Blog Archives
Happy Samhain (Halloween) – party photos, novel extract and free download
As a writer of Scottish romances, I thought I’d blog about a halloween party featured in my latest novel – Girl in the Castle –
I hope you enjoy the extract. I’ve also added some photos I took at a Halloween party last night and, to celebrate Halloween, there’s a FREE download featured at the end of this blog post. 
When Henri entered the Great Hall, it had been completely transformed by the purple gloaming outside the windows, strategically placed candles and the roaring twin fires. A harpist was playing a selection of melodies on a clarsach, and in another corner, children were dookin’ for apples in a barrel of water, supervised by nannies or older siblings. The young guisers, dressed as ghouls, spirits or favourite super heroes, took great delight in frightening the grown-ups with turnip lanterns dangling from sticks and fake Dracula fangs.
If Henri had dressed so as not to draw attention to herself, the other guests showed no such restraint. They were celebrating Samhain in style; the men in kilts, ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ jackets over matching waistcoats, dress shirts, black tie, and brogues. The women in long plaid skirts/kilts, silk blouses with lacy jabots or, like herself, in simple black dresses worn with clan tartan in the form of a shawl or a sash. Clearly, this was an evening for showing off, because heirloom tiaras, necklaces and bracelets had been taken out of the bank vault. The jewels caught the candlelight and added extra glamour to the evening.
One man stood apart from the rest, and it took several seconds before Henri realised that it was Keir. She’d never seen the Master of Mountgarrie other than in his work clothes. But this Keir, wearing full Highland dress with unconscious grace and style was every inch the laird she’d dreamed about in the library. Grasping her silver caman for good luck, she stepped out of the shadows and into the hall.
If you’ d like to read more about the Girl in the Castle, download it onto your kindle or to buy and keep a paperback copy on your bookshelf.
Here are the photos from last night’s party – (thank you, hostess with the mostess, Adrienne Vaughan)- lots of spooks and demons, but not a kilt in sight. Unfortunately. You might also catch a glimpse of fellow New Romantics Press’s June Kearns behind one of the masks (!)
If you like spooky stories then check out an anthology Adrienne and I contributed to. It’s FREE to download at the moment, then it’s going – going – gone.
And finally . . . check out this blog post I wrote about a real life spooky event which happened to me and my siblings many years ago.
Have a great Halloween celebration whatever you have planned.
** many thanks to Nick Fiddes of Scotweb/Clan.com for giving me permission to use photos from his fabulous website.
My review of 2016 – January – June
January kicked off with a BANG. New Romantics Press put on their best bibs and tuckers and headed to Lunnon Tah-an for Jill Mansell’s Book launch. There we bumped into many fellow RNA members who’d wandered over from another book launch to join us. A great time was had by all and we went away inspired to finish our WIP in 2016.
Read on to see if we achieved our goal . . .
In February, our baby boy Jasper was 20 and he received lots of cards. One from a Facebook friend and reader Lotte Sutton in Australia, which was such a kind thought. I just hope he appreciated it. He’s 21 on February 2nd 2017 – I predict that there might be a little celebration on that day involving the Bridget Jones DVD, cocktails, canapes, cake and coffee. All the things he likes (cough, cough).
Adrienne and I have both had parents who’ve died from cancer, so we decided to raise some money for HOPE AGAINST CANCER, in their memories. In February we organised a literary lunch at swish Kilworth House Hotel, gave a hilarious (if I say so myself) talk about writing romance – and raised over £500 for the charity.
I also gave a talk on self-publishing to the Birmingham Chapter of the RNA, and to students at De Montfort University during February. March was a busy month, too. Apart from it being my birthday, I made the final of the Exeter Novel Prize with Scotch on the Rocks so we took the caravan down to Exeter and fitted in a spring-break holiday after the ceremony. I took good care of my precious trophy, but a certain person thought the award belonged to him!
April was rather more family orientated as it was my father-in-law Geoffrey’s 90th birthday which we celebrated in style. A moment to cherish. A friend of long-standing, Maggie, who regularly buys several paperback copies of my novels and POSTS them to Australia (at great expense) joined us for the celebrations. 
I got stuck in with the WIP and vowed to finish it before Christmas.
May was a busy month with the fabulous Romance in the Court which Adrienne and I attended. Passing through St Pancras I bought something in Aspinall’s and, after talking to the manager, we were invited back to hold an author event there in November.More of which in part #2. I’m looking forward to attending the same event in May of 2017, thanks to Goldsboro Books and David Hedley.
