The Romance of the Lake District by Helena Fairfax

I am delighted to have author Helena Fairfax on the blog today. I always love Helena's romantic stories, and I am very much enjoying reading her latest novel, FELICITY AT THE CROSS HOTEL, a wonderful romance set in the spectacular Lake District, which was released last Friday.

Hello Helena and congratulations on the release of your novel. I have to say that I absolutely love your cover! The Lake District has just been designated a World Heritage Site by Unesco, and deservedly so. I am lucky to live not too far away and try to visit at least once a year. We went to Coniston last August and absolutely loved it, even if we had a bit of a misadventure when walking up The Old Man, but that's another story...

Tell me, why did you choose to set your romantic novel in the Lakes?

Is there a better setting for a romance novel than the Lake District? With its spectacular landscape, its green mountains and the shining lakes, Cumbria has been inspiring writers for centuries. In the nineteenth century Cumbria inspired a whole school of poets – the "Lake Poets" of the Romantic Movement. The most famous of these poets is Wordsworth. Nearly every school child has heard of Wordsworth's host of golden daffodils, and in some ways his poetry has become devalued because it's now so often quoted. But actually, even in his day Wordsworth had his critics. Byron once said of him, "What will any reader out of the nursery say to such namby-pamby?"

To be honest, I have to agree with Byron about the "namby-pamby". I find Wordsworth's poetry a bit too simplistic and a little childish in its optimism. Here is the last verse of "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud":

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

It's strange that Wordsworth wrote mainly about the gentle beauty of the Lake District – the dancing daffodils - when there is also so much that's dark and dramatic. Besides the romance of the landscape, the setting of the Lake District is also perfect for a novelist because a soft, sunny day can swiftly turn threatening. Patrick Cross, the hero of my novel, is grieving the death of his friend, who died because of an act of recklessness while diving in the still, green waters of the lake. There have been many deaths in the mountains and lakes of Cumbria, and in my book I've dwelt on the contrast between the beauty and the danger of the landscape.

Derwent Water

It's a shame that nowadays some parts of the Lake District are inundated with tourists, and the roads in summer are very often clogged. But it's only in recent times that the Lakes have become a tourist destination, and there are many quieter areas that have remained unchanged for centuries. Alone in this magnificent landscape, away from the traffic, you can't help but feel a part of a long, long history of the soil that stretches back thousands of years.

Lots of people have fallen in love in this wonderful setting, but there are some exceptions. Bill Clinton was famously moved to propose to Hillary for the first time by the shores of Ennerdale Water, but she turned him down. Obviously there are some people who remain unmoved by the romance of the Lakes!

Ennerdale Water, scene of Bill Clinton's proposal, Trevor Harris via Wikimedia Commons

Will love blossom for Patrick Cross and Felicity Everdene, the hero and heroine of my novel? Here is the blurb to Felicity at the Cross Hotel:           

A quaint hotel in the Lake District. The Cross Hotel is the perfect getaway. Or is it?
Felicity Everdene needs a break from the family business. Driving through the Lake District to the Cross Hotel, past the shining lake and the mountains, everything seems perfect. But Felicity soon discovers all is not well at the Cross Hotel …
Patrick Cross left the village of Emmside years ago never intending to return, but his father has left him the family’s hotel in his will, and now he's forced to come back. With a missing barmaid, a grumpy chef, and the hotel losing money, the arrival of Felicity Everdene from the notorious Everdene family only adds to Patrick’s troubles.
With so much to overcome, can Felicity and Patrick bring happiness to the Cross Hotel … and find happiness for themselves?

Author Biography:

Helena Fairfax is a British author who was born in Uganda and came to England as a child. She's grown used to the cold now which is just as well, since these days she lives in an old Victorian mill town in the north of England, right next door to the windswept Yorkshire moors. Helena walks this romantic landscape every day with her rescue dog, finding it the perfect place to dream up her heroes and her happy endings. Subscribers to Helena's newsletter receive news of free stuff, competitions with prizes, gossip, and links to cool websites she's been looking at when she should have been writing.

Thank you very much for being my guest today, Helena. I had no idea Bill Clinton has proposed to his Hillary in the Lake District! Congratulations once again on your release. Felicity at the Cross Hotel is a wonderful read.

Amazon universal buy link for Felicity at the Cross Hotel: http://mybook.to/FelicityCH

Social Media Links

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Dream up a romance novel for author Helena Fairfax - and win a lovely prize!

