Category Archives: Novels

Amanda Sington-Williams, Blog Tour, Brook Cottage Books, Novel covers, Novels, Publishing

JUST TWO WEEKS ~ BLOG TOUR

February 11, 2015 Melanie 1 Comment

JUST TWO WEEKS

BY

AMANDA SINGTON-WILLIAMS

After being made redundant from a seemingly secure job Jolene Carr takes a two week break in the sun. On the first day she meets Raquel, another hotel guest. Little does she realise how this apparently innocent acquaintance will lead to terrible and lasting consequences. After a frightening incident she hits a conspiracy of silence from the locals and over the rest of the holiday she feels herself slipping into a vortex of fear. Back home, the nightmare continues and she realises that Raquel is stalking her. Her hippie mother and her partner Mark tell her she is imagining it all. All certainties, even about relationships, become fluid and treacherous as her past begins to unravel. If it wasn’t for Rob, her ex-lover who Jolene thinks has his own agenda, she would be left to cope on her own.

How much fear and betrayal can one person take?

**********

You’ve been published in short story and novel length fiction. Which do you prefer?

They are so different it is very difficult to say which I prefer. Both forms take me a long time and I find both very satisfactory. But I find the plotting and sub-plotting you get in a novel very challenging. But on the other hand a short story must be succinct and convey the narrative in limited time. Sorry I haven’t said which I prefer because I find the question hard to answer!

Do you have a favourite place to write?

Yes I do. I have desk which looks out onto our garden and all my books including my dictionary and Thesaurus are close to hand. This space is ‘mine’ and it is my favourite place to write always improved if our cat Molly is in a nearby chair peacefully snoring.
I love music especially jazz and go to as many concerts as I can. However when I am writing I prefer silence.

Do you like to listen to music or do you prefer complete silence?

see above

Does your family support you in your writing?

Absolutely. My husband is an artist so he need his own space too. Both my children are working overseas at the moment so we interact via skype but yes they are supportive inasmuch as children can be supportive of what their parents get up to!

**********

Author Bio

Amanda Sington-Williams’ first novel, The Eloquence of Desire was published by Sparkling Books in 2010 and has been translated into Turkish. She won an award for this novel in 2007 from the Royal Literary Fund. Since 2006 when she first started writing she has had many short stories published, including: Growing Pains by Bridgehouse Publishing, A Mother’s Love by Indigo Mosaic, Two Orchids by Sentinel Literary Quarterly. Unseasonable Weather by Dead Ink Press, The Woman at Number Six by Writing Raw, and many more.

Her second novel, Just Two Weeks is a psychological suspense and won the IPR Agents Pick in 2013.

website: www.amandasingtonwilliams.co.uk

blog: http://singtonwilliams.wordpress.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/SingtonWilliams

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amandainbrighton?fref=ts

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amanda-Sington-Williams-writer/298320619836

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3526510.Amanda_Sington_Williams

BUY LINKS

GIVEAWAY

The giveaway on this tour is an ecopy of the book. There are two copies to giveaway.

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Chris Longmuir, crime writer, Non-Fiction, Novels, Publishing, Scotland

Author Interview with Chris Longmuir, Scottish Crime Writer

February 7, 2015 Melanie 6 Comments

It’s my pleasure to welcome Scottish Crime Writer, and my friend, Chris Longmuir to Celtic Connexions. I can’t wait to find up what you’re working on now. So, shall we get started?

You’re working on another historic crime novel in the Kirsty Campbell series. What is the title? Can you tell us what this book is about?

I’m keeping the title under wraps at the moment, it’s quite distinctive, and I hope unusual, so I’d hate to see it on another book!

The novel is a murder mystery, of course, with a spying sub plot. It’s historical, set during the First World War, so I have a cast of characters that includes women police, a Belgian refugee, munitionettes, Irish revolutionaries, MI5 agents, I even give a walk-on part to the Prime Minister of the time, Lloyd George.

It starts off with the Silvertown explosion in January 1917. This is based on an actual event, the explosion of the munitions factory in Silvertown. It was catastrophic and destroyed most of the area (70,000 properties were destroyed or damaged), with the effects felt miles away, there was even damage across the river on the Greenwich peninsula where a gasometer was blown up creating a massive fireball. This is the area where the Millennium dome is situated. The Silvertown explosion was an accident, although in my book it is something much more suspect, and sets the scene for a spy chase which leads us to Gretna Munitions Factory on the border of Scotland and England.

The Death Game was set in 1919 after the Great War. This book is set in 1917 during the action. Would you consider it to be the prequel to The Death Game?

That was certainly my intention when I started this book because it was intended to be a Kirsty Campbell novel. However, my characters often have different ideas to the ones I plan for them, and at the moment, my Belgian refugee, Beatrice Jacobs, is jostling for the top spot. She is a very interesting character, and I think I may give double billing to Beatrice and Kirsty. I will just have to see where they lead me.

