Hazel Gaynor's Blog
October 15, 2018
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter is here!
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Hello! It’s been a long time since I updated my blog posts here, but what better reason to finally do so than to share the news that my new novel, THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER’S DAUGHTER, is out now across the globe!!
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I’m so thrilled that after publication in Ireland in September, the book is spending its fourth week in the Irish Times bestsellers chart, and is now also on sale across North America. I’ve been blown away by the response to the book so far, and hope readers will continue to enjoy stepping back in time and stepping into the lighthouse with Grace and Matilda.
Read a review from the Sunday Independent
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For regular updates on all my latest book news, please subscribe to my newsletter and/or see my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/hazelgaynorb...
I hope you enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it!
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May 3, 2018
Introducing … MEET ME IN MONACO
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I am absolutely thrilled and so excited to announce the wonderful news of a new book, and another collaboration with my dear friend and writing partner, Heather Webb
From the official press announcement: “MEET ME IN MONACO is set against the backdrop of Grace Kelly’s iconic wedding, where the lives of the future princess, a French parfumeur and a British photographer intersect, leading to a dramatic conclusion twenty-five years later.”
We are totally in love with this book which will be released in Summer 2019, and can’t wait to share it with you all! More details to follow over the coming months!
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The Inspiration Project on TV!
It was great fun to appear on TV3s Elaine Show last month with my great friends, and fellow authors, Catherine Ryan Howard and Carmel Harrington. We spoke about our new writing retreats – The Inspiration Project – and our writing careers. And we laughed. A lot! Take a look at the short clip above.
If you would like to know more about The Inspiration Project, or would like to sign up to our newsletter to be keep up-to-date with news of our next creative time-out events, visit our website.
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January 25, 2018
The Cottingley Secret: celebrating paperpack publication day!
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Great excitement as today is UK and Ireland paperback publication day for THE COTTINGLEY SECRET. The same book, but in a smaller, pocket-sized (you might say, fairy-sized) edition! The cover has also been given a lovely makeover. The book was inspired by one of the greatest hoaxes of the 20th century, when two young girls claimed to have photographed fairies at the bottom of the garden. You can read more about the book at https://www.hazelgaynor.com/book/the-cottingley-secret-uk/ and/or order in paperback, ebook and audio at http://amzn.to/2DkinZD or usual outlets.
“a truly exquisite story that needs to be read by everyone” – Books of all Kinds
“oozes old-fashioned charm” – Bleach House Library
“a gorgeous and wickedly mystical tale that will leave you enchanted.” – Redbook
“one of 2017s most magical historical fiction releases.” – Bookstr
To celebrate the paperback release, my publisher is giving readers in the UK the chance to win a copy of the book, plus the contents of a fairy-themed prize box. The giveaways start today with one box up for grabs each day between now and Monday 29th January. Visit the following Twitter accounts on the specified dates to enter the giveaway:
@TheBooktrailer on the 25th
@Lindahill50Hill on the 26th
@annecater on the 27th
@gilbster1000 on the 28th
@LoveBooksGroup on the 29th
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HarperCollins Ireland are also giving away two copies of the book. Follow them on Twitter at @HCinIreland to enter before 4pm today.
If you’d like to hear more about the Cottingley fairies hoax, you might enjoy this podcast I recorded for the BBC World Service last year. https://www.hazelgaynor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Witness-20170905-TheFairyPhotos.mp3
Wishing you all very happy reading!
Hazel
x
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November 27, 2017
Last Christmas in Paris – ’tis the season!
Christmas is definitely in the air after the first snowfall in Ireland last week, and it’s very exciting to see so much love coming in for LAST CHRISTMAS IN PARIS, which recently went for a 6th printing in the USA! Click play on this lovely animated video of our cover!
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Heather and I were delighted with a gorgeous review in yesterday’s Sunday Independent, which called the book ‘searingly romantic.’ Thank you, Sunday Indo. We totally agree!
