It’s the final stop on Cathy Woodman’s blog tour for her latest release, Follow Me Home today and I’m delighted to welcome Cathy to One More Page with a post about some of the new characters you can meet in the book.  

Cathy began her working life as a small animal vet before turning to writing fiction. She won the Harry Bowling First Novel Award in 2002 and is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. Cathy now lives with her two children, two ponies, three exuberant Border Terriers and two cats in a village near Winchester, Hampshire. 

Follow Me Home is Cathy’s eighth novel set in the wonderful fictonal town of Talyon St George. Welcome Cathy!

Hello Amanda,

Thank you very much for welcoming me to your blog for this stop on my tour with ‘Follow Me Home’.  My new book tells the story of village midwife Zara and the new mums and babies she looks after. I loved creating some new characters and revisiting some of the old ones in Talyton St George. I hope you enjoy reading about all the characters, both human and animal, in ‘Follow Me Home’ as much as I loved writing about them.

x Cathy

Zara

Zara is the village midwife who helps the new mums of Talyton St George to welcome their babies into the world. When I first pictured her, she was holding her sister’s baby in her arms, and I thought about how it would feel for a midwife to deliver babies every day, knowing that she’s unlikely to be able to have children herself.

Recently divorced, she is living with her grandmother who runs the newsagent’s while she starts to sort her life out.  In spite of a fear of dogs, she takes pity on an abandoned puppy who turns out to be a bit of a handful. Trying to juggle too many balls can get Zara into trouble, yet she’s optimistic that everything will turn out well in the end.

Lewis

‘I follow the dogs’ eyes to find their master, who is waiting with his arms folded across his chest, his muscles ripped from where he’s been shearing up to one hundred sheep a day. He’s wearing a cap back to front, a torn vest and jeans. He’s tanned and dirty, and any exposed skin is shining with sweat…’

Lewis is a modern shepherd with a crook and a mobile phone. He’s in his early twenties and very much one of the lads when he isn’t in the lambing shed, caring for the ewes and lambs. He has two working collies called Mick and Miley, and is therefore well qualified to help Zara train her wayward puppy.

Gran

‘She clutches a jar of sherbet lemons to her chest. Her silver hair is swept back from her face and she wears small gold hoop earrings, a black dress, pink cardigan, black tights and purple slippers, and most remarkably, she is almost as round and cuddly as she is tall.’

Zara’s grandmother ran the newsagent’s with her husband until he passed away. Now, she is struggling to keep it going as her memory begins to fail. Zara feels responsible for her, but when Gran puts herself in danger, she isn’t sure she can cope any longer.

Poppy

“‘You must give her away. Auntie Zara hasn’t got a baby. She can have her.’

‘Auntie Zara doesn’t want a baby at the moment.’ My sister looks at me, her expression one of apology, knowing how much I wanted a baby with Paul.’”

Poppy is Zara’s four year old niece. She is often to be found wearing a red pinafore, woolly tights and shiny purple wellies, and carrying a fluffy black and white toy cat. She is so upset when her little sister is born that she packs her bag ready to leave home. She would have preferred a dog or a cat, but her parents are too busy with the new baby and running their sheep farm. Will Poppy get the pet she yearns for in the end?

Thank you Cathy – I can’t wait to meet these lovely characters.

Follow Me Home is out now in paperback and ebook formats.

You can find out more about Cathy and her novels at: http://www.cathywoodmanbooks.com/

 

Today I’m honoured to be the final stop on the UK blog tour for Storm, the first book in the Elemental’s series by Brigid Kemmerer. Storm was published earlier this month and the second book in the series, Spark will be released in August but you can have a sneak peek at opening right now thank’s to Brigid’s lovely UK publisher!

If you haven’t discovered this brilliant paranormal romance series yet you’re missing out! Look out for my review of Storm later in the week.

