Tag Archives: #AMREADING

SISTER SCRIBES’ READING ROUND UP: NOVEMBER

Posted on by

Kitty

Our Story – Miranda Dickinson

How I loved this book and Otty and Joe. Miranda Dickinson writes with such heart that it spills over into her characters and I fell a little in love with both of them, was desperately willing them to get together and getting a little cross when they were making poor decisions. I love reacting this way, it means the author has completely pulled me into her world. Our Story is a wonderful novel to escape with. Fun, empathetic and engaging, it was delightful reading and an absolutely perfect rom-com.

Christmas Island – Natalie Normann

I have been so excited about this book. I read Summer Island earlier this year and fell in love with Natalie Normann’s writing style and the setting and could not wait to read this second in the series (which can easily be read as a stand-alone). As with the first, this book truly delivers on the cosy or Koselig and as Holly and Tor’s romance builds from their first meeting the reader is taken on a whirlwind tour of Norwegian Christmas food and traditions. I loved so much of the detail of this book and it provided me with the perfect Christmassy escape.

The Single Dad’s Handbook – Lynsey James

This book is the story of Evan – a widower bringing up his small daughter – and how his grief has, understandably, upended his life. He discovers a book of letters written by his wife before she dies to help him deal with the issues she anticipates once she is gone. The letters are poignant and witty, which is a fair summary of the book itself. I read it very quickly, fell utterly in love with Evan’s daughter Violet and thought the way that Lynsey James manages to combine this story of loss with comic moments and the hope that a new romance can bring was very skilfully done.

 

Susanna

The Ferryman’s Daughter by Juliet Greenwood

Wow! What a book. I was utterly caught up in this enthralling family saga set in rural and coastal Cornwall in the early part of the 20th century. In Hester, Juliet Greenwood has created an exceptionally strong and appealing heroine and I loved and admired her as she fought to follow her dream in spite of numerous setbacks that occurred thanks to the conventions and expectations of the day. This is a thoroughly engrossing and satisfying book, packed with drama and emotion and enhanced by a strong sense of time and place, all served up by a gifted writer.

 

Jane

Glynis Peters’ The Forgotten Orphan is about as far away from a traditional orphan story as it’s possible to be. For a start the protagonist, Maisie, is an older teenager, and secondly, she is in the middle of a world at war. That said, it is a story of friends, family and loves lost and found, and it doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of life and death in World War Two.

From a personal point of view I loved the fact the book was set in Southampton, a city I know well. It was well researched and well written, with a host of characters I came to care about. Family saga, wartime tale, love story – this book was all of these and so much more than the sum of its parts.

 

 

 

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES: SUSANNA BAVIN ON A SPOT OF ARMCHAIR TRAVEL

Posted on by

I look for various things in a book – well-rounded characters and a gripping plot are the two obvious ones. I’m sure many other readers require the same of their reading. But there is another feature that I don’t regard as an essential, although when I come across it in a story, it is, for me, quite simply the cherry on the cake – and that is a strong sense of place. There are some writers who possess the ability to create the setting of their story in a vivid way that makes the reader experience the place where the story is happening to a degree that transcends the story itself.

One book that achieves this beautifully is Jan Baynham’s debut novel, the Not The Booker Prize long-listed Her Mother’s Secret: the Summer of ’69. This is a dual-time story, which shows what happened to a talented young artist one summer back in the ’60s and then, years later, how her daughter follows in her footsteps to try to uncover the truth of what took place that during fateful summer. It is an engrossing, well-paced story, with characters to care about – a love story with dark and unexpected undercurrents. But for me, there was an additional character in the book – and that was the Greek setting itself. This wonderful book gave me a sense of the Greek landscape that I last experienced years ago when I read My Family and Other Animals for the first time. Through her mesmerising descriptions, Jan Baynham expertly transports her readers to the idyllic, sun-drenched island with its turquoise waters, spectacular views, sparkling sunshine and the warm breeze shifting through the leaves of the olive trees. In these uncertain days, if a holiday abroad doesn’t feel like the right thing for you, then, by bringing the landscape alive in this book, Jan Baynham has provided the next best thing.

