Lucy Mitchell's Blog, page 63

Things I Discovered After Publishing My Book #Author #Indie #WritingCommunity

Before I start my post I want to say that publishing my first book has been a HUGE learning experience for me.

There have been positives and negatives. There are things I will do again and there are things I will avoid doing next time. I did concentrate heavily on my book, actually I will be honest – I fell head over heels in love with my book in the last few months and everything else fell away, including my common sense. I didn’t expect such strong feelings for my book and they took me by surprise. In hindsight perhaps I should have thought more about marketing, promotion and reader buying habits but I now believe the saying, love is blind.

There are things below which I am sure a lot of you will already know. Please bear with me as I am at the start of my journey and publishing my debut novel was like giving birth to my first child; an exhilarating and terrifying journey into the unknown, which changed me as a person and one I will never forget.

This will probably be the first of many insights from what I am calling the book front line. I do hope you enjoy them.

So here is what I discovered minutes after I published my book:

As I mentioned above, publishing my book was like giving birth. In my book launch plan I didn’t prepare for a huge emotional outpouring which went on for about a week, and included buckets of tears and more importantly feelings of exhaustion and emptiness. The week before my book went live was chaotic and I did push myself but I didn’t expect to feel like something had physically left me. I suppose this book had a gestation period of three years so the birth was always going to be traumatic. On launch week you need to be energised and ready to hit the ground running – not struggling to stay awake and doing a good impression of a zombie. Next time I will make sure I put some self-care measures in place for the week before launch. Seeing my book in paperback for the first time floored me. When my book went live as an e-book I did get a little emotional however when I actually held a paperback copy in my hands – I did some serious ugly crying (snot everywhere and streaming eyes). I can’t explain what that moment is like when you see your book in your hands but all I will say is that don’t wear mascara that day! A LOT of people don’t own a Kindle and a LOT prefer a paperback. More than you think if you haven’t published. I initially published my book as an e-book exclusively through Amazon (thinking everyone was like me and had a Kindle) and was not going to consider paperback until a few months in. Well, the day I launched I was deluged with messages from readers asking when the paperback version was coming out and readers telling me they only used KOBO or Google books. I did not plan for this. There’s a lot of what I call author admin once your book goes live. I was surprised by all the things I had to do and I think this is why you need to be in a decent state to do all this. Trying to do everything and feeling exhausted at the same time is when problems occur. In my case I found claiming my book on Author Central, sorting out my Goodreads author page, setting my author profile up, linking my books, sorting out social media and turning the Amazon book description into HTML code (I still haven’t mastered this) tough going. I wished I had read up on this before the launch. Trying to throw myself into writing another book in the week after my book launched was pointless and ended in tears. The creative well was well and truly empty. I didn’t have the energy and my mind was elsewhere. In general people do not read books like me. This has been a huge learning. I devour books. I eat them for breakfast, lunch and tea. Having two on the go is how I roll. Reading a book in forty-eight hours is my norm and if it is a good book I have been known to stay up till the small hours. My life revolves around books and my TBR pile. Other people have other things going on in their lives. They read books when they have time and at their own leisure. I am just going to say patience is a virtue. People coming up to me in my local supermarket when I am buying sausages and saying they’ve bought my book (I live in a tiny town) has been interesting. My normal reaction when someone came up and said they’d read my blog posts was to either change the subject quick or cast them a terrified expression before running off into the distance like Forest Gump. You can’t do this when you publish a book. This is your product which this person has taken the time to purchase. You are your book’s ambassador. This means you have to stop yourself from running. You have to stand very still, thank the person for buying your book and try to talk positively about it. This has been a steep learning curve. I didn’t plan for this. Getting my first review from a complete stranger made me get emotional again and it brought back the tears.Thank goodness for coffee, chocolate, my family, my friends, my dog, a good brand of deodorant and Twitter! Reviews can take a few days to go up. They are not instant. People will tell you they have left you a review and it will take a good few days to appear. Promotion. Deep breath. It’s tough. Wish I had paid more attention to this. Videos on social media which promote your book – another big learning. I thought tweeting about my book was tough but once you start seeing authors talking into a camera – oh my goodness things get scary. I have done a video and was planning to put it on my Author FB but some friends said it needed more work and more humour so I chickened out. I desperately want to share it but have lost my bottle. If anyone has any thoughts on this let me know? The video is me in my true northern accent with my humour. As I said, this launch was like a birth. A few days after my book birth I swore blind I would never do it again. It was too traumatic and I don’t think I could put myself through all that author stress again. The memories have started to fade and I am finding myself telling people that I will have another book baby

#BookReview One Summer in Santorini #TuesdayBookBlog #BookTour @sandybarker

Warning: Sandy Barker’s One Summer in Santorini will whisk you away to a beautiful place with some fabulous characters, it will tug at your heart strings and leave you gasping for more!

