Happy Halloween!

It's one of my favourite times of year! I love, love, LOVE Halloween and have been busy making little paper sweets packets for the trick or treaters. I'm looking forward to giving them out tonight and am always disappointed if we don't get many kids knocking.

I also love writing Halloween short stories (although they're always fun, rom-com-style as I'm not one for scary Halloween stuff). I haven't had time to write one this year, but you can have a read of my previous stories by clicking on the following links:

The Ghost of Halloween Past

Pumpkin Pie at The Green Teapot

The Staircase [flash fiction]

Trick or Treat

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I'd love to know how you'll be spending Halloween. Do you love it? Hate it? Somewhere in the middle? Let us know in the comments below!

However you're spending Halloween, I hope you have a great evening :)

Our Holiday To Florida 2016

On Saturday 15th October, the Joyces (that's me, Chris, Rianne and Isobel, not every Joyce in the land) dragged our stuffed suitcases to the airport (with the help of a taxi - handy) and flew to Florida. It was our second visit, as we went back in 2014, but this time, instead of the Universal Studios parks, we wanted to enjoy Disneyland.

We stayed in a gorgeous apartment at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, which was about fifteen minutes away from the Disney parks.

As you can imagine, we had a lot of fun at the parks. The fun starts before you even get to the Magic Kingdom as you can either travel there by ferry (pictured above) or the monorail - we had a go at both!

The girls got to meet loads of Disney characters, from the must-see Mickey and Minnie to their furry friends and Disney Princesses. They both had an autograph book that all the characters signed, so they've got a lovely memento of the trip.

We went on lots of rides, including family favourites It's A Small World, Dumbo, the carousel and Ariel's Undersea Adventure (which we went on twice as we enjoyed them so much).

Another huge hit was the Animal Kingdom's safari, where we got to see elephants, lions, crocodiles and giraffes, plus lots more. We had to queue for around 45 minutes, but it was worth it!

As well as the rides, there were shows to enjoy. Our favourites were the Finding Nemo Musical, which was told using puppets, and Mickey's 4D PhilarMagic.

And then, of course, there is the parade which takes place every day at 3pm. We only managed to catch it on our last Disney day and I'm so glad we didn't miss it as it was fantastic!

As we went in October, the park was decked out for Halloween, which I loved as there were pumpkins EVERYWHERE. As it started to grow dark, the Mickey pumpkins lit up, which looked lovely.

When we weren't at the Disney parks, we spent time at the hotel where there were five swimming pools to choose from, plus two lazy rivers. Isobel also enjoyed the little playground and on our last full day there, we took a picnic to eat by the lake where we had a duck visitor. We also saw a little turtle crawl out of the water, which was cute.

One day we also went to IHOP for breakfast, where Isobel created her own scary face pancake.

The following Saturday, it was time to head back home. We all had a brilliant time in Florida and didn't want to leave!

If You're A Writer, It's Totally Okay To ...

... light cinnamon-scented candles and listen to festive music during a sweltering August heatwave while you work on your snow-filled Christmas book. Equally, you can dream of sunny, beach-filled days to the soundtrack of the gritters trundling past as you pen your summer-themed book during the darkest depths of winter.


... think of your characters as real people. You probably spend more time with them than your family, so it's only natural.


... ignore all the housework. It just is, okay?


... read magazines/watch TV or films and call it research.


... work in your pyjamas. As long as you're working from home. It isn't quite as acceptable if you've decided to work in the library or a café.


... eavesdrop. This is also research.


... stare out of windows and daydream. In fact, it's encouraged. How else are you supposed to plot/develop characters and storylines?


... eat cake at every opportunity. Research, okay?


... fall a little bit in love with your hero.


... snack on chocolate. It helps with creativity. Or something.


... drink so much tea, your blood type is now PG Tips.


... take naps during the day. Research? No? Time to restore creativity and mull over ideas? Brilliant. Let's go with that.

Curl Up With A Romantic Comedy This Autumn...

The temperature has started to drop and there are already leaves on the ground. Before you know it, we'll all be cosied up in warm jumpers on cool, dark autumn evenings. And what better way to spend those evenings than with a fun, romantic book? Throw in a hot chocolate and you've got the perfect evening!

The Wedding Date

Delilah James, singleton and smoothie-addict, has six months to find a date for her oldest friend’s wedding. Oh, and to prove to her ex, best man Ben, that she has totally moved on since he dumped her out-of-the-blue nine months, eight days and seventeen hours ago…

So, with her two BFFs playing Cupid, Delilah launches herself into the high-tech, fast-paced and frankly terrifying world of dating. Luckily there’s the hot new guy at work, Adam Sinclair, to practice her flirting on – even if, as a colleague, he’s strictly off-limits!

Yet time’s running out and date after disastrous date forces Delilah to tell a little white lie – and invent a fake boyfriend! But will her secret crush on Adam ruin everything? Does she even care about Ben anymore? And is it too late to untangle her web of lies and take a real date to the wedding…?

Available from Amazon here

A Beginner's Guide To Salad

Ruth loves nothing more than curling up in front of the telly with a family-sized bar of chocolate. She doesn’t do diets and she certainly doesn’t do exercise. But all that changes when she’s invited to her school reunion.

Bullied at school for being overweight, Ruth’s first reaction is to rip the invitation into a million pieces. But then Ruth hatches a plan. She’ll lose the weight and arrive at the reunion looking gorgeous and glamorous, leaving her old classmates in awe. Especially her former crush, Zack O’Connell.

With the help of her friends and a new, unbelievably hot colleague, Ruth begins her transformation. With six months until the reunion, losing weight will be a piece of cake, right?