What motivated you to depart from your contemporary Dundee Crime Series to historical crime?

I actually wrote The Death Game before I started the Dundee Crime Series, but I had an unfortunate experience with a publisher who contracted it. The publisher made so many demands for changes that the book became almost unrecognisable as the one I’d written. And, of course, as a new writer at the time I was anxious to please and thought they knew what they were talking about. So, I made the changes they requested, and in the process destroyed the book! When I came to my senses I did my best to get out of the contract, which fortunately had an expiry date, and put the book in the bottom drawer where it languished while I wrote the Dundee Crime Series. That series has proved to be very popular with readers, but I always had a niggle at the back of my mind about the Death Game which I had so successfully destroyed.

I decided to resurrect The Death Game, but because it was in no fit state to be read by anyone following the editing changes I decided to rewrite it from the beginning rather than mess about with it again. The book is now how I wanted it to be, but the style is different to that of the Dundee Crime Series, which is multi-viewpoint. The Death Game is much more focused on Kirsty, but my new Kirsty book, the one I talked about earlier, is more like the Dundee Crime Series in style, because it is also multi-viewpoint. But that is simply the result of my writing style having changed as I became a more experienced writer.

Will there be more books in your Dundee Crime Series starring DS Bill Murphy?

Yes, there will be more of the Dundee Crime Series, DS Bill Murphy would start to feel neglected if I didn’t pay him some attention. However, the conundrum will be, how I divide my time between DS Bill Murphy, and Kirsty Campbell.

You published a non-fiction book last year based on the blog posts you wrote as part of the Edinburgh e-book Festival. Can you tell us about it?

I did indeed. It’s called Crime Fiction and the Indie Contribution. It’s a study of independent publishing, and the focus is on ebooks and the independent authors known as Indies, who write them. I examine all aspects of publishing and make comparisons between the traditional and the independent models, pointing out the pros and cons of each. In conjunction with this I look at crime fiction, how it has developed over the years, and all the different subgenres. One thing I found out while doing this, is that what we in Britain refer to as crime novels, are more commonly seen as thrillers in the US and Canada.

I include discussions of 71 books written by indie authors or published by indie publishers in order to assess whether they meet the standards we expect from traditionally published books, and I read every single one of those books. These books were by authors unknown to me, and the book includes authors who probably have no idea I’ve included their books.

Writing this book was completely accidental. I did a series of posts for the Edinburgh Ebook Festival in 2013 – I was the Writer in Residence for the festival that year – and a lot of people followed the posts. However, after the festival finished, the posts were no longer available online, and readers were looking for them. It was a fellow writer who suggested I take the posts and make them into a book. Great idea, I thought, the posts were already written, so it shouldn’t take long! Well, you’ve heard the saying “Famous last words”, that could quite easily have been attached to those thoughts of mine. For a start, the posts were far too bloggy for a nonfiction book, so they had to be rewritten. Still, the information was there, so that wasn’t too onerous. But the main problem was that there just weren’t enough words for a whole book. So that meant a lot more research, extra sections added, and a lot more reading of indie novels. Anyway, I won’t go into details, but the end result was excellent, and I was pleased with it. The people who have read it have been very complimentary, even going as far as to saying it should be compulsory reading for anyone who writes, or wants to be a writer.

I know it’s still early days, but have you noticed a significant change in your sales since the changes to the EU VAT rules?

I’ve done a couple of blogs about these rules. I did one aimed at readers for my own blog, here is the link to ‘Paying More for your Digital Downloads? Here’s Why’. (Editor’s. note: I re-blogged this last Saturday.) The other one I did was for writers and it’s posted on the Authors Electric Blog site, and here’s the link to ‘EU VAT Changes Are Doing my Head In’.

These new rules have created havoc within the writing community, particularly for those authors who want to sell directly to readers through their websites. But apart from that, it’s pushed the prices of ebooks up in the UK and the EU countries. Where before, there was 3% VAT on ebooks (no VAT on printed books, they’re exempt), there is now 20% VAT on ebooks in the UK. That has had the result of pushing prices up for readers, and I think that is totally unfair considering the exempt status of print books.

I did worry that readers would think that we, the authors, were putting our prices up, when in fact it had nothing to do with us. However, because ebooks are relatively cheap in comparison to print books, the price rise is not extortionate. I think it’s added about 60 pence onto the price of each of my books. I know that some authors are saying their sales have gone down since the introduction of this tax, but I must say it doesn’t seem to have had any effect on my sales. I think that if a reader likes the way you write, and likes your books, they will still buy them. I know that if I want a particular author’s books, it wouldn’t make any difference to me.

However, I’m really sorry that readers are having to pay more, and I can only hope it doesn’t stop them buying books from their favourite authors, or those authors who have been recommended to them by other readers.

* * *

Thank you for inviting me onto your blog, Melanie. I’ve enjoyed the interview, and if any of your readers want to ask me anything, feel free. Your readers can also contact me through the contact page in my web site, and if they do, I promise to reply in an email.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, Chris. I’ve enjoyed our visit as I’m sure everyone who stops by Celtic Connexions has, too.

