Which Books… Joanne Boden

Joanne is back with her next book and it’s about a village vet! I wonder if she’d be able to help me with my cat issues…

Which book do you wish you’d written.

There are so many books to choose from. I love Nora Roberts, so it would have to be all of her books! If I had to choose one book by another author it would have to be The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I still have no idea how that book was her debut. It’s my all time favourite book and I remember buying it when it was first published in 2003. I can’t quite believe it’s nearly twenty years old.

Which book cover have you looked at and gone that’s amazing.

Again, there have been so many. And I have to admit I am a bit of a cover buyer. The hardback of Joanna Cannon’s Three, Things About Elsie, is a firm favourite as the cover is decorated in battenberg cake. It’s just so pretty. The cover of House of Sky and Breath, Crescent City Book 2, is also beautiful as is the harback of Sarah Winman’s Still Life. As a side note I love all the clothbound Penguin classics. They are all beautiful. My husband bought me David Copperfoeld and Middlemarch for Christmas.

Which book character/s would you protect from the world?

Ooh that’s an interesting one. I would love to put the characters of Martha and Patrick from Sorrow and Bliss in a bubble. I also have a fierce need to protect Feyre from A Court Of Thorns and Roses as she goes through so much at such a young age. Then there are Kaz and Inej from Six of Crows. I’d love to pluck them out of the world they are in and keep them safe.

Which was the last book that broke your heart.

Colleen Hoover’s, It Ends With Us. Loved that book, but oh my, I had a serious book hangover for a week afterwards.

 

Which book would you make your child/ren read.

I have never made my boys read anything. It is their choice. But they have been brought up in a house full of books and they love to read. Anything goes!

Which book would you rewrite in a different genre.

It would still have to be romance because that’s what I write, but I would tweak it. I’d love to take The Hating Game and make it a cowboy romance, set on a ranch.  I can just imagine Josh as a tall and brooding cowboy and Lucy as a cowgirl in pink cowboy boots.

If you could write any genre which one would it be?

It would have to be romance. I can’t imagine writing in any other gentee to be honest.

If you could redesign any book cover which one, would you choose?

Ooh that’s a difficult one. I have no idea and it’s all down to personal taste isn’t it? I am also not a cover designer, so I think it’s best left to the professionals.

 

Which book taught you the largest lesson about life.

Different books teach you different things, don’t they? But I suppose the one book that stands out to me as it had a profound effect on me at such a young age is Little Women, and it is still one of my all time favourite books. It taught me about female friendship, about the strength of family and featured such fabulous female role models.

Which three books would you take on holiday in 2022?

 

We’re not going away this year but usually I take my Kindle when we go away. It’s just easier than carting around a stack of books. So, three books that I have on my kindle that I would love to read this summer are:

Breathe by Nicholas Sparks

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

I also have a selection of cowboy romance novels that I need to work my way through.

 

 

From big city high-flyer to little village vet …

Hannah and Daniel were teenage sweethearts, but then Daniel left their sleepy village of Middlefern and his grandfather’s veterinary practice behind for the bright lights of London.

 

Now, fifteen years later, the prodigal grandson has returned to temporarily take over the village practice with a veterinary qualification and his dog, Sammy, in tow. Daniel is ready for rabbits with tummy aches, guinea pigs who’ve lost their squeak, plenty of cow complaints and a whole lot of memories – both good and bad. But is he ready to see Hannah again?

Of course, a high-flying city vet like Daniel was never planning to stay in Middlefern for good – especially given his history with the place. But could another, even more important, vacancy convince him to change his mind?

 

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Which Books… Annie Rose

Anni Rose is my favoutie Choc-lit author but that only has something to do with an oven and Bristol Ikea. (I’m in Nottingham) So I am especally excited to interview her on Monday before her next novel “Recipe for Mr Perfect”

Which book do you wish you’d written.

There are so many. You’re talking to a great Jilly Cooper fan. I’d love to have written Riders, Rivals, Polo, Score etc. Jilly always tells a really cracking story and Rupert Campbell-Black is such a great hero.

Which book cover have you looked at and gone that’s amazing.

I like books that feel nice as well as look nice. One of the ones in my bookcase that springs to mind is “A multitude of Sins” by Richard Ford.  The title is slightly raised and it’s on a matt paper, so feels lovely to handle. The picture on the front is of station but done beautifully using minimal colours. It’s a picture I’d happily hang on my wall. That’s the only downside these days with electronic books, I seem to take less notice of covers than I used to.