I am delighted to welcome my good friend and fellow romance author Helena Fairfax to talk about her new project and a brilliant idea...but I will let her tell you all about it herself...

Hello Marie, and thanks for having me on your blog!

I’m hoping you and your readers can help me. Earlier this year I released two romantic suspense novellas and I’d like to combine them in one edition, along with a short story to finish the series off and bring all the stories to a nice close (and a nice romantic ending!)

Here’s is my dilemma. Although the novellas feature the same characters, they are very different in feel, and so I’m struggling to find a title that will capture the spirit of the series.

The first novella, Palace of Deception, is set in the fictional country of Montverrier – a beautifully hot, bright, sunny country by the Mediterranean sea.

Here is the blurb: When a Mediterranean princess disappears on the eve of her coronation, Lizzie Smith takes on the acting role of her life as her stand-in. But the Royal Palace of Montverrier is full of mystery and whispers of danger. Why does the sinister housekeeper insist Lizzie remains in her rooms? And what has become of the princess?

As Lizzie learns her role, her only confidant is her quiet bodyguard. Lizzie begins to fall for Léon…but what secrets is he keeping from her?

The second novella, The Scottish Diamond is set in Edinburgh, Scotland – an equally beautiful place, but now it’s getting on for autumn and the weather (and the feel of the novella) is much colder and darker and full of evenings by the fire.

Here is the blurb to The Scottish Diamond:

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair…”

What do you do when it seems you can’t trust anyone…even the man you love?
When Lizzie Smith begins rehearsals for Macbeth, she’s convinced the witches’ spells are the cause of a run of terrible luck. Lizzie’s bodyguard boyfriend, Léon, is mysteriously turned down for every job he applies for, until he’s finally offered the job of guarding “The Scottish Diamond,” a fabulous jewel from the country of Montverrier.
But the diamond’s previous guard has disappeared in mysterious circumstances. The Scottish Diamond has a history of intrigue and bloody murder, and Lizzie is plagued by nightmares in which Macbeth’s witches are warning her of danger.
Then Lizzie discovers she’s being followed through the streets of Edinburgh, and it seems her worst fears are about to be realised…

My final short story, A Question by Torchlight, is also set in Edinburgh, during Hogmanay, when the ground is icy and there is frost in the air.

So, here’s where I need some help. What title could I give the combined print edition / boxed set? The Bodyguard Mysteries? Leon and Lizzie? My Year of Danger? I’ve been wracking my brain for ages and haven’t been able to hit on anything I really like!

So, I’ve decided to run a competition to ask for suggestions for a title that will tie these two novellas and short story together.

The WINNER of the Dream up a Title for Helena competition will win the following:

1.     Their TITLE on the cover of the print edition / boxed set

2.     An ACKNOWLEDGEMENT inside the novel

3.     A SIGNED COPY of the finished print version

4.     This beautiful bracelet :)

If any of you have any ideas at all, please let me know your suggestion here in the comments, or on Twitter, or by leaving a comment on my Facebook page, or you can email me at helena.fairfax@gmail.com . I’d be very grateful!

I’m keeping the competition open until Friday 21^st October and will announce the winning title on my blog (www.helenafairfax.com) on Saturday 22^nd October. So please do put your thinking caps on - and I hope you can help me out!

Thanks so much for hosting me, Marie. It’s been fun to be here and I’ll be back next week to let you know my title!

I can't wait, Helena. What a great idea! I am sure you will get lots of fabulous titles, and the one that is just right for Lizzie's and Leon's love story. I really enjoyed PALACE OF DECEPTION and THE SCOTTISH DIAMOND, and I am very much intrigued by your short story (I wonder if I can guess what the question might be...)

Good luck to all entrants in the competition!

Come and Eat a Croque-Monsieur with Helena Fairfax

What could be better than sitting at a terrace in Paris, watching people go by whilst taking in the city's beautiful architecture, and enjoying a Croque-monsieur and a 'diabolo citron' (lemonade and lemon cordial) or 'Vichy Fraise' (strawberry cordial and mineral water) - my two favourite café drinks.

We may not be in Paris but we can still enjoy this delicious snack, thanks to Helena Fairfax, another of the nine authors of the anthology LETTERBOX LOVE STORIES I have been featuring in my recipe blogs every week! Helena's story is set in Paris, and her hero is a gorgeous chef...

