tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68042170413306700872024-03-13T14:28:15.358-07:00Marie LavalHistorical and Contemporary RomanceMarie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.comBlogger184125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-6089356381326544302022-01-31T09:43:00.000-08:002022-01-31T09:43:28.861-08:00QUEEN OF THE DESERT by Marie Laval<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I am so happy to announce that my historical romance QUEEN OF THE DESERT will be released by Choc Lit UK on 15th February and I just can't stop admiring my cover. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Isn't it gorgeous?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhE-_zaYBYCDS_4PDmSbuXnM3hZ5Vo7SmRfL39lGXrO8itNAAxhfk00_-zNDEyCv_K-TgfIGrOX2m2QDObr08gm5q_gZDJS0bSdjpwDaqNMDo5H78NDc0-I1F3OWPGV9j-PddcIU1LgeRiTZhaV4-pWoIzrT0o-NC92n4xIv0nGWT_CY5UGJwAg_a-H=s1170" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="762" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhE-_zaYBYCDS_4PDmSbuXnM3hZ5Vo7SmRfL39lGXrO8itNAAxhfk00_-zNDEyCv_K-TgfIGrOX2m2QDObr08gm5q_gZDJS0bSdjpwDaqNMDo5H78NDc0-I1F3OWPGV9j-PddcIU1LgeRiTZhaV4-pWoIzrT0o-NC92n4xIv0nGWT_CY5UGJwAg_a-H=w260-h400" width="260" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Here is a taste of the story...</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><i><span style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sometimes
the most precious treasures exist in the most barren and inhospitable of places
…</span></i></b><span style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Harriet Montague is definitely too much of a
gentlewoman to be frequenting the backstreet taverns of Algiers. But her father
has been kidnapped whilst on an expedition to the tomb of an ancient desert
queen, and she’s on a mission to find the only person who could save him.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">It’s just unfortunate that Lucas Saintclair, the
man Harriet hopes will rescue her father from scoundrels, is the biggest
scoundrel of the lot. With a bribe in the form of a legendary pirate treasure map,
securing his services is the easiest part – now Harriet must endure a
treacherous journey through the desert accompanied by Saintclair’s band of
ruffians.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">But on the long, hot Saharan nights, is it any
wonder that her heart begins to thaw towards her guide – especially when she
realises Lucas’s roguish façade conceals something she could never have
expected?</span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">QUEEN OF THE DESERT is available as ebook from </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Queen-Desert-wonderful-captivating-adventure-ebook/dp/B09NNW2J8Q/ref"><span style="color: #3d74a5; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Amazon</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><a href="https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/queen-of-the-desert-6"><span style="color: #3d74a5; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Kobo</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-84131906213967673322021-10-22T09:32:00.004-07:002021-10-22T09:32:00.185-07:00Writing Romantic Suspense by Evonne Wareham<p> <b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am delighted to
welcome Evonne Wareham to the blog today to talk about her latest novel, A
VILLA IN PORTOFINO, which was recently released by Choc Lit UK, and why she
loves writing romantic suspense. I must say that I have to agree with her about
the appeal of the genre. I love reading and writing romantic suspense novels
and I cannot wait to read A VILLA IN PORTOFINO. And look at that gorgeous cover!</span></i></b></p><p><b><i></i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--bluGnEnY2Y/YWr_OJYptII/AAAAAAAACWY/ab9BBK0cg5wzXxnSVPWPRE5Qjusrcf_UgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1170/thumbnail_A%2BVilla%2Bin%2BPortofino%2Bby%2BEvonne%2BWareham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="762" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--bluGnEnY2Y/YWr_OJYptII/AAAAAAAACWY/ab9BBK0cg5wzXxnSVPWPRE5Qjusrcf_UgCLcBGAsYHQ/w260-h400/thumbnail_A%2BVilla%2Bin%2BPortofino%2Bby%2BEvonne%2BWareham.jpg" width="260" /></a></i></b></div><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Many thanks
to Marie for inviting me on to her blog today as part of the blog tour for the
third in my romantic suspense series set on the Riviera – </span><i style="font-size: 16pt;">A Villa in Portofino.</i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It took me a
long time and a lot of experimenting before I discovered that romantic suspense
was the genre I wanted to write. It ‘s a genre that can get complicated though,
as Marie will probably agree, because as well as a full scale love story, with
proper emotional development, you also have to have a satisfying crime narrative.
And the two have to dovetail together. It’s romance, but romance with an edge.
And quite possibly a few dead bodies. It’s the genre where I feel most at home,
although I’m never quite sure what admitting to like writing mayhem and murder
says about me. I like to think I’m redeemed from my criminal tendencies by
insisting on a happy ending for my love story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I always say
that when I write I plot the crime element and let the love story take care of
itself, which is sort of true. The characters do kind of take over when you let
them loose. We all know where this thing is going, so let’s just get on with
it. The love story has to stand up on its own though, not just be an add-on, so
all the stages of attraction and discovery have to be there and the course of
true love rarely runs smooth. What would be the fun in that? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The crime
element ramps up the tension and the genre can cover a wide spectrum – spies
and law enforcement, serial killers and witness protection, historical
settings, protagonists with paranormal talent, even plots that border on horror
– anything that comes under the heading of crime writing and which can sustain
a love story as part of the action. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oIzDnydV1es/YWsAJ0bhdEI/AAAAAAAACWw/34klc1GSC3ENOcpaGsOOAM31iCHAEHtQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s278/SanRemo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="181" height="278" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oIzDnydV1es/YWsAJ0bhdEI/AAAAAAAACWw/34klc1GSC3ENOcpaGsOOAM31iCHAEHtQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/SanRemo.jpg" width="181" /></a></div><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My current
Riviera series is at the lighter end of the spectrum, sunshine, food, art,
glamour. The first book, <i>Summer in San
Remo</i>, has only a smidgeon of crime, but the subsequent two are a bit darker
- and things definitely go up a few notches in the scary action stakes in both
in the last couple of chapters. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I was
writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Villa in Portofino</i> I wanted
to explore the mysteries and secrets within a family, not all of them
intentional. My heroine, Megan, inherits the villa from a great-great aunt of whom
she knows next to nothing. Deciding that she will make the villa her home she
begins to unravel the secrets of her aunt’s life, but what she doesn’t know is
that someone else is watching her, with their own agenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the surface everything is fine, but
disturbing events from the past begin to break thorough – are they sinister or
not? The reader sees what my villainess is doing to manipulate the situation without
Megan being aware of it, to the point where the plots cross and Megan’s growing
attraction to hero Gideon is in jeopardy. I was looking for a sense of mounting
threat and menace, where the reader knows more than my protagonists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope it has worked. I’ll have to wait for readers
to tell me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h1HgP-yJy4w/YWr_d_on1ZI/AAAAAAAACWg/QDEexPGGD7UWnprzYkMoBf65AlDBK3jaACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Evonne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="2048" height="214" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h1HgP-yJy4w/YWr_d_on1ZI/AAAAAAAACWg/QDEexPGGD7UWnprzYkMoBf65AlDBK3jaACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Evonne.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bio</span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Evonne is an award winning Welsh author of romantic
suspense - more crime and dead bodies than your average romance. She likes to
set her book in her native Wales, or for a touch of glamorous escapism, in
favourite holiday destinations in Europe. She is a Doctor of Philosophy and an
historian, and a member of both the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the
Crime Writers’ Association. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Why
not find out more about Evonne? </span></i></b><a href="https://twitter.com/evonnewareham"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Twitter</span></i></b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
and </span></i></b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/evonnewarehamauthor/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Facebook</span></i></b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Website<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.evonnewareham.com/">www.evonnewareham.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blog<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b><a href="http://www.evonneonwednesday.blogspot.com/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">www.evonneonwednesday.blogspot.com</span></i></b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A
Villa in Portofino</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Third
in the ‘Riviera’ Series of romantic suspense: love and mayhem in the sunshine
of the French and Italian Riviera<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From
chambermaid to “got it made” …</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">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!</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">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.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">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?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Available as an
e-book from </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Villa-Portofino-Evonne-Wareham-ebook/dp/B09CDPWB98/r?tag=smarturl-gb-21"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon Kindle</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
</span><a href="https://books.apple.com/gb/book/a-villa-in-portofino/id1580723491?id=1580723491&ign-itsct=books_box_link&ign-itscg=30200"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apple</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
</span><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-villa-in-portofino-evonne-wareham/1139997714?ean=2940162375562"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Barnes
and Noble /<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nook</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
</span><a href="https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/a-villa-in-portofino"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kobo</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Evonne_Wareham_A_Villa_in_Portofino?id=JylAEAAAQBAJ&gl=GB"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Google
playbooks</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58773338-a-villa-in-portofino?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=1t6hnjlD7p&rank=6"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Goodreads
Reviews</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-90006988562860648062021-09-10T11:06:00.003-07:002021-09-10T23:03:13.142-07:00Her Nanny's Secret by Jan Baynham<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><b><i>I am delighted to welcome author Jan Baynham today to talk about her latest release. I was particularly interested in this story since it is partly set in France - in beautiful Normandy, to be more precise... Over to you, Jan.</i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lRLhQ6cnDQI/YTvGuP6772I/AAAAAAAACWE/BCMjfjyU-eEkodp5158atH3TPgSoco8TgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Jan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lRLhQ6cnDQI/YTvGuP6772I/AAAAAAAACWE/BCMjfjyU-eEkodp5158atH3TPgSoco8TgCLcBGAsYHQ/w133-h200/Jan.jpg" width="133" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Thank you for having me on your blog, Marie, to talk about my third
novel, <i>Her Nanny’s Secret</i>, published this week by Ruby Fiction. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As with
all my novels, it is set in both beautiful rural mid-Wales where I grew up and in
a foreign location. In this case, the contrasting setting is Normandy in
Northern France, first in 1943 when the area was occupied by the Nazis and then
two decades later when my main character travels abroad for the first time.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xn4zVbVzgmo/YTucGO4bPxI/AAAAAAAACVc/JZ8A2O-H4-IAk9qRj6Zd3kR_y5eLfgp6wCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/Cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xn4zVbVzgmo/YTucGO4bPxI/AAAAAAAACVc/JZ8A2O-H4-IAk9qRj6Zd3kR_y5eLfgp6wCLcBGAsYHQ/w261-h400/Cover.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"> Although the town of Ville de Roi and the surrounding
villages of Collinac and Sainte Marie-H</span><a name="_Hlk81580764"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">é</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">lène are fictional, I’ve based them on the area around southern Normandy
I know well.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">France was always our holiday destination of choice
when our children were small. Over the years, we have visited and hosted many children
and adults from our twin French town, too, and as I was writing, it brought
back many happy memories.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The story opens in 1943;
we meet Odile who lives with her parents helping them on the family farm to eke
out a living during the German occupation. She leads a double life as an active
member of the French R</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-themecolor: text1;">é</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-themecolor: text1;">sistance, taking risks and showing bravery in the movement for which her
elder brother has already lost his life. The farmhouse where they live used to
be an old mill, hence its name <i>Le Vieux Moulin</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">In 1963, Annie travels to the same area and
eventually the same old mill and I tried to imagine what it was like to visit France
for the first time. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Here are a
few experiences that were new for Annie. She was amazed by the abundance of
flowers in e</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">very town and the fact that </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">even the smallest village that seemed to have a
square and a town hall. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nLUdekIJ6Aw/YTucssP0kwI/AAAAAAAACVk/jsSrsc0E7u8GD6zsBtFKfD1R-JKNrhWBwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1579/window-box-4848801_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1272" data-original-width="1579" height="161" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nLUdekIJ6Aw/YTucssP0kwI/AAAAAAAACVk/jsSrsc0E7u8GD6zsBtFKfD1R-JKNrhWBwCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h161/window-box-4848801_1920.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Pretty window boxes
adorned the upstairs windows and scarlet summer geraniums and tumbling blue
lobelia gave a blaze of colour. They hadn’t walked far when they reached a
large, paved area in front of an ornate building. Red brick formed a pattern
around the gable and rendered façade, and the word MAIRIE was spelled out using
the same brick.</span></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In the square of Ville de Roi, she was fascinated
to watch groups of people playing a game she hadn’t seen before, the popular
French pastime of </span><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">p</span></i><i><span style="background: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">é</span></i><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">tanque</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, and observed how animated they became as the game
progressed.</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q36hK8hvraw/YTuc3KjHDMI/AAAAAAAACVo/CAiyUtKvlrEEcjAD6qpaqSrPJfKvB97GQCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/games-4174322_960_720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="960" height="237" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q36hK8hvraw/YTuc3KjHDMI/AAAAAAAACVo/CAiyUtKvlrEEcjAD6qpaqSrPJfKvB97GQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/games-4174322_960_720.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">The one thing Annie loved most was sitting outside
the numerous cafes and bistros with the sun on her face and sampling foods that
were new to her, amazed at the range of breads, pastries and <i>gateaux</i> on
offer.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Studying the menu. Annie had never seen such a
choice and couldn’t decide from the images between a savoury galette filled
with ham and cheese, topped with a fried egg, or, to satisfy her sweet tooth, a
</span></i><i><span style="background: white; color: #5f6368; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">crêpe</span></i><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">, oozing
with cooked local apples and whipped cream</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">. <i>Pancakes
were only ever eaten on Shrove Tuesday at home and then always with sugar and
lemon juice.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5ynKto1_8A/YTudZZzElWI/AAAAAAAACV8/7yix7K5fR9kc-FH_gK64Zc7HxfFkGNorgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/pastries-607989_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5ynKto1_8A/YTudZZzElWI/AAAAAAAACV8/7yix7K5fR9kc-FH_gK64Zc7HxfFkGNorgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/pastries-607989_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Perhaps her
favourite outing was to the famous St Mont Michel lying out in the bay opposite
Ville de Roi and linked to the mainland by a causeway. She enjoyed walking
through the narrow streets and winding her way up to the Gothic abbey perched on
top.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The view
from the very top was spectacular and worth the effort. They wandered around
the arched cloisters that edged formal gardens and then found a bench for Annie
to read the guidebook she’d bought about the abbey. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sdH1bUjy_Hs/YTudDPx5XiI/AAAAAAAACVw/pUiQkEQb7mwP43sIqOUmT3XST-7_AwDJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/mont-3529409_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sdH1bUjy_Hs/YTudDPx5XiI/AAAAAAAACVw/pUiQkEQb7mwP43sIqOUmT3XST-7_AwDJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/mont-3529409_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-outline-level: 1; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Annie would never forget her first visit to France, the landscape she
travelled through, the pretty villages, the language she heard spoken and the
warmth of the people she met. When she arrived, she could never have dreamt
that the secret she’d held for over twenty years would be resolved in the way
it did. But I can’t give away any spoilers, can I?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-outline-level: 1; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b><i>Thank you so much for this, Jan. Your new story sounds wonderful. I have always wanted to visit beautiful Mont Saint Michel and I hope I can one day...</i></b></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">*****<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Buying Links for <i>Her Nanny’s Secret</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Her-Nannys-Secret-compelling-self-discovery-ebook/dp/B09BNP3S1P/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Her-Nannys-Secret-compelling-self-discovery-ebook/dp/B09BNP3S1P/</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><a href="https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/search?query=Her+Nanny%27s+Secret+Jan+baynham" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/search?query=Her+Nanny%27s+Secret+Jan+baynham</span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-nannys-secret-jan-baynham/1139955323?ean=2940162201946"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/her-nannys-secret-jan-baynham/1139955323?ean=2940162201946</span></a></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Author Links:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Twitter: @JanBaynham</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><a href="https://twitter.com/JanBaynham"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">https://twitter.com/JanBaynham</span></a></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Facebook: Jan Baynham
Writer </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/JanBayLit"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">https://www.facebook.com/JanBayLit</span></a></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Blog: Jan’s Journey into
Writing </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><a href="https://janbaynham.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">https://janbaynham.blogspot.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-80262067336106401772021-08-17T09:43:00.000-07:002021-08-17T09:43:18.758-07:00How a story is born... Inspiration for HAPPY DREAMS A MERMAID COVE<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Happy
Dreams at Mermaid Cove</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> is the third of my novels set in
the Scottish Highlands... and it definitely won’t be the last. I have always
felt a very special attraction for Scotland and its wild, romantic and magnificent
landscapes. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OOh7UNc6AOk/YRvl9hQOnZI/AAAAAAAACVI/Xe9J5aTDmI8IxKcZmBcHpy7MP1kpnKMIACLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/skye-coral-beach-Pixabay2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1281" data-original-width="1920" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OOh7UNc6AOk/YRvl9hQOnZI/AAAAAAAACVI/Xe9J5aTDmI8IxKcZmBcHpy7MP1kpnKMIACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h268/skye-coral-beach-Pixabay2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coral Beach on Skye Curtesy of Pixabay<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have only been there twice but my dream would be to travel all around
the Highlands, then stay in a cottage near the sea for a few weeks, perhaps
even on the Isle of Skye where my story is set - although not in the Arrandale
Peninsula, since I made it up! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tRRlEApcV2E/YRvlIZoR9EI/AAAAAAAACUw/31IeXnTqBqo7YbYlWNqJgt6JFGftxwL7QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/SkyePixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1285" data-original-width="1920" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tRRlEApcV2E/YRvlIZoR9EI/AAAAAAAACUw/31IeXnTqBqo7YbYlWNqJgt6JFGftxwL7QCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h268/SkyePixabay.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isle of Skye Curtesy of Pixabay</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Getting the setting just right was essential for my
story and I spent a long time reading about different Hebridean islands,
including Muck and Rum. One of my favourite books was the fascinating <i>A Drop in the Ocean </i>by Polly Pullar and Lawrence
MacEwen – the laird of Muck - about his family, his work and his life on Muck.
