Category Archives: Lizzie’s Scribbles
February: A Month Of Reading Romance #respectromfic #romanticnovels #proudtoreadromfic #romfic #reading
Time to Love and Respect Romantic Fiction It won’t surprise you to know that as well as writing romantic fiction, I also love reading it. And while I…
February: A Month Of Reading Romance #respectromfic #romanticnovels #proudtoreadromfic #romfic #reading
If you’re looking for a great romance to read this month, check out – mybook.to/WintetStar
Happy New Year or, as we say in Scotland . . . lang may yer lum reek
My novel, WINTER STAR IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS, published mid-December, has been well received. It’s a sequel to Dark Highland Skies and continues the love story of Tor and Halley as they prepare for the birth of their first child. I’m happy to say it’s one of my best-selling novels and due to readers’ feedback, I plan to write one last book in the trilogy.
As one of my lovely readers put it: “This is a superbly written story, easy to follow with fine details and explanation which are second to none. You will laugh, cry and sense all the emotions that the characters do in this snow-covered Christmas setting with an ending not to be missed. I’ve learnt so much from Lizzie Lamb’s portrayal of this magical place. As always, it’s best to read both books, but Winter star in the Scottish Highlands can be read as a standalone.”
This is Ballindalloch Castle which I visited a couple of summers ago and which inspired the castle in my book – Creag na h-lolaire, which means Eagles Crag in Gaelic. Everything about it is romantic and if you’re ever in the Trossachs its well worth a visit.
If you would like to know what the novel is about. here’s the blurb
If you’d like to read the opening chapters of Winter Star in the Scottish Highlands FREE, click here
. . . A Winter’s tale to warm your heart from the Queen of Highland Romance Wrap up and snuggle down, this is the perfect winter read, whatever the weather
if you’d like to know what readers thought of Winter Star in the Scottish Highlands – see below –
. . . A captivating and heartwarming sequel to Dark Highland Skies. Fall in love with Halley & Tor and the glorious Scottish Highlands all over again! A Winter Wonderland of love, family feuds and friendship – a gorgeous read
. . . As usual Lizzie Lamb writes a compelling and heart-warming story of love, friendship and at times difficult family relationships, with great characters and a few scheming villains too! Tor is a wonderful hero and Halley is a strong heroine and their love for each other really shines throughout the story.
And, finally, before you go, please consider leaving a rating/review for Winter Star. Short written reviews matter on Amazon and just a few sentences is enough. More importantly, enjoy the story and look out for the last book in the trilogy which I hope to publish at the end of the year.
Bliadhna Mhath Ùr
Happy New Year from Lizzie and her kilted hero
We might be a long way from the highlands but we know how to party.
An extract from the Ghillies’ Ball in Winter Star in the Scottish Highlands –
Lights and music greeted them as they disembarked from the Land Rover and entered the barn, transformed under Lady Strachan’s expert guidance. Industrial-size machines pumped heat into the air of the cathedral-like building, melting the snow on its slate roof. In lieu of seating, straw bales draped in rugs and tartan shawls were arranged around three sides of the barn. As the temperature rose the scent from the bales reminded them of the successful harvest gathered in thanks to unseasonably good weather.
The Ghillies’ Ball was the family’s way of thanking their staff and tenants for their hard work and looking forward to the new year with hope and enthusiasm.
Behind the bales, along the bottom edge of the barn, large trestle tables had been erected and staff, under the critical gaze of Mrs Robinson, were unloading food from catering vans. At the opposite end of the barn on a temporary stage draped with a large saltire, musicians were tuning their instruments in readiness for the ceilidh: bagpipes, snare drums, accordion, fiddle, electric guitar and a small Celtic harp.
Chains of fairy lights, strung along the sides of the barn and as high as staff could safely reach, made everything festive and inviting. Soon folk arrived, stamping their feet to clear their boots of snow, and blowing on frozen hands to ward off chilblains. Arranging their coats over individual bales to reserve their place for the night and exclaiming at the barn’s transformation they greeted friends noisily. Once they’d bagged their spot, they removed outdoor shoes and replaced them with trainers. Or, in the case of the older generation, dancing shoes.
