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Anzo is 11 years old and very, very short. Mum, Dad and his two uncles are extremely tall but they’re also high achievers, obsessed with fulfilling their lifelong ambition of opening a restaurant together. Everyone has a role – chef, DIY, marketing, accounts – but where does Anzo fit in? If only he could grow a few inches in height, then no one would be able to overlook him. Josh would stop teasing Anzo in school, he wouldn’t have to play all seven dwarfs in the school play, and at home he could tell his parents about his drawing and the comic convention he’s been invited to.

Then, overnight, Anzo starts to grow. Is life as a giant going to solve all his problems, or should he stop worrying and learn to just be himself?

Today’s review is a combined effort between me and my son, Max. We read Kate Scott’s Giant together and both of us absolutely loved it.At February half term Max was asked to write a book review for his homework and he wrote about Giant. With Max’s permission I’ve included some parts of his work sheet in this review as illustrations.

Here, in Max’s words is his review.

“Anzo is an 11 year old boy. He really likes comics and wants to be a professional comic artist. At school his teachers call him ‘Peanut’ because he is so short. He wishes he was taller. He has a best friend called Elise – she is funny and she made me laugh. This is a very funny book.

Anzo is sometimes sad and annoyed because his family don’t notice him. Elise and Anzo have an adventure. I was excited because I’ve never been somewhere on my own like Anzo. This book is really funny and exciting. Apart from Harry Potter it’s my favourite book that I’ve read.”

I probably don’t need to say much after that I’m always on the look out for great books to share with my boys and Giant is one of my all time favorites too. Max and I had such a lovely time reading it together and he kept pointing the funny bits out to me.

Kate Scott has got the voice of Anzo spot on and he is a very relatable character – Max certainly identified with him, especially around some of the teasing that Anzo experiences at school and as a Mum I was pleased that the book helped us to talk about topics that are sometimes difficult like feeling like you don’t fit in. I also loved Anzo’s best friend Elise with her many wise words and post-it notes. It was also lovely to see a well written and developed boy/girl friendship.

With fab illustrations and a great comic book related story line, I’d highly recommended this book for the 8-11 year age group and we’re already looking forward to reading more of Kate Scott’s stories.

5/5

Giant is out now in paperback from Piccadilly Press.

We’d like to thank the publisher for sending us a review copy of this book.

 

Lorna is a talented gardener and Philly is a plantswoman. Together they work in the grounds of a beautiful manor house in the Cotswolds

They enjoy their jobs and are surrounded by family and friends.

But for them both the door to true love remains resolutely closed.

So when Lorna is introduced to Jack at a dinner party and Lucien catches Philly’s eye at the local farmers market, it seems that dreams really can come true and happy endings lie just around the corner.

But do they?

Troublesome parents, the unexpected arrival of someone from Lorna’s past, and the discovery of an old and secret garden mean their lives are about to become a lot more complicated…

Katie Fforde has long been a favourite author of mine and I have nothing but admiration for the way that she keeps coming up with new stories and lovely new novels that are a joy to escape with. In A Secret Garden we find ourselves in a Cotswold village.  In this idyllic setting we meet a lovely and quirky cast of characters who I really didn’t want to leave as I finished the book.

Lorna is a gardener tasked with bringing the gardens of her long-time friend Peter’s stately home back to life. Lorna lives in a lovely little cottage on the estate and as we meet her she’s harbouring a secret love for her old friend. I liked Lorna immediately, particularly for the way she dealt with Peter and his new girlfriend Kirsty. As Peter drops the bombshell that he’s’ met ‘the one’ and invites Lorna to meet her at a dinner party, he starts a chain of events that result in many changes for his unsuspecting guests. A Secret Garden is a gentle romantic comedy that kept me guessing right to the end; if Jane Austen was writing now, I imagine her novels would be something like this.

Two of my favourite characters in the book were Philly and her Grandfather (known as Grand) who have run away from their Irish home to grasp their freedom and launch their own business. I absolutely loved the idea of grandfather and granddaughter running away together and starting a new life and I loved the relationship that the two have throughout the book. Philly has up to now had a very strict Irish upbringing so I enjoyed watching her take her first independent steps and admired her work ethic as she nurtures her plant nursery. The romantic element of Philly’s story is absolutely charming as she meets chef Lucien.

