A Chat With... B R Maycock

Can you tell us about your book?

It Started With A Snub is a romantic comedy which tells the story of a quirky, happy go lucky twenty-something named Heather as she moves in with four guys, much to the disgust of her boyfriend Graham. It concentrates on each of them and all of them with ups, downs, laughs and shocks galore!

What was your inspiration for It Started With A Snub?

One night while I was binge-watching ‘Friends,’ ‘Big Bang Theory’ and ‘How I Met Your Mother’ the guys jumped into my head and wouldn’t leave until I started putting them down on paper!

What has been your greatest experience since publishing your book?

I’d probably say it was receiving an email from a stranger asking would I think about doing a sequel and saying that some of the characters had jumped into her head a few times when she was reading other books. It really is true that you write just because you have a story or some people in your head that you want to get out, and you hope that others will like them too, but to see it in an eamail or hear it is just something else :) :) :)

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Read all around you, it really is reflected in your writing and it teaches you so much. When you’ve ‘finished’ take a step away from it all to let you see it with a new perspective (as long as possible, even months, you can be working away on other things in the background but you need a complete break from the actual piece). Never ever ever self edit unless you’re a qualified editor, you won’t know what you’re looking for. Oh and enjoy it all, that’s why you’re doing it (shuts up and jumps off pedestal)!!!

What was the first book you ever bought yourself?

Definitely would have been a Saddle Club book by Bonnie Bryant, I was a horse addict when I was younger!

What was the last book you read?

Dream A Little Dream by Giovanni Fletcher (would highly recommend!)

Finally, what are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on a book that is the continuation of a short story I wrote for one of the Imagine Write Inspire anthologies ‘Stop Waiting for Friday’ (Carmel Harrington’s writing group which I’m lucky enough to be in) anthology. It’s about a young single mother trying to make it in the working world after she decides it’s time to be a responsible grown up. It’s a romantic comedy with love, friendship and some good old fashioned competition!

You can find out more about B R Maycock and her book on:

Amazon

BRMaycock’s book blog

Twitter

Goodreads

Facebook

My Festive Reads: Carole Colbert

 

Today I'm delighted to welcome Carole Colbert from Carole's Book Corner, who will be sharing some of the festive reads she's enjoyed recently.

 

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I love a good Christmassy read, curling up by the fire while the cold winds are howling outside and the snow or rain is falling.  They really put me in the festive spirit during the cold winter months.  Here are some recent book reviews that are set around Christmas time ..... they're not all feel-good stories but most of them are.

What are some of your favourite festive reads?

THE FRENCH FOR CHRISTMAS

BY

FIONA VALPY

A year to forget .... the perfect escape ..... and a little Christmas magic

One of my favourite Christmas reads

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A SEASON TO REMEMBER
BY
SHEILA O'FLANAGAN

A sparkling collection of short stories based around the guests staying in a hotel over Christmas

I don't normally enjoy short stories but I loved these!

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A WINTER FLAME
BY
MILLY JOHNSON

Her heart was frozen ...... this winter can love melt it once and for all .... ?

Another fabulous yuletide read set around a Christmas Theme Park

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DYING FOR CHRISTMAS
BY
TAMMY COHEN

For some, Christmas can be murder .......

A brilliantly chilling and clever psychological thriller set around the 12 days of Christmas

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A WARTIME CHRISTMAS
BY
CAROL RIVERS

Her man is gone by she'll stay strong for her family this Christmas

An easy read, set over several Christmases during the war years

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THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
BY
SUSAN BUCHANAN

Christmas is coming but not everyone is looking forward to it .....

A wonderful feel good story

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A GIFT TO REMEMBER
BY
MELISSA HILL

A love story to warm your heart

This is my no.1 favourite Christmas read .... with a mystery, a cute puppy and a brilliant story and characters .... fabulous!

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You can find out more about Carole on her blog or on Twitter

 

 

If you'd like to take part in My Festive Reads, email me at jenniferjoycewrites@gmail.com

You can find out more information about My Festive Reads and more ideas here

 

My Festive Reads: Guest Post by Raven McAllan

 

When Jennifer gave me some suggestions for this blog, which revolved around Christmas reading, I panicked.