***

You can follow Chris and find her books at the following links:

Website: http://www.chrislongmuir.co.uk/

Blog: http://chrislongmuir.blogspot.co.uk/

Amazon UK: http://ow.ly/GeM1w

Amazon US: http://ow.ly/GeM9R

Apple iBooks UK: http://ow.ly/GeKOr

Apple iBooks US: http://ow.ly/GeKUi

Kobo: http://ow.ly/GJGy5

B&N Nook: http://ow.ly/GeL0D

Nook UK: http://ow.ly/GJGRt

Book Tour, Brook Cottage Books, Novels, Tilly Tennant

THE MAN WHO CAN’T BE MOVED ~ Blog Tour

February 2, 2015 Melanie 1 Comment

The Man Who Can’t Be Moved

by

Tilly Tennant

Fledgling journalist Ellie Newton is keen to prove herself when she lands a hard-won job at the Millrise Echo. So when reports come in of a man camped on the corner of a local street, refusing to move until the girl who has jilted him takes him back, Ellie is on a mission to get the scoop.

She arrives to meet Ben Kelly, a man she is instantly attracted to. But she has a job to do and an incredible story to write and has soon pledged to help him win back the girl of his dreams. With Ellie’s help, Ben’s plight captures the hearts and imaginations of the public. And when a TV film crew appears to make a feature on the most romantic gesture the town of Millrise has ever seen, Ellie’s mission gets its happy ending…

But while Ellie has been busy fixing the lives of her wayward parents, providing shoulders for heartbroken friends to cry on, and worrying about her terminally-ill aunt, she hasn’t noticed that she has also been falling quietly in love – with the very man she has now ensured is hopelessly out of her reach

Ellie must choose between doing the right thing, and the thing that feels right. And whatever choice she makes, someone will get their heart broken.

BUY LINKS

AMAZON.COM

AMAZON UK

*********

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always loved to invent stories so it seemed only natural that I would start writing them down. Ever since I can remember I had wanted to write a book, and I had even tried a few times but never got past the first few chapters. It wasn’t until I got to university as a mature student in 2006 that I finally finished one. After that I got the bug and wanted to write all the time!

How long did it take you to write The Man Who Can’t Be Moved?

It took a lot longer than any book I’ve written before! The initial draft was quick, probably around two months, but then I spent another ten months with my agent doing edits and rewrites before we cracked the story. I don’t think the edits on a book have ever taken us that long before but there just seemed so much to work out on this one. My agent always wants the books she works on with her authors to be as perfect as they can be so she does crack the whip, but in a good way!

In addition to working as a freelance editor, do you work at any other job(s)?

I do also do secretarial work and I submit copy to commercial websites. Income from book sales alone is notoriously unreliable so I like to keep other avenues open to help me make ends meet when things are slow. It’s good to have other aspects to your working life too; it gives you lots of material to put into your stories. When colleagues read my books they’re always asking whether I’ve sneaked them in somewhere as a character. Lots of conversations I have with them certainly do find their way in!

Has your family (parents, siblings, spouse (if applicable)) been supportive of your dream to write?

My mum is incredibly proud, of course, and my brothers are great. Same goes for my husband, although I have to say that my daughters, aged thirteen and eleven, are actually the most excited about what I do. They’ll always listen and offer their opinions when I’m discussing a plot or a character, where people with less time might have other things on their mind – like gas bills and what’s for tea! They’re both really keen to write their own stories and read books too and I love the idea that I might have influenced that in some small way.

**********

About Tilly Tennant

Tilly Tennant was born in Dorset, the oldest of four children, but now lives in Staffordshire with a family of her own. After years of dismal and disastrous jobs, including paper plate stacking, shop girl, newspaper promotions and waitressing (she never could carry a bowl of soup without spilling a bit), she decided to indulge her passion for the written word by embarking on a degree in English and creative writing, graduating in 2009 with first class honours. She wrote her first novel in 2007 during her first summer break at university and has not stopped writing since. She also works as a freelance fiction editor, and considers herself very lucky that this enables her to read many wonderful books before the rest of the world gets them.

https://www.facebook.com/TillyTennant?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/TillyTenWriter

www.tillytennant.com

Tour Giveaway

1^st Prize – ecopy or paperback of book plus £10 Amazon Voucher

2^nd Prize – ecopy or paperback copy of book

Open Internationally

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Authors, bagpipes, bashit neeps, Book covers, champit tatties, haggis, Janice Horton, novella, Novels, online party, readers, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Robbie Burns, Scotland, soup, Writing

Robbie Burns Night with Janice Horton

January 25, 2015 Melanie 21 Comments

Robbie Burns Night Celebrations with Janice Horton

Robbie Burns

I’m so glad you were able to work me into your busy schedule, Janice. You’ve been snap-gapping all over the place of late so I’m thrilled to have you here at Celtic Connexions. You’re looking very “Scottish” today, all decked out in your tartan.

