Feature | Jill Mansell Book Launch ~ You and Me, Always

Last night (Thursday 28th January 2016) I attended my first ever event as a book blogger and I thought it would be nice to write a blog post about it to a) share with you and b) give me a lovely remind of the evening.

I am a huge, I mean, HUGE fan of Jill Mansell and her work. She's my go to lady whenever I get a book hangover or reading slump. She makes me laugh, she makes me cry but ultimately I know that there will be a happy ending because that's what Jill does... 

a happy ending, romantic comedy novel  - Classic Jill.

You and Me, Always is Jill's 27th published book (what an achievement eh?!) And I loved it - please read my review here.

Me and You, Always on display.

I've not been blogging for a year yet so I'm a complete newbie to book launches and events but when I saw that I was free to attend this one I couldn't resist. 

I dragged my two friends, Helen and Katrina with me - Kat to be fair didn't hesitate, she loves a Jill Mansell book!

Kat, Myself and Helen

Signed book!

Having booked the tickets way before Christmas, the book launch felt like a lifetime coming and as the days got nearer my nerves kicked it - I'm fine at social circles once I'm there but the apprehension first....ugh!

My day started with train cancellations but I eventually arrived in London and met up with the girls, after a late lunch and good natter we headed off to our hotel for a freshen up before our night at Carmelite House - home of Hachett UK.

Waiting in the very plush reception I spotted a few blogger faces but we were quickly ushered up to the top floor where we were met with complimentary wine - yes thank you - and gorgeous blue looking gift bags on incredibly stylish chairs.

The next 45 minutes or so we were treated to a Q&A with Jill.

It was fab to hear her inspiration behind the book and her writing progress as well as the reassurance that she won't be writing a psychological thriller any time soon - that just wouldn't be right from Jill any way, would it?

Jill during Q&A

Showing off her new boots!

Once the chatting was done there was time for a selfie with the Queen of chic lit herself and she also signed our books before we were left to mingle with prosecco and canapés!

Kat and I with our copies!

Jill and Me!

I'm not a great one for photos and selfies so there's a lack of these with fellow bloggers but it was lovely to meet several including Rachel, Sharon, Paris, Sophie, and the two Julie's! 

(Sorry if I forgot anyone) 

Now, I'd seen one or two authors tweet Jill about seeing her at the launch but it was clear when talking to my blogging friends that the author presence was way more than they had seen at other launches. 

Authors including (and I'm sure I've missed some here!) Jojo Moyes, Jenny Colgan, Carole Matthews, Rowen Coleman, Julie Cohen, Bella Osborne, Miranda Dickenson, Lucy Robinson, Katie Fford, Cathy Bramley..(the list was pretty long to be fair) where all there and the ones I managed to speak with were a dream! 

For me, personally, it just goes to show well respected and how far up the author chain Jill Mansell is and how much love and admiration other authors have for her.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable night (and if you've not read a classic Jill book before then I seriously urge you too!) 

So thank you to Elizabeth Masters, Frances Gough and all at Headline for putting on the night - my expectations of other events are now extremely high!

**slightly not book related but I have to share the next part with you regardless**

Friday morning, Helen, Kat and I headed off to Leicester Square where we were going to meet out other friend Nicole.

Whilst waiting, Katrina with her beady eyes, spots some paparazzi and a few "fangirls".

Wondering who they were trying to catch we decided to casually hang around like you do.... and who did we happen to bump in to?

Only Mark Wright and George Shelley - excuse the wind swept photos!

Cover Reveal | Reader, I Dumped Him ~ Lorelei Mathias

Another day and another fabulous cover reveal from that lovely lot over at Avon!

This cover has gorgeous colours and a real catchy title - I'm looking forward to reading this one!

Reader, I Dumped Him is available in eBook only on 4th February 2016... Read on for the synopsis-

This story is a celebration of the people that bring you back to life when your world closes in: your mates.

Relationships come and go, but the Break-up Club membership never truly expires.

Holly Braithwaite and loveable loser Lawrence have been together for five years. But the obvious cracks in their relationship can no longer be ignored and Holly soon finds herself saying ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’

In the shock aftermath of their break up, Holly finds unlikely companions in Olivia, Harry and Bella. Together, they form the Break-up Club, as they support each other through their mutual melancholy and find ways to love, laugh and function as human beings again.

Break-up Club meets every Sunday. Each week, as the comedy and drama unfolds, they discover a new BUC ‘rule’. And, one by one, the rules become vital markers on their journey to recovery . . .

‘BREAK-UP CLUB’

To our members, we’re the first emergency service

Blog Tour | A Little Sugar, A Lot Of Love ~ Linn B Halton

Today I'm helping Brook Cottage Books kick off the blog tour for Linn B Halton's book, A Little Sugar, A Lot Of Love.

This was previously released under an alternative name but has been gorgeously re-vamped!