I love reading and I love Christmas, but I don’t seem to have anything that links them together. I read all the time. Whatever takes my fancy. After all it might be snowy here and sunny on the other side of the world, so it makes no difference to me what I read when.

I love Christmas. I can spend happy hours decorating the house, choosing and wrapping presents and listening to ‘Carols from Kings’, and the all time top Christmas song 50 or some such thing.

But festive books or favorite childhood festive reads stumped me.

Oh I read Little Women, who didn’t, and mourned with Jo over the Christmas won’t be Christmas bit, but I read it on holiday in the summer. I was always allowed to choose three new books for our annual holiday, and I remember that was one of them.

As for books for the season?

Nope, I read them when I want to.

With a Birthday in December you’d think that well, you get books in December so what’s the problem? Well yes I did, because books were always my request if I was asked what I wanted. I’d have a list and cross them off. The Chalet School by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer, and all of Arthur Ransome’s books , were top of the list for years.

Were any of them Christmas stories? Not that I can remember.

So you can imagine I was thinking, well what can I write about?

Then I remembered something, and I’d guess to anyone outside of Scotland or anyone not an expat Scot somewhere in the world, this will mean nothing. But even today in my 60’s, I insist on the Oor Wullie or The Broons annual. ( Year and year about) D C Thomson’s comic strip that appear n the Sunday Post, and make it into a biannual book. Wullie and his bucket, The Bairn and her dictatorial ways… Ah the memories.

So I guess you can say, as long as I have a new book be it on paper or on my eReader, and the annual, I’m happy.

That I guess is my Festive reading ritual… Which reminds me I must make my Santa list.

But… Isn’t there always a ‘but’?

I have Christmas stories all with www.evernightpublishing.com

A Dom for Christmas (out now)

Holly’s Christmas Dom ( December 11th)

The Dukes’ Christmas Abductions (December 7th) With Doris O’Connor


Where ever you are and whatever you celebrate, have a great time,

Love Raven x

www.ravenmcallan.com

The Mince Pie Mix-Up: A Book In Pictures

From planning and typing out the words 'Chapter One' to seeing your book on sale, the journey of a book is a pretty long and sometimes arduous one. I took photos along the way, which I thought I'd share here on the blog.

3rd November 2014 - Chapter One of The Mince Pie Mix-Up (although it wasn't called that yet)

I've been waiting a long time to do this - signing a two-book deal with Carina UK

July 2015 - revisions of The Mince Pie Mix-Up. Summer isn't very festive so I've had to create a cosy Christmas atmosphere myself with festive music, a Rudolf mug and a little silver Christmas tree decoration hanging on the pin board next to my desk

At my desk with my festive mug

Making notes for myself during my revisions

The cover for The Mince Pie Mix-Up

The Mince Pie Mix-Up has been revised and edited, the acknowledgements and dedication have been written. It's time for a final read-through to make sure I'm happy with all the changes. This is when I see how the book will be set out when released

6th November 2015 - Publication Day of The Mince Pie Mix-Up and I get to see the book on my Kindle!

‘I wish I could live your life. I’d happily swap lives with you.’

’Tis the season to be jolly but for Calvin and Judy the usual festive bickering has already begun! Judy’s convinced that her husband has it easy – no glittery wrapping paper, no playground gossip and absolutely no Christmas baking.

Calvin wishes he could trade in his obnoxious boss and dull nine-to-five job to spend more time kicking back with his kids – how hard can Judy’s life really be?

But after a magical mince pie mix-up, one thing’s for certain – by Christmas Day, life for Judy and Calvin will never be the same again. Perhaps the grass isn’t always greener after all…


Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo | iTunes

My Festive Reads: Festive Cover Stars 2015

 

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover - but we all do, right?

 

I love Christmassy covers, whether they're cosy-looking or bright and cheerful and there are some gorgeous festive covers out this year. I've picked three of my favourites to share!

 

The Fox At The Manger

by P L Travers

 

 

About The Book

 

For the first time since the war, the Christmas peal is ringing at St Paul's Cathedral. There is joy. There is new hope. It is Christmas Eve, the carol service has ended, and a woman with three small boys leaves the cathedral, the children swooping like pigeons.

'Why weren't there any wild animals at the crib? Haven't they got something to give?' asked one of the children.
And I heard myself say, 'Yes, they have.'
Was it true, what I told them? Did I dream it? Where it came from I do not know but I seemed to remember every word, just as if I had heard it . . .