 

Which book character/s would you protect from the world?

I am not sure about protect from the world, but I’d maybe make Cinderella aware that foot fetishists might not be the best people for long term romances.

Which was the last book that broke your heart.

I cry quite easily, but the last book to make me cry was “The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead – the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It is loosely based around a real-life true case of systemic abuse at a boys’ detention centre in America, so worlds away from the sort of novel I would normally read. But it is beautifully written, very emotional and thought provoking.

Which book would you make your child/ren read.

I don’t have children, but as a young child I loved both Tom’s Midnight Garden and the Secret Garden. I’d have loved a friend like Dickon, then I moved on to Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers series and wanted to be able to go to boarding school. When horses became an important part of my life so did the Pullein-Thompson sisters and their stories.

Which book would you rewrite in a different genre.

Tess of the D’Urbervilles as a romantic comedy! No, seriously, I’m not sure about different genres but I would definitely give all Thomas Hardy novels a happy ending.

If you could write any genre which one would it be?

I love reading romantic comedies and that’s what I love writing, so I am happy. I also enjoy reading crime novels if they are not too bloodthirsty, but I’m not sure I’d be able to write one.

If you could redesign any book cover which one, would you choose?

Jon McGregor’s – “Lean Fall Stand”. I hate this cover. It’s one I’d give Berni Stevens to sort out.

Which book taught you the largest lesson about life.

Good Housekeeping Cookery Compendium – I have my grandmother’s copy and it’s still full of her newspaper cuttings and recipes, including her famous Toffee Crispies, which we make regularly. It’s still our go to book for Christmas dinner, although if you’re making Toad in the Hole, use equal quantities of egg, flour and milk and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Which three books would you take on holiday in 2021?

I have most if not all my fellow choc lit authors’ books on my kindle, so, excluding them.

there’s “V2” by Robert Harris, that came out last year and I still haven’t got round to reading it. Mark Billingham’s latest “Rabbit Hole” came out in July and “Redhead by the side of the Road” by Anne Tyler are still on my “to be read” pile.

 

Hilarious and heartfelt. The perfect romance

How do you know if you’ve found Mr Perfect or Mr Perfectly Useless?

Jess Willersey realised things with Martin weren’t perfect, but it’s still a shock when he leaves. Is she destined to a singleton lifestyle with only her cat for company, or could a certain hat-astrophic encounter with a handsome stranger at a rather unusual wedding signal a turning point?

At the same time, Jess’s best friends and work colleagues, Maggie and Sarah, are going through their own personal disasters – from shocking family revelations to dodgy dating app-related drama.

To top it all off, it seems that the handsome stranger won’t remain a stranger – and when Neil Jackson turns up at the friends’ offices with yet another bombshell, how long will he stay ‘Mr Perfect’ in Jess’s eyes?

 

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Which Books… Evonne Wareham

We have hit the time of the year when all the Choc-lit pros’ books start being published and Evonne is no exception.

 

Which book do you wish you’d written.

Am I allowed to say anything that hits the top of the best seller lists on both sides of the Atlantic? But seriously, this is difficult as there are so many books that I admire, from many favourite authors. I think I might choose a classic – The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. For those who are not familiar with it, it’s a study of Richard III and the mystery of the Princes in the Tower, conducted as a police inquiry by the fictional policeman who appears in Tey’s mystery stores. It’s such a clever but simple idea, beautifully executed. I think Ricardian scholarship has moved on a bit since it was written, just after the war, and well before the discovery of the grave in the car park, but it is still a fascinating read. It appeals to the academic in me and to my crime writing side.

Which book cover have you looked at and gone that’s amazing.

This has to be The Lost Spells by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane. The book comprises poems – or spells – and some breathtaking wildlife illustrations accompanying them. The owl on the cover is one of my favourites. I saw Jackie doing a live video of one of her paintings as part of the on-line Hay Festival early in lock-down and knew I had to order the book and its predecessor, Lost Words, from my local indie bookshop.

 

Which book character/s would you protect from the world?

I’m completely stumped by this one. It would likely be a child or an animal, I guess, but I can’t think of one.

Which was the last book that broke your heart.

I can confidently say that there hasn’t been one for a long time, and when there was, which I cannot remember, it was by accident.  I am a completely escapist reader. I know I am quite unusual in this, but I give tear-jerkers a very wide birth and if anything I’m reading seems to be heading that way, it usually gets consigned to the DNF pile. I’m OK with mayhem, but not with tears. I can cry easily in real life, I want something different from my reading.

