of bringing two very different places to life – the contrast between the dry heat of the vast plains of Texas was contrasted beautifully with the cold wet winters of England. I could feel Gerry suffocating as she listened to the rain dripping on to the windows of Prim’s tiny cottage.

The context of the novel was really interesting. The lack of eligible men to marry after the end of WWI was a real problem for women who had few other opportunities in life. Gerry, although a bright, funny and lovely girl, is not immune to this pressure, or to the fear of spinsterhood. I hate it when writers give us feisty female heroines from history who live independent, happy lives immune to social pressures. It’s refreshing to have a realistic heroine who is more than aware of the social constraints that have a very real bearing on what she is and isn’t allowed to do. And the little quotes at the beginning of each chapter offered a real insight into the pressures put on women at the time.

I thoroughly recommend this novel and will definitely be reading more of June Kearns’ work.

Five out of five stars.

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