In the end I had to choose an island big enough and with enough people living
there to have a mobile library service and I decided on Skye. However, having never
visited the area I didn’t want to get anything wrong, so I invented Arrandale
and its Gaelic name of</span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Fearann</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><i><span lang="GD" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GD; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">nan </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A</span></i><i><span lang="GD" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GD; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">islingean </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">S</span></i><i><span lang="GD" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GD; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">ona</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">- </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">the Land of Happy Dreams.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jKRqHCfZ7MM/YRvkrxEAg9I/AAAAAAAACUk/2Pt19Q_cmPEv_Vj678K9jF216UwHMbwVwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Books%2Bfor%2Bresearch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1691" data-original-width="2048" height="264" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jKRqHCfZ7MM/YRvkrxEAg9I/AAAAAAAACUk/2Pt19Q_cmPEv_Vj678K9jF216UwHMbwVwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Books%2Bfor%2Bresearch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">My inspiration for </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Happy Dreams at Mermaid Cove</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> was the photo of a yellow mobile
library on a deserted Scottish road that author friend Melinda Hammond posted
on Facebook at the beginning of 2020. It captured my imagination so much that I
started writing a story about it straight away. </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E8Wjng0Uy4w/YRvlyi1T3HI/AAAAAAAACVE/kTsX-ZafFWI-mVXWaRBwtawJcHiu3be3QCLcBGAsYHQ/s625/MobileLibrarySarah%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="625" height="148" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E8Wjng0Uy4w/YRvlyi1T3HI/AAAAAAAACVE/kTsX-ZafFWI-mVXWaRBwtawJcHiu3be3QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/MobileLibrarySarah%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Highlands Mobile Library Curtesy of a friend!</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I knew a little about mobile
libraries because a very long time ago, I actually worked in one in the Wigan
area for a few weeks, and what fun it was. Of course Wigan and its surroundings
are very flat, unlike Arrandale, and there were no Highland cows crossing the
road or fierce storms battering the countryside... and no mermaids.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fnmiN0YbUxg/YRvme4DsWpI/AAAAAAAACVU/OcjCPspz3P0ozpbvyf2qWI1imv5DYm4lgCLcBGAsYHQ/s601/BANNER3%2BJune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="601" height="336" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fnmiN0YbUxg/YRvme4DsWpI/AAAAAAAACVU/OcjCPspz3P0ozpbvyf2qWI1imv5DYm4lgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h336/BANNER3%2BJune.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blurb</span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From the big city to a little yellow
mobile library on the Isle of Skye ...</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> When Jenna Palmer
agrees to the new position of mobile librarian on the tiny Arrandale peninsular
of the Isle of Skye, she knows she’s signing up for difficult working
conditions and mediocre wages. But Jenna needs to get away, and a little yellow
mobile library called Buttercup could be her escape to happier dreams ...<br />
However, whilst Jenna can get to grips with foggy island roads, local mermaid
legends and even big purple monsters, she never expected to have to contend
with a boss as grumpy as Daniel McGregor, or a young book lover as enthusiastic
as his niece, Katrina.<br />
Arrandale might represent Jenna’s safe port in a storm, but could she and
Buttercup also become a beacon of hope to Daniel, Katrina and the entire island
community?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">HAPPY DREAMS AT MERMAID COVE is available as an
ebook, audiobook and paperback on </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-Dreams-Mermaid-Cove-uplifting-ebook/dp/B094RBWWCJ/ref"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
and as an ebook from </span><a href="https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/happy-dreams-at-mermaid-cove"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kobo</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-31040922733684990242021-05-16T01:35:00.002-07:002021-05-16T01:35:13.270-07:00Cover Reveal for HAPPY DREAMS AT MERMAID COVE<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I am delighted to show my cover for my new
contemporary romance which will be released on June 22</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">nd</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> by Choc Lit
UK. It is so happy and cheerful it never fails to lift my spirits when I look
at the little yellow mobile library and the gorgeous cottage and landscape
behind it.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IrrQr5X2mPw/YKDYXGKChBI/AAAAAAAACRI/DFjGuqBpq9QwgsknNtxKhE68rcY-vl3fACLcBGAsYHQ/s1170/HappyDreamsAtMermaidCoveFINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="762" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IrrQr5X2mPw/YKDYXGKChBI/AAAAAAAACRI/DFjGuqBpq9QwgsknNtxKhE68rcY-vl3fACLcBGAsYHQ/w416-h640/HappyDreamsAtMermaidCoveFINAL.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Here is the blurb:</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From the big city to a little yellow
mobile library on the Isle of Skye ...</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When Jenna Palmer agrees to the new
position of mobile librarian on the tiny Arrandale peninsular of the Isle of
Skye, she knows she’s signing up for difficult working conditions and mediocre
wages. But Jenna needs to get away, and a little yellow mobile library called
Buttercup could be her escape to happier dreams ...</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">However, whilst Jenna can get to grips with foggy island roads, local mermaid
legends and even big purple monsters, she never expected to have to contend
with a boss as grumpy as Daniel McGregor, or a young book lover as enthusiastic
as his niece, Katrina.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Arrandale might represent Jenna’s safe port in a storm, but could she and
Buttercup also become a beacon of hope to Daniel, Katrina and the entire island
community?<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My
inspiration for writing Happy Dreams at Mermaid’s Cove was the photo of a
yellow mobile library on a deserted Scottish road that author friend Melinda
Hammond posted on Facebook at the beginning of last year. It captured my
imagination so much that I had to start writing a story about it straight away. Of course, being a very slow writer it took me over a year to complete.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I knew a
little about mobile libraries already because a long time ago I actually worked
in one in the Wigan area for a few weeks, and what fun it was! During that
time, I met the man who was to be my love, my companion and my happy dream for
the following thirty one years, and who was taken so abruptly from us several
weeks ago... Robert was a librarian before he retired, and funnily enough our
eldest son is almost coming to the end of his apprenticeship to be a librarian,
and our daughter is a librarian at school too. It must run in the family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I hope you
will enjoy travelling in Buttercup with Jenna, and spending some time with her
friends and the gorgeous Daniel McGregor in Arrandale, the land of happy
dreams. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By the
way, don’t try to find Arrandale on a map of the Isle of Skye because I made it
up! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">HAPPY
DREAMS AT MERMAID COVE is available for pre-order <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-Dreams-Mermaid-Cove-uplifting-ebook/dp/B094RBWWCJ/ref">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zTKGmYO5b0s/YKDYtZ2pc6I/AAAAAAAACRQ/oo16nJkEVkMWv3xfHjqB4foRljqKUczHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s601/Banner2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="601" height="336" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zTKGmYO5b0s/YKDYtZ2pc6I/AAAAAAAACRQ/oo16nJkEVkMWv3xfHjqB4foRljqKUczHgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h336/Banner2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span><p></p>Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-20745881469758673972021-02-13T08:55:00.001-08:002021-02-14T01:44:10.469-08:00ESCAPE TO THE LITTLE CHATEAU Finalist in the RNA Awards!<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I am delighted to announce that my romantic suspense novel ESCAPE TO THE LITTLE CHATEAU, which was published last October by Choc Lit, is a finalist in the prestigious RNA Awards in the Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller category. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HJg7Nv2kvbc/YCgDWOzN2PI/AAAAAAAACPk/uSd22zqGWx8UAtxYv_ZxbvsB4cuMEUQCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/RoNA21%2BJackie%2BCollins%2BThriller%2BFinalists.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HJg7Nv2kvbc/YCgDWOzN2PI/AAAAAAAACPk/uSd22zqGWx8UAtxYv_ZxbvsB4cuMEUQCwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/RoNA21%2BJackie%2BCollins%2BThriller%2BFinalists.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">It is a great honour and I am absolutely over the moon that the story has made it to the final five. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The awards ceremony will be virtual this year and takes place on 8th March, and actor and radio presenter Larry Lamb will host the awards.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Blurb:</u></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%;">Will
Amy’s dreams of a Provençal escape come true?</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="background: white;">There are many reasons Amy Carter is determined to make
Bellefontaine, her farmhouse hotel in the French countryside, a success. Of
course, there’s the time and money she’s put in to making it beautiful, but she
also has something to prove – particularly to people like Fabien Coste.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Fabien is the owner of the nearby château, and he might just
be the most arrogant, patronising man Amy has ever met ... unfortunately, he’s
also the most handsome.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">But as rumours circulate in the local community and secrets
about the old farmhouse begin to reveal themselves, Amy quickly sees the less
idyllic side of life at Bellefontaine. Could Fabien be the man to help prevent
her Provençal dream from turning into a nightmare?</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Escape to the Little Chateau is available from </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Escape-Little-Chateau-gorgeous-surprises-ebook/dp/B08HS82MS9/ref" style="font-size: 18pt;">Amazon</a><span style="font-size: large;"> and </span><a href="https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/escape-to-the-little-chateau" style="font-size: 18pt;">kobo</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-56431497187937154472021-02-13T08:37:00.002-08:002021-02-14T01:42:40.275-08:00Release date for ANGEL OF THE LOST TREASURE<p><span style="font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Only two weeks before my latest novel, ANGEL OF THE
LOST TREASURE, is released by Choc Lit. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nEIhtHRWIus/YCf_C4MKCmI/AAAAAAAACPQ/FSiC5QTHgPQfRlxGibb06tXIS8Yi0DwMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1170/ANGELFINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="762" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nEIhtHRWIus/YCf_C4MKCmI/AAAAAAAACPQ/FSiC5QTHgPQfRlxGibb06tXIS8Yi0DwMQCLcBGAsYHQ/w260-h400/ANGELFINAL.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A</span><span style="font-size: large;">NGEL OF THE LOST TREASURE is a
historical novel, and a new and completely revised edition of a novel previously
published about six years ago. I loved writing that story, not only because I
completely fell in love with the hero Hugo Saintclair, but because it is set in
and around Lyon, the beautiful city where I grew up.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UcPU0klAYUc/YCf_QYbHMHI/AAAAAAAACPU/Da0ImxKzz7Yi9E5IVPFm0bBubyXA1z1pACLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/VieuxLyon4PixabayFree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UcPU0klAYUc/YCf_QYbHMHI/AAAAAAAACPU/Da0ImxKzz7Yi9E5IVPFm0bBubyXA1z1pACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/VieuxLyon4PixabayFree.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The novel is full of
mystery and action, secret societies and political intrigue, and of course
romance! </p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Researching and writing the story was pure pleasure from beginning to
end.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here is the blurb for the novel: </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When young widow, Marie-Ange
Norton is invited to Beauregard in France by the mysterious Monsieur Malleval
to collect an inheritance, she has no choice but to accept.<br />
But when she embarks on the voyage with her fiery-tempered travelling companion
Capitaine Hugo Saintclair, little does she know what waits for her across the
sea in turbulent nineteenth-century France on the eve of Napoleon’s return from
exile. When she arrives, she is taken aback by Malleval’s fascination with her
family – seemingly inspired by his belief they are connected to a sacred relic
he’s read about in coded manuscripts by the Knights Templar.<br />
As it becomes clear that Malleval’s obsession has driven him to madness,
Marie-Ange is horrified to realise she is more the man’s prisoner than his
guest. Not only that, but Hugo is the only person who might be able to help
her, and he could represent a different kind of danger ... </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ANGEL OF THE LOST TREASURE will be released on 23<sup>rd</sup>
February and is available for pre-order </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Angel-Lost-Treasure-Marie-Laval-ebook/dp/B08TX52MWK/ref"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Angel-Lost-Treasure-Marie-Laval-ebook/dp/B08TX52MWK/ref</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
and Kobo </span><a href="https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/angel-of-the-lost-treasure"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/angel-of-the-lost-treasure</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p>Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-26988969448253067482020-12-05T13:12:00.003-08:002020-12-05T13:16:08.428-08:00A Remedy in Time, a fascinating time travel novel by Jennifer Macaire<p> <b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Something a little different today but absolutely fascinating!</span></i></b></p><p><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">I am delighted to welcome Jennifer Macaire and her new book, A REMEDY IN TIME, a time travel adventure, which will be published by Headline Accent on 7th January 20121. Hello Jennifer and thank you so much for coming on the blog today.</span></i></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WiNl3wvqU1Q/X8v1nVJW15I/AAAAAAAACOM/NaLz14yZPw0pyQmHPhnGqbDcI3Zn4kTCACLcBGAsYHQ/s363/Jennifer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="363" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WiNl3wvqU1Q/X8v1nVJW15I/AAAAAAAACOM/NaLz14yZPw0pyQmHPhnGqbDcI3Zn4kTCACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Jennifer.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Thank you for having me as a guest on your blog! I'm here to talk about my newest time travel book, 'A Remedy in Time', and what inspired me to write it. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I've had a passion for time travel ever since I found out about dinosaurs. I admit, I've watched the Jurassic Park series about a hundred times. The dinosaurs never get boring for me. When I was in kindergarten, I stood at the blackboard and drew huge dinos. A t-rex chased a triceratops, a stegosaurus lumbered across a swamp, while a huge brontosaurus (now known as apatosaurus, which is a pity, given that brontosaurus meant "thunder lizard") grazed on high tree tops. One of my teachers discovered my obsession, and she would take me from class to class so I could draw and give a talk about dinosaurs.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Then one day I happened on a Reader's Digest that featured sabretooth tigers. In the illustration, the tigers are attacking a mammoth that has somehow gotten entrapped in a tar-pit. I stared at that illustration for hours, trying to imagine how the sabretooth tigers could hunt and eat their prey with such massive canines.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">That was that for the dinosaurs. Suddenly I was fascinated by a time when woolly mammoths, huge cave bears, and even sloths the size of small houses, roamed the frigid plains of the ice-age tundra. The sabretooth tiger, with its out-sized canines became my spirit animal - I read everything I could about them, and spent my time drawing pictures of extinct mammals. Needless to say, the sabretooth tiger was the beast that really caught my interest.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Years and years later, I stumbled on a blogsite that featured fossils, and it amused me to try and guess the mystery photos the author posted. And then one day, lo and behold, there was a sabretooth tiger! I recognized it right away. In the blog post, the author admitted that scientists still argued about how the animal hunted its prey. I started imagining a trip to the past to film a documentary about sabretooth tigers.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course, the trip would start at Tempus U, where my time travel books all start from. And the heroine this time would be a single-minded young woman who not only specialized in paleolithic animals but infectious diseases as well, because when I started writing the book, there had been a breakout of an especially virulent form of typhus in California. And so I wove a story about corporate greed, vaccines, man-made diseases, and a trip to the far, far past. A Remedy in Time is available for preorder, and will be published January 7th, 2021!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And here is the fabulous cover my publisher, Headline Accent, made for it!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vrrjR3ya2i4/X8v1Qz0LqXI/AAAAAAAACOE/dKhocxDT6W0K57LfiQaIAXzgDa77ZgFpgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1486/macaire_remedy%2Bin%2Btime%2Bcover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1486" data-original-width="966" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vrrjR3ya2i4/X8v1Qz0LqXI/AAAAAAAACOE/dKhocxDT6W0K57LfiQaIAXzgDa77ZgFpgCLcBGAsYHQ/w260-h400/macaire_remedy%2Bin%2Btime%2Bcover.jpg" width="260" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">To save the future, she must turn to the past . . .</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">San Francisco, Year 3377. A deadly virus has taken the world by storm. Scientists are desperately working to develop a vaccine. And Robin Johnson – genius, high-functioning, and perhaps a little bit single-minded – is delighted. Because, to cure the disease, she’s given the chance to travel back in time.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But when Robin arrives at the last Ice Age hoping to stop the virus at its source, she finds more there than she bargained for. And just as her own chilly exterior is beginning to thaw, she realises it’s not only sabre-toothed tigers that are in danger of extinction . . .</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Preorder from:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Remedy-Time-favourite-timeslip-ALEXANDER-ebook/dp/B08H7X6RL9/ref">Amazon
