Somewhere Beyond the Sea by Miranda Dickinson - A Romantic, Heartwarming, and Magical Read

Wow! What a romantic story!
I've just finished reading Somewhere Beyond the Sea by Miranda Dickinson, told in alternate chapters by the protagonists, Seren and Jack.

Seren's father has died, leaving her MacArthur's Gallery, tucked into a tiny courtyard in St Ives, and his vision of saving The Old Parsonage, the former home of Elinor Carne, an astronomer who discovered new stars in the nineteenth century when women's endeavours were ignored and their glory given to their male rivals instead.
Seren is a designer and makes beautiful jewellery out of the seaglass that she finds on her morning wanderings on Gwithian Beach. One day, she discovers an half-finished star, made out of seaglass pebbles, and can't resist finishing it herself.

Jack Dixon is on his own with his daughter, Nessie, now that his wife, Tash, has died. He's a qualified and experienced builder, but he's struggling to find work to make ends meet. He and Nessie live in a beach chalet on a holiday park in return for doing odd-jobs for his friend, Jeb. Each evening, he and Nessie go down to Gwithian Beach and half make a seaglass star, hoping the mermaids will complete it.

When Jack is offered a job by Bill Brotherson to redevelop the parsonage site and turn it into flats, Jack and Seren find they are on opposing sides. Will they ever discover who is making/completing the seaglass stars? Will they ever be able to have a future together if the Brotherson scheme goes ahead?

With her colourful descriptions of St Ives, and the many other characters, I could tell how much Miranda Dickinson loves the place. It's one of those novels that really takes you out of your armchair and transports you to somewhere magical. With its song-title title, it is more like her earlier novels and is a heartwarming, marvellous read. I loved it and I'm sure the story of Seren and Jack, and the beauty of St Ives will stay with me for a very long time. It's almost as good as taking a holiday in St Ives itself!

Searching for a Silver Lining by Miranda Dickinson - A Fabulous Feel-Good Book!

We are always searching for a silver lining, aren't we? And to this end, Miranda Dickinson has written another fabulous feel-good book!  In Searching for a Silver Lining, Mattie is sad that she didn't settle her differences with Grandpa Joe before he died. As he warned, her marriage to Asher has been a disaster, however she is enjoying running her dream Fifties vintage shop, Bell Be-Bop.
But, when she's invited to the Beauvale Sheltered Housing centre to give a talk about the lovely 1950s things she sells, she's befriended by Reenie Silverman. This 84 year-old is the former lead singer with The Silver Five, the group that Mattie's grandpa raved about back in the day.
In exchange for expensive violet cream chocolates, Reenie tells Mattie about her colourful life with the group and, in an effort to make things right with her late grandfather and to help Reenie meet up again with her fellow Silver Five members, she sets off on a road trip in her cherished VW camper van, Rusty, with the octogenarian singer and Gil, the grandson of the owner of the Palm Grove where The Silver Five were to play on the fateful night that Reenie ran away.
It's a wonderful story, with Miranda Dickinson at her best, making me laugh and cry, and laugh even more. I read it so fast that I want to read it again!
It ends with 'THE END?',  but I do hope that there's more to come about Mattie, Reenie and Gil!!

I'll Take New York by Miranda Dickinson - A Real Romance!

I've been looking forward to reading I'll Take New York by Miranda Dickinson and I wasn't disappointed; I think it's her best novel yet!
A real romance: not too fluffy and not too gritty.  Just right!
It's her sixth novel and, although not a sequel, its characters are connected to Rosie and Ed in her first one, Fairytale of New York.
Ed's brother, Jake, who moved to San Francisco for his wife, has been told by her that she wants a divorce.
Bea, from England like Rosie, runs a bookshop with her college friend, Russ. She's been let down in front of her family by her boyfriend, Otis.
Meeting up at a party where Jake is helping out in the bar, they agree on a Pact not to have another relationship with anyone and make the most of their single lives. However, their lives get more complicated than they expected!
I think that Miranda does a great job of writing the dialogue for the American characters. It comes over as being very believable. I loved the settings too, for example, the bookshop when Bea and Russ put on a birthday party, and of course New York which takes star billing with the Wollman Ice Rink in Central Park.
The story is told from Bea and Jake's points of view and I couldn't wait to find out what happened to them in the end.
Which is your favourite Miranda Dickinson book?