Which book would you make your child/ren read.

Whatever took their attention, within reason.  I think the impulse to read is the important thing. I was a voracious reader, encouraged by my mother and grandmother. I also apparently had a taste for Shakespeare by the age of four, so I may have been unusual. 

 

Which book would you rewrite in a different genre.

I have always wanted to ‘translate’ one of the Jacobean plays into a modern setting – one of Webster’s tragedies, for preference. As the plays are incredibly dark, the body count is astronomical, almost everyone ends up dead and there is no Happy Ever After, it would be a big ask to make that into a romantic suspense, so it will probably stay on the wish list forever.

If you could write any genre which one would it be?

I’m very happy writing romantic suspense.  It took a long time and much experimenting for me to find my genre so I have no plans to change, although supernatural elements and maybe time slip, or possibly parallel stories, do appeal, so I’d never quite say never on that score.

If you could redesign any book cover which one, would you choose?

I’m not sure about re-designing. I’ve been very happy with the cover for all my own books. I do have a hankering after the lovely classic covers that the British Library uses for its reissues of Golden Age crime, especially the ones with trains, but I’d have to write the sort of book that went inside them for that. My WIP features an Egyptologist, so it will be interesting what might go on the cover for that one, if and when I finish it. And provided it gets accepted, of course.  

Which book taught you the largest lesson about life.

I’m not sure about life lesson, but a book that I can pinpoint for changing my life is The Reef, by Nora Roberts. I read it when I was trying to find a genre that I wanted to write, after many years of experimenting. It’s a classic American romantic suspense – from one of the acknowledged queens of the genre.  First published in 2008, that book is slightly dated now, I think, but she continues to be one of my favourite authors, both for these and her supernatural and  J D Robb books. When I read The Reef it was a light bulb moment –  ‘Can I do this?’ It turned out that, with the right application of effort, I could.

Which three books would you take on holiday in 2021?

All my choices are books I have been nursing on my TBR pile. There isn’t going to be a holiday, but they may very well be a Christmas present to myself – when I am not writing my own, that is.

Say Goodbye – It’s the last of a trilogy about FBI agents bringing down a creepy cult by another of my favourite romantic suspense writers, Karen Rose.

The Venetian Legacy – Crime in Venice from Welsh ex-pat Phillip Gwynne Jones. Reading his books is like being there.

Mr Dodge, Mr Hitchcock, and the French Riviera: The story behind To Catch a Thief  by Jean Buchanan  I’m calling this one research – apparently it’s about the book that gave rise to the famous film with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant, and as it is about the Riviera, it’s irresistible.

 

From chambermaid to “got it made” …
When hotel cleaning temp and poetry academic Megan Morrison finds out she’s inherited an Italian villa and small fortune from her estranged great-great aunt Olwen, she doesn’t quite know how to react. That is, until she travels to Portofino to see Il Giardino delle Rose for herself. Then she knows exactly what she has to do: live there!

Enchanted by the beauty of the house and gardens, fascinated by the history, and more than a little intrigued by handsome hired landscape gardener Gideon West, Megan can immediately see the villa’s potential as a dream home.

But having long-lost relatives sometimes means long-lost secrets – and it seems that Olwen had plenty of those. Could these secrets and a jealous obsession be powerful enough to drive Megan out of the house that she’s already fallen in love with?

 

 

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Which Books… Jan Baynham

Jan is an established Choc-Lit author who has been counting down to the release of her next book, teasing us with photo locations in her novel.

 

Which book do you wish you’d written.

One of my favourite books, and one I wished I could have written myself, is Letters To The Lost by Iona Grey. It’s a beautifully written love story, poignant and heart-wrenching, with two narratives running parallel – one set in wartime and the other in the present. It has all the ingredients I love to keep me turning the pages. I am full of admiration for the author’s brilliant characterisation and world-building. I think it would make a wonderful film, with skilful cinematography of scenes of London in the Blitz enhancing the developing love affair of Stella and Dan and then moving seamlessly to present day London for Jess and Will’s story.

Which book cover have you looked at and gone that’s amazing.

There are so many wonderful book-covers but one I particularly like is the cover design of Ghostbird by Carol Lovekin, published by Honno. The cover is silky smooth to touch and the title is raised in relief. The way the cover designer has formed the image of a human head and shoulders from the foliage and branches of a tree seems very apt for a novel where the author has drawn heavily on nature, witchcraft and ancient folklore.  