uk</a> ; <o:p></o:p></span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Remedy-Time-favourite-timeslip-ALEXANDER-ebook/dp/B08LVBPXHH/ref">Amazon
com</a> ; <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Remedy-Time-favourite-timeslip-ALEXANDER/dp/178615790X/ref">Amazon
au</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Follow Jennifer on twitter & Facebook </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Excerpt: </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I lay with my face in the grass. I hadn’t vomited, but that’s only because I couldn’t take a full breath. I knew that as soon as my diaphram started working again I’d spill my guts. It didn’t take long. “Why, oh why, did I agree to this,” I said, between bouts of retching and paralyzing pain. Finally, I managed to get to my knees. “What if a sabre tooth tiger had been here? We’d already be eaten, or worse.”</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">He shook his head. “See how the air around us is faintly blue? We’re protected by the tractor beam for a good hour. Nothing can get in.”</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I reached out my hand and touched the blue-tinged air. It was a little like being surrounded by a very faint fog. I poked. My finger tingled and stung. “Wo cao!” I said. As I watched, the blue shivered and began to fade. “It’s almost gone. Let’s go. We should send some vidcams out and see if there are any spots that look like a good campsite.”</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Donnell looked at his comlink.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“What time is it?” I asked. “Is time here different, I wonder? It was nearly noon when we left the, um, future.” I glanced at my own comlink. “It’s one minute to one. Amazing. We go back ten thousand years in little more than an hour. A-fucking-mazing. Look at this place!” Mouth open in amazement, I gazed around. We were on the side of a grassy hill, and we had a good view of the surrounding area. I forgot about my pain, I was in the past! I was here! I staggered to my feet and looked around. “Wa cao! We’re really here! There is a ta me da giant armadillo down there. Putain, a glyptodon! This is amazing. Look at that! It looks like a walking igloo except it’s brown, not white. Donnell, look!”</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Donnell didn’t look at the scenery. He looked at me, and said, “Robin, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I’m really very sorry. I didn’t have a choice in the matter.” He looked truly upset.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I hastened to reassure him. “No need to apologise. Look, I know you didn’t want to have me as a partner. I overheard you talking to the dean. It doesn’t matter. Let’s just make this trip a success. We have many lives depending on us.”</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">He made a strange noise. Then his face turned ashen, and he gagged like he was about to be sick. I thought he was still feeling the effects of the trip. I bent to help him to his feet, but he gagged again, then screamed.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“What is it? Donnell? What is happening?” I didn’t understand what I was seeing. His leg, his leg was shrinking. He shrieked, grabbed his leg, and his hands sank into his, well, where his thigh should have been, and then he sort of slid and slumped to the ground, convulsing, his body moving as if waves were tossing it, as if he were made of liquid, and his clothes became wet, and the strongest, strangest smell assaulted my nose.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I think I started to scream then too. Then my breath ran out and all I could do was squeak, squeak, squeak, as I tried to drag air into my lungs.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">He must have been in dreadful pain. He screamed until the end. Until all that was left was his chest and his head, then those too sank into themselves and all that was left were clothes and boots, and a pink, foamy gel.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I spun around and flailed at the air, at the faint wisp of blue that still lingered. I found my voice. “Help!” I screamed, “Help, help, help!”</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">No one came. Below me, in the valley, the glyptodon lifted its head and seemed to look in my direction.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I couldn’t stop shaking, and I couldn’t seem to be able to breathe. Black spots danced in front of my vision and I knelt down, bent over, and hit my head on the ground. “No. No. No! That didn’t just happen. It’s a hallucination. You’re still unconscious. You’ll wake up in a min</span><span style="font-size: medium;">ute. Wake up, Robin. Wake the feck up.” I dug my fingers into the dirt and screamed again.</span></p>Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-68378160967357919912020-10-20T13:31:00.001-07:002020-10-20T13:31:01.281-07:00A romantic suspense novel set in Provence<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Escape to the Little Chateau is published today by
Choc Lit UK!</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mystery, romance and a
fascinating journey into the history of Provence…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KTDqpiT9Utw/X43-Aen3Z_I/AAAAAAAACNk/P17nDesCo4EU7OmjZDHxcPFqf9VfmrxjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1170/ESCAPEFINALCOVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="762" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KTDqpiT9Utw/X43-Aen3Z_I/AAAAAAAACNk/P17nDesCo4EU7OmjZDHxcPFqf9VfmrxjwCLcBGAsYHQ/w260-h400/ESCAPEFINALCOVER.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Blurb</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Will Amy’s dreams of a Provençal escape come true?</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">There are many reasons Amy Carter is
determined to make Bellefontaine, her farmhouse hotel in the French
countryside, a success. Of course, there’s the time and money she’s put in to
making it beautiful, but she also has something to prove – particularly to
people like Fabien Coste.<br /><br />
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Fabien is the owner of the nearby château, and he might just be the most
arrogant, patronising man Amy has ever met ... unfortunately, he’s also the
most handsome.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But as rumours circulate in the local community and secrets about the old
farmhouse begin to reveal themselves, Amy quickly sees the less idyllic side of
life at Bellefontaine. Could Fabien be the man to help prevent her Provençal
dream from turning into a nightmare?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>Escape to the Little Chateau</b>
is available from </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Escape-Little-Chateau-gorgeous-surprises-ebook/dp/B08HS82MS9/ref" style="font-size: 14pt;">Amazon
uk</a><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> and </span><a href="https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/escape-to-the-little-chateau" style="font-size: 14pt;">Kobo</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="font-size: 18.6667px;">It was previously published as A Spell in Provence by Accent Press in 2015. This is a revised, edited and updated version. Published October 2020 by Choc Lit.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><br /><p></p>Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-59012178904385876972020-05-19T01:20:00.001-07:002020-05-19T02:43:33.266-07:00My Inspiration for ‘A Mother’s Secret By Jan Baynham<br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b><u>Inspiration for Jan Baynham's 'A MOTHER'S SECRET' </u></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b><i>I am delighted to welcome fellow ChocLit UK / Ruby author Jan Baynham today. Jan's debut novel A MOTHER'S SECRET was released in April 2020. Today she is telling us about her inspiration for writing the novel.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I have always been intrigued by family secrets and
the fact that these sometimes do not come to light until after a person has
died. I read of someone who was sorting through her mother’s things after her
death and found a diary. In there, the young woman learned about a part of her
mother’s life she knew nothing about. The ‘what ifs?’ started in my head. At
the time, I’d been reading a novel where the rustling in the trees sounded like
whispers and inanimate statues took on the form of ghosts of the people they
represented. Perhaps the whispering could show the presence of a past family
member. Always fascinated by the bond between mothers and daughters, this was
basis for </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=her+mother+s+secret+jan+baynham&ref=nb_sb_noss"><i><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">‘Her Mother’s Secret’</span></i></a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">.<span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="color: #222222;">Very often, the close relationship between mothers and daughters means that
they would know things about each other no one else would. I wanted to explore
how my character, Alexandra, would feel when she found out about her mother,
Elin’s secret life. How could her mother have kept this from her? How would she
feel? I needed Elin to have been able to keep her secret from everyone, even
her own mother, until she died.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DfHmHBUV3Ug/XsOWPffmiDI/AAAAAAAACKs/hH3kEkSH8S8ug123qlIgWzXqlByfW_fhwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DfHmHBUV3Ug/XsOWPffmiDI/AAAAAAAACKs/hH3kEkSH8S8ug123qlIgWzXqlByfW_fhwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/339.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I decided that Elin would be an artist, having just
finished art college. She travels to Greece to further her painting skills and
while there, something happens that she never mentions again. I chose a setting
where the colours would be more vibrant and intense perhaps than in her home
country of Wales. In awe of the wonderful palette of colours seen in every
landscape, Greece was my obvious inspiration. Every holiday has inspired me
with contributions to create characters and settings that are hopefully
authentic showing the climate, the vivid colours of the sea and the flowers as
well as the warmth of its people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;">BLURB:</span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A secret left behind in the summer of
’69 … <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s 1969 and free-spirited artist Elin Morgan has
left Wales for a sun-drenched Greek island. As she makes new friends and enjoys
the laidback lifestyle, she writes all about it in her diary. But Elin’s
carefree summer of love doesn’t last long, and her island experience ultimately
leaves her with a shocking secret … <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Twenty-two years later, Elin’s daughter Alexandra
has inherited the diary and is reeling from its revelations. The discovery
compels Alexandra to make her own journey to the same island, following in her
mother’s footsteps. Once there, she sets about uncovering what really happened
to Elin in that summer of <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">’69. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">BIO<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;">After retiring from a career in teaching and advisory education, Jan
joined a small writing group in a local library where she wrote her first piece
of fiction. From then on, she was hooked! She soon went on to take a writing
class at the local university and began to submit short stories for publication
to a wider audience. Her stories and flash fiction pieces have been longlisted
and short listed in competitions and several appear in anthologies both online
and in print. In October 2019, her first collection of stories was
published.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her stories started getting
longer and longer so that, following a novel writing course, she began to write
her first full length novel. She loves being able to explore her characters in
further depth and delve into their stories. She writes about family secrets and
the bond between mothers and daughters. Partly set in the last year of the 60s,
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=her+mother+s+secret+jan+baynham&ref=nb_sb_noss"><i><span style="color: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">‘Her Mother’s Secret’</span></i></a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;"> takes you to sun-drenched Greece, her
favourite holiday destination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Originally from mid-Wales, Jan lives in Cardiff with her husband.
Having joined the Romantic Novelists Association in 2016, she values the
friendship and support from other members and regularly attends conferences,
workshops, talks and get togethers. She is co-organiser of her local RNA
Chapter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;">‘Her Mother’s Secret’</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;"> is available on Amazon:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Her-Mothers-Secret-Summer-69-ebook/dp/B085CHV3VQ/">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Her-Mothers-Secret-Summer-69-ebook/dp/B085CHV3VQ/</a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;">You may find out more about Jan here:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Twitter: @JanBaynham</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;"><a href="https://twitter.com/JanBaynham"><span style="background: white; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">https://twitter.com/JanBaynham</span></a></span><span style="background: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Facebook: Jan Baynham Writer<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/JanBayLit/"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">https://www.facebook.com/JanBayLit/</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Blog: </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;"><a href="http://www.janbaynham.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">www.janbaynham.blogspot.co.uk</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 106%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p><i><b> Thank you very much for coming on the blog today, Jan!</b></i></o:p></span></div>
<br />Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-60619262195737874652020-05-18T08:21:00.001-07:002020-05-18T08:21:52.687-07:00A PARIS FAIRY TALE - Five Random Facts about Ancient Manuscripts!<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ancient
manuscripts and A PARIS FAIRY TALE<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Marie Laval<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mnqRDr6IQ_I/XsKki7NFd4I/AAAAAAAACKE/0woGcJlAcFowD-28eBzWQXfdgvPy7znjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/AParisFairyTalecover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1169" data-original-width="762" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mnqRDr6IQ_I/XsKki7NFd4I/AAAAAAAACKE/0woGcJlAcFowD-28eBzWQXfdgvPy7znjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/AParisFairyTalecover.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">When I started writing A PARIS FAIRY TALE, I
embarked on a fascinating journey through the ages and the history of
illuminated manuscripts. The story took a long time to research but since
research is one of my hobbies, it was a pure joy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I read articles and books on
the subject – my two favourite books being the wonderful <i>Meetings with remarkable Manuscripts</i> by Christopher de Hamel and <i>Master of Death</i> by Michael Camille – but
I also registered on a couple of courses on Ireland and the Book of Kells run by
Futurelearn (</span><a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/book-of-kells"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/book-of-kells</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">)
and on art trafficking (</span><a href="https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/art-crime"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/art-crime</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">),
both so very informative and completely free!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The main plot of A PARIS FAIRY TALE revolves around
a manuscript which everybody believed destroyed in a fire, but which
mysteriously resurfaces and which the heroine, Dr Aurora Black, is asked to
authenticate and value. The manuscript in question is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Heures de Turin</i>, a genuine illuminated manuscript, which was indeed
lost in the great fire of the Turin University Library. Therefore, the story of
it being found again is completely fictional!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So what did I learn in the course of my research?