Tor and Halley’s party were as impressed as the other guests at the barn’s makeover and exchanged knowing looks as they recalled discussing the barn’s potential as a wedding venue. Leaving Halley in Lexie and Rowan’s capable hands, Tor walked over to the band to check everything was ready, keen to ensure Halley’s first Ghillies’ Ball would be a night to remember.
If you’ve enjoyed reading this extract from my novel then read a longer sample and maybe even download a copy of the novel. All my other Scottish themed romances are currently priced at 99p/99c.
Many thanks to Book Escape with Babs for this fabulous review of Winter Star in the Scottish Highlands.
You can download it here or buy both for under a pound
For me, the main draw is the unerring connection between Tor and Halley. Their determination to tackle everything head-on and not allow anything to create uncertainty in their lives is beyond powerful and a rare skill.
Keeping the love going . . .
I’m featured on the Australian Romance Readers’ Association’s website today talking about being awarded the #RNA’s Indie Champion of 2023 award. Do pop over and have a look if you have a moment. Any and all comments/likes are most appreciated. Thank you, Lizzie x
Valentine’s Day guest blog post and review – courtesy of Babs Wilkie of Book Escapes
I was lucky enough to meet Babs Wilkie at the RNA Industry Awards in November 2023 when I was named Indie Champion 2023. I have since discovered that Babs is married to a Scot (I hope he’s a kilt-wearing one) and that she is a great supporter of authors and their books. If you aren’t following Babs’s fabulous blog then you’re missing a treat. Do take time to read the whole interview, if you can.
To celebrate Valentine’s Day and Dark Highland Skies’s first birthday I have put the novel on #KindleCountdown for 99p/99c – but only until Tuesday 20th February. So get it while it’s hot. In the meantime, I’m writing a sequel to Halley and Tor’s love story and really enjoying moving the characters forwards. ?Towards another happy ending? You’ll have to wait until the end of the year to find out.
Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day whethere its with the one you love or reliving treasures memories of those you have loved. I’ll end this post by quoting Virgil – cras amet qui nunquam amavit; quique amavit, cras amet – which means: loveless hearts will love tomorrow, those who have loved will love again.
The Broken Vow by LuisaAJones
The Broken Vow is set in the early months of the First World War. It’s a period I find fascinating, as it was a time of tremendous social and technological change. Victorian attitudes and morals were still entrenched, but young people especially started adopting more modern values.
The Great War left no one in Britain unaffected, and not only because of the catastrophic loss of men. For example, I hadn’t realised until I started researching the historicalbackground that this was the first war in 900 years to endanger civilians on the British mainland. Zeppelin airships dropped bombs and German ships shelled coastal towns. Air raids, blackout and rationing were features of the First World War, not just the Second.
Sea blockades meant that supplies of food were quickly threatened, and the cost of living rose. Refugees from occupied Belgium soon arrived in Britain, and were mostly made welcome: some of them built the Belgian Promenade in Anglesey, which I’ve visited several times on holiday.
I was particularly interested in the way women’s lives changed. The Edwardian ideal was for women’s place to be in the home, and this attitude was especially strong in my home country of Wales.
There were working women, of course, when the war started, mostly in domesticservice, shops and factories. But in the early months of the war, with prices rising, the upper classes started economising by letting their servants go and spending less on hats, clothes and hotel stays. Many women lost their jobs.
Soon, though, factories started employing women to take over from the men who had joined the armed forces. It’s easy to forget that at that time women had no say in the politics of their country going to war, yet they kept the country going. The war could not have been won without the supplies they manufactured, often at great risk to themselves as safety rules were relaxed to increase productivity. It must have left a bitter taste when they faced criticism for stealing men’s jobs. Middle- and upper-class women also did their bit through voluntary work, even in the face of patronising exhortations by men in government to “go home and sit still”.
In The Broken Vow, Charlotte Fitznorton converts her ancestral home into a convalescent home for shell-shocked officers, and working-class Maggie Cadwalader starts work in a munitions factory. I hope I’ve done justice to the women who kept the home fires burning, in reminding us of the significance of their contribution to the war.