 The fuse is lit 

Gabriel Merrick plays with fire. Literally. Sometimes he can even control it. And sometimes he can’t. Gabriel has always had his brothers to rely on, especially his twin, Nick. But when an arsonist starts wreaking havoc on their town, all the signs point to Gabriel. Only he’s not doing it. And no one seems to believe him. Except a shy sophomore named Layne, a brainiac who dresses in turtlenecks and jeans and keeps him totally off balance. Because Layne has a few secrets of her own…

Click here to read the opening of Spark

(pdf opens in a new window)

Spark will be released on 21st August in ebook and paperback formats

Storm is out now in ebook an paperback formats

Find out more about Brigid Kermerer and her writing at: http://www.brigidkemmerer.com/

Do check out the other stops on the Storm tour:

 

The winners are …

Elaine Farmer, Karen Smillie and Chey

Congratulations! I have sent you an email. Thanks to everyone who entered. Look out for more giveaways soon!

I’m delighted to take part in the cover reveal for this beautiful book today. As a reader who loves books about travel, Tracy Buchanan’s debut sounds like just my sort of book!

This is a story about mothers and daughters, lovers and secrets, and relationships that change everything. It’s about being true to yourself, following your heart, facing up to your mistakes and moving on. The Atlas of Us takes you on a moving and involving journey, from Cornwall to Thailand, to Australia, Finland, Serbia and San Francisco and through the most special and tragic moments of lives lived to the full. It’s about family, loss, resilience, reconciliation and hope…

How far would you go for the one you love the most?

When Louise Fenton flies to Thailand to find her mother, Nora, after the Boxing Day tsunami, she fears the worst when the only trace she can find is her mother’s distinctive bag. In the bag is a beautifully crafted atlas owned by travel journalist Claire Shreve, with her notes and mementos slipped in-between the pages. The journal tells the story of Claire’s struggle to find her place in the world following a life-altering revelation, and a tumultuous love affair.

Louise treks across Thailand’s scarred landscape, exploring Claire’s atlas to try to make sense of the connection between this woman and the mother she is so desperate to find.

As devastated people are beginning to put their lives back together, Louise uncovers the secrets that nearly destroyed Claire and the man she loved – the same secrets her mother has been guarding all these years …

The Atlas of Us will be released in July by Avon – add it to your wish list now!

Find out more about Tracy Buchanan and her writing at: http://www.tracybuchanan.co.uk/

Today my special guest reviewer is my husband Dave. Last year Dave ran off with my copy of Charlotte Street before I had chance to read it and he loved it so when Danny Wallace’s new book arrived I just handed it over

We join the action just as our ‘hero’ Tom, (early thirties, reads the ‘news’ on the radio) finds out that his girlfriend has NOT left him.

 Tom,

I have not left you. But I am gone.
Please carry on as normal.

Love always,

Hayley

Has Hayley gone or hasn’t she? Is she coming back? If she has gone, but is coming back, when is she coming back? And what is he supposed to bloody do in the meantime?

And what if she’s never coming back??

 Trying to work out what’s happening to his confusing life, Tom tries to track Hayley down. In doing so, he stumbles across a strange and eccentric group of people with an irregular and highly-addictive hobby.

 Next, he’s being followed, but he’s not sure by whom. And then he also almost loses his job at the radio station in the now infamous ‘Jam Nazi’ episode, which of course, you know about.

 Above all, Tom is trying to work out who everyone is.

 Because who is Hayley? Who is this new girl following him around the supermarket?

And who, for that matter, is TOM DITTO?

Please welcome my guest today, Amanda James. I loved Amanda’s ChocLit debut, A Stitch in Time and am looking forward to reading her new novel, Somewhere Beyond the Sea which was released earlier this month.  Welcome Amanda!

