Chris Penhall's Blog, page 4
June 27, 2023
Summer in Your Eyes – a Q&A with me in the Choc-Lit/Joffe Books Digest
Q&A WITH AUTHOR CHRIS PENHALLIn last week’s digest we announced SUMMER IN YOUR EYES by award-winning author Chris Penhall is now available to pre-order. Ahead of it’s release, we caught up with Chris.
Read below to find out about Chris’ writing process.What’s the inspiration for this book?
I love walking around London, often with no clear idea of where I’m going, and finding all sorts of hidden gems along the way. Like a lot of cities, it’s constantly evolving and growing, and you can amble past an ancient church tucked next to a glossy new tower block, or Roman ruins sitting underneath a row of houses. I was early for an appointment a few weeks ago and accidently found an old second-hand book shop in a residential street in Camden. The walls were covered with wisteria in full bloom — I absolutely love wisteria — so I obviously had to pop in for a look. I bought a guidebook about hidden rivers in the city, which I thought would be a very Holly Merriweather thing to do. It’s now sitting on my bookshelf waiting for me to use it to plan more exploration in my favourite city! So, the idea of a travel blogger living in London and discovering all of this around her really appealed. Plus, all these buildings with amazingly vibrant histories are everywhere. What if one of them had been forgotten but seemed to hold the key to help all the characters in the story? On top of this, Holly is a film fan, and so am I, so I decided she could feel she was living in a giant film set . . .
Tell us about your characters?
Holly Merriweather is a travel writer who gave that up to start a new business with her childhood sweetheart, Ed. Unfortunately, both the business and the relationship ended, so she’s starting again and determined to get her life on track. She’s very kind, very imaginative and loves films and music. She’s lost her confidence, both in her talent and in herself, so is really reluctant to get involved with any man at all when we first meet her, especially not someone she works with, given what happened when she started a business with her ex-partner, Ed.
Jack Fambridge is also not interested in being involved with anyone, especially not someone he works with, as the ripples of his divorce from his wife, who was also a business partner, are still causing him issues. He’s just returned from running an outdoor pursuits centre in Costa Rica to help rescue the family publishing business. He is also extremely gorgeous and much happier paddle boarding on the River Thames than sitting at a computer in an office.
There are numerous other characters to meet in the book: Claudette Fambridge, who owns the publishing company, Holly’s parents (Gary and Julie), who love ’80s music and 1980s music weekenders, Melissa (Holly’s best friend), who’s in PR, and the inhabitants of Farthing Street, which is not far from Holly’s new home.
Tell us about the setting?
I love Primrose Hill, but the property prices are ‘slightly'(!) out of my reach, so I’ve done the next best thing to me living there: I’ve let Holly live there. She’s in a house that she’s renting at a very reduced price because it’s owned by a relative of Melissa’s, who is away for a couple of years and needs to let it out. They are doing it very cheaply, probably for tax reasons . . . We also spend a lot of time in different parts of London, partly because Holly is researching guidebooks. I’ve done all my own research you know!
How do you want readers to feel after they’ve read your book?
I’d love them smile when they think of it and want to read it again!
What’s your favourite thing about this book?
It’s difficult to choose one particular thing but I think it could be all the characters in the story — I loved creating them, and sometimes I’d just smile to myself when I was writing some of the dialogue. If anyone noticed me giggling to myself in a coffee shop somewhere while tapping away on my computer, I could well have been in the middle of a scene with Holly’s parents, Gary and Julie . . . And I love being able to show London through the eyes of a travel blogger and a film fan. I’m a frustrated travel writer to be honest, so this has been a great way to write a travel-related paragraph here and there! And that’s two things, sorry — I’m given to getting carried away and overenthusiastic sometimes, a bit like Holly!
The post Summer in Your Eyes – a Q&A with me in the Choc-Lit/Joffe Books Digest appeared first on Chris Penhall.
May 24, 2023
Just Friends for Now by Lucy Keeling
Lucy Keeling and I met in 2019 when we were both finalists in the Choc-Lit Search for A Star Competition and since then I’ve loved reading all of her fabulous books – and I look forward to reading many more.
Just Friends For Now is the fourth book in her Friends Series. It’s out now, and I thought it would nice to ask her about it. Here she is:
Tell us about the book:
This book is the fourth and final book in my Friends series. It’s time for Paige’s story and her happily ever after except she doesn’t start off all that happy. She’s grumpy and feeling a little bit sorry for herself. Melanie is a new bar owner working down the street and though they start off a little frosty towards each other it’s not long before they are working together on a community art project and are finding each other to be more than a little bit distracting.