Another book that for me falls into this special category is The Italian House by Teresa Crane, which was published in 1995. It is the story of a downtrodden young wife, who, shortly after the First World War, unexpectedly inherits her grandmother’s villa in Italy. A quirk of Italian law requires her to take possession in person, so she travels alone to Tuscany, where she falls in love with the place and with another man. But the Villa Castellini is a place of secrets, and strange events in the present form a link to disturbing family secrets from the past.

With its descriptions of the Tuscan hills beneath the clearest of skies, the river twisting and foaming through the village in the valley, and the track winding up the steep mountain to the villa, the sense of place in this novel is so strong and assured that the book ought to have a warning blazoned across the cover: this book will make you want to sell everything you possess and move to Tuscany. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES: CASS GRAFTON ON JANE CABLE’S ANOTHER YOU

Posted on by

Today, I’m delighted to be talking to author, Jane Cable, about one of her novels, Another You, a moving saga of modern-day family life. Despite touching on the horrors of combat, past and present, it’s a heart-warming tale of one woman’s fight to reclaim her identity and discover what really matters to her.

Marie is the well-respected chef of The Smugglers pub, near Studland Bay, but despite her success in the kitchen, she feels less confident in her handling of relationships, both with her (almost) ex-husband, Stephen, and her much-loved son, Jude.

A chance meeting with an American soldier, just as the Bay is preparing to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings, seems the perfect escape from worrying about everything—if only she could get rid of her debilitating migraines and the sense of the past coalescing with the present.

Another You was a brilliant read, and Jane is a proficient storyteller. Her characters are entirely relatable, their faults as much at play as their strengths. Although touching upon the lingering effects of PTSD and the invisible scars left by all wars, Jane manages to blend in romance, mystery, family relationships and an unforeseen twist towards the end.
The book stayed with me long after I’d finished, and I was keen to ask Jane some questions about it.

I was swept away by your beautiful descriptions of the Studland Bay area of Dorset. Was it the setting that inspired you initially or had you come across the tragic story that took place there during the war first?

Studland was the initial inspiration for Another You. I first visited with a friend in 2009 and fell in love with the enclosed bay with its calm blue waters and high white cliffs. It has a magic all of its own for me – arriving on the chain ferry from Sandbanks (Dorset’s millionaire’s row) you feel as though you’ve fallen down a rabbit hole and landed in another world. The Second World War story only came in at the second major redraft of the book, but when I read about it during my research into the area it spoke to me too loudly to ignore.

The connection between the past and the present is something you do so skilfully in your novels. What is it as a writer that attracts you to blending time periods?

I have always had an interest in consciousness beyond matter and the ways present and past could intermingle; either through the spirit world, inside people’s heads, or by any other mechanism it’s currently beyond us to understand. If that sounds seriously strange it springs from my firm belief that because we can’t possibly know everything we shouldn’t rule anything out. Just think how science continues to advance. As I writer I love the ambiguity of it all and try to let my readers make up their own minds about how it could happen.

On a lighter note, how are your cheffing skills? Are you as good a cook as Marie, because if so, please can I come to dinner?

I’m sorry, but I am no more than an adequate cook – not even the best chef in my own household, to be honest. But I loved researching Marie’s recipes for Another You. And you are more than welcome to risk dinner with me at any time. I’ll get the rosé in…

 

I’ll bring the glasses! Thank you, Jane, both for answering my questions and writing such an absorbing, well researched and beautifully told story about self-discovery, emerging from darkness into light and finding love where you least expect it.

 

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES’ READING ROUND UP: APRIL

Posted on by

Kitty:

Firstly, I thoroughly enjoyed The Cottage in a Cornish Cove, a romantic comedy set in Cornwall and written by a fellow Sister Scribe. Cass Grafton’s descriptions of the county made me feel as I were home, I could see Polkerran beautifully in my mind and the descriptions of community were so well done that I could hear the characters calling to each other as they made their way around the village. Her gentle humour is woven throughout and I was genuinely willing the hero and the heroine together.  I particularly loved how she starts each chapter with a quote from classic romances with each one giving a snippet of what we can expect from the chapter.