Outside the cathedral, the children are told the nativity story from a unique perspective: that of a fox. Despite the scorn of the other animals, he enters the stable to offer the child a gift that only he can give.

 

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I love the classic cover for The Fox At The Manger, especially the vibrant colours used. In real life, the red bow really stands out against the teal, making this cover extremely strokable.

 

You can see my review of The Fox At The Manger here

 

 

The Twelve Dates of Christmas

by Lisa Dickenson

 

 

About The Book

 

At thirty, Claudia's life is stale and the romance with long-term boyfriend, Seth, has disappeared. Determined to inject some festive spark back into their love life, Claudia and Seth go on their first date in a very long time. But when the night ends in disaster, Claudia suddenly finds herself facing life - and Christmas - alone.

Life alone is exciting, scary and full of soon-forgotten exercise regimes and ill-advised attempts at crafting sexy underwear. It's also filling up with dates, surprisingly. With best friends Penny and Nick at her side, a surplus of festive markets, mulled wine and Christmas tunes, Claudia attempts to face all this change with gusto. One thing's for certain: this year, Christmas is going to be very different . . .

 

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The Twelve Dates of Christmas was originally released as an ebook serial but this year it's all been packaged into a gorgeous paperback with a bright and cheerful cover. It's gorgeously sparkly and I love the little details, such as the London skyline in the background and - my favourite bit - the little hearts on the ferris wheel.

 

You can see my review of The Twelve Dates of Christmas here

 

 

How To Stuff Up Christmas

by Rosie Blake

 

 

About The Book

 

'Tis the season to be jolly. Unless you've found an intimate picture of another woman on your fiance's phone...

 

Eve is heartbroken after discovering her fiance is cheating on her. Being surrounded by the joys of Christmas is more than Eve can bear, so she chooses to avoid the festivities by spending Christmas alone on a houseboat in Pangbourne. Eve gets gets an unexpected seasonal surprise when handsome local vet Greg comes to her rescue one day, and continues to visit Eve's boat on a mission to transform her from Kitchen Disaster Zone to Culinary Queen.

 

But where does Greg keep disappearing to? What does Eve's best friend Daisy know that she isn't telling? And why is there an angry goose stalking Eve's boat?

 

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Another bright and cheerful festive cover but with a dash of humour. I love the toppled gingerbread man and the expression on his little biscuity face. The colours are perfect and the book really stands out on the shelf for me.

 

I can't wait to read How To Stuff Up Christmas and my review will be here on the blog soon.

 

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Although the covers are pretty different, I realised after picking them that they've all got a teal-coloured element to them. This is clearly the way to get me onside this Christmas!

 

 

I'd love to know which covers you're loving this year!

If you'd like to take part in My Festive Reads, email me at jenniferjoycewrites@gmail.com

You can find out more information about My Festive Reads here

  

My Festive Reads: Guest Post by Holly Martin

 

I love Christmas, it is absolutely my favourite time of year. I love the decorations, I love the lights. I love buying presents for my friends and family. I love the parties and celebrations, getting glammed up or just going round to my friends and toasting marshmallows over their fire. I love wearing stupid Christmas jumpers. I love the smells and the food, especially all the chocolates. I love Christmas movies, The Holiday, Love Actually or Muppets Christmas Carol. And I love Christmas books.

I love to read but I don’t get a lot of time for it. Christmas is the one time a year that if I’m not out with friends or family I’m curled up reading Christmas stories. I love the snow and the cute village settings in Christmas books. I love the log fires and the smells that pour from the pages. I love the wonderful decorations and the delicious foods. I love the quirky family relatives and the cooking disasters. I love the humour in these books but most of all I love the happy endings, the heartwarming huge smile on my face as I read it. I love getting to the end of a book and hugging my kindle because the story was so sweet and I loved it so much.

My favourite Christmas books have been from Lisa Dickenson and Sarah Morgan who tick all the boxes for me when it comes to Christmas, I’ve already read Sarah's Christmas book for this year Christmas Ever After and I absolutely loved it. I’m currently reading Wish Upon A Christmas Cake by Darcie Boleyn and it is so beautifully written. The books I’m most looking forward to curling up with this year are Rosie Blake's How To Stuff Up Christmas, Jennifer Joyce's Mince Pie Mix Up, The Accidental Guest by Tilly Tennant & Holly Hepburn's Snowdrops At The Star & Sixpence.