I take it you’re ready for a good old-fashioned ceilidh – Canadian style.

Here, come sit by the fire take the chill off (escorts my esteemed guest to one of the tartan wing-back chairs facing the crackling fire ).

I’ll summon my manservant, Donald (the Red) , to bring us some refreshments. Would you care for a wee dram? Perhaps Glengoyne – Scotland’s only un-peated single malt? (rings bell and gives manservant instructions)

I think you’ll like what I have in store for you at the ceilidh tonight. I tried to get the Old Blind Dogs but they weren’t available. That’s okay as I do have a vast collection of Scottish music on CDs – Old Blind Dogs, The Corries, Runrig and the list goes on.

(swish of swinging door as the manservant returns with a tray carrying a decanter of whisky – 18 year old Glenlivet no less, two glasses and water). “Your whisky, my lady,” he says as he places it on the table.

“Thank you.”

As the manservant straightens to leave, I cry out… “Donald, where’s your trousers?” because so unlike him, he’s wearing a kilt!

Overcome by the shock of seeing him dressed in that fashion, it takes me a moment to regain my composure. (fans self with copy of Leopard Magazine).

Well, while we wait for our meal to be ready, Janice, let’s chat about your novel. I’m really interested to find out more about it and your creative process. You spent three months on the Island of Utila researching and writing Castaway in the Caribbean. Can you tell me more?

Yes, I had the most amazing time in 2014 visiting, researching and writing in the Caribbean. While there I spent a lot of time in boats (as one features in my new novel) and even got to sail off Tortola in the British Virgin Islands in a schooner used in the making of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie! After visiting lots of islands, my husband and I settled down to island life for a stay of three months on Utila, a tiny Caribbean island off mainland Honduras. This is where I wrote the first draft of ‘Castaway in the Caribbean’.

When do you expect to release it?

April 2015. I have promotional online book tours organised for April and May.

What made you choose that title?

I feel the title suits the story line perfectly. The premise of the book is that the two main characters, a surly boat captain who hates tourists and a girl holidaying in the Caribbean who desperately needs to get to a neighbouring island, end up castaway together on a remote island. It’s a fun, fast paced romantic adventure novel that I hope will be the perfect beach read for 2015!

The manservant returns and tells us that dinner is served… so we pick up our drinks and at the first skirl of the pipes, wait for him to enter the room and we get piped in to the formal dining room (I wish I had one of them, too) to the strains of The Bonnie Lass of Fyvie for a traditional Robbie Burns feast.

Once everyone is around the table, we begin with The Selkirk Grace.

Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit.

Our first course is Cock-a-leekie soup.

Not strictly traditional as I don’t put prunes in it.

You mentioned (or did I pick up on it) something about the names of your characters. Was there a particular reason why you used those names? If so, can you share it?

I wrote the first draft with my husband’s name, Travis, as the romantic hero’s name and the heroine of the story is called Janey (which is kind of like my name, Janice). I fully intended on changing the names in the second draft but for some reason ended up not doing so. The characters of Castaway in the Caribbean are Travis and Janey in their own right – they are not meant to be me and my husband – and the story is definitely a work of fiction!

The soup course is cleared away and the skirl of the pipes begins again. The door opens and the haggis is brought into the room with great pomp and circumstance.

Address to the Haggis

We’ll have a bit of a musical interlude courtesy of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers before we carry on with the rest of the evening’s festivities.

What’s your next project? Do you have another novel started?

I have a few ideas in mind for new projects. I’m travelling again this year and I’d like to continue the theme of writing romantic adventure novels set in places that inspire me.

Now that we’ve talked about your WIP (work in progress for those not accustomed to author-speak and abbreviations), tell us more about you and how the readers of Celtic Connexions can follow you?

Thank you, Melanie. I really enjoy connecting with people. I’m a keen blogger. I’m always on Facebook and I love to Twitter too. So here’s my links:

My Author Blog

Follow me on Twitter: @JaniceHorton

Friend me on Facebook Page

Link to my Amazon Author Page

Check out my page on Goodreads

My LLm Bookshelf

Associate Editor at: Loveahappyending Lifestyle Mag

Janice Horton writes contemporary romantic fiction with a dash of humour and a sense of adventure. Look out for Janice’s new release for 2015 ‘Castaway in the Caribbean’

and her Amazon Kindle bestselling books ‘Bagpipes and Bullshot‘

and ‘Reaching for the Stars‘

and her fun ‘Voodoo Romance’ series of novellas.

Her nonfiction guide to online promotion ‘How To Party Online‘

is recommended reading for all authors and writers by publishers. Janice is a regular blogger from her website at janicehorton.co.uk and you’ll also find her on Facebook and Twitter. She is also associate editor at the award winning online magazine Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine where she produces her monthly ‘The Bookshelf’ feature and her seasonal ‘Snap Gap Travel’ features.