I picked up expecting The Charm Bracelet by Ella Allbright a romance and what I got was so much more. The concept behind this novel, the charm bracelet with each charm marking a major event in, and telling the story of, Jake and Leila’s lives, is fabulous. I fell in love with Jake from the very first page and absolutely adored the way his character developed from boy to adult and was willing the relationship on with my whole being. There is however a twist to this tale and this was what made the book so special for me. The author has turned my heart inside out and this story will stay with me for a long time.  Highly recommended.

 

Jane:

First this month my reading took me to Dorset and the Jurassic coast around Lyme Regis. Georgia Hill’s timeslip On a Falling Tide had some lovely comments made about it by other authors I thought I should try it for myself.

The book travels between the 1860s, where Lydia wants no more than to be a fossil hunter but is expected to marry to further her uncle’s business interests, and the present day where Charity is searching for her roots following her grandfather’s death. The two women are linked by an ammonite Charity finds on the beach, but as the story unfolds what binds  them together runs far deeper than that. To say more would give away too much of the story, but Georgia Hill has created a fantastically malevolent ghost – and a heart warming love story – all rolled into one.

I was looking for a proper comfort read when I was reminded I hadn’t read any of Sue McDonagh’s romances by seeing the gorgeous new cover for her third book. Sue is a proper creative all rounder – she’s an artist as well as a writer so paints her own cover images.

I decided to go back to the beginning so downloaded Summer at The Art Café. The premise is wonderful; Lucy wins a gorgeous motorbike in a raffle and despite – or maybe because of – her husband’s disapproval, she decides to learn to ride it and in the process finds so much more than just the freedom of the roads.

What I loved the most about this book is that the characters settle under your skin without you noticing – they are all so effortlessly real, and that is a true gift. From bike instructor Ashley, to his six year old daughter, to Lucy’s best friends at the café, they all rang true and their journeys were convincing. For me the icing on the cake was that the book is set in my native South Wales, but it would be a delightful read for anyone who enjoys a satisfying romance.

 

SISTER SCRIBES’ READING ROUND UP: MARCH

Posted on by

Susanna:

A Cornish Inheritance is an excellent first book in a new saga series. Deceit, tragedy and emotion are the themes in Terri Nixon’s latest novel, set on the beautiful Cornish coast. The characters are drawn in depth and develop throughout the story as each one is tested to the limit. It’s a very twisty-turny plot and you definitely need to pay attention as you get towards the end, but, crikey, is it worth it. This is the first Terri Nixon book I’ve read and now I’m looking forward to reading her Oaklands Manor trilogy.

 

Kitty:

I have had a busy reading month, the perks of handing in one manuscript and having the luxury of a longer delivery date for the next so I’ve taken over almost all the reading round up this month.

I’ve been reading Christmas books to get me feeling Christmassy as I begin to write my next seasonal book. This has included re-reading the fabulous Jilly Cooper’s How to Survive Christmas. She can be relied upon to make me howl with laughter and certainly did so with this. This book was originally published in the seventies and updated in the eighties and made me realise how much society at large has changed – particularly as I was reading the tips on not getting too upset over your husband’s mistress – and how glad I am for it.

With the same aim, I raced through Sue Moorcrofts’s Let it Snow. This was a truly enjoyable Christmas read, and I loved reading about the choir as they headed to Switzerland, the country was beautifully described and created a detailed picture in my mind. I also really enjoyed the family dynamics within the story (a big plus for me to see ME mentioned empathetically) alongside the romance and this book gave me all the seasonal feels.

Finally, I have been so excited about talking about this book, I’ve been recommending it to anyone unfortunate enough to spend five minutes or more in my company.

You know how every now and again a book comes along and you fall utterly, utterly in love with it? That has happened to me this year with The Authenticity Project by Claire Pooley and I think it will remain on the top of my feelgood reads list for many years to come.

From the very first page the writing captivated me, and I knew this would be a book to steal my heart. It starts with Julian, an elderly gentlemen who is struggling with loneliness and the façade he uses to cover it. He writes his story in a notebook, leaving it for someone else to pick up and carry on.

The book gets passed from one person to the next and the truth is revealed about people’s real lives, their doubts and fears and how much they are at odds with the way others perceive them. It examines how people struggle regardless of age, class, lifestyle and that we all have burdens to carry. However, it also shows the power of positive human interaction and how small actions can mean so much. It is uplifting and rammed full of optimism, becoming a book about community and support, friendship and love and I defy anyone not to pick it up and be both transported and delighted.  If you get the chance to read it, then do. Feel free to shout at me if you don’t fall in love as much as I did.

