Beach Read Blog Tour 2015 Day 9 #Beachbooks @jontybabe @BrookCottageBks

Welcome to day 9 of the beach reads blog tour, everyone should be feeling lovely and relaxed now on our virtual holiday.

Beach Read Postcard

My guest today is Debbie Johnston from Brook Cottage Books

photo (1)

FOR ROSIE

Thank you to Rosie for inviting me to be a part of her Beach Reads feature. When it comes to thinking about my perfect holiday destination I am going to be greedy and list two! The first one would obviously be lying on a hammock between two palm trees on a desert island somewhere with cocktails close to hand. The sound of the sea would eventually soothe me to sleep! The second destination is a cabin or cottage beside a lake with a mountain back drop! Perfect! To date, my most perfect holiday destination has been Malta. Beautiful scenery and equally beautiful people!

 

My 5 holiday reads would be:

A Self Help / Inspirational book (which would get your mojo back for when you return home) 

10569

On Writing by Stephen King. This book is an amazing insight into the great man himself, with stories about his childhood and his early writing career. The book offers really sound advice for those venturing into the world of writing. The format would have to be audiobook as its read by Stephen King himself and I guarantee you will instantly fall in love with his voice and the way he reads!

AMAZON BUY LINK

AMAZON.COM

 

A book that interests you although it’s from a genre you’ve never read.

5625477

Biocentrism by Lanza and Berman. This is from the Science / cosmology /physics / non-fiction genre. Definitely something I would never usually read! However the subject matter interests me greatly and I have actually bought this book already! The premise of the book is basically that consciousness is the key to reality. The universe exist through our minds! Talk about get your geek on!

AMAZON UK

AMAZON.COM

 

A book from your favourite genre 

10614

One of my favourite genres is the horror genre. I have chosen Misery by Stephen King as it was the first Stephen King book I ever read and from then on in I was totally hooked on the man! It’s so well written and super creepy. In the words of Annie Wilkes, the scary woman in the book, I am his ‘number one fan!’

AMAZON UK

AMAZON.COM

 

A book you’ve been meaning to read for ages 

6202342

I have been meaning to read Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger after really enjoying her book The Time Traveller’s Wife. I have the book on my bookshelf staring at me and it really needs to go to the top of my TBR list! It sounds like quite a spooky read with a bit of a mystery behind it too. Just the sort of thing I love!

AMAZON UK

AMAZON.COM

 

A Fun Read 

25269401

For fun overload I always recommend books by Carol E Wyer. Carol has such an hilarious way of looking at the world and her books always produce a bit of a giggle, especially her ‘grumpy’ series of books. Her latest book Grumpies On Board is on my TBR list at the moment and I am really looking forward to getting stuck in! It’s a light hearted look at the latest adventures for those of a certain age! Carol definitely believes in getting older rather disgracefully and with a bang!

AMAZON UK

AMAZON.COM

 

Thank you Rosie for letting me take part in this feature. It was great fun! Not sure if you need all this but here it is anyway.

 

BIO

In the bookish world I am known by the name JB Johnston and this is the name I sometimes write under. I also work under the name Debbie Johnston!  I would love to be a writer but in the meantime, and until I actually get an ounce of talent, I review and promote books for various sites, publishers and individual authors.
I was an intern with Safkhet Publishing where I was a Marketing Assistant and Editorial Assistant and was the editor for Little White Lies and Butterflies by Suzie Tullett. I am also a book tour co-ordinator and organise and run virtual book tours for authors. If you have a book to promote then I can help you do that. I organise and co-ordinate online promotion parties for authors and publishers. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy! I am a beta reader for some authors which I really enjoy.

BCB-Host Button-200

 

I review books from my own personal bookshelf also and support a variety of Indie authors. I am a monthly contributor on Siren FM radio for the show ‘Books Rock’ which is hosted by author Nicky Wells. I’m a Lifestyle reviewer for the award winning Loveahappyending Lifestyle magazine, which won the 2013 Romance Industry “Innovation in Romantic Fiction” award. I was shortlisted for Romance Blogger of the Year 2013 in the Romance Industry Awards.  I am involved with the Plum Tree  Books Group and regularly read and review books for www.lovereading.co.uk  where I am on the review panel.

