A Quick Catch Up!

 

I'm working on two books at the moment - books 7 & 8. They're at very different stages: Book 7 is very nearly ready to be released (more details soon) and Book 8 is in the planning stages.

 

 

I'm reading A Year at the Star and Sixpence by Holly Hepburn. It was originally released in smaller parts, but I'm too impatient and had to buy the complete collection to read all at once!

 

 

I haven't got anything I'm hooked on at the moment - I'm still in the throes of a Line of Duty hangover. I do quite like watching Police Interceptors though. If I believed in guilty pleasures, this would be one! 

 

 

I haven't seen a new release for aaaaages. The last one was probably Finding Dory last summer! I like watching older films on DVD or Netflix, so it was probably Look Who's Talking Too.

 

My new book, The Little Bed & Breakfast by the Sea is out soon (28th June) so I'm listening to summery songs to make a book playlist.

 

 

Mostly books, writing and Luna!

 

 

 

You can find me on

 

Twitter

 

Facebook

 

Instagram

 

 

So that's me in a nutshell! What are you up to? Let us know in the comments below 😊

 

Book News: Introducing The Little Bed & Breakfast by the Sea!

I am so excited to share the cover and blurb of my soon-to-be-released book, The Little Bed & Breakfast by the Sea!

Escape to the seaside this summer!

Mae loves running her little Bed & Breakfast, it’s the perfect place to raise her adorable four-year-old daughter! And no matter how persistently local vet, Alfie, chases her, she just doesn’t have time for men in her life.

Willow is busy building her dream home with her husband, Ethan, but with every month that passes she secretly worries that her happy ever after will never come true…

Melody only intended to stay in the bustling seaside town for a few days to capture the perfect photo. But when she meets Hugo – the charming man in the ice cream van – she decides to stay a little longer!

One thing is for sure, summer at the little Bed & Breakfast by the sea certainly has a few surprises in store…

 

 

What do you think?

 

I absolutely ADORE the cover and I can't wait to share Mae, Willow and Melody's story with you!

 

 

The Little Bed & Breakfast by the Sea will be published on 28th June, but it's available to pre-order right now!

Newsletter Giveaway - June 2017

My very first newsletter will be going out on 2nd June, and I'll be picking one of my subscribers to win the bundle of goodies pictured above.

The bundle contains:

• The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts notebook
• The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts magnet
• The Wedding Date magnet
• Sweets and chocolate

If you've already subscribed, your name is already in the hat (also, thank you!) and anybody who signs up from now until the newsletter goes out (or shortly before - I need time to draw the name and put it into the newsletter) will be added.

And that's all you have to do to enter. No retweeting or liking (although I'd be grateful, obv), no party tricks. Just click the button below and fill in the short form and you have your virtual raffle ticket. And it gets better, because with each newsletter that goes out, I'll pick a new winner of a new prize bundle!

Peanut Butter Blondies - A Bonus Short Story And Recipe

 

I recently shared my short story series, Five Dates (if you haven't read the series, you can catch up here), but that isn't the end for Natalie. She'll soon be venturing out for a sixth date - the second date with one of her speed dating partners - and you get to choose who she dates!



 

The sixth instalment will be sent out in my first newsletter on 2nd June, so make sure you sign up using the form below to receive it. You will also receive a bonus recipe from The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts (you can see five of the recipes here), as well as the chance to win some prizes and catch up with book news, book recommendations and more!

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First Name

Happy Easter Weekend!

Happy Easter weekend! If you're in the UK, it's probably raining (it is here in Manchester), but that just means we get to stay inside and read, right? I'll also be getting a little bit crafty as I want to make some Easter treat bags for Rianne and Isobel - I'll post a photo on Twitter and Instagram later!

Yesterday, we made some Easter fairy cakes, which were really simple but a lovely homemade treat that were perfect for a bit of family time during the school holidays. I'll be posting some recipes from The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts on the blog in the next few weeks and, as fairy cakes are Maddie's favourite sweet treat, I'll be including the recipe for our fairy cakes! There will be four other recipes, with a bonus fifth included in my newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.



We'll be having a pretty relaxed weekend, enjoying the chocolate and treats the Easter Bunny brings. I'm pretty sure the Easter egg hunt will have to take place indoors because of the rain, but it'll be fun and chocolatey inside or out!

However you spend the weekend, I hope you have a good one! 😊

Amazon UK | Amazon US



The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts Quiz

If you've read The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts, you can now take the quiz over on Goodreads!

Can you remember Maddie's favourite dessert?

How much do you remember about The Builders?

And what about Birdie's adorable French bulldog?

Put your knowledge to the test and let me know how you do, either here on the blog, on Twitter or on my Facebook page.

Click to take the test

From fairy cakes to first dates!

Maddie Lamington’s dreams are crumbling around her. If she doesn’t come up with a plan to save her little teashop on Sweet Street soon, it might be too late…

So when she sees how the perfect apple crumble brings together her lonely father and faithful customer Birdie, inspiration strikes: she’ll set up a dating night involving all her sweetest bakes.

Luckily, seriously gorgeous Caleb is on hand to help sprinkle a little magic – and a lot of sugar! Could one night of scrumptious first dates fix Maddie’s heartbreak and save her beloved teashop, too?

Amazon UK | Amazon US



The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts: Fun Facts

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of a book? I've put together some fun facts about The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts:

Working Title

The working title of The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts was The Sweetest Kiss

Lots of Kisses

In the very early stages, each chapter was going to have a title describing a type of kiss (chapter one was The Hello Kiss)

Sweet Date

In The Wedding Date, Delilah goes on a date at a café with only sweet things on the menu. I loved the setting so much, I knew I wanted to return, so it became the setting of Maddie's story

Sweet Name

The three ladies who work at Sweet Street Teashop have names inspired by cake:
Maddie - short for Madeleine(s)
Mags - short for Magdalena(s)

Victoria (sponge)

Naming Caleb

My teenage daughter and I became obsessed with Pretty Little Liars, so when it came to naming my hero, I turned to the show for inspiration!

Writing The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts

The first draft of the book took nine weeks. I kept a little diary, which you can read here

Setting

The book is set in Woodgate, where most of my books are set. It's a fictional suburb of Greater Manchester

From fairy cakes to first dates!

Maddie Lamington’s dreams are crumbling around her. If she doesn’t come up with a plan to save her little teashop on Sweet Street soon, it might be too late…

So when she sees how the perfect apple crumble brings together her lonely father and faithful customer Birdie, inspiration strikes: she’ll set up a dating night involving all her sweetest bakes.

Luckily, seriously gorgeous Caleb is on hand to help sprinkle a little magic – and a lot of sugar! Could one night of scrumptious first dates fix Maddie’s heartbreak and save her beloved teashop, too?

Amazon UK | Amazon US