Read the rest of this entryMany thanks to . . . Babs of Book Escapes for mentioning my books and those of fellow author Adrienne Vaughan in her latest blog.
Babs will be featuring Dark Highland Skies on her blog in February when it is the book’s ‘birthday’. I sent her a copy of the book after meeting her at the RNA Industry Awards when I was voted Indie Champion 2023. I hope she has enjoyed it. I’m trying to get back in to the writing groove after a fabulous Christmas as I have the sequel to Dark Highland Skies to write. However, there are unopened packets of mincepies and remnants of New Year’s Eve’s trifle trying to distract me with their siren call. I’d better resist otherwise nothing will fit me !
As well as the shout out on Bab’s blog I was super pleased to learn that Anne Williams had selected Dark Highland Skies as one of her favourite reads for 2023. She even posted her review of the book on her blog- https://beinganne.com/2023/03/review-dark-highland-skies-by-lizzie-lamb-lizzie_lamb-newrelease-scottishhighlands-romance-respectromfic-darkhighlandskies/
Adrienne was singled out for her latest novel Secrets of the Shell Sisters on Anne’s blog, too. Do check it out as I think it is one of her best novels so far. As I said in my review: The adventures of the Morgan sisters and the secrets they shared but kept to themselves kept me hooked right to the end
As Scot by birth, heritage and blood, New Year’s Eve or Hogmanay is always special to me. Usually, we have a houseful but this year it was just Dave and me as everyone has one form of the lurgy or another. However, he manfully donned his kilt and Leicester Tiger’s shirt and we toasted in 2024 with Nytimber and pizza! Sometimes, it only takes two to tango.
Just for fun I produced these two romanticised portraits of Dave and I through Photolab. If you’re a writer or blogger the site is worth exploring as it offers easy ways of making your book(s) look enticing to prospective readers. The tartan I have over my right shoulder is the Lamont – the Lambs claim kinship with that clan. We have Burns Night to look forward to at the end of the month and I hope my friends will have shrugged off their germs and will join us to hear Dave giving the Address to the Haggis (vegetarian, of course).
So, I’ll say farewell for now. But keep your eyes peeled for updates to the blog I hope to organise some prizes and giveaways once I shrug off a winter cold and Christmas excesses. Have a great day and keep reading.
Indie Champion 2023
It was with some trepidation that I set out for London and the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Industry Awards on the 13th of November which were being held at the the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City. Having been shortlisted for the Indie Champion of the Year Award, twice, I wondered if 2023 would be my year.
Dear Reader, I’m please to say it was.
Accompanied by Adrienne Vaughan (who came up with the idea of the RNA Industry Awards when she was editor of Romance Matters ) we soon arrived in London. St Pancras had a wonderfully appropriate Christmas display waiting for us and Adrienne and I felt right at home among all the books.
Upon arrival, photographs were taken in the ‘green room’ where a glass of nerve-calming prosecco was on hand. After that, we headed for the dining room for the ceremony. It looked fabulous, all the tables laid out with white napery, candles and complimentary bottles of wine and water. The Leonardo staff brought round an array of canapes – which I was too nervous to eat – and we settled down for the ceremony itself. Nervously clutching my pre-prepared acceptance speech, I waited for my category – Indie Champion 2023 to be called.
Here is an abbreviated version of my acceptance speech
Thanks to everyone who has nominated or voted for me in this category. The RNA has been fundamental to my achieving the goal of becoming a published author. As a former teacher it’s second nature to help and inspire others and, since joining the RNA in 2006, I’ve striven to give something back. Not only to help indie authors write the best book they can, but to champion and encourage others to keep going; even when the going gets tough. To this end I formed the Belmont Belles and Beaux which now has over sixty members, organised workshops and co-presented a talk on indie publishing at last year’s conference. Indie authors plough a lone furrow: writing, editing, finding proof readers and cover designers, having their work professionally formatted and relying on social media to get word of their novels out there. If I’ve been able to lighten the load for even one indie author, I feel that I will have earned this trophy.
