LITTLE KITTY THE CAT BURGLAR by Caterina Longtail #Alzheimer’s #giveaway

Caterina Longtail

Little Kitty the Cat Burglar

by

Caterina Longtail

Caterina Longtail

Genre: Children’s Fiction

Release Date: 5th September 2015

Little Kitty wouldn’t exactly call herself a cat burglar. She just likes to bring back the occasional gift for her humans… A lovely story for younger readers and adults alike – perfect for reading together. Beautifully illustrated by Catie Atkinson and designed by Rachel Lawston.

WHATS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE BOOK?

The book was written by a group of authors who donated their time free of charge. Each author wrote a chapter of the book. 100% proceeds of the sale of the book are donated to Alzheimer’s Research UK. The authors are: Suzan Collins, Tottie Limejuice, Jo Wilde, JB Johnston, Lucy Rayner, Ros Lyons, Ann Bowyer and Tracy Terry. Together, they became known as Caterina Longtail! The book was edited by Jaine Keskeys.

ABOUT ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH UK

Caterina Longtail

Check out Alzheimer’s Research UK http://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/

‘We are the UK’s leading research charity aiming to defeat dementia. We power world class studies that give us the best chance of beating dementia sooner.

Our pioneering work focuses on prevention, treatment and cure. We are energising a movement across society to support, fund and take part in dementia research. We aim to empower people across all generations through greater understanding of dementia. Together we have the power to defeat dementia.’

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, but there are other types of dementia too. It is possible to have more than one type of dementia at the same time. Alzheimer’s is sometimes seen with vascular dementia or dementia with Lewy bodies. You might hear this called ‘mixed dementia’. (all info taken from Alzheimer’s Research UK website)

 

GIVEAWAY

A paperback copy of the book

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CHANCES ARE by Wendy Lou Jones #excerpt #guestpost #giveaway

Wendy Lou Jones

Chances Are

by

Wendy Lou Jones

 

Wendy Lou Jones

Contemporary romantic fiction
Release Date: 27th June 2016

Luke is the man with the money, the fast car and the hot woman. There’s no way he would even think about getting serious, but a face he can’t remember soon threatens his calm.
Rebecca isn’t interested in a relationship, and definitely not with him. How could she, after all he put her through? She’s spent the last 4 years hiding away from society, a one-woman crusade for children’s road safety. Who would have thought one fateful day, it might almost be her … again.
As two worlds collide, will opposites attract?
Not if she can help it.

EXTRACT

Close up, she was like a porcelain doll, fragile and poised. Her skin was nearly as pale as her hair. Only her lips, with their deep pomegranate flush and those denim blue eyes brought life to an otherwise frosty palette and that dazzled him.
She seemed so together now, quite a different woman from the one he had witnessed before. He tried to think of a reason to speak to her, but nothing would come to mind. She paid for her milk and butter and glanced sideways at him, so cool and detached in his presence, and then she left the shop.
Luke placed his tin on the counter and chased after her. The lady behind the till called out to him as he sprinted away, but he ignored her. He needed to speak to the woman.
He caught up with her in a matter of seconds, catching her by the elbow as she tried to walk away. The woman turned and looked daggers at him and Luke was disarmed. He held up his hands. “I’m sorry.” He took a step back. “I just wanted to apologise for the other day.”
The woman said nothing, just looked at him and Luke felt his confidence slipping.
“I … I shouldn’t have left you there on the side of the road.”
“You shouldn’t have tried to knock me down in the first place,” she shot back, before he could blink.
Luke had not been prepared for an attack. “Er. No. But you did step out in front of me.”
“Well you should have been paying more attention, shouldn’t you?”
“I should…?”
She tried to turn away.
“Look.” This was definitely not going to plan. “I just wanted to say I was sorry.”
“What for, in particular?”
What?
The woman rolled her eyes and tried to turn away from him, but he reached for her again.
“Wait. What did you mean by that? For the other day, of course. I’m sure I apologised at the time, but … you were just a bit … vacant. You probably don’t remember.”
“Vacant?!”
“I’m sorry. What I’m trying to say is I should have made sure you were okay. I had hoped we could be civil about this.” Apparently not.
“Civil is a lawsuit, Luke. Go drive your fancy car with your fancy girlfriend and leave me alone,” and she stormed away from him up the road.
Luke’s jaw hung open. Such contempt from a woman he’d barely met. But the thing that had shaken him most of all, was that she seemed to know him.