As if that wasn't tempting enough, to celebrate the forthcoming release of our anthology, we are giving away this lovely pair of earrings which are perfect for summer. All you have to do is leave a comment before midnight on Sunday 26th June to be entered in the draw.

Croque-Monsieur

Makes 2

50g (1 1/2 oz) butter
4 slices of white bread, crusts cut off
1 tbsp plain flour
100ml (1/2 cup) milk
80g (3oz) Gruyère cheese, grated (or Emmental, or Mozarella, if preferred)
Nutmeg, to grate
2 tbsp French mustard
2 slices best ham

Salt and pepper

1. Heat your grill to medium-high. Line the grill pan with silver foil.

2. Put the butter in a pan over a medium-low heat to melt it.

3. Brush one side of each slice of bread liberally with melted butter and put under the grill butter-side uppermost. Grill until golden and crisp, then set aside.
4. Stir the flour into the remaining butter to make a paste. Cook for a minute, then gradually whisk in the milk, a little at a time, until smooth. Simmer for a few minutes, until thickened, then take off the heat and stir in half the cheese until melted. Grate in a little nutmeg, stir and season lightly with salt and pepper.

3. Spread the untoasted sides of the bread with mustard. Put the ham on top, followed by the cheese, and put back under the grill for a couple of minutes until the cheese has melted.

4. Remove from the grill. Put the other slice of bread on top, toasted side uppermost, and push down, then put the sandwiches on to the grill tray and top with the cheese sauce. Grill for about 5 minutes, until golden and bubbling, and serve immediately.

Thank you for this delicious recipe, Helena. What can you tell us about your story?

Come Date Me in Paris is the story of a young Englishwoman called Alice who moves to France to work for a famous fashion magazine. In the country that gave the world haute cuisine, Alice is one of the few people who can't cook. When Alice ends up on a TV blind date show that involves cooking a special meal for your date, she is forced to ask her chef neighbour, Edmond, to give her some cooking lessons.

My story was great fun to write, especially adding the flavour of Paris - with the recipes, with Alice's flair for Parisian style, and with the fabulous scenery. Everyone knows the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Notre Dame,  and the lovely green park at the Bois de Boulogne is also familiar to many - but not many foreign visitors to Paris have heard of its second biggest greenspace, the beautiful Bois de Vincennes. I wrote a scene for Alice and Edmond in which they escape the heat of the city and take a picnic by the lake in the Bois de Vincennes. Perhaps it's because I'm a country girl at heart that I enjoyed taking my hero and heroine to this oasis of green and water in the bustling city.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Paris, the Bois de Vincennes is a amazing place to go. It has a zoo, a lake, a floral park, mini-golf, plenty of wildlife, a bird reserve - and, since this is France, it even has its own medieval chateau! I'd defy anyone not to start falling in love in such a wonderful setting.

Come Date Me in Paris has several recipes as part of the story. For Marie's blog I've chosen a recipe for a typical French snack called croque-monsieur. It's one of the favourite items on the café menu for we British visitors to Paris :) It's a simple recipe and just perfect for Sunday lunch. At home in England I'd make a pot of tea to have with it, but in France a cup of coffee or maybe an Orangina would be lovely.

I hope you enjoy my weekend recipe. I'm very much looking forward to release of our Letterbox Love Stories anthology. Thanks so much for having me today, Marie. I've been enjoying your recipe posts very much!

You are welcome, Helena! Bon appétit!

And don't forget to hop on to Helena's blog where I gave her my recipe for a quick and easy Cherry Clafoutis. Don't forget to leave a comment to have the chance to win a pair of earrings.

Fall Into Romance Hop with The Romance Rewiews!

Looking for answers about THE LION'S EMBRACE and ANGEL HEART in the Romance Reviews Blog Hop?  Looking for the Blog Hop article about my favourite romance novel, THE ANTIQUE LOVE by Helena Fairfax?

Then you are in the right place! Please scroll down for the blurbs for THE LION'S EMBRACE and ANGEL HEART where you will find answers to my multiple choice questions on The Romance Reviews Website.

And just a little further down, you will find the Blog Hop rules and my article on THE ANTIQUE LOVE, a great contemporary romance by talented author Helena Fairfax. The button you need to click is at the top of the scroll bar on the right-hand side BUT please read the article and the rules at the bottom of this post BEFORE clicking!