Thank you so much for coming to my “un”conventional Robbie Burns Night. I hope you won’t have a sair heid tomorrow. I see the chairs have been rearranged in the front room so shall we move the party in there and let the ceilidh begin?

Gay Gordons, anyone?

4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, Novels, settings, Shadows from Her Past, Weetshill mansion, Writing

Will the real Weetshill mansion please stand up?

January 22, 2015 Melanie 11 Comments

Yes, Virginia, there really is a Weetshill mansion…

and here’s the photographic evidence of its existence.

From the first time I saw this derelict mansion in October 1993, I was head over heels in love with it. I mean, just look at it. Despite the fact that there are no windows, floors, no roof and there are good sized trees growing within the confines of the stone walls, you can easily see what it would have looked like in the past.

This beautiful, yet haunting pile, is located in the heart of rural Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Whether it’s inhabited by ghosts or not, the image conjures up all sorts of tales (leastways I think so).

And quite like my heroine, Sarah Shand, in A Shadow in the Past, I’m drawn to this place. Perhaps that’s why she says someday I’m going to live there.

This photo was taken from a different angle in 1997 and with a better camera lens. You can really see how much nature has reclaimed since the photo above taken in 1993.

And before you ask… it IS visible from the stone circle at Gordonsfield farm!

While I envision a different outcome for this grand place (I always thought B&B or hotel), it will live again. The mansion proper – at last word – will be converted to luxury flats. But then that’s economy permitting.

As you can see from this photo taken in 2013, the work has begun. The trees growing up within the walls have been removed, although it appears that they’re growing back. Pesky things.

While I’ve never had the ability to purchase said mansion, I hope I’ve let it live on in some way by including it in my novels… yup, it appears in the second book in the series, working title Shadows From Her Past.

Do you use actual locations, buildings and such in your writing? Please share in the comments.

Accent Press, Book Launch, Gilli Allan, Novels, Publishing, Writing

Gilli Allan ~ her author’s journey

January 18, 2015 Melanie 20 Comments

Today I’m welcoming English author, Gilli Allan, to Celtic Connexions. I’ve asked her to share her author’s journey on her way to a 3-book contract with Accent Press.

But first, a little about the first book in the deal – Torn.

Blurb:

Jess has made a series of bad life choices and all have let her down.
Escaping London, she sets out to recreate herself in the idyllic countryside, and this time she wants to get it right!
She wants to lead a responsible, tranquil life with her young son Rory, but soon discovers stresses which pull her in opposing directions – conflict over a new bypass, between friends, and worst of all, between lovers.

Educated, experienced, and pragmatic, James is a widowed farmer whose opinions differ from, and enrage, Jess. His young shepherd, Danny, is an uneducated and inexperienced idealist. Jess is attracted to them both, and realizes if she wants her idyllic countryside life to survive, she must choose her Mr Right.

You can buy Torn at amazon.co.uk and other amazon sites.

~~~~~~~~~~

‘Art’ was where I was headed in life. This was the accepted wisdom in my family, despite the fact that my primary hobby, when growing up, was writing. When I started Art College at sixteen, I stopped writing altogether. I’d outgrown all that soppy stuff.

After some years of working in advertising I married. It was feasible to continue working from home as a free-lance artist after my son was born, but it would have been difficult. We lived outside London, and this was before email, even before PCs. What else could I do? I took up writing again, but this time with the serious intention of being published. And that first manuscript, parcelled up with brown paper and string, return postage inside, was taken on by a new publisher almost immediately. My second swiftly followed.

My publisher, Love Stories, was trying to fill a niche for unconventional women’s fiction – love without the rose tinted glasses – characterised by the Press at the time as, “The thinking woman’s Mills & Boon”. But this ambition failed – thwarted by distribution and marketing problems. In those days, if books didn’t make it onto the high street, they couldn’t be bought. I never felt the failure of ‘Love Stories’ as anything to do with me. I had no doubt I would soon find another publisher and began sending out my next, heavy typescript when it was completed. But, after an interval of months, back it would come, with less than fifty pages, thumbed.

After joining the RNA I refined this procedure. I now knew that publishers only wanted to see the first three chapters, and I began to make multiple submissions, but as before, back came the rejections. Instead of writing a new book, I spent much of my life – between these ‘submission episodes’- editing and re-editing the whole of the old one. Reinvigorated with optimism, “Surely this time…?”, I would then send my submissions – several in a batch – but now to literary agents. I’d eventually learned that publishers preferred not to receive material direct from wannabes. They wanted the wheat pre-sorted from the chaff. Unfortunately, I was chaff. Gradually I’d absorb the message that my book was a ‘dead horse’ (apologies for mixed metaphors) and stop flogging it!

There were times when agents expressed interest. For brief periods my self-belief revived a little. Maybe I wasn’t a self-deluded idiot. But when those agents also failed to find a publisher, their attitude towards me and my books changed, and I was on my own again.

It was the E revolution that seemed to throw me a life-line, but even self-publishing didn’t provide the complete answer. The effort needed to raise the visibility of one book above the growing sea of others, is daunting. E-publishing certainly made me savvier about social networking, and helped to establish a Gilli Allan profile, but although I was selling some books, and was rewarded with glowing reviews, I wasn’t selling in enough numbers to bother the taxman.

But… In my experience, when things happen, they happen quickly! I attended the RNA conference in July 2014. There I talked to Hazel Cushion, founder of Accent Press, and told her a little of my history. No more than a matter of weeks later Accent Press had contracted to publish my 3 ‘Indie’ books. TORN came out in December; LIFE CLASS and FLY OR FALL are due out later this year. Although I know it’s true, I can scarcely believe it. The hoopla of Christmas between then and now has added to my sense of suspended reality, and the fact that I am, again, an author with a mainstream publisher, has yet to sink in. I’m now waiting to be hailed an over-night success!