After finishing this book you will find yourself doing one or more of the following things:

1. Ignoring your bank balance, Love Island, the ongoing Brexit saga and locking yourself away to browse Greek sailing holidays on the Internet.

2. Frantically pinning gorgeous pics of Greek islands and handsome men lounging on boats on Pinterest.

3. Upgrading your work daydreams so that they now feature sailing boats, windswept hair, deck shoes, kissing in a cabin and looking at the sky through a cabin ceiling hatch while lying in the arms of a handsome man. After reading Sandy’s book, gazing out of the office window or staring blankly at your Greek islands themed computer screen until you start to dribble will become a major part of your day.

4. Waking from a lovely night’s sleep to find your loved one, looking agitated and wanting to know why the hell you were murmuring, ‘you handsome American boy,’ in your sleep.

5. Getting yourself in a fluster over pinning pics of sexy silver foxes on Pinterest.

This book is pure escapism. After you will feel like you have been away on holiday and enjoyed a little bit of holiday romance.

I do love books where you get to go abroad in your head and live out someone else’s life. I am just going to take a moment to appreciate the genre of holiday romance fiction.

If I was back out there (single) and on a gorgeous foreign sailing holiday, surrounded by hot men and getting the flutters for someone I would have the following worries:

Sunburn, sunstroke, my sweaty neck, my salmon pink face, staying hydrated, cocktail hangovers, sea sickness, crab stick breath, eating too much of the local cuisine, insect bites, over sharing after too many cocktails, anxiety over whether my handsome holiday suitor will want to kiss me, his kissing technique being better then mine, white bikini strap marks, how I look in swimwear, sweating into my dinner, wondering whether I will fancy him in his budgie smugglers, hoping I will impress him with my swimming style, praying he enjoys swimming alongside someone who generates a lot of sea froth, worrying whether I bought enough holiday contraception in Tescos, how much storage space I will have in the cabin and over thinking about my holiday romance lasting when we get back.

The beauty of holiday romance fiction is that all of the above has been sorted! You don’t even need your factor 50, a sunhat or your bikini. All you have to do is sit back in your armchair, relax and tell your loved one to either put the kettle on or run the hoover over the lounge carpet.

Enough of all this holiday talk!

Here’s the blurb:

Sarah has had enough of men. It’s time to rekindle her first true love – travel – so she books a sailing trip around the Greek islands with a group of strangers.

The very last thing Sarah wants is to meet someone new, but then a gorgeous American man boards her yacht… And when she also encounters a handsome silver fox who promises her the world, she realises that trouble really does come in twos.

Will Sarah dive into a holiday fling or stick to her plan to steer clear of men, continue her love affair with feta and find her own way after all?

Here’s my review:

Sarah is an inspirational character. She’s one of those characters who you read about and think, ‘I wish I’d had the bottle to go off travelling on my own and join a sailing boat full of strangers after one of my relationships ended. It would have been better than sitting on my own, eating a kebab while listening to my ‘break up’ playlist and crying into my cat’s fur.’

I like Sarah’s independent streak, her fun side, her sweet relationship with her sister Cat and the way she makes friends instantly with everyone on the boat.

The camaraderie on the boat between all the holiday makers was fun. Sandy Barker has pulled together a unique cast of interesting characters.

The delicious flirtations with both Josh and James draw you deeper into this book. There’s a lot of soul searching going on with Sarah but there’s also a lot of chemistry, arm tingles, twinges, a flip flopping stomach and an aching heart.

Celebrating the Launch of my #RomanceBook #IFFILA #NewAuthor

Welcome to my virtual blog party!

[image error]The virtual cocktail bar is open and the barman will be happy to make you up the virtual cocktail of your choice.