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BookBub also featured us in a festive round-up of books to get you in the holiday spirit and we are especially thrilled to see the fabulous The Gutter Bookshop, Dublin (UK/Ireland Independent Bookseller of the Year) select Last Christmas in Paris as one of their Paperbacks of 2017 in their Christmas picks! Thank you, Bob & Marta!
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We are also very excited to announce the ’12 Days of Last Christmas in Paris’ which will start this Friday, December 1st, and will feature lots of great daily giveaways for the following twelve days, and a fabulous grand prize that we want to keep for ourselves! Keep an eye on our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages for details.
In the meantime you can read more about the book, and discover why everyone is falling in love with Tom and Evie at https://www.hazelgaynor.com/book/last-christmas-in-paris/
October 24, 2017
Launching THE INSPIRATION PROJECT!
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Introducing a new style of creative time-out
Good morning to all the writers out there! I’m so excited to announce THE INSPIRATION PROJECT – a very special project I’ve been working on with my wonderful friends and all-round amazing women, Catherine Howard and Carmel Harrington.
The Inspiration Project is a writing retreat with a difference which aims to inspire, support and encourage writers to fulfil their writing dreams, whatever stage they are at. If you don’t know where to start, don’t know what to do now that you’ve reached ‘THE END’, or even if you already have a book deal but don’t know what to do next, we’re here to help, and inspire.
As very busy women, we know how difficult it can be to find time to write and think without distraction, so The Inspiration Project is all about providing an opportunity for writers to check out of everyday life and check in with their writing, and to do so in an environment where they can think big and dream even bigger. A lot can happen in 48 hours, and we’ve devised a programme that makes every minute count before our participants return to their busy lives.
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For all the details, visit our very shiny and pink new website at https://theinspirationproject.ie Our first event takes place on 12-14 January 2018 in Wexford, Ireland, and we are keeping the numbers small so places are limited.
We really hope you love this concept as much as we do! Here’s to dreaming big!
September 5, 2017
Talking about fairies …
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Publication week in Ireland kicked off in wonderful style yesterday with a lovely interview on the Ryan Tubridy Show. I’ve been a long-time listener to the show, so to be a guest was a real honour, and a great experience. You can listen back to our chat about the Cottingley fairies hoax, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Irish fairy folklore, at the link below:
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I was also delighted to contribute to a wonderful programme from the BBC World Service, about the Cottingley fairies hoax. It is a really lovely feature, and includes archive interview footage with Elsie Wright, talking about the fairy photographs.
https://www.hazelgaynor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Witness-20170905-TheFairyPhotos.mp3
Lots more to come over the week, with the book going on sale in Ireland this Thursday, 7th September. There might even be some fairies hiding copies of the book around Dublin … watch this space!
September 1, 2017
Canadian magic, and the Irish fairies await!
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It’s hard to believe that The Cottingley Secret has already been on sale in North America for a month. The weeks have flown by in a flurry of excitement, topped off with the wonderful news that the book is a Globe and Mail bestseller in Canada! Thank you so much to everyone in Canada who bought the book! I’m so grateful!
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I’ve had so many wonderful reviews from bloggers and readers, often accompanied with very imaginative fairy-themed images, which have all made me smile! The blog tour reviews are all available at TLC Book Tours. I’m also very excited to announce that The Cottingley Secret is one of the featured books in Booksparks Fall Reading Challenge. Check out the website for all the details on how to participate in this fabulous new season of book-loving fun.
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I’m also thrilled that The Cottingley Secret is currently a featured read on Savvy Reads 50 Book Pledge, who say, “The Cottingley Secret is more than just a story about the fairies. It’s a friendly reminder to keep your eyes open to magic every single day.” Some other highlights from the past few weeks were seeing the book in Redbook‘s selection of books by women to read this fall, Bookstr‘s highlights of historical fiction indulgences, and Brit + Co‘s round-up of ten books to read before your favourite fall TV shows return!
