Gipsy Moth is a recommended Amazon Romance today!

The picture's bit fuzzy, but I had an email today from Amazon recommending some Romance books and Gipsy Moth is on the top of the list!!
I've read it of course, but if you want to have a look, you can find it here!
Gipsy Moth

Fabulous New Book Cover from Samantha Groom for my Self-Published Short Stories

Here is my fabulous new book cover from Samantha Groom who created the one for Gipsy Moth (which you should be able to see in the right hand column).

I wanted something dreamy and light to reflect my summery stories in comparison to the more serious nature of my novel, but on the other hand, I wanted it to be similar to show that it was another book by me!

Samantha came up with some excellent ideas, and after lots of exciting emails, when new designs appeared almost daily like magic in my inbox, she produced this one, which I love because it gives the flavour of some of the stories which are set in the Sixties using a genuine photo and postcard from that time.

As you can see, it's called Postcards and Suntan Cream and I'll  be launching it in the New Year when thoughts will be turning towards holidays in the sun.
If you are looking for a cover for your book,  contact Samantha at magicat45degrees@googlemail.com.

I have just had to sit down and finish Secrets of the Tides by Hannah Richell

Writing experts are always telling us to write about what we know, and Hannah Richell has done just that in her compelling  first novel, Secrets of the Tides which is set in her beloved Dorset where she spent many childhood holidays with her family. This is quite poignant as she now lives in Sydney, and it's a long way to come back to visit her favourite spot on the south coast!
That is as far as the familiar goes in this story about a family tragedy which takes place on the last day of the summer holidays and plunges the Tide's into ten years of of guilt and regret for the events of that day.
The plot follows Helen, the mother, and Cassie and Dora, her daughters, as they come to terms with the tragedy. This may sound a little heavy, but Hannah tells the story with such compassion, that you feel for each of them as the years go by.
Centre to it all is Clifftops, the house which belonged to Richard, the father's, parents which sets the scene for the story and acts as a background through the years, and the Dorset coastline which is described in much detail, and illustrated at the end of the book with the author's notes.
The only quibble that I have with the book is that it switches backwards and forwards through time, which made me feel a little dizzy until I was able to begin to build up the story, however, this method acts as a teaser to make you keep reading!
So all in all, I loved it and as I said in the title to this blog, I just had to sit down and finish it!
Have you read a book recently that has had that effect on you?

I recommend A 1960s Childhood From Thunderbirds to Beatlemania by Paul Feeney

I love the Sixties and was lucky enough to grow up in that magical decade when anything seemed possible, including landing a man on the moon. Fabulous!
So I was really pleased to find this book in a National Trust shop, although it's also available on Amazon.
Paul Feeney gives a nostalgic account of the Sixties starting on January 1st 1960, listening to Jack de Manio (remember him?) on the Today programme (no breakfast TV then or even Radio One) and moving through the decade.
Each page jogs a memory:
Remember party line telephones, Encyclopaedia Britannica door-to-door salesmen, and when postmen wore uniforms like Postman Pat, and not shorts in all weathers?
Remember School Friend magazine, outside toilets in the school playground, and playing two ball against the wall?
Remember Worzel Gummidge, The Clitheroe Kid, and Crackerjack?
'It's Friday, it's five o'clock and it's Crackerjack!'
And all the children in the audience would yell, 'CRACKERJACK!'
I adored Thunderbirds, Stingray, and  Fireball XL5 with Steve Zodiac too, however, Paul Feeney said he watched Laurel and Hardy, but would have loved to have some kind of recording device to allow him to see them all!
It's hard to believe that 50 years ago this week, The Beatles released their first single Love Me Do, which only reached number 17 in the charts, but Paul mentions that their second single Please Please Me got to number 1, and was the beginning of Beatlemania in the UK and America.
This is truly a fabulous book, illustrated by some atmospheric black and white photos of magazines, adverts and cinema posters, and whether you read it for the memories, or you are researching into those  times, or just curious about what it was like to be a child in your parents' time, it is well worth a read. The only thing that I would add would be an index to help look things up.

A Grand Day Out at Buckingham Palace

Twenty years ago, I inherited my mum's china tea service, and too good to use everyday, I always thought it would come in useful if the Queen ever popped in for tea.
Imagine my surprise then, when we went to Buckingham Palace for a tour recently, and were given paper cups in the Garden Cafe!
Honestly though, I suppose that china cups with Buckingham Palace emblazoned on them would not last the day and be smuggled out in any bag that the visitor had to hand!
However, apart from the small problem with the paper cups, the rest of the day was wonderful, not to mention that lovely strawberry cake. Yum!

At last I've got round to reading the Book Lovers' Appreciation Society!

I bought the Book Lovers' Appreciation Society a few years ago, and stuck it on a bookshelf and never got around to reading it until now, and I'm sorry it took me so long!
So many of my favourite authors are there like Maeve Binchy, Katie Fforde, Deborah Lawrenson, Mark Mills, Santa Montifiore, Jojo Moyes, Elizabeth Noble to name but eight! It's a real treat to find a short story, or novel for that matter, from someone whose work you love, but to find so many in this book is fantastic. On the other hand it's a wonderful opportunity to try some new authors (to me) like: Nicci French, Victoria Hislop, and Jane Elizabeth Varley.
No need to mention that the stories are wonderful, and Gerri Halliwell says in her introduction that the book is like 'a cosy box of chocolates' she couldn't stop at one and had to read more. I have to agree!
£1 from your purchase is donated to Breast Cancer Care, so it's a worthwhile buy as well.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyles - an Unforgetable Read

I've just finished Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, and I don't think that I've ever been moved so much by a story.
Louisa Clark is literally a small town girl who loses her job and goes to work for the Traynor family to help look after their son, Will, who has been injured in a road accident and is now a quadriplegic.
The last book I read by Jojo Moyes was The Last Letter From Your Lover, and in it she got totally into the character of Jennifer Stirling who is struggling in the stifling early 1960s to come to terms with her feelings for another man.
In this book, she is totally into Louisa's character. A girl from a relatively poor home, but full of love, who has to come to terms with a rich, yet undemonstrative family.
I also love Will's character. For example, instead of calling her Louisa, her calls her Clark, rather like Daniel Cleaver in Bridget Jones's Diary. A really nice touch.
Of course,  I've been reading this whilst the Paralympics have been on which has made the story all the more  poignant.
I can't go into it too much here, but can only say, read it as soon as you can.