Tag: readers

Catching up with Author Marie Laval

Catching up with Author Marie Laval

sandybarker

So pleased to welcome Marie Laval to talk about Angel of the Lost Treasure, her historical romance which will be released by Choc Lit this week! And look at that cover!

Cover of Angel if the Lost Treasure Wooden rafters of an old building; a dove flying to land on a rafter; a gold medallion hanging from the rafters

Tell us what inspired you to write Angel of the Lost Treasure.

Thank you so much, Sandy, for welcoming me on your blog today. I always loved historical fiction, and stories about secret societies, Knights Templar, lost treasures and of course romance! I grew up in a village near Lyon in France, a beautiful city with a fascinating old quarter full of meandering cobbled streets and Renaissance buildings… a city with many secrets and links to the occult. I always thought Lyon and surrounding Beaujolais and Pilat regions would make a great setting for a historical romance.  

When did you start writing seriously?

I have written short stories ever since I was a teenager in France. When I came to England I carried on writing, this time in English, and I was overjoyed when three of my stories were shortlisted for various competitions, and one of them won first prize. This was when I started thinking that I could write in English and make a success of it. Of course, it took me many years to actually complete my first novel and get my first publishing contract. Things haven’t always been easy or straightforward. I have three children, changed jobs several times and retrained as a teacher in my mid-thirties, and struggled through difficult periods in my life, but writing is what I really love doing and I have never let negativity put me off…

What do you love most about being an author?

There are so many wonderful things about being an author! Seeing my book cover for the first time is always tremendously exciting, and of course reading people’s comments when they enjoyed the story is the best feeling ever. What I love the most is when I can ‘hear’ the characters speak and ‘see’ them interact and when they become real people I think about and talk about all the time… a bit crazy, but true! I have been very lucky to make great friends in the writing community too, and meeting some of them for a chat, and attending workshops or the RNA conference is always a joy.

What are you working on now?

I am currently working on two projects – a contemporary romance and a short story.

The contemporary romance is set on the Isle of Skye in Scotland and has been an absolute joy to write but has taken me far longer than anticipated. I hope to finish it and send it to Choc Lit in the next few weeks.  I always start with a fairly simple idea… then as I never plot anything things get terribly complicated!

I am also working on a short story for the Miss Moonshine anthologies to which I am a contributor along with eight author friends. This will be our third anthology together and it should be released in the spring. I also have two other projects in the pipeline and research is ongoing! It’s busy, and at time stressful to manage my writing along with my teaching job, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

There should also soon be another historical romance, this time featuring Hugo Saintclair’s son, but this isn’t for just yet!

What do you hope readers will take away from Angel of the Lost Treasure?

I want them to fall in love with Hugo Saintclair and Marie-Ange, be fascinated by the dark secrets and mysteries of the plot, be curious about the history of the Knights Templar and intrigued by Lyon -perhaps even book a plane or a train ticket to explore the city when travel restrictions are lifted!

More about the book

An ancient secret hidden within a mother’s song …
When young widow, Marie-Ange Norton is invited to Beauregard in France by the mysterious Monsieur Malleval to collect an inheritance, she has no choice but to accept.
But when she embarks on the voyage with her fiery-tempered travelling companion Capitaine Hugo Saintclair, little does she know what waits for her across the sea in turbulent nineteenth-century France on the eve of Napoleon’s return from exile. When she arrives, she is taken aback by Malleval’s fascination with her family – seemingly inspired by his belief they are connected to a sacred relic he’s read about in coded manuscripts by the Knights Templar.
As it becomes clear that Malleval’s obsession has driven him to madness, Marie-Ange is horrified to realise she is more the man’s prisoner than his guest. Not only that, but Hugo is the only person who might be able to help her, and he could represent a different kind of danger …

Where can you get it?

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Kobo

More about Marie

Blonde woman wearing blue and white floral dress, smiling

Originally from Lyon in France, Marie has lived in the Rossendale Valley in Lancashire for the past few years. She writes both contemporary and historical romance. Her novels are published by Choc Lit and include best selling contemporary romantic suspense novels LITTLE PINK TAXI and ESCAPE TO THE LITTLE CHATEAU, shortlisted for the Jackie Collins Romantic Suspense category of the 2021 RNA Awards, as well as A PARIS FAIRY TALE and BLUEBELL’S CHRISTMAS MAGIC.

