Category Archives: Lizzie’s Scribbles
A Gift for Maisie Bloom by Jessie Cahalin –
Publication Day
Meet amatuer sleuth – Maisie Bloom – your new best friend
A Gift for Maisie Bloom – Blurb
You’re not supposed to fall in love when investigating your aunt’s disappearance.
When Maisie Bloom inherits her aunt’s cottage in Yorkshire, life is perfect, including her two love interests. But when mysterious mail and blog posts arrive, she discovers Aunt Ada was investigating the disappearance of a prolific author in Paris. Was it murder? Soon Maisie is hot on the trail.
But can you sleuth in Paris without falling in love?
About the author
Jessie is a northern writer who has lived in Wales for over half of her life. She writes romance books with an enthralling mystery to hook the reader. From an early age, Jessie spun elaborate stories to explain why her father wore cowboy boots and owned many rusty cars. Writing has always been her perfect escape destination, and she was thrilled to encourage her pupils to love the power of words and follow their dreams.
Contacts:
Website: https://jessiecahalin.com
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com@BooksInHandbag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessiecahalinwrites
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessieCahalinAuthor/
My thoughts on A Gift for Maisie Bloom
A Gift for Maisie Bloom had me at Felix! But will Maisie choose Felix or Danny? And what actually happened to Aunt Ada? Could she be alive? Things just don’t add up … No spoilers here! I adored the way the mystery unfolds and the will they/won’t they pull between Maisie and the romantic leads. I was keen to know what happened to Maisie’s aunt and questions kept me guessing until the end. The kind but nosy neighbours with their whispers and oblique looks made me smile. An as a former schoolteacher, I connected with Maisie and was right behind her as she uncovered the mystery of her aunt’s disappearance. Of course, I willed her to fall for my choice of hero. The settings of the Yorkshire village and Paris were well drawn. However, moving to the City of Love provides Maisie with more questions than answers.
A cosy, uplifting read.
Where to buy A Gift for Maisie Bloom
Book Links
Kindle UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DVQ9X7WX
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/a-gift-for-maisie-bloom
Google Play https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=t9w7EQAAQBAJ&pli=1
A Room of One’s Own
My Writing Space: From Promotion to Planning
Growing up, I shared a bedroom with my two sisters.Then, when I went to teacher training college in 1969, I found myself sharing a room with another student. I’ve always wanted my own room; a space in which to write and dream. It wasn’t until I married in 1973 that I was able to achieve this. Our first home was a large three bedroom pallisaded villa and my husband turned the smallest bedroom into a study for me.
Scroll forward a few years to when we were able to take early retirement and pursue our hobbies. Me – writing my first novel, and husband Dave restoring classic cars and metal detecting. (He still hasn’t found the elusive Saxon horde but lives in hope). I live in hope of writing that award winning novel and seeing it made into a movie! Well, a girl can dream, can’t she? My ambition is to have ten novels to my name and I am about to start writing number nine for publication next spring.
My study
I’m old school and call my writing den/office ‘my study’. It has everything I need and more besides, including a mug from the Literary Gift Company bearing Virginia Woolf’s eponimous book: A Room of One’s Own. The room overlooks the garden, has a window into our conservatory straight in front of my desk and, to my left, a shelf which my husband erected so I can spread out papers etc. In the winter, we have a wood-burning stove in the conservatory to keep us warm and in the summer, the doors open directly onto the patio. I sit at an old desk I bought years ago out of the local paper. My chair is new and supports my back. The desk is wide enough to hold my PC, printer, pens and notebooks, etc. I’ve also added a piece of wood over the top right hand desk drawer which provides me with extra space for my diary and in-tray. I have thought of installing a coffee machine but decided that would be a step too far.
Recently, I’ve had a massive clear out and have donated some of my paperbacks to charity shops. You can’t keep everything, right? Some books I can’t bear to part with – my ancient ‘penguins’, Mary Wesley, Jilly Cooper and Georgette Heyer novels; and of course all of my research materials. I figure that one day someone will have to empty my study so I want to make the task easy for them.
Where else do I work ?
When I’m planning the next novel I use post-its and large sheets of A3 paper, I like to work at the dining room table with MacBook, pens, highlighters, etc to hand. Again, it has everything I need, and through the double doors, I can see the sitting room where I can go to relax and watch TV/DVDs and videos for inspiration and research. My current fixation? HIGHLAND COPS ON BBC iPLAYER.
Research, caravanning and holidays
Followers of my blog will know that we try to spend most of the summer caravanning in Scotland. This year will be no exception. Once there I manage to get down to some writing each day using my MacBook Air. I save the manuscript each day on Dropbox and back up on Microsoft. Belt and braces, that’s me.
Recently I bought a keyboard to work alongside my Ipad and that takes up even less space. I do like music in the caravan (when I’m not writing) and take my blue-tooth speaker along to listen to music on Spotify. This summer , I hope to work on the sequel to Winter Star ready for publication in 2026. If you haven’t read Winter Star and the pre-quel Dark Highland Skies you can read an extract on their Amazon page.
Here is one of my favourite reviews – from Sue Baker of Facebook group – Rivetting Reads and Vintage Vibes, who recently organised a Burns’ Night celebration of my books
Well, I guess that about wraps up February’s blog post. Please be sure to follow my blog as over the coming months I will be organising a couple of giveaways . . . signed paperback copies of my novels. Until then, stay warm and look forward to spring.
Yorkshire and Paris
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.
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Lizzie Lamb - author 