After 3 years and 6 months of blood, sweat, tears, endless cups of coffee, 12 drafts, 5 rewrites, many hours spent at the kitchen table, countless time spent gazing out of the window daydreaming, loads of sweaty author nightmares, millions of texts and emails to writers friends, a mind boggling number of tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram posts and blog posts, the decision in March to self-publish after a lot of rejections, time spent with an editor, a proofreader, a book cover designer, a six-day holiday to Dubrovnik, an overnight stay at a luxury hotel in Worcester and a week filled with non-stop emotion, my book; Instructions For Falling In Love Again, IS NOW LIVE.

I would like you all to take a seat and watch the show.

[image error]

Here is my book’s journey in a series of thought provoking images:

[image error]Husband runs London Marathon to celebrate being 10 yrs cancer free and the little red book he carries around to record his training sparks my idea.



[image error]Earliest photo I have is from 2016 and the second draft completion



[image error]The next day I treated myself to afternoon tea. Okay I think I got a bit carried away with the second draft celebrations. If I recall all my beta readers disliked this draft

#BookReview 10 Steps To Hero @sacha_black #TuesdayBookBlog #AmWriting

This book How to Craft a Kickass Protagonist – 10 Steps To Hero has become a permanent feature in my writer’s handbag and it has really helped me on my journey to publication. If only the author, Sacha Black, knew how bendy I’ve made the book spine (from excessive use), how many pages are now dog eared and how many pages are adorned with messy fingerprint marks.

I have read Sacha’s 13 Steps To Evil which is all about crafting superbad villains and I loved it. The nifty thing with Sacha’s books is that she gives you a little writing pep talk as you go along. You can’t beat her use of humour, sarcasm and wit. Sacha also knows all of your bad writing habits when writing characters and will get inside your writing mind. I found myself rushing to a notebook after reading Villains.

This book on crafting heroes has been a life saver for me. It appeared at the right time. All work on my story had stopped because I knew something was wrong, but couldn’t work out what. So, instead of figuring out what was making me treat my draft like it had the plague, I chose to avoid my story, told everyone I was no longer a writer (I’m not dramatic at all) and took to the sofa to binge eat Oreos and fall down a Netflix rabbit hole.

The universe had other ideas. Sacha wrote her book on heroes and I made a purchase despite telling everyone nothing would make me return to the writing desk. Six days later and I was wiping a layer of sweat from my brow while hammering out words.

This book pulled me back from the brink!

Here’s the blurb:

From cardboard cut-out to superhero in 10 steps.

Are you fed up of one-dimensional heroes? Frustrated with creating clones? Does your protagonist fail to capture your reader’s heart?

In 10 Steps To Hero, you’ll discover: 

+ How to develop a killer character arc

+ A step-by-step guide to creating your hero from initial concept to final page

+ Why the web of story connectivity is essential to crafting a hero that will hook readers+ Why the web of story connectivity

The four major pitfalls to avoid as well as the tropes your story needs

Finally, there is a comprehensive writing guide to help you create your perfect protagonist. Whether you’re writing your first story or you’re a professional writer, this book will help supercharge your hero and give them that extra edge.

These lessons will help you master your charming knights, navigate your way to the perfect balance of flaws and traits, as well as strengthen your hero to give your story the conflict and punch it needs.

First, there were villains, now there are heroes. If you like dark humor, learning through examples,and want to create the best hero you can, then you’ll love Sacha Black’s guide to crafting heroes.

Read 10 Steps To Hero today and start creating kick-ass heroes.

Here’s my review:

I have read a lot of writing craft books on characters. Most only focus on character motivations and don’t go any further. So, you can end up with characters who lack depth and struggle to grow. Sacha takes characterisation to a NEW level. By the time you have followed her advice your protagonist will be setting your reader’s heart on fire. Sacha covers all bases; character arcs, character journey, archetypes, cliches, conflict, tropes and the sprinkling of unicorn dust. She leaves no stone unturned. Once Sacha Black gets her hands on your character, it will be like one of those TV transformation programmes. You know where their life gets totally overhauled and the once shy contestant comes back oozing with confidence, charisma and owns the room? That’s what this book is like!

Every concept she talks about is broken down to a granular level so you can understand it. I struggle with difficult concepts so I like authors who hold my hand and talk slowly to me. Sacha also brings in loads of examples from films and books to help out.

Sacha studied psychology so you will find her craft books take character’s minds apart. You get to understand there is something bigger than motivation, driving all of your character’s actions, thoughts and dialogue.

Her ideas make sense too. The Web of Connectivity concept is brill and will give you one of those magical a-ha moments.

I love how much support she gives you too. There’s a text book and a workbook which you can buy.

This was a different type of writing craft book for me. It was more in-depth and I loved the focus on heroes. Sometimes we forget that heroes can be just as fun as villains. They don’t have to be goody-two-shoes type characters. There’s a whole lot more to our heroes and this book, I believe, gives them much needed human qualities which can only be a good thing when attracting readers.

A fab book for those looking to develop their writing craft!

3 Things I like About This Author:

Sacha has a beautiful Instagram page. You want to scroll down and check out her bookcases!Sacha writes Young Adult when she’s not writing Non-Fiction. Her Keepers series is well worth a read. Sacha has been on a few podcasts lately and my fav is this one. It is the Worried Writer’s podcast and Sacha talks about ‘extreme geekery.’

If you want to know more about Sacha’s books – here are some links:

Kobo link Amazon link Sacha’s website and blog.

Have a great day x

How I Plan To Spend The Week Before My Debut Novel Launches #MondayBlogs #romance

This time next week you will be attending my book launch blog party right here on BlondeWriteMore.

Please mark the date – Sunday 30 June in your hectic online calendars.

This time next week my book – Instructions For Falling In Love Again will be ready to be devoured by hungry bookworms and I will be lying down in a darkened room with a cool flannel on my forehead and soothing whale music playing in the background.

You will all get to meet my character Pippa and her three children; Daisy, Libby and Billy. They have all spent the last three years battling their way through grief and heartache.

Dan, Pippa’s amazing husband and fabulous father to their three kids, sadly lost his battle to cancer and left a moon crater sized hole in their lives.

When he died Pippa swore to herself no one could ever replace Dan, but three years on she’s finally admitted she’s lonely.

To her surprise she finds Dan left her a little red notebook, filled with a set of instructions on how to fall in love again.

He wanted to help rewrite her fairy-tale.

Sounds lovely doesn’t it?

Okay, here’s where things get tricky for Pippa.

In his notebook, Dan suggested she fall in love with his playboy friend, Mikey from football, who loves wild parties, living the life of a hell raiser and being a ladies man. Mikey is devilishly handsome and is the main source of all local female Facebook gossip

What the hell was Dan thinking?

Read my book to find out more. #sigh

So, this week I will be sorting out a LOT of new book admin but I will also be doing the following:

Eating a LOT of Twix bars to combat the feelings of excitement and terror. I am just going to let my obsession with this chocolate bar run wild over next few days. Creating my Spotify playlist for my book. I have seen other authors do this and I want to join in with the music fun. Buying a pair of LUCKY knickers for next Sunday. I am a big fan of wearing lucky knickers for big life events. Hugging the dog a lot, even if he’s not in a hugging mood.Treating myself to a Hot Mineral Body Boost massage at a posh hotel. Not content with one girlie holiday this month, I am going away tonight with some more friends. I can’t wait for the massage as it is a game-changer according to the brochure. After three years of hard slog with my novel I think I deserve a body boost. Reflecting on my journey so far. I think it’s good to do this at key stages. At the start of my self-publishing adventure I did write down a list of what I thought I would find tough. Am going to fish this out and compare with reality. I am going to practice my celebratory cartwheels in the garden for launch day. Trying to get my legs straight and not crashing into flower pots will be my objectives. Trying to connect telepathically with all my advanced readers who are all busy reading my book for the first time. Just hoping they like it.Start my pre book launch video diary. I really fancy doing this over the next few days. Might stick videos on my Instagram story and blog next week. Be proud of myself. This has been my life dream for years.

Hope you all have a great week!

My book is coming

[image error]

#BookReview Amazing Grace @KimTheBookworm #TuesdayBookBlog

This book gave me a much-needed smile the night before an important job interview. For most of that week I had been stressing about this ninety minute interview, which included a half-hour quick-fire round of technical questions, and so I had a facial expression similar to that of a bulldog chewing on a thistle.

Locked away in my hotel room with a twelve-hour job interview countdown I decided to put my studying away and….fall into the comforting arms of a good book!

This fabulous book, Amazing Grace, whisked me away to the beautiful fictional village of Little Ollington and let me live out the life of single mum, Grace. She’s picking up the pieces of her life after discovering her husband’s affair with his secretary and she’s still hurting from her mum’s death many years ago.

Let’s just say…I never went back to my interview notes once I dived into this adorable and captivating tale.

In that Brighton hotel room I went through a variety of emotions while reading Grace’s story; laughter, sadness, excitement, worry and hope. I worked my way through the free hotel biscuits and had to order room service as going down to the restaurant would have meant putting Amazing Grace down.

What I loved most about this book was that it was so realistic and relatable. Grace’s life is messy, chaotic, emotional, funny at times and full of self-doubt. While juggling the demands of motherhood and an ex-husband, Grace finds herself embarking on this wonderful journey of self-discovery. She also sets out to find someone to repair her heart.

You don’t need to look very far for real life examples of people doing what I now call a ‘Grace.’

Here’s the blurb:

Grace thought she had it all. Living in the beautiful village of Little Ollington, along with head teacher husband Mark and gorgeous son, Archie.

Until that fateful day when she walked in on Mark kissing his secretary – and her perfect life fell apart.

Grace’s life needs a shake up – fast. So when gorgeous gardener Vinnie turns up, she might just have found the answer to her prayers. But as Grace falls deeper for Vinnie, ten-year-old Archie fears that his mum finding love means she’ll never reconcile with the dad he loves.

So when ex-husband Mark begs her for another chance, Grace finds herself with an impossible dilemma. Should she take back Mark and reunite the family that Archie loves? Or risk it all for a new chance of happiness?

Here’s my review:

It was brilliant. Kim is a fantastic storyteller and she’s got a wicked sense of humour which comes through in the book. The laugh out loud dating scenes are a lot of fun. As well as wanting to go for a drink with the character, Grace, I also quite fancy meeting up with Kim, the author, too.

The crater-sized hole in Grace’s life that her mum’s death created is felt by the reader. I gave up counting the number of times I wanted to hug Grace but I thought it was really clever how the spirit of her mother acts as a guide on Grace’s journey of self-discovery. These little snippets of wisdom from her late mother made me love this book even more.

I thought the character of Mark, her ex-husband, was really well written. He annoyed me so much I was shouting from my hotel bed.

Vinnie, Grace’s new love interest, has to be one of the sweetest male characters I’ve read about. I won’t say anything but the ending made me cry out with joy…seconds before the interview door opened. LOL! I hurried into my job interview feeling elated.

One of the stars of the book is Grace’s young son, Archie. He’s so cute and lovable. His relationship with Grace is heartwarming.

I can’t believe this is a debut, it really is fantastic.

Kim – thank you – I got the job

The Importance of Magical and Messy Moments For Writers #AmWriting

The creative process for producing any kind of art is both magical and messy.

It doesn’t matter whether you paint, draw, play an instrument or write, your art will sometimes surprise and delight you and other times it will cause mess.

The following moments are what I call messy for writers:

A draft full of moon crater-sized plot holes.Doing a serious amount of cringing whilst writing your first draft.Falling down a gigantic plot hole which you never saw coming.Reading your draft and realising it reads nothing like the bestseller in your head.Having no clue whatsoever about where your creative muse is taking you with your story.Discovering a major problem with a character or your plot. Chucking your draft in the waste paper bin because it is a big pile of literary wrongs and then returning to it a few hours later, tear stained and clutching a large glass of wine. 

Since finishing my debut novel, Instructions For Falling In Love Again, I have been searching for a new story. This has not been easy because I have been actively avoiding messy writing moments. I have been shelving stories at the first sign of mess and starting again with a shiny new one.

Once you have a finished book it is quite easy to forget about the journey you have been on.

It is also very easy to think the creation of your second novel will ONLY be full of magical writing moments because you already been through so much with your first book. You are now an experienced novelist who does not encounter mess...

Excuse me while I laugh hysterically at myself!

I won’t lie, magical writing moments are great, although at times they can feel elusive. These golden moments where we feel on top of our writing game or on the receiving end of some glowing praise give us a much-needed boost and can lead to increased productivity levels.

After shelving a new story a few weeks ago, one which was getting close to the messy stage, I came across the Buddhist quote:

‘No mud, no lotus’. 

The beautiful lotus grows out from the muck and mud at the bottom of the water.

[image error]

Without the muck there is no lotus. 

Does this apply to writing? Do beautiful things come out of creative mess?

This got me thinking.

We need messy writing moments just as much as we do magical moments.

The first draft of a story needs to be a mess for a bit because it means our mind is being kept open. 

Messy writing moments are a sign our curiosity needs to spring into action and force us to dig a little deeper.

Literary success doesn’t happen as a lightning bolt that hits us in our sleep. Rather, it happens through a series of setbacks, failures and messy writing moments that ultimately lead to something great. 

I love Anne Lamott’s quote in Bird by bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life:

Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist’s true friend. What people somehow forget to mention when we were children was that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here.

I recall enjoying my messy writing moments with my first novel. All hell broke loose on the page and I didn’t fight it or run away. Instead I allowed it to stay a mess (ignoring the facial twitches and hives) and gently leaned into that…panic stricken feeling of ‘WTF am I writing?’

For some reason I now want to avoid all the mess and go straight into the magical moments.

But, I have realised this can’t happen. We need both!

So I have decided to embrace the mess and be grateful for the magical writing moments.

Do you encounter both messy and magical moments with your writing?

Have a fabulous day.

Photo by Ferenc Horvath on Unsplash

[image error]

#BookReview Her Brooding Scottish Heir @EllaHayesAuthor #TuesdayBookBlog

Not only was this book my first reading experience of Ella Hayes, but also it was my…..FIRST EVER Mills & Boon. I feel like I have come of age as a romance reader.

Before I read this book I was going through a reading bad patch; I was struggling to fall in fictional love with the male characters in the books I was reading. *All romance readers looking at this blog take a sharp intake of breath* Yep, tough times! It had been weeks since I’d had a satisfying fictional relationship with a handsome male character and I was starting to question whether this genre was for me. *All romance readers looking at this blogs shake their heads in disbelief*

So I wandered aimlessly into the book wilderness, feeling incredibly frustrated and wondering whether I would ever fall head over heels in fictional love with another male character ever again.

I think by this point God was losing patience with my bedtime prayers which always began with the same question – heavenly Father, how can I carry on reading romance if I can’t fall in fictional love?

Then I came across Her Brooding Scottish Heir by Ella Hayes. The book blurb screamed sweeping romance set in a beautiful location and a little voice inside of me whispered, ‘Mills & Boon will sort you out, Lucy.’

So, I armed myself with a packet of digestives, a huge mug of tea, a sleeping golden Labrador, a box of tissues and an electric fan (in the hope I might get lucky).

Here’s the blurb (from Goodreads).

A kiss under the Northern Lights…

Running from her broken engagement artist Milla O’Brien retreats to the Scottish Highlands. Only to arrive during a lavish wedding on the estate!

She finds the bride’s brother and brooding heir, Cormac Buchanan. Could they heal each other’s hearts?

Here’s my review:

I was drawn to the character of Milia, still struggling to overcome the loss of her mother and feeling broken by her failed engagement. Escaping to the Highlands she heads for an isolated artist’s retreat in the grounds of Calcarron House. By this point I had started dunking my first digestive biscuit. Climbing into Milia’s fictional shoes and living out a part of her life felt like it could be enjoyable.

En route she has a puncture and a brooding man comes to her rescue. I forgot about my soggy digestive, put down my tea and JUMPED into Milia’s shoes.

The man in question is Cormac; the heir to the estate. He’s sad, distant and handsome. Bingo! My heart broke into a wild gallop.

I didn’t expect the book to be as moving as it was. These two characters have a lot of emotional baggage to unload; Milia’s dealing with her grief and failed engagement while Cormac is still hurting from his time in Afghanistan and the death of his best friend. I felt heavily invested in these two characters. This wasn’t just a romance for me, I actually wanted to see whether they were going to be okay by the end of the book.

The sizzling chemistry between Milia and Cormac was cleverly crafted. Ella Hayes knows how to fiddle with your heart strings. By half-way I was a hot mess and covered in digestive biscuit crumbs.

The character of Cormac was written so well. His troubles made my heart ache and at one point when he’s talking about the death of his best friend I had to go make myself some soothing peppermint tea to calm down.

He was also so attractive I could have climbed in, moved Milia out of the way and kissed him myself. I got so carried away with him that when he did smile (this character doesn’t smile much) I had tears in my eyes.

This book rescued me from my romance book crisis. I fell head over heels in fictional love with Cormac and ended the book feeling very satisfied.

It was well written and I can see why Ella Hayes won the Prima Love To Write Competition.

A fabulous read and I can’t wait to read more from Ella Hayes.

Three Things I like About This Author:

She’s a wedding photographer.She used to be a TV camerawoman filming creepy crawlies for science documentaries.Her colourful instagram feed is well worth a look at.

If you fancy losing yourself in a sweeping romance in a stunning location please click here.

If you fancy checking it out on Goodreads – click here.

It’s my last day in Dubrovnik on my writer’s holiday so please give me sympathy

Things Bookworms Worry About When Reading Book Series #MondayBlogs

As a bookworm I enjoy reading a good book series, I love the excitement of finishing a first book and making a frantic dash onto Amazon to buy the second. I am a big fan of watching an author’s Twitter feed like a hawk for news on when the next book in their series is coming out.

Book series demand a different sort of reading mindset from you.

At the outset you have to accept the following:

You are in this for the long haul. Completing a book series can take months and even years in some cases, depending on how fast the author churns out the books.

The characters you get to know in the first book may not reach the third book. You have to keep control of your emotions.

If like me, you enjoy keeping the author updated on your book progress via tweets, regular DM messages and Facebook comments, by the end of a four book series, you might make it onto the author’s Christmas card list or they might have spoken to their lawyer.

#BookReview Probably the Best Kiss in the World @pernillehughes #TuesdayBookBlog

This book should come with the following warning:

There is a powerful kiss contained within this book. It is described in detail over FIVE PAGES and after reading it you are strongly advised to apply a cold flannel to your forehead and go lie down in a darkened room.

It took me WEEKS to recover from this book. I had this book hangover for days after I finished reading it. All my emotions were running wild and I had to force myself to stop reading those five pages again in my lunch breaks at work.

I even told my loved one the premise while on one of our romantic dog walks.

This wasn’t one of my best decisions because things did get awkward on the romantic dog walk when I raved about the main character, Jen, going on a city break with the girls and the trip taking a turn for the unexpected because of a gorgeous, mystery rescuer and a powerful kiss. 

As I am about to go on a city break with the girls on Thursday, my loved one did raise his eyebrows at me. I found myself gasping and then talking very fast about how after nineteen years of glorious marriage there’s no way I would allow myself to be rescued by a hunky man and fall into his arms, while clutching a tupperware box (in the book Jen has a tupperware box), for probably the best kiss in the world.

After saying all this I did turn my head away quickly to find something interesting to look at in the cow field.

Here’s the blurb:

Jen Attison likes her life Just So. But being fished out of a canal in Copenhagen by her knickers is definitely NOT on her to do list.

From cinnamon swirls to a spontaneous night of laughter and fireworks, Jen’s city break with the girls takes a turn for the unexpected because of her gorgeous, mystery rescuer.

Back home, Jen faces a choice. A surprise proposal from her boyfriend, ‘boring’ Robert has offered Jen the safety net she always thought she wanted. But with the memories of her Danish adventure proving hard to forget, maybe it’s time for Jen to stop listening to her head and start following her heart…

Here’s my review:

Probably The Best Kiss In The World is a strong contender for my best book of 2019.

The quirky characters are one of the standouts for me. I got so attached to Jen and her sister Lydia in the first chapter that by the third chapter I was frantically cancelling social commitments just so that I could stay in their world of craft beer and a lot of laughter.

I loved how Jen has this life dream to produce craft beer and this book is about her not being able to let this passion go. It was great to see her gaining confidence in herself and it reminded me of my book dream. This passage from the book actually made tears well up inside my eyes:

“My passion. I brew beer. Craft beer. Just from home, as a hobby in my spare time. I’ve been doing it for years. My dad taught me, and I’m OK at it.” She stopped and reconsidered. “No, actually, I’m good at it. I’ve won awards.” There. She’d said it, and she’d explained it with pride and honestly, it felt bloody great.

This is how it feels when you summon the strength to talk about your dream. Yes, it feels bloody great!

There are some beautiful romantic quotes and this one made me squeal. ‘His fingers slid swiftly back along her jaw to thread into her hair like they’d finally been called home.’

That line ‘like they’d finally been called home’ AMAZING!

I thought this was an excellent book and the five page kiss was truly spectacular.

I am now a huge Pernille Hughes fan. I would like to know how much actual kissing research she did for this? Did her loved one take part in this book research? Must have been tough