Her latest novel, ANGEL OF THE LOST TREASURE, will be released in February 2021. Marie also contributes to the best selling Miss Moonshine’s Emporium anthologies together with eight author friends from Yorkshire and Lancashire

Follow Marie: Twitter | Facebook

Thank you for joining us Marie and all the best for this new book!

Catching up with Author Ella Cook

Catching up with Author Ella Cook

sandybarker

It is a pleasure to welcome Ella Cook to Off the beaten Track to talk about her debut novel, Beyond Grey. Thank you for joining us, Ella!

Tell us what inspired you to write Beyond Grey?

The idea for the book came from a very long, wet and difficult drive home. A storm hit us when we were around 50 miles from home, and the roads flooded really quickly. It was all too easy to imagine a situation in which an accident could happen. Thankfully, we got home safely, but in this book, I explore what happens when the journey home ends in tragedy.

I’ve experienced a few ‘white feather’ moments in my life, and times when we’ve believed there’s someone watching over us. I was going through my own period of difficulty, so was inspired to write a way to get through ‘the grey’ and come out the other side.

When did you start writing seriously?

Writing has always been a huge love for me – and I’ve been incredibly privileged to turn it into my career: I write bids and funding applications to help families and children who are facing challenges.

I started writing contemporary when my Mum was having treatment for cancer – quite often while I was sitting on oncology wards with her (some of the treatments made her very sleepy). It gave me something positive to focus on and her something to read.

I’d written before, when I was younger, but got distracted by life and work and other commitments for a few years, before coming back to fiction.

What do you love most about being an author?

Beyond Grey is my debut novel, so it’s quite early to ask this, but I’ve been fortunate enough to receive some amazing reviews, and I’m loving being able to share my stories with the world.

What are you working on now?

My next book is with my publishers at the moment: It’s about a little girl called Summer whose last Christmas was basically cancelled (sound familiar to anyone?) because she was so poorly. Her village community is tight-knit and they adore Summer and her family, and work together to bring the magic of the festive season into August to celebrate ‘Summer’s Christmas’.

What do you hope readers will take away from Beyond Grey?

In one word: Hope.

Beyond Grey is a story that deals with some really sensitive issues. It’s starts in one of the darkest places, with death and loss, but ends with healing and happiness. I’m going to be cheeky and quote a review here, because when I read it, I thought ‘Yes! That was the reaction I was hoping to give people’.

“Although the book is based around a difficult subject it was a genuinely heartfelt and life affirming read. You to get to know a family as they experience one of the most awful things to happen to anyone and discover the joy in living and loving.”

It might seem like odd timing, to publish a novel about death in the middle of a worldwide pandemic – but it truly is a book about healing and finding the spark of hope in the darkest, most painful of places. And I really think that hope is something we could all do with a little more of right now!

More about the book

Jenn and David had the perfect love story. They were teenage sweethearts who married, and had two wonderful children. Everything was going to plan and they were looking forward to growing old together. Until Jenn is killed in a tragic accident, leaving David distraught and struggling to cope without the love of his life.

But for Jenn, death is not quite what she expected. Instead of resting in peace, she is trapped in a ghostly, grey world, struggling to reach the people she loves the most. To reach beyond the grey to help her family find happiness again, even if it means forgetting her to move on.

Where can you get it? Amazon AU | Amazon UK | Amazon US

More about Ella

Ella Cook, smiling woman, with shoulder length hair

Ella grew up in London, where her grandparents has a miniature wishing well in their garden where fairies would leave gifts for well-behaved children. She now lives in Warwickshire where there are almost definitely more fairies. She shares her home with her ever-patient husband and two small, demanding parrots who like to chase her cursor across the computer screen.

She still looks for moments of magic in everyday life, and is surprised by how often she finds them.