~~~~~~~~~~

About Gilli:

Gilli Allan started to write in childhood, a hobby only abandoned when real life supplanted the fiction. Gilli didn’t go to Oxford or Cambridge but, after just enough exam passes to squeak in, she attended Croydon Art College.

She didn’t work on any of the broadsheets, in publishing or television. Instead she was a shop assistant, a beauty consultant and a barmaid before landing her dream job as an illustrator in advertising. It was only when she was at home with her young son that Gilli began writing seriously. Her first two novels were quickly published but when her publisher ceased to trade, Gilli went independent.

Over the years, Gilli has been a school governor, a contributor to local newspapers, and a driving force behind the community shop in her Gloucestershire village. Still a keen artist, she designs Christmas cards and has begun book illustration. Gilli is particularly delighted to have recently gained a new mainstream publisher – Accent Press. TORN is the first book to be published in the three book deal.

You can connect with Gilli at these links:

Twitter: (@gilliallan)
Facebook: Gilli Allan Author
and her blog Writer cramped

Thanks for stopping by today, Gilli and telling us about your author’s journey. I wish you huge successes with Torn and all of your books – written or still waiting for you to put ‘pen to paper’ so to speak.

haunted houses, Hogmanay, New Year, Niagara Falls, Novels, Paris, Quebec City, Shadows from Her Past, Tradition, Travel, Writing

Saying goodbye to 2014

December 31, 2014 Melanie 4 Comments

And to all my Scottish friends and family…

Happy Hogmanay!

I’d share the wordpress helper monkeys stats for my blog here for 2014 but since I went most of the unable to connect to Jetpack, it hardly seems worthwhile. Besides, I have some other things I’d rather share about this past year and not the cheesy thing that Facebook puts together.

So, here we go! Fasten your seatbelts, we’re ready for takeoff!

April, Easter to be exact, my husband and I spent 10 days in beautiful, romantic Paris.

april 2014 — Don and me at the Arc de Triomphe

at the trocadero — “Able” and me at the Trocadéro

Then in September, another romantic destination was on the cards – Niagara Falls, Ontario. Okay, there are the tatty, touristy places but overall, it’s a lovely place.

Niagara 2014 — Horseshoe (Canadian) falls at night

While we were here, we decided to take a horse-drawn carriage ride. We’d seem them on previous trips and have always wanted to do it…

… so we did.

We even did a wine tour while we were in the region and came home with at least 4 bottles of wine – including a couple icewines!

2014 — Don and me wearing our silly hats before our wine tour – photo by Grape and Wine tours

Before the year was out, we spent a week in Quebec City. It was close enough to Christmas that the decorations were in the process of being put up. In hindsight, second week of December might be a better time to visit this beautiful city so that the baubles and lights and everything are in place.

And again, we did a horse-drawn carriage ride. Our driver, Philippe, was amazing and made the ride extremely fun.

Quebec 2014 — in front of the Chateau Frontenac

No trip to Quebec City would be complete without a short drive further east to see my ‘haunted’ house which is between Quebec City and Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.

Sadly it’s more run down since the last time I was down in this part of Canada but it’s beautiful nonetheless. And doesn’t being in a state of disrepair add to the mystery and the possibility of it being home to ghosts?

And when we weren’t gallivanting here, there and everywhere, I managed to write over 74,000 words in one of my works in progress (the first draft of the sequel to my debut novel)! While it was with my beta readers, I plotted and started another project and have some cracking ideas for even more writing projects.

So before I get all sappy and sentimental, I’ll finish this post with a little Auld Lang Syne.

SHOULD auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

Chorus.—For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint stowp!
And surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak a cup o’kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
For auld, &c.

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wander’d mony a
weary fit,
Sin’ auld lang syne.
For auld, &c.

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin’ auld lang syne.
For auld, &c.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fere!
And gie’s a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right gude-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.
For auld, &c.

Robert Burns

What will you do to see out 2014 and see in 2015? Any traditions you take part in?