Lots and lots of fascinating facts but I will limit myself to five.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Most
manuscripts from medieval Europe were written on vellum, or animal skin,
usually calf, sheep or goat. The production of one single book would usually
require the skins of a whole flock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-peo48GHSOVo/XsKkXM8NPLI/AAAAAAAACKA/5mPLclhAo54X9okJGV5Z_4ZHFb_HXk1ZwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/AncientManuscriptPixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-peo48GHSOVo/XsKkXM8NPLI/AAAAAAAACKA/5mPLclhAo54X9okJGV5Z_4ZHFb_HXk1ZwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/AncientManuscriptPixabay.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Pixabay</td></tr>
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<span style="text-indent: -18pt;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: -18pt;">The largest
illuminated manuscript is the Codex Gigas, currently located in the National
Library in Stockholm. Also called The Devil’s Bible because it is believed to
be cursed, it is nearly nine inches</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: -18pt;">(22cm) thick and 36 inches (92cm) tall, and
is said to have required more than 160 animal skins to complete. </span><span style="font-size: 14.5pt; text-indent: -18pt;">It was created in the 13th century in the
Benedictine monastery of Podlažice in Bohemia. The ‘most mysterious’
manuscript is the Voynich manuscript, written in an unknown writing system no professional
code-breaker or cryptographer has yet managed to translate. It has been carbon
dated to the 15<sup>th</sup> century, and features hundreds of very peculiar astrological,
anatomical and vegetal illustrations.</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
most common pigment used in illuminated manuscripts was red. The most precious
was ultramarine, obtained from lapis lazuli, which came all the way from Afghanistan
and was more precious than gold.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zBBXqyraHH8/XsKkJ_KZoVI/AAAAAAAACJ8/QcB8eE75cnE6Ev-JaEX9JykEpJ7sy7E3QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/pigmentsPixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zBBXqyraHH8/XsKkJ_KZoVI/AAAAAAAACJ8/QcB8eE75cnE6Ev-JaEX9JykEpJ7sy7E3QCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/pigmentsPixabay.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Pixabay</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">When
book production was no longer the monopoly of monasteries and guilds of
illuminators were established, many workshops employed women to paint borders,
letters or miniatures in manuscripts, but Christine de Pizan (1364-1430) was
the first ‘woman of letters’ to make a living by writing, illustrating and
producing books for the French court.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--hhxz4109q8/XsKnWW-QRhI/AAAAAAAACKU/x1t-azUYdCs50aKMptwjW8N7P6VI5EBvgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/sainte-chapelle-Pixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--hhxz4109q8/XsKnWW-QRhI/AAAAAAAACKU/x1t-azUYdCs50aKMptwjW8N7P6VI5EBvgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/sainte-chapelle-Pixabay.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As
a deterrent against theft and vandalism, scribes would write dramatic curses in
manuscripts threatening thieves with excommunication, disease and pain. Here
are two examples of such curses: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">May the
sword of anathema slay if anyone steals this book away”</i> or<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“If
anyone take away this book, let him die the death; let him be fried in a pan;
let the falling sickness and fever size him; let him be broken on the wheel,
and hanged. Amen.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WG6WvCrcj9w/XsKnc8m0QPI/AAAAAAAACKY/2KegZW_HANIHNiboD5Kcv4ZPlqtPPor2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/skull-Pixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="131" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WG6WvCrcj9w/XsKnc8m0QPI/AAAAAAAACKY/2KegZW_HANIHNiboD5Kcv4ZPlqtPPor2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/skull-Pixabay.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A
PARIS FAIRY TALE<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Is Paris the city of happily ever afters?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Workaholic
art historian Aurora Black doesn’t have time for fairy tales or Prince
Charmings, even in the most romantic city in the world. She has recently been
hired by a Parisian auction house for a job that could make or break her
career. Unfortunately, daredevil journalist Cédric Castel seems intent on
disrupting Aurora’s routine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">As
Aurora and Cédric embark on a journey across France, they get more than they
bargained for as they find themselves battling rogue antiques dealers and
personal demons, not to mention a growing attraction to each other. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">But with the help of a fairy godmother or two,
could they both find their happily ever afters? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="background: white;">A PARIS FAIRY TALE is available as an ebook and Audio book from </span></span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paris-Fairy-Tale-heart-warming-recommended-ebook/dp/B07SV2VTJL/ref">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paris-Fairy-Tale-heart-warming-recommended-ebook/dp/B07SV2VTJL/ref</a></div>
<br />Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-56303234819945532462019-12-25T11:07:00.003-08:002019-12-25T11:07:36.733-08:00BLUEBELL'S CHRISTMAS MAGIC<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">BLUEBELL’S CHRISTMAS MAGIC, my first ever Christmas romantic comedy, was published by Choc Lit UK on November 19th.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HNdm1oEyn24/XgOvMylpAQI/AAAAAAAACIU/vMzn8i8b32Qa9cy0TnRlYy0PhXYA7wVdwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/BluebellMagicFinalCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1169" data-original-width="762" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HNdm1oEyn24/XgOvMylpAQI/AAAAAAAACIU/vMzn8i8b32Qa9cy0TnRlYy0PhXYA7wVdwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/BluebellMagicFinalCover.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">As random as it seems, the inspiration for Cassie Bell's story was a family holiday in the Lake District, Christmas
cracker jokes and the 1980s band Bananarama – and in particular the song ‘Cruel
Summer’. It does seem a bit strange, but that's how inspiration works for me. Even if I can usually pinpoint the exact moment or place when I got the first idea about a new story, the process of creating characters and a plot line usually takes me a long time and is a complete mish-mash!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">I first had the idea
for BLUEBELL when staying in a tiny cottage in Coniston, which is one of my
most favourite places in the UK and one I try to visit every year. The scenery
there is beautiful, the village so quaint and lovely, and the lakeside is just
wonderful. One of the places I particularly love is
Brantwood, which was John Ruskin’s house. The view of the lake from the terrace
is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Last time we went we stayed in a holiday cottage near a very old farmhouse with strange round chimneys, which gave me the idea
for Belthorn Manor where the hero Stefan Lambert comes to stay to forget all
about Christmas…</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xry002715z0/XgOxUNOhQCI/AAAAAAAACIg/yhctZ2CiKfE-vVE4V3ErunFo7EVeb4P4wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/DSCF2206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xry002715z0/XgOxUNOhQCI/AAAAAAAACIg/yhctZ2CiKfE-vVE4V3ErunFo7EVeb4P4wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/DSCF2206.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Coniston</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">No Christmas would be complete without Christmas cracker jokes, and I had a lot of fun finding some to put into the book – some of them were supplied by my friends and my children, and others I made up myself (but I won't say which ones)!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jWDlRAmHYCQ/XgOyXeB6BwI/AAAAAAAACIs/-NuOvd2E9zkd8yJrBXX92QS2tkbb9eobwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/crackerspixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jWDlRAmHYCQ/XgOyXeB6BwI/AAAAAAAACIs/-NuOvd2E9zkd8yJrBXX92QS2tkbb9eobwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/crackerspixabay.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Pixabay</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">What about </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">Bananarama</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;"> and their song ‘Cruel
Summer’? Well, in my story, Cassie Bell always wears dungarees when she does
her cleaning job, and she ties her hair up with a scarf, like the singers in
the clip. She also used to be in a </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">Bananarama</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
tribute band when she was younger.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 36pt;">I hope that BLUEBELL’S
CHRISTMAS MAGIC will be the first of a series of standalone romantic stories
set in the same Cumbrian village of Red Moss, and I am now working on the
second novel.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blurb<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A gorgeous new Christmas story from the
author of bestselling novel <i>Little Pink Taxi</i></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<i>A flick of a feather duster and a sprinkle of Christmas magic …</i><br />
Cassie Bell is used to mess. Her cleaning business, Bluebell Cleaning, is well
known in the Cumbrian village of Red Moss. However, now it’s almost Christmas and
Cassie has a slightly messier situation to deal with than she’s used to.<br />
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She’s been hired to help Stefan Lambert, an injured army helicopter pilot who’s
staying at the local Belthorn Manor whilst he recovers. Stefan resents Cassie’s
interference and is definitely not looking for Christmas cheer. But Cassie
prides herself on sparkling surfaces – so, can she bring some festive sparkle
to Stefan’s life too?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You can buy BLUEBELL’S CHRISTMAS MAGIC as an ebook
and audio book here from </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bluebells-Christmas-Magic-perfect-heart-warming-ebook/dp/B07Y8L5PVB/ref">Amazon
UK</a></div>
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<br />Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-42461063599770693352019-08-22T13:32:00.002-07:002019-08-23T08:31:18.731-07:00August Round Robin - Stories that make you want to travel...<br />
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>In my latest contemporary
romance, A PARIS FAIRY TALE, which was released by Choc Lit in July, the
heroine Aurora Black is a </b></span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><b>paleographer</b></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b> hired by a Paris auction house to value
an ancient illuminated manuscript. She has to work with daredevil journalist
Cédric Castel to unravel the mysteries surrounding the manuscript. <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S28fv8bIUHA/XV73prEw_II/AAAAAAAACHI/KCnE6TaezAgaxf7Qv8fTWmc3D1nGfsf0QCEwYBhgL/s1600/AParisFairyTalecover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1169" data-original-width="762" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S28fv8bIUHA/XV73prEw_II/AAAAAAAACHI/KCnE6TaezAgaxf7Qv8fTWmc3D1nGfsf0QCEwYBhgL/s400/AParisFairyTalecover.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Although the story is mostly
set in Paris, Aurora and Cédric travel to Turin and they also visit a chateau
in the Massif Central. The inspiration for the chateau was a wonderful place I
visited during a recent holiday in Auvergne. Isn't this castle beautiful?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--d5Yr8t9av4/XV74ZrtLIqI/AAAAAAAACHQ/t87tpFTWkJ4MEx0abg2u0uNaIGoagb4RQCLcBGAs/s1600/chateau%2BChareil-Cintrat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--d5Yr8t9av4/XV74ZrtLIqI/AAAAAAAACHQ/t87tpFTWkJ4MEx0abg2u0uNaIGoagb4RQCLcBGAs/s400/chateau%2BChareil-Cintrat.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chateau de Chareil-Cintrat, Auvergne, France</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">(Excerpt from Chapter Three – A PARIS FAIRY TALE)</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘I’ll be fine here,
Jérôme. <i>Merci et bonsoir</i>.’ Aurora shut the passenger door and
watched the black Lexus speed away. The tyres splashed into puddles, and
the tail lights soon disappeared in the line of traffic on Boulevard
Saint-Germain, still busy despite the late hour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: 8.25pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
rain had stopped, and the wet pavements glistened and reflected kaleidoscopes
of neon lights of the district’s many bars and restaurants. In fact, Papa
Louis, the jazz club Cédric Castel had mentioned earlier, was only a few
streets away – at least that’s what Jérôme had said as he drove her back from
Neuilly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: 8.25pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Why
was she even thinking about Castel? The man was smug and obnoxious – the
archetype of the pushy journalist, and it seemed that she was stuck with
him. What could Florent Maupas be thinking of, allowing him to shadow her
as she worked on the manuscript? It would be impossible to concentrate with
him at her side, watching, assessing, judging – waiting no doubt for her to
make a mistake, and confirm what he already believed: that she had only been
offered the job because she was Augustus Black’s granddaughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: 8.25pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She
pushed back a feeling of unease. The thing was, he may well be
right. Once again, Augustus’s formidable shadow stretched over Aurora.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: 8.25pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Trying
to ignore the pain in her foot, she turned into a side street and hobbled
across the tiny Furstemberg Square where trees created pools of shadows around
an old-fashioned cast iron lamp post.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
was one of her favourite places in Paris. Centuries before, the artists
and craftsmen and women she so admired had walked along the same streets on
their way to purchase paints or pigments from the apothecary shops in the Ile
de la Cité, or sheets of vellum from the tanners in nearby rue de la
Parchimenerie, or to visit the <i>libraires</i> who commissioned
their work. Perhaps they still haunted these narrow streets, and watched
over her right now…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: 8.25pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
thought of walking among ghosts made her smile as she strode into the narrow
Impasse Fleury leading to the apart-hotel Florent Maupas’s secretary had booked
for her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: 8.25pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As
she reached out to push open the side panel of the <i>porte cochère,</i> a
gust of wind rustled through the branches of the square’s Paulownia
trees. The light from the old-fashioned lamp post flickered and the
darkness filling the alleyway grew thicker. Uneasy, Aurora glanced over
her shoulder. A large shadow appeared to detach itself from the wall and
move towards her.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lggtFftEBog/XV732HgTFSI/AAAAAAAACHE/GZgTv6xI1xw82Uu27dYQPIyzppuSghbfwCLcBGAs/s1600/VertGalantPixabay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lggtFftEBog/XV732HgTFSI/AAAAAAAACHE/GZgTv6xI1xw82Uu27dYQPIyzppuSghbfwCLcBGAs/s400/VertGalantPixabay.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Pixabay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 8.25pt;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Blurb from A PARIS FAIRY TALE</span></u></b><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong><span style="border: none 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "inherit" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; padding: 0cm;"><br />Is Paris the city of happily
ever afters?</span></strong><span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 115%; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Workaholic art
historian Aurora Black doesn’t have time for fairy tales or Prince Charmings,
even in the most romantic city in the world. She has recently been hired by a
Parisian auction house for a job that could make or break her career.