This is a book about finding love at any age and how wonderful but also how daunting that can be. It was refreshing to read a story that had romance for the majority of characters and I think Katie makes a lovely point with this story that love really does know no boundaries (but we often put our own up just to give it a challenge!)

Gardeners and garden fans will of course love this novel and Katie has clearly done her research. I’m not really a gardener but the descriptions in the book even made me want to have a go! Katie also sheds a fascinating light on sculpture and stone masonry through the character of Jack and as a fan of big old houses I really enjoyed the settings that Katie has created. I felt like I’d had a lovely escape to the country as I read this book and I think this would make an ideal Mother’s Day Gift if you’re looking for ideas!

4/5

A Secret Garden is out now in hardback and ebook formats.

Find out more about Katie and her writing at:  http://www.katiefforde.com/

I’d like to thank the publisher for sending me a review copy of this book.

With a grandmother from China and another from Ghana, fifteen-year-old Wing Jones is often caught between worlds. But when tragedy strikes, Wing discovers a talent for running she never knew she had. Wing’s speed could bring her family everything it needs. It could also stop Wing getting the one thing she wants.

I can’t look at the UK paperback of Wing Jones without smiling – it’s just soooo pretty. With packaging that good, it’s got to be an excellent read right? And it is – I never thought I’d enjoy a book about running so much but of course it’s about so much more than running!

Wing and her family live in Atlanta and her brother, Marcus, is the star quarterback for their school football team. While Marcus is top of the popularity list, Wing is somewhere at the bottom. Wing’s has a wonderful mix of Ghanian and Chinese heritage, personified in her two feisty grandmothers who I loved, but while the mix has worked in her brother’s favour, it has cast Wing on the outside.  Wing Jones shows that ‘different’ can have both highs and lows and the book addresses so many important themes around fitting in, being a teenager, love and acceptance (of yourself an d by others) and I’m sure many readers will identify with Wing in many ways.

I’m a massive fan of American football and I love the series Friday Night Lights; Wing Jones very much reminded me of it both in setting and in some of the storylines; it’s as much about the stories of the characters and families off the pitch or track as it is about the events taking place on it. It’s also a story about belonging and I liked the message that came across loud and clear that sometimes it takes time to find your niche.

Wing finds herself thrown into the spotlight by her brother’s actions and the effects are both positive and negative but ultimately Wing discovers that she can run. The descriptions of running in the book are brilliant – I felt like I was flying along with Wing as I read and I can absolutely see now how running is an escape and a release for her. As Wing’s family struggle she finds herself changing and rising to new challenges and I absolutely loved the way her character developed through the book.

Wing’s voice in the story is just brilliant –I sometimes find that YA authors miss the mark when pitching their protagonist’s voice (often sounding too young or too old) but Katherine Webber has got it absolutely spot on with Wing and I could have read about her all day. With a slow burning romantic element to the story, wing learns that she can fly out of her brother’s shadow. Wing Jones is a great, uplifting, positive read and a brilliant debut – a YA highlight for 2017.

5/5

Wing Jones is out now in paperback and ebook formats from Walker Books.

Find out more about Katherine Webber and her writing at: http://www.kwebberwrites.com/

I’d like to thank the publisher for providing a review copy of this book.

 

Today I’m very pleased to welcome Charlotte Butterfield to One More Page on the first stop of her Me, You and Tiramisu blog tour. Charlotte joins us to tell us how the idea for her debut novel came about. Welcome Charlotte!

I’ve been a journalist for the last fifteen years, and a couple of years ago I was asked by a women’s lifestyle magazine to write a feature about couples where one of them was more attractive than the other one. Yep. True story.

The magazine actually wanted me to go out and find couples that would voluntarily be featured declaring that one of them was so much more beautiful than the other one. How would that even happen? Would I have to stop people on the street and say, “I’m writing an article and you two would be perfect for this!” Can you imagine? I turned the commission down in the end, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the idea of how society views couples. Everything seems to hinge on appearance and woe betide a couple that don’t seem completely balanced in age, weight and looks that want to make a go of it.

I wondered whether things like shared interests, humour, hobbies and love are somehow being pushed further and further down the list of priorities and looks are now everything. The popularity of Tinder suggests that this might be the case, which baffles me, how can you decide whether or not to give someone the time of day based on one photo?