Inspiration comes from everywhere … and sometimes out of the blue

Thanks for having me as a guest on your blog today, Amanda. I thought I’d talk to you today about inspiration. I am often asked where my inspiration comes from when writing and the answer is not straightforward. There is no one place or thing, it comes from everywhere and sometimes I’m not too sure where my ideas pop up from. I think the best way to explain is by writing a short list of categories, so here goes:

People/Authors

As you know my first book with Choc Lit was A Stitch in Time which I adored writing and it only took me six weeks for the first draft. I have never written one as fast before or since, but the ideas just flowed. I feel most comfortable with the suspense/mystery genre however, as those are the kinds of books I enjoy reading the most. Though I guess really, even though it is time travel, A Stitch in Time is full of suspense and mystery and I was so pleased to be able to return to the characters to see what they had been up to when I wrote my sequel Cross Stitch.

Anyway, I digress. I was inspired by the novels of suspense authors, Dean Koontz in particular. As a reader, I love to try and figure out what is going to happen, what the secret is or who done it etc. He often has a romantic element in his stories and of course so do I. Koontz often has a paranormal angle also and I enjoy writing those too. I like reading straight suspense novels, but the added excitement and freedom to go ‘outside the box’ which is afforded by the paranormal is very liberating as both a reader and writer.

Certain people inspire me to keep going when the going gets tough too. There are many, but one in particular sticks in my mind. Korczak Ziowalski was a sculptor who decided to dedicate his life to carving a memorial to Crazy Horse the great Sioux leader. The sculpture is actually made from a mountain in South Dakota! It is as yet unfinished and being continued by his family after Korczak’s death more than twenty years ago. He started it all by himself in 1948 with a tent, an old Jeep, $174, and a dream. His motto was , ‘Never forget your dreams.’ I added ‘never give’ up to that. I was lucky enough to visit the memorial and found it an enriching and life-affirming experience. His remarkable story can be found here : http://crazyhorsememorial.org/

Places

One of my new novels, Somewhere Beyond the Sea is about secrets, mystery, and suspense set in the idyllic Cornish village of Kelerston. Here is a little about it:

When Dr Tristan Ainsworth takes his wife Karen and their young children back to Tristan’s beloved Cornwall he is overjoyed.  He has always wanted to return and when a post as a local GP turned up he grabbed it like a shot. He firmly believes that Kelerston is a wonderful place in which to live and raise children, so he can’t understand why Karen is gradually becoming more withdrawn and unhappy. She won’t, or can’t tell him what the problem is and soon their marriage begins to feel the strain. One of them is not being honest. One of them has a dark secret, and soon Karen and Tristan face a difficult question. Is their love strong enough to face the truth when the truth might cost them everything?

I wanted to set the novel in Cornwall as I was in the process of moving there. And the lonely rugged coast helped me to visualise Karen, and watching the TV series Doc Martin made me want to make my hero a doctor. Don’t worry, Tristan doesn’t look or behave like Doc Martin at all of course! It was just the idea of a doctor living and working in a small Cornish village that I liked. I am also in love with the sea. My dream from being very small was to move to Cornwall particularly the north coast and I am overjoyed to have realised it. Just the sight and smell of the sea lifts my spirits and inspires me.

The deserts of Arizona inspired me to write Dancing in the Rain my other new novel. (ebook only) The beauty of Monument Valley completely blew me away and I returned another three times over the years. Traditionally, Native American culture is against harming the environment and being a one with nature. That sparked the first idea for my novel, and then the petroglyphs (ancient rock art) around the area and the history associated with the people who had created it gave me the next. Then as I travelled, one by one the ideas came. And soon Jacob Weston was born. It has been a long road to publication for this one, but I always believed the day would come.

Titles

I often get the whole story from a title. I can’t actually put finger to keyboard if I don’t have one. I think of a title, something catchy or familiar like ‘a stitch in time’ for example, and then I build the story around that. Somewhere Beyond the Sea was a combination of being by the sea and Doc Martin as mentioned above and the need for a catchy title. The old Bobby Darin song was perfect. Sometimes I really don’t know where I get ideas from. They just kind of pop up. The inspiration for Summer in Tintagel, my current work in progress came from a walk along the cliff tops. As I stood on the edge looking onto the rocks I thought how easy it would be to step off and end it all … if a person was so inclined. I’m not, in case you were wondering! Then it kind of came to me from there. I visited Tintagel Castle last month and thought that it was the perfect setting for a novel – full of history and mystery.