This year I have joined in on all the Christmas fiction fun and because I love Christmas so much I’ve written two full length books, Christmas at Lilac Cottage and Snowflakes on Silver Cove, both set in the same week in the tiny seaside town of White Cliff Bay in the week before Christmas. So readers who read both stories will see the same key events but from different points of view. I wanted to make sure that all the things I love about Christmas stories were included in the books, so the books are jam packed with snow, beautiful decorations, funny disasters and sweet heartwarming romances.

 

There are so many wonderful Christmas books this year that I’ll probably need 6 months to read them all, so I think people should start early with their festive reads and enjoy the Christmas season for as long as possible.

Christmas at Lilac Cottage can be found here http://amzn.to/1Kv0dzO

Snowflakes on Silver Cove can be found here http://amzn.to/1NS1K9s

You can follow me on Twitter @hollymartin00

If you'd like to take part in My Festive Reads, email me at jenniferjoycewrites@gmail.com

You can find out more information about My Festive Reads here

Book Crafts: 5 Bookmas Gift Tags

 

 

5 Bookmas Gift Tags

 

 

 

I love books. I love Christmas. So I decided to combine them and make some Christmas - or Bookmas - gift tags.

 

I used luggage tags as my bases but you can create your own using card if you like.

 

1. Snowman Tag

 

 

Remove the string from your tag and cover in festive paper using glue or double-sided tape. I used paper with a purple snowflake design.

 

As the hole for the string has been covered, you will need to make a new one in the paper. Push a pencil through the paper, through the hole already in the tag. Place a blob of plasticine or blu tack underneath the tag so you don't bend or tear it.

 

Draw a snowman design on a piece of book proof paper. I used Sharpie pens, which didn't bleed on the paper.

 

Cut out and stick onto your tag.

 

Trim off a blank rectangle of page proof paper and stick onto your tag, trimming off the excess on the sides. Write a message and draw small dashes along the edges to create a border. I used the same colours from the snowman to tie it all together.

 

Pop the string back through the hole and you're done!

 

2. Blue Christmas Trees

 

 

Remove string from your tag and cover in a book proof page. Pierce a hole (as above) and draw a thin line in dark blue along the edge with a Sharpie pen.

 

Using a Christmas tree punch, punch out eleven trees in various shades of thin blue card.

 

Stick the trees onto the tag. I mixed up the shades but you could arrange them so the shade changes from light to dark.

 

Add a dark blue ribbon and you're done!

 

 

3. Holly Gift Tag

 

 

Trim your gift tag and create a border with a holly punch, rounding off the bottom edge and the top corners.

 

Create the holly by drawing two leaves on your book proof page and cutting them out.

 

Stick the leaves on the bottom left corner and add a small red button.

 

To finish off, stick a large red button at the top, covering the hole where the string is threaded.

 

 

4. Fluttery Tree

 

 

Remove the string from your gift tag. I wanted to add a beaded ribbon so I stuck this down using double sided tape before covering the tag in brown paper.

 

Layer four small sheets of book proof page, fold in half and cut out half a Christmas tree shape.

 

Unfold and stick one tree to the tag. Apply a small amount of glue or double sided tape down the middle of the tree and stick the next tree over, making sure you line up the edges.

 

Repeat for the third and fourth tree.

 

Fold the layers of tree towards the centre to create movement and a stick a button to the top of the tree. I used a yellow flower but you could use a star.

 

 

5. Xmas Tag

 

 

As above, remove the string and cover your gift tag in decorative paper and pierce a hole for the string. I used a pink snowflake design paper.

 

Using red and green Sharpie pens, draw and cut out the word 'XMAS' on your book proof page and cut out.

 

Stick the letters across the centre of the tag.

 

Stick a thin strip of green holographic paper or card across the bottom and add small red and green brads in a row above. I used the centres of the snowflakes as a guide.

 

To finish, back the tag with white card so the backs of the brads aren't showing and pierce a hole for the string. Re-loop the string and you're done!

 

 

 

So that's my five gift tags. These are just a few ideas of what you can make and there is a ton of inspiration on Pinterest. I'd love to see what you come up with!

 

 

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