Liz Fenwick's Blog, page 2
August 9, 2018
Cornish Summer Memories from Jane Lacey-Crane
To celebrate the paperback publication of One Cornish Summer Jane Lacy Crane tells us about her Cornish holiday…
My Cornish Summer
Even though I haven’t been to Cornwall for 30 years, it still holds a special place in my memory. As a child, growing up in London’s East End, my family’s yearly holiday to Newquay was something I always looked forward to. The whole family – aunts, uncles, grandparents and assorted others – would pile into their cars and we would travel in a convoy down the motorway.
We’d drive through the night, my sister and I sleeping under a duvet, sprawled out on the back seat. In those days no one worried about children rolling around without seatbelts on in the back of the car! The drive was long and punctuated by stops for the loo and, on one particularly memorable occasion, for my grandad to try his hand at throwing cowpats. He’d seen it done by some Texan farmers on the news – competitive cowpat slinging apparently. Needless to say, the weak English sun had failed to bake the cowpat as hard as was necessary in order to fling it successfully. I’ll leave the outcome of this endeavour to your imaginations.
Once we reached Newquay what followed would be two weeks of sandcastles, ice creams and pasties eaten on the beach. We’d drink endless cups of tea, brought down from the beach café in a battered metal teapot and served in proper cups and saucers, and have clotted cream teas everyday at four o’clock.
I had sand in my hair, and usually in my scone as well, but I didn’t care. The people I loved most in the world were all together; no work for Dad to rush off to, no shop for my grandparents to run. In my memory it was always sunny (that’s probably not true – let’s face it, it’s England) and no one got cross or upset. I’m pretty certain I even managed to not argue with my little sister which is no small miracle I can assure you; she was so annoying! I think it’s that sense of togetherness and family that I remember the most about those times, especially since in the years after my last trip, my family kind of fell apart.
I haven’t taken my children to Cornwall yet, but I know I will one day. Hopefully they’ll grow up to have the same fond memories of the place as I do. Minus the cowpats obviously!
Welcome to Rosie Lee’s cafe in the heart of the East End – where there’s not an avocado, slice of sourdough or double-shot no-foam soy milk caramel latte on the menu!
Rosie-Lee’s owner Abby is a woman without a plan… and her beloved little cafe is a business with a serious lack of customers. The Rosie Lee’s fry-up is legendary, but cooked breakfasts alone – however perfectly sizzled the bacon – aren’t going to pay the bills.
Fast approaching forty and fighting a serious case of empty nest syndrome, Abby realises it’s not just her menu that needs a makeover. And when Jack Chance, her The One That Got Away, saunters through the cafe doors and back into her life things definitely look set to change…
Abby has always believed a cup of strong builders tea makes everything better, but Jack’s reappearance is a complication even the trusty sausage sarnie can’t resolve…
If you enjoy Debbie Johnson, Jill Mansell and Jane Fallon, you’ll love Secrets and Tea at Rosie Lee’s, a frank, funny, feel-good look at grown-up life and love – as it really happens!
find Jane’s book here.
Liz here…I’d also love to see and hear about your Cornish Summer memories. If you use the hashtag #OneCornishSummer and tag me on Facebook, Twitter(@liz_fenwick)or Instagram (@liz_fenwick)you’ll be in with a chance to win a copy and a bottle of Curio Rock Samphire Gin. (by joining the giveaway you confirm you are over 18). Winner will selected on 12/8/2018.
One Cornish Summer and gin…
August 7, 2018
Cornish Summer Memories from Rosemary Dun
To celebrate the paperback publication of One Cornish Summer Rosemary Dun tells us about her Cornish holiday…
Cornish Magic and Mermaids
I’ve long loved Cornwall – that magical land of childhood holidays, where a girl with a vivid imagination could dream of swashbuckling pirates, smugglers coves, or a Maximillian De Winter striding along Cornish cliff tops. So many memories. This one is set in the late 90s when I was a broke single parent much in need of a holiday, and my parents stumped up the cash for a week’s self-catering cottage in Mousehole. Yippee. In true undaunted Enid Blyton style of one woman, two kids, and their dog – I loaded up our clapped-out 2CV at the crack of dawn (to beat the traffic), rolled back the canvas sunroof (much like you would a tin of corned beef), and off we set from Bristol.