Unfortunately, daredevil journalist Cédric Castel seems intent on disrupting
Aurora’s routine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 115%; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As Aurora and
Cédric embark on a journey across France, they get more than they bargained for
as they find themselves battling rogue antiques dealers and personal demons,
not to mention a growing attraction to each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: white; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 115%; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But with the help
of a fairy godmother or two, could they both find their happily ever afters?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A PARIS FAIRY TALE is available from Amazon as an </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paris-Fairy-Tale-Marie-Laval-ebook/dp/B07SV2VTJL/ref">ebook</a>
and <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Paris-Fairytale/dp/B07VDVNVQ1/ref">audiobook</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></b>
<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">To read more extracts from stories that will give
you a taste for travel, please visit:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
</i></b><br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Diane Bator </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="http://dbator.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://dbator.blogspot.ca/</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Skye Taylor </span></span><a href="http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Victoria Chatham </span></span><a href="http://www.victoriachatham.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://www.victoriachatham.com</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Judith Copek </span></span><a href="http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Anne Stenhouse </span></span><a href="http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Helena Fairfax </span></span><a href="http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">A.J. Maguire </span></span><a href="http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Beverley Bateman </span></span><a href="http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Dr. Bob Rich </span></span><a href="https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1GK" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1GK</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Connie Vines </span></span><a href="http://mizging.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://mizging.blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="color: #222222;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Rhobin L Courtright </span></span><a href="http://www.rhobincourtright.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://www.rhobincourtright.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-9712430352251528142019-07-23T06:58:00.000-07:002019-07-23T06:58:17.343-07:00<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A PARIS FAIRY TALE<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">By Marie Laval<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s publication
day for A PARIS FAIRY TALE! Thank you so much to everybody at Choc Lit for
making this happen, and for giving the book such a gorgeous cover… Montmartre and the Sacré-Coeur have a special importance in the story and I was delighted to see it featured so prettily on the cover.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-09OfBNl-HsY/XTcSLX7iV-I/AAAAAAAACGY/vzVIb9qsBzcVXRPnQOasOkI0xL6gF7w6ACLcBGAs/s1600/AParisFairyTalecover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1169" data-original-width="762" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-09OfBNl-HsY/XTcSLX7iV-I/AAAAAAAACGY/vzVIb9qsBzcVXRPnQOasOkI0xL6gF7w6ACLcBGAs/s400/AParisFairyTalecover.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Blurb</span></u></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Is Paris the city of happily ever afters?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">
Workaholic art historian Aurora Black doesn’t have time for fairy tales or
Prince Charmings, even in the most romantic city in the world. She has recently
been hired by a Parisian auction house for a job that could make or break her
career. Unfortunately, daredevil journalist Cédric Castel seems intent on
disrupting Aurora’s routine.<br />
As Aurora and Cédric embark on a journey across France, they get more than they
bargained for as they find themselves battling rogue antiques dealers and
personal demons, not to mention a growing attraction to each other.<br />
But with the help of a fairy godmother or two, could they both find their
happily ever afters? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">A PARIS FAIRY TALE is available as an ebook and
audiobook on </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paris-Fairy-Tale-Marie-Laval-ebook/dp/B07SV2VTJL/ref"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Amazon</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> and various other platforms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">You can find</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> many beautiful photos of Paris and illuminated manuscripts which
inspired the writing of A Paris Fairy Tale on Pinterest (</span><a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/laval0232/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">https://www.pinterest.co.uk/laval0232/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-20513217954005885132019-04-25T22:44:00.001-07:002019-04-26T08:10:36.183-07:00COVER REVEAL FOR SUMMER DREAMS AT VILLA LIMONCELLO!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">COVER REVEAL TIME!</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I loved Daisy James' WEDDING BELLS AT VILLA LIMONCELLO and was very happy to find out that the second book in the series, SUMMER DREAMS AT VILLA LIMONCELLO, would be released on June 13th!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Today I am
delighted to be part of the cover reveal for this enchanting romantic novel set in Tuscany</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. Isn’t
it absolutely beautiful? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x9sIyIqbwc0/XMFKPYYVLwI/AAAAAAAACFQ/-lWMq8A5BNM9Cmf4eyMo0iRga7fchk4pQCLcBGAs/s1600/Summer%2BDreams%2Bat%2BVilla%2BLimoncello%2B-%2BDaisy%2BJames%2B-%2Bcrop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1044" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x9sIyIqbwc0/XMFKPYYVLwI/AAAAAAAACFQ/-lWMq8A5BNM9Cmf4eyMo0iRga7fchk4pQCLcBGAs/s640/Summer%2BDreams%2Bat%2BVilla%2BLimoncello%2B-%2BDaisy%2BJames%2B-%2Bcrop.jpg" width="416" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Escape to Villa Limoncello… where
dreams come true in the most unexpected ways.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Izzie Jenkins</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> never
expected to find herself living in a gorgeous oasis in Tuscany but when life
gives you Villa Limoncello you say thank you and bake treats to celebrate!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Izzie and debonair chef <b>Luca Castelotti</b> are
officially setting up shop together but when their inaugural ‘Pasta and
Painting’ venture is sabotaged and one of their guests poisoned they’re forced
to turn detective. Because if they can’t find the culprit, they’ll be out of
business before they’ve even begun...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">A gorgeous holiday read perfect for
fans of Sarah Morgan and Jenny Oliver<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">You can
buy Summer Dreams at Villa Limoncello from Amazon by clicking </span></b><u><span style="background: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QYXVG4Z/ref=sr_1_14?keywords=daisy+james&qid=1556135502&s=books&sr=1-14">here</a></span></u><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-10JeOgGoo_4/XMFMWXyzKGI/AAAAAAAACFc/kTc2QPVa63ImJSVtu8sraBradnaohUECwCEwYBhgL/s1600/Summer%2BDreams%2Bat%2BVilla%2BLimoncello%2B-%2BDaisy%2BJames%2B-wide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-10JeOgGoo_4/XMFMWXyzKGI/AAAAAAAACFc/kTc2QPVa63ImJSVtu8sraBradnaohUECwCEwYBhgL/s640/Summer%2BDreams%2Bat%2BVilla%2BLimoncello%2B-%2BDaisy%2BJames%2B-wide.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-39166251082754850802019-02-08T08:31:00.002-08:002019-02-08T08:31:28.092-08:00Cover Reveal for Daisy James!<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">I am delighted to be part of the cover reveal for Daisy James’ latest novel, WEDDING BELLS AT VILLA LIMONCELLO!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Doesn’t this look absolutely gorgeous and make you want to dive straight into the picture, grab a glass of homemade lemonade and enjoy an afternoon in the hot Italian sunshine?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XZ1w1bEIiCk/XFh8CL3fbPI/AAAAAAAACEs/O9iXpkQqxnwpH23b8AlXPQMgpwmU3Ul4QCLcBGAs/s1600/Wedding%2BBells%2Bat%2BVilla%2BLimoncello%2B-%2BDaisy%2BJames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="375" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XZ1w1bEIiCk/XFh8CL3fbPI/AAAAAAAACEs/O9iXpkQqxnwpH23b8AlXPQMgpwmU3Ul4QCLcBGAs/s640/Wedding%2BBells%2Bat%2BVilla%2BLimoncello%2B-%2BDaisy%2BJames.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Escape to <i>Villa Limoncello</i>…
where dreams come true in unexpected ways. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">When<b> Isabella Jenkins</b> is unceremoniously fired from her
fancy London job, she escapes to Tuscany. A few weeks hiding amongst rolling
hills and grape vines at Villa Limoncello sounds exactly like the distraction
she needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">But Italy holds emotional memories for Izzie and
with a hapless handyman, a matchmaking village matriarch and a gorgeous – if
infuriating – local chef named <b>Luca Castelotti</b>, her quiet Italian
get away turns into an unending cacophony of chaos.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Suddenly Izzie finds herself on a mission to pull
off the wedding of the century and maybe get her life in order in the process.
If only Luca’s gorgeous smile wasn’t such a powerful distraction…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b><i>You can buy Wedding Bells at Villa Limoncello</i></b> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wedding-Bells-Limoncello-Tuscan-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B07N79CDD3/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-59262634990712675972018-09-01T23:47:00.000-07:002018-09-01T23:47:46.440-07:00It happened on Dufferin Terrace by Melanie Robertson-King<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am delighted to welcome Melanie Robertson-King today with IT HAPPENED ON DUFFERIN TERRACE, a sweet romance that has just been released by King Park Press. There is a giveaway at the bottom of the post. Don't miss the chance to win a copy of the ebook!</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JTA-XbdEGz8/W4ldg6b-PoI/AAAAAAAACEA/rnGTfXZnoqAtgQne_xCorYAtIwhCHejVwCLcBGAs/s1600/new%2Bcover%2Bfor%2Bihodt%2B5%2B72%2Bdpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1040" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JTA-XbdEGz8/W4ldg6b-PoI/AAAAAAAACEA/rnGTfXZnoqAtgQne_xCorYAtIwhCHejVwCLcBGAs/s400/new%2Bcover%2Bfor%2Bihodt%2B5%2B72%2Bdpi.jpg" width="260" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"><br /></span></b></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">Series: It H</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">appened (book1)</span></b></div>
</span></b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Genre:
sweet romance<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Release
Date: July 22, 2018<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Publisher:
King Park Press<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Miracle on 34<sup>th</sup> Street meets Sleepless in Seattle</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Toronto business
consultant, Serenity Layne, knew the only person she could depend on was herself.
Married to her career, she has no time for other pursuits and life’s
intangibles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Widowed for three years,
Roger Scott, a data security specialist in Quebec City, is a single parent to
his ten-year-old son, Adam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">On a day out on the Plains
of Abraham with their black Labrador retriever, Roger’s cell phone rings
incessantly. Adam has played matchmaker and put his father’s profile on a
number of online dating sites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The week before Christmas,
Serenity is heading up a series of meetings after a six-month study of the
Canadian retail chain<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, jonathans</i>.
After an unpleasant encounter with one of the store managers, she escapes from
the boardroom of the Château Frontenac Hotel, only to be bowled over by Roger
and Adam’s dog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Guilty over the accident,
Roger invites Serenity out for a drink by way of apology. Over the course of
the week, and spending time together, feelings long dormant for Roger are
re-awakened. At the same time, emotions foreign to Serenity fill her with
contentment and happiness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Will the couple get their happily ever
after?<span style="color: #0f243e; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 128;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">EXTRACT<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
following morning, six months of gruelling work came to fruition. In the Place
d’Armes conference room, Serenity turned on her MacBook Air with the PowerPoint
presentation and ensured the projector functioned. In addition to the
electronic copy, the hard copies she made in Montreal for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">jonathans</i> participants were placed them
in front of each chair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This was the
first time her superior sat in on one of her meetings, making her more nervous
than normal. Did he not trust her judgement?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Scheduled to
start at ten a.m., a number of attendees were still missing. The time function
on her Fitbit indicated three minutes to go. The managers had to arrive soon or
her boss's trust in her abilities would be shattered. A brief assessment of her
leather-bound notebook confirmed the time and date.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Gradually,
men in three-piece suits, shirts and ties straggled in. They nodded at her as
they took their seats. During her visits to the outlets across Canada, she came
together with them. All were friendly and cooperative. Some stores performed
well, while others struggled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The head of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">jonathans</i> made his entrance. Well over
six feet in stature, with a stocky frame, his imposing size commanded respect
and attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Good
morning,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The man
acknowledged her with a nod of his head and moved to the head of the table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now, she and
the other attendees waited for her missing employer and one last <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">jonathans</i> employee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“We’ll give
them another five minutes then we’ll start. In the meantime, feel free to look
at the documents in front of you.” She lingered by the chair used by the
director of the Vancouver location and smiled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The door
burst open, eliminating the opportunity to speak with the gentleman. In the gap
stood the man from the Yorkville Avenue outlet, as unkempt as the first time
she met him. When he looked up, his eyes bulged, and his jaw dropped. “You’re
the hard-nosed, jumped up high and mighty who made trouble. You’re the reason
we’re having this powwow,” he snapped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The hairs on
the back of her neck bristled. Coat plucked from the rack, she darted out the
door putting on the garment on the fly. The man busted her straight away. No
way could she head this meeting now. Where was Martin Thacker? He would have
stood by her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">She left the
hotel, turned right, and scurried through the arched vehicular entryway on Rue
Saint Louis. From there, she stumbled to the boardwalk running adjacent to the
spectacular architecture and overlooked the St. Lawrence River and the town
underneath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Snow, packed
down from shovelling and plowing, made the boards slippery. High-heeled shoes
were inappropriate for the conditions, but escaping that room was paramount.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Why did she
allow that man to antagonize her? Any other time, any other meeting and she
would have let comments like his roll off her. This action was out of
character. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Struggling
to maintain her balance, she picked her way to the hand rail. At least she had
gloves in her pockets. After extracting the knitted mittens, she pulled them on
her hands and tried to regain her composure so she could go back to the
meeting. She would have to create an excuse for her sudden departure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Arms resting
on the bannister, she took in long, slow breaths. Each time she exhaled a puff
of steam formed in front of her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">About to go
back into the warmth of the hotel’s conference room, she let go and turned. A
massive black dog charged at her with a man and a boy in pursuit. The ear flaps
of the man’s trapper hat resembled wings. Stretched out horizontally, how he
managed not to take flight astounded her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Tori, bad
girl. Halt.” The man shouted commands to the canine, but the animal was
oblivious to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Before she
had an opportunity to react, the black Lab launched itself in the air and hit
her square in the chest knocking her to the ground. The impact sent her
eyeglasses flying and they crashed on the granite ledge beneath the handrail.
The child dove for them but couldn’t get a proper grip. His fingertips brushed
the frames and her eyewear skittered away from him on the icy rock and
vanished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="color: #365f91; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Melanie
Robertson-King has always been a fan of the written word. Growing up as an only
child, her face was almost always buried in a book from the time she could
read. Her father was one of the thousands of Home Children sent to Canada
through the auspices of The Orphan Homes of Scotland, and she has been
fortunate to be able to visit her father’s homeland many times and even met the
Princess Royal (Princess Anne) at the orphanage where he was raised.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Facebook: </span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MelanieRobertsonKingAuthor/">Melanie Robertson-King- Author</a></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Twitter: </span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://twitter.com/RobertsoKing"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">@RobertsoKing</b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Goodreads Author Page: </span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6543072.Melanie_Robertson_King"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Melanie Robertson-King</b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Blog: </span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Celtic Connexions</b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Website: </span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://melanierobertson-king.com/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">melanierobertson-king.com</b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p></o:p></u></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">GIVEAWAY<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">An e-copy of
the book<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4be03017304/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4be03017304/</b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<br />Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-62779907118752946342018-07-24T06:23:00.000-07:002018-07-24T06:23:42.190-07:00A Plague on Mr Pepys by Deborah Swift<br />
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I am delighted to welcome Deborah Swift today and learn more about her new release in the Women of Pepys Diary Series - A Plague on Mr Pepys. There is a fantastic giveaway at the end of this post, so don't miss out!</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UmiqDHR-mRQ/W1chxVvnUpI/AAAAAAAACDM/Dvhbs11_Nh8BcBDXHrU8XHbh4Jtv040UwCLcBGAs/s1600/A%2BPlague%2Bon%2BMr%2BPepys%2B-%2Bnew%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1059" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UmiqDHR-mRQ/W1chxVvnUpI/AAAAAAAACDM/Dvhbs11_Nh8BcBDXHrU8XHbh4Jtv040UwCLcBGAs/s320/A%2BPlague%2Bon%2BMr%2BPepys%2B-%2Bnew%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Series:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Women of Pepys Diary Series #2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Genre: Historical Fiction<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Release Date: July 5<sup>th</sup> 2018<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Publisher: </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Accent Press<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The second
novel in the series based on the different women in Samuel Pepys’s famous
diary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
Sometimes the pursuit of money costs too much...<br /><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ambitious Bess Bagwell is determined that her carpenter husband, Will, should
make a name for himself in the Navy shipyards. To further his career, she
schemes for him to meet Samuel Pepys, diarist, friend of the King and an
important man in the Navy.<br />
But Pepys has his own motive for cultivating the attractive Bess, and it's
certainly not to benefit her husband. Bess soon finds she is caught in a trap
of her own making.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As the
summer heat rises, the Great Plague has London in its grip. Red crosses mark
the doors, wealthy citizens flee and only the poor remain to face the march of
death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">With
pestilence rife in the city, all trade ceases. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">With no work
as a carpenter, Will is forced to invest in his unscrupulous cousin Jack's
dubious 'cure' for the pestilence which horrifies Bess and leaves them deeper
in debt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now they are
desperate for money and the dreaded disease is moving ever closer. Will Mr
Pepys honour his promises or break them? And will they be able to heal the
divide that threatens to tear their marriage apart?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">EXTRACT<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">London,
March 1663<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘Here’s the address,’ Bess said, pressing the
paper down on the table in front of her husband. She patted him on the
shoulder, which released a puff of dust. Will was a fine figure of a man – tall
and blond, with arms muscled from lifting timber, and the fine-boned hands of a
craftsman, but his clothes were always full of sawdust and wood-shavings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He turned
and smiled, with an expression that said he was ready to humour her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘It’s on the
other side of the Thames, close to one of the shipyards. Big houses all round.
A nice neighbourhood. Quiet.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘Where?’
Will asked, standing to pick up the paper, and stooping from habit because
their attic room was so low.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘Deptford.’
She held her breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘Deptford?’ he
said, throwing it back down. ‘We’re not living in Deptford.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘Oh, Will,
it has to stop sometime. He won’t even know we’re there.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘You don’t
know my father, he gets to know everyone’s business.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘That’s no
reason. That terrible brimstone preacher lives just round the corner, and we
manage well enough to avoid him.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘Ho, ho.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘We need
never see your father. The Deptford yard is enormous. More than a mile end to
end. Just think, you could work there fitting out ships, and you’d never set
eyes on him.’ She tugged at his sleeve. ‘The workshop’s so fine – you should
see the workbench. More than eight foot long, and it runs right under the
window. You can nearly see the whole shipyard from there.’ She paused; she knew
his weak spot well. ‘And the house will be perfect for your new commission. You
won’t have to hire a work place again.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘It’s more
than we can afford, love, to buy a house.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘You’ll get
better commissions though, once people see Hertford’s chairs. You should see
it! There’s room for your lathes and there’s already a wall with hooks for
hanging tools. Just come and look, Will. That’s all.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Will sighed.