Blog Tour, Janet K Brown, Novels, Pen-L Publishing

WORTH HER WEIGHT by Janet K. Brown plus recipe!

December 12, 2014 Melanie 2 Comments

WORTH HER WEIGHT

How can a woman who gives to everyone but herself accept God’s love and healing when she believes she’s fat, unworthy, and unfixable? Can she be Worth Her Weight?

LACEY CHANDLER helps her mother, her sister, her friend, and then she binges on food and wonders is there really a God?

BETTY CHANDLER hates being handicapped and useless, so she lashes out at the daughter that helps, and the God who doesn’t seem to care.

TOBY WHEELER loves being police chief in Wharton Rock, but when the devil invades the small town, he can’t release control.

Is God enough in Wharton Rock?

~~~~~~~~~~

PRE-ORDER DISCOUNT AVAILABLE NOW

This inspirational women’s fiction is available now for pre-order at http://www.pen-l.com/WorthHerWeight.html

Pen-L is offering a 10% discount if pre-ordered before Christmas. Since it will release on Dec. 16, in most cases, it can still be shipped and received in time for Christmas delivery.

~~~~~~~~~~

The recipe below might’ve been one enjoyed by the heroine of Worth Her Weight my inspirational women’s fiction. Lacey faces a food addiction that only God can heal. A good friend brings her a casserole, a salad, and a dessert, hoping it’s something Lacey might eat and stay healthy during a traumatic time in her life.

The reader will find those recipes at the end of the book.

Today, I’m offering Celtic Connexions’ viewers what might’ve been Lacey’s dessert for Christmas.

Turtle Pumpkin Pudding Pie

¼ cup plus 2Tbsp. sugar-free caramel ice cream topping, divided
½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. chopped pecan pieces, divided
2 packages (3.4 oz.) of light vanilla-flavored instant pudding
1 cup fat-free milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tub (8 oz) whipped topping, thawed

Pour ¼ c caramel topping into bottom of 9” pie pan.

Sprinkle ½ c pecan pieces on that.

Beat next 5 ingredients in large bowl with hand mixer.

Stir in 1½ cups of whipped topping into mixture.

Spread over pie pan (on top of caramel topping & pecans)

Refrigerate for an hour. Then, top with remaining whipped topping.

Before serving, drizzle other 2 T. caramel topping & 2 T. pecan pieces on top of pie.

10 Servings

You can add calories by using a crust of light honey graham crackers.