Genre: Chick Lit

Release Date: 15 January 2016

Publisher:  Choc Lit

A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love

Life isn’t all love and cupcakes …

Katie has had her fair share of bad luck, but when she finally realises her dream of opening a bakery it seems things can only get better.

But the reality of running a business hits Katie hard and whilst her partner, Steve, tries to help she begins to sense that the situation is driving them further apart. Could Katie be set to lose her relationship and her dream job?

Then, one winter’s day, a man walks into her shop – and, in the space of that moment, the course of Katie’s life is changed.

But nobody finds happiness in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it takes two Christmases, three birthdays and a whole lot of cake to get there …

Previously released as Sweet Occasions by the author. Revised and edited by Choc Lit December 2015.

BUY LINKS

AMAZON UK

AMAZON US

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“I’m a hopeless romantic, self-confessed chocaholic, and lover of coffee. For me, life is about family, friends, and writing. Oh, and the occasional glass of White Grenache…”

An Amazon UK Top 100 best-selling author with A Cottage in the Country in November 2015, Linn’s novels have been short-listed in the UK’s Festival of Romance and the eFestival of Words Book Awards. Linn won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in Romantic Fiction award. Linn writes chick lit, women’s contemporary fiction and psychic romance for Choc Lit, Harper Impulse and Endeavour Press.

Website/blog: http://linnbhalton.co.uk/

Twitter: @LinnBHalton FB: Linn B Halton Author

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/LittleSugarLotOfLove

Extract from the book!

Grandma Grace peers at me with interest over the top of her glasses, taking the box from my hands and placing it on the side. She wraps her arms around as much of me as she can reach, being at least a foot shorter, and gives me a fierce hug.

‘Thank you, my dear, but the only present I wanted was to see you standing here in one piece. It’s such a long journey and the weather! That rain is relentless, so many places are flooded. To think of you at the side of the road worried me to death and I will admit to saying a few little prayers as one hour turned into two, then three …’

She raises her eyebrow sternly, but it’s a brief moment before those twinkly blue eyes are full of love and laughter again.

‘My boy is here and that’s all that counts.’

‘Grandma, I haven’t been a boy for many years,’ I retort, softly, as she releases me with a tender pat on my back. She might be in her twilight years but her spirit is strong and her mind as sharp as ever. We all thought she’d fade away when Pop died, but the truth is he’s the one who would have faded if she had gone first.

‘You will always be a boy to me. Now, tell me more about this guardian angel of yours.’

While the tea is brewing and the cake is sliced, I hang around the kitchen as I did when I was growing up. Grandma Grace was always easy to talk to; she seemed to understand even when the words wouldn’t come. Her instincts filled in the gaps at times when even I couldn’t make sense of what was going on inside my head. After this failed relationship I began to despair of ever finding someone special.

‘You can’t hurry love,’ she’d told me. ‘It takes time to find your soulmate and in the process you change and grow. That’s why young love often withers, as Pop would have said. Two people either change and grow together, or they grow apart. Love is about sustaining what comes after that first hormonal rush.’

‘But that wasn’t the case for the two of you,’ I remember pointing out.

‘There has to be an exception to every rule,’ she’d replied, with a wicked smile. ‘We were lucky. Fate was kind to us. But with hindsight, we were too young and naive to understand that until much later in life. Don’t fret, Adam, there’s a wonderful young woman out there for you when the time is right.’

Sadly, when I reached that point it too turned out to be yet another huge failure. This time the consequences had been more painful than I could ever have imagined. Kelly was everything I thought I wanted in a woman and, after adjusting to the shock of an unplanned pregnancy, she was a fantastic mother. With hindsight I can see now that parenthood came too early in our relationship, we hardly knew each other. Suddenly I was a family man and yet, surprisingly, the role seemed to come naturally to me. I loved Sunday mornings the best. When a little head would appear on the pillow next to me at some unearthly hour and a warm little hand would wind its way around my neck.

Lily Grace is my sanity, my raison d’être.

Cover Reveal | The Teacher ~ Katerina Diamond

Today I have an exciting cover reveal for you for what looks like another gripping read from the Avon team.

I love this cover... its so mysterious and intriguing, so without further a do...

You think you know who to trust?
You think you know the difference between good and evil?

You’re wrong …

A LESSON YOU WILL NEVER FORGET

The body of the head teacher of an exclusive Devon school is found hanging from the rafters in the assembly hall.

Hours earlier he’d received a package, and only he could understand the silent message it conveyed. It meant the end.

As Exeter suffers a rising count of gruesome deaths, troubled DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles must solve the case and make their city safe again.

But as they’re drawn into a network of corruption, lies and exploitation, every step brings them closer to grim secrets hidden at the heart of their community.

And once they learn what’s motivating this killer, will they truly want to stop him?

SMART. GRIPPING. GRUESOME.

This is a psychological crime thriller in a class of its own.

Warning: Most definitely *not* for the faint-hearted!