This week I also signed a mountain of books at Eason’s HQ, ready for the release of the book in Ireland on 7th September. The book will be on the shelves next week, and is also available to order online. The ebook releases in the UK and Australia/New Zealand on the same date. I have lots of radio and TV interviews lined up over the coming week which is exciting (and more than a little terrifying!), so wish me luck and follow all my news on social media: @HazelGaynor on Twitter and Instagram and https://www.facebook.com/hazelgaynorb...
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The 100-year anniversary of the Cottingley fairy photographs is really capturing imaginations all over again. You can read about the true events behind the book in this article I wrote for TIME magazine and in a wonderful piece from last weekend’s Sunday Independent ‘Living’.
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For now, happy reading, and don’t forget to look for fairies at the bottom of the garden!
August 10, 2017
Fairies, fairies everywhere!
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Publication week has been an absolute whirlwind of books and fairies and I’m so excited to see THE COTTINGLEY SECRET in readers’ hands, and I’m loving hearing everyone’s reactions.
Apart from hearing from excited readers which is always the best part of the job, a few highlights from the past week were the publication of an article I wrote for TIME about the Cottingley fairy photographs and why a nation was so captivated by the girls and their fairies. The book was also selected by BuzzFeed, Culturalist and BookBub in their Historical Fiction highlights and is a recommended read this month from Women Writers.
I’ve written a number of articles about how I came to write the book, and about my writing life. If you’re interested in a peek behind the scenes and how a book gets written, here’s a small selection: The Theory of Connectivity – I’m often asked how I came to write about the Cottingley fairies and my answer might surprise you! I’ve also written about My Writing Process for Spine Magazine, and Where I Write and Why I Write.
I’m also really enjoying reading reviews from the bloggers participating in THE COTTINGLEY SECRET book tour. You can read some of the reviews here, here and here and you can follow all the tour participants here!
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The fairies were also in the news in Ireland this week, when a local T.D. blamed them for the poor quality of the roads in his area. The news made the London Evening Standard. You can read the article here. The poor fairies, getting the blame for everything! I loved the response from The Irish Fairy Door Company:
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THE COTTINGLEY SECRET is now available in the USA and Canada in ebook, paperback and audio. There is also a hardback edition available to order (lots of readers have been asking about that!)
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The book releases in Ireland in large paperback format (pictured below) on 7th September, and will release on ebook in the UK and ANZ on the same day. The paperback will release in ANZ on 18th September.
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For now, I must fly off on a little holiday. Back soon, and in the meantime, happy reading!
August 1, 2017
Publication day!
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I can hardly believe it is exactly three years and four months since my first novel was published on April 1st, 2014, and today sees the release of my fourth in the USA and Canada! It has been an amazing experience from then to now, and I’m just as excited about this book as I was about the first.
Having worked on THE COTTINGLEY SECRET for over two years now, it is lovely to know that the book is finding its way into readers’ hands. This is when it stops belonging to me, and belongs entirely to you. I hope the reading experience is as magical as the writing experience.
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As ever, I couldn’t do any of this without the amazing support of family and friends, fellow authors, and all the fabulous book lovers, bloggers and readers around the world who keep buying and reading my books, and telling their friends and family about them. I am also indebted to my incredible agent, Michelle, my wonderful publishing team at William Morrow/HarperCollins in New York and my fantastic publicists at Booksparks. Thank you all, for everything.
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For readers in Ireland, the book releases in paperback on 7th September. The ebook will also release in the UK at the same time. Readers in Australia and New Zealand will be able to get the book from 18th September.
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As has become a bit of a publication day tradition, my emotions today are perhaps best summed up by this young lady! Thank you again for all your support!
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You can follow all the latest news about the book through my social media pages: @HazelGaynor on Twitter and Instagram and https://www.facebook.com/hazelgaynorbooks/