Happy reading, Kitty x

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES: KITTY WILSON ON HOW ROMANCE IS HOPE

Posted on by

Back in November I wrote a post here about Why I Love Romance as a genre. I explained that I had inadvertently written an essay on this subject and that first post covered how I believe romance is universal and utterly relatable, especially romantic comedy, my own specific sub-genre.

Today I wanted to return to that theme and talk about romance novels giving us hope in an often bleak and daunting world. I truly believe this – that romance novels help us have hope in life, the absolute certainty of a happy ending is sometimes exactly what you need to escape real life, whether it be dreadful news or just the day to day monotony.

Whilst trawling the internet a while ago I came across a tweet from a writer, Angela James, asking people to share their romance positive moments. The response was overwhelming, hope was right up at the top of that list and I have picked a couple as illustrations as they say it so much better than I could.

‘I found Romance after my brother commited suicide. It was a very dark and hopeless time, but Romance taught me that hope can rise again even after the darkest of moments and love, in all its forms, can be found if you just open yourself up to it.’

‘I began reading romance novels after my first miscarriage. I believe they re-wired my brain and helped me remember what optimism felt like.’

‘I started reading romance novels while was undergoing cancer treatment. I needed positive, escapist stories that promised a HEA.’

Now I’m not saying that romance is a cure-all, of course it isn’t. But romance novels are often easy and quick to read thus providing escape for an hour or two. They can’t rid you of the burdens that life brings, but being lost in the pages of a novel can give you a brief pause from them. I fell in love with romance when I became poorly at the age of thirteen. My friends were ringing me and asking if I was dying (I wasn’t but they were a dramatic bunch) and all I knew was that my body wasn’t behaving as it should. If I hadn’t had romance novels to read, to lose myself in, I think I would have struggled to cope.

We all know that life is not a romance but these books do give us the thrill of living vicariously, of confronting challenges and winning, of reading about someone’s longing turning into reality. To be fair, that’s true of reading in general but with romance you get the added ahhh factor, the satisfaction of a romance played out, of willing the hero and heroine on without any of the risk or leaving the comfort of your own home. I can be sunbathing on a tropical island or dancing the cha-cha whilst in reality I’m wrapped in a blanket and drinking a cup of tea, ignoring the stuff that I don’t want to have to deal with at that minute.

Happy-Ever-Afters are a reminder that not everything in life is bleak, that there’s the possibility of dreams coming true, that life contains so much positivity. Building a future with someone you love – the pinnacle of Romance – is forward-facing, optimistic, both the essence of hope and an act of hope. Romance Novels are the reassuring and toasty comfort blanket of the fiction world and I love them.

Edit – I wrote this well before Covid-19 was dominating the globe and considered pulling it, but I stand by the fact that in an ever-turbulent world the predictability of a happy-ever-after is reassuring so I’m off to hibernate with my kindle. Keep safe everyone,

Much love, Kitty x

 

 

 

SISTER SCRIBES: SUSANNA BAVIN ON WHY TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED ARE SO UNUSUAL AND SO SATISFYING

Posted on by

How many of you out there remember watching Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected back in the 1970s? Or, if you don’t remember any of the programmes themselves, I bet you remember the opening credits, with the silhouette of the girl dancing in front of what I imagine was a psychedelic background. I can’t be sure about the psychedelic bit, because our telly was black-and-white. I can recall only one of the stories, which featured Susan George as a housewife who cooked a joint of meat . . . and if you don’t know the significance of this, I’m not going to tell you. I’ll just say the story had a very clever twist at the end.

We all enjoy a good plot-twist, don’t we? One of the things about being an experienced reader is that it is rare to be truly surprised by something that happens in a book – though I want to make it clear that this in no way lessens the enjoyment of reading it. It is particularly true for readers of genre fiction, where certain conventions and expectations exist within whatever type of story it is. I once wrote a blog called A Promise Between Friends, which was about the ‘contract’ between the author of genre fiction and the reader. The author writes a stirring story within the conventions and the reader meets the writer halfway. Even so, a good plot-twist is always welcome.