This idea started to grow, and then I began imagining what it would be like being in one of these couples where it’s not just people you know that are making judgements about you and your love interest, but complete strangers too. What if one of you was famous and suddenly everyone thought they had the right to comment on your relationship and what he/she sees in you? We’ve all seen phrases ‘punching above their weight’ or ‘they’ve done well for themselves’ in celeb gossip magazines and it always made me cringe. It was then that I realised that I may have found the perfect plot for my first novel and my gorgeous (in every sense of the word) characters Jayne and Will came to life.

You can find out more about Charlotte and her writing and follow her at:

Website: https://charlottebutterfield.com/

Twitter: 

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Sarah Armstrong’s new supernatural thriller, The Devil in the Snow. Sarah lives in Essex with her husband and four children.  Her short stories have been published in Mslexia, Litro and other magazines and anthologies.  Sarah teaches creative writing for the Open University. Her debut novel, The Insect Rosary, was published by Sandstone Press in 2015.

‘It was only girls who had to worry about the devil…’

All Shona wants is a simple life with her young son, and to get free of Maynard, the ex who’s still living in the house. When her teenage daughter goes missing, she’s certain Maynard is the culprit. Her mother, Greta, is no help as she’s too obsessed with the devil. Her Uncle Jimmy is fresh out of prison and has never been entirely straight with her. Then there’s the shaman living in her shed. Shona soon discovers that the secrets she buried are as dangerous as the family curse haunting her mother.

Extract

She collected Jude from the school office, thirty-five minutes late on the second day of his first full week. He looked quite happy, swinging himself around in the head teacher’s chair. The head wasn’t quite so contented and made it clear that she was only postponing a pep talk about time management or consistency for five-year-olds because she wanted to go home today. Jude was smiling and pleased to see her and Shona was happy to leave.

Shona carried Jude home on her back for a treat to celebrate not getting told off. She clasped her hands under his bum as a seat but he still held on a little too tightly. By the time they got back her windpipe felt bruised.

She opened the back door and remembered. Dominic was still asleep.

Jude sat by him, as Shona had done, watching him.

‘Who is he?’

‘I’m not sure. He’s called Dominic.’

‘Are we going to keep him?’

‘He’s just going to stay for a little while.’

Jude raised his eyebrows. ‘In our room?’

‘No.’

Jude frowned. ‘Cerys’ room?’

‘No, He’s just here for a couple of hours. We haven’t got any room, have we?’

Cerys had one bedroom while Shona and Jude shared the other and the walk-in office attached to it. The locked, little-used front room downstairs belonged to her husband, Maynard. The attic had a pull down ladder and a lot of dusty rubbish.

‘He’ll go soon,’ she said. She thought again that she should phone someone, but he’d said Meghan. She needed to hear the rest of that and, when he left, that would be her chance lost. She played it back in her mind, trying to convince herself that he had said something else, but it was always Meghan.

She heard the front door close as Cerys let herself in. Dominic stretched and sat up. Shona froze. What convinced Jude wasn’t going to work on her.

‘Mr Cartwright wants to see you last at Parents’ Evening,’ she shouted from the hall. ‘I wasn’t going to bother, but he asked. I wrote it on the sheet.’ Shona could hear the school bag drop to the floor. Cerys stopped in the doorway and stared.

She’d taken off her school tie, untucked the blouse and shaken her long brown hair free. Her skirt was rolled up at the waist, revealing thin legs with thick fist-like knees. Her nose, which seemed to have been growing out of sync with the rest of her face, was settling now, straight and pretty. Cerys still hated it.

‘Hi,’ she said. She wasn’t talking to Shona or Jude.

Shona looked at her. She hadn’t seen Cerys smile like that for years, open and happy. Dominic smiled back and Shona watched Cerys blush deep on her cheeks.

She hadn’t thought this through. She hadn’t thought what a boy like this would do to a fourteen-year-old. He was beautiful in a girlish boy band way, with large eyes and longish hair. How had she not noticed?

‘Dominic, I think I should call your parents now.’

‘There’s no need.’

‘They’ll be wondering where you are.’ Shona could sense Cerys fidgeting behind her.

‘I’m eighteen. I told them I’d be away for a while.’

‘Of course he should stay, Mum,’ said Cerys. ‘We’ve got room.’

