The Horse Dancer - Another Wonderful Read by Jojo Moyes

If you've been following my blog, you'll know that I've adored all the books by Jojo Moyes that I've read. However, after devouring her most recent ones, I've had to delve into the past to find some more!
Sheltering Rain, her first novel, was on my list of books to read but as I've been away recently and it wasn't available on Kindle, I downloaded The Horse Dancer instead.
It is a simply beautiful bitter-sweet story about love: unconditional love for your horse; love for your family; love between two people, and the motivation to achieve your heart's desire.
I was totally immersed in the story of Sarah, brought up by her French grandpapa, and Boo, the horse they train together to perform the thousand-year-old manoeuvres of Le Cadre Noir, the elite French school of horsemanship, at the Sparepenny Lane Stables run by Cowboy John.
This sounds like a pony story for girls, but it is equally a story about the floundering marriage of lawyer, Natasha, and her photographer husband, Mac, who through a series of disasters, take Sarah in as a temporary foster child.
I had to keep reading to find out what happened to these characters, and I think you will too!
(You might wonder where I got the picture of the book from. Well, dear reader, I loved it so much, I bought one!)
Have you ever bought a book because you liked it so much on Kindle?

Beacon Hill and Downton Abbey!

Here I am at the top of Beacon Hill just off the A34 in Hampshire. I've just climbed 261 metres after a 7 mile walk - talk about fit!
It is one of the many hills where beacons were lit to warn of approaching invaders or attackers and it's certainly very windy up here!
Nearby on the Berkshire Downs is Watership Down where you can walk and see the very cottage where Richard Adams sat down to write his famous book about the rabbits which you might just catch hopping about.
However, behind me to the left you can just make out Highclere Castle, or the fictional Downton Abbey which is open to visitors on various dates between Easter and September. My best memory of the castle is going to see Twelfth Night in the grounds, but having to move indoors because of a thunderstorm. How fabulous to see Shakespeare in that legendary hall!
Have you visited a famous location for a film or a book?

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?

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!