 

Which book character/s would you protect from the world?

Another Honno book, Not Thomas written by Sara Gethin, has a five-year-old narrator. We are taken right into the world of Tomos where he is badly neglected by his young mother. He observes things no child should ever have to witness and must fend for himself. I would love to nurture the little boy’s naïve innocence and shield him from the human depravity he encounters.

Which was the last book that broke your heart.

Although I’m pleased to say, there was a satisfying conclusion to Not Thomas in the form of hope for him, that little boy stayed with me long after I’d finished reading the book. The story takes the reader on a roller-coaster emotional journey and I’d shed tears along the way.

Which book would you make your child/ren read.

I couldn’t make anyone read something they didn’t want to but I know, especially from my experience as a teacher, that by recommending books with passion and enthusiasm this will often result in books you love being read by others, too. One such book is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. It’s beautifully written and illustrated with line drawings with an important message about the gift of giving and the acceptance of another’s capacity to love in return.

Which book would you rewrite in a different genre.

Having always loved Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, I would love to try to rewrite the story as a modern-day novel. I like the idea of writing a story involving forbidden love, a secret marriage and the subsequent tragedies between members of two families at war with each other.

If you could write any genre which one would it be?

I’ve always fancied trying scriptwriting with the purpose of improving the structure of my novels. I think it would compact a story idea and refine it, helping me understand what makes the story strong. It would also help me with plot, keeping the story tighter.  

If you could redesign any book cover which one, would you choose?

While holidaying on the stunning Greek island of Kefalonia, I read Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, the much-acclaimed novel by Louis de Bernières, twenty-five years after it was first published in 1994. My copy was an early one and the blue and white patterned cover was very much of its time. If I was redesigning it now, I would include images of beautiful Greece with a look back to the wartime occupation of the island as a backdrop. I would have to include an image of the beloved mandolin which was Antonio Corelli’s prized possession.

Which book taught you the largest lesson about life.

My debut novel, Her Mother’s Secret, taught me to be resilient, and not take rejection personally. I was fortunate that soon after submitting, I started to receive helpful feedback from publishers. I always acted on their advice and knew that I was getting closer to my dream of becoming a published author. I was a late starter, only beginning to write fiction, when I retired, so I knew if I kept going, I would get there.

Which three books would you take on holiday in 2021?

All being well, I’m going on holiday to Madeira in two weeks’ time. Three book I shall be taking with me are:

1. The Girl with the Silver Clasp by Juliet Greenwood
2. Summer of Hopes and Dreams by Sue McDonagh
3. The Runes of Destiny by Christina Courtenay

 

How far would you go to save the person you loved the most?

It’s 1941, and Annie Beynon has just become the first stable girl for the most powerful family in her Welsh village. Whilst her gift for working with horses is clear, there are some who are willing to make her life very difficult on the Pryce estate, simply for being a girl.

There are other – secret – ways Annie is defying conventions, too. As the war rages, and when Edmund, the heir to the Pryce fortune, leaves to join the RAF, it seems that it’s only a matter of time before Annie’s secret is exposed. That is, until she makes a shocking decision.

It’s 1963 before Annie is able to face up to the secret she chose to keep over twenty years before. Justifying that decision takes her to Normandy in France, and an outcome she could never have expected …come at once?

 

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Which Books… Ella Cook

Ella Cook blew us all away with her debut Beyond Grey about Angels and dying, but now she is back with something different! A Summer’s Christmas!!???

 

Which book do you wish you’d written.

There are so, so many that I’ve thought that about. But I wish I’d written Pratchett’s Discworld series

Which book cover have you looked at and gone that’s amazing.

To be honest, it was probably a book of crochet patterns with intricate mandala patterns as I love working with yarn and hooks, but if you mean ‘Wow, I’m so buying this book!’ then Celia Ahearne’s Book of Tomorrow really grabbed me. And I loved the silhouette work on Kirsty Ferry’s Every Witch Way, which I’m trying to leave a few weeks to enjoy around Halloween… but I think the temptation will win out!

 

Which book character/s would you protect from the world?

Actually, Summer, the little girl in Summer’s Christmas. Even when writing her story I found myself wanting to wrap her in a blanket and keep her safe.

Outside my own writing, I’ve always had a real soft spot for Veralidaine Sarrasri from Tamora Pearce’s Tortall series – though she’s more than capable of taking care of herself – and anyone else who comes along!