Thank you so much for letting me waffle on, Amanda. It was fun.

Thank you Amanda – it’s always fascinating to find out where authors get their inspiration. I can’t wait to read the sequel to A Stitch In Time later in the year!

You can find out more about all of the books mentioned here at: http://www.choc-lit.com/productcat/amanda-james/

Read Amanda’s blog at:  http://mandykjameswrites.blogspot.com/

Follow Amanda on Twitter:

I’m delighted to be taking part in the fantastic transatlantic blog tour for Jennifer E Smith’s new novel, The Geography of You and Me. In the novel Owen and Lucy exchange postcards across the ocean so this week on the blog tour, we are exchanging reviews! You’ll find Katie from Mundie Moms review below and my review will be over on the Mundie Moms blog today!

Lucy lives on the twenty-fourth floor. Owen lives in the basement. It’s fitting, then, that they meet in the middle — stuck between two floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they’re rescued, Lucy and Owen spend the night wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is back, so is reality. Lucy soon moves abroad with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

The brief time they spend together leaves a mark. And as their lives take them to Edinburgh and to San Francisco, to Prague and to Portland, Lucy and Owen stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and phone calls. But can they — despite the odds — find a way to reunite?

What’s not to love about a love story that starts out with two complete strangers meeting in a darkened, stuck elevator/lift in the middle of a power outage in New York City. This was only the beginning of Lucy and Owen’s relationship that spans various states, a few countries, and countless post cards and emails. This is one sweet, highly addictive love story I absolutely enjoyed reading. Not only is the relationship Lucy and Owen a realistic one, but the characters themselves felt real.

I love it when an author introduces me to their imperfect characters. Not only does this make me root for them, it makes the characters relatable on some level. Lucy and Owen were easy for me to love. Their first meeting could have easily turned into a disaster. I mean imagine yourself stuff in a life/elevator with a cute, complete stranger. Not only are you dangling in a stuck life/elevator, it’s pitch black and hot in there. I would like to think I would have stayed as calm and collective as Lucy and Owen did. Instead of freaking out, these two talked. Once out of their predicament, instead of going their separate ways, these two shared a memorable night on the roof of their apartment building talking, and forming a bound that span months, and countless miles.

Both Lucy and Owen have family struggles, and issues that they each cope with and try and work through as the story goes on. Lucy is sixteen year old who has a heart of gold, and huge dreams to travel over seas, like her parents. Often left alone in the swanky NYC apartment she used to share with her now college bound brothers, she’s now by herself when her parents are jet setting around Europe. I really connected with Lucy on an emotional level. She’s this fearless, brave girl who won’t let anything stand in the way of her dreams. She doesn’t let her loneliness consume her, though my heart did break for her.

Owen himself is a character who’s dwelt with his own share of unfairness in life. With dreams of his own to make it to college, Owen finds himself uprooted and caring for a father who’s still grieving over the loss of Owen’s mom. Not only does this take a toll on the relationship Owen has with his father, it starts to take a toll on him. Owen is just a strong, and resistant seventeen year old. It was incredibly easy for me to fall in love with his character.

Smith had me rooting for him and Lucy both individually and together. I loved how Lucy and Owen’s relationships played out. Each has their own struggles, both of them move, Owen within the states, and Lucy over seas, and then there’s that complicated thing with are they in a relationship, or aren’t they. It’s during this journey that Smith really hooks me with her story. Owen and Lucy’s story was addicting. I loved reading about them, and their learning to navigate their own ways through life, and accept things for what they were. They learned to love, move on from it, accept it for what it was, and fight for that love. All the while doing this, they learn and grow so much individually, and within their family structures. Their relationship is one that plays out in post cards, and emails from NYC, to Chicago, San Fransisco, Seattle, London, Edinburgh, and back to NYC.