It’s part of a series – can you explain more about that?
I’m so excited for this series and so sad that it’s over. I think the best thing about this series and certainly the thing I get the most positive comments about, are the friendships that are written within it. They are there for each other, whether it’s healing from hangovers or major life changes, they are there for each other, And it’s gorgeous!
When you began writing the first Just Friends book did you have the series all planned out?
Yep sort of. But not completely. I knew that the four friends were each going to have their own story. I knew that Polly and Bailey in ‘Just Friends’ were going to be a thing and there’s lots of hints of that in ‘Just Friends for Now’. I also knew what Mya’s career was in Just Friends in Vegas and there’s lots of hints for that too. But the love story element for Mya and for Paige in this new book I didn’t know about until nearer the time.
Where do you get your ideas from?
Oh various places. I quite often like to go on a quick writing walk, and that will help inspire me. But I might just get an idea or a concept or sometimes I just want to explore a particular trope or theme. For example, Just a Boy Friend – Enemies to Friends to Lovers. Just Friends – brothers best friend. Just Friends in Vegas – Competitors almost Forbidden Lovers. Just Friends for Now – Bang it out of our systems, and grumpy sunshine.
How do you find time to write and do you have a routine?
I wish – I would love a routine and a dedicated writing time. But between two young kids, working full time I grab whatever time I can get. And even then I think I spend too much of that time on TikTok instead of writing.
What writers have influenced you?
Oh so many. I adore Talia Hibbert’s books and would recommend them to everyone. I love Tessa Dare, KJ Charles, Ali Hazelwood and Sally Thorne.
Is this the end of the series and if it is, what have you got planned next?
This is the end of the Friends series. But I do have a couple of other ideas that I’d like to try and write out, so I guess watch this space.
About the book
Just friends for now . . . but what about later?
Bar owner Paige’s mojo is broken. She’s eternally single and there’s a new Instagrammable bottomless brunch spot in town that’s threatening to steal her regulars.
But she can’t deny that there’s just something about competitor Melanie and her prim and proper librarian look.
There’s no denying the chemistry. But Melanie should be her rival, not her friend. And definitely not anything else.
But when they’re thrown together to work on a local art project, Paige might find that being just friends is going to be trickier than she imagined . . .
This is book four in the Friends series but it can be read as a standalone novel. This is Paige and Melanie’s story.
Buy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Just-Friends...
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About Lucy Keeling
Lucy Keeling is an author writing fun, sexy, stories with all of the happily ever afters. When she’s not typing at the kitchen table, she’s finally seeing her friends for the occasional spot of day drinking.
Lucy has just written the fourth and final book in a romantic comedy series, the first of which was Runner-Up in ChocLit’s ‘Search for a Star’ competition. This story has become her romantic comedy debut ‘Just a Boy Friend’. The second book in the series ‘Just Friends’ has been described as ‘unputdownable’ and ‘A fabulous will they won’t they love story with moments of hilarity sprinkled throughout’ and the third, ‘Just Friends in Vegas’ finally reveals what Mya does for a living. The final friend to have their story told is Paige, and you can read her happily ever after in ‘Just Friends for Now’ out 23rd May 2023
Follow Lucy on Twitter: @Lucy_K_Author
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lucykeelingb...
On Instagram: lucy_k_author
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April 30, 2023
Little Museum of Hope – Sally Jenkins
I love exploring museums of all kinds because whatever is on display gives us an insight into someone’s life. Sally Jenkins has written a book about just that.
It’s called Little Museum of Hope, and I invited her onto the blog to answer a few questions about it.
Tell us about the book
A jar of festival mud, a photo album of family memories, a child’s teddy bear, a book of bell ringing methods, an old cassette tape, a pair of slippers … These are the items that fill the exhibit shelves in Vanessa Jones’ museum. At first glance, they appear to have nothing in common, but that’s before you find out the stories behind them. Vanessa’s Little Museum of Hope is no ordinary museum – its aim is to help people heal by donating items associated with shattered lives and failed relationships, and in doing so, find a way to move on, perhaps even start again. The museum becomes a sanctuary for the broken hearts in Vanessa’s city, and she’s always on hand to offer a cup of tea, a slice of cake and a listening ear. But could the bringer of Hope need a little help moving on herself?
I love the idea of those items being in a museum – where did you get the idea from?
en years ago, I read a newspaper article about the real-life Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb. It’s a place where visitors can leave objects which trigger bad memories of their failed relationships and traumas. Little Museum of Hope is a fictionalised version of that Zagreb museum. Donating to the Little Museum of Hope and telling the object’s story to Vanessa helps people to move on positively with their lives.
How long have you been writing for?
About 25 years. I started when I realised that magazines paid or gave prizes for readers’ letters. Once I’d seen my name in print, I was addicted! I did a creative writing correspondence course (by actual post – it was in the days before widespread email) which led to me getting magazine articles printed. From there I moved into short stories for women’s magazines – which is a hard market to crack. After some success with short fiction, I had enough confidence to try my hand at novels. I wrote two psychological thrillers before finding that the genre of ‘up-lit’ i.e., uplifting fiction, was a better fit for me. One way or another, I’ve had a long apprenticeship in writing!
Do you have a writing routine?
I have two part-time jobs and run a couple of reading groups so I squeeze the writing in when I can. I’m very much a morning person and I find that the best time to write. I swear by The London Writers’ Hour. This is a virtual, hour-long writing sprint held each weekday and it’s free to take part. There are four sessions across four time zones. The UK hour is 8am to 9am but you can join in with any of the other sessions too. It gives me a discipline that I might otherwise lack!
What authors have inspired you to write?
Enid Blyton encouraged me to read as a child – I loved Malory Towers and The Famous Five. As a teenager I discovered the early Jilly Cooper novels: Imogen, Emily, Prudence, Octavia, Harriet and Bella. As an adult I’ve read a lot of crime and thrillers and general fiction. At the moment I’m working my way through Lucinda Riley’s Seven Sisters’ series.
All these books have one important thing in common: They are easy to read stories about characters who matter to the reader. And that is the type of book I try to write – a tale that will grab the reader from page one and transport her into someone else’s life for a few hours.
I’m a one book idea at a time kinda gal – what about you? Do you have a lot of story ideas on the go whilst you are writing about one?
Unfortunately, I suffer from ‘shiny new idea syndrome’ i.e., when the going gets tough on the current work in progress, a new (and seemingly much better!) idea springs into my mind and demands my urgent attention. Over time I’ve learned to make a note of the new idea and then to return to the current manuscript – otherwise I flit round like a butterfly and nothing ever gets finished.
Are you working on anything new?
I was working on a new novel until my Ruby Fiction editor sent through the edits for Little Museum of Hope. With a publication date looming, those had to take priority. It was very satisfying to get editorial feedback and suggestions, together I think we have made Little Museum of Hope a great read. Fingers crossed that the reading public think so too!
Now I have to pick up the thread of that abandoned manuscript …
About the book
Little Museum of Hope
Welcome to the Little Museum of Hope, where the lovelorn have a chance to mend their broken hearts . . .
Meet Vanessa. She’s newly divorced and starting again at fifty-five. Her ex’s affair was a nasty surprise that ended their thirty-year marriage.
But with a son who’s flown the nest and her husband gone, it’s time for Vanessa to find a new challenge.
Either that or choose to grow old and bitter alone . . .
Vanessa decides to make her dream of opening a teashop come true. It’s now or never.
But running a successful teashop is harder than it looks. With customers proving hard to come by, Vanessa’s on the verge of being left with nothing — again.
Then she comes across an article about the Museum of Broken Relationships, where the rejected and lovelorn flock to shed the symbols of their shattered dreams.
This gives Vanessa a brilliant idea. She opens up her shop to the broken-hearted and her little teashop soon becomes a haven for jilted lovers.
Vanessa is always on hand to offer a cup of tea and a listening ear. But can the museum help Vanessa to heal her own heart . . . and perhaps find a second chance at love?
Buying Links for Little Museum of Hope : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Museu...
About the author
Sally Jenkins lives in the West Midlands with her husband. When not writing and not working in IT, she feeds her addiction to words by working part-time in her local library, running two reading groups and giving talks about her writing. Sally can also be found walking, church bell ringing and enjoying shavasana in her yoga class.
Get in touch or follow Sally: Website/blog: https://sally-jenkins.com/ Facebook: SallyJenkinsAuthor Twitter: @sallyjenkinsuk Instagram: @sallyjenkinsuk Sally’s Amazon Author Page
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April 18, 2023
Kirsty Ferry on her new release: Bea’s Magical Summer Garden
Kirsty Ferry has written another rather magical tale, this time featuring Bea, Schubert the cat and bees, of course. So I invited her onto my blog to tell us a bit more about it.
This is the sixth book in the Schubert the cat series – it started off a few years ago with Every Witch Way, which was just meant to be a funny little romcom, with a hint of magic, about a girl called Nessa McCreadie who discovered she had ‘witchy propensities’. You really do have to suspend your disbelief with this series, but Schubert has almost become an institution on his own. Readers tell me they love to find out how his meddling in the human characters’ relationships get the characters together. I’d run out of Nessa’s family to write about, but this is Bea’s story, who was a minor character in It Started with a Wedding, which is about Nessa’s brother Alfie, so I decided to write about her, and Schubert decided to wander in – and that was it!
I love cats, and am always pleased when they make appearances in stories – Schubert makes another appearance in this book – tell us about him.
Schubert is a huge, black cat of indeterminate origin. He was picked up as a kitten on the Norfolk Broads by Nessa, and I suppose you could say it was meant to be! They have an odd understanding between them, and he seems to know more than the average cat. The thing about Schubert is that every time I write about him, I discover more about him too. He’s quite a mystical cat – prone to ‘conversations’ and mind-reading, and does seem to have some sort of history with one of Nessa’s ancestors who was deemed a witch. He is often passed around Nessa’s siblings to be looked after, but it seems his purpose in these situations is to help them find true love. Some of his favourite things are Nessa, his toy mouse Catnip, tuna, salmon, and Nessa’s nieces Isabel and Maggie. Some things he claims he doesn’t like are heights, baths, being forced to dress up in cute cat outfits, and his pink leash. He much prefers his purple leash, and often takes a constitutional around the town, elegantly holding his leash in his mouth.
Bea’s Garden has also been feature before and it sounds rather lovely – how do you see it in your mind’s eye?
It’s very much like Dilston Physic Garden in Corbridge, Northumberland. I love it there, and the paths are just like the ones in Bea’s Garden, meandering through different areas and always something new to discover. There are crystals and ornaments and wind chimes and sculptures amongst other things, and a big wooden summerhouse where I have attended a few Writing for Wellbeing courses and a couple of sessions on natural remedies for things like eczema, which I have suffered from all my life. The garden is all about nature and science combined – the homeopathic things, the folklore and myths, and the scientific side of plant remedies. Well worth a visit and full of magic, in my opinion. This is the weblink – Dilston Physic Garden . Bea’s Garden differs, however, in the fact that I relocated it to Scotland (purely for the story purposes – how else could Schubert pitch up so regularly when he lives in Edinburgh?) and that it’s the old walled garden of a Victorian estate. The story is about Bea, who owns the Garden, and The Man, who owns the Big House. There should surely be a gate between the two, shouldn’t there…? A gate lost, perhaps, to the mists of time…or an extremely overgrown border!
As someone who has one idea, writes the book, then only about half way through that gets the next idea, I’m in awe of how many books you write – how do you keep so many plots and characters in your mind without getting them mixed up?
I don’t really – I think it looks like I write more than I do. I did an MA in Creative Writing, and a lot of my assignments were strategically done to help with my books. For two years after that I wrote nothing due to life getting in the way, and I’m in that situation at the minute as well, but I had a lot of stuff submitted that I’d done in lockdown (I was on my own as husband works away and my son was at Uni, and had four days a week to fill as my day job took up the other three!). I think the hardest thing for me is getting started sometimes. I start with a concept, but I don’t plan. If I’m in the writing zone, I can just write and see where the story takes me. I’m not so good if I have to think about it. If I write a book, I can often pick the character that will star in the next one, and if I get a lightbulb moment, I’ll jot it down and leave it until I’ve finished the current book, which is a nice way to be able to continue with the next book in the series. It’s definitely easier if you already know your characters and the theme to the series. If I need to start a new series, unless I know what the new concept will be, I have to walk away and let it work itself out. I hate sitting staring at a screen with nothing appearing on the page.
Tell us about your writing routine – do you aim for a certain amount of words per session, for instance, and do you write in a particular place?
I refuse to put pressure on myself so I’d never tell myself a word count. I write when I can grab a chance, and chances have been non-existent recently, so I’m well out of my writing routine! I used to find that a Monday or a Tuesday afternoon would be a good time if I was in on my own, but I can’t do it with anyone else around. I’ve also been quite good at finding excuses not to write, even if I’ve been in on my own, so I’m my own worst enemy. A night time used to be pretty good to if I was home alone – I’d take my laptop to bed at about 9 and write in bed for two or three hours. However, for the last few months my dog has got himself into the routine of getting up two or three times a night at stupid o’clock to go outside to the loo, so I’m acting like I have a newborn again – going to bed early to grab sleep before I’m forced awake! We changed his diet back to what he used to eat, and it has helped a bit, but he’s not 100% there yet so I still can’t risk a late night. I can pretty much write anywhere, though, if my head is in the game. I did most of my MA in Costa, fuelled by large Americanos and bacon butties! My current place of choice is the dining table on my laptop which is where I am right now, but I keep gazing out of the conservatory window and thinking I should really do some gardening…I am the Queen of Procrastination.
Do you have a favourite bit of the writing process?
There are a lot of parts I like. I like starting with a new project and being all excited about it. I like it when it suddenly clicks and the characters start talking to me in my sleep and I know where I’m going with the story. I love it when I reach the word count of a novel or a novella, because then I know the rest of the words are a bonus. My favourite part, though, might be when I’ve written it, edited it, and I’m going through and polishing it before submission. I have a real sense of pride and achievement with that. And I may be odd, but I also love it when the edits come back from the publisher as I know I can revisit the work and make it even better with the editor’s input. I’m not precious about my writing. The publishers know what readers like, and I work with that as I trust them.
What do you have in the pipeline?
I’ve got about 10k of another Padcock book on my laptop which I haven’t touched since January. I think I started it about September. This is terrible, as I know if I put my mind to it, I can write a book within a few months. I did start re-reading it before work on Thursday while I was in the coffee shop before heading into the office, but I didn’t get very far through it. I need to have another look, but I’m also coming to the end of a two year art course which I’ve loved, but the final project and portfolio we’re doing has really sucked my time up. Maybe I should get that out of the way and devote some time in the summer to Padcock. Once that’s done, I’m also contemplating revisiting my timeslips but I don’t know – people tend to have wanted uplifting stuff recently which is why I’ve been working on Padcock and Schubert. There is also scope for another Schubert book, I think – but I’ll wait and see. I know right now, though, that the lawn really, really needs mowing….
About Kirsty Ferry
Kirsty Ferry is from the North East of England and lives there with her husband and son. She won the English Heritage/Belsay Hall National Creative Writing competition in 2009 and has had articles and short stories published in various magazines. Her work also appears in several anthologies, incorporating such diverse themes as vampires, crime, angels and more.
Kirsty loves writing ghostly mysteries and interweaving fact and fiction. The research is almost as much fun as writing the book itself, and if she can add a wonderful setting and a dollop of history, that’s even better.
Her day job involves sharing a building with an eclectic collection of ghosts, which can often prove rather interesting.
For more information on Kirsty visit:
www.twitter.com/kirsty_ferry
https://www.facebook.com/kirsty.ferry.author/
www.rosethornpress.co.uk
About the book
Bea’s Magical Summer Garden
What’s not to love about Bea’s Garden?
Its higgledy-piggledy layout, fascinating plants and occasional resident black cat makes it the most charming place to visit on a sunny afternoon. Plus Bea has bees – and her Honey Festival is sure to create a buzz.
But not everyone thinks Bea’s Garden is the bee’s knees.
The Man at the Big House next door has been a thorn in Bea’s side for the longest time, with his unnecessarily snippy letters about her beautiful climbing plants ruining his ‘clean lines’. Could he and his poisonous project manager Carla pose problems for her Festival? Or can Bea rely on the Man’s cousin – and her newest annual pass holder – Marcus Rainton to fight her corner?
With bee best friends, big black cats, a secret garden gate and a surprising identity reveal, Bea’s Garden is surely in line for its most magical summer yet!
Buying links
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April 9, 2023
The Talking to My Friends About Books Podcast: Sadie Nine, BBC Essex radio presenter on writing her memoires and her one-woman show
Sadie Nine presents the afternoon programme at BBC Essex from Monday to Thursday between 2pm and 6pm.
She’s also a singer, actor and columnist and is currently writing her memoires, as well as getting ready for her return to the stage with her new one-woman show at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester.
Click on the link to listen
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/s8x73WBwRyb
Sadie’s Nine Lives is about just that – Sadie’s life!
Join the iconic BBC Essex radio host Sadie Nine as she takes you through hilarious times, her crazy tours and true stories from her amazing radio career that has spanned over 25 years.
She’ll talk of stories of stars she’s graced the stage with, hilarious memories as a singer and actor, and talk movingly about her battle with cancer and what it means to be a survivor.
It’s on at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester on 5th May. Click on the link to buy the tickets
https://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/event/sadies-nine-lives/
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March 16, 2023
The Talking to My Friends About Books Podcast – Julie Haworth, winner of the Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel award 2023
I spoke to author,Julie Haworth, last year about her debut novel, Always By Your Side, published by Simon & Schuster in 2022.
She has now won the Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel Award for the book, in the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s (RNA) annual Romantic Novel Awards for 2023. Always By Your Side is also due out in paperback in August.
I thought, that it would be nice to catch up with Julie to see how she feels now she’s got used to the idea of being the winner of such a prestigious award.
Click on the link to listen
Always By Your Side
About the book
When school teacher Rose loses her dream job at a London primary school, her self-confidence takes a knock. Worse still, her stockbroker fiancé, Ollie, sees it as the perfect opportunity for her to join his firm, which only adds to the 
feelings Rose has that their relationship might be coming to an end.
An unexpected phone call, and an elderly aunt who’s taken a fall, means Rose must drop everything – including Ollie – and return to Blossom Heath, the Sussex village she grew up in.
With no job to rush home to, Rose decides to stay in Blossom Heath for the Summer, trading London for the idyllic countryside. Here Rose finds herself reconnecting to the village life of her childhood in more ways than one, including falling head-over-heels for local farmer, Jake.
So when her London life comes calling, Rose is faced with an impossible choice… to return to the high-pressure life of her past, or embrace the joy of a new life in the country.
About Julie Howarth
Julie Haworth writes uplifting stories about friendship and community, bursting with romance and charm, from her home in the bustling city of Chelmsford, Essex. Her debut novel, Always By Your Side, was published by Simon & Schuster in August 2022 as an e-book and the audiobook was released in October 2022. The paperback will be published in the summer of 2023. Julie is still pinching herself that she’s realised her lifelong dream of becoming a published author! When she’s not busy writing or running her copywriting business, Julie can mainly be found shopping, drinking ridiculous amounts of coffee and hanging out with her two rescue cats. Julie is also a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors
You can follow Julie on Instagram and Twitter: @juliehowarthauthor
You can buy the books via all major platforms including https://www.amazon.co.uk/Always-Your-...
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March 12, 2023
The Talking to My Friends About Books Podcast with Ray Clark – Stay Tuned – I Could Say Something Brilliant at any Moment!
I love talking to my friends about books, and in this episode of my imaginatively titled – The Talking to My Friends About Books Podcast, I chat to Sony Award winning radio presenter and writer, Ray Clark about his new book which will be published in June – Stay Tuned – I Could Say Something Brilliant at Any Moment!
Just click on the link to listen
podcasters.spotify.com/…-e206p7i/a-a58kov
About the book and Ray Clark
STAY TUNED – I could say something brilliant at any moment! Ray Clark
What a ‘fab’ time to grow up. The 1960’s and 1970’s were decades overflowing with the most exciting music and more and more radio to hear it on. Hooked on ‘the wireless’ before he was even a teenager, Ray Clark’s carefree childhood ambition was to one day just play records on the radio. Packed full of vivid memories and entertaining stories, Ray’s biography, Stay Tuned, sees him navigate a long and happy journey to make his broadcasting dream come true. After climbing aboard the legendary Radio Caroline, a successful, award-winning career in commercial and BBC radio followed, presenting prestigious breakfast shows on pirate, BBC, commercial, community and American radio. With tens of thousands of hours of radio shows over four decades behind the microphone, and award-winning documentaries to his name, Ray has interviewed hundreds of household names – another terrific source of anecdotes for this book.
Ray Clark can still be heard every week worldwide on Radio Caroline, BBC Radio Kent, Suffolk, Norfolk and BBC Essex in the UK, and regularly on KDKA Pittsburgh and other American radio stations. Away from the studio, he has written two books: Radio Caroline – The True Story of the Boat That Rocked and The Great British Woodstock – The Incredible story of the Weeley Festival 1971. He lives in Burnham on Crouch with his wife Shelley and has lost not one jot of enthusiasm for his childhood dream of ‘playing records on the radio’. “…a wonderful memory of my afternoon with the Bee Gees. “Do you take sugar in your tea Ray?” asked Barry Gibb, as he filled the delicate china cup in the small serving area of their plush suite.” “I don’t know if Sir George Martin was aware of what I’d done – he didn’t say, and I wasn’t about to tell one of the world’s best music producers that I’d forgotten to turn the tape recorder on!” To pre-order a copy of Ray’s book, signed and dedicated by the author, please email poppublishing@gmail.com for further info Publication date 1st June 2023 Price £11.99
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December 20, 2022
The Talking to my friends about books podcast – author Deborah Klee
In my occasional series – The Talking to my friends about books podcast, I chat to Deborah Klee, who’s latest novel, The Forever Cruise, has just been published.
We chat about the book, writing, and how much we love fiction!
https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e1sgv3a
About Deborah Klee
Deborah Klée writes page-turning, uplifting stories about friendship, community, and emotional courage.
She has worked as an occupational therapist, a health service manager, a freelance journalist, and management consultant in health and social care.
Deborah lives on the Essex coast, where she loves to walk by the sea or the surrounding countryside filling her pockets with shells, and acorns, and her head with stories.
Visit her on her website at www.abrakdeborah.wordpress.com or follow her on Twitter @DeborahKlee
The post The Talking to my friends about books podcast – author Deborah Klee appeared first on Chris Penhall.
December 10, 2022
Hope, Mistletoe and a Christmas Promise by Juliet Archer
With Christmas getting ever closer, and the weather turning frosty, it’s just the right time to curl up with a good festive book.
And Hope, Mistletoe and a Christmas Promise fits the bill completely, and it takes us all to Hong Kong too!
I invited author Juliet Archer to tell us all about it
Tell us about the book
It’s about two people discovering the real meaning of Christmas, aided and abetted by a six year-old.
The heroine, Pip Smith, has been dumped by her fiancé for another teacher at the same primary school. She’s decided to leave behind her beloved job – and no-longer-beloved ex – to spend a fortnight in Hong Kong sorting herself out. Needless to say, things don’t go to plan!
The hero, Ryan Hawke, runs his life – personal as well as business – on his own terms. Except he’s now responsible for his six-year-old niece, Shelby, and this presents him with a completely different challenge.
From their first accidental meeting at the airport, Pip and Ryan clash over everything – including Shelby. But maybe, just maybe, Shelby has plans of her own – especially as Christmas approaches …
Why did you decide on Hong Kong as the background for the novel?
I’ve wanted to set a story in Hong Kong for a long time. My husband spent his childhood in Kowloon, and I felt as though I knew the place – or at least his version of it! – long before we went there in 2018 and 2019.
For me, Hong Kong embodies the ultimate East-West culture clash – an idea that inspired Pip and Ryan’s first meeting at the airport.
Did you always want to write?
When I was little, I was always making up my own versions of the stories I read. Once I entered the world of business, however, my focus was on report writing – and fiction went out of the window. A WEA course on creative writing piqued my interest again, and I never looked back!
How does it feel when you first put pen to paper (or rather hands on keyboard)?
It’s usually a particular scene that starts me off, one that’s been playing in my head for a while, and I’m always excited to write it down. As I’m a ‘pantser’ rather than a ‘plotter’, this experience tends to be repeated many times. I often end up with a collection of scenes and have to work out how they fit together!
Excitement can give way to frustration when Real Life gets in the way – which often happens – and I haven’t got the time or the head space to write.
And my preference is hands on keyboard, although I sometimes jot things on a piece of paper if I’m out and about. The older I get, the more chance there is of forgetting an idea or a form of words …
What does it feel like to send the book off after the final edits?
Wonderful – a real sense of achievement and of everything coming together at last! Choc Lit and Ruby Fiction have an excellent editing team and this, along with the early reader feedback from their amazing Tasting Panel, means it’s been a joint effort to make my book the best it can be.
Of course, the book is just beginning its journey in the big wide world and I still need to focus on all the promotional activity, like this Hop-on Tour. The Choc Lit and Ruby Fiction family are very supportive every step of the way, which is lovely.
What are your tips for budding authors?
Write, write, write – and develop your awareness of what does and doesn’t work for your particular ‘voice’. This might be through a writing buddy or group, people who you can trust to give you balanced feedback from a reader’s point of view.
There are also some great books on fiction writing – again, find one that ‘speaks’ to your style or genre.
What are you working on next?
As soon as Christmas is over, I’ll start working on the long-promised sequel to One Summer Weekend. This will be my third book about the Smith family and the focus will be on Jack – although other characters from Hope, Mistletoe and a Christmas Promise are bound to make an appearance …
Thank you, Chris, for inviting me onto your lovely blog, Chris. Happy Christmas to you and all your readers!
When a Christmas promise becomes hard to keep …
Pip Smith knows she owes it to her family to hold on to the festive traditions that have been a comfort since the year everything changed – but this Christmas she’s going to need a miracle to keep everyone in her life happy.
After she’s dumped by her fiancé, an invitation to visit a friend in Hong Kong in the run-up to the festive season seems to offer Pip the perfect escape – and she’ll be home for Christmas, of course. Except her escape ends up becoming far more complex than she intended, when she becomes involved with arrogant American Ryan Hawke and his niece, Shelby – a little girl whose most heartfelt Christmas wish is for a proper family.
Will Pip keep her Christmas promise – or will it be more of a compromise, with the help of a little hope and mistletoe.
About Juliet Archer
Juliet Archer writes award-winning romantic comedy for Choc Lit and Ruby Fiction. She has been known to spend many happy hours matching irresistible heroes with their equally irresistible chocolate counterparts – watch out for the dark nutty ones!
Her debut novel, The Importance of Being Emma, won the Big Red Read Book of the Year 2011 Fiction Award and was shortlisted for the 2009 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance. Her second novel, Persuade Me, was shortlisted for the 2011 Festival of Romance Best Romantic Read Award.
Juliet was born and bred in North-East England, and now lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and temperamental cat. She has two grown-up children, one in London and one in the USA, and has recently discovered the joys of grandchildren. Her non-writing career has spanned IT, company acquisitions, marketing and project management.
Books:
Juliet’s first novel, The Importance of Being Emma, was Choc Lit’s debut title, and Persuade Me followed in 2011. Juliet has also had two short stories published: Incense & Insensibility in the Love Match anthology, and Love Rules in the Kisses & Cupcakes anthology (both Choc Lit). So far, she has written two books about the Smith family – One Summer Weekend (2018) and Hope, Mistletoe and a Christmas Promise (2022).
Find out more about Juliet here
Website: www.julietarcher.com
Twitter: @julietarcher
Facebook: @julietarcher77
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October 27, 2022
Talking to My Friends About Books – Julie Howarth on her debut novel, Always By Your Side
I love talking to my friends about books, so I’ve got an occasional podcast called Talking to My Friends About Books because I’m really good at titles….ha ha!
Julie Howarth had her first novel, Always By Your Side, published in August and the audiobook has now come out too, so we had a chat about that, writing and taking a leap of faith to unexpectedly make your dream come true.
https://d3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net/staging/2022-9-27/293411240-44100-2-dbbbe3b0713e9.m4a
Always By Your Side
About the book
When school teacher Rose loses her dream job at a London primary school, her self-confidence takes a knock. Worse still, her stockbroker fiancé, Ollie, sees it as the perfect opportunity for her to join his firm, which only adds to the feelings Rose has that their relationship might be coming to an end.
An unexpected phone call, and an elderly aunt who’s taken a fall, means Rose must drop everything – including Ollie – and return to Blossom Heath, the Sussex village she grew up in.
With no job to rush home to, Rose decides to stay in Blossom Heath for the Summer, trading London for the idyllic countryside. Here Rose finds herself reconnecting to the village life of her childhood in more ways than one, including falling head-over-heels for local farmer, Jake.
So when her London life comes calling, Rose is faced with an impossible choice… to return to the high-pressure life of her past, or embrace the joy of a new life in the country.
About Julie Howarth
Julie Haworth writes uplifting stories about friendship and community, bursting with romance and charm, from her home in the bustling city of Chelmsford, Essex. Her debut novel, Always By Your Side, was published by Simon & Schuster in August 2022 as an e-book and the audiobook was released in October 2022. The paperback will be published in the summer of 2023. Julie is still pinching herself that she’s realised her lifelong dream of becoming a published author! When she’s not busy writing or running her copywriting business, Julie can mainly be found shopping, drinking ridiculous amounts of coffee and hanging out with her two rescue cats. Julie is also a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Society of Authors
You can follow Julie on Instagram and Twitter: @juliehowarthauthor
You can buy the books via all major platforms including https://www.amazon.co.uk/Always-Your-...
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