Follow Ella: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Cover Reveal for Julie Shackman

Cover Reveal for Julie Shackman

sandybarker

Thrilled to be part of the cover reveal for Julie Shackman’s upcoming book with One More Chapter, A Secret Scottish Escape! And look at this stunner!

Cover of A Secret Scottish Escape, a two-storey cottage on the banks of a loch in Scotland, with mountains in the background. A woman sitting at a table in the garden in front of the cottage. Quote by author, Julie Caplin 'Glorious...a wonderful taste of the Highlands'

Blurb

Escape to the beautiful Scottish Highlands for a heartwarming and feel good cosy romance that will whisk you away!

As Scotland’s sleepiest hamlet becomes the centre of hot gossip, Layla Devlin finds herself caught in a mystery…

When Layla’s fiancée has an unexpected heart attack and dies – in another woman’s arms, no less – Layla is determined to pack up and leave Loch Harris, the village she’s always called home. But an unexpected inheritance and love for her quiet corner of Scotland send her down a new path.

Now Layla finds herself facing a whole new kind of drama. Rumours swirl that a celebrity has moved into Coorie Cottage and Layla is determined to have him headline her opening night at local music venue The Conch Club. But the reclusive star is equally determined to thwart Layla’s efforts. Rafe Buchanan is in hiding for a reason, and soon his past comes to Loch Harris to haunt him…

Where can you pre-order it (ebook and print)? Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon US | Nook | Kobo

Follow Julie Twitter | Instagram

Catching up with Author Natalie Normann

Catching up with Author Natalie Normann

sandybarker

I am very excited to welcome a fellow One More Chapter author to the blog today. She has just celebrated the publication of her new novel, Summer Island. And we have her next novel, Christmas Island, to look forward to in October.

Natalie grew up in a shipping town on the west-coast of Norway and always wanted to be a writer. Actually, she wanted to smoke cigars and drink whiskey like Hemingway but settled for chocolate and the occasional glass of Baileys.

Her writing journey started with short stories in women’s magazines until her first book was published in 1995. Summer Island is her first romance novel in English!

Let’s catch up with Natalie.

  1. Tell us what inspired you to write Summer Island? When I was asked to write at contemporary romance set in Norway, I loved the idea. I had a good think about what I love the most about Norwegian summers. When I grew up, we lived near the coast and I always loved our island trips. Norway is famous for its fjords, but we also have so many islands and I wanted to share that experience.
  2. When did you start writing seriously? I have always written, but it got serious in the mid nineties when I finished the first novel and send it to a competition. It was a collaboration with another writer, and we won a price for “Norway’s best entertainment novel”. After that, we went on to write six more books together. Then it got really serious almost fifteen years ago when I began writing historical romance series, and was able to become a full-time writer.
  3. What do you love most about being an author? Oh, so many things. I love that I can actually do this for a living. Writing stories never gets boring. It’s challenging, frustrating and sometimes so hard, but it’s also fun and rewarding. To create a book is such a demanding process, but at the end of it, there’s a book and there’s readers, who sometimes love what I write – and there’s nothing better than that.
  4. What are you working on now? Right now I’m working on Christmas Island. It’s a sequel to Summer Island and gives me the opportunity to share the madness that is a Norwegian Christmas – it’s something we love and also take so serious. Probably because in mid winter, when it’s dark and cold, we need a long celebration, with lots of lights, to cheer us up. Also, there’s plenty of cake.
  5. What do you hope readers will take away from Summer Island? I hope readers will feel that it gives them a break, especially now with all that’s going on.

About the book

He never meant to stay. He certainly never meant to fall in love…

Summer Island off the coast of Norway was the place London chef Jack Greene should have been from. He’s an outsider in the community that should have been his family, and now he’s setting foot on the strange land he has inherited for the first time.

Ninni Toft, his nearest neighbour, has come to the island to mend her broken heart. With her wild spirit and irrepressible enthusiasm, she shows city-boy Jack the simple pleasures of island life – and what it means to belong. To a place. To a people. To one person in particular…

Home is where the heart is, but is Jack’s heart with the career he left behind in London, or on the wind-swept shores of Summer Island, with Ninni?

Where can you get it?

Follow Natalie!

Twitter | Facebook| Instagram