I can’t believe how much time has gone by since Sharon Black visited Celtic Connexions. I would have been ten years ago on St. Patrick’s Day. You can read that post here.

BLURB FOR LOVE LIKE THE REAL REEL THING

When Hollywood comes to Mayo’s Linford Castle in the west of Ireland to make a romantic comedy, hotel group marketing manager Jess Bradley is asked to troubleshoot.

Keen to escape a failed relationship with colleague Adam Rourke, Jess jumps at the chance to decamp to the country for six weeks. And when charming local resident Robert asks her out, it seems she’s finally moving forward with her life.

When a series of mishaps start to unfold at Linford – threatening the outcome of the movie and the reputation of the hotel – Jess must manage the situation as best she can.

Just as she’s starting to get a handle on it all, however, Adam shows up – and to Jess’s shock it appears that he’s moved on too.

But when one of the stars of the movie goes missing, it seems Jess must decide exactly who she can trust to help her get everything back on track – and maybe find her own happy ending in the process.

Love like the Real Reel Thing is published on November 5, 2025 by Poolbeg Books.

It is available as a Kindle/print copy from Amazon and at sharonblackwriter.ie.

About Sharon Black

A recovered journalist, Sharon Black is a member of Writing.ie, Writers Ink and the Romantic Novelists Association. She is also a Curtis Brown Creative alumna and was long-listed for the 2023 Retreat West ‘Opening Lines’ Competition. She has published short stories in women’s magazines.

When she’s not writing, she catches up with family and friends and drinks a lot of coffee. She is a grateful member of a long-running book club in her village, where books and wine are consumed in roughly equal amounts. She loves theatre, old Hollywood films, romantic comedies and live stand-up comedy.

In recent years, she has developed a close relationship with Google Maps, thanks to her appalling sense of direction. She is highly allergic to shopping. Except for bag shopping. She lives in Dublin with her husband and the youngest of her grown-up family.

Love like the (Real) Reel Thing is her third novel and can happily be read as a standalone or as a sequel to The Last Saturday in July.
To find out more about Sharon, visit her website at sharonblackwriter.ie.