To answer the question on THE LION'S EMBRACE, please read this blurb:

Arrogant, selfish and dangerous, Lucas Saintclair is everything Harriet Montague dislikes in a man. He is also the best guide in the whole of the Barbary States, the only man who can rescue her archaeologist father from the gang of Tuareg fighters that has kidnapped him.

As Harriet embarks on a perilous journey across Algeria with Saintclair and Archibald Drake, her father’s most trusted friend, she discovers a bewitching but brutal land where nothing is what it seems. Who are these men intent on stealing her father’s ransom? What was her father hoping to find in Tuareg queen Tin Hinan’s tomb? Is Lucas Saintclair really as callous as he claims—or is he a man haunted by a past he cannot forgive?

Dangerous passions engulf Harriet’s heart in the heat of the Sahara. Secrets of lost treasures, rebel fighters, and a sinister criminal brotherhood threaten her life and the life of the man she loves.

Does forever lie in the lion’s embrace?

THE LION'S EMBRACE is available from https://museituppublishing.com/

Also from http://www.amazon.com/The-Lions-Embrace-ebook/dp/B00BACDSK6
And http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=marie+laval+the+lion%27s+embrace

 

 

You will find the answer to the question on ANGEL HEART in this blurb:

 

Devonshire, 1815

A mysterious Templar relic.

A web of intrigue and lies.

A woman about to lose her heart.

 

Marie-Ange, the young widow of an English officer, accepts an inheritance in France only to find that everything in Beauregard is not as it seems. Why is the sinister Malleval so obsessed with her family? What exactly is this mysterious Templar Cross he believes Marie-Ange can lead him to? And could her darling husband Christopher still be alive?

 

Marie-Ange finds herself trapped in a dangerous web of lies, political intrigue and mystical possession, and the only person to whom she can turn for help is Captain Hugo Saintclair. Yet the enigmatic Hugo represents a danger of a different kind …ANGEL HEART is a lavish mix of romance, adventure and a hint of the supernatural, largely set in France against the turbulent background of Napoleon’s return from Elba and his ultimate defeat at Waterloo.

 

It is available from:  

http://museituppublishing.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Heart-ebook/dp/B009YJT194

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Angel-Heart-ebook/dp/B009YJT194

 

AND NOW FOR THE BLOG HOP! Why I loved THE ANTIQUE LOVE by Helena Fairfax

If you leave a comment and follow this blog, you will be entered into the draw for a chance to win an ebook of either ANGEL HEART or THE LION'S EMBRACE! I will pick the winner and announce in on this blog after 21st September. Once you have left a comment, please scroll back up and click on the button on the right-hand side. It will take you to the next blog.

 

 

THE ANTIQUE LOVE is a wonderful and heart-warming contemporary romance that you won't be able to put down until the very last page.

 

When American Kurt Bold walks into Penny's London antique shop one rainy Saturday afternoon, everything about him immediately captures her imagination and makes her dream of vast spaces and campfires under starry skies. She couldn't be further from the truth.

 

Kurt may be from Wyoming, but he is no cowboy, and the name 'White River' printed on his business card isn't the name of his ranch at all. In fact, far from being a romantic hero, Kurt is the head of a large financial company, and has neither the time nor the inclination for dreams, love or romance. All he wants is a companionable relationship with a reasonable, level-headed woman - the total opposite of Penny. He only needs Penny to help him redecorate his new London house, certainly not to bring impossible dreams of passion and romance into his well-ordered life. 

 

Or does he? Will Penny's smile and romantic outlook on life change his mind, and his heart, before it's too late and he loses his gentle dreamer forever?

I absolutely adored THE ANTIQUE LOVE and the way Helena Fairfax draws the reader into the minds and hearts of her characters - her kind, artistic and deeply insecure heroin and her impossibly attractive, pragmatic and stubborn hero.

Buy links:  Amazon US ; Amazon UK  ; Barnes & Noble ; Kobo  ; Apple iBooks ; Muse Bookstore and all major e-tailersa

 

Thank you for your visit. I hope you enjoyed reading my article! Please leave a comment and follow the blog for a chance to win a copy of either ANGEL HEART or THE LION'S EMBRACE.

Now don't forget to click on the Hop button on the right-hand side of the scroll bar at the top of this page to visit the next blog! You need to be logged in in order to hop via the button. If you haven’t registered at TRR and/or logged in, please click on the button and go to the top right side of the page on The Romance Reviews to do so. Registration is free.

 

 

Helena Fairfax is visiting today!