Which was the last book that broke your heart.

The final scenes of Beyond Grey when I wrote them. If I’m honest, there aren’t many books that have made me cry – and I knew writing BG that if it didn’t, I wouldn’t ever share it with anyone, because I would have felt like I hadn’t really done justice to the story.

Before that, The Shepherd’s Crown by Pratchett choked me up a lot.

Which book would you make your child/ren read.

Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree – I think it’s a wonderful thing to believe in magic.

Which book would you rewrite in a different genre.

I always thought Sleeping Beauty would make a really good horror… not sure I’d want to read it though, let alone write it!

If you could write any genre which one would it be?

Other than romance and contemporary fiction? I love fantasy, so epic fantasy with powerful mages, amazing creatures and wonder-filled adventures I guess. So long as I can still write happy endings for my characters.

Which book taught you the largest lesson about life.

To Kill a Mockingbird: I think Atticus Finch was probably the first true hero I encountered in literature. I read it in school, and came away thinking: Wow.

Which three books would you take on holiday in 2021?

Only three? Forget that. I’m taking a whole kindle full

 

 

Bringing the spirit of Christmas to a summer’s day …

Summer by name and summer by nature – that’s how people describe Evelyn’s happy, outgoing daughter. Even if her favourite time of year is actually Christmas!

But Summer has gone through more than any eight-year-old ever should, and that’s part of the reason Evelyn is leaving everything behind to return to her childhood home in the village of Broclington; just her, Summer and Summer’s best friend – a Shiba Inu dog called Tilly. Unsurprisingly, Evelyn is hesitant to let anyone else in, although local vet Jake Macpearson seems intent on winning her trust.

When Evelyn receives the news that every mother dreads, it’s Jake who comes to the rescue. With the help of the Broclington community, could he be the man to bring festive magic to August, and make all of Evelyn and Summer’s Christmases come at once?

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Which Books… Helen Buckley

Helen’s books seem to be coming thick and fast as I am sure it wasn’t that long ago the Strictly on Ice was released. So when I saw the next book in her “in the spotlight” series I just had to get her to sit down with me again for a chat.

 

Which book do you wish you’d written.

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt. It’s so beautifully written.

Which book cover have you looked at and gone that’s amazing.

My new novel, Celebrity SOS! I absolutely love the cover ChocLit designed.

 

Which book character/s would you protect from the world?

Kiara from my first novel, Star in the Shadows.

Which was the last book that broke your heart.

A million dreams, by Dani Atkins. I cried buckets reading it, especially as it’s about IVF and both my boys are the result of fertility treatment.

Which book would you make your child/ren read.

Anything by Roald Dahl.

Which book would you rewrite in a different genre.

It would be fun to do a modern take on Jane Eyre

If you could write any genre which one would it be?

Psychological thrillers. I love reading them but I don’t think I could write one

Which book taught you the largest lesson about life.

I’ve learnt so much from books that it’s hard to single out just one. Jacqueline Wilson books taught me a lot about life, family, and friendship when I was younger.

Which three books would you take on holiday in 2021?

Q, by Christina Dalcher

The Push, Ashley Audrain

A sky full of stars, Dani Atkins

And of course I would fill up my Kindle with lots of ChocLit goodies too!

 

I’m a celebrity … trying to escape the past!

When Katerina Murphy agrees to take part in Celebrity SOS, a reality TV show where celebrities have to fend for themselves in the Alaskan wilderness, she’s up for the challenge. But then she locks eyes with fellow contestant Finn Drayson of 1Dream boy band fame and realises that the show is going to push her further from her comfort zone than she ever imagined.

After all, Finn wasn’t just Katerina’s co-star in the school play adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany’s where she discovered her acting confidence, he was also her first love – and the first boy to break her heart. Even years later, the secret kisses and shared packets of crisps on park benches are never far from her mind.

Will award-winning actress Katerina Murphy’s talents stretch to staying composed in the face of Arctic winds and blasts from the past?

 

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Which Books… Sue McDonagh

I last spoke to Sue just over a year ago when she published Escape to the Art Cafe, and we talked about her brush with stardom and “Portrait Artist of the Year” now she’s back to talk all things books…

 

Which book do you wish you’d written.