Next, I gave a talk in Chippenham, to aspiring authors to prove to them that self publishing was within their grasp and took along novels which New Romantics Press have published to make my point. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
What we didn’t plan on last year, was trading in our caravan for a slightly bigger one with a FIXED BED. But that’s what we did, two days before we set off on our month’s stay in Bonnie Scotland . . . No more setting up/dismantling the bed every morning so we can have breakfast. I’ve also gained more writing space, so #winwin. Just writing about it makes me long to go on the road again. 
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the first half of 2106.
Do join me for #2 when I’ll mention:
- a character from Scotch on the Rocks who came to stay
- the historical novel society conference in Oxford
- NRP book launch and another author presentation
- our gig at Aspinall and meeting Tom Parker-Bowles
- the RNA winter party
- Chatsworth all decked out for Christmas
- the last chapter meeting of the season and some surprise guests
- a cover reveal for #4
Bloggy McBlogface #3 – Culloden
This summer I spent a month touring Scotland, getting the vibe for my fourth novel which I am currently 87% of the way through. It was a fabulous holiday and I was able to touch base with friends, en route. The weather behaved itself while we were in Inverness and so, feeling ‘gallus’, we erected the awning and put out our sunloungers.
sunloungers getting an airing at Banchory, Royal Deeside.
On this stretch of our road trip we planned to visit Culloden, Loch Ness and Castle Urquhart. I’m a great fan of Outlander and DK Broster’s Jacobite Trilogy. And, IMO the Broster novels give a more balanced view of the conflict and there’s less of the #highlandersgood/ #Englishbad subtext found in the Outlander novels. After all, many clans fought on the side of the English at Culloden and had no wish to see the Stuarts back on the throne. For them, the battle provided an opportunity to settle old scores. The downside of the Highland Trilogy is, no Jamie Fraser!
(click over each image to read the caption/copyright details)
If you’ve never visited Culloden, here’s a video to give you a sense of the place. The battle site has a haunting and mournful quality and it’s sad to reflect that, after Culloden, the clan system disintegrated and wearing tartan was punishable by seven years hard labour in the colonies. George IV) visited Edinburgh in 1822, and everything “Scottish” became acceptable once more, a tradition continued by Victoria and Albert who bought Balmoral as their highland retreat.
Balmoral Castle 2016 (c) Lizzie Lamb
Sadly, by then many of the tartans had been forgotten and those which we see today are a recent reinvention.
(Above- a fragment of Thomas Fraser of Struy’s plaid said to have been worn at Culloden in 1746) image –
http://www.scottishtartans.co.uk
Next, we visited the Prisoner’s Stone where seventeen highlanders were taken out and shot, after the battle. Legend has it that one survived and lived to tell the tale. If you do not feel the weight of history pressing down on you when you visit the site, you have no soul. It’s hard not to stand there and weep for those on both sides who lost their lives.
I found it very poignant that clans from the same highland region fought side by side at Culloden – the Stewarts of Appin and the Camerons of Lochiel, for example. In my mind, this was an echo of WWI when adjoining villages joined the Pals’ Regiments and marched off to war together. (click over each image for further details)
Of course, Outlander – the books and the TV series have helped to reignite visitors’ passion for this beautiful part of Scotland. While we were there, many Americans were visiting the site, anxious to find the cairn erected to Clan Fraser and to lay flowers there. I still don’t understand why the Outlander series hasn’t been shown on UK television and why so few of my (UK) friends have heard about it. Here’s a link to my OUTLANDER pinterest board . . .
Prince Charles Edward Stuart – Battle of Prestonpans memorial
It’s interesting to reflect how differently things could have turned out had Bonnie Prince Charlie pressed on to London instead of turning round and heading back up north after reaching Derby – just miles from where I live in Leicester.
On a more personal note, one highlight of our trip was finding ourselves camped right next door to Facebook friend Sharyn Farnaby. Here she is with a copy of Tall, Dark 
which I gave to her to thank her for reading and reviewing my novels.
I have been inspired by the Battle of Glenshiel (1719) to write my next #contemporary Scottish romance which I hope to publish in March 2017. It contains history, a lost treasure, a gorgeous hero (Keir) and a heroine fighting to regain her reputation after an unfortunate incident at university, (Henriette).
In the meantime, here is my current selection of novels. Something to help you cope with the long, dreary winter days, perhaps? See you soon when I’ll be writing about visiting Balmoral and Royal Deeside and meeting up with another friend. 
Bloggy McBlogface #2 – Rosslyn Chapel and the Royal Yacht Britannia
This post is part #2 of our tour of Scotland this summer, from Edinburgh to Balnakeil in the north west corner of Scotland and back to Glasgow.