The trophy is mine to keep and is sitting in pride of place on my bookshelf next to my seven published novels- leaving just enough space to fit the Christmas novella I plan to publish in 2024. Will it feature a man in a kilt? You’d better believe it.
Then, just when I thought life couldn’t get any better, there was a knock on the door a few days later. My husband Dave came through with a parcel and asked, “Are you expecting anything from Amazon?” I opened the package to discover that my dear writer friend Madalyn Morgan – who has just had ten of her novels published by Storm Publishing – had generously sent these brownies. In case, you’re wondering, they are delicious. Thank you, Maddy. It seemed a shame to eat them, but we did.
It just remains for me to say a big thank you to everyone who’s supported me on my journey to becoming a successful indie author. I like the freedom being an indie affords me and I will carry on writing and helping others for as long as I can. Have a great Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year. Once I’ve published this blog post I’m heading back to the pc . . . after all, I have a novel to write.
(offical photos taken by Katie Hipkiss Visuals)
New Cover – new price – Black Friday week only
I felt that the time had arrived to update all the covers of my novels. My two latest novels Dark Highland Skies and Harper’s Highland Fling came with new covers, obviously, so all that remained for me was to work through all the others. This sounds easier than it is because the perfect cover for a novel is hard to settle on. Luckily, Sarah Houldcroft of Goldcrest Books, who formats all my novels and uploads them onto Amazon for me, introudced me to Gail Bradley. Gail and I have got on famously and so, it is with much pleasure that I reveal the new cover for Girl in the Castle – a novel I particularly enjoyed writing.
The starting point, not only for writing the novel but for selecting a new cover, is one of my favurouite places in the Highlands of Scotland – Castle Stalker on Loch Linnhe. We’ve camped in Port Appin many times and when we raise the caravan blinds every monring Castle Stalker is the first thing we see. This is me standing on the jetty looking across towards the castle. Gail used one of my photographs for the background of the cover, the rest was up for discussion. And what fun we had.
A bit like Goldilocks and the three bears (!) we discussed the cover ideas at length. Although I loved #1, I didn’t like how/where the heroine’s hands were placed. With #2, I felt that her hair was too dark, her jacket too white and I think that the luggage labels added something to the final cover so they were reinstated. Gail added a rucksack and more labels until I felt that #3 was just right. After that, it was simply a case of Gail brightening up the colours and then working on the back cover of the paperback.
Gail added the blurb, new photo of author; then I uploaded it onto my KDP page (with more than a little help from Sarah at Goldcrest Books) and Amazon did the rest.
So what is Girl in the Castle about? Here’s the blurb –
Her career in tatters, Henriette Bruar needs somewhere to lay low, plan her comeback and restore a tarnished reputation. Fate lends a hand, taking her to a remote castle in the highlands of Scotland to auction the contents of its ancient library to pay the laird’s mounting debts. The family are in deep mourning over a tragedy which happened years before, resulting in a toxic relationship between the laird, Malcolm Mackenzie and his son and heir, Keir. Add a phantom piper, lost Jacobite treasure, scheming cousins and a cast of eccentric characters to the mix and watch Henrietta encourage the MacKenzies to confront the past and move forward with their lives. However – will the Girl in the Castle be able to return home once her task is completed and leave gorgeous, sexy, Keir MacKenzie behind?
If you’d like to read the first few chapter of Girl in the Castle, click on ‘READ SAMPLE’ on its Amazon page and you’ll be able to judge if Girl in the Castle is for you. To tempt you further, the kindle version will be reduced from £1.99 to £0.99 during Black Friday Week –
| Friday, November 24, 2023, 8:00 AM GMT | Friday, December 1, 2023, 8:00 AM GMT |
Breaking News . . . I was voted Indie Champion of the Year 2023 by the Romantic Novelists’ Association
However, you’ll have to wait for my next blog to learn all about that and to see the photos taken on that occassion. To say that I am ‘made up’ is an understatement.
Lizzie Lamb
Lizzie Lamb - author 