I adore Jennifer E. Smith and her writing style. Her YA contemporary love stories are some of my favorites. Her characters and stories are written in a realistic way, and I love how real they each feel. This story is just as lovely as This is What Happy Looks Like and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. If you haven’t yet picked up one of these books, I highly recommend that you do.

Thanks Katie! You can read more of Katie’s reviews at: http://mundiemoms.blogspot.co.uk/ and follow her on Twitter

 Please do check out the other stops on the tour and join in using the hashtag  on Twitter!

 

Regular readers of this blog will know how much I love books set by the sea. I’ve always had an ambition to learn to surf so I couldn’t resist adding this book to my wish list when I saw it on Twitter last week. Sounds fab doesn’t it and doesn’t this cover just make you feel summery?

Surfing is sixteen-year-old Iris’s world, and when the ultra-talented Zeke walks into her life, it soon becomes her passion. 

Over one amazing summer, as she is drawn into his sphere, she experiences love, new friendships, but also loss, with an intensity she never dreamed of. 

But is Zeke all he seems? What hides beneath his glamorous and mysterious past? When Iris decides to try for her own surfing success, just as her ex-boyfriend comes back into her life, she will test her talent, and her feelings for Zeke, to the limit…

Blue is released by Quercus on 29th May.

Find out more about the book and author Lisa Glass at: http://www.lisaglass.co.uk

Over the Easter weekend I caught up on some fab ebook short stories that I’d downloaded. I thoroughly enjoyed all of these and they made me feel truly spring-like

Finding Mr Rochester by Trisha Ashley

Budding author and die-hard Bronte fan Eleri Groves decides to escape from her disastrous love life to a remote farm cottage in Yorkshire.
Living in the land of the Brontes has got to be better than her life at home and she hopes that she’ll find some inspiration for her next book.
But what she doesn’t expect is to find her own Mr Rochester and much more than she bargained for …

I loved being whisked away to the Yorkshire Moors for this story of a novelist seeking inspiration. Eleri made me smile and is a lovely character and the romance in this story is spot on.

I’m a big fan of Trisha’s books but if you haven’t read one yet Finding Mr Rochester is the perfect place to start as it really shows the warmth and romance of her writing. The ebook also includes a preview of Trisha’s next novel, Every Woman For Herself which is out next month, and some delicious recipes from Trisha.

Find out more about Trisha and her novels at: http://trishaashley.com/

Ivy Lane: Spring by Cathy Bramley 

Friendship blossoms at Ivy Lane…

Tilly Parker needs a fresh start, fresh air and a fresh attitude if she is ever to leave the past behind and move on with her life. As she settles in to a new town seeking peace and solitude, taking on her own plot at Ivy Lane allotments seems like the perfect solution. But the vibrant, friendly Ivy Lane community has other ideas and endeavour to entice Tilly into seedling swaps and Easter egg hunts. Can Tilly let new friends into her life, or will she stay a wallflower for good?

Strictly speaking, this is the first quarter of a full length novel and not a short story but it reads perfectly well as a standalone story and I can’t wait to read the other parts as they are released. Cathy Bramley is a new author for me and after reading Ivy Lane: Spring, I can’t wait to read more from her.

I loved Tilly immediately; she’s such an honest and likeable character (despite trying to appear otherwise!) and I thoroughly enjoyed going along with her as she makes her new start. This story is filled with friendship, humour and genuinely loveable characters of all ages, shapes and sizes! I’ve never been a huge fan of gardening but Tilly’s allotment adventures might just make me reconsider. There’s a wonderful sense of community in this story and it really did capture the sense of spring and new beginnings so well. Hurry up July and part two!