I’d always wanted to visit Rosslyn Chapel – and the Royal Yacht Britannia, and that’s exactly what we did.
I was intrigued to compare the actual chapel to the scenes from the movie – but was disappointed to discovered they only filmed the scene in the crypt there. So no cabalistic signs, Knights Templar or hidden symbols connecting the chapel to the Virgin Mary, but lots to see, otherwise. The chapel is full of the most amazing carvings, including a frieze of maize or Indian Corn surrounding a window. This was constructed fifty years before Columbus discovered America in 1492 – so, go figure, as they say.
(sadly, no internal photos so you’ll have to go to the website for those.) Here are my photos . . . click on each one for a description.
If you arrive before 11am you can join the FREE guided tour, which is well worth it. The guide said that the chapel was falling down around their ears and they prayed for a miracle. God sent them one in the shape of Dan Brown and the Da Vinci Code. Now the chapel is being preserved for posterity. Great cafe, too, in case you wondered.
The Royal Yacht Britannia – well worth the money
We spent a very happy three hours looking round the RY Britannia. With our headsets we explored the yacht at our own pace and you really do have ‘access to all areas’, including HM’s bedroom. Parking is free and the tour cost £13.50. Amazingly, the yacht is moored at the end of the Britannia Shopping Mall, Leith and, if at the end of your time you still have energy, there’s a great shopping centre there, too. Here are the pics . . . click on each one for a description. Of course, being us, the tour started in the restaurant where we had tea and scones (not silly prices, either).
tea and scones, anyone?
We spent a lot of time practising saying: The Leith Police dismisseth us, in order to prove we were sober, so we felt we’d earned our tea break.
We’ve spent many summer on the Isle of Wight and the ferry took us past the Royal Yacht moored off Cowes in the Solent. It was sad to see this grand old lady moored next to a shopping centre, IMHO, but at least we had a chance to look round which otherwise would have been denied to us. Of course, we were interested to see the bedroom and sitting rooms and they were all of show, along with boiler rooms etc.
Everything is very simple and pared back. Apparently, Her Maj rejected for the first set of plans for being ‘too grand’, she wanted a ‘country house interior’, and that’s what she got. As I was peering into Charles and Diana’s bedroom – the only one with a double bed, which Charles ordered specially for their honeymoon – the ladies behind me were quite vocal on their opinion of ‘how he done her wrong,’ even after all this time.
The yacht had to be functional as well as ceremonial and it had its own laundry, dentist’s surgery, operating theatre and sick bay. You can see why everything has to be ‘shipshape and Bristol fashion,’ can’t you?
The lone figure at the end of the pier is an Antony Gormley sculpture (creator of the Angel of the North et al) and was is life-like that, apparently, people keep ringing the police thinking someone’s about to throw himself into the Firth of Forth.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my second blog post and that you may be tempted to visit Edinburgh and East Lothian for yourself. Scotland is a fascinating, beautiful, mystical country and has something for everyone. Next time, we’ll travel across the Forth Road Bridge and head for Inverness, Culloden and the Black Isle. I hope you’ll travel with me. In the meantime, do check out my novels on Amazon and feel free to sign up for my newsletter.
I can’t leave Edinburgh without sharing the last four photographs taken by author Helen Barrell who took Tall, Dark and Kilted back to its roots in Scotland. Thanks Helen!
HOW TO WRITE A REVIEW AND HELP YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHORS
Authors know how difficult it is to build a following of loyal readers and to gently persuade those readers to review their book once they’ve read it. To help redress that, August 2016 has been decreed Write An Amazon Review Month! By @TerryTyler4 #AugustReviews and we’re going to do our bit to help.
On Monday 25th July, book blogger Rosie Amber wrote this post encouraging readers and writers alike to post a short review on Amazon for any book they’ve read and enjoyed ~ following this up, Terry Tyler is starting this initiative along with other writer-bloggers including Rosie, Cathy from Between The Lines, Barb Taub, Shelley Wilson and Alison Williams. The idea is that, from August 1st, everyone who reads this uses their Amazon account to post just one review on one book that they’ve read (but feel free to carry on if you get in the swing!). You don’t even have to have read it recently, it can be any book you’ve read, any time. The book does not have to have been purchased from Amazon, though if it is you get the ‘Verified Purchase’ tag on it; however, if you download all your books via Kindle Unlimited, as many do these days, they don’t show the VP tag, anyway.