‘Do we?’ Any minute now Dominic would start talking about instructions and Meghan, and then Cerys – what would Cerys do? Shona looked at her again. Cerys wouldn’t say a word. She was ready to jump whenever he told her.

Dominic stood and stretched again. ‘I slept on it. I’m going to stay in the shed.’

Shona thought about it, although it wasn’t a question. ‘And your parents?’

‘I’ll let them know.’

Cerys, still blushing, turned and went upstairs. Shona knew she’d be calling her friends, spreading the word. Shona knew this couldn’t really happen; she couldn’t let this boy sleep in the shed. But, to be honest, she didn’t need another fight with Cerys. She would be the one who would cause trouble over it and if it was fine with her… And Jude?

She didn’t think it would be more than a day or two, just long enough for him to tell her about Meghan. And, please God, he’d be gone before Maynard turned up.

——————————————————–

The Devil in the Snow is released today in paperback and ebook formats by Sandstone Press.

Find out more about Sarah and her books at: http://sandstonepress.com/authors/sarah-armstrong

Last week I was lucky to be invited to the Books and the City Spring Blogger Evening at publisher Simon and Schuster. These evenings are always brilliant  thanks to the lovely Sara-Jade Virtue and the rest of the team, and this one was no exception (check out the cakes!).

There were four author’s on the panel and another two authors joined them at the event. The super six were: Alice Peterson, Dani Atkins, Milly Johnson, Kate Furnivall, Juliet Ashton and Sarah Vaughan. It was lovely to hear them read from their latest books and to hear a little about them and how they go about writing the books that we love!

 

The evening ended with lots of book talk with fellow bloggers, a signing, more cake and a treat-packed goody bag!

Here are the fab books that you can look forward to this spring from Simon and Schuster.

A Song for Tomorrow by Alice Peterson – out now!

This book is hot off the press as it was released yesterday! Alice’s books are always emotional and poignant reads and this one is no exception – based on a true story.

Tom fell in love with Alice the moment he saw her. He realises that being with her will not be easy, but she is a force of nature, a burst of sunlight in his otherwise ordinary world. 
 
Some people might look at Alice and think she has everything, but Alice knows she is not like other women. Her life is complicated, unpredictable, difficult. Alice does not like pity. All she wants to do, has ever wanted to do, is sing.

Alice has been told not to follow her dreams. So has Tom. But when fate has already dealt a tough hand, it’s time to stop listening to everyone else and only follow their hearts.

The Liberation by Kate Furnival – out now

Look out for Kate’s next novel, The Betrayal too which will be out in November!

The Liberation is set in Italy in 1945 as British and American troops attempt to bring order to the devastated country and Italy’s population fights to survive. Caterina Lombardi is desperate – her father is dead, her mother has disappeared and her brother is being drawn towards danger. One morning, among the ruins of the bombed Naples streets, Caterina is forced to go to extreme lengths to protect her own life and in doing so forges a future in which she must clear her father’s name. An Allied Army officer accuses him of treason and Caterina discovers a plot against her family. Who can she trust and who is the real enemy now? And will the secrets of the past be her downfall?

Orange Blosson Days by Patricia Scanlan – 9th March

I’m typing this in cold, grey, wet England – how I wish I could jump into this cover! Patricia’s beautifully titled new book will be out in hardback on 9th March.

In a beautiful southern Spanish town, where the sea sparkles and orange blossoms scent the air, the gates of a brand new apartment complex, La Joya deAndalucía, glide open to welcome the new owners.

Anna and Austen MacDonald, an Irish couple, are preparing to enjoy their retirement to the full. But the demands of family cause problems they have never foreseen and shake their marriage to the core.

Sally-Ann Connolly Cooper, a feisty Texan mother of two young teenagers, is reeling from her husband’s infidelity. La Joya becomes a place of solace for Sally-Ann, in more ways than one.

Eduardo Sanchez, a haughty Madrileño, has set out with single-minded determination to become El Presidente of the complex’s management committee. But pride comes before a fall.

Jutta Sauer Perez, a sophisticated German who aspires to own her very own apartment in La Joya, works hard to reach her goal. Then the unthinkable happens.

As their lives entwine and friendships and enmities develop, it becomes apparent that La Joya is not quite the haven they all expect it to be…

This Love by Dani Atkins – 23rd March

I loved Dani’s last novel, Our Song and I can’t wait to read This Love!