BUY LINKS

PAPERBACK

EBOOK

TRAILER LINKS

Digging for gold

The story of Finding Sarah, the first book from Nutt Hill, came about years ago. I was walking through a field at the local ploughing match when I spotted a rather handsome man dressed subtly different from the rest. A few minutes later, I saw the local vicar and his wife walk into the field and my writer’s brain thought, mmm, what if…? This story ended with a new case of unrequited love arriving on the hill.

I wrote the second book, Sun on Sundays, about the new arrival, but with no luck from publishers, after that I changed tack and wrote The Songbird and the Soldier, which ended up being my first published by Harper Impulse.

Two books later, I was thinking about what to write while I waited for edits to be returned and could not shake these tales from my heart, so I got them out, dusted them off and reread them, at which point it was obvious why they hadn’t been publishable before. I had learned so much in that time! So I set about rewriting them in my time between edits going to and fro and finally brought them into line. I then wrote a first draft of 2 more to go with them. This is number 3 and number 4 is still under edit.

Chances Are -book 3 – is the story of Tom’s brother, Luke. Tom is the hero from book 2 and mentioned in book 1. It tells the tale of the transformation brought about by finding love.

The first three have now been published, and while I work on getting the fourth sorted out, I will say only this: you may well bury your early efforts in an unmarked grave at midnight, but never forget which clod they’re under!

ABOUT WENDY LOU JONES

Wendy Lou Jones

My name is Wendy Lou Jones. I was born and raised in West Sussex, England and moved to Birmingham to study Medicine at University, where I was lucky enough to meet my husband. We now live in a little village in Herefordshire with our two grubby boys. I discovered a love of writing not long after my youngest son started school. And if you were to ask me what it was that made me make the switch, I’d tell you quite simply, that it started with a dream.

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/escapeintolove

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WendyLouWriter

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6983363.Wendy_Lou_Jones

Instagram: wendylouwriter

Google+ https://plus.google.com/102655860574177863403/posts

Blog: http://wendyloujones.weebly.com/blog

Website: http://wendyloujones.weebly.com/

GIVEAWAY

The first 2 Nutt Hill novels – as signed paperbacks (open internationally)

Wendy Lou JonesWendy Lou Jones

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MISTAKES WE MAKE by Jenny Harper #excerpt #giveaway

mistakes

Mistakes We Make

by

Jenny Harper

mistakes

Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction

5th book in the Heartlands series (can be read as a standalone)

Release Date: 28 July 2016

Publisher: Accent Press

Sometimes you have to dig deep to discover what you really need.

Marketing events manager Molly Keir doesn’t realise how much she still cares for her ex until she meets him with another woman. Her answer is to seize the chance of a glittering job in London – even though this will mean leaving behind her aging father and pregnant best friend Lexie Gordon.

Adam Blair is in the wrong job. Pressured by his father to join the family law firm, the stress of work helped break his marriage. Now Molly is moving to London, and he knows he needs to move on – but events soon overtake his best intentions.

A year ago, Caitlyn Murray quit her well-paid job to avoid becoming a whistle-blower. Now she is stuck at home with her overworked mother and four needy step-siblings. Tempted by the offer of a good wage, she returns to her old firm – where her nightmare comes back to haunt her.

Molly and Adam seem to have gone too far to recover the love they once had, and when Caitlyn finds the courage to speak out, she brings all their worlds tumbling down.

EXTRACT

Molly Keir rummaged in her handbag and extracted her glasses.

‘Yum, this looks amazing. Scallops, black pudding, Gravadlax, sole paupiettes. Wow. I didn’t realise how ravenous I was till I started reading!’

Lexie whispered, ‘Molly.’

‘Mmm? What do you think about beef?’

‘Molly.’

Molly looked up at the note of urgency. ‘What?’

Lexie’s face had turned an odd shade, and her brown eyes had a panicky look about them. She was staring over Molly’s shoulder at the doorway.

Molly shoved her glasses back onto the top of her head and swung round. A woman was walking into the room. She was Asian – Indian perhaps? – and classically beautiful. Her hair fell in thick, shiny tresses halfway down her back, her eyes were dark as treacle and dramatically outlined in black. She was wearing scarlet. Afterwards, that was what Molly remembered most – the stunning silky dress, hugging a perfect figure.

For now, the dress and the woman faded improbably into the background because there was a man behind her. Not just any man – Adam Blair.

Molly’s husband.