Remember, this isn’t the Times Literary Supplement, it’s Amazon, where ordinary people go to choose their next £1.99 Kindle book
No one expects you to write a thousand word, in-depth critique; I don’t know about you, but I’m more likely to read one short paragraph or a couple of lines saying what an average reader thought of a book, than a long-winded essay about the pros and cons of the various literary techniques used. Yes, those are welcome too (!), but no more so than a few words saying “I loved this book, I was up reading it until 3am”, or “I loved Jim and Vivien and the dialogue was so realistic”, or whatever!
Why should you write a review?
- They help book buyers make decisions. Don’t you read the reviews on Trip Advisor before deciding on a hotel, or any site from which you might buy an item for practical use? Book reviews are no different
- If the book is by a self-published author, or published by an independent press, the writers have to do all their promotion and marketing themselves ~ reviews from the reading public is their one free helping hand
- The amount of reviews on Amazon helps a book’s visibility (allegedly). If you love a writer’s work and want others to do so, too, this is the best possible way of making this happen
- It’s your good deed for the day, and will only take five minutes
Off we go, then! A few more pointers:
- If you need any help with writing your review, do click on Rosie’s post, above.
- A review can be as short as one word. The shortest one I have is just two 🙂
- You don’t have to put your name to the review, as your Amazon ‘handle’ can be anything you like.
- No writer expects all their reviews to be 5* and say the book is the best thing ever written; there is a star rating guide on Rosie’s post.
Would you like to tell the Twittersphere about your review? If so, tweet the link to it with the hashtag #AugustReviews ~ and thank you! 
One last thing . . . if you haven’t read any of my books but like well-written romantic comedies with lots of sassy humour, great characters, fabulous locations and heroes to swoon over – give one of them a try. And don’t forget that review (!)
Exeter Novel Prize – here comes Lizzie
Just leaving for Devon where the Exeter Novel Prize ceremony will take place on Saturday 12th March – the day after my birthday. I’m a finalist for the award and have beaten hundreds of other writers to get here. I’m the only indie author to have made the final. Even better, the short list has been drawn up by fabulous agent Broo Doherty. Woo hoo. Go me! The novel which has been short listed is my #1 best seller – Scotch on the Rocks. If you want to find out more about that novel, read this blog. I’ll report back next week, hopefully clutching one of the prizes.
Lovely blogger and huge supporter of indie authors – Rose Amber – reads her review of SCOTCH ON THE ROCKS
If you’d like to read about the locations I use in my novels – then check out this fabulous blog post by Barb Taub
And finally . . . a heart warming review by Sharon Booth
My favourite bit? This . . .
“Romance? The best kind. It starts off with mistrust and doubt, sparks fly, passion ignites and then…Well, some romances are forever. There’s nothing so romantic as a hero who vows never to hurt the heroine, never to leave her, and to love her forever. Especially when you just know he’s speaking the truth.”
Tuesday Book Blog
Many thanks to Luccia Gray for interviewing me on her fabulous blog and for reviewing Scotch on the Rocks. Since then, Scotch on the Rocks has been shortlisted for the Exeter Novel Prize The first novel by an indie author to reach the final six . . .
Here is a link to Luccia’post . . .
I am really getting stuck in with my new novel – working title, This Highland Magic and love meeting my new characters and writing about them. Here’s the blurb. Doubtless it will change through the course of the novel being finished! Those characters have a way of ‘taking over’. Here’s my up-to-date word count, too . . .
Dr Henriette Bruar travels to Wester Ross to catalogue the library of an ancient castle set in the middle of a remote Highland loch. The laird, Sir Malcolm MacKenzie, of that Ilk, is pressed for cash and is selling off the estate’s assets, including the library to subsidise his extravagant life style. This doesn’t please his son, Keir, who fears there will be nothing of the estate left to inherit. To all outward appearances, Henriette seems like any run of the mill academic, unremarkable even. However, in her heart of hearts, she sees herself as a cross between Indiana Jones and the Relic Hunter and dreams of someday finding a precious manuscript, a hidden treasure or unlocking family secrets. At Castle Treamannair, she sets out to do just that. By the end of the novel, Henri learns that treasure comes in many guises and, sometimes, family secrets are best left undisturbed.
My spring newsletter will be coming out in March and I’ll be giving away a paperback copy of Tall, Dark and Kilted and other prizes. If you haven’t already subscribed, sign up here – and join in the fun . . .
Bye for now,
Lizzie x
Adrienne’s Trip to the Romance Writers’ of America’s Award Ceremony
http://newromanticspress.com/2016/01/23/fairy-tale-of-new-york/
Read Adrienne’s fabulous blog post about her trip to the BIG APPLE last year to cover this event for Romance Matters – the RNA in-house magazine.