Take a Look at Me Now (in San Francisco!) with Miranda Dickinson

I've been really keen to read Take a Look at Me Now ever since I got back from a trip to San Francisco and discovered that Miranda Dickinson had set her new novel there!

It's been great to revisit all my favourite places again with Nell Sullivan who loses her job at the Islington Planning Department, breaks with her boyfriend, Aidan, and blows her redundancy on a trip to stay with her cousin, Lizzie, in colourful Haight Ashbury.

It's quite a culture shock for Nell at first, but Miranda has such a way of immersing you in the story, that you are soon out there with Lizzie watching them turn the trams at the  Powell Street turnaround, and visiting the after school club where Lizzie helps out, and where she happens to be in love with the gorgeous principal, Tyler.

Or visiting Pier 39 to see Lizzie's friend Eric on his unicycle!

This diner is actually in Colorado!

A lot of the action takes place in Annie's Diner. Nell has always wanted to run a restaurant ever since a visit to New York with her friend, Vicky, who has also been made redundant, and Annie gives her a chance to get some work experience and meet her entertaining customers.
Life is going well for Nell, until she falls for the delectable Max Rossi.

So questions have to be answered, as the date for Nell's return to London looms nearer.
Should she stay in San Francisco with Max, or return home?
If she goes home what will she do for a job?
And what about all those messages from Aidan that she's been ignoring?

It's been a thoroughly good read, and I've really enjoyed it. I am also excited to hear that a new book is in the pipeline for next autumn, catching up with the story of Rosie Duncan who first appeared in Fairytale of New York! 

Which is your favourite Miranda Dickinson book?

A Postcard from San Francisco featuring a new book by Miranda Dickinson!

Here is the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Very often, the top or the bottom is shrouded in mist. It was built in 1937, the same year that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released. We had just been to an exhibition about  the film at the Walt Disney Family Museum at The Presidio.

San Francisco is like no other American city with its cable cars hurtling along like the night bus in Harry Potter: people clinging on for dear life up and down the precipitous streets and around the corners.
The most amazing thing is that the gripman (who operates the grip which catches and releases the cable under the road) and the conductor actually get out and push the car around at the terminus whilst the people in the queue wait and take lots of photos.

Many films have been made in San Francisco, including one of my favourites, Mrs Doubtfire, starring Robin Williams. Here is the house on the corner of Steiner and Broadway. The address, 2640 Steiner Street, as given by Miranda to Daniel in the film, is the actual address of the property. It's not very usual to give that out that sort of information, but it helps tourists to find it!

Although many books are set in San Francisco, my suggestion hasn't even been written yet! It doesn't even have a title. The clue is in this selection of books by Miranda Dickinson.
When I got back I came across a vlog by Miranda, setting out the scenes and people she is going to include in her next novel set in . . .  San Francisco! She'd been on a research trip with her husband and put up videos about the places she'd seen which you can find here.

To celebrate the May Day Bank Holiday weekend, whether it rains or shines, I'm offering a FREE DOWNLOAD of my book of Twelve Super Summer Stories,  Postcards and Suntan Cream from 8am Friday, 3rd May 2013 to 8am Tuesday 7th May 2013, British Summer Time. Just click on the book cover at the top of the page!

Perfect Book for Valentine's Day - When I Fall in Love by Miranda Dickinson

If you're looking for a perfect book to read to celebrate Valentine's Day, here it is!
When I Fall in Love by Miranda Dickinson is a wonderful story set in Brighton and the romantic city of Paris. Elsie's husband, Lucas, has died leaving her to complete the list of crazy things they meant to do, but never had time. Drawing on her own experiences of singing, Miranda makes Elsie set up a choir with hilarious results when she recruits Woody, an old rocker, to help her. The love interest is the dependable Olly or could it be Torin who annoys Elsie no end? But at the same time she has to wrestle with her feelings. Can she let go of her memories of Lucas and move on?
Miranda has a fabulous website where you can hear her read a passage from this book when the choir give their first performance.
Which is your favourite book for Valentine's Day?

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?