BUY LINKS

AMAZON UK

AMAZON US

ABOUT JENNY HARPER

mistakes

I’ve been a writer for most of my life. I’ve written and co-authored a number of books on Scotland, a history of childbirth, a children’s novel and a romantic novel, all published some years ago. I’ve now turned my attention to writing the kind of novels I like to read – well written and with some depth, but not literary or too demanding. I like to tackle issues, but also to incorporate the complicated emotional challenges of day-to-day living.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjennyharper

Twitter: https://twitter.com/harper_jenny

Goodreads Author Page:  https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/15692421-jenny-harper

Google+  https://plus.google.com/+JennyHarperauthor/posts

Blog:  http://jennyharperauthor.co.uk/category/myblog/

Website:  http://jennyharperauthor.co.uk/

GIVEAWAY

1st Prize – Paperback copy of the book
2nd Prize – ebook copy of the book (x2)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

THE MAGIC OF RAMBLINGS by Kate Field #guestpost #giveaway

Kate Field

The Magic of ramblings

by

Kate Field

Kate Field

Genre: Contemporary women’s fiction

Release Date: 8 September 2016

Publisher: Accent Press

Running away can be the answer if you run to the right place…

When Cassie accepts a job as companion to an old lady in a remote Lancashire village, she hopes for a quiet life where she can forget herself, her past and most especially men. The last thing she wants is to be drawn into saving a community that seems determined to take her to its heart – and to resuscitate hers…

Frances has lived a reclusive life at Ramblings, a Victorian Gothic mansion, for over thirty years and now Barney is hiding away there, forging a new life after his medical career ended in scandal. He doesn’t trust the mysterious woman who comes to live with his rich aunt, especially when she starts to steal Frances’ affection – and maybe his own too…

BUY LINK

AMAZON

**********

My Writing Room by Kate Field

One of my favourite blog posts by authors is the ‘My writing room’ feature. I’m unashamedly nosy, and love driving round at that time in the early evening when lamps are lit but curtains not yet closed, looking in at thumbnails of other people’s lives through front windows.

A couple of years after we moved to our current house, we finally emptied the last of the packing boxes, and bought a desk for the study. It’s a lovely room, with an overflowing bookcase filling one wall, a glorious view over fields, and on the rare occasion when we have a sunny day, the light streams through the window. Here it is:

Kate Field

I wish I could say that this was my writing room. It would be such a treat to come in here each morning for a few uninterrupted hours with my notebook and pen. But the truth is that I’ve never written a word at that desk. Like most other writers, I have a day job and a family, and writing has to fit in the gaps, whenever and wherever it can.

In reality, much of The Magic of Ramblings was written in the kitchen, while keeping an eye on the dinner and struggling to help with impossible homework questions. Some of it was written in the car outside school, or in Sainsbury’s car park while waiting for a Saturday morning activity to end. Sparks of inspiration for scenes and conversations flared during the ironing or on the drive to work.

For me, the important point isn’t where I write, but where I write about. Ramblings is set in Lancashire, the county where I live and which I love. Here’s a picture taken on one of my favourite walks:

Kate Field

This is the Lancashire where my stories come to life. Cassie, my heroine, might lean on this gate to admire the view as she takes her solitary walks around the Ramblings estate; Barney, my hero, would stride through these fields, his dog, Gin, scampering at his heels.

So I don’t think it matters whether I use a writing room or not. As long as I have a window, I can look out and see thumbnails of my characters’ lives, and it’s all the inspiration I need.

**********

ABOUT KATE FIELD

Kate Field

Kate Field lives in Lancashire with her husband, daughter, and a recently arrived Russian Blue kitten, who may prove so distracting that she never has time to write again. The Magic of Ramblings is her first published novel.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/KateFieldAuthor/

Twitter: @katehaswords

GIVEAWAY

A £25 or equivalent Amazon Voucher

a Rafflecopter giveaway

STRICTLY MY HUSBAND by Tracy Bloom #promo #party #giveaway

Tracy Bloom

Strictly My Husband

by

Tracy Bloom

Tracy Bloom

Genre: ROMANTIC COMEDY

Release Date: 16th July 2016

Couples who dance together stay together

Laura loves it when Tom takes her for a late night tango around the kitchen after their friends have gone home and they’re avoiding the washing up. She can’t dance but who cares when no one is watching?

All that changes when Tom arrives on the doorstep with Carly, a professional dancer, and announces he’s offered her the spare room to rent while she performs in a show that Tom is directing.

An outraged Laura doesn’t feel like dancing with Tom anymore but Carly does. It only takes two to tango, and given Tom’s history who knows where it could end? Will Laura be the one left watching from the sidelines whilst Carly waltzes off with her husband’s heart?

COUPLES WHO DANCE TOGETHER STAY TOGETHER – OR DO THEY?