 

Brook Cottage Books

FACEBOOK

BROOK COTTAGES ON TWITTER

JB JOHNSTON ON TWITTER

JB JOHNSTON ON FACEBOOK

Email: brookbooks@hotmail.co.uk

Beach Reads Drift Wood

Beach Reads Blog Tour 2015 Day 3 #BeachBooks @Alison_Williams #wwwblogs

 

Whoa! It’s Day 3 of our Holiday! With amazing book suggestions for your own vacation.

Beach Read Postcard

Today my guest is Alison Williams

Alison Williams

I’m very lucky in that my ideal holiday destination is actually where I’m going this year (and where I went last year) – a beautiful restored farmhouse in a secluded valley in the Lot-et-Garonne area of Aquitane in France. I love France – the food, the weather, the people, the attitude to life, and our holidays there are always wonderful. Lot-et-Garonne isn’t as well known or as touristy as some other regions in France and yet it is beautiful. I have an incredibly busy life and here I can truly relax, unwind and breathe. And read, of course.

I like to take a mixture of genres and a mixture of formats – some on Kindle because I can read seven or eight books a week when I’m on holiday and there just isn’t room for them all, and some paperbacks, because I appreciate it when other holidaymakers leave books for future guests, and I like to do the same.

A book about the place I’m going to.

111220

As we’re in Aquitane, and because I am fascinated by history and particularly by women in history, I shall be taking Alison Weir’s ‘Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England’. I love this area of France, and so I’d love to know more about its history. I’ve also read about Eleanor before – married to Louis VII and then England’s Henry II, her sons were Richard the Lionheart and King John. She had a huge influence on the politics of the time and lived to the ripe old age of eighty-two. A fascinating woman. Or find this book on Amazon.com

stephen king

A book that interests me

I’ll also be taking Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’. I read King’s novels voraciously as a teenager. I’ve heard excellent things about this book – part memoir, part writing master class – and can’t wait to read it. But realistically, a holiday is probably the only time I have when I’ll be able to read it thoroughly and properly. It’ll definitely have to be the paperback version – and it won’t be getting left behind. Or find this on Amazon.com

101922

A book I’ve mean meaning to read for ages is Hilary Mantel’s ‘A Change of Climate’. Anyone who knows me at all knows I have a bit of an obsession with Hilary. She’s a marvellous writer and I love her novels. A holiday – where there are no pressures and no time constraints – is the ideal time to relax and give this book the attention it deserves. A family saga about ex-missionaries living in Norfolk, this is a book unlike the historical dramas that have made Mantel so popular, but a storyteller is a storyteller, and Mantel writes just as well about the modern day as she does about history. Or find it here on Amazon.com

 

wuthering

 

For me a holiday is all about escaping the day-to-day and a book that I can really escape with is Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’. I have no idea now how many times I’ve read it – with the exception of Hilary Mantel, the Brontes are the only writers I can read again and again – but every time I read it I’m swept away to those wild moors and can truly lose myself. This has to be read in paperback format – I have about five rather raggedy, well-thumbed copies, including the one I filched from my son when he had to study it for his English ‘A’Level (he is somewhat less enamoured!) so will leave one behind. Or find it here on Amazon.com

The Black Hours by Alison Williams

The Black Hours by Alison Williams

And of course, I’ll be leaving a copy or two of my own novelThe Black Hours’ . A very dark historical drama, based on the life of the notorious Witchfinder Matthew Hopkins, ‘The Black Hours’ is probably best read in bright daylight (so you don’t get too scared) with a revitalising glass of wine or two at hand. Or find it here on Amazon.com

Now all I need is a guarantee of hot weather, a few bottles of the local red, and a pile of croissants and chocolate éclairs. Perfect.

Beach Reads Drift Wood