‘Suppose looking won’t hurt.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In the
panelled chambers of Thavie’s Inn, Holborn, Will Bagwell lifted the quill and
dipped it in the ink. His heart was pounding beneath the buttons of his
doublet. The paper before him was thick vellum, as if to emphasise the serious
nature of the agreement. Ten years’ of his wages in a good year. An enormous
loan. He wanted to read it again, for it was a lot of writing to take in, in a
language that took some fathoming. But they were all waiting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Behind him,
he could hear Bess breathing; feel the heat of her hand on his shoulder. He
tapped the nib on the edge of the bottle to shake off the excess droplets of
ink; Bess’s hand tightened. He swallowed. Just shy of sixty pounds. If he
signed this, there would be no going back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He
hesitated, and looked up. Opposite him, the turtle-faced goldsmith, Kite,
nodded and narrowed his eyes in a tight smile of encouragement. The notary, an
official from the Inn of Chancery in a blindingly white cravat, was impatient,
shifting from foot to foot. No doubt he’d seen such an agreement many times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A deep
breath. Will felt the nib touch the paper and suddenly, there it was – his
signature flowing across the page. He had no sooner lifted the pen from the
document than it was swiped out from under his gaze, and Kite the money-lender
was scribbling his name under Will’s. Immediately, a serving boy came with a
stub of smoking sealing wax, and even before Kite had time to press the metal
die into the red puddle on the paper, the notary was adding his witness
signature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It was over
in a few seconds and Will’s damp palm was gripped momentarily in Kite’s
wrinkled one, before the duplicate loan agreement and the house deeds were
thrust into his hand for him to sign. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">‘My man
Bastable will collect the repayments on the last day of each month,’ Kite said.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Will felt
dazed. He wanted to turn back time, give the agreement back. But they were all
smiling, Bess most of all. Her face lit up the room. She had her fine house
now, and he couldn’t let her down, could he? But all he could think of was the
feeling of his empty purse, like a lung with the breath squeezed out of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">BUY LINK<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://mybook.to/PlaguePepys" target="_blank"><span style="color: #184c6c; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">mybook.to/PlaguePepys</span></a></span><span style="color: #184c6c; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Check out book 1 in
the series! <o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jj_Ke46wINo/W1cm1pQdWeI/AAAAAAAACDo/7WJU4FctOEwyrUm90I0vji9vSIZNgnm1gCLcBGAs/s1600/pleasingmrpepys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jj_Ke46wINo/W1cm1pQdWeI/AAAAAAAACDo/7WJU4FctOEwyrUm90I0vji9vSIZNgnm1gCLcBGAs/s320/pleasingmrpepys.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://goo.gl/j3uaeU">https://goo.gl/j3uaeU</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">PRAISE FOR PLEASING MR PEPYS<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">'Swift is a consummate historical novelist, basing her books on
immaculate research and then filling the gaps between real events and
real people with eloquent storytelling, atmospheric scene setting and
imaginative plot lines' </span></b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The Visitor</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">'Pepys and his world spring to vibrant life...Gripping, revealing and stunningly
imagined, Pleasing Mr Pepys is guaranteed to please' </span></b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Lancashire Evening
Post</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #222a35; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L20g-X0xS7M/W1cirBneyjI/AAAAAAAACDU/WCFLbY6qmngW_-92HDWaX_1OlJVIdIzQQCLcBGAs/s1600/Deborah-Swift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="153" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L20g-X0xS7M/W1cirBneyjI/AAAAAAAACDU/WCFLbY6qmngW_-92HDWaX_1OlJVIdIzQQCLcBGAs/s1600/Deborah-Swift.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #222a35; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From Deborah Swift:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I write historical fiction, a genre I love. I
loved the Victorian classics such as Jane Eyre, Lorna Doone and Wuthering
Heights. As I child I loved to read and when I had read my own library books, I
used to borrow my mother's library copies of Anya Seton and Daphne du Maurier.
I have loved reading historical novels ever since; though I'm a bookaholic and
I read widely - contemporary and classic fiction as well as historicals. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;">In the past I used to work as a set and costume
designer for theatre and TV, so I enjoy the research aspect of creating
historical fiction, something I loved doing as a scenographer. Each book takes
about six months of research before I am ready to begin writing. More details
of my research and writing process can be found on my website. I like to write
about extraordinary characters set against the background of real historical
events.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;">I live in North Lancashire on the edge of the
Lake District, an area made famous by the Romantic Poets such as Wordsworth and
Coleridge. </span><br />
<span style="background: white;">I took an MA in Creative Writing in 2007 and now
teach classes and courses in writing, and offer editorial advice from my home.
A Plague on Mr Pepys is my ninth published novel.</span></span><b><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Facebook:
</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/authordeborahswift/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">https://www.facebook.com/authordeborahswift/</span></a></span><u><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><b><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Twitter:</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://twitter.com/swiftstory" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">https://twitter.com/swiftstory</span></a></span><u><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Blog:</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.deborahswift.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">www.deborahswift.com</span></a></span><u><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">/blog</span></u><b><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Website:</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.deborahswift.com/" target="_blank">www.deborahswift.com</a></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kme6vtm4cJA/W1cjOIxWIyI/AAAAAAAACDc/eBW2pJ_6YQcdMmOeDQZMzZJfO-mcml4cgCLcBGAs/s1600/PlagueonMrPepysTourBanner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="700" height="156" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kme6vtm4cJA/W1cjOIxWIyI/AAAAAAAACDc/eBW2pJ_6YQcdMmOeDQZMzZJfO-mcml4cgCLcBGAs/s400/PlagueonMrPepysTourBanner.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%;">GIVEAWAY<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "century schoolbook" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%;">1 paperback (UK only) & 1
ebook(international)</span></b><b><u><span style="color: #222a35; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4be03017298/">http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4be03017298/</a>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-26987217031753470162018-03-25T09:07:00.003-07:002018-03-25T09:07:23.199-07:00Is a Ghost Playing Cupid at Raventhorn?<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The story of my contemporary romantic novel, LITTLE PINK TAXI, which was
released by Choc Lit last month, is set in the magnificent Cairngorms of
Scotland where my heroine Rosalie Heart runs a small taxi company, Love Taxis.
Rosalie grew up at Raventhorn, a rundown castle and the ancestral home of the
local laird, Geoff McBride.</span></strong></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g0JfvjnIgkc/WrfIC-WgxvI/AAAAAAAACB0/5BeG5vbxSukyPLQxrfXShR6_UU7-TgtUwCLcBGAs/s1600/LITTLEPINKTAXIFINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1043" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g0JfvjnIgkc/WrfIC-WgxvI/AAAAAAAACB0/5BeG5vbxSukyPLQxrfXShR6_UU7-TgtUwCLcBGAs/s400/LITTLEPINKTAXIFINAL.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Who is the mysterious cloaked figure hero Marc Petersen keeps glimpsing in
Corby Woods, on top of the ruined tower of a nearby abandoned castle, or again
near Loch Bran in the dead of night? Rosalie believes that it’s the ghost of
Isobel McBride, one of Geoff’s ancestors, and that she is bad news… But is Isobel
friend or foe, and is the raven that’s always by her side really a bird of ill
omen?</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">We all know that Scottish castles are famous for their ghosts, and indeed
the Cairngorms National Park has its fair share of haunted castles and ghostly
legends. Inverness Castle as it stands today overlooking the river Ness was
built in built in 1836 by architect William Burn on the ruins of several previous
castles, among which </span></strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">the castle built in the mid eleventh century for King Macbeth. It is
where Shakespeare’s Macbeth is said to have murdered Duncan, and Duncan’s ghost
supposedly haunts the shores of the riverside beneath the castle hill. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u3tva3bgxRk/WrfIVOys4oI/AAAAAAAACB4/FV6oqgG9N_UC-EX4B16nbV5QIFicjBCVACLcBGAs/s1600/mystical-3100824_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u3tva3bgxRk/WrfIVOys4oI/AAAAAAAACB4/FV6oqgG9N_UC-EX4B16nbV5QIFicjBCVACLcBGAs/s320/mystical-3100824_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Pixabay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Other local castles have witnessed much violence and death. The ruins of
Raid Castle are said to be haunted by the daughter of Clan Cumming’s chief. The
poor girl was killed by her own father because the man she loved belonged to
rival Clan Mackintosh and she warned him that her father was intent of
murdering him.</span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></strong></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The fearsome Alexander Stewart, who
was nicknamed the ‘Wolf of Badenoch’ because of his cruelty, was said to
practice witchcraft. He died in 1394 (although some say it was in 1406) when it
is believed that he played chess with the devil at Ruthven Castle near
Kingussie, and still haunts the place.<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Castle Roy</span>,</strong><span style="color: #444444;"> </span>a 12th century fortress built on a small glacial
mound to the north of the modern village of Nethy Bridge, is not only haunted
by a ghost that only appears during the Summer solstice, but is supposed to be
home to a buried treasure too. The soil however is believed to be infected with
plague and all those who have searched for the treasure have perished. Other
castles, like Corgaff or Kindrochit have a troubled past and are rumoured to be
haunted too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XORPW98hqIs/WrfIjjAaMuI/AAAAAAAACCA/t0QRSAr4EgEIE_QaMYLP-RzVBkmG5FZZgCLcBGAs/s1600/pixabayscotland-1929049__340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="883" height="153" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XORPW98hqIs/WrfIjjAaMuI/AAAAAAAACCA/t0QRSAr4EgEIE_QaMYLP-RzVBkmG5FZZgCLcBGAs/s400/pixabayscotland-1929049__340.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Pixabay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But ghostly encounters are not limited to castles. The shores of Loch
Garten and Loch Mallachie, also known as Loch of the Curse, are haunted by a
terrifying spirit with a blood-curdling screech. Loch Morlich has not one, but
two other-worldly residents – the King of the Fairies on the West side, and the
spectre of a giant warrior in full Highland dress and a hand dripping with blood
on the East side.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">So what about Raventhorn? Businessman Marc Petersen doesn’t believe in
ghosts at all – at least not at first. Will he change his mind by the end of
the story? You’ll have to read the book and find out for yourself!<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In the meantime, here is an excerpt where Marc catches his first glimpse
of the mysterious Isbobel McBride and her raven…<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--WvvYsc3zb8/WrfIzBWpndI/AAAAAAAACCE/dNRCKwOSh3YtzAn1Ed-YDG1tsT7nME83ACLcBGAs/s1600/pixabayraven-2527145_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--WvvYsc3zb8/WrfIzBWpndI/AAAAAAAACCE/dNRCKwOSh3YtzAn1Ed-YDG1tsT7nME83ACLcBGAs/s320/pixabayraven-2527145_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Pixabay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Excerpt<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Oblivious to the rain running down
his face and soaking his hair and coat, he walked back along the road and cut
through the undergrowth towards the pine tree where the woman had been
standing. A huge raven, perched on a nearby treetop, stared down at him with
beady eyes. The woman, however, had gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Puzzled,
he peered through the shadows and walked into the woods. If there was a path,
he couldn’t see it. He breathed in mixed scents of rain and rotting vegetation.
Above him the raven flew off with a shrieking call and a loud flapping of
wings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>‘Monsieur
Petersen? Are you all right?’ Rosalie Heart called from the road. She had put
her hood up so as not to get drenched.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He
turned and walked back to her. ‘She’s gone, and yet I was sure she needed
help.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Rosalie
Heart smiled. ‘If it was who I think it was, she does indeed need help, but not
of the kind you, or anyone of us, can give her.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>‘What
are you talking about?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She
sighed. ‘Forget it. You won’t believe me.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>‘Try
me.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She
took a deep breath. ‘You just saw the ghost of Isobel McBride.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He
narrowed his eyes, and dug his fists into his coat pocket. His shoes were
soaked and muddy. Icy water trickled down his face, his neck and the collar of
his coat. He had the migraine from hell. And this small woman dressed in
marshmallow pink was babbling about ghosts? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>‘Are
you serious?’ he asked, between clenched teeth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She
nodded, turned away and walked back to the cab, leaving him behind. The woman
was making fun of him, that much was obvious. He followed her back to the taxi,
slung the door open and sat down. His wet clothes stuck to the pink plastic
seat with squelching sounds. Water dripped from his coat and trousers and
pooled at his feet. The windows steamed up, and it was like being enclosed in a
cosy bubble of gum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Rosalie
Heart pulled her hood off and shook her curly brown hair. As it tumbled around
her shoulders he caught the scent of the rain and a deeper, fruity fragrance.
She smiled again, and he couldn’t help but notice she had a very attractive
smile indeed. In fact, he thought, looking at her properly for the first time,
she was rather pretty with her eyes a warm chestnut colour, and her cheeks
glowing pink from the cold.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>‘It’s
a long time since anyone reported seeing <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Lady
Fitheach</span>,’ she remarked in a thoughtful voice as she started the engine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">‘Lady Fitheach? </span>I thought you said
her name was Isobel McBride.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>‘<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Fitheach</span> is Scottish for raven.