BUY LINKS

AMAZON UK

AMAZON US

ABOUT TRACY BLOOM

Tracy Bloom

Tracy Bloom – The Low Down

Tracy Bloom was born quite a while ago, is average to short in height, buys clothes based on their ability to hide stuff rather than show stuff, has chemically enhanced hair and wishes she had kept her braces in longer as a teenager. But apart from that she is really happy to try and describe herself!

Tracy has always liked to say it how it is in her writing, right from when she began her first novel NO-ONE EVER HAS SEX ON A TUESDAY nearly ten years ago. Her insight and wit has led her to be a number one bestseller, published in over a dozen countries and twice winner of the Love Stories Awards for Best Author Published Romance.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tracybloomwrites

Twitter: @TracyBBloom

Goodreads Author Page: www.goodreads.com/TracyBl

Website: www.tracybloom.com

FACEBOOK PARTY!!!

Come take part in the amazing facebook party for Strictly My Husband! Fun, games, reviews, more prizes and oh and more fun!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1752747325014113/

or email brookbooks@hotmail.co.uk for an invite!

As well as prizes on the Facebook event party page Brook Cottage Books is also thrilled to offer you a chance to win a signed paperback copy of the book!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It’s Read A Book Day ~ #amreading

Sept 6th is Read A Book Day

#amreading

Whatever your genre, or preferred medium, curling up and reading a good book  is a wonderful way to spend your time. There are loads of genres to choose from – crime, romance, paranormal, Young Adult, New Adult, non-fiction, memoirs and literary fiction. All will sweep you away into the world created by the author and give you some much needed escape from reality time.

A great place to get your reading material is at your local independent bookstore. If you don’t have one locally, there is always the option of the larger chain store.

I also have a great collection of e-books on my iPad in the Kindle app.

#amreadingSince this is read a book day, I’m going to do a wee bit of shameless, self-promotion here. If you’re looking for a great read, check out A Shadow in the Past

When a contemporary teen is transported back through time to the Victorian era, she becomes A Shadow in the Past…

Nineteen-year-old Sarah Shand finds herself thrust back into the past. There she struggles to keep her real identity from a society that finds her comments and ideas strange and her speech and actions forward, unlike Victorian women. When Sarah verbally confronts confining social practices, including arranged marriages, powerful enemies commit her to a lunatic asylum. After falling in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, Robert Robertson, she must decide whether to find her way back to her own time or to remain in the past with him.

#amreading The Consequences Collection – an eclectic compilation of twelve stories ranging from non-fiction through creative non-fiction to pure fiction, in prose and poetry.

The story of a Scottish Home Child is based on fact and told from the child’s point of view; The Mystery Woman of Kinettles is a non-fiction article on the appearance and subsequent disappearance of a woman’s body near the Wellington County House of Industry (Poor House) in 1879 Southwestern Ontario.

Some of these stories are lighter than others, and some might even beg you to leave the lights on.

For the younger readers,

#amreading Tim’s Magic Christmas

For Tim Frost, Christmas 2011 is a washout. No Santa. No presents. Nothing. His father lost his job when the mill closed and now the family is on the verge of losing their home.

A chance encounter with Nick Kringle, a modern-day Santa Claus teaches Tim that the greatest gift you receive is the gift of giving.

And for the adults,

#amreadingThe Secret of Hillcrest House

Sometimes there’s more to a house than bricks and mortar.

Hillcrest House is one such place. Perched on a cliff in the picturesque town of Angel Falls, there is more to this Victorian mansion than meets the eye. When referring to the house, the locals use the word haunted on a regular basis. Strange visions appear in the windows, especially the second-floor ones over the side porch. Even stranger events take place within its four walls.

Rumour has it, the original owners, Asher and Maggie Hargrave, never left their beloved home. They claim the couple and their family are responsible for driving people away. Over the years, Hillcrest House has changed hands numerous times. No one stays long. Renovations begin then stop and the house is once more abandoned. The latest in this long line of owners is Jessica Maitland.

Will Jessica be the next one to succumb or will she unravel The Secret of Hillcrest House?

 Melanie Robertson-King’s latest novel serves up a delightful blend of the supernatural and spicy romance, Lynn L. Clark, author of The Home Child, and Fire Whisperer & Circle of Souls: Two Novellas of the Supernatural, & The Accusers

Intrigue, dark buried secrets, hot romance and a neat twist in the tale make this riveting reading, Sheryl Browne, MA Creative Writing, Choc Lit Author

A fun read that keeps you guessing right up to the surprise ending, Dayna Leigh Cheser, Author of Janelle’s Time, Moria’s Time, Adelle’s Time, & Logan’s Time

 

is an eclectic compilation of twelve stories ranging from non-fiction through creative non-fiction to pure fiction, in prose and poetry.