Sophie Winter lives in a self-imposed cocoon – she’s a single, thirty-one year old translator who works from home in her one bedroom flat. This isn’t really the life she dreamed of, but then Sophie stopped believing in happy endings a very long time ago, when she was fifteen years old and tragedy struck her family. Her grief has left her scared of commitment and completely risk averse, so she plays it safe and keeps everyone at arm’s length. Sophie understands she has a problem, but recognising it and knowing how to fix it are two entirely different things.

One night a serious fire breaks out in the flat below hers. Sophie is trapped in the burning building until a random passer-by, Ben, luckily happens to spot and rescue her. Suddenly her cocoon is shattered – what will be the consequences of this second life-changing event?

The Woman at Number 24 by Juliet Ashton – 20th April

The cover for this book has just been revealed – isn’t it fab?

Welcome to number 24, a Georgian villa in west London that is home to five separate families and five very different lives.

Up in the eaves, Sarah finds that recovering from a nasty divorce is even more heartbreaking when your ex-husband lives one floor beneath you with his new wife. Their happiness floats up through the floorboards, taunting her. A child psychologist, Sarah has picked up great sadness from the little girl, Una, who lives with her careworn mother three floors below, but is Sarah emotionally equipped to reach out?

The Spring brings a new couple to number 24. Jane and Tom’s zest for life revives the flagging house, and Sarah can’t deny the instant attraction to handsome Tom. Having seen at first hand what infidelity does to people, she’ll never act on it … but the air fizzes with potential.

The sunshine doesn’t reach every corner of number 24, however. Elderly Mavis, tucked away in the basement, has kept the world at bay for decades. She’s about to find out that she can’t hide forever.

Love, rivalry, secrets and murder – all under one seemingly ordinary roof ….

The Queen of Wishful Thinking by Milly Johnson – 4th May

This sounds like another treat of a book from Milly – add it to your wish lists now!

When Lewis Harley has a health scare in his early forties, he takes it as a wake-up call. So he and his  wife Charlotte leave behind life in the fast lane and Lewis opens the antique shop he has dreamed of. Bonnie Brookland was brought up in the antiques trade and now works for the man who bought out her father’s business, but she isn’t happy there. So when she walks into Lew’s shop, she knows this is the place for her.

As Bonnie and Lew start to work together, they soon realise that there is more to their relationship than either thought. But Bonnie is trapped in an unhappy marriage, and Lew and Charlotte have more problems than they care to admit. Each has secrets in their past which are about to be uncovered. Can they find the happiness they both deserve?

The Last Piece of My Heart by Paige Toon – 18th May

I’m a massive fan of Paige’s books and have read them all so I can’t wait to read this one!

Meet Bridget, a successful travel journalist with ambitions to turn her quirky relationship blog into a novel. But, after numerous rejections from publishers, she accepts an alternative proposition: Nicole Dupre died leaving behind a bestselling novel and an incomplete sequel, and the family need someone to finish it. Bridget is just thankful to have her foot in the publishing door. But as she gets to know Nicole’s grieving family, and the woman behind the writing, Bridget’s priorities begin to change …

Which of these are you looking forward to reading this spring? Find out more about the books featured here and lots of other lovely reads on the Books and the City site at: http://booksandthecity.co.uk/

What happens when what you wish for is only half the story…?

Flirtatious, straight-talking Jo Gold says she’s got no time for love; she’s determined to save her family’s failing footwear business.

New mother Sarah Hudson has cut short her maternity leave to return to work. She says she’ll do whatever it takes to make partner at the accountancy firm.

Bored, over-eating housewife Carrie Radley says she just wants to shift the pounds – she’d love to finally wear a bikini in public.

The unlikely trio meet by chance one winter’s day, and in a moment of ‘Carpe Diem’ madness, embark on a mission to make their wishes come true by September.

Easy. At least it would be, if they hadn’t been just the teensiest bit stingy with the truth…

With hidden issues, hidden talents, and hidden demons to overcome, new friends Jo, Carrie and Sarah must admit to what they really, really want, if they are ever to get their happy endings.

White Lies and Wishes is a lovely feel-good read from Cathy Bramley – just the kind of novel to inspire you at the start of a new year and perfect for curling up with while it’s still cold and grey outside. Cathy introduces us to three very different leading ladies; the setting for their introduction is a little unusual and if you’d told me that I’d enjoy a book that starts at a funeral so much I might not have believed you!