At first we chugged jauntily along the M5, ignoring toots from impatient boy (and girl) racers, the cars zipping in and out dangerously, and lorry slipstreams threatening to pull us under their wheels. Never mind. Our first real family holiday! Bravely my little car barrelled along, even achieving – on a downhill run with a stiff breeze behind us – an alarmingly swaying 70mph. We stopped several times in laybys to stretch our legs and watch the traffic hurtle past. Yes, we were one small family on a (rather slow) adventure, rolling back the years to the 1960s/70s when my brother and I – beside ourselves with excitement in the back of Dad’s Ford Zephyr – would compete to be the first to shout —
‘The sea! I can see the sea!’ This time it was my daughter who won as we made our approach down to Penzance; its fairy-tale castle of St Michael’s Mount rising from a twinkly sea, as overhead a helicopter wheeled and set course for the Scilly Isles (a name guaranteed to raise a titter). ‘Are we nearly there, yet?’
Finally spluttering through twisty turny roads, we arrived at our destination – Mousehole (cue more hilarity from girls . . . Mouse Hole? A mouse’s hole? Ha ha ha ha). I parked up on the beach for what I knew would be a magical seven days of squabbling, dog splashing, slips on seaweed, Cornish pasties, fish and chips. ‘C’mon, out you get!’ The girls and dog now finally free to scamper across yellow sands. Well done car, I thought, patting its bonnet as I paused to breathe it all in. The fishermen’s cottages clustered around the harbour, their lichen-covered roofs testament to a cleaner/ clearer ozone-packed sea air. Ahhh. Shading my eyes, I gazed far out to where rocks jutted above the waves, and . . . Wait. . . Was that a mermaid’s tail? There. Flashing in the sunlight? I smiled. Cornish magic – anything was possible.
The Trouble With Love by Rosemary Dun, pub. Sphere imprint of Little, Brown
Polly Park lives on the side of Bristol’s historic harbour. She reckons she’s a Renaissance Woman who has it all: own house, a thriving business, a close family of friends, she doesn’t need a man – but, she’s not a nun. So when she meets Spike, the fact that he’s emigrating to Australia in six months’ time is not a problem – no commitment or messy endings. But she doesn’t bank on falling in love, or on making a certain discovery after he’s gone.
Three years on, Polly is a single mum to her hard-of-hearing, gorgeous daughter Rowan. She starts dating single dad Max and may finally be ready to take a chance on love. Then, out of the blue, Spike returns with his glamorous girlfriend in tow, and suddenly Polly finds herself in the middle of a very sticky situation . . . Will Spike’s return resurrect Polly’s feelings for him? Where does that leave Max and Polly? And how will all this change effect Rowan? Nothing is simple – but then, that’s the trouble with love . . .
The Trouble with Love is a fresh and funny romantic comedy that explores both conventional and modern dilemmas in love. It will make you think and it will make you laugh. “Mamma Mia meets Jane Austen – with less singing”.
“Polly and Spike are my favourite romantic couple for a very long time, and I loved immersing myself in their Bristol. It’s a feel-good book for Renaissance Women and Men everywhere.” Julie Cohen (a Richard & Judy Book Club author).
“Rosemary reminds us that falling in love is never easy… Yet the magic she sprinkles over each page simply forces us to believe that anything- including love- is possible!” Lola Jaye
Liz here…I’d also love to see and hear about your Cornish Summer memories. If you use the hashtag #OneCornishSummer and tag me on Facebook, Twitter(@liz_fenwick)or Instagram (@liz_fenwick)you’ll be in with a chance to win a copy and a bottle of Curio Rock Samphire Gin. (by joining the giveaway you confirm you are over 18). Winner will selected on 12/8/2018.
One Cornish Summer and gin…
Cornish Summer Memories inspire Darcie Boleyn
To celebrate the paperback publication of One Cornish Summer Darcie Boleyn tells us about her inspiration…
There were a few reasons why I wrote this novel.
Firstly, I adore Cornwall and loved writing about it. It’s a fabulous location with a dramatic coastline, stunning beaches, pretty fishing harbours, spectacular scenery and a rich and intriguing history. As a teenager, I enjoyed some amazing family holidays in Porthleven; they were magical times and I treasure the memories. Writing the second and third books in the series, Christmas at Conwenna Coveand Forever at Conwenna Covemeant that I could return to the location in my imagination, and I really enjoyed describing the cove at different times of the year. It also meant that I could develop the stories of characters from the first two books, as I knew that I’d want to give Nate the chance to have his story told.
Secondly, as an author, former teacher, wife and mother, I’m well aware of how stressful and hectic life can be when we’re trying to juggle it everything. Taking time out to be with loved ones is very important. Holidays can be restorative and allow your body and mind to recuperate from the ups and downs of everyday life. Cornwall is the perfect place to do this and that’s why being in Conwenna Cove has this effect upon my characters. I wanted to write about a place where my characters could go to rest, to heal and to fall in love. I hope that readers can enjoy a (book) holiday there too, by reading about Conwenna Cove, and that they feel they’ve actually been to the location and met the characters.
Thirdly, I wanted to raise awareness about the plight of rescue greyhounds. As a greyhound mum, I care a great deal about these beautiful, gentle creatures. I adopted my girl, Freya, from Greyhound Rescue Wales, and the rescue sanctuary in the novel is based on the sanctuary in Wales, where Freya came from. The employees and volunteers of GRW work tirelessly to care for the hounds and they deserve recognition for the wonderful work they do. Greyhounds feature in all of the Conwenna Cove books and if reading about them encourages more people to donate to greyhound charities, volunteer some time to work with the dogs, or even to adopt a greyhound, then I’d be delighted.
Forever at Conwenna Cove
Following heartbreak, Zoe Russell found a haven in Conwenna Cove. As the owner of the village diner and a volunteer for the local greyhound sanctuary, she’s happy with her peaceful life.
Local surfer Nate Bryson plans to leave Conwenna and see the world. He wants to shake off his reputation as a ladies man and start again somewhere new. Before departing, Nate decides to raise funds for the dog rescue home as a way of giving back to the community.
When Nate approaches Zoe to help with the charity event she sees there’s more to him than meets the eye. Nate can’t believe he’s failed to notice the kind and beautiful woman right before him. But can two such different people ever be together, especially if one of them is determined to leave?
Author Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/darcieboleyn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/public/Darcie–Boleyn
Blog: https://darcieboleyn.wordpress.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darcieboleynauthor/
Forever at Conwenna Cove Link
AMAZON: getbook.at/FACC
Liz here…I’d also love to see and hear about your Cornish Summer memories. If you use the hashtag #OneCornishSummer and tag me on Facebook, Twitter(@liz_fenwick)or Instagram (@liz_fenwick)you’ll be in with a chance to win a copy and a bottle of Curio Rock Samphire Gin. (by joining the giveaway you confirm you are over 18). Winner will selected on 12/8/2018.
One Cornish Summer and gin…
August 5, 2018
Cornish Summer Memories from Kitty Wilson
To celebrate the paperback publication of One Cornish Summer Kitty Wilson tells us about her Cornish holiday…
One summer my parents decided we were going to holiday in Cornwall instead of France. Not being a fan of change, unless wholly instigated by me, I was outraged. Teenage me couldn’t understand what this county, hours and hours away, could possibly have to offer. As we drove through, my evil thirteen-year-old self chortled as we passed people in surf wear on their way to the beach. They thought they were so cool. Didn’t they realise everyone was wearing leisure wear these days? Sergio Tacchini or bust, baby!
Slowly though, the long evenings on the beach, the tang of salt in the air everywhere you went, fresh fish on the barbecue (I was very much scampi in a basket until this holiday) began to reel me in. Cornish teens sitting around fires on the beach, playing guitars as their food cooked and nestling into each other as the sun went down. The multitude of beaches – sandy, shingly, secret or madly social, all delivering on the promise of that breath-catching ouch of cold water followed by a mellow heaven that can only be experienced by sculling on your back whilst examining the dramatic cliff faces Cornwall has to offer.
I fell in love.
A few years later when my parents moved here I had forgotten about my love affair with the county (fickle, stroppy teen) and was very vocal about how I was a City Girl. I was wrong. That first holiday recreated itself quickly and this was where I decided to rear my own children. Children who did grow up on the beach every day, barbecuing dinner and often breakfast as well – we would camp on hidden beaches so we could have a swim first thing before coming back to the tent for freshly cooked bacon. My children grew into those teens I had envied all those years ago (I trained myself not to dwell on the nestling) and they chose to wear clothes that are easy to throw off so they can jump into the sea, knowing freedom is far more valuable than fashion. It often takes somewhere like Cornwall to teach you these lessons.
My first ever Cornish Summer turned out to shape the whole of my adult life and the adults that my children grew into. Cornwall, you are some ‘ansome.
Following heartbreak, Rosy has rebuilt her life in the beautiful Cornish village of Penmenna. Now, headmistress of the local school, she is living by The Rule: no dating anyone in the village. Easy right? But Rosy Winter has a new neighbour, handsome gardener Matt.
In Penmenna for his new gardening TV show, this guy next door will do everything he can to persuade her to break her rule and win her heart. Meanwhile, Penmenna Village School is threatened with closure and it’s up to Rosy to rally the local community and #SaveOurSchool. Can she bring her worlds together and accept help from the most unlikely of sources? One thing’s for sure… she won’t be giving up without a fight.
Amazon
Cornish Summer Memories from Fiona Perrin
To celebrate the paperback publication of One Cornish Summer Fiona Perrin tells us about her Cornish holiday…
I was lucky to grow up in beautiful Porthleven as part of a big family – our playground was the beach. But then, aged 16, I left Cornwall for ‘up country’. We still came back for holidays – eventually with children of my own, bodysurfing, exploring rock pools and eating pasties, but we always had to make the return journey up the A30 back to the madness.
Eventually however, home is where you need to be. So, my favourite Cornish summer was the one when I was lucky enough to be able to come back – not to Porthleven, but to a decaying Edwardian house overlooking the lighthouse right on Lizard point. I’d persuaded my husband in a moment of mid-life crisis that we were ready for life on the edge… the windswept, beautiful most southern point of mainland England.
When we finally got the keys to the house, it was my 18-year-old daughter and I who loaded a small van with a couple of mattresses and some camping chairs and set off to work out how much work was involved before we could move in.
And that became a magical time for all of us. Sienna and I camped in our mad, falling apart house – it had been owned by an artist who favoured summer of love colours and was very ‘interesting’. We spent days laughing as we painted walls and gorgeous evenings exploring the cove below our house or having an end of the day beer on the cliffs on the way to Kynance.
It was coming home – but to new home and they were special days. My husband Alan and other children joined us and loads of our friends claimed not to mind about the lack of furniture and came and camped too.
Whether it was because we had left pressure behind or because we were in the clear air of the sea, it held the promise of a lot more peace to come.
Now I’m lucky enough to be writing this in a house that’s still got a ‘lot to do’ – but we’re all here, back for good, for many, more Cornish summers.
The Story After Us, published by Aria Fiction
If she tries very hard, Ami can remember when she used to have a dynamic and exciting career and a husband who she loved more than life itself, and who was equally smitten with her…
Now she has two children, a terrifyingly large mortgage, and no idea who she has become – or why she and her husband can’t even be in the same room anymore.
With life as she knew it in tatters around her, Ami is heartbroken, and in no way pulling off ‘consciously uncoupling’ like a celeb. But she’s starting to wonder if she just might come out the other side and be… happier?
Links:
The Story After Us https://www.amazon.co.uk/Story-After-Us-Fiona-Perrin-ebook/dp/B07BM58ZNN/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521988626&sr=8-1&keywords=the+story+after+us
Website: www.fionaperrin.com
Twitter: @fionaperrin
FB: https://www.facebook.com/fionajperrin...
Liz here…I’d also love to see and hear about your Cornish Summer memories. If you use the hashtag #OneCornishSummer and tag me on Facebook, Twitter (@liz_fenwick) or Instagram (@liz_fenwick) you’ll be in with a chance to win a copy and a bottle of Curio Rock Samphire Gin. (by joining the giveaway you confirm you are over 18). Winner will selected on 12/8/2018.
One Cornish Summer and gin…
August 4, 2018
One Cornish Summer Memory from Jane Cable
To celebrate the paperback publication of One Cornish Summer Jane Cable tells us about her Cornish holiday…
ONE CORNISH SUMMER
It was my fourth visit to Cornwall when I fell in love, staying in a tiny cottage in St Columb Minor, sleeping in bunk beds in a stuffy, narrow room, with the clock on the church tower striking every hour.
We gathered our swimming costumes and towels, walked up through the village and down across the field to Porth beach where we played cricket and made an enormous sandcastle. We travelled up the coast to Watergate Bay where we learnt to surf and I had a fan girl moment when we saw Jack Johnson emerging from his tour bus in the car park, his board under his arm.
I was wave struck, sun struck, sea struck. We came back the next year, staying in Padstow this time, just to be sure. Our wedding anniversary at Paul Ainsworth’s No 6. They made it so special for us. Checking my phone to see whether my long listing for the Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition had become a short listing.
We came back at Christmas, bought a house in Porthtowan. Wild waves, warm people. Last year we moved to Cornwall for good.
*********
Jane Cable writes romantic fiction with a twist of mystery. Her special Cornish summer found its way into Jane’s second novel, The Faerie Tree, which tells the story of a couple who meet again twenty years after their brief affair only to find their memories of it are completely different.
“This book is a delight. With a gentle touch Jane Cable weaves together the certainties of time and place with the vagaries of memory and the uncertainties that follow loss. Like Pinter’s ‘Old Times’, The Faerie Tree will keep you guessing right up until the end and maybe even beyond it.” Claire Dyer
Find the book on Amazon here: viewBook.at/TheFaerieTree
Liz here…I’d also love to see and hear about your Cornish Summer memories. If you use the hashtag #OneCornishSummer and tag me on Facebook, Twitter (@liz_fenwick) or Instagram (@liz_fenwick) you’ll be in with a chance to win a copy and a bottle of Curio Rock Samphire Gin. (by joining the giveaway you confirm you are over 18). Winner will selected on 12/8/2018.
One Cornish Summer and gin…
August 3, 2018
Cornish Summer Memories from Kate Riordan
To celebrate the paperback publication of One Cornish Summer Kate Riordan tells us about her Cornish holiday…
Daphne du Maurier’s Ferryside
You don’t have to cross the Tamar Bridge to get to Cornwall but I much prefer it. It’s a proper boundary between the rest of Britain and a place quite separate. I’ve been visiting since I was a little girl and even then I felt the difference; something almost magical about the county at the very end of England. Being a bookworm, this vague air of enchantment was partly inspired by stories that were set there. Malory Towers, with its dramatic clifftop setting and sea-water swimming pool, came first, then the Famous Five. As someone who was scared of the dark in her own north London bedroom, there was something exhilarating about these children who rowed themselves to their own island, slept fearlessly outside on beds of heather and outwitted dangerous smugglers. Then I discovered Daphne du Maurier – my mum buying me a matching set of Rebecca, My Cousin Racheland Jamaica Innwhen I was about eleven – and I was really hooked.
I’ve stayed all over – mostly the rugged north coast as a child and then as a teenager who still loved reading, but who was now also interested in the local boys, with their surfboards and sun-bleached hair. Now, though, it’s the south coast I love best. I got married there – the tiniest wedding we could get away with – celebrating in a mysterious garden overlooking a shining pewter sea. Polperro has become our place now, the lanes almost as familiar as the streets of home these days, the landlord of the Blue Peter still remembering us from our wedding night, when we turned up in our finery and got a free bottle of fizz that we really didn’t need. I love the evenings there, when the day-trippers have trickled away and the moon casts a cool eye over the old cottages. It’s as if the last couple of centuries never happened. And if we’re not in Polperro, we go to Helford, to hide for a while among the twisting creeks, the air a soft breath and silent except for the birds and the soft lap of water.
Kate’s wedding in Cornwall
We’re going back soon because Cornwall is an itch that needs to be scratched a few times a year. The place is in my blood now and I know I’ll always return, and always feel that lift of the heart as the river flashes below the deck of the bridge and the ‘Welcome to Cornwall’ sign comes into view.
Kate’s latest book is The Stranger, already out in hardback, with the paperback out on August 9th.It’s set in a fictional village called Vennor, which is loosely based on Polperro. Here’s the blurb:
Cornwall, 1940.
In the hushed hours of deepest night a young woman is found washed up on the rocks.
Was it a tragic accident? Or should the residents of Penhallow have been more careful about whom they invited in?
In the midst of war three women arrive seeking safety at Penhallow Hall.
Each is looking to escape her past.
But one of them is not there by choice.
As the threat of invasion mounts and the nightly blackouts feel longer and longer, tensions between the close-knit residents rise until dark secrets start to surface.
And no one can predict what their neighbour is capable of . . .
In a house full of strangers, who do you trust?
Here’s the Amazon link to buy:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076WPYKL2
Liz here…I’d also love to see and hear about your Cornish Summer memories. If you use the hashtag #OneCornishSummer and tag me on Facebook, Twitter (@liz_fenwick) or Instagram (@liz_fenwick) you’ll be in with a chance to win a copy and a bottle of Curio Rock Samphire Gin. (by joining the giveaway you confirm you are over 18). Winner will selected on 12/8/2018.
One Cornish Summer and gin…
August 2, 2018
One Cornish Summer Memory from Hannah Richell
To celebrate the paperback publication of One Cornish Summer Hannah Richell tells us about her Cornish holiday…
credit Hannah Richell
I’ve always loved camping holidays. Waking up to the sound of the birds, unzipping the tent and – if you’re lucky with the weather – spending the whole day outside before evenings around a campfire with marshmallows and going to bed with the sunset. These days, however, as a single mum, the thought of camping is little off-putting. Just the idea of packing up the car with enough gear to survive a week in the great outdoors, setting it all up, taking it all down … I don’t know, I guess it doesn’t sound like much of a holiday anymore. I’d rather a spa, a swimming pool and a sun lounger. Last year however, a good friend suggested we try a glamping holiday in North Cornwall. She sent me a link to a small campsite in north Cornwall which showed bell tents strewn with pretty floral bunting, proper beds, duvets, even a small wood-burning stove to keep us warm on the chillier evenings. I jumped at the chance.
I’m not going to say that it was all plain sailing. It did rain. There were spiders, and midnight, torch-lit treks to the toilet block, not to mention the night we almost set fire to the tent when my son left a gas lighter melting gently into a toxic puddle of plastic and combustible gas on top of the woodburning stove.
But to counterbalance those moments, there was a glorious sun-soaked day on Mawgan Porth beach, all electronic devices banished to the car, games and books and silly made-up songs. There was a trek along the Camel Trail with the delicious reward of fish & chips in Padstow, and cold cider in local pubs. The food we cooked outdoors tasted somehow even more delicious and the time we spent with our friends felt even closer and more special. Our week away in Cornwall made me realise that we can still enjoy the kinds of holidays we would have taken with my late husband. It reminded me of the joy to be found waking under canvas, snuggled with your kids under a pile of blankets. Best of all, a week of outdoor living made all three of us appreciate just that little bit more the comforts of home on our return. Thank you, Cornwall, for the wonderful memories.
Hannah’s latest book….The Peacock Summer
A compelling story of hidden secrets and forbidden love, from the bestselling author of The Secrets of the Tides
‘If she could reach back through the years and warn the person she once was, what would she say? … What would she say to the ghosts who now inhabit her days? So many of those she has loved are now nothing but dust and memory.’
At twenty-six, Lillian feels trapped by life. Her marriage to Charles Oberon has not turned out the way she expected it would. To her it seems she is just another object captured within the walls of Cloudesley, her husband’s beautiful manor house tucked away high in the Chiltern Hills. But, with a young step-son and a sister to care for, Lillian accepts there is no way out for her. Then Charles makes an arrangement with an enigmatic artist visiting their home and his presence will unbalance everything she thought she knew and understood.
Maggie Oberon ran from the hurt and resentment she caused. Half a world away, in Australia, it was easier to forget, to pretend she didn’t care. But when her elderly grandmother, Lillian, falls ill she must head back to Cloudesley. Forced to face her past, Maggie fights to hold herself and her family’s legacy together as she learns that all she thought was real, all that she held so close, was never as it seemed.
Two summers, decades apart.
Two women whose lives are forever e
ntwined.
And a house that holds the dark secrets that could free them both
Liz here…I’d also love to see and hear about your Cornish Summer memories. If you use the hashtag #OneCornishSummer and tag me on Facebook, Twitter (@liz_fenwick) or Instagram (@liz_fenwick) you’ll be in with a chance to win a copy and a bottle of Curio Rock Samphire Gin. (by joining the giveaway you confirm you are over 18). Winner will selected on 12/8/2018.
One Cornish Summer and gin…
July 30, 2018
Cornish Summer Memories from Morton S. Gray
To celebrate the paperback publication of One Cornish Summer Morton S. Gray tells us about her Cornish holiday…
Cornish Memories
I have fond memories of my childhood holidays in Cornwall. This photo has always been one of my favourites, as I look so blonde and sweet. I believe it to be on Polperro or Looe quay – maybe a reader can confirm or dispute this. It is definitely taken before my sister arrived in my only childworld when I was seven. And, before you ask, my sister’s arrival was welcome as it meant I was no longer the sole focus of my parents and could be a little more mischievous, especially as my sister was a little tinker. Doesn’t my mother look glamorous?
Pictures of me as a small girl
When I was about eight, I became captivated by the legends of King Arthur. Convinced I would be the one to rediscover Excalibur, I made my parents sit by Dozmary Pool on Bodmin Moor for ages on one holiday convinced that the lady of the lake would emerge from the waters with the sword – she didn’t!
Dreamily visiting Tintagel, I was on the look out for that ridge in the grass that would turn out to be a previously unnoticed Excalibur! My dreams were full of knights in shining armour rescuing the flaxen haired princess – me of course!
These childhood Cornish holidays have merged into one over time. I have snap shots of sandy beaches, icecream, piles of china clay and the Cheesewring granite tor. There are references to surfing in Cornwall in my first novel The Girl on the Beach, but to say any more would be a spoiler.
The Girl On The Beach
Who is Harry Dixon?
When Ellie Golden meets Harry Dixon, she can’t help but feel she recognises him from somewhere. But when she finally realises who he is, she can’t believe it – because the man she met on the beach all those years before wasn’t called Harry Dixon. And, what’s more, that man is dead.
For a woman trying to outrun her troubled past and protect her son, Harry’s presence is deeply unsettling – and even more disconcerting than coming face to face with a dead man, is the fact that Harry seems to have no recollection of ever having met Ellie before. At least that’s what he says …
But perhaps Harry isn’t the person Ellie should be worried about. Because there’s a far more dangerous figure from the past lurking just outside of the new life she has built for herself, biding his time, just waiting to strike.
Morton lives with her husband, two sons and Lily, the tiny white dog, in Worcestershire, U.K. She has been reading and writing fiction for as long as she can remember, penning her first attempt at a novel aged fourteen. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Society of Authors.
Her debut novel The Girl on the Beach was e-published in January 2017, after she won Choc Lit Publishing Search for a Starcompetition. The story follows a woman with a troubled past as she tries to unravel the mystery surrounding her son’s headteacher, Harry Dixon. This book is available as a paperback from 10 April 2018.
Morton’s second book for Choc Lit The Truth Lies Buriedwas published as an e-book on 1 May 2018. Another romantic suspense novel, the book tells the story of Jenny Simpson and Carver Rodgers as they uncover secrets from their past.
Morton previously worked in the electricity industry in committee services, staff development and training. She has a Business Studies degree and is a fully qualified clinical hypnotherapist and Reiki Master. She also has diplomas in Tuina acupressure massage and energy field therapy. She enjoys crafts, history and loves tracing family trees. Having a hunger for learning new things is a bonus for the research behind her books.
You can catch up with Morton on her website www.mortonsgray.com, on Twitter – @MortonSGray, her Facebook page – Morton S. Gray Author – https://www.facebook.com/mortonsgray/and
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/morton_s_gray/
Purchasing links for The Girl on the Beach at http://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/the-girl-on-the-beach/
Purchasing link for The Truth Lies Buried at http://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/the-truth-lies-buried/
Liz here…I’d also love to see and hear about your Cornish Summer memories. If you use the hashtag #OneCornishSummer and tag me on Facebook, Twitter (@liz_fenwick) or Instagram (@liz_fenwick) you’ll be in with a chance to win a copy and a bottle of Curio Rock Samphire Gin. (by joining the giveaway you confirm you are over 18). Winner will selected on 12/8/2018.
One Cornish Summer and gin…
July 29, 2018
Cornish Summer Memories from Lesley Cookman
To celebrate the paperback publication of One Cornish Summer Lesley Cookman tells us about her Cornish holiday…
I love Cornwall
Once upon a time, many years ago, my best friend’s parents lived in a big old farmhouse in Cornwall called Ennys, near Marazion and St Ives. She and her husband got married in the church nearby, and my boyfriend was best man. Over the next few years, we spent a lot of time there, even popping down for the weekend – all that way, usually in her rickety old Citroen. One memorable summer we spent pratically the whole of August there with the house to ourselves while her parents were away. I think it was the most idyllic summer I have ever spent, despite, or perhaps because of, having to look after the smallholding and the animals. We went to the beach a lot, and even had artist friends come to visit us. Marazion and Mousehole (no, you don’tsay Mouse Hole) were delightful, and not quite so consciously twee as they became later – Posy Simmonds hadn’t discovered them yet – and we spent quite a lot of time in the pubs. It was when I discovered the delights of Stargazy Pie, among other things.
It was a memorable summer for more reasons than one – it was the last summer any of us spent without children, and the last time I went to Ennys, except for my friend’s birthday weekend in November, when I was pregnant. But the wonderful farmhouse kitchen lives on in my Libby Sarjeant books as the kitchen in The Manor, as does most of the farmyard. Sadly, the parents sold Ennys when the last of their five children had grown up and gone, and moved to Tetbury, where we spent more lovely holidays, but Ennys, and Cornwall, have a special place in my heart.
The Oast Theatre in Steeple Martin is hosting a touring production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night which is attracting a lot of attention. But very soon it begins to attract attention of an entirely different kind, when a document goes missing along with its owner. When a body turns up, Libby Sarjeant and Fran Wolfe become involved with the investigation with the help, naturally, of their friends and relatives.
Available for pre-order…out 16 August 2018 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Glovemakers-Libby-Sarjeant-Mystery/dp/1786155915/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532858269&sr=8-1&keywords=lesley+cookman
Liz here…I’d also love to see and hear about your Cornish Summer memories. If you use the hashtag #OneCornishSummer and tag me on Facebook, Twitter (@liz_fenwick) or Instagram (@liz_fenwick) you’ll be in with a chance to win a copy and a bottle of Curio Rock Samphire Gin. (by joining the giveaway you confirm you are over 18). Winner will selected on 12/8/2018.
One Cornish Summer and gin…