The story of a Scottish Home Child is based on fact and told from the child’s point of view; The Mystery Woman of Kinettles is a non-fiction article on the appearance and subsequent disappearance of a woman’s body near the Wellington County House of Industry (Poor House) in 1879 Southwestern Ontario.

Some of these stories are lighter than others, and some might even beg you to leave the lights on.

– See more at: http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/?page_id=7339#sthash.VVdE3rEX.dpuf

is an eclectic compilation of twelve stories ranging from non-fiction through creative non-fiction to pure fiction, in prose and poetry.

The story of a Scottish Home Child is based on fact and told from the child’s point of view; The Mystery Woman of Kinettles is a non-fiction article on the appearance and subsequent disappearance of a woman’s body near the Wellington County House of Industry (Poor House) in 1879 Southwestern Ontario.

Some of these stories are lighter than others, and some might even beg you to leave the lights on.

– See more at: http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/?page_id=7339#sthash.VVdE3rEX.dpuf

is an eclectic compilation of twelve stories ranging from non-fiction through creative non-fiction to pure fiction, in prose and poetry.

The story of a Scottish Home Child is based on fact and told from the child’s point of view; The Mystery Woman of Kinettles is a non-fiction article on the appearance and subsequent disappearance of a woman’s body near the Wellington County House of Industry (Poor House) in 1879 Southwestern Ontario.

Some of these stories are lighter than others, and some might even beg you to leave the lights on.

– See more at: http://www.melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/?page_id=7339#sthash.VVdE3rEX.dpuf

What are you reading today?

 

 

 

The #cover of The Secret of Hillcrest House ~ how it came to be

The creation of a #cover

How many of you liked to tell or read ghost stories when you were younger? I know I sure did. Most of the time, the stories involved an old, spooky looking house. If said building had a turret on it, when we were kids, that automatically screamed “haunted”. If it happened to be empty and dilapidated – broken windows, sagging porch, peeling paint – then so much the better.

I first saw the house that graces the cover of the book when I went as a chaperone on my son’s school trip to Quebec City back in 1993. Since then, every time we’ve been in the area, I’ve always had to drive by it and take pictures. I knew that eventually that house and the village it’s in would become the setting for one of my books, I just didn’t know how it would come about. The most recent trip was in November 2014 when I took a number of photographs of it from the streets to encompass as much of the house as possible.

#cover
“Hillcrest House” November 2014

Yes, the house in the picture above looks somewhat spooky, but a change to Black & White made a huge difference, followed by making the sky transparent. I had an idea of what I wanted for the background so I scoured the stock photo sites and finally decided on a full moon and cloudy sky image from Shutterstock.

#cover
After the special effects

Don’t you agree that this layered image makes the house look haunted?

Step in Julie Jordan. She put a black border around the picture so that the lightning rod on the turret didn’t get cut off in the trimming process and so that the title didn’t cover more than just the turret. Julie tells me that from the time she saw the photo-shopped image, she saw the finished product. The font was her idea as was the colour. It really pops, doesn’t it.

Before I bore your readers any more than I already have, here’s the finished cover and book blurb.

#cover

#cover

Sometimes there’s more to a house than bricks and mortar.

Hillcrest House is one such place. Perched on a cliff in the picturesque town of Angel Falls, there is more to this Victorian mansion than meets the eye. When referring to the house, the locals use the word haunted on a regular basis. Strange visions appear in the windows, especially the second-floor ones over the side porch. Even stranger events take place within its four walls.

Rumour has it, the original owners, Asher and Maggie Hargrave, never left their beloved home. They claim the couple and their family are responsible for driving people away. Over the years, Hillcrest House has changed hands numerous times. No one stays long. Renovations begin then stop and the house is once more abandoned. The latest in this long line of owners is Jessica Maitland.

Will Jessica be the next one to succumb or will she unravel the mystery of the haunting of Hillcrest House?
Melanie Robertson-King’s latest novel serves up a delightful blend of the supernatural and spicy romance, Lynn L. Clark, author of The Home Child, and Fire Whisperer & Circle of Souls: Two Novellas of the Supernatural, & The Accusers

Intrigue, dark buried secrets, hot romance and a neat twist in the tale make this riveting reading, Sheryl Browne, MA Creative Writing, Choc Lit Author

A fun read that keeps you guessing right up to the surprise ending, Dayna Leigh Cheser, Author of Janelle’s Time, Moria’s Time, Adelle’s Time, & Logan’s Time

 

Buy Links:

amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo