Books on my shelf waiting to be read in 2013!

It's so easy to buy books from Amazon or just in Sainsbury's, and I have now got four paperbacks that are waiting to be read, not to mention the others on my Kindle!
Firstly, Happily Ever After by Harriet Evans. I met Harriet one year at The London Book Fair, and have since enjoyed all her books, so I was pleased to see this one. It's about a girl called Eleanor Bee who doesn't believe in love. Well, I hope that with this title, everything turns out all right in the end!
Next, When I Fall in Love by Miranda Dickinson. I have loved all her books since I read her first,  Fairytale of New York. In the latest, in contrast to Harriet Evans' novel, Elsie's happily ever after is taken away from her and she has to build a whole new life, and see if she's ready to fall in love again. Oh, I can hear Nat King Cole singing the song now!
The third book is The Time of My Life by Cecelia Ahern, which reminds me of the song from Dirty Dancing! Cecelia is another favourite writer of mine, and you may remember that I read The Gift again this Christmas. According to a friend, if I liked that, I would like this one too, as it's about busy Lucy Silchester who's life's in a rut,  being helped by a 'kindly, rather run-down man in an old suit', rather than a businessman being helped by an angel.
My last choice is Sheltering Rain by Jojo Moyes.  It's a shame that it's not avaiable on Kindle, but I got mine for a amazing £2.99 from Sainsbury's, only 33% of the recommended retail price! It is actually her first novel, which has been brought out to, I expect, satisfy the demand for her books, and I, for one am looking forward to reading it!
What books have you got waiting to be read?

Christmas won't be Christmas without Maeve Binchy - A Week in Winter

I used to look forward to having Maeve Binchy's latest book amongst my presents on Christmas Day. It would be in hardback, which made it even more special.
Of course, she died in July, so A Week in Winter will be the last I receive, which makes me sad.
Born in Ireland, she was a master storyteller for over thirty years, and I have all her novels and short story collections. It was, in fact, Scarlet Feather, the first book of hers that I read which inspired me to start writing.
A Week in Winter is like her later books which are a collection of short stories, linked together like Whitethorn Woods which was how people in a village dealt with the prospect of a new by-pass. This one is about  a collection of people who spend a week at a new hotel on the west coast of Ireland. It starts with Chicky Starr who sets up Stone House hotel. Maeve Binchy loved to write about capable women who can set up a business like for example, Cathy Scarlet, and Chicky is one of these.
The stories are mainly set around Stoneybridge, but others are set in England and Sweden. The Swedish story is about Anders who is to take on the family accountancy firm, but who has other ideas. Another story is about a couple who win their week at the hotel but would have rather gone to Paris.
As with all Maeve Binchy's fiction, you are left with a warm glow, and this book would be perfect to read on a snowbound weekend like this!

Holiday Blog Party Results!

Here is the result of my Holiday Blog Party!
The winner is Rosemary Gemmell whose favourite holiday destination is Venice.
Congratulations!
Thank you for entering, please email me with your address, Rosemary, and I will send you a signed copy of Postcards and Suntan Cream.
Thank you to everyone else for taking part, I hope you all will be able to visit the holiday destination of your dreams.

Holiday Blog Party: Final Day!

Phew! I'm back home in Britain, after a whirlwind week, visiting my favourite holiday destinations which inspired me to write my book of short stories, Postcards and Suntan Cream, but at least the sun is shining!
I hope that you've enjoyed my Holiday Blog Party and have entered the competition to win a signed paperback copy (for details see below).

Here is a typical English village green where Cassie might have sat one evening in Taste the World. This is on Brownsea Island, Dorset, which one of my favourite places to visit on a hot summer's day because of the cool shade of the trees, and the glimpses of the blue, almost Mediterranean, sea between them.

Each day this week, I've been blogging about one of my favourite holiday destinations which form a backdrop to my stories.

All you have to do to join in is:

• Leave a comment on my blog
• Write about about a favourite holiday destination on your blog
• Give link back to my blog

Tonight, January 13th, 2013, at 6pm GMT, I will put all the Holiday Party Bloggers' names in my sun hat, and the first out will receive a signed copy of Postcards and Suntan Cream!

So get blogging, and watch out for the result this evening!

Holiday Blog Party: Saturday - It's Trans-Atlantic Cruise Time!

Welcome to Day Seven of my Holiday Blog Party to celebrate the online launch of my book of short stories, Postcards and Suntan Cream. Each day this week I've visited one of my favourite holiday destinations where these summery stories take place.
Today, I'm sailing home across the Atlantic, so join me with a  Pina Colada on the pool deck to celebrate!
I meet lots of interesting people on my travels, who spark off  story ideas, so I always make sure I have my notebook handy.

Here are the glass elevators, the white grand piano and the Dixieland band which feature in one of my favourite stories, Sailing To Be With You.
This atrium also is the setting for The Woman With The Long Hair.
To find out what happens, you will have to read my book . . .!

All you have to do to join in my Holiday Blog Party is:

• Leave a comment on my blog
• Write about a favourite holiday destination on your blog
• Give a link back to my blog

On Sunday, January 13th, 2013, at 6pm GMT, I will put all the Holiday Party Bloggers' names in my sun hat, and the first out will receive a signed paperback copy of Postcards and Suntan Cream!

So get blogging, and watch out for my final holiday destination tomorrow!

Holiday Blog Party Friday - Key West, Florida

Hello again! I've just jetted over to Key West, Florida. I'm here at Ernest Hemingway's house to celebrate the online launch of my new book of short stories, Postcards and Suntan Cream with a Holiday Blog Party, showcasing the holiday destinations that I've used as a background to my stories.
Visitors come Key West to see the sun set from Mallory Dock, and to visit Sloppy Joe's Bar and the other favourite haunts of Ernest Hemingway, such as Dry Tortugas where he would fish for giant tuna and marlin.
My story here is The Importance of Being Ernest which I hope you'll enjoy reading as much as I did writing it!

All you have to do to join my Beach Blog Party is:

• Leave a comment on my blog
• Write about a favourite holiday destination on your blog
• Give a link back to my blog

On Sunday, January 13th, 2013, at 6pm GMT, I will put all the Holiday Party Bloggers' names in my sun hat, and the first out will receive a signed paperback copy of Postcards and Suntan Cream!

So get blogging, and watch out for my next holiday destination tomorrow!

Holiday Blog Party: Thursday - Capri

I've just got the ferry from Positano to Capri. Gracie Fields used to live here and Mariah Carey has a villa on the island now. It's also famous for the visits of Jackie Kennedy Onassis who is said to have begun to wear large sunglasses here to avoid the paparazzi. I definitely look very Jackie O in mine!!!
If you've been following my blog this week, you'll know that I'm hosting a Holiday Blog Party to celebrate the launch of my book of short stories, Postcards and Suntan Cream.

Here is the beautiful majolica tiled floor of St Michael's Church in Anacapri, the higher town, which features in A Ring Around Capri. It's lovely to get out of the heat and wander around the wooden walkway to admire the intricate illustration of the story of Adam and Eve.

Each day I've been blogging about one of my favourite holiday destinations which form a backdrop to my stories.

All you have to do to join in is:

• Leave a comment on my blog
• Write about a favourite holiday destination on your blog
• Give a link back to my blog

On Sunday, January 13th, 2013, at 6pm GMT, I will put all the Holiday Party Bloggers' names in my sun hat, and the first out will receive a signed paperback copy of Postcards and Suntan Cream!

So get blogging, and watch out for my next holiday destination tomorrow!

Holiday Blog Party: Wednesday - Positano

Ciao! The sun's shining brightly in Italy today. I'm here on my tour of the places that inspired me to write the summery stories in my new book, Postcards and Suntan Cream, so come and join in my Holiday Blog Party!
This story, Sea Change, arrived fully formed one morning as I had dreamed the whole thing. Very unusual for me. However, I needed a location, and having a beach and a ferry port, Positano fitted the bill perfectly.

 The coast road to Amalfi winds down to the seafront, and up again through the town. It's virtually impossible to get a parking space, so I made Anna and Will live in one of the houses on the steep cliffs, and walk to the beach.

Each day I'm blogging about one of my favourite holiday destinations which form a backdrop to my stories.

All you have to do to join in is:

• Leave a comment on my blog
• Write about a favourite holiday destination on your blog
• Give a link back to my blog

On Sunday, January 13th, 2013, at 6pm GMT, I will put all the Holiday Party Bloggers' names in my sun hat, and the first out will receive a signed paperback copy of Postcards and Suntan Cream!

So get blogging, and watch out for my next holiday destination tomorrow!

Holiday Blog Party: Tuesday - Camping in France

Cheers! I've crossed the Channel today to one of my favourite campsites in France, and the weather's looking much better! Do help yourself to some of this delicious Côtes du Rhône from the Intermarché.
If you've been following my trip this week, you'll know that I'm visiting the holiday destinations that inspired the stories in my new book, Postcards and Suntan Cream.

I've been camping in France, not to mention Italy, Germany and The Netherlands, for many years with Eurocamp. Back in 1990, I remember helping to unpack the first fridges for the tents! Before that there was only a large cool box with an ice pack that you exchanged each day at the campsite shop. How things have changed since then, now most accommodation is in mobile homes which may even have air conditioning!
My story, La Vallée d'Amour is set in Alsace. It's not so hot and crowded as the South of France in summer, but that's where Kate really wanted to go. . .

Each day I am blogging about one of my favourite holiday destinations which form a backdrop to my stories.

All you have to do to join in is:

• Leave a comment on my blog
• Write about a favourite holiday destination on your blog
• Give a link back to my blog

On Sunday, January 13th, 2013, at 6pm GMT, I will put all the Holiday Party Bloggers' names in my sun hat, and the first out will receive a signed paperback copy of Postcards and Suntan Cream!

So get blogging, and watch out for my next holiday destination tomorrow!

Holiday Blog Party: Monday- The British Seaside

 Welcome to my Holiday Blog Party for the online launch of Postcards and Suntan Cream!
Today we're at the British seaside, Weston-super- Mare to be exact, famous for its low tides and wide expanses of sand and mud!
As you can see the sun is at least shining, although it's a bit windy. Never mind, let's go and have a coffee.
Two of my stories are set at the seaside: Love Me Do and the title story: Postcards and Suntan Cream. Funnily enough, they are both set in the Sixties, the heyday of the British seaside holiday.
These days, Weston is on the up with its brand new Grand Pier, which even has a covered walkway so you don't get wet on the way to the amusements!

Find out if Molly wrote this in the sand!

Each day I will be blogging about one of my favourite holiday destinations which form a backdrop to my stories.

All you have to do to join in is:

• Leave a comment on my blog
• Write about about a favourite holiday destination on your blog
• Give link back to my blog

On Sunday, January 13th, 2013, at 6pm GMT, I will put all the Holiday Party Bloggers' names in my sun hat, and the first out will receive a signed copy of Postcards and Suntan Cream!

So get blogging, and watch out for tomorrow's destination!

Join my Holiday Blog Party to win a copy of Postcards and Suntan Cream!

As Father Christmas says, after he's delivered all the presents in Raymond Briggs' brilliant book, 'It's time to be thinking about me holidays!'
And if you've taken down your decorations and Christmas is all over in your house, why not join me this week at my Holiday Blog Party? It's to celebrate the online launch of my new book of short stories with a summery theme:  Postcards and Suntan Cream which is featured in the latest edition of Writing Magazine.
Each day I will be blogging about one of my favourite holiday destinations which form a backdrop to my stories.
All you have to do to join in is:

• Leave a comment on my blog
• Write about a favourite holiday destination on your blog
• Give a link back to my blog

On Sunday, January 13th, 2013, at 6pm GMT, I will put all the Holiday Party Bloggers' names in my sun hat, and the first out will receive a signed paperback copy of Postcards and Suntan Cream!

So get blogging, and watch out for my first holiday destination tomorrow!