I thought about this for a long time, and concluded that there wasn’t one. Since I’ve begun to write novels, my reading has altered. I can still read on a straightforward ‘reader’ basis, but my subconscious is now picking up on style and pacing, dissecting how my emotions are being manipulated, how the author handles dialogue and what I can learn from it.
               Every author has their own voice, which goes a considerable way towards whether you like their books, and so the same story re-told in a different voice just wouldn’t be the same book!
               I could re-phrase this and say that there are writers I wish I could emulate. For example, Kate Atkinson particularly for her Jackson Brodie books, Maeve Binchy for her fabulously chatty novels that draw you in to their worlds, Milly Johnson for the way she can seemingly effortlessly stitch several storylines together – there are so many more I could add! I’m learning from them all.

Which book cover have you looked at and gone that’s amazing.

As a horse mad child, I was a big fan of the Silver Brumby series by Elyne Mitchell, one of which showed the silver brumby rearing magnificently. I was hooked.
               In my other life I’m an artist, and I specialise in children playing on beaches. People often comment that my paintings remind them of the jacket desigh for Rosamunde Pilcher’s The Shell Seekers. I’ve been faintly irritated by this – nobody likes to think they’re derivative! But while I was researching for this question, that book cover came up and I realised that my paintings are in fact, very similar!  

Which book character/s would you protect from the world?

I think it has to be the characters from my own books, who all have their own vulnerabilities and who are as real to me as a living breathing person.

 

Which was the last book that broke your heart.

Oh dear, without giving any spoilers away, I think it might have been Jojo Moyes, Me before you. I also cry when I write the heart tugging scenes in my own books.

Which book would you make your child/ren read.

I read everything I could lay my hands on when I was a kid, without censorship. My boys weren’t big readers, but they always got a bedtime story and we plundered the library. One of my favourites to read them was the hilarious and beautifully illustrated Frank Muir series about the afghan hound puppy, ‘What-a-Mess’ that always had me in tears of laughter. They and I loved everything Roald Dahl wrote, and later on, Terry Pratchett’s Diggers, Truckers and Wings. My little stepson loved Captain Underpants, and my 13 yr old granddaughter is, like me, an avid reader with a broad appetite from Harry Potter to The Hunger Games.

Which book would you rewrite in a different genre.

No idea. It’s an interesting concept though. Still thinking about it.

If you could write any genre which one would it be?

I like to make people laugh – and I thought I’d like to give crime a go. I found it much harder to inflict pain on someone than I thought, and so I’ve shelved it for now. I’m sticking to comedy – romance makes the world go round, and I’d like to spread my net a little wider into the relationships and dynamics of friendships. One day.

Which book taught you the largest lesson about life.

All books teach you something about life – even if it’s how not to behave! My own novels taught me patience and determination, and also helped me to make sense of many tragic experiences. Writing, as well as reading, is often a form of therapy.

If you could redesign any book cover which one would you choose?

As an artist in my other life, I’m very lucky that my lovely publisher, ChocLit, allow me to paint my own covers. These are then tweaked by the experienced hands of the in house designers, to add the titles and blurbs, and edge details. I’m inordinately proud to have not only written the words but painted the covers too, and I love it when readers write to tell me they only picked the book up because they liked the cover pictures.

Which three books would you take on holiday in 2021?

I’ll just have a quick look on my Kindle – at the last count, there are almost 100 unread titles! I’ve just started reading Dana Stabenow’s Kate Shugak stories set in Alaska, I’m a sucker for Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway stories, and anything by Sue Moorcroft. My publisher has a fund of terrific summer reads, and I have many of those stashed away on my TBR pile!

 

Can “Dozy Rosie” spice up her life and prove she’s not boring?

Rosie Bunting has spent her life caring for others, often at the expense of her own hopes and dreams. But when she overhears somebody describing her as “boring”, she decides it’s time for a change.

Little does she realise that the outdoor pursuits weekend brochure handed to her at the local Art Café will kick start a summer that will see her abseiling down a Welsh cliff face in “eye watering” leggings, rediscovering her artistic side and unexpectedly inheriting an old fire engine. It also involves meeting hunky outdoor instructor, Gareth Merwyn-Jones – although of course he’d never be interested in Dozy Rosie Bunting … would he?

One thing’s for certain: Rosie’s path to achieving her hopes and dreams might not be smooth, but it’s definitely not boring.

 

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@SueMcDonaghLit                    Sue McDonagh Writer

 

     

 

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All Sue’ other books can be found here.

 

The Meet the Family post with Sue McDonagh can be found HERE