People call Isobel <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Lady Fitheach</span>
because of the raven that never leaves her side. You saw the bird, didn’t you?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There
had indeed been that huge raven staring down at him from a nearby branch. He
dismissed it with a shrug. ‘It’s a wood. There’s bound to be all kinds of birds
there.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blurb<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Take a ride with Love Taxis, the cab company with a Heart
… </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><br /></b>
<span style="background: white;">Rosalie Heart is a well-known face in Irlwick –
well, if you drive a bright pink taxi and your signature style is a pink
anorak, you’re going to draw a bit of attention! But Rosalie’s company Love
Taxis is more than just a gimmick – for many people in the remote Scottish
village, it’s a lifeline. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Which is something that Marc Petersen will never
understand. Marc’s ruthless approach to business doesn’t extend to pink taxi
companies running at a loss. When he arrives in Irlwick to see to a new
acquisition – Raventhorn, a rundown castle – it’s apparent he poses a threat to
Rosalie’s entire existence; not just her business, but her childhood home
too. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">On the face of it Marc and Rosalie should loathe
each other, but what they didn’t count on was somebody playing cupid …<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-48894308961604123212018-02-23T15:14:00.000-08:002018-02-24T08:17:03.511-08:00February Round Robin: Creating characters<br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The topic for this
month is all about creating characters. ‘Your characters come from your mind,
from other people you've witnessed, but can you create their lives without them
revealing something about yourself? Have they ever taught you something?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For me, stories are first
and above all about people and the conflicts and emotions between them, that’s
why it is so important to create characters that the reader can relate to and want
to follow through the pages of a book until the final resolution. But where do
these characters come from, and how do they spring into life and become as
real, endearing or infuriating as the people you meet in real life?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before I share my
ideas about this month’s topic, please let me introduce you to Rosalie Heart,
the heroine of my romantic novel LITTLE PINK TAXI, which was released this week
by Choc Lit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uAoH4Z6FiRU/WpCeUKVIn5I/AAAAAAAACBA/t6YZVeBCNfovdMTArGxyzVEpG8gFwPzXwCLcBGAs/s1600/LITTLEPINKTAXIFINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1043" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uAoH4Z6FiRU/WpCeUKVIn5I/AAAAAAAACBA/t6YZVeBCNfovdMTArGxyzVEpG8gFwPzXwCLcBGAs/s400/LITTLEPINKTAXIFINAL.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hi everybody! My name is Rosalie Heart. I live
in Raventhorn, a beautiful but run-down castle in the Cairngorms of Scotland,
together with Geoff McBride whom I love like the father I never knew, and housekeeper
Lorna. Oh yes, Geoff says ‘others’ live at Raventhorn too, like the ghost of
Isobel McBride for example, although I suspect that he’s must making it up to attract
tourists. I love this place. I may not have been born here, but this is where I
grew up, and I never want to leave. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Cb_Y2vueLV8/WpCeyaOtjpI/AAAAAAAACBI/hPRHGUGMzWcJrrnJ52WtQnB8lCG_EuvDQCLcBGAs/s1600/pixabayscotland-725368_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Cb_Y2vueLV8/WpCeyaOtjpI/AAAAAAAACBI/hPRHGUGMzWcJrrnJ52WtQnB8lCG_EuvDQCLcBGAs/s320/pixabayscotland-725368_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Pixabay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />Apart from my love for Raventhorn, there
are three things I must tell you about me. Number one: I can’t cook, but I
love cakes, especially my friend Alice's chocolate brownies. Number two: I set up my own cab
company called Love Taxis after mum died, and there's no other job I’d rather
do than drive my pink taxi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And number three:
when in my cab, I love singing – although I have been told that I sing as well
as I cook! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I believe in kindness, in helping others and
staying loyal to your friends and family.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How much did I make
up about Rosalie’s character, and how much is based on people around me, on
chance encounters, life experiences and personal beliefs and preferences? Is
Rosalie completely made up, a little bit made up, or purely fictitious?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The truth is, a bit
of both. I have never driven a taxi – whether pink or of any other colour. In
fact I don’t like driving all that much. I have never lived, or even stayed, in
a Scottish castle, even though it would be my dream to do so. I do however
share quite a few things with Rosalie. I can’t sing. I love chocolate cake. I
believe in kindness and loyalty. And for many years I struggled with the loss
of my mother. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So Rosalie is a little
bit like me, but she is even more like the woman I would like to be. Her life
is completely alien to mine, and yet she shares some of my dreams and the painful
experience of losing a loved one. She is a lot braver than I ever was. In fact,
when I recently had to drive back home on a deserted hill road in ice and fog
late at night, I kept asking myself what Rosalie would do She is used to
driving in the snow in winter, so she wouldn’t panic. And it did seem to help! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cNNyGIL-HOU/WpCentgHG2I/AAAAAAAACBE/GM8iO1d_xbMC0jl2KCjlbI6wac1U0EZPwCLcBGAs/s1600/cairngorms-national-park-1209824_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cNNyGIL-HOU/WpCentgHG2I/AAAAAAAACBE/GM8iO1d_xbMC0jl2KCjlbI6wac1U0EZPwCLcBGAs/s320/cairngorms-national-park-1209824_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Pixabay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The topic for this
round robin got me thinking about my process for creating characters. I have
never based a character solely on someone I know, have met or heard of in
‘real’ life. However, I don’t believe it is possible to completely make up a
character.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ever since I can
remember, I have always spent a lot of time observing people, listening to
conversations, picking up bits and pieces of information. Every time I have been
in a slightly comical or peculiar situation, I have always made a mental note
of remembering all the details of how I felt, how the people around me reacted,
in order to be able to write about it later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even though they are
not based on me, my heroines have feelings, dreams fears and insecurities that I have had
at some point in my life. In particular, now I think about it, they all have
had to deal with the loss of a loved one – often their mother, which resonates
with my own experience of having lost my mother to cancer very early on in my
life. So the characters I feel the closest to have qualities and flaws I find
funny or endearing, or have experiences I’ve had or would like to have. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aHeD7u1Kl30/WpCfTyOrkzI/AAAAAAAACBY/OIsadKh-_fUcY10YVa2FWQlgYVc8xUXYACLcBGAs/s1600/dream-2924176_1920.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1600" height="168" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aHeD7u1Kl30/WpCfTyOrkzI/AAAAAAAACBY/OIsadKh-_fUcY10YVa2FWQlgYVc8xUXYACLcBGAs/s320/dream-2924176_1920.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the other hand,
the ‘villains’ or less sympathetic characters have personality traits I find
irritating or unattractive. After all, you know the saying ‘if you annoy me, I
will put you in my book (optional: and I will kill you!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LITTLE PINK TAXI is
available <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Pink-Taxi-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B078KCQ5G3/">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Take a
ride with Love Taxis, the cab company with a Heart … </span></b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Rosalie Heart is a well-known face in Irlwick – well, if you drive a bright
pink taxi and your signature style is a pink anorak, you’re going to draw a bit
of attention! But Rosalie’s company Love Taxis is more than just a gimmick –
for many people in the remote Scottish village, it’s a lifeline.<br />
<br />
Which is something that Marc Petersen will never understand. Marc’s ruthless
approach to business doesn’t extend to pink taxi companies running at a loss.
When he arrives in Irlwick to see to a new acquisition – Raventhorn, a rundown
castle – it’s apparent he poses a threat to Rosalie’s entire existence; not
just her business, but her childhood home too.<br />
<br />
On the face of it Marc and Rosalie should loathe each other, but what they
didn’t count on was somebody playing cupid …<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18.6667px;">Please take a look at what these authors have to say about this month's round robin!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: medium;">Skye Taylor </span><a class="m_6602005691810608355moz-txt-link-freetext" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea&source=gmail&ust=1519514124687000&usg=AFQjCNFc5Qzd5quO3OD069Fl5DR3_IWyJA" href="http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;" target="_blank">http://www.skye-writer.com/<wbr></wbr>blogging_by_the_sea</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: medium;">A.J. Maguire </span><a class="m_6602005691810608355moz-txt-link-freetext" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/&source=gmail&ust=1519514124687000&usg=AFQjCNE_jpjyTiZkAAn6lf0Wf5hC8MuBRw" href="http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;" target="_blank">http://ajmaguire.wordpress.<wbr></wbr>com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: medium;">Marci Baun </span><a class="m_6602005691810608355moz-txt-link-freetext" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/&source=gmail&ust=1519514124687000&usg=AFQjCNGxB-krxOLEveEpASbDc_iB4sYtgw" href="http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;" target="_blank">http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: medium;">Judith Copek </span><a class="m_6602005691810608355moz-txt-link-freetext" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/&source=gmail&ust=1519514124687000&usg=AFQjCNGkcstE4pYkTi4zVAlQCgvcIF5gjQ" href="http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;" target="_blank">http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: medium;">Dr. Bob Rich </span><a class="m_6602005691810608355moz-txt-link-freetext" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1c1&source=gmail&ust=1519514124687000&usg=AFQjCNH-s1KOXvDvbKxkis7aFvPB4HbyxQ" href="https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1c1" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;" target="_blank">https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1c1</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: medium;">Rachael Kosinski </span><a class="m_6602005691810608355moz-txt-link-freetext" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/&source=gmail&ust=1519514124687000&usg=AFQjCNGQ3NIy4Ve5LvTP0GSdYqWWL8mSkA" href="http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;" target="_blank">http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.<wbr></wbr>com/</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: medium;">Beverley Bateman </span><a class="m_6602005691810608355moz-txt-link-freetext" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/&source=gmail&ust=1519514124687000&usg=AFQjCNGZ_z03Cug9_GiOavdWrga4cbcKJA" href="http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;" target="_blank">http://beverleybateman.<wbr></wbr>blogspot.ca/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: medium;">Rhobin L Courtright </span><a class="m_6602005691810608355moz-txt-link-freetext" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com&source=gmail&ust=1519514124687000&usg=AFQjCNEpyk8jHDvPAt7RxpsnTXuZwW9KhA" href="http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;" target="_blank">http://www.<wbr></wbr>rhobinleecourtright.com</a></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">Fiona McGier <a class="m_4717465510925879147moz-txt-link-freetext" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.fionamcgier.com/&source=gmail&ust=1519514122567000&usg=AFQjCNHrrKl-gkAybHDSTv6MbLWVPhtTCg" href="http://www.fionamcgier.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.fionamcgier.com/</a></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Connie Vines <a class="m_8337847368513427367moz-txt-link-freetext" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://mizging.blogspot.com/&source=gmail&ust=1519575245303000&usg=AFQjCNGOpVnkNiNd_1lxCshRZPtWYvVOog" href="https://mizging.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://mizging.blogspot.com/</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img class="ajT" src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif" style="background: url("//ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/ellipsis.png") no-repeat; height: 8px; opacity: 0.3; width: 20px;" /></span></b></div>
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<br />Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-35139013789816794232018-02-08T11:06:00.000-08:002018-02-08T12:39:37.986-08:00Unexpected murder...Romancing Robin Hood by Jenny Kane<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>I am delighted that Jenny Kane has accepted to be my guest today
to talk about her latest release <b>Romancing
Robin Hood</b>. </i></span><i style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;">A very warm welcome to you, Jenny! What can you tell us about <b>Romancing Robin Hood?</b></i></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UedqfJ1UHeI/WndX8E_L2PI/AAAAAAAACAc/ozEulgx8zzEh0b1J8QrbjyInegMI39qBACLcBGAs/s1600/RRH%2B2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UedqfJ1UHeI/WndX8E_L2PI/AAAAAAAACAc/ozEulgx8zzEh0b1J8QrbjyInegMI39qBACLcBGAs/s400/RRH%2B2018.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Many thanks for inviting me to visit your fabulous blog as part
of my blog tour to promote my part modern romance/part medieval mystery novel, <b>Romancing Robin Hood</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">After years of writing light hearted coffee shop reads, the last
thing I expected I'd be doing during the drafting of a romance novel was
plotting my first murder (on paper that is!). Yet, that is exactly what I
happened when I wrote <b>Romancing Robin
Hood.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Perhaps, with a legendary outlaw in the title, it isn't so
surprising that I have found myself sorting out the finer points of a murder
mystery- and yet I didn't see this coming. Whenever I begin a new novel, I have
plenty of ideas, sketch out a plotline, and cobble together a synopsis, but at
the same time I very much like my characters to take hold of the story
themselves. I enjoy travelling with them, and being as surprised (hopefully) as
my readers will be when they read my finished work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Romancing Robin Hood</span></strong><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> is a contemporary romance all about
history lecturer Dr Grace Harper, who is nuts about Robin Hood and the
historical outlaws that may have inspired him. Not only does <b>Romancing Robin Hood</b> tell the story of
Grace’s fight to find time for romance in her busy work filled life, it also
contains a secondary story about the fourteenth century criminal gang Grace is
researching- the Folvilles. This family, based in Ashby-Folville in Leicestershire,
were a group I researched myself as a student many moons ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In the novella she is writing, Grace’s fourteenth century
protagonist, Mathilda of Twyford, is getting to know the Folville family rather
better than she would have liked. As well as being forced to live under their
roof, Mathilda suddenly finds herself under a very frightening type of
suspicion. (I won’t elaborate or it will spoil the story)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Blurb<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When you’re in love with a man of legend, how can
anyone else match up?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dr Grace Harper has loved the stories of Robin Hood
ever since she first saw them on TV as a teenager. Now, with her fortieth
birthday just around the corner, she’s a successful academic in Medieval
History—but Grace is stuck in a rut.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Grace is supposed to be writing a textbook on a
real-life medieval criminal gang—the Folvilles—but instead she is captivated by
a novel she’s secretly writing. A medieval mystery which entwines the story of
Folvilles with her long-time love of Robin Hood—and a feisty young woman named
Mathilda of Twyford.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Just as she is trying to work out how Mathilda can
survive being kidnapped by the Folvilles, Grace’s best friend Daisy announces
she is getting married. After a whirlwind romance with a man she loves as much
as the creatures in her animal shelter, Daisy has press-ganged Grace into being
her bridesmaid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Witnessing Daisy’s new-found happiness, Grace starts
to re-evaluate her own life. Is her devotion to a man who may or may not have
lived hundreds of years ago really a substitute for a real-life hero of her
own? Grace’s life doesn’t get any easier when she meets Dr Robert Franks—a
rival academic who she is determined to dislike but finds herself being
increasingly drawn to… If only he didn’t know quite so much about Robin Hood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Suddenly, spending more time living in the past than
the present doesn’t seem such a good idea...<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I must confess I'm rather enjoyed weaving this darker subplot
around the main romance of the modern part of <strong>Romancing Robin Hood</strong>.
I had no idea killing someone off could be so much fun! It was rather like
doing a jigsaw from in the inside out, while having no idea where the corners
are!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Here’s an extract for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Mathilda
thought she was used to darkness, but the dim candlelight of the comfortable
small room she shared at home with her brothers was nothing like this. The
sheer density of this darkness seemed to envelop her, physically gliding over
Mathilda’s clammy goose-pimpled skin. This was an extreme blackness that coated
her, making her breathless, as if it was stealthfully compressing her lungs and
squeezing the life from her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Unable to see the floor, Mathilda presumed, as she
pressed her naked foot against it and damp oozed between her toes, that the
suspiciously soft surface she was sat on was moss, which in a room neglected
for years had been allowed it to form a cushion on the stone floor. It was a
theory backed up by the smell of mould and general filthiness which hung in the
air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Trying not to think about how long she was going
to be left in this windowless cell, Mathilda stretched out her arms and bravely
felt for the extent of the walls, hoping she wasn’t about to touch something
other than cold stone. The child’s voice that lingered at the back of her mind,
even though she was a woman of nineteen, was telling her – screaming
at her – that there might be bodies in here, still clapped in irons,
abandoned and rotting. Mathilda battled the voice down; knowing it that would
do her no good at all. Her father had always congratulated Mathilda on her
level headedness, and now it was being put to the test. She was determined
not to let him down now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Placing the very tips of her fingers against the
wall behind her, she felt her way around. It was wet. Trickles of water had
found a way in from somewhere, giving the walls the same slimy covering as the
floor. Mathilda traced the outline of the rough stone wall, keeping her feet
exactly where they were. In seconds her fingers came to a corner, and twisting
at the waist, she managed to plot her prison from one side of the heavy wooden
door to the other, without doing more than extending the span of her arms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Mathilda decided the room could be no more than
five feet square, although it must be about six foot tall. Her own five-foot
frame had stumbled down a step when she’d been pushed into the cell, and her
head was at least a foot clear of the ceiling. The bleak eerie silence was
eating away at her determination to be brave, and the cold brought her
suppressed fear to the fore. Suddenly the shivering Mathilda had stoically
ignored overtook her, and there was nothing she could do but let it invade her
small slim body.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Wrapping her thin arms around her chest, she
pulled up her hood, hugged her grey woollen surcoat tighter about her
shoulders, and sent an unspoken prayer of thanks up to Our Lady for the fact
that her legs were covered. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;">She’d been helping her two brothers, Matthew and
Oswin, to catch fish in the deeper water beyond the second of Twyford’s fords
when the men had come. Mathilda had been wearing an old pair of Matthew’s hose,
although no stockings or shoes. She thought of her warm footwear, discarded
earlier with such merry abandon. A forgotten, neglected pile on the river bank;
thrown haphazardly beneath a tree in her eagerness to get them off and join the
boys in their work. It was one of the only tasks their father gave them that
could have been considered fun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Mathilda closed her eyes, angry as the tears she’d
forbidden herself to shed defied her stubborn will and came anyway. With them
came weariness. It consumed her, forcing her to sink onto the rotten floor.