Today I am delighted to welcome Helena Fairfax whose debut novel, The Silk Romance, was released on Friday 24th May by MuseitUp Publishing, which happens to be my publishing house too. What is exciting for me is that Helena set her novel in Lyon, the town I grew up in! Her novel is wonderful and I absolutely love the cover!

Bonjour Helena, and congratulations on the release of your novel. 

Bonjour Marie, and thank you so much for having me on your blog!  When I found out that a fellow Muse author was actually from the city of Lyon, I was thrilled.  It has long been one of my favourite cities, and forms the wonderful setting for my first novel, The Silk Romance.

I am very intrigued...Why did you choose Lyon for the setting of The Silk Romance?

You must be curious to know how someone from a small town in the north of England came to have this love for your city.  Well, when I was a student – many years ago now! – I spent a few months in Lyon working as an au pair.  (And by the way, I wish I had known you then, Marie.  It would have been lovely to visit you in your home town J )

As an au pair I lived with my family in the most romantic location, right on the banks of the river Saône, overlooking Lyon’s old town.  Right beneath my window was a large, colourful market, full of beautiful fruits, and bustling with sounds and smells. 

You can imagine the contrast for a young girl, coming from a bleak, grey town in England, to this wonderful, bright, sun-filled and vibrant city.   Everywhere there are cafés and people spilling out into the streets, and for a young girl, the night-life was wonderful.  The evenings were warm and it was possible to sit outside the bars and restaurants and relax with friends, in a way which is rarely possible in my chilly part of the world.

So you can understand that when it came to writing my first novel, I wanted this beautiful city to be the setting.  I also had another interest in Lyon.  Some time after I left university, I started work at a woollen mill in Yorkshire.  My home county of Yorkshire is famous for its woollen weaving industry, in the same way that Lyon is famous for its silk-weaving.

 

In fact, silk-weaving is literally built into the fabric of Lyon.  All through the city you will find little covered stone alleyways, called traboules.  These shadowy alleyways were used by the silk-workers, so that their rolls of cloth were protected from the rain.  You can walk through many of the traboules today, and they are a fascinating reminder of Lyon’s past.

I decided to set my novel in a silk-weaving mill – a mill which is owned by the gorgeous hero of my novel, Jean-Luc Olivier.  If you’d like to know more about silk-weaving in Lyon, I have written a post on the subject here on my blog: http://helenafairfax.com/2012/12/04/silk-weaving-in-the-historic-city-of-lyon/.

And if you’d like to find out more about Jean-Luc, and my charming heroine Sophie, here is the blurb to The Silk Romance:

Jean-Luc Olivier is a courageous racing driver with the world before him.  Sophie Challoner is a penniless student, whose face is unknown beyond her own rundown estate in London.  The night they spend together in Paris seems to Sophie like a fairytale—a Cinderella story without the happy ending. She knows she has no part in Jean-Luc’s future.  She made her dying mother a promise to take care of her father and brother in London.   One night of happiness is all Sophie allows herself. She runs away from Jean-Luc and returns to England to keep her promise.

Safely back home with her father and brother, and immersed in her college work, Sophie tries her best to forget their encounter, but she reckons without Jean-Luc.  He is determined to find out why she left him, and intrigued to discover the real Sophie.  He engineers a student placement Sophie can’t refuse, and so, unwillingly, she finds herself back in France, working for Jean-Luc in the silk mill he now owns.

Thrown together for a few short weeks in Lyon, the romantic city of silk, their mutual love begins to grow.  But it seems the fates are conspiring against Sophie’s happiness.  Jean-Luc has secrets of his own.  Then, when disaster strikes at home in London, Sophie is faced with a choice—stay in this glamorous world with the man she loves, or return to her family to keep the sacred promise she made her mother.

If you’ve enjoyed my taster of Lyon, please come and visit me some time on my blog www.helenafairfax.com, on my Facebook page, on Goodreads, or you can find me on Twitter @helenafairfax  I always love to meet new people J

The Silk Romance is available from the Muse bookstore, or from Amazon and most major e-tailers.

Merci beaucoup, Marie!  Thanks very much for inviting me to your blog.  It’s been great to meet you here, amongst so many reminders of my happy time in your home town.

À bientôt!

Thank you for being a guest today Helena and 'bonne chance' with The Silk Romance. I really enjoyed your novel and I must say that I fell in love with Jean-Luc...