Cover Reveal: The Teacher by Katerina Diamond

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!

#AmWriting: Aiming For 50,000

The Mince Pie Mix-Up has been published and I've finished writing my next book for Carina (I'll share more news on the title, cover and publication dates when I can) so I'm busy writing my next book.

My writing was a little slow over Christmas but I'm getting back into my routine again and building up the words. I'm aiming to have the first draft completed by half-term (12th Feb) and so far I'm on track.

By the end of today I should have 50,000 words under my belt (that's the plan, anyway), which is a good amount for me as I'll know I'm more than halfway through. This book is revisiting some characters that I love - and also some brand new ones that I'm enjoying getting to know, especially Sinead, Franz and Granny Mac. I hope you'll like them too when you meet them!

So that's my (quick) update for now. I'd better get back to writing - those 50,000 words won't clock up themselves...

Spectacles by Sue Perkins

I adore Mel and Sue, right back from watching Light Lunch in the school holidays when I was a teenager, so when Sue Perkins released her memoir I had to read it. Sue never fails to make me laugh whenever I see her on TV and her book was just the same. The book is jam-packed with fun snippets from Sue's life, told in her unique style that had me giggling to myself at some points, cringing at others and full-on laughing out loud at the hilarious anecdotes.

But the book isn't just a funny look at Sue's life. It delves far deeper, revealing some of the more difficult points. While the book offers a lot of giggles, it also gives the old heartstrings a thorough workout. I don't want to spoil anything from the book but here's a little tip: when you get to the letter Sue wrote to her dog, make sure you have tissues to hand. Lots and lots of tissues.

One of my favourite aspects of the book was finding out more about Sue's friendship with Mel, from how they met and began working together. The strong bond they have is evident from the pages of Spectacles - as well as the fun they have together and the book only made me love them more. I also enjoyed the relationships between Sue and her family and another highlight of the book for me was Sue's recollection of coming out to her mum. Again, I really, really don't want to spoil anything but Ann Perkins, you rock.

There are so many great aspects of this book (Sue's brief encounter with Esther Rantzen, for example) that I didn't want it to end. Full of laughs, love and the highs and lows of life, Spectacles is a fantastic insight into the world of a very funny lady.



Christmas Wish Come True (anthology)

Christmas Wish Come True is an anthology of three festive novellas: All I Want For Christmas by Gina Rochelle, Dreaming of a White Wedding by Misty Shaw and Christmas Every Day by Jaimie Admans.

All I Want For Christmas tells the story of Isabella, a substitute teacher who is starting a new position at a school in Colorado. The story begins the day before Thanksgiving, which should have been the eve of her wedding to pilot Philip. But Philip broke off their engagement and now Isabella is facing a lonely Thanksgiving in a hotel room.

On her first day, Isabella meets one of her young students, Tyler and his rather abrupt uncle, Jordan. Tyler seems like a troubled little boy so Isabella tries to cheer him up by encouraging him to write to Santa with his wishes for Christmas. Isabella pens her own letter and as she finds herself meeting the man who may mend her heart after Philip, it seems her Christmas wish may just come true.

All I Want For Christmas is a festive romance set in a snow-filled Colorado, making it perfect for curling up with a hot chocolate. I liked the character of Isabella and immediately warmed to her. She can be quite feisty but she also has a vulnerable side too after her recent heartbreak. She's a very caring person and I liked the way she takes Tyler under her wing and tries to give him as perfect a Christmas as she can. It's pretty obvious who she's going to end up with right from the start but that didn't make the romantic journey any less enjoyable.

Dreaming of a White Wedding tells the story of twins Scarlet and Cressida and Scarlet's ex, Terry. Scarlet and Terry were supposed to be getting married but they broke up two years ago and Scarlet hasn't been able to properly move on since. When her party-planner sister Cressida finds herself double-booked, she asks Scarlet to step in and help make sure one of the parties runs smoothly while she travels to York to take care of the other. Scarlet agrees, not knowing doing so will bring her face-to-face with Terry once again.

Dreaming of a White Wedding is told from the perspectives of Scarlet, Cressida and Terry and I liked this aspect as it gives the reader a full insight into what is going on, from Cressida's plot to bring her sister and her ex back together to what exactly happened in the past between the pair. I also liked that Cressida had her own story, giving us two romances for the price of one.

Christmas Every Day tells the story of Emma, a supermarket checkout girl who accidentally injures her secret crush and causes him to end up in a coma. Emma doesn't even know the crush's name and usually refers to him as Gorgeous Dog Walker but with Gorgeous Dog Walker out of action, Emma temporarily takes over his job and finds out the shocking truth about her mystery man.

I loved this story! It was fun and magical and had so many laugh-out-loud moments, usually caused by a disgruntled elf. The writing has such an easy flow, making it impossible not to sit and allow the pages to fly by as Emma's story unfolds. It's cute and magical and jam-packed with humour. I particularly enjoyed the lists at the beginning of each chapter, which give a little hint about what is about to happen next.

I really enjoyed this collection and thought they made a perfect read for Christmas. I usually read and review the festive books on my TBR pile before Christmas but I saved Christmas Wish Come True to read over the few days leading up to and over Christmas. As the collection is made up of novellas, it was perfect for dipping in and out of during the busy festive period. Each story felt whole and I enjoyed the mix of stories, from heartfelt to humorous.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, bookish folk! I hope you've all had a brilliant Christmas and a good start to the new year. 2015 was a fantastic year for me as I signed a very special piece of paper - my book contract with Carina UK. I also visited (and got lost in) London twice, enjoyed a family holiday in Bulgaria and celebrated the publication of my festive book, The Mince Pie Mix-Up!

Here's my year in pictures:

Let's hope 2016 is just as good! I'm already looking forward to the publication of my second Carina book in March and who knows what else 2016 has to offer?

Do you have any exciting plans for 2016?



Merry Christmas!

As Christmas is rapidly approaching and it's now the school holidays, I'm going to take a little blogging break until the new year. I'll still be around on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram (you can't keep me away!)

I hope you all have a lovely, fun-filled Christmas and a very happy New Year. I'll see you back here in January 2016!

xxx

December In Pictures

You can see more photos on Instagram