This is me with the bag she bought me because she thinks I’m an old hippie. (she could be right). She also put a ‘cent’ inside it, for good luck.
For the record, (no pun intended) I don’t only listen to Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, I have Simon and Garfunkel vinyl LPs, too.
I couldn’t resist posing for her !!
One day It’ll be our turn to step up onto that stage and get an award.
2015 – My Year in photos #2
With three novels under my belt we headed to Bonnie Scotland in July to research number four. No rest for the wicked, eh? Having just watched the Outlander Series (based on the novels by Diane Gabaldon), I was interested to visit some of the locations where filming had taken place.
Then it was on to Ballachulish and a tour of Castle Stalker by the owner. The castle in my next novel, Castle Tèarmannair, is loosely based on Castle Stalker (see below). Check out the fabulous tour buses designed by Gary Walker.
In September Bongo Man was 65 and we celebrated in style.
We are real nerds and the highlight of that summer was having a pair of Jays take up residence in our garden. They disappeared from September until November but have now returned to delight us every morning with their antics and are becoming much tamer.
In October managed a week away in the Cotswolds and I was able to give a copy of Scotch on the Rocks to Maggie. We’ve been friends since 1978 when we met at an Open University summer school and the book is dedicated to her. Her only complaint about my writing is that there aren’t enough murders in my books. No wonder the Kelpie is laughing.
In October I became a member of Carole Matthew’s Chocolate Lovers’ Club team and hosted an evening with my girlfriends to celebrate the launch of her latest book – the Chocolate Lovers’ Christmas. I received free copies which I distributed to my book club, a tiara, chocs and an advent calendar. I also received an advance copy of The Chocolate Lover’s Wedding – Carole knows how to do things in style. #myguru
Tall Dark and Kilted received its 100th review in December and I felt that was worthy of celebration. And, out of the blue, I had a wonderful shout out in the Scottish Daily Record – the icing on the cake this year. I’ll be writing a blog post about that in 2016.
Looking back over the second half of the year I realise that I’ve been promoting more than I’ve been writing and I’ll have to rectify that. But it hasn’t all been about books and writing . . . I’ve also spent time with my family, have welcomed a great nephew – Leonidas Daniel Alexander – into the world and had a wonderful Christmas with Bongo Man and Jasper.
In between doing all of the above I have managed to find time to create a newsletter! Do subscribe to it while you’re on this page . . . I hope to host giveaways, sneak previews of my new novel – including cover reveals – and the odd chapter or two. I’d love you to be part of it.
So, what does 2016 hold for me?
I’ve been asked to give a talk on self-publishing to third year creative writing students at De Montfort University and I’m very thrilled about that.
I’m also co-hosting two charity events with Adrienne Vaughan: one in February and another in June And, of course, I have a novel to write – I’m currently on 12k words; only another 90k to go. Simples.
Do let me know how 2015 panned out for you and what 2016 holds in store. Be Healthy and Happy and – as they say in Scotland – LANG MAY YER LUM REEK.
Welcome – Jo Lambert, writer and her latest novel
Lizzie in interviewing mode
Hi Jo and welcome to my blog. Sit down, Jo, make yourself comfortable and we’ll begin. When I started out as a writer I think yours was one of the first blogs I appeared on – that was back in 2013. Can you believe it? How the time (and the writing) has flown.
I had no idea what I was doing but you soon sorted me out. Now I’m more savvy, I’m happy to repay the favour. So, tell us all about your new novel: SUMMER MOVED ON. Great cover by the way.
Thank you Lizzie for giving me the opportunity to showcase my latest novel,
Summer Moved On.
Jo’s new novel – Summer Moved On
It’s a contemporary romance set in 2007 about two people from completely different backgrounds meeting and falling in love. Jess Hayden is a middle class girl on course for university. Talún Hansen is a penniless farm worker who lives in the village where her uncle runs the village pub, The Black Bull. Jess already has a boyfriend, surgeon’s son Zac Rayner; someone her father has earmarked as eventual marriage material. However, spending a holiday with Rufus brings her into contact with Talún and the beginning of a forbidden and passionate summer love. But as autumn approaches, a dark shadow from Jess’s past returns, bringing far-reaching and unwanted changes for both of them.
What reviewers have to say…
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It’s a real page turner …
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Powerful, thought provoking romance…
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The location and characters are superbly drawn and Jo Lambert certainly knows how to tell a story…
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Entertaining, emotional summer read…
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Rich in interesting characters and an equally interesting plot…
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Love, heartbreak, loss and friendship – this book has it all…
Jo Lambert – author