Jo, Carrie and Sarah are all very different on the surface but what unites them is that they all have a secret wish and as they find themselves thrown together unexpectedly, they decide that they need to seize the moment and make their wishes come true. The twist in the tale comes that the women haven’t been exactly truthful to each other and while on the surface, their wishes might seem perfectly reasonable, there’s a lot more going on behind each wish than meets the eye!

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Carrie, Jo and Sarah and finding out what they really wanted. Cathy gives us three very strong story lines and skilfully steers the book through a year in the lives of her leading ladies giving the book excellent pace and lots of variety which kept me hooked as I read.

Jo has recently taken over from her workaholic father to become the CEO for the family shoe company. On the outside Jo is the perfect example of a polished career girl with not a hair out of place and a no-nonsense approach to romance. Jo’s wish is to conquer her fear of heights – but she has a specific objective in mind that you’d never guess from her outward appearance!

Carrie is an accountant and new Mum. Her wish is to make partner at her firm and Sarah’s wish is to wear a bikini in public and lose enough weight to feel happy doing so. Underneath these simple wishes each woman harbours a myriad of emotions and each knows that her wish is a little white lie masking her real heart’s desire.  I loved this story because Cathy gives us three real women that are easy to identify with and I could really empathise with all of them! Be it finding and keeping love, balancing family and career or getting self confidence back, Cathy has built a funny, emotional and heartwarming story around the issues that so many of us face.

As the year progresses there are plenty of ups and downs, surprises and even shocks for Carrie, Jo and Sarah and I loved reading as they slowly began to work out what they really wanted. As I’ve come to expect from Cathy’s lovely books, White Lies and Wishes left me with a very happy smile on my face and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for an uplifting read this February.

5/5

White Lies and Wishes is out now in paperback and ebook formats.

I’d like to thank the publisher for providing a review copy of this book.

Find out more about Cathy and her writing at: http://www.cathybramley.co.uk/

A father who rediscovers love

Alex loves his wife Jody, but has forgotten how to show it. He loves his son Sam, but doesn’t understand him. He needs a reason to grab his future with both hands.

A son who shows him how to live

Meet eight-year-old Sam: beautiful, surprising – and different. To him the world is a frightening mystery. But as his imagination comes to life, his family will be changed . . . for good.

A Boy Made of Blocks is Keith Stuart’s debut novel; a story inspired by Keith’s own experiences of having an autistic son. It’s a novel of love, frustration, heartbreak, humour  and hope charting dad Alex’s relationship with his wife Jody and eight year old son, Sam.

As a mum to 5 and 8 year old boys there was a lot that I could empathise with in the story; I love my sons to bits but there are days when everything seems like a struggle and I can’t do right for doing wrong! Stuart clearly shows how those days and incidents are many and constant with a child who is autistic. My heart went out to Jody as she explained the constant worry about a simple day at school. What surprised me about this book was how much I disliked Alex initially. I really felt annoyed by his lack of ability to cope with the situations he found himself in and for much of the first third of the story I wanted to give him a good talking to!

In contrast to my feelings for Alex, I loved Sam and thought he was beautifully, believably and sensitively written. When Sam discovers the game Minecraft it literally opens a new world to him and provides the mechanism for Alex to begin to understand his son and build a relationship with him. These parts of the book had me thoroughly captivated and I enjoyed reading as Sam’s world opened up.

In addition to the serious themes of this stoyr; relationship breakdown, the pressures of being a parent, dealing with grief, there’s a lot of humour in A Boy Made of Blocks; some of it dark but I did find it funny and I loved the description of Sam’s responses to the world around him as ‘not being given the rule-book’ which does make for some very blunt and honest statements from Sam that had me smiling. It’s safe to say I went through the whole spectrum of emotions as I read and I did cry at the end – the final chapters weren’t at all what I was expecting but were just perfect.

4/5

A Boy Made of Blocks is out now in paperback and ebook formats from Sphere.

I’d like to thank the publisher for providing a review copy of this book.

 

Wing Jones is the much anticipated debut novel from Katherine Webber, which came out on 5^th January 2017 in the UK. I finished reading Wing Jones earlier this week and absolutely loved it. I’ll be posting my full review soon but it’s such an inspiring book and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s even helped to inspire me to take up running – something which I never thought I’d do!