Water dripped into her long, lank red hair. The tussle of capture had loosened
its neatly woven plait, and now it hung awkwardly, half in and half out of its
bindings, like a badly strapped sheaf of strawberry corn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;">She tried not to start blaming her father, but it
was difficult not to. Why hadn’t he told her he’d borrowed money from the
Folvilles? It was an insane thing to do. Only the most
desperate … Mathilda stopped her thoughts in their tracks. They were
disloyal and pointless...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">...Does Mathilda
seem miserable and scared enough?</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> Grace wasn’t sure she’d laid the horror
of the situation on thick enough. On the other hand, she didn’t want to drown
her potential readers in suffering-related adjectives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">No, on reflection it was fine; certainly
good enough to leave and come back to on the next read through. She glanced at
the clock at the corner of the computer screen. How the hell had it got to
eight thirty already? Grace’s stomach rumbled, making her think of poor
Mathilda in her solitary prison.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Switching off her computer, Grace
crammed all her notes into her bag so she could read over them at home, and
headed out of her office. Walking down the Queen’s Road, which led from the
university to her small home in Leicester’s Clarendon Park region, Grace
decided it was way too hot, even at this time of the evening, to stand in the
kitchen and attempt, and probably fail, to cook something edible, so she’d grab
a takeaway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Grateful it wasn’t term time, so she
didn’t have to endure the banter of the students who were also waiting for
associated plastic boxes of Chinese food, Grace speedily walked home, and
without bothering to transfer her chicken chow mein to another dish, grabbed a
fork, kicked off her shoes, and settled herself down with her manuscript...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">***
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">You can find all the
buy links for Romancing Robin Hood </span></b><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Romancing-Robin-Hood-Jenny-Kane/dp/1999855248/ref=dp_ob_title_bk" style="font-size: 16pt;">here</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">(Please note that this
is a re-released, re-edited and re-covered novel)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Many
thanks again, Marie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Happy
reading everyone,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jenny
xx<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_zsagVRWqUs/WndYQem19II/AAAAAAAACAg/-YQU-kve9nkvfoJkDQfcBFHqVOWYhFhYACLcBGAs/s1600/Jenny%2Bon%2Bbridge%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="498" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_zsagVRWqUs/WndYQem19II/AAAAAAAACAg/-YQU-kve9nkvfoJkDQfcBFHqVOWYhFhYACLcBGAs/s320/Jenny%2Bon%2Bbridge%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="291" /></a></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Bio<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">With
a background in history and archaeology, Jenny Kane should really be sat in a
dusty university library translating Medieval Latin criminal records, before
writing research documents that hardly anyone would want to read. Instead,
tucked away in the South West of England, Jenny Kane writes stories with one
hand, while designing creative writing workshops for ‘Imagine’ with the other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jenny
spends a large part of her time in her local Costa, where she creates her
stories, including the novels <i>Romancing
Robin Hood (LittWizz Press, 2018),</i> <i>Abi’s
Neighbour </i>(Accent Press, 2017),<i>
Another Glass of Champagne </i>(Accent, 2016),<i> Abi’s House </i>(Accent Press, June 2015<i>), </i>the best selling contemporary romance <i>Another Cup of Coffee</i> (Accent Press, 2013), and the novella length
sequels <i>Another Cup of Christmas (</i>Accent
Press, 2013), <i>Christmas in the Cotswolds</i>,
(Accent Press, 2014), and <i>Christmas at
the Castle</i>, (Accent Press, 2015). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jenny
also writes medieval crime fiction as Jennifer Ash.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The Outlaw’s Ransom</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">
and <i>The Winter Outlaw</i> will both be
published by Littwitz Press in early 2018<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jenny
Kane is also the author of quirky children’s picture books <i>There’s a Cow in the Flat</i> (Hushpuppy, 2014) and <i>Ben’s Biscuit Tin</i> (Hushpuppy, 2015)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Keep
your eye on Jenny’s blog at <a href="http://www.jennykane.co.uk/">www.jennykane.co.uk</a>
for more details.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Twitter-
@JennyKaneAuthor @JenAshHistory @Imagine_Writing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Facebook
-https://www.facebook.com/JennyKaneRomance?ref=hl <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Facebook
for Jennifer Ash
-https://www.facebook.com/jenniferashhistorical/?ref=bookmarks <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Facebook
for Imagine - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ImagineCreativeWriting/?ref=settings">https://www.facebook.com/ImagineCreativeWriting/?ref=settings</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jenny Kane also writes erotica as Kay
Jaybee. (www.kayjaybee.me.uk)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sgDp2qvYyH0/WndYZq6itEI/AAAAAAAACAk/ERWOPXlCgwYQ90kae0Ews03Rj1yAMrZvwCLcBGAs/s1600/RRH%2Bblog%2Btour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="1600" height="215" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sgDp2qvYyH0/WndYZq6itEI/AAAAAAAACAk/ERWOPXlCgwYQ90kae0Ews03Rj1yAMrZvwCLcBGAs/s400/RRH%2Bblog%2Btour.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-34959700466306036182018-01-16T11:11:00.002-08:002018-01-16T11:11:44.028-08:00Cover Reveal of Little Pink Taxi!I am delighted to unveil the beautiful cover that the Choc Lit has designed for Little Pink Taxi, my contemporary romance which will be published on February 20th.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ukXlNFzIY78/Wl5N4EETaFI/AAAAAAAACAE/h59u1GrUS3E_Op1QpZwIybUmeafKG7f3ACLcBGAs/s1600/LITTLEPINKTAXIFINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1043" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ukXlNFzIY78/Wl5N4EETaFI/AAAAAAAACAE/h59u1GrUS3E_Op1QpZwIybUmeafKG7f3ACLcBGAs/s400/LITTLEPINKTAXIFINAL.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
In the meantime, the book is available for pre-order for the special price of £0.99 from https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Pink-Taxi-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B078KCQ5G3/<br />
<br />
Here is a taste of the story:<br />
<br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Take a ride with Love Taxis, the cab company with a Heart … </b><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Rosalie Heart is a well-known face in Irlwick – well, if you drive a bright pink taxi and your signature style is a pink anorak, you’re going to draw a bit of attention! But Rosalie’s company Love Taxis is more than just a gimmick – for many people in the remote Scottish village, it’s a lifeline. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Which is something that Marc Petersen will never understand. Marc’s ruthless approach to business doesn’t extend to pink taxi companies running at a loss. When he arrives in Irlwick to see to a new acquisition – Raventhorn, a rundown castle – it’s apparent he poses a threat to Rosalie’s entire existence; not just her business, but her childhood home too. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">On the face of it Marc and Rosalie should loathe each other, but what they didn’t count on was somebody playing cupid …</span>Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-49724360596744235132017-12-29T08:30:00.000-08:002017-12-29T08:30:08.764-08:00Announcing the release of Little Pink Taxi!<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I am delighted to announce that my new
contemporary romance LITTLE PINK TAXI will be released by Choc Lit on February
20<sup>th</sup>. The cover is still under wraps until January 9<sup>th</sup>,
but the book is available for pre-order for only £0.99.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here is a taste of the story, which is set in the
Cairngorms in Scotland...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Take a ride with Love Taxis, the cab
company with a Heart … </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rosalie Heart is a well-known face in Irlwick – well, if you drive a bright
pink taxi and your signature style is a pink anorak, you’re going to draw a bit
of attention! But Rosalie’s company Love Taxis is more than just a gimmick –
for many people in the remote Scottish village, it’s a lifeline.<br />
<br />
Which is something that Marc Petersen will never understand. Marc’s ruthless
approach to business doesn’t extend to pink taxi companies running at a loss.
When he arrives in Irlwick to see to a new acquisition – Raventhorn, a rundown
castle – it’s apparent he poses a threat to Rosalie’s entire existence; not
just her business, but her childhood home too.<br />
<br />
On the face of it Marc and Rosalie should loathe each other, but what they
didn’t count on was somebody playing cupid …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You can pre-order Little Pink Taxi <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Pink-Taxi-Choc-Lit-ebook/dp/B078KCQ5G3/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here are a couple of photos which inspired the
story...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B4WnlqY1CQs/WkZsbbwi7yI/AAAAAAAAB-8/F4TxvvyHBLImFb-wYcNqwUu2TUAlqswrACLcBGAs/s1600/cairngorms-national-park-1209824_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B4WnlqY1CQs/WkZsbbwi7yI/AAAAAAAAB-8/F4TxvvyHBLImFb-wYcNqwUu2TUAlqswrACLcBGAs/s640/cairngorms-national-park-1209824_1280.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Cairngorms National Park, photo courtesy of Pixabay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A7d73bU2y_A/WkZse_3Aw6I/AAAAAAAAB_A/bziISLidvwYNr6x6qJ0KBj3yw5L3YJHigCLcBGAs/s1600/scotland-725368_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A7d73bU2y_A/WkZse_3Aw6I/AAAAAAAAB_A/bziISLidvwYNr6x6qJ0KBj3yw5L3YJHigCLcBGAs/s400/scotland-725368_1280.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My inspiration for Raventhorn castle, photo courtesy of Pixabay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thank you so much Choc Lit for helping me fulfil my dream of seeing Little Pink Taxi published!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EFNIO3WbIRg/WkZr1N8htII/AAAAAAAAB-4/KGq_kqu7QAQRqsiPhwDYHAoTUEArGE9CQCEwYBhgL/s1600/th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="296" height="175" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EFNIO3WbIRg/WkZr1N8htII/AAAAAAAAB-4/KGq_kqu7QAQRqsiPhwDYHAoTUEArGE9CQCEwYBhgL/s200/th.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-65265069698716002602017-11-17T14:25:00.002-08:002017-11-17T14:25:22.819-08:00The Truth about Me, You and Us<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oqSywNAHPOk/Wg38NlKnyMI/AAAAAAAAB-E/wmBrgeMginA1WaDNIwe1W9oZns_DnNwSACLcBGAs/s1600/thetruthcover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1059" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oqSywNAHPOk/Wg38NlKnyMI/AAAAAAAAB-E/wmBrgeMginA1WaDNIwe1W9oZns_DnNwSACLcBGAs/s400/thetruthcover.jpeg" width="263" /></a></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Genre: Contemporary
women’s fiction</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Release Date: 25 August
2017</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Publisher: Accent Press</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #212121; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Sometimes the hardest person to be honest with
is yourself…</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Five years
ago Helen Walters walked out on her ‘perfect’ life with the ‘perfect’ man.
Wealthy, glamorous and bored, she longed for something more. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Now a
talented artist with a small business, Helen creates crazy patchwork crafts to
support her young daughter, Megan. Penniless, content and single, she is almost
unrecognisable. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">But when
her past unexpectedly collides with her new life, Helen finds herself torn. She
knows what the easiest choice is, but is it what she wants?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">My review</span></u></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">
</span>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">I really
enjoyed Kate Field's debut The Magic of Ramblings and was really looking forward to reading her second novel. I wasn't disappointed. From the very beginning I got
hooked on Helen's story, and fell in love with the characters, especially Joel
who is a wonderful, gorgeous hero. I had to keep turning the pages to
find out what would happen and what Helen would decide to do in the end...Would
she go back to Daniel and play happy families, or would she choose
Joel and start a new life with him? The Truth about Me, You and Us is a really lovely romance that I highly
recommend.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">BUY LINK</span></u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2vqo9Fm"><span style="color: blue;">http://amzn.to/2vqo9Fm</span></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yvhnjpx2b_I/Wg38lrvLwWI/AAAAAAAAB-I/9xREOT9OVAYO4FBbNlv5ogi3lAedX9BEgCLcBGAs/s1600/katefieldauthorphoto.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="962" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yvhnjpx2b_I/Wg38lrvLwWI/AAAAAAAAB-I/9xREOT9OVAYO4FBbNlv5ogi3lAedX9BEgCLcBGAs/s320/katefieldauthorphoto.jpeg" width="192" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">ABOUT KATE FIELD</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Kate
writes contemporary women’s fiction, mainly set in her favourite <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">county</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Lancashire</st1:placename></st1:place>, where she lives with her
husband, daughter and hyperactive cat. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">She is a
member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Kate’s
debut novel, The Magic of Ramblings, won the RNA’s Joan Hessayon Award for new
writers in 2017.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Facebook: </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/KateFieldAuthor/"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.facebook.com/KateFieldAuthor/</span></a></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Twitter: @katehaswords</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TPCG2vAouzw/Wg38vErsF8I/AAAAAAAAB-Q/Q3vXMgywY6Uqc6u7myJhva8QCauI8SKRQCLcBGAs/s1600/The%2BTruth%2BAbout%2BYou%2BMe%2Band%2BUs%2BTour%2BBanner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="700" height="249" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TPCG2vAouzw/Wg38vErsF8I/AAAAAAAAB-Q/Q3vXMgywY6Uqc6u7myJhva8QCauI8SKRQCLcBGAs/s640/The%2BTruth%2BAbout%2BYou%2BMe%2Band%2BUs%2BTour%2BBanner.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">GIVEAWAY</span></u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">2 paperback copies of the book are up for grabs!</span></u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">(open internationally)</span></u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 13px; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4be03017266/"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4be03017266/</span></a>?</span></u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6804217041330670087.post-15871940329271459092017-11-04T08:10:00.001-07:002017-11-04T08:10:08.345-07:00Dancing for the Devil: new edition, new cover and new price!
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">I am delighted to announce
that my historical romance set in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Scotland</st1:place></st1:country-region> has been re-released as
one novel (instead of three short ones) by Áccent Press, and is now available
both as an ebook and paperback from <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dancing-Devil-Marie-Laval-ebook/dp/B076WN21PS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr="><span style="color: blue;">Amazon</span></a>.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r2AvBR4Mmr8/Wf3YILOyczI/AAAAAAAAB90/CGbCgpIpwO4rbaOp6HPbYi31evtYOypawCLcBGAs/s1600/Dancing%2BFor%2BThe%2BDevil%2B2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1001" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r2AvBR4Mmr8/Wf3YILOyczI/AAAAAAAAB90/CGbCgpIpwO4rbaOp6HPbYi31evtYOypawCLcBGAs/s400/Dancing%2BFor%2BThe%2BDevil%2B2017.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Here is the blurb</span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">Can her love heal his
haunted heart? - <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Cape Wrath</st1:city>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Scotland</st1:country-region></st1:place>,
November 1847. </span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><br />
Bruce McGunn is a man as brutal and unforgiving as his land. Discharged from
the army, he is haunted by the spectres of his fallen comrades and convinced he
is going mad. And he is running out of time to save his estate from the
machinations of Cameron McRae, heir to the McGunn's ancestral enemies. When the
clipper carrying McRae’s new bride is caught in a violent storm and docks at
Wrath harbour, Bruce decides to revert to the old ways and hold the clipper and
the woman to ransom. However, far from the spoilt heiress he expected, Rose is
genuine, funny and vulnerable – a ray of sunshine in the long, harsh winter
that has become his life. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;"><br />
Rose is determined to escape Wrath and its proud master – the man she calls
McGlum. Will she be reunited with Cameron McRae, the dazzlingly handsome
aristocrat she married after a whirlwind romance in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Algiers</st1:place></st1:city>, or will she risk her heart and her
honour to help Bruce discover the truth about his past and solve the brutal
murders committed on his land?</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Marie Lavalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09040316890635374526noreply@blogger.com0