Take Hope at Holly Cottage by saga writer Tania Crosse. The idea of the husband or father drinking his wages and then knocking his wife around is well-known to readers of sagas and historicals, but Tania Crosse takes this familiar idea and gives it a new lease of life. Yes, Anna’s dad has bouts of violence, but the reason behind them is one I haven’t come across in a saga before and it adds extra depth to the tragic dynamics of the family situation. After packing the opening chapters with drama and emotion, Tania Crosse then takes the heroine off into a completely new place for the next part of her story, changing not only the setting but also the atmosphere, and giving Anna something new to strive for.

And if you have read Lizzie of Langley Street by Carol Rivers, then you need look no further than its sequel, The Fight for Lizzie Flowers, for a truly unexpected beginning. The first book ends in just the way the reader hopes it will, but the expectations that this creates for what will happen in book 2 are decisively blown to bits in the very first chapter of The Fight for Lizzie Flowers, which opens the continuation of Lizzie’s story in a thoroughly unexpected manner, paving the way for a dramatic and compelling story in which Lizzie – and the reader – can take nothing for granted. As with every Carol Rivers saga, there is a pacey story with well-drawn characters and a strong sense of family feeling.

I was going to end this blog by saying something along the lines of how good it would be if we could have more breath-taking plot-twists, but now I’m wondering whether that might result in too much of a good thing. After all, one of the reasons we all admire a devious plot-twist is because it’s unusual. And perhaps that’s the way it should stay – as a special treat in the occasional book.

DIAMOND DEAL AT THE HEART OF ROMANCE

Posted on by

Like to win sixty romance novels to celebrate RNA60? Jane Cable on how – and why – you can.

Those who follow Sister Scribes will know the Romantic Novelists’ Association is very close to my heart. After all, I’ve made so many friends through it and it’s a wonderfully supportive organisation. But how to give something back? I’m not a committee person… I invariably end up wanting to run screaming from the room… so what to do?

Over a year ago I had an idea. It stemmed from a conversation on the RNA’s private Facebook group and it dawned on me that the RNA had nowhere on the platform to communicate with readers. Surely lovers of romantic fiction would flock to a page to chat about – and with – their favourite authors, especially with the strength of the organisation’s brand behind it.

Several other like-minded people commented on the thread so we got in touch and wrote a proposal for the RNA committee to consider, the result of which was a pilot of the Romantic Fiction Book Club with invited volunteer authors, bloggers and readers. All went well and it made sense for the launch to be part of the celebrations for the RNA’s diamond anniversary. We were given a date at the heart of Romance Reading Month – 14th February – but how to make a splash?

We toyed with Facebook live events and launch parties and various other concepts at the limits of our technical ability and then I came up with a crazy idea. What about a competition to win so many books it would make a massive splash? Sixty books, in fact. And sixty more for individual runner up prizes.

At the RNA last year conference I’d met Charlotte Ledger, editorial director of Harper Collins’ digital first arm, 0ne More Chapter. Heart in mouth I emailed her to ask if there was any chance at all they could provide sixty books. She came back within hours with a resounding yes, telling me her marketing manager would be in touch because she had some ideas.

Not just ideas, as it turned out, but expertise and enthusiasm. The competition could be hosted on their platform, they would administer it and provide promotional material as well as the prizes. I was practically dancing around the table with joy. Now all I had to do was find sixty RNA members willing to give a signed book as runner up prizes.

A post in the RNA’s private Facebook group and within twenty-four hours they were all pledged, which just goes to show what a fabulous organisation it is. As I write this the hard work is continuing behind the scenes to co-ordinate this aspect and the whole admin team is getting involved. The group is already open for new members but on launch day we can really start promoting it and the bookish chat should really take off.

“But how do I win sixty books?” I hear you cry. Simple… the link to the competition is here, and there are a number of ways you can enter. Just make sure one of them is to join the Romantic Fiction Book Club. https://gleam.io/EIObQ/one-more-chapter-and-rna-diamond-anniversary-book-giveaway

My heartfelt thanks go to the team at 0ne More Chapter and fellow admins of the Romantic Fiction Book Club, Lizzie Chantree, Julie Morris, Michele Josie and Ellie Henshaw who have worked so hard to make this competition happen.