Available from Amazon here

Everything Changes But You

Ally Richmond is dreading turning thirty and bidding farewell to her youth. And when her husband says he wants to start a family, she begins to panic.

Is this all that life has to offer from now on? Popping out babies and growing old gracefully? She wants a life crammed with glamour and spontaneous adventure, not one full of dirty nappies and night feeds.

When Ally makes a silly birthday wish for a new, exciting life, her wish is granted.

But when Ally is presented with the freedom and opportunities she craves, she soon realises this new life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and that there really is no place like home.

Available from Amazon here



5 Rom Com Series I Love

I recently revealed my plan to release Book 2 in the Beginner's Guide series, and it got me thinking about film series - rom coms in particular - and what draws me back in for a sequel (or more).


For me, I think I'm just greedy and if I love a film, I want more. I want to know what happens next. Did they live happily ever once the credits had rolled? (I hope they did because I hate a non-HEA, as evidenced in this post)


Sometimes a sequel doesn't work, or the series goes on for too long. But when it does work, it can be wonderful and the joy of its predecessor is replicated and sometimes - but not always - the sequel is even better than the first film. I thought I'd share five of my favourite rom com series with you.

Bridget Jones's Diary

I adore Bridget. She's funny yet flawed, she has both high moments and crying-in-the-bath moments, which makes her feel more real and relatable. The scene at the end with the kiss in the snow is perfect. Fast forward to The Edge of Reason and life for Bridget and Mark isn't quite as rosy as we'd have liked. But, unusually for me, the not-so-happy-ending doesn't have me wanting to hurl the DVD in the wheelie bin (probably because, if you're patient enough, there is a HEA).

Father of The Bride

I love Steve Martin and he plays the perfect dad who is worrying about letting go of his daughter and the cost implications of her wedding in equal measures. Throw in flamboyant wedding planner Franck and you've got an hilarious movie.

But what comes after the wedding? In Annie's case, it's a baby. And a new baby sibling.

One of the things I love about these films (other than Steve Martin and Martin Short) is that the HEA isn't sacrificed. The story moves forward without needing to break up the happy couple.

Looks Who's Talking

For me, the Look Who's Talking series falls into the 'they carried it on too far' category, but I love the first two instalments. It's such a fantastic idea having a film from the perspective of a baby/toddler (but not in a Baby's Day Out kind of way). The films are funny and sweet and even though we have another HEA blip, all works out in the end.

3 Men And Baby/Little Lady

There isn't a romantic HEA in the first film, but the second film continues Mary's story with her three dads and mum, Sylvia and this time there is the added romance.

The first film is brilliant as we watch the three bachelors learn to cope with a baby (men are - hopefully - much more hands on these days, but back then it worked) and I love finding out what happened next with the unconventional family.

American Pie

American Pie could be seen as more of a teen film (especially the first couple of instalments) but we do see the friends mature (sort of) as the series goes on, culminating in their school reunion. My favourite film of the series is the third film, American Wedding (apart from the, um, 'chocolate' incident. I can't quite bring myself to watch that without wincing).

So those are five rom com series I love. I'd love to hear about yours - let me know in the comments below!

50 Reviews, Bridget Jones & Millionaire's Shortbread

I experienced a very proud moment earlier this week when A Beginner's Guide To Salad received its 50th Amazon review. And it was extra special as the review was a 5* - it doesn't get much better than that!

I'm so grateful for anyone who has taken the time to leave a review for any of my books. Thank you!

Another proud moment happened with this tweet:

If you liked Bridget Jones's Diary...you'll love these 14 hilarious #chicklit novels! @LindseyKelk @Writer_Jenn pic.twitter.com/eN2fqAvlo3

— Leah Marie Brown (@leahmariebrown) September 3, 2016

Did you spot it? Yep, there's my little book, The Wedding Date! *big cheesy grin*


And that isn't all. Book blogger Alba (from Alba In Bookland) made millionaire's shortbread as part of her Bookish Recipes feature, inspired by The Wedding Date. They look SO DELICIOUS. You can see the post (including the recipe) here 


So I've had some fantastic book-related moments recently, all of which have helped to keep me motivated with my current writing projects!

Back To School Day

If you listen carefully, you'll be able to hear the rustle of leaves in the trees or the tinkling of a nearby wind chime. This has nothing to do with the weather - this is the result of me letting out one major sigh of relief. After seven weeks - seven weeks - it is finally Back To School time.


I always start the summer holidays with glee. Lie-ins, relaxing at home, no school runs, fun days out! But reality soon kicks in. Squabbling kids, My Little Pony on a loop (thanks Pop Max for putting that on repeatedly for two weeks), rainy days scuppering your plans for fun days out. And don't even get me started on the dreaded uniform shopping.


By the end of Week 3 I was ready for the return to normality. By the end of Week 4 I was officially counting down the days. By the end of Week 5 I was looking into the costs of boarding schools - and there were still two more weeks to go.

But the day has finally arrived and my little darlings are starting their new school year. We have our routine back and my stress levels should be back to normal pretty soon. I'm already starting to fool myself into thinking it wasn't all bad.

The weather hasn't always been great during the good old British summer, so most of our activities have taken place indoors. I did, however, manage quite a bit of outdoor reading. I didn't read quite as much as I'd have liked over the summer as I was squeezing in writing time whenever I could as I'd set myself the target of finishing the first draft of my latest book over the holiday - and I managed it with a week to spare!

I've had the past week away from writing to give myself a little break, but I'm looking forward to diving back in and catching up with Maddie and the gang!