Find out more about Cathy and her writing at: http://www.cathybramleyauthor.com/

The Three of Us by Cathy Woodman

Tessa and Jack live at the animal sanctuary in Talyton St George. They had been friends for years, but it wasn’t until Jack interrupted Tessa’s wedding that she discovered his feelings for her were stronger than she ever knew

Now, a year on, they could not be happier. And when Tessa discovers she’s pregnant, it’s as if all their dreams have come true.

But a scan shows that there are complications, and suddenly Tessa realises that Jack has always had doubts about having a baby. Supported throughout by Zara, the village midwife, Tessa and Jack have some tough decisions to make.

However, as the baby’s birth draws closer, Tessa and Jack grow further apart. Will he feel differently when the baby is born? Or will having her wonderful child mean losing the man of her dreams?

The Three of Us is set in the wonderful fictional Devonshire town of Taylton St George; home of Cathy’s seven previous novels and her new book, Follow Me Home which is out later this week. For those who haven’t read any of Cathy’s previous books this short story is a great introduction and introduces Zara, the village midwife whose story you is told in Follow Me Home. For fans of the series this short story also brings readers an update on Tessa and Jack from The Village Vet. 

I haven’t read The Village Vet but enjoyed this story as a standalone novella; it’s a gripping read as Tessa and Jack prepare for the birth of their first child and face some serious ups and downs. My heart went out to them both as I read. This story showcases Cathy’s gentle and sensitive writing style and the lovely world of Taylton St George. I’m really looking forward to reading Zara’s story now!

Find out more about Cathy and her books at: http://www.cathywoodmanbooks.com/

 

Fabulously funny debut author Tracy Bloom is stopping off at One More Page today on her blog tour for the brilliantly named, No-one Ever Has Sex on A Tuesday. The book is partly inspired by the incredible people and stories she came across at her own antenatal classes. Tracy lives in England and  is chuffed to bits to have her dream job, making people laugh and sometimes cry through her writing. Welcome Tracy!

When our son was born my husband jumped for joy at the prospect of buying yet more Lego to add to the collection that my mother-in-law had kindly passed onto us from their attic. Lego mania in our household hit new heights however when my husband discovered a Lego Design App that allowed him to draw and plan our entire house in Lego. He then bought even more bricks so he could build it in all its 3ft x 2ft glory.

His addiction passed onto our son who loves to build but who is also is mesmerised by Lego clips on YouTube. Some are hilarious involving animated figures with voiceovers from Eddie Izzard and some are so dull you wonder at the future of the human race as you watch grown men describe in detail the merits of the latest Star Wars kit.

These clips did however give me an idea as to how we could utilise our growing Lego mountain for my own gain. I wanted to do a trailer for my romantic comedy novel, NO-ONE EVER HAS SEX ON A TUESDAY, which was a no.1 ebook bestseller last year and launches into shops at the end of this month. Most book trailers are spectacularly uninspiring so I thought I’d do a funny one using Lego figures as the key characters. My husband set to work digging out the pieces I needed and I wrote a storyboard. By a stroke of luck an ex-colleague runs a video company and worked out how to do the animation. We then had a hilarious day filming particularly as we had to film a comedy sex scene! Different coloured heads were used with varying expressions!

The result is way beyond what I ever expected when I started and I’m so proud of it. I’ve also come to realise Lego has its uses apart from causing extreme pain when you step on it. My husband is also pleased his Lego house got a starring role and my son likes to see his Lego on film although he’s only allowed to see the version without the sex scene!

Thank you Tracy! Check out the fab book trailer that Tracy made below

Giveaway!

No-one Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday is published for the first time in paperback format on Thursday (24th April) and I have one brand new copy to give away to a lucky reader!

To enter this giveaway just leave a comment in the box below and I’ll draw a winner using Random.org after the closing date.

This giveaway is open to UK residents only and will close at midnight on Tuesday 29th April.

Good luck!