Enjoy without the high calorie content.

~~~~~~~~~~

About Janet K. Brown

Janet K. Brown lives in Wichita Falls, Texas with her husband, Charles. Writing became her second career after retirement from medical coding.

Worth Her Weight will be the author’s debut inspirational women’s fiction, but it makes a perfect companion to her recently released, Divine Dining: 365 Devotions to Guide You to Healthier Weight and Abundant Wellness. Both books encompass her passion for diet, fitness, and God’s Word.

Worth Her Weight marks Brown’s third book. Who knew she had a penchant for teens and ghosts? She released her debut novel, an inspirational young adult, Victoria and the Ghost, in July, 2012.

Janet and her husband love to travel with their RV, visit their three daughters, two sons-in-law and three perfect grandchildren, and work in their church.

Find her at her website: http://www.janetkbrown.com
on Twitter: @janetkbrowntx
and on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Janet-K-Brown-Author/143915285641707

Authors, cover reveal, David Burnett, Novels, Writing

TO FALL IN LOVE AGAIN by David Burnett ~ Cover Reveal

December 11, 2014 Melanie 2 Comments

Drew Nelson did not plan to talk with anyone that morning. He did not plan to make a new friend. He certainly did not plan to fall in love.

He resisted all of Amy’s attempts to draw him out− at the hotel, at the airport, on the airplane − giving hurried responses and burying his face in a pile of papers. It was only when the flight attendant offered coffee, and a muscle in Amy’s back twitched as she reached for it, and the cup tipped, and the hot liquid puddled in Drew’s lap that they began to talk.

Earlier in the year, each had lost a spouse of over thirty years. Drew’s wife had died of a brain tumor, Amy’s husband when his small airplane nose-dived to earth, the engine at full throttle − an accident, it was ruled.

They live in the same city. Both have grandchildren. They are about the same age. Consciously, or not, they both are looking to love again.

But relationships do not exist in vacuums. Drew is wealthy, and Amy is middle class. Amy is “new” in town – she and her husband moved to Charleston twenty-five years ago – while Drew’s family has lived there for three centuries. Drew lives below Broad, a code word for high society, old families, power, and money. Amy’s home is across the river.

Class warfare may be less violent than it was in the past, but when Drew invites Amy to the St Cecelia Ball, battle lines are drawn. In a city in which ancestry is important, the ball’s membership is passed from father to son, and only those from the oldest families attend.
Family, friends, co-workers all weigh in on their relationship and choose sides. Allies are found in unexpected places. Opposition comes from among those who were thought to be friends. Though they are gone, even their spouses − through things they have done and things they have said − wield influence in the conflict that follows.

Amy begins to suspect that Drew is one of them, the rich snobs who despise her, while Drew concludes that Amy neither trusts him nor cares for him. As each questions the other’s motives, their feelings for each other are tested, and Drew and Amy are challenged to consider if they truly want to fall in love again.

BUY LINKS

AMAZON UK

AMAZON US

About David Burnett

I live in Columbia South Carolina, with my wife and our blue-eyed cat, Bonnie. I enjoy traveling, photography, baking bread, and the Carolina beaches.

We have traveled widely in the United States and the United Kingdom. During one trip to Scotland, we visited Crathes Castle, the ancestral home of the Burnett family near Aberdeen.

My photographic subjects have been as varied as prehistoric ruins on the islands of Scotland, star trails, sea gulls, and a Native American powwow.

I went to school for longer than I want to admit, and I have graduate degrees in psychology and education. I was formerly director of research for our state education department.

We have two daughters and three grandchildren. To Fall in Love Again is my third novel.

http://davidburnett.yolasite.com

http://davidburnettsbooks.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Burnett-Author/447290468681693?ref=hl

Anneli Purchase, Book Spotlight, Love a Happy Ending Lifestyle magazine, Novels, Writing

Book Spotlight ~ The Wind Weeps by Anneli Purchase

December 7, 2014 Melanie 3 Comments

Imagine yourself newly wed to a handsome young fisherman who takes you to live in a remote cabin on the B.C. coast. How romantic! Or is it? Too late, you realize that you’ve made a bad choice. His behavior is more and more aggressive and bizarre. At first you’re nervous, then afraid, then terrified. At last, you fear for your life. There is no phone and he has control of the only radio, which is on his fishboat docked in front of the cabin. Even if you could access it, if he found out you had used it, you might not survive long enough to be rescued. Outside in the howling winter storms, the wind weeps, and so do you.

Here is an excerpt from my novel, The Wind Weeps. Robert has allowed Andrea to come along on a rare trip for groceries to a small general store on a nearby island.

***

We loaded up on groceries and it occurred to me that I might phone Monique from the store. Robert would never approve, but maybe while he was taking the first load of food down to the boat, I could make a quick call.

As soon as he stepped outside with the first of the boxes, I said, “I’ll be along in a minute. I want to have another look at the sewing things.” Then quickly I looked for the storekeeper to get his attention.

“Excuse me?” I called across the room to him. “Do you have a—”

I stopped mid-sentence as Robert stuck his head back in the door. He looked at me with a scowl and motioned with waves of his hand for me to continue the question.

“Ah, er, do you have a … washroom I could use, please?”

“Sure, right back here, miss.” He pointed down a dark hall. “On the right.”

By the time I got into the washroom my impromptu need to pee became real. I had so nearly been caught. Robert would have been furious to catch me reaching out to someone—anyone but him. And worse yet, he didn’t like Monique.

He always said, “What Monique needs is a man in her life to tell her what to do. Who does she think she is, doing whatever she pleases? I don’t like you hanging out with her. She’s a bad influence on you.” Why would I want to phone her? he would want to know.

Arranging to run away? A shiver of fear went through me. Was I really contemplating running away? Was it what I wanted? Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh yes!

I flushed the toilet, gave my hands a rinse and hurried out.

“Thank you,” I mumbled to the storekeeper. I picked up the remaining box of groceries and headed for the door. “Oh!” I stopped. “Is there any mail for me? Andrea Bolton?”

He shuffled through the letters he kept under the counter. “Yes, there is. It’s been here a while, but I hang onto letters longer than the post office says. I know people live far out and don’t get in here that often.”

“Very nice of you to do that.” I looked around the store. “Robert? Is he still here?”

“He’s gone.” I wondered later if he saw my shoulders sag with relief. I folded up the letter very small so it fit into my jacket pocket, out of sight.

“Oh, okay. Thanks. Well, Merry Christmas.”

I was rewarded with a warm smile. “And merry Christmas to you too. I hope it’s a good one for you.” I nodded. I hope so too. But chances are it’ll be just another day … if I’m lucky.

***

Review of The Wind Weeps

Elise and Hazel:

Loved it! Love the title! Loved the contents, as they kept us interested and engaged. Learned more about the lonely life of fisher people, and we revisited some of our personal dockside stories. The book touches on many topics most people will not talk about. It has some interesting dynamics with isolation. Why would the wind weep? There are a number of ways this is revealed. It makes us think that we all have stories that need to be written!

Make your next read, the Wind Weeps.

***

You can order this book as a paperback or as an e-book at smashwords.com and all amazon outlets. Click on the links for more information.

Please visit my webpage at anneli-purchase.com or my blogs at http://wordsfromanneli.wordpress.com and http://annelisplace.wordpress.com

The perfect Christmas gift idea! Choose from three of my novels: The Wind Weeps, Orion’s Gift, or Julia’s Violinist.