With a grandmother from China and another from Ghana, fifteen-year-old Wing is often caught between worlds. But when tragedy strikes, Wing discovers a talent for running she never knew she had. Wing’s speed could bring her family everything it needs. It could also stop Wing getting the one thing she wants…

I can’t believe Wing Jones is Katherine Webber’s debut – her writing feels effortless to read but had a massive impact on me and I love the descriptions she uses when Wing runs and Wing’s voice! Katherine was born in Southern California but has lived in Atlanta, Hawaii, Hong Kong and now in London. For several years she worked at the reading charity BookTrust, where she worked on projects such as The Letterbox Club which delivers parcels of books to children in care, and YALC, the Young Adult Literature Convention. You can find her on Twitter

Throughout January, over 40 bloggers are participating in the #WJphototour – a photo blog tour documenting Katherine’s path to publishing her debut novel. From childhood memories that inspired her writing to her time living in Atlanta and Asia that influenced the book to authors she’s met over the years right up to receiving her first finished copy of the book, follow along to see Katherine’s author life unfold! Keep an eye on the hashtag to see the latest photos! Today it’s my turn and I’m delighted to share the next step on Katherine’s journey to publication…

“Going on submission to publishers was one of the most exciting and terrifying things I’ve ever done! Once we got our first offer in everything happened very fast. WING JONES ended up in a 9 way auction in the UK! I met with all the interested publishers and they were all AMAZING. It was a tough decision, but I knew Walker Books was the best fit for WING JONES. It was so thrilling to see the announcement in the Bookseller, especially when the announcement went out in a newsletter right next to news about Jennifer Lawrence! The day the deal was announced happened to be the day a friend who works with the comedian Dave Chappelle was in London for Dave’s tour and so I celebrated my deal announcement by going to the show and the afterparty! It was pretty surreal having Corinne Bailey Rae and Dave congratulate me on my book deal at the party!”

Wing Jones is out now in paperback and ebook formats from Walker Books.

Find out more about Katherine Webber and her writing at: http://www.kwebberwrites.com/

I’m a HUGE fan of Lisa Dickenson’s laugh out loud rom-coms so I was VERY excited to be asked if I’d like to reveal the gorgeous new cover for the paperback release of Catch Me If You Cannes. Of course I said yes so here without further ado is the beautifully sunny new cover for this fabulous book which will be published by Sphere on 4th May!

 

WARNING: reading Catch Me If You Cannes may result in embarrassing outbursts of belly-aching laughter on public transport. Romantic, funny and full of Cannes Film Festival magic, it’s perfect for fans of Giovanna Fletcher, Paige Toon and  Mhairi McFarlane.

Jess has decided it’s time to get out of her comfort zone and live a little. So when her best friend Bryony, a journalist on a gossip magazine, is sent to cover the Cannes Film Festival, Jess decides to seize the day and go along for the ride. Two weeks of sun, glamour and exclusive entry into celeb-filled parties is just the kind of adventure Jess needs.

Reality soon bites though when Jess and Bryony find they’re staying in a dingy hotel far away from all the action and Bryony’s expenses budget barely covers a glass of local wine. Undeterred, the two women are determined to live like the elite and enjoy one fancy night out to begin their holiday. So what if they have to tell a few white lies along the way? It’s just this once. No harm done . . . right?

Full of hilarious one-liners, sparkling blue seas and plenty of romantic moments, Catch Me If You Cannes is the story of two friends, a few white lies and one very sticky situation . . .

Lisa Dickenson is the pseudonym for Beyoncé. OK, FINE, THAT’S NOT TRUE.

Lisa lives by the Devon seaside, stuffing cream teas in the gobs of anyone who comes to visit, and writing stuff down that she hopes is funny.  Her first novel was the copyright-infringing Sweet Valley Twins: The Twins Holiday Horror, which she wrote in primary school and gave up on after five pages. Twenty-ish years later Lisa went on to be a *real author* and wrote the Novelicious Debut of the Year, The Twelve Dates of Christmas. In summer 2016 out popped You Had Me at Merlot, and in winter 2016 she released the fabulous Mistletoe on 34^th Street. Catch Me if You Cannes will be her fourth book available in paperback.

Chat to Lisa (and tell her how much you love her new